One Year in Music: Week 52
Yeahhhhh that’s right, we did it folks. The experiment I started 52 weeks ago, has completed just as our trip around the sun is about to come to a complete stop. I am finally free from this weekly burden, much like the genie in Aladdin, I have exhausted my efforts, and now I must go. The goal when I started this blog was to chronicle the writing process of each song, give a little insight into what each song was about, and then at the end of the year, destroy it all just like Ethan Hawke in First Reformed. So, as I wrap myself in barbed wire, allow me to reflect on what I’ve learned from this journey and this godforsaken decade.
I learned that writing about the writing process is hard, and more importantly not always that compelling, so I often had to pivot to memories that these songs evoked, often times divulging more than I initially intended to. After one particular post I got called “ageist” by a baby boomer on Tumblr, which made me feel bad at first, but then made me feel like I must be doing something right. I learned that if you write everyday, you will not get writer’s block. I had that sentence written down at my studio desk and looked at it everyday. “I will never get writer’s block, because I write everyday.”
I believe that is undoubtedly true. I wrote way more than 52 songs this year, not all were completed, or great, and almost every week I would have about 3 musical ideas to choose from to push over the finish line, and even though sometimes I hated all 3 of my options, I was always both surprised and satisfied with the product I put out. I know that some of the songs I created are better than others, but I believe every single one of them has something interesting to say, both lyrically and instrumentally at some point. There is at least one cool 10 second section in each song that is worthy of your ears. I learned that posting about the same project once a week on Facebook absolutely gets you buried in the algorithm to the point where close friends and family had no idea that I was putting out new music each week, Zuckerburg fight me you coward! I also learned that even those that do know what your doing, it’s very hard to get people to listen to your music. I’ve been writing music since the first day I picked up a guitar when I was 16. I am now 34 and I feel like the songs I made this year are some of the best I’ve ever written. The recording and mixing process is a slog and insanely tedious. For one song, I made 11 different versions with slight variations in levels before I got something worth posting, and even then it still wasn’t great. With these 52 songs, I am going to pick my favorites and have people who are much better at mixing than I am, make them sound even better.
Most importantly, I learned I am going to keep writing and recording music until the day I die. It is the most therapeutic and spiritual thing that I do, and it makes me feel like I have a purpose. I love the music that I make, and in my heart of hearts, I do believe I will break through into the music industry in some capacity. 89.3 The Current, I’m coming for ya! This week’s song is called Sunlight. It’s about how the sun gives us light and life, and when we don’t see it enough, we get sad. The Sun is a giant ball of gas and plasma that is over 4 billion years old. It is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface and if our planet were any closer or further from it, we’d be in trouble. The sun is a big mood folks, Do NOT sleep on the sun! Lyrics: It's the curve of the ocean It's the horizontal line It's the moment from this moment and the moment doesn't change You got to see just where you lie I'm selling minutia I'm selling a mirage I'm selling the future I'm selling my garage Sun Light Making everybody feel so nice Oh Give me 25 years to life If I confess to the truth Oh give me something Because I must confess it to you Well someones trying to take your picture While someone's trying to hold your hand And someones feeding you your own tail with a silver spoon But I don't think that you fully understand You’re selling your future You’re buying your own lies Soon we won't have a future We are running on fumes and out of time
Sun Light Making everybody feel so nice Oh give me 25 years to life If I confess to the truth Oh give me something Because I must confess it to you Hey there, where you at I'm looking for a favor from the past I'm looking forward too I'm moving on from you I’m drowning here without you I’m drowning here without you Just give me Sun Light Making everybody feel so nice Oh Give me 25 years to life If I confess to the truth Oh give me something Because I must confess it to you