This whole blog post is super meta, but I'm going through with it anyways. I've divided my work into 3 different tiers. So here I am reviewing my own music. Let's go!
TIER 3: MY LEAST FAVORITE SONG
"No"
Appears on The Pressure Of Days
Recorded Feb 2021
So I hate listening to my singing voice. I hate it. And this is easily, by far my least favorite listening experience for me when it comes to vocal performance. I like how the guitar sounds slightly reverbed and naked. I like the little bass solo. I like the consistently depressive mood the lyrics set. But what in God's name am I trying to do with my voice?
To answer that, I'm trying to sound like Elvis Costello. And I fail miserably. The song has some upbeat moments and clever rhyme schemes, much a like an Elvis Costello song. But the lyrics are too depressive and the half-hearted vocal energy just doesn't fit the song at all.
TIER 2: THE REALLY GOOD SONGS
"Plight"
Appears on Songs From A Basement
Recorded March 2018
This short and simple track is the opener on my Songs From A Basement EP. Honestly, I think it drives people away from listening to the whole EP. It's not exciting. It's not the most musically engaging thing in the world. But I think it's a well-written song.
Drawing vocal inspiration from the likes of Mark Kozelek and Will Oldham, this is a conversation between a narrator and a friend who both suffer from depression. The narrator can't necessarily "help" his friend, but can only offer that he and his friend at least struggle together. I came up with the guitar riff in an attempt to sound like 90s Radiohead or Oasis.
"Reach / Close"
Appears on Songs From A Basement
Recorded March 2018
I've had 1 friend claim this is their favorite song of mine. This could be one of my favorites. I just wish I could rewrite some of the lyrics. And re-record this one part of the 2nd verse where my producer made a blatant vocal editing mistake. He won't be reading this, by the way.
So yeah, the general message here is recognizing you've always felt distant from the world. I like the vocal hook on the chorus. I like the riff that cycles through the latter end of the song (wish it was electric, but that's another story). This was a rushed session where I recorded 2 songs in 2 hours. I think it's worth noting that during this session, I was in the middle of suffering a severe/chronic hemiplegic migraine that lasted about 3 weeks and ended with a trip to the hospital. My senses were numb and I couldn't really "feel" anything. I tired to at least give this song some feeling.
"19"
Appears on The Pressure Of Days
Recorded Feb 2021
Technically, from a production standpoint, I think this song turned out the best from my Pressure Of Days sessions. The electric and acoustic guitars are mixed real well together. The jerky guitar that plays throughout the background of the whole song turned out nice. My voice hits the highest note I've ever sang--a high B--and I hit it 10 times. The whole vocal approach here kinda comes off frantic and neurotic, but it's supposed to be that way.
I originally wrote this while taking a sabbatical from modern pop music on my mission in 2010. I came back from my mission and realized the whole thing was a ripoff of Built To Spill's "Carry The Zero." I made some minor changes and recorded it in 2021.
"A Year"
Appears on The Pressure Of Days
Recorded Feb 2021
I've heard multiple people compliment me on this song, and it kinda boggles me. It's mostly just my voice with an acoustic guitar. I mumble more than I sing. I only play a couple chords. And it's freaking 6 minutes long. I did not think people would like this.
In my defense...When I play it back it doesn't feel like a 6-minute song. It flows real naturally. And the vocal approach and lyrics are interesting and sad enough to keep me invested.
TIER 1: MY PERSONAL FAVORITE SONGS
"Memory Suite"
Appears on Songs From A Basement
Recorded Summer 2016
So this is an odd pick. Most people don't really like this song. I've heard little feedback on it. But hear me out on this. For just vocals and acoustic guitar, I think this is a super interesting song.
The suite is divided into 3 parts. I wrote the 1st part in 2009. I wrote the 3rd part in 2010. I wrote the 2nd part in 2013. Somewhere down the line I was like, "What if we just cram all these melodies into the same song?" I think it turned out well. My producer even claimed this was my "A-side" of the 2 songs I recorded with him.
I think the beginning the of this song is great. I wanted it to sound like Animal Collective's Sung Tongs or Fleet Foxes (who only had 1 album at the time). With dual vocal harmonies and a complex guitar solo, I at least give it artistic justice. I think people get turned off by the weird middle portion of this song, but I personally enjoy the aesthetic of it all. I wanted it sound like acoustic My Bloody Valentine, drenched in reverb. My producer said the guitar style reminded him of blues, which is cool. The final part of the song is just a nice little ditty, with lyrics that are supposed to be nonsensical. Like, they really, really aren't supposed to mean anything. And I just love hearing my voice sound so youthful!
"Shoulda Tried To Hold Your Hand"
Appears on Songs From A Basement
Recorded Summer 2016
I wrote this song in 2010. Like "19," I didn't realize until after my mission that the lead guitar part was "stolen" from a real song. That riff sounds a lot like "Leave Me Like You Found Me" by Wilco. But I dare say I improved upon it. As Jay-Z once rapped: "You were using it wrong / You made it a hot line / I made it a hot song."
So this is my most popular track off Songs From A Basement, and for good reason. This is catchy from front-to-back. It was my most instrumentally layered song at the time, complete with electric guitars and tambourine. It's often been compared to The Beach Boys, which is both a seminal compliment and an obvious influence. I wanted this to sound like The Beach Boys making bedroom pop. It's just a sweet pop/rock song about missed romantic opportunities.
I got the song title from a 2009 Pitchfork blurb about Neon Indian's "Should Have Taken Acid With You." And when I sing "you gotta keep the summer alive," that's a reference to the freaking terrible Beach Boys album Keepin' The Summer Alive.
"Hey! Let's Go Stargazing!"
Appears on Hey! Let's Go Stargazing!
Recorded Oct 2020
This was my most instantly popular song on Bandcamp. Clocking in at just 2:17, it has more full plays than any other song I've shared. It's short, sweet, simple, and to-the-point.
Often referred to as "The Stargazing Song," there are just a lot of easily likable qualities here. This is my most trite song, but it comes with doses of sincerity and sentimental value. Has a nice melody. The driving acoustic guitar is influenced by Nick Drake, who would never write a song like this, but whatever.
I think I'm all-in on making this a single. I want to make a music video for this song. While it may not be the most defining example of my songwriting, and it's not my boldest track, it's the easiest one people can get on board with.
"Existing In America"
Appears on The Pressure Of Days
Recorded Feb 2021
I guess if we were to round up production, performance, and songwriting, this might be the most unique song I've ever written. It has 2 verses and 3 choruses with a bridge in the middle, so nothing revolutionary there. But honestly--straight up--I don't know any other songs that sound like this. At all.
I vocally go back-and-forth between whispering into the mic and yelling at it. This might turn some people off, but I don't know, I think it's unique. I stand by my choice to go no-drums on this track. I remember making references to Neil Young when talking with my producer about this track. But come to think of it, what Neil Young song sounds like this? I find the lyrics kinda strange (as if it really has anything to do with America). I love the guitar riff that plays at the end of the song. It's just interesting to find all these properties within the same track. Perhaps I was onto something when I wrote this.
So yeah, that's my review of my 9 studio-recorded, self-written songs. Shout out to my producers Patrick, John, Matt, and Dan for making this happen. I want to record some more music in the near future, but not just yet. I want to have a different feel and approach than my last project (The Pressure Of Days). I have tons of closet recordings on my Bandcamp page I should revisit.
If you made it this far, THANK YOU FOR READING. If you get the chance, I encourage you to listen to all my songs on Spotify as 1 collective unit. You get a better sense of my different songwriting and performance approaches. Here's a 35-minute playlist with all 9 of my songs. Feel free to listen to this casually or shuffle through it or whatever.
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