The Sore Feet Song / Mushishi theme tune
I thought I would write a little blog about The Sore Feet Song (a song from my first album that was subsequently used as the opening theme tune to Japanese animation Mushishi) as Iāve been asked occasional questions about it over the last few years however this recent series of questions Iāve received via Youtube is a little more involved and got me thinking that Iād like to explain more about the song, how it came about and so on just in case anyone is interested. So, here we go. This was posted as a comment by Youtube user tsbskier:
Hi Ally! Found this song through Mushishi and now I have some questions out of pure curiosity.
1. It seems unusual that an anime would use non-Japanese music, how did your song get chosen for Mushishi?
I was told by someone involved with the animation in Japan (I canāt remember who) that either the producer or the director (or some creative decision maker) of Mushishi had my album (Calling Out To You), liked it and this song fitted what was being sought at the time. So, timing is everything and Iām very lucky in this instance. Oh and another Scottish band called The Delgados had one of their songs used previously in a Japanese animation so it does seem to happen.
2. Does it bother you at all that this has become commonly known as the āmushishi songā rather than by its original title? Do you think the communicated message in this song changed by being associated with the anime?
It doesnāt bother me at all. I love writing music and I want people to hear my songs and using the song in this way allowed people to discover my music. Anyone that likes the song can quickly and easily find out who wrote it and what its original title is. My hope is that they enjoy the song and then go and check out any of the other 34 or so songs that Iāve released. The song was cut for the opening credits of Mushishi and lyrically this new edit fits and so it works within this new context. After this first half of the song though of course it all gets a little strangeā¦ :P
3. What is the inspiration for this song? While watching the anime I thought it was in the spirit ofĀ Iām Gonna Be 500 miles, where the guyās walking ājust to be the manā¦ to fall down at your door.ā But after hearing the full song, it seems a lot more desperateā¦ I mean heās running around stealing money, eating rats, and killing bears. Anyways, thanks for this song! Iāll go check out your other work.
This is where it gets weird:) I wrote this song one Saturday lunchtime on acoustic guitar and the music and the sentiment came together, immediately, out of nowhere. In fact, I remember that musically the song was written very quickly. Almost at once, as many of the music of my songs are. So the song took a few minutes to write, just singing over this music that I was plucking out the guitar. I think the lyrics arrived quickly too, certainly the theme or feeling of the song came to me at the same time as the music. The imagery is fantasy of course; itās pretty absurd, dark, silly, funny, sad, surreal, crazy, heartfelt, irrational and more desperate and emotional as the song progresses. Much like long distance love can be and can make you feel.
At the time that I wrote it I had no record label and no audience, but I wrote it and kept it as it was written. For some reason I had a habit of rarely changing lyrics from the first thought, from the first time it came out my mouth then was written on paper and engrained in my head and Iād sing it over and over then that was it, the lyrics stuck. Since then Iāve taken a stricter editing approach to lyric writing with the last album Viva Melodia, though I often find it hard to move from the original lyric or thought sometimes. Anyway, I digress. When I went into the studio I think I recorded it almost completely unchanged. I honestly had absolutely no expectations or any idea that people would hear it.
I hope this little blog explains a little to anyone interested. Of course I want those who like this one to check out others of mine, and I honestly and sincerely think that if you like this one song thereās many others Iāve written that youād enjoy equally or more. Iām always pleased when folk tell me theyāll check out my other songs after discovering this one, so thanks Youtube user tsbskier, whoever and wherever you are.
Thanks also for asking the question and getting me thinking about the past for a little while and how itās affected the future. Itās something I donāt do often enough as this song I wrote for my last album is testimony to.
Ā http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqfP5S1dGAg
tangentwithtanner
discoholicmusic
gummygunk
kaledo-art
romaincrisis
areudirty
