A Song A Day

12-31-09 Kiss Me On The Lips

2011-01-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

And thus, we come to the end of the year.

This is the part where I say something meaningful. It seems like a lot of pressure to wrap up an experience like this in a few paragraphs, though. This pressure is also compounded by the fact that my wife might start going in to active labor at any point now. So, I'll keep it short. Thanks, everyone for listening. I hope you've enjoyed the ride. I certainly have.

Stay tuned for more posts soon about the future of these songs. I'll be making them available for mass download in a tidy bundle as soon as I can figure out how to do that. In the meantime, enjoy a little New Year's cheer with this, the last song of the year.

12-30-09 Ummm...

2010-12-30T23:13:00.000-08:00

Kind of speaks for itself. Link.

12-29-09 My Life In Show Biz

2010-12-29T22:35:00.000-08:00

I have Evan to thank for the title. "Awesome" was doing a three-day stint for Winterfest at Seattle Center, playing in - you guessed it - the food court. Although it ended up being a surprisingly fun and loose set of shows, it was definitely one of the weirdest places we've played.

The song turned out pretty good, and has the distinction of having one of the saddest kazoo solos ever recorded.

12-28-09 The Girl Made Of Glass

2010-12-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite song about a girl made of glass. Link.

12-27-09 When The Wind Blows

2010-12-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

Windy day and everything is a kite. Link.

12-26-09 Great White Shark

2010-12-26T23:27:00.000-08:00

Nice riff, moody song. Nothing much else to say about this one. Link.

12-25-09 Another Christmas Song

2010-12-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, o tens of readers! Link.

12-24-09 For What

2010-12-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

This one almost perfectly skirts that knife edge of truthfulness and artfulness, in my opinion. It's a really simple song about what I was doing and thinking at the time, but I think it manages to be compelling to listen to without sounding whiny. And in this song, I think the answer is in the question.

12-23-09 Three Rivers

2010-12-23T23:35:00.000-08:00

a sprightly guitar instrumental. Link.

12-22-09 Four Rivers

2010-12-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

Sheer absurdity. The title came from an internet pattern identification game to which Sarah and I are addicted. The song has nothing to do with the game. Link.

12-21-09 Stupid Stupid Fear

2010-12-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

This one's pretty bleak. They can't all be happy and shiny. Link.

12-20-09 See The Only One You Can Find

2010-12-20T23:05:00.000-08:00

Back in Seattle after holidays with the family. Interesting how the tone of the pieces changes from jovial to melancholic for this period.

The vocal line was a melody that had been brewing for some time. The lyrics were pretty much just placeholders, although I like their obfuscatory nature listening back to them now. Link.

12-19-09 Chili Dump

2010-12-19T19:52:00.000-08:00

This day last year was our early Christmas celebration with the Ackermann family. Instead of a traditional turkey dinner, the family does what is affectionately known as the Chili Dump - everyone brings in a pot of chili. Because what's better than chili for dinner? Three different kinds of chili, that's what.

My nephew Shane (who was in 8th grade when this was recorded) is the co-writer and co-performer on this one. With a song title like 'Chili Dump', it would be a crime if the song didn't have a hot trombone solo in it. Thanks, Shane!

Shane and Snuggie.

12-18-09 Beer & Bowling

2010-12-19T00:39:00.000-08:00

It's a night out for the Ackermann clan, Milwaukee-style: brewery tour, TGI Friday's, bowling, and karaoke. An epic night. Everything in this song is true.

12-17-09 Chicken Foot

2010-12-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

...And we move from Cribbage on to dominoes. We played this slightly maddening variation on traditional dominoes called Chicken Tracks. You can build off of other dominoes in groups of three to make patterns that look like - you guessed it - chicken tracks.

The reason it's maddening is that the tracks can be built off of any other domino, so that by the end of the game the table is a chaotic mess of dominoes pointing in all directions. Not unlike what real chicken tracks must look like. So the song is just a little bit maddening, too. I really love the way it turned out, though, especially the messy splats of high notes played on the wrong side of the bridge of the mandolin. Here it is!

12-16-09 Summer Bees

2010-12-16T23:16:00.000-08:00

Some nice imagery in this one. Channeling Dear Prudence a bit. I've never tried out fingerstyle picking on the mandolin before; it makes for nice textures. Link.

12-15-09 Living In A Glass Box

2010-12-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

I like that this song is fragile. The kind of song that someone actually in a glass box might sing, with lots of icy and pristine mandolin parts reverberating off of smooth walls.

And now, a Philip Glass Box:

12-14-09 Play It As It Lays

2010-12-15T22:12:00.000-08:00

A song about getting along. Link.

12-13-09 Cribbage, Baby

2010-12-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't know how to play cribbage. It's in my blood. So whenever I go home for the holidays, the board is always out. So this song is my feeble attempt to sex up an ostensibly geeky card game. Those of you who have never played cribbage before, ignore the weird game references and just make sweet love to this groove. (Sweet lovin' groove courtesy of Garageband; all other sounds programmed by me.)

12-12-09 Why I'm Doing This

2010-12-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

A reaffirmation of why it's important to me to do the song a day project, and to try to touch people with music in the first place. Link.

12-11-09 Dr. Kegel

2010-12-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

First night in Milwaukee = Friday Night Fish Fry. For those of you who didn't grow up in the midwest like me, the Friday fish fry is akin to a religious experience. Deep-fried lake perch (or cod, if you're a heathen), tartar, coleslaw, potato pancakes, applesauce. Nothing like it.

The neighborhood restaurant my family chose this time around was a cozy little place called Kegel's Inn. Now, of course, the name Kegel is probably a rather common German name, but I can't hear it without thinking about kegel exercises ('doing your kegels'). In this song, I think there's a subliminal (and slightly perverse) connection between Dr. Kegel's fish fry emporium and the kegel exercise, but I'd rather not think too hard about it.

12-10-09 Goin' To Milwaukee

2010-12-10T09:03:00.001-08:00

...And now the baritone has turned into a full-on basso profundo. (Well, not profundo, let's say moderato.)

We were heading to my hometown of Milwaukee for the holidays. The song details some Ackermann family holiday traditions, at least up to the last verse.

12-9-09 In Reverse

2010-12-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Throwaway lyrics. Nursing a head cold, so my froggy baritone vocals shine through on this one. Link.

12-8-09 In Bed

2010-12-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just want to stay in bed all day. Link.

12-7-09 Hang Up

2010-12-08T00:12:00.000-08:00

Back in April, Sarah and I had taken a trip to San Francisco to see our friends Aaron and Bronwyn. Aaron plays this wonderful bizarre instrument called the hang, a sort of inverted steel drum that is played by hand instead of mallets. (I recorded a couple pieces with it during the trip - here and here.)

While visiting Seattle, they bestowed on us a fantastic late wedding gift - a brand new Halo, which is the close cousin to the hang. That's the instrument featured in today's piece.

12-6-09 Carry The Water

2010-12-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

The lyrics in this one are inconsequential, but I like the chord progression a lot. Future mining of this song may happen. Link.

12-5-09 Late Night

2010-12-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

Stars and sidewalks. Link.

12-4-09 Madrone in A

2010-12-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Aaron for supplying the title for this one. Our conversation that night featured a lively discussion of Madrona trees and what makes a particular body of water a 'sound'. I decided to combine the two topics (in a somewhat hallucinatory fashion).

12-3-09 North South East West

2010-12-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

This is another West inspired piece. It's a wordplay song - four word phrases all beginning with the letters 'N', 'S', 'E', and 'W' (as if you couldn't figure it out from listening to it once). Although it's very simple and repetitive, there's something really alluring about this particular stream of consciousness. Some of the phrases would make great lyrical subjects.

12-2-09 I'm Waiting Here

2010-12-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

Bluesy and inconsequential. Link.

Vicodin Taffy

2010-12-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

The title of this song came out of a late night conversation/argument with Kirk and David. I'm not sure how the argument actually spurred the creation of the phrase, but it must have been a really interesting argument. It's a fun little bit of circus nausea. Link.

11-30-09 Needing

2010-12-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

A simple, pretty little imagined memory about longing. The $19 guitar makes another wistful appearance. Link.

11-29-09 Bike Eating Tree

2010-11-30T23:50:00.000-08:00

A long time ago on Vashon Island, someone parked a bike next to a small sapling and forgot about it. Eventually, the tree grew around the tree and subsumed it. Of course, we needed to see this marvel of nature. And I needed to write a song about it.

11-28-09 Millions

2010-11-30T00:21:00.000-08:00

A statement about the epidemic of wasted time. My favorite part is the garageband gamelan sample that so nicely meshes with the ukulele. Link.

11-27-09 On Vashon

2010-11-28T00:33:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I took a little vacation to Vashon Island. A little travelogue of our first day there. Link.

11-26-09 Catch As Catch Can

2010-11-28T00:10:00.000-08:00

I understand what this expression means, but I'm still mystified about its origins. I mean, it sounds like nonsense, right? But, when it's used in the right context, I love it. Like Ned Plimpton does in The Life Aquatic. I couldn't find a clip, but go see the movie if you haven't already. That's where the title came from. Seu Jorge is an integral part of that film, and I think the overall sound of this piece is reminiscent of his stuff (with a little Iron and Wine thrown in for good measure). One of my favorite patchworks of sound from the year. Link.

11-25-09 Rainy Night

2010-11-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

This song was played on a guitar made of a shoebox, paper towel roll, and rubber bands. (Musical instrument crafts for kids! That end up being way harder to execute than you thought! So that you're basically just making it for them rather than showing them how it's done! How do I get out of these parentheses!) Notice the Eddie Van Halen stripes on it. I don't think the kids appreciated the reference.

The song itself is a lame attempt at a Tom Waitsian ramble.

11-24-09 At The End Of It All

2010-11-26T00:13:00.000-08:00

This day found me thinking about time. Spending, wasting, taking. Link.

11-23-09 Fixing It

2010-11-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes things just stay broken. Link.

11-22-09 Untitled #83

2010-11-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite instrumentals of the year. Link.

11-21-09 Summer's Far Away

2010-11-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

The companion piece to Summer's In The Air. Bleakness and gray and great beauty. Link.

11-20-09 They Love You

2010-11-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need to be reminded that the people in your life are there for a reason. Don't take them for granted. Spent your limited time on earth wisely. Link.

11-19-09 hasta luego!

2010-11-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

Guitar part provided by a cheap little children's toy. Todo el mundo es loco. Link.

11-18-09 Did It Taste Bad, Pa?

2010-11-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

This will take some explaining.

During the course of the Intiman show (Abe Lincolin in Illinois), I came to memorize large sections of the text. (I was onstage for about 80% of the show. I played music for about 10% of it.) The language was very colloquial, and bits of this antiquated dialogue would get stuck in my head.

I got the idea to record a bit of dialogue from every member of the cast - just a word or a catch phrase, if they happened to have one. (The only exception was Langston, who played fiddle during the show, so it made sense record a sample of his playing.) The idea was to make a sort of aleatory piece, a la The Books, something that incorporated these bits of text into a musical form. One of the young actors in the show, Hannah, speaks a line as Abe's son, asking him about the medicine used to treat a sick child. I discovered that the way she said the line had a very distinct melody. That's how it all started out. Throw in a dance beat, and it pretty much writes itself.

I don't expect it to make much sense to anyone not involved with the show, but for me, it's hilarious and awesome. Thanks to the cast for making this weird piece happen.

11-17-09 Two Days To Freedom

2010-11-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

This was referring to the fact that I had two days of performances of the Intiman show left. By the end of it, it felt like my life had been hijacked. I was more than ready to be done. link.

11-16-09 MC Johann

2010-11-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

Um, say what? John is rapping? I guess it was just a matter of time. Beastie Boys meets the suburbs. Bass part is me, drums are garageband. fresh link.

11-15-09 Cannot Lose Another Day

2010-11-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

Breezy and free, but with a message. Don't waste the time you've got. Link.

11-14-09 60 Cycle Serenade

2010-11-16T23:30:00.000-08:00

Inspiration comes from strange places sometimes.

The drone in this song was inspired by listening to a shorted-out streetlight while waiting for a ride home. When I first noticed it, it was annoying, but then I listened closer and realized that there was a very strong fundamental pitch underneath all of the electric growling. I recorded a snippet on my crappy cellphone, enough to get the feel of it and determine what the actual note was (B). The actual drone in the piece was a looped accordion note that was bitcrushed by Garageband. The build of the piece is really striking to me, and clocking in at over 6 minutes, wins the award for the longest piece of the year.

11-13-09 The Light In The Mud Room

2010-11-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

I don't think I'd ever heard the term 'mud room' until moving to Seattle. That's kind of telling. I like this song, especially the fact that it starts with the word 'and'. Link.

11-12-09 Blue Sky, Clear Cold Wind

2010-11-12T21:35:00.000-08:00

Can you tell that fall is coming on? Link.

11-11-09 Cooter Pie

2010-11-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Russell Hodgkinson for the inspiration for this song, provided backstage during performances of Abe Lincoln In Illinois. I think his version is much better, but I believe it may be lost in the mists of time.

I almost sound like an actual blues guitarist in this song. Almost.

11-10-09 Event Horizon

2010-11-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

As near as I can tell, I think this might be about my resistance to join Facebook. I've since relented. Thanks to Garageband for the steady and predictable congas. Link.

11-9-09 I Don't Wanna Do This

2010-11-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

Clearly I was having a rough day. Burning the candle at both ends, doing 9 performances a week at the Intiman, working during the day, and trying to write a song every day. Rough stuff. Sometimes the best you can do is to complain about what you don't want to do, and then do it anyway. Link.

11-8-09 Let's Get The Hell Out Of Here

2010-11-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

A song about starting over. Link.

11-7-09 I Don't Have The Time

2010-11-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

A simple song about the march of time and making peace with it. Link.

11-6-09 Untitled #79

2010-11-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Played on my $19 acoustic guitar. Cheaper guitar = more wistful back porch longing! Link.

11-5-09 Rolling Blackout

2010-11-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Fall storms in effect. Link.

11-4-09 Somebody Give Me The Time Of Day

2010-11-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

Very rarely do I write songs with any form of social commentary; I'm not a good enough lyricist to pull it off without sounding too preachy. This song approaches social commentary, but it's more of an observation of an archetype than a comment on the homeless. Uh, what did I just write? Just listen to the song. Link.

11-3-09 Ginger's In The Fridge

2010-11-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

Nursing a cold. Nothing like a little fresh ginger tea to help the throat. Link.

11-2-09 Halve It Your Way

2010-11-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

Half of nothing is still nothing. Link.

11-01-09 Buried In November

2010-11-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

This time of year is pretty trying on me, so it's only natural that I should write possibly the saddest song I've ever written. Totally fictional, thankfully, but it still gives me chills listening to it. Thanks to David for the use of his mountain dulcimer in this song - it definitely adds to the melancholy. Link.

10-31-09 See You In Your Underwear

2010-11-01T22:02:00.001-07:00

There is only one thing you need to know about this song: Ba ba bup ba ba.

10-30-09 Dumb It Down

2010-11-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Some off-the-cuff lyrics, and a cat solo. Link.

10-29-09 Everywhere Am I

2010-11-01T21:49:00.001-07:00

I think I'd been listening to a little too much Radiohead (if that's possible). Still, garagebandy drum beat aside, this turned out pretty cool. I distinctly remember recording this at the dining room table; I have no idea why. Link.

10-28-09 Carry

2010-11-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

A moody little piano tune. Link.

10-27-09 Humming Uke Tune

2010-11-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Ah, the Lydian mode. John Osebold has taught me to love the lydian.

As Robyn Hitchcock says, the song is its own introduction to itself. Link.

10-26-09 Wanting

2010-11-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

Although it's a bit short, I really love this one. It skates on the knife's edge of oblique and concrete. Did I just write that? Yikes. Link.

10-25-09 Immortality

2010-11-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a song where I claim not to believe in immortality. Of course, I am writing this blog that will sit out in cyberspace for the foreseeable future, and I am also having a child soon, so I guess I want to believe in it just a little. This song turned out nicely. Link

10-24-09 Light It On Fire

2010-11-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Nihilistically optimistic. Makes you want to light stuff on fire while singing it. I actually had a short firebug period as a kid. No one got hurt. Except for the ants under the magnifying glass. Link.

10-23-09 A Certain Virtue

2010-11-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Simple, and cautiously optimistic. Link.

10-22-09 Absolutely Nothing

2010-11-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

One of those days when a dearth of lyrical ideas actually makes for a catchy little tune. Link.

10-21-09 In The Untimely Event

2010-11-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Speaking of untimely, I'm slightly embarrassed by how far behind I've gotten on these posts. Hey, I'm having a kid. Leave me alone. Kidding! Please come back.

Link.

Food for worms.

10-20-09 My Curry

2010-10-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

The latest hit at all the dance clubs. Where no one is dancing. Link.

10-19-09 Once I Was

2010-10-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Sounding a bit like Iron and Wine on this one. Not the best performance of it, but it feels like a complete idea to me. I like it. Link.

10-18-09 Future Booty

2010-10-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

Drums by Garageband, the rest by me. Kick ass bass, sexy absurd/chic. Gimme gimme gimme! Link.

10-17-09 In Deep

2010-10-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

I think that with this one, all I really had was the one little short guitar loop. It didn't occur to me until later in the year to add the weird stacked vocals. Tone clustery! Link.

10-16-09 Meh

2010-10-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

John angry. John need to play sloppy loud electric guitar. John feel better. Link.

10-15-09 Case

2010-10-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of time carting around instruments in cases, so it's only natural to dream about consolidating my home with my guitar's home. Don't judge me. Link.

10-14-09 Warning

2010-10-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

This is not a test. Link.

10-13-09 Helicopter

2010-10-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

I was driving to work on this day, and I have a very clear recollection of seeing helicopter seeds swirling high up in the air while I was stopped at a traffic light. link.

10-12-09 One More Hour

2010-10-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

Creepy piano, nice arrangement, winter encroaching. Link.

10-11-09 Phil Collins

2010-10-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

Written after reading about how Phil might never play the drums again. Which would make me sad. It would make me less sad if the spinal injury that precipitated this news hampered his shmaltzy songwriting rather than the ability to hold his drumsticks. Because, let's face it, he's a badass on the drums.

This song is not badass.

10-10-09 Winter's Calling Card

2010-10-10T22:41:00.001-07:00

Written and recorded outdoors in the courtyard outside Intiman Theatre on a dinner break from Abe Lincoln In Illinois. Link.

10-9-09 Fish Ladder

2010-10-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places in Seattle is the Ballard Locks. The fish ladder is what helps the upstream-bound salmon from Puget Sound through the locks and to their source, to spawn and die. Link.

10-8-09 Melancholy

2010-10-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

A nice little song scrap featuring Weezy the Accordion! link.

10-7-09 Baltimore

2010-10-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

A little doo-wop for my traveling wife, with a little reference to The Wire thrown in at the very end. link.

10-6-09 Phineas Gage

2010-10-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:

Phineas P. Gage (July 9?, 1823 – May 21, 1860)[n 2] was an American railroad construction foreman now remembered for his incredible survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior—effects so profound that friends saw him as "no longer Gage."

link.

10-5-09 Your Hands

2010-10-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

This song would be great with a full band arrangement - it needs an emo treatment of some sort. That 12-string arpeggio needs to be a bass guitar. I like this song. Link.

10-4-09 Ohio's A Piano

2010-10-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

Based on a random email that Rob sent out. I'd like to think that either the Ohio Chamber Of Commerce or Baldwin Pianos might pick this song up as their state anthem/jingle.

10-3-09 Autumn's Tugging At My Sleeve

2010-10-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

A nice moody piece heralding the season of melancholy. Shades of Jose Gonzalez. Link.

10-2-09 Don't You Go Spreadin' Yer Pizen

2010-10-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, there, o tens of readers. Sorry, I fell off the wagon for a bit. This whole getting-ready-to-be-a-dad thing takes up a fair amount of psychic energy. And the countdown continues...

Last year, I was part of a production at Intiman Theatre called Abe Lincoln In Illinois. I was onstage for most of the show, in my musician corner, and got to hear (and almost memorize) large sections of dialogue. One bit of dialogue that tickled me considerably was that of a country ruffian threatening a newcomer to their town for defaming President Andrew Jackson. This song goes out to Matt Shimkus (who's just become a dad himself). Link.

10-1-09 The Only Way To Survive

2010-10-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

A song about backsliding. Link.

9-30-09 Not Your Friend

2010-10-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

One of my favorites of the Paul Gude songs. My attempt at a Mountain Goats type of song. Link.

9-29-09 Old And New

2010-09-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

A late night quiet song about old and new and stuff. Link.

9-28-09 A Song In Five Minutes

2010-09-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

This could be the theme song for this project. Link.

9-27-09 That's Not A Toy

2010-09-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

...it's my heart. link.

9-26-09 Braniel

2010-09-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Written after attending the wedding of my two friends Daniel and Brangien. There was mention at some point during the reception of the two of them joining together to create this super-being called 'Braniel'. Happy anniversary, you two!

9-25-09 Jerk With A Chip

2010-09-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

You're keeping a secret
Like a monogrammed sentiment
On the quilt of the misbegotten
So get bent

link

9-24-09 Yesterday

2010-09-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Different Yesterday. link.

9-23-09 Log Jam

2010-09-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

The name of a one-off night we did at Seattle Center for Winterfest last year. Pretty much completely nonsensical. I kind of love it. Especially the ridiculous guitar tone cluster meltdown at the end. link.