This is pretty much the last of the decent songs I made for the Slow Year album. The other songs that remain are because they are either really not good or I said weird lyrics. I improvise a lot of the lyrics cuz writing a decent song takes SO LONG! Also I’m lazy. I was making fun of myself there. Lots of songs from Slow Year were improvised except for the ones that weren’t. I will show you which songs were improvised on this album with asterisks. Sorry if I sound smug I don’t know how I sound right now until I read this tomorrow.
(click to download)
1*. I wish I could remember how to play this song, cuz it’d be really fun to make into a real song. I played this with my guitar tuned in a way that I had two strings to use as the ‘bass’ so as much as I’d like to say this is like me playing two instruments at once it was just a weird tuning.
2. The “Slow Year” album was written over a time when I realized I shouldn’t be mulling over some short relationship where I was basically in the wrong more than she was and I should stop moping over the whole thing, and this is kind of that timespan boiled down. By the way, I didn’t have (what was I going to say here? I didn’t finish the sentence). Also it sounds like I say “are you smelling home tonight” but it was supposed to be “smiling” and oh well. Anyway, this song is about being stupid but thinking you’re not then realizing you really are.
3*. Casio keyboard song
4. This is a parody of the opening to “Arigatou, We Love You” by Pizzicato Five who I like and wasn’t making fun of.
5*. This is a stupid song
6*. I recorded this in our apartment. It’s about me disliking the Portland Mercury which I call a magazine and it’s NOT! IT’S NOT A MAGAZINE!
7*. Song about Curling, a popular Scottish sport
8*. Bunch of 4-track things.
9. Attempt to make “Weddings” a ’90s alternative rock single. I was listening to “Slide” by Goo Goo Dolls a lot at this time for some reason. One time, we were trying to get bands to get out of the venue so we could go out to this goofy but cool sports bar and I suggested an idea to the guy who ran the venue to play “Slide” by Goo Goo Dolls + other stuff layered on top of each other to get the bands out of the place and it worked and it was fun.
10*. Casio keyboard song
11*. First part is “Black Cab” by Jens Lekman slowed down on my tape recorder. I recorded the song when I had just woken up so the first part reflects that. I think this was just about me feeling sorry for myself or something. Basically just a song about how I have shitty self-image and also I fucked up the year before and I am an idiot.
12*. I had written a bunch of weird songs and felt like I wasn’t able to stop making weird songs (none of these songs will ever be released I hope) so I talked myself out of it by being obnoxious
13*. My ex & I recorded some songs and I found this one where I acted like a jerk
This album is mostly made up of songs I recorded after I had realized I don’t really like making songs about relationships that were no more, which is probably a good thing. Things were done and I felt sort of bad and regretful about things. Acting like I was the victim was totally stupid. Also I was living with my mom & my step-dad and had a lot of time to boil down by myself and overthink about things way too much, so that’s probably why I wrote so many songs! I said this in the last post about Slow Year but if I ever make another album I want it to be fun and loud and fast. HOWEVER if I stay here and try to make an album it’ll probably be soft acoustic stuff, which I really don’t want to make.
