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By request from Martha Patzer, who has been known to have a little nutritional yeast in her desk, ready to apply it generously atop her lunch or an afternoon snack. And who's to blame her? The nooch is a com-plete protein, as the song reminds us. Vocals and guitar, recorded at Gap Outlet Studios on June 17, 2014.
Oh shiiiiiiiit. The one-minute songs project is back from a "brief hiatus." Had to reload and rewrite and whatnot. Anyway, my hope is that we're now entering the home stretch, with an aim to be finished by the time the holidays roll around. <says a prayer to the one-minute-songwriting gods> * * *Many of you have been asking about when I'll be posting another email-themed song? Well, get ready to live: Obama digital godfather, Blue State Digital CEO, and dude getting married tomorrow on Ellis Island, Joe Rospars requested a song called "Subject Line." Sounds simple enough... I tried several times to start this one, mostly around some of my favorite whacky campaign subject lines. It was all pretty meh, and that's when I remembered the time Joe called all the emailers into a conference room to give feedback on some of our drafts: He started by presenting us with a plush toy of Bomb, the black angry bird. So I shelved it. For about a year. Last month, I sat down again and -- after a quick search for every DCCC email I've gotten in the last year -- had the frame of a decent draft. If I could give this song a subtitle it'd be "(Final Notice for Joseph)." Recorded guitar and vocals at Gap Outlet Studios on August 24th, 2014.
OFA's very own email director, Caitlin Mitchell, requested this appropriately titled tune. I'll admit: It's hard to write songs like this, with adequate sincerity. But while I'm relatively sure an album full of email joke songs wouldn't really work, that's not the objective here. Fun fact: I realized a day after I recorded this that I lifted the chorus' melody from another unpublished Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie song. If you were wondering, that actually feels just as lame as it sounds. Recorded guitar and vocals at Gap Outlet Studios on May Day, 2014.
And here's the second song for Paul. It's one of my favorites in the series thus far.
Fun fact: "Frances" and "Elliott" were written to flow one to the next without a gap. I tried a few times to capture it but couldn't really nail any of the takes, so I decided to let each song stand on its own. If I were to record these properly, rest assured they'd connect in the middle. (Also written and recorded at Gap Outlet Studios, April 14th, 2014)
...and we're back! Sorry for the delay. It turns out this project is not as easy as I envisioned it.
This week, to make up for the recent absence, I'll be posting two songs, both at the request of the Rev. Dr. Paul Bugala. It's actually pretty intimidating to write songs named for a friend's two awesome kids, so I put these off for way too long.
Written and recorded at Gap Outlet Studios, April 14th, 2014.
This was one of my favorite songs to write, as it allowed me to expose my affection for the Cleveland baseball club. (Thanks to Matthew McGregor for requesting the title.) So this actually happened. Ten-Cent Beer Night is one of those stories that neatly captures an indescribable aspect of Cleveland sports. "Yeah, the Browns are really bad this year, but remember when the Indians had to forfeit a game because a drunken riot broke out and fans literally almost killed a player or two?"
I have a lot of favorite parts of this story: the fact that the animosity actually ran back to the previous time the teams had faced each other and a fairly violent fight broke out among the players... the descriptions of the weird drunken activity that went on before the riot, including the part when a fan threw an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird that almost connected with Mike Hargrove's head... how Billy Martin taunted Cleveland a week before the game and the radio announcers basically challenged Clevelanders to show Billy Martin who's boss... the fact that apparently Tim Russert was at the game... this picture of the Rangers storming the field wielding bats trying to restore order:
And then of course there's the fact that the team RAN THE SAME PROMOTION AGAIN a month later (although with a two-beer-at-a-time max). Tomorrow, baseball season begins again for the crew on the Cuyahoga. The beer is slightly more expensive.
Finally we're back to the one-minute range.
I tinkered with this one quite a bit, as no song about a cat or cats is to be taken lightly. At the request of Jessi Langsen, who I'm told now must consider getting a second cat in order to make this song true.
Recorded, guitar and vocals, live at Gap Outlet Studios.
It's my dad's birthday weekend, so I figured I'd post his one-minute song request. And again I failed to keep the song under the two-minute mark. Gary would submit this title based on everyone's favorite fourth stooge. (Fun fact: A few months later, he gave his new cat the same name.)
You all also know Gary from his contribution of backing vocals (courtesy of Whitey Records) to "Meridian Hill," the last track on the new Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie record.
Here's another one that violates the strict one-minute concept. Per the joint request from Nick Catalano and Jordan Bouvier (and let the record show that the title is their idea), this one kind of just started as a two-minute song. Sometimes you just have to accept that and not try to tinker too much.
I'd also like to note that I did in fact write and record this (at Gap Outlet Studios) on a Monday evening, while enjoying a fancy beer. I strive for authenticity.
This one is in direct violation of the one-minute parameters. Written at the request of Aaron Blawas (one of my original songwriting co-conspirators) I tried and failed to record this one several times due to technical flaws in my amateur production. After finding a longer, slower take I was happy with, I decided not to eff around any longer and go with it. So deal with it.
Guitar and vocals recorded at Gap Outlet Studios.
Coming in at just under a minute, this one was written at the request of Ryan Alexander. "All of the Holsts" is a celebration of sorts, and a recognition that sometimes all you can see from the seat you're in is hands.
Recorded at Gap Outlet Studios.
A request by Devin Brady, this one's called "Lakehouse" -- one of the first songs completed for the project. It's true: I really still don't know where everyone got access to a car.
Guitar and vocals recorded at Gap Outlet Studios.
This one goes out to Yahel Carmon.
He and his merry band of self-described X-Men were responsible for running the results of our countless email tests. Their legend lives on.
Recorded, guitar with vox, solo at Gap Outlet Studios.
Two days ago, Chicago said goodbye to Grant Denton. A few months before that, his mother (who may or may not be my mother, too) requested this song. Mandolin and vocals recorded together at Gap Outlet Studios.
Steve Jacobs requested this, and initially it felt like this one had to go one of two ways: straightforward oddball (which is actually my nickname for Steve - zing!), or something in the voice of one of the two prescribed characters. It wasn't until I got this third-person dismissive refrain in my head that it started to take shape. "The Monkey and the Robot: A Love Story" clocks in a little longer than planned, but the slower tempo suited the ukulele and melody better, so you'll all have to deal with it. Vocals and uke recorded live at Gap Outlet Studios.
This one has a fairly deep back story. "Welcome to Lamar - It's a Place on Earth" is a one-minute song recorded for Joe Hennes (aka Muppet Joe, Jesus Joe, Joko Joe, Joby Joe, Johnny Paranoid, Two-Hands MacDougal, the 5th Daddy, Just Joe, and Horace Grant).
Joe and I have for several years been in the concept phase of a docu-musical about our 34th president, Harry Truman. This is designed as the 2nd song of the first act, a soft bridge from the overture to the triumphant recurring refrain: "The S Stands for Nothing."
Guitar and vocals recorded January 3rd, 2014, at Gap Outlet Studios.
This was the first song completed in the one-minute song project — requested by analytics guru Amelia Showalter. For the record, she says, she’s more of a TI-89 girl, herself.
Guitar and vocals recorded at McGuirk Sounds in Port Clinton, Ohio.