the marble tea weblog

listening to richard brautigan

2012-01-29T20:54:00.000-05:00

MP3: Listening to Richard Brautigan

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing at marbletea.com. Rock on.

quebec city

2011-10-01T13:54:00.000-04:00

MP3: Quebec City

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing at marbletea.com. Rock on.

2011-09-01T00:46:00.001-04:00

MP3: Carry A Lamp

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing at marbletea.com. Rock on.

a little like elvis

2011-07-31T16:49:00.001-04:00

MP3: A Little Like Elvis

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing at marbletea.com. Rock on.

You Are Like the River

2011-06-27T20:32:00.002-04:00

MP3: You Are Like the River

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing at marbletea.com. Rock on.

1-2-3 Sew!

2011-06-18T19:44:00.002-04:00

MP3: 1-2-3 Sew!

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing at marbletea.com. Rock on.

classic cars

2011-04-30T20:30:00.001-04:00

MP3: Classic Cars (2.3 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

never trust a seagull in penguin pajamas

2011-03-31T21:21:00.002-04:00

MP3: Never Trust a Seagull in Penguin Pajamas (5.8 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

a great moving wave of bliss

2011-02-09T12:50:00.002-05:00

MP3: A Great Moving Wave of Bliss (6.3 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

one snowflake for your thoughts

2010-12-28T20:40:00.002-05:00

MP3: One Snowflake for Your Thoughts (6.1 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

tryptophan

2010-11-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

MP3: Tryptophan (6.3 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

zombie love

2010-10-30T17:22:00.000-04:00

MP3: Zombie Love (5.9 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

painting a cat

2010-09-30T00:19:00.002-04:00

MP3: Painting A Cat (Earwig Version) (4.3 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

meet me at the gulf of mexico

2010-09-01T15:55:00.002-04:00

MP3: Meet Me at the Gulf of Mexico (iPhone Demo) (1.8 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

petri dish

2010-07-29T17:41:00.001-04:00

MP3: Petri Dish Demo (2.7 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

the buddha or the bomb

2010-06-29T22:23:00.001-04:00

MP3: The Buddha or the Bomb (6.1 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

asleep & dreaming

2010-05-25T16:59:00.000-04:00

MP3: Asleep & Dreaming (3.5 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

sunny afternoon

2010-04-14T13:24:00.002-04:00

MP3: Sunny Afternoon (4.2 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

travel light on your road

2010-03-16T17:09:00.001-04:00

MP3: Travel Light on Your Road (2.9 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

i'd rather see you than avatar

2010-02-23T18:50:00.001-05:00

MP3: I'd Rather See You Than Avatar (2 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

9 stories

2010-01-31T17:41:00.002-05:00

MP3: 9 Stories (2.2 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

PS: There's a video with this song at the marble tea site....

masti love theme

2010-01-19T12:23:00.002-05:00

MP3: Masti Love Theme (3.6 mb)

Thanks for listening! This blog entry simply provides a feed for the iTunes podcast. If you'd like to get the full scoop about this song and many more, please visit the marble tea webthing. Rock on.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2009-12-23T13:27:00.003-05:00

MP3: Let It Snow (2 mb)

I love snow. Probably because, growing up in the Deep South, there wasn't a lot of it around. Oh sure, we managed a flurry most years, but accumulation was a rare and meager thing: one inch and the whole town shut down. White Christmas? I didn't know what that song was about until I was a teenager, since having snow on Christmas Day was never even a remote consideration.

Living in New Jersey these past nine years has allowed me to get to know snow better, and I still love it. Yes, it comes on big and brawny sometimes, and shoveling it is a royal pain, but as long as it's cold outside it might as well be pretty, says I. And it is, at least until it gets mucked up along the roadways with all the dirt and grime of life and travel. Ah, but we must take the black with the white. Always.

Here's a view out my window when I was recording yesterday:

And that brings us to this month's song. Written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in July 1945 (in Hollywood of all places), it's always been one of my favorites of the Holiday Season. But that's kind of a shame really, that it's so closely associated with Christmas...there's no mention of that joyously celebrated day anywhere in the song, its authors were Jewish, and it was written in the middle of the Summer in Hollywood, CA for Pete's Sake!

As lauded as the these two songsmiths are, I know that I'm not the only person to think the opening couplet should have been written slightly differently, and I took the liberty to do just that. You're welcome.

So - while I present this version as a Christmas song, even though the tone is more somber than festive - remember that it's okay to sing it whenever snow may appear throughout the year. Even if you're noshing Gefilte fish by a pool under the bloody red sun of phantastic L.A.

Happy Holidays to you!

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is tom hanks giving you a hard time?

2009-11-30T15:31:00.003-05:00

MP3: Is Tom Hanks Giving You A Hard Time? (3.7 mb)

Thanksgiving came and went without so much as a burp, if by burp you mean song (and I do). This song was intended to be a song for that holiday, but well you know me and so it's moved along and become probably just what it wanted to be all along: not that at all. Oh there's still some Thanksgiving in it - we haven't finished all of our turkey, after all - but it's mostly Tom Hanks giving you a hard time, not me. Just let it go....

Coincidentally, if you believe in that sort of thing, Mr. Hanks appears on David Letterman tonight. I did not plan that.

IS TOM HANKS GIVING YOU A HARD TIME?

Tom Hanks is a movie star
Cadillac is a fancy car
The Pavilion was my favorite bar
But it's gone gone gone

Tom Hanks in a rocket ship
Section 25 From the Hip
Can't kiss if you got no lip
It's just gone gone gone

It's gone, all these things have gone
But I'm happy for the other things
That keep coming along

Bosom Buddies and a face like mine
Slice of pizza and a jug of wine
Skinny-dippin' back in '89
It's just gone gone gone

It's gone, all these things have gone
But I'm happy for the other things
That keep coming along

Is Tom Hanks giving you a hard time?
Is Tom Hanks giving you a hard time?
Is Tom Hanks giving you a hard time?
Just let it go, let it go...

Ol' da Vinci never had a clue
That I may be more than quarter Jew
Or about the things you like to chew
He's just gone gone gone

Is Tom Hanks giving you a hard time?
Is Tom Hanks giving you a hard time?
Is Tom Hanks giving you a hard time?
Just let it go, let it go...

Tom Hanks on a fated trip
Jungle dancing in a sexy slip
Give me one of those I'd like a sip
And we're gone gone gone

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lonesome vampire bill

2009-10-31T12:00:00.005-04:00

MP3: Lonesome Vampire Bill (4 mb)

Perhaps there's no better time for a sacrilege than Halloween.

As the end of this month was drawing nigh and I was finally finding some time to work on this month's song, I decided to do something in the frightful orange spirit of this holiday. I've been catching up on the first season of True Blood (having abandoned it last year as too not for me after watching the first episode...vampires don't socialize with humans, after all), and I'm enjoying it now. I somehow got sucked in - if you'll allow me to stick my neck out and say that - for the second season and so had to go back and find out the things I'd missed. Netflix to the rescue.

Well, two days ago I was driving around listening to the Velvet Underground's Loaded, and an idea hit me. I hit it back, because there was no way I was going to take one of Lou's songs and bastardize it into a tune about a TV vampire. I'm not Weird Al Yankovic you know. For better or worse, I'm not Joe Louis either so I succumbed to the idea's punches and have carved out this hopefully enjoyable quick, rough and nasty for you. Happy Halloween!

Here's the original for you:

LONESOME VAMPIRE BILL

Lonesome Vampire Bill cries the blood red tears
Lonesome Vampire Bill, you've got to see him
Face your darkest fears

Lonesome Vampire Bill cries the tears so red
Ever since the Rebels fell, cries the tears so red
Drinkin' True yeah, suckin' Sook
You gotta see him go
And all those fang-bangin' girls
Well they just don't know

Lonesome Vampire Bill cries the blood red tears
Lonesome Vampire Bill, you've got to see him
Face your darkest fears

Oh, Lonesome Vampire Bill still cries the tears so red
Up around Merlotte's Bar she can't see inside his head
Sometimes even Shreveport, down by Fangtasia
And all those fang-bangin' girls
Oh well they still just don't know

Lonesome Vampire Bill cries the blood red tears
Lonesome Vampire Bill, you've got to see him
Face your darkest fears

You've got to see him when he looks at her
In the evening and she's in distress
You got to see all the people scream and shout
They call him
Lonesome Vampire Bill
Lonesome Vampire Bill
He goes, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!"

Lonesome Vampire Bill cries the blood red tears
Lonesome Vampire Bill, you've got to see him
Face your darkest fears

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twenty-seven angels from the great beyond

2009-09-29T14:58:00.002-04:00

MP3: Because We Are the Sky (4.4 mb)

When someone tapes your voice, does it sound strange to you when you hear it played back? Mine does, as it does for so many people. The sound I hear myself making from inside my head, from within the acoustical confines of my skull I suppose, is often embarrassingly different from the sound emitting from the tape recorder. And I wonder if this implies a certain lack of self-awareness, or if it's a matter of the way sound behaves in different spaces (inside a head, for instance, as opposed to out in the open air or magnetically captured onto tape). I have a feeling it's the former, unfortunately.

Singing can be a whole 'nother thing because we're making noises with our voices that hopefully equate to certain notes on a musical scale. Often, a singer hitting wrong notes in a song can ruin the performance, but at other times it doesn't seem to matter. Lloyd Cole once said something like, "I learned from Bob Dylan and Lou Reed that you don't have to have a great voice to be a great singer," and I think that's true. Most of the singers that I like would rarely be accused of having great voices, but there's something about their delivery that just fits the songs they sing.

And that, in a weird sort of way, brings us around to this month's entry in the ever-rolling Marble Tea songfest. I'll be the first to admit that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing when it comes to singing (or tuning instruments, keeping time, etc.), but when I was recording this song I had the definite idea in my head that I should sound like Matt Berninger of The National in order to fully convey the mood I was hearing in my head. And in a way, in my head, I did indeed sound like him. The tape, on the other hand, reveals a totally different story.

So, if you really want to get a feel for my intention with this song, put yourself in my head and we'll be somewhere in the ballpark. It's just another ditty about the magic of universal consciousness after all....

BECAUSE WE ARE THE SKY

I'll tell you one thing I have learned
There's never a good time to be burned
On a stake
With your hands pure and soul like silver
And your eyes wide to life's one river

I'll give you one night to rehearse
The melody and the phrasing of the verse
Of the moon
That reflects into your dark cover
Telling you there is just one lover

And it knows it's you
And it knows it's you

So we ride, because we are the sky
And we are the sky so we ride

I'll take you away from your heart
And we'll glide along like sisters in the dark
To reveal
That our shadow selves are anchored to us
Like the wave of light that shines right through us

And you know it's you
And you know it's you

So we ride, because we are the sky
And we are the sky so we ride

If you're playing around on Facebook, come be a friend at facebook.com/marbletea, and also be sure to check out the progress of my forthcoming EP at trumanshat.wordpress.com where I show you how you can make your own fun recordings from the comfort of your home, singing chops not required. Thanks for listening!

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in a beat-up grace kelly car

2009-08-25T13:18:00.006-04:00

MP3: Truman's Hat (Previsited) (3.4 mb)

Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of Truman Capote, one of my favorite writers.

Truman possessed that glorious ability to dream-up an excellent story and then craft it into perfection with the precision and grace of a masterful wordsmith. From humble beginnings, he rose to enjoy the riches of celebrity, and floated about in its high circles with effortless aplomb, soon charming himself into the talks and toasts of many...just as he had expected. He was also quite the tiny tyrant at times, often becoming an embarrassment to himself and those around him with his uncontrollable boozing and fiery tongue.

His speaking voice was an instantly recognizable extension of his appearance and personality, and he was always an entertaining guest when making his myriad talk show appearances throughout the 60's and 70's, often baffling the young me with his curious persona. How could I have known that this somewhat toadish man-boy had once been young and handsome, a thrilling fireball of creativity and joie de vivre? (That's him in 1949 on this Smiths' single cover from 1985.)

But it's his writing voice that gets into you. And, in the end, it's that writing voice that will speak for him throughout the ages.

And if you're wondering, my favorite book by him - generally speaking - is Music for Chameleons, a collection of short stories and essays. But that may change with the next one I revisit.

Years ago, in his honor, I'd written a little tune called Truman's Hat that I hoped would help me get a better handle on him, genius bag of contradictions that he was (he reportedly once said that he was more interested in the truth than he was in the facts). I recorded the song a few times throughout the years, and this month's mp3 is a hopefully hypnotic instrumental version of it.

A full version with lyrics appears on my next "official" release (plug plug), due out early September. I'm doing something different this time in that I'm going to try to chronicle not only some of the recording of the EP, but also the ways I actually go about getting it onto CD and then promote and sell it...cheaply and mostly effortlessly of course. My desire is that some of you who might think to yourself, "I oughta record some music and put it out there" will find some inspiration and guidance to get you started. So if you want to follow along, check out the new site I've set up for it here.

And, lest we forget:

Two quotes from Truman Capote:

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

and

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make.

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he landed right on target but the target rolled away

2009-07-23T20:50:00.004-04:00

MP3: Why Can't I Say What I Mean? (3.3 mb)

I share a birthday with Thomas Edison and claimed him as a hero from a very young age, even going so far as to cause chemistry set explosions in my closet many mornings before walking off to school. I've had many heroes since, but find it slightly ironic that one of my latest icons was an arch-nemesis of Mr. Edison's, a Serbian visionary whose name even to this day isn't given the credit it's due.

With that in mind, I'm pleased to announce that A Score for Tesla: Music from the film Megahertz is available for download, and FREE even until the end of this month! Donations entitle you to higher quality sound files, if you're of an audiophilic nature.

MHz (Megahertz) is an enlightening film from Jordan Graye at Anam Cara Productions that's about a self-destructive radio DJ who encounters Nikola Tesla in the afterlife, and the ways they help each other work through the tattered energies of their lives. While the story deals with the emotional and spiritual dramas of the characters, it also provides quite a bit of insight into the enigmatic inventor's personal and professional life as it aims to set the records straight about Tesla's massive contribution to the modern world. An excellent film, and I was honored to be involved.

The film also includes a few Marble Tea tunes, as well as some music from another of my heroes, the recently coastal Max Eider. Sorry, folks...you'll have to hunt those songs down elsewhere. Also, I'm greatly indebted to Stephanie Bissonnette for her help and expertise in whipping the artwork for the Score into shape. Thanks, Steph!

Now, about this month's free mp3. The original version of this song appears on the I'm Batman EP (link subject to change soon), but I gave a shot at re-recording it about a year ago and just realized I never let you have it. So hear you go - a somber song for a rainy summer.

Oh and a final question for you. I think the iPhone is the first great consumer invention of the 21st century. What's your favorite invention?

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and he keeps them pearly white

2009-06-24T12:01:00.003-04:00

MP3: Inlet (3.8 mb)

The dragon roars from the other side of the canal, startling me from this sketch about something that may or may not have happened. It certainly could have I suppose, and possibly did somewhere.

Another exercise in repetition. Another exercise in repetition. I dream of one day writing a song with no repetitive elements. A song that grows, as Virgil Thomson has said, like a plant, organically flowering from root to stem to limbs stretching toward the Sun. A natural progression that builds upon itself and then takes leave of its previous melody and rhythm.

Today is not that day. The dragon is getting closer....

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not given lightly

2009-05-26T21:49:00.003-04:00

MP3: You Can't Believe What You're Doing (4.3 mb)

I can't believe you did that!

I like phrases like that because, depending upon the situation and tone of voice, it could be either a good thing or a bad thing. Even more intriguing is when it's both a good thing and a bad thing. I wonder how often that happens....

This song began as a sort of Chris Knox knock-off, but slowly morphed away from that, though I hope to have stolen a little bit of the feel he gets in his usually sparse productions.

YOU CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU'RE DOING

You can't believe what you're doing
You can't believe
[Sung 4 times]

When you watched it grow
Did you ever even know
You would learn to love it so

And you can't believe what you're doing
You can't believe
[Sung 4 times]

When you let it out
Did you ever have a doubt
You would soar above the clouds
And you do...

You're dancing like an egalitarian
You flutter like a Beatle too
Your hands are comets in darkened skies
And they're orbiting you

When you watched it die
Did you ever wonder why
You were taken by its lie

And you can't believe what you're doing
You can't believe
[Repeat & fade]

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in the merry merry month of april

2009-04-30T13:42:00.004-04:00

MP3: April May I? (2.9 mb)

Well, here's what you get when the end of the month arrives and I need to write and record a quick song. Kinda like watching grass grow, isn't it?

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shadows and tall trees

2009-03-29T14:30:00.003-04:00

MP3: U Kadamba U (4.8 mb)

Trees seem to be returning characters in my life lately (and my blog as well). I suppose that's appropriate, given the various evocations trees are capable of, and my ever-intruding quest to understand the interconnectedness of things both tiny and large.

Here's my line of thinking today (and I'm just exploring here so bear with): the way you look at something determines how it appears to you, much more so than the way it actually is. For example, trees in winter stripped of their leaves can be achingly beautiful or starkly sinister, depending on how you choose to see them or what your current state of mind is. They are what they are, but you infuse them with meaning/power/importance or whatever.

We've given trees such a wide range of roles. They can be majestic, bold, steadfast and strong. They can be threatening and sharp, leaning over you with menace. They can be grouped together as a mysterious or inviting forest; or solitary and bare, the loneliest of images. They are life and growth, they are death and decay. They are both hugged and chopped.

There's no real point to all this. I'm just trying to figure out what this month's song is about, and why I wrote it. It seems to have something to do with appearance and oneness. Would you like to help?

U KADAMBA U

You were scared of the bare trees
Because they looked like witches
Curling fingers over the road
And you feared they might grab you
So you curled in the back of the car

I was on a train to Manhattan
Wearing my suit and my tie and my hat on
Falling asleep as the cradle car rocked
And it rolled and it rocked and it rolled
I dreamed of women with beautiful leaves

Three attempts in the doorway
Because they couldn't quite figure
Out who you were
Until you showed them all your branches
And your fingers slender and long

Oh, PS: I almost forgot! All of last year's songs are now bundled into one nifty package that you can download here. That's 15 free songs, so if you missed them throughout the year now's your chance to have them all together. You can also download the previous two years of songs there absolutely free as well!

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up, up and away

2009-02-26T00:24:00.004-05:00

MP3: Transit Ford in the Fourth Dimension (3 mb)

This passage from Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, where he attempts to explain the possibility of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as one Being, has always intrigued me. Not so much from a religious viewpoint as from a fuller understanding of the universe kind of angle:

You know that in space you can move in three ways - to left or right, backwards or forwards, up or down. Every direction is either one of these three or a compromise between them. They are called the three Dimensions. Now notice this. If you are using only one dimension, you could draw only a straight line. If you are using two; you could draw a figure: say, a square. And a square is made up of four straight lines. Now a step further. If you have three dimensions, you can then build what we call a solid body: say, a cube - a thing like a dice or a lump of sugar. And a cube is made up of six squares.

Do you see the point? A world of one dimension would be a straight line. In a two-dimensional world, you still get straight lines, but many lines make one figure. In a three-dimensional world, you still get figures but many figures make one solid body. In other words, as you advance to more real and more complicated levels, you do not leave behind you the things you found on the simpler levels: you still have them, but combined in new ways - in ways you could not imagine if you knew only the simpler levels.

Now the Christian account of God involves just the same principle. The human level is a simple and rather empty level. On the human level one person is one being, and any two persons are two separate beings - just as, in two dimensions (say on a flat sheet of paper) one square is one figure, and any two squares are two separate figures. On the Divine level you still find personalities; but up there you find them combined in new ways which we, who do not live on that level, cannot imagine. In God's dimension, so to speak, you find a being who is three Persons while remaining one Being, just as a cube is six squares while remaining one cube. Of course we cannot fully conceive a Being like that: just as, if we were so made that we perceived only two dimensions in space we could never properly imagine a cube. But we can get a sort of faint notion of it. And when we do, we are then, for the first time in our lives, getting some positive idea, however faint, of something super-personal - something more than a person. It is something we could never have guessed, and yet, once we have been told, one almost feels one ought to have been able to guess it because it fits in so well with all the things we know already.

I have a hard time stopping there, though. What about a Fifth Dimension, where Marilyn McCoo has ten eyes and five mouths? Ha, but I'm joking. But why not a 6th, 7th or 8th dimension? If the Universe truly is infinite, couldn't there be an infinite number of dimensions as well? What do you think about that?

I think it would be cool to experience those other dimensions somehow but it would probably be dangerous, if not a little unnerving. Psychedelic in every sense...and we all know we have six of those right?

Anyway, I sent Transit Ford on a mission to check it out. Here's his report:

I'm slowly coming through my skull and out my face.

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good morning (x3 + Ga)

2009-01-28T13:06:00.010-05:00

MP3: Tinkle, Winkle, Pobble & Bip (640 kb)

This month has really gotten away from me. Not that most of them don't (Time: what a concept), but as much spinning of the wheels as there's been, there's also been some forward motion. Let me tell you first about this month's song....

Tinkle, Winkle, Pobble & Bip is a 30-second theme song exercise for a children's TV show in much the same vein as The Teletubbies. Four strange little creatures with funny-sounding names getting into all kinds of psychedelic adventures - what could be better than that? Obviously it's geared toward a younger audience, but if you're feeling a little silly it might hit the spot.

Now for the latest news:

*CDs and downloads are once again available for purchase at my website, The Marble Tea Webthing (www.marbletea.com). I had to re-arrange some things due to server problems on the back-end, so individual songs aren't available anymore but you can buy the 'albums' in packages at really low prices! And of course, there's lots of free stuff there too.

*The film Megahertz, concerning the other-wordly adventures of the increasingly prophetic genius Nikola Tesla and a soul-searching female disc jockey, is nearing completion. Brought to you by Anam Cara Productions, I was thrilled to do the score for it as well as contribute a wee pop song or two. There's also some music from the indisputably talented hands of our hero, Mr. Max Eider.

*New Mystics is a gathering place for artists of all stripes, and features lots of great work from poets, writers, filmmakers, musicians, painters, etc. Their theatre company recently branched out into film-making, and I'm honored to be providing music for a series of their short films. You can check out the development of this series on their film page.

*If you have a mobile phone with internet access, rejoice! The Marble Tea Weblog is now available in a version optimized for your on-the-go lifestyle! Just point your phone's browser toward http://mippin.com/weblog and you'll be able to hear the latest tunes and read my inane ramblings wherever you may be! More info may be had from the link below (I'm just pasting in the code they provided, so we'll see):

*Finally, thanks to everyone who's expressed their sadness over the closing of the Book Bin. It's been quite a time, but Kate & I are looking forward to the future with anticipation (particularly one free from so many boxes of books creating their own corridors in the house!). We'll continue to sell online through Amazon.com and Abebooks.com, and hopefully I'll have our main site updated soon so come visit us!

That's it for now as I have to go in for an unexpected shift at my other job shortly. Stay warm until next time.....

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why pamper life's complexities

2008-12-30T20:37:00.002-05:00

MP3: 316 (4.4 mb)

When I lived off Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta, I used to joke that Athens was just down the street since you could basically take Ponce (and its various name changes) all the way into that feisty little college town. But then GA Hi-way 316 came along, and that changed everything.

The original version of this song appeared on the always questionable Jersey Shoreline CD, and I've wanted to re-record it ever since. I finally seized my chance last night in what started out as an innocent test to see if I could get my microphone working properly (if it didn't - and the little cylinder had been giving me trouble for some time - I only had till the last day of this month/year to get a great deal on a new one). Before I knew it, I had fallen headlong into recording this song. It still hasn't quite gotten up to snuff, but I thought I'd pass it along anyway as a final tune for 2008.

I hope you enjoy it, and that your New Year is filled with all you desire....

316

We were listening to Urban Urbane by David J

And you had the world tattooed upon your body

And heaven is a place in your head

Everything else is incidental

When night came inhibitions fell like autumn leaves

So we drove and drove and drove along the highway

And as you gave yourself to the moon

You flickered on and off in headlights

Lonely moon sends flowers to the streetlights

He sees up their skirt with his shiny shoes

They blush for a moment and then they sigh

They don't mind, because he's The Moon

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let nothing you dismay

2008-12-17T21:43:00.022-05:00

MP3: Hey! You in the Tuxedo! (4.8 mb)

Happy Holidays to you all! It's a Bubblegum Christmas so that's what you'll find when you unwrap this month's free mp3. Chewy and it goes POP!

Anyway, this time of year always reminds me of all the debutante balls thrown in my hometown, and the fun we had putting on tuxedos and getting drunk and into trouble as the chilly nights arrived. I'm sure the girls were excited for their society debuts but - sorry ladies - my crowd never paid much attention to that part of the festivities. Our first words uttered upon arriving at the galas and shaking hands in greeting were inevitably "Where's the bar?" And that, my friends, always set the tone for the evening.

Now, several months back I mentioned writing songs inspired by my father's passing, and this is actually one of those. Dad was the Master of Ceremonies for one of the finer balls in town, and I was always thrilled and proud to see him up there doing his thing. It seemed perfectly natural as he was always a ringleader and the center of focus in any crowd. As my Uncle Bryant said, "He does fill up a room."

Well I found the photo below - it appears to be from the late 50s/early 60s - and everything just kind of came together for this song.

And just to set the record straight: Yes, our cat Cosmo is quite debonair in his tuxedo too, but this song has nothing to do with him.

So there you have it, a seasonal song from my memory bank. If you're looking for a Christmas song, check out the Marble Tea rendition of Silent Night, which has been selected as this week's Song of the Week by IndepenDisc.com. Thanks, G!

I also want to congratulate my friend Dylan Kight for having his album The Nightbirds Revolt chosen as one of the Top 12 DIY albums of 2008 by Performing Songwriter magazine. Way to go, Dylan! He's an amazing talent, so go befriend him at his MySpace page, eh?

Stay warm & cool till next time!

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joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

2008-11-11T14:52:00.002-05:00

MP3: My Little Animals (1.7 mb)

Must...love...the...little...ones.

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i thought that if you had an acoustic guitar...

2008-10-22T11:19:00.003-04:00

MP3: Temporarily Not the K-Man (5.4 mb)

With all due respect to Pete Seeger, I'm not a big fan of folk songs or protest music though I can certainly see their purpose. Maybe it's just those 'round the neck harmonica holders...they look like evil orthodontia from Patrick Bateman's closet to me.

I initially intended this blog entry to examine my feelings about the current political climate and discuss the role of perspective in shaping our beliefs. But, much like folk music - yeah yeah workers' rights, teach the children blah blah blah - it became a little tiresome. And I'm anything but ambitious.

So instead of diving into how watching the History Channel makes me think the history of man is nothing but the history of war, or how reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States might lead one to believe it's all about the oppression of the lower classes, or how it all often seems to just be about Booty and the Beat, I'll just say that every opinion is colored by what one believes, which in turn is influenced by one's point of view, and so on in circular fashion - and facts are often manipulated to serve a purpose. Why do I believe what I believe, in other words.

I'll also avoid wondering if corporately-owned news outlets that cater to their owner's vision are as dangerous as government-controlled news agencies, or if it seems wrong that during recent record-high gas prices one of our oil companies posted the highest profits ever by any company in US history, or whether it's more important to be loyal to your country than it is to mankind or the world as a whole. I don't have enough hair or weed to get into all that, but I think you can tell where I'm coming from.

Instead, I'll leave you with this raggedy folk song, based on a friend's true adventure. The opposing viewpoint is just as valid sure, but it's not as vital or song-worthy. As I said, I don't particularly go in for this sort of protest stuff...it just seemed the right platform for the subject matter, and it was kind of fun & sloppy.

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hey, that's no way to say goodbye

2008-09-23T10:30:00.002-04:00

MP3: Goodbye to Summer (Version) (3.9 mb)

Two goodbye songs in one month, hooda thunk? Summer deserves a send-off as well, and despite the big ugly mess it was on the Jersey Shoreline CD, I always liked this song for some reason and so decided to give a shot at re-mixing it to see if it might be more presentable. It's still a bit of a mess, but I have no shame....

GOODBYE TO SUMMER

I remember the waves on the beach
How they knocked me over
Like the miracle strip with the sand in your suit
Swimming time for you is over

Goodbye to Summer
Say it isn't so
Slacks and umbrellas
Summer has to go
It has to go

All the jellyfish on the sand
Like clear blue piles of dogshit
And the shrimp in the beer and the snake in the box
Uncle Monster lurking somewhere

Where's your choice for sleeping tonight?
By the open ocean window
There's the smell of the house
We were all in the shower
We all knew each other well then

Goodbye to Summer
Say it isn't so
Rep ties and blue blazers
Summer has to go
It has to go

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draggin' the line

2008-09-11T01:03:00.007-04:00

MP3: Goodbye Old Maple (6.1 mb)

A few weeks ago, we had to take down one of the old maple trees, the one by the patio. It was a siamese twin of a tree at one time, its counterpart having been removed a few years back due to the illness which finally invaded this one. Like most any living thing, it was a source of much delight and much frustration: a great shade provider for us on summer hot days and a tarp of sorts against the rain when running across the patio, but it also littered the place with little helicopter leaves that stained the bricks and there was increasing danger of branches falling onto the casa. It was also very beautiful, but made a nice bridge for renegade raccoons - like the one(s) I mentioned in July - to find their way into our space.

Well the other afternoon at dusk Kate & I were out there looking up at the sky, and she mentioned how nice it was to be able to see it so vastly now without the foliage blocking the view. She was also glad there was no longer a "highway for the raccoons" to make their way into the attic. But we were both a little sad too that the tree was no longer there, majestically and kind as it had been for so long.

I never thought, "there's a song in all this" (why would I?), there just was one. I think it sprang from the desire to somehow honor that gone maple tree before we got used to its absence and went about our days as though it was never there.

Now, I'm no tree-hugger, but when I was younger I thought Magnolia You Sweet Thing was a love song to a tree, and I didn't find anything odd about that at all.

GOODBYE OLD MAPLE

It's good to see the sky on a dusky afternoon
And there's no highway for the raccoon
And there are no helicopters crashing in our yard

We thought the sun might burn us away
But it's been a cool Summer
So we're doin' fine
And in Fall when rain comes around
I'll miss the shelter that kept me from drowning

So goodbye old maple tree
You always had a plot for my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You really meant a lot to my baby & me

Goodbye sweet maple tree
You really meant a lot to my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You always had a thought from my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You really meant a lot to my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You always had a plot for my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree

RECENT ENJOYMENTS
Book: Kaleidoscope Eyes: Psychedelic Rock from the '60s to the '90s
Music: Condition Blue by The Jazz Butcher
Film: Nico Icon

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golden living dreams of visions

2008-08-19T23:12:00.006-04:00

MP3: Lion Water Sign (3.8 mb)

In the Zodiac, the sign Aquarius is known as the water-bearer, and is almost always depicted as pouring water from some small vessel he's been toting around. And yet, for some astrological reason, Aquarius is an air sign (as opposed to a water sign which, I think, would make much more sense).

I bring this up because when I wrote the first verse of this song some few years ago - and there it sat, as they do, for many many forgotten days, until it finally stood up this weekend and shouted, "Finish me!" as they often eventually do as well - the dangerously little knowledge I possess of astrology had me presuming that I, as an Aquarian, was a water sign, due to the aforementioned carrying around of water and all that. I mean, it makes sense right? Wrong, Winston Tong. I am an air sign, as are the rest of you wet and watery Aquarians out there (and you know who you are). Well dry me off and call me Fluffy...you do learn something new every day, don't you?

LION WATER SIGN

You are a lion, and I am a water sign
I think things are looking good
You are a lion, and I am a water sign
I think things are looking good
When you start to roar
And I call you a bore
We're on our way

You are a nightgown, and I am your thorny crown
I think Heaven's smiling now
You are a (k)nightgown, and I am your thorny crown
I think Heaven's smiling now
When you dress me up
And I hand you the cup
We're on our way

There has got to be no reason for it all
But it doesn't mean there doesn't have to be
If you feel like throwing metal forks around
Well then go ahead....

You are a prayer, and I want to be the mayor
I think we could win this town
You are a prayer, and I want to be the mayor
I think we could win this town
When you start to rise
And there's less nay's than aye's
We're on our way

You are a knick-knack, and I am a bric-a-brac
I think we are on display
You are a knick-knack, and I am a bric-a-brac
I think we are on display
When you flash your ass
And I smash through the glass
We're on our way

There has got to be no reason for it all
So just go ahead....

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low rider is a little higher

2008-07-24T19:57:00.001-04:00

MP3: The Whole Point (1.3 mb)

July has been weird. Filled with malfunctioning tires, computers and airplanes - as well as guests both welcome and not (sure, raccoons are cute and they can really take you down with those little faces, but the hours they keep could make a shy bald buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder) - we're lucky to be in such good spirits these days.

With that in mind, here's a quick song from the vault as I haven't had the opportunity to record anything new for you this month.

THE WHOLE POINT

And so it goes
I keep looking for a way
To make my lows much higher
Than they are today.

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bodies...i'm not an animal

2008-06-17T13:38:00.004-04:00

MP3: Everyone I Know Has A Body (5 mb)

It's been said that the only reason we have bodies is so we'll be able to take our heads to the places they want to go. That's kind of funny when you think about it, but it implies the body is just a shell - a container - for the mind, and that tends to reinforce the feeling of separation between the two.

I'm inclined lately to think of the body as being like ice cream, and our consciousness is the flavor that permeates throughout it. But then, I love ice cream and haven't thought this through to the last delicious bite, so don't hold it against me (although, if I said you had a lovely body you could certainly hold that against me, arh arh).

In the meantime, we all have bodies in their various shapes and conditions, and just as you probably wouldn't want to spend your whole life inside your house knowing there's a big world outside, why should we be so concerned about staying in our bodies all of the time?

Marble Tea Cover Song Alert:
The Fuel Burning Oracle has injected Who's Been in Your Dreams with his usual psychedelically experimental garnishings. You can find it in his MySpace player, and I'm pleased as punch! Be sure to check out his other tunes while you're there....

EVERYONE I KNOW HAS A BODY

Everyone I know has a body
Everyone I know has a body
Have you ever seen someone
Who doesn't have a body?

Everyone I know has a home inside their head
Everyone I know has a home inside their head
Have you ever met someone
Who doesn't have a body?

Drawing mandalas
And watching Captain Kangaroo
Let's go skinny dipping
In the energy pool

Toss that tambourine
And shake your maracas while you got 'em
We're just embryos
In the time machine

Everyone I know has a body
Everyone I know has a body
Have you ever known someone
Who doesn't have a body?

Drawing mandalas
And watching Captain Kangaroo
Let's go skinny dipping
In the energy pool

Toss that tambourine
And shake your maracas while you got 'em
We're just embryos
In the time machine

Have you ever been someone
Who doesn't have a body?

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syd meets the marble tea

2008-05-20T21:09:00.005-04:00

MP3: Alphabet (2.8 mb)
(written by Syd Meats)

Some of my favorite songs are witty, British and short. Much of that probably owes to a childhood love for the infectious tunes of Herman's Hermits and the chance discovery of Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS in the early '70s. I became a die-hard Anglo-fan with a short attention span and, despite the occasional tryst with prog-rock, my love affair with brief and humorous things from the UK has carried on to this day.

In any case, Mr. Hobbes may be surprised to discover that one of the developments of the modern world that led not only to a life less nasty but also to my further appreciation of the very short song, was the recordable cassette tape - particularly when compiling an assortment of songs for friends or self into the magical mixed tape. Ah, yes. You want just the right songs in just the right order, and very often there was just about 2 minutes of blank tape at the end of each side left to fill. What a perfect opportunity for the very short song to slide in and round out the festivities so nicely! I found myself collecting these tiny tunes to use as needed, but perhaps it was also an excuse to find more of them for my own personal gratification....

It comes as no surprise then that I fell immediately in love with a song called Alphabet by Romsey's own Syd Meats, Prince of Pies and Piper of Prawns. A singer-songwriter of (mainly) humorous songs, he's also a great mate and one helluva bloke. Check out his MySpace page to hear some of his songs and say Hello. His Alphabet is a whimsical and surreal seduction song in the fine English tradition that brings to mind Robyn Hitchcock's I Got a Message for You and Syd Barrett's Love You with its seemingly nonsensical wordplay and seventh note inflections.

Oh, and lest you think I changed a verse just to plug my favorite computers, I'll have you know that it's really a quiet nod to those nutty Bonzos.

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a new free single for tax day!

2008-04-14T21:01:00.008-04:00

MP3: Good In Black (5.1 mb)

Hey, before you check out the new free blog song, let me tell you about the new free Marble Tea single. I'm calling it the Back in Time / Demi Moore Single since the song titles themselves are rather long. On the A-Side we have The Girls Who Went Back in Time and on the B-Side Please Don't Cut Your Hair Like Demi Moore. These songs originally appeared on the out-of-print Jersey Shoreline CD, but they've been freshly remixed and mastered for your aural delight right here in the laboratory. You can download the single (for free, in case you didn't hear) at:

http://www.marbletea.com/music.html

In case this next bit of code doesn't show up in your browser, you can listen to it in the player at the top of the page on that link I just gave you.

I hope you enjoy it.

Now, about this Good In Black song. I used to live with a triumphant feline named Sidney The Mega-Cat who was feared far & wide around the complex, but who also suffered extreme bouts of abstract melancholia. When we took walks together, he'd never hesitate to enter a neighboring apartment, nonchalantly gliding past the hissing resident cat with a smirk. He was big and brave and fearless, but on other days he'd only sit and stare, that giant mug stuck in silent contemplation of the stereo's VU meters while I wrote songs about girls. This is one of those songs, another old recording that I've pulled from the vault and cleaned up a bit (but just a bit). This too I hope you'll enjoy.

GOOD IN BLACK

Sidney sits and stares all day at the stereo
I joined him today I think I'll stay
I like it
He never says too much
I wonder what he's thinking
Does he need affection?
I know all about that affection thing
or lack of it, do you?
I know you do
You know I meant to tell you:

You look good in black
You look good in black

Sidney has a special way and a certain foe
I watched him today keep it at bay
Amazing
You never see those things coming
that'll take you down
But you get a feeling
I know all about those creepy little
coming up kind of things, do you?
Uh huh oh yeah.
I was going to tell you:

You look good in black
From the front, the side and the back
While you're dressing
I'm requesting
That you put on the black

Sidney sits and stares all day at the stereo
I joined him today I think I'll stay
I like it
He never says too much
I wonder what he's thinking

You look good in black
You look good in black

Zambiland, zambiland
Zambiland, zambiland

Interiors
Amp radio
Magic fortune teller
Rainbow

A Postscript:

Dylan Kight moved his once-a-week song blog to http://www.wildernessofthemind.com/. Check it out.

Sunburst Carrier has just released their first EP. It's called Sound Sensitive and it's beautiful. Lilting, cascading guitar-esque instrumentals for melancholy illumination. Sidney would've loved it.

Kate recently turned me on to Just Fontaine, and their new Four Views EP is another must-have. Great sardonic Brit-pop that fits squarely into my collection.

And if you haven't picked up the latest Max Eider disc...wtf are you waiting for?! I thought it was brilliant the first time I listened to it, but now I want to be buried right in the same coffin with it. Get your own, Spotty.

Who needs major labels?

RECENT ENJOYMENTS
Book: Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
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Film: Arrested Development - The Complete Series (Seasons 1, 2, 3)

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the final countdown

2008-04-04T19:06:00.002-04:00

MP3: Don't Look At Me That Way (1.5 mb)

At the risk of ending up like George Oscar Bluth II (GOB), banned from the Magicians' Alliance for revealing the tricks of the trade, I am going to tell you how easy it is, my dear friends, to become your own personal pop star.

This month's song (sketch, really) was recorded quickly and completely in Mau's Brooklyn apartment using nothing more than my old iBook and a crusty acoustic guitar with ancient strings (indeed, I tuned it as best I could but was later told that its neck was in such a precarious condition that the strings needed to be tuned down...way down).

My intention was to keep myself busy while he was out by laying down a song idea in Garageband (which comes free with every new Mac) and then importing it into Logic for further fleshing when I was back home. Well, as often happens, I promptly forgot about the recording and, since I neglected to write down the chords or any other ideas surrounding the genesis p-orridge of the tune, I was unsure of what to do upon rediscovering it on my hard drive. Ah, I know: I'll put it up on the weblog as an example of how easy it is to do this stuff so maybe everyone else will give it a go as well.

So yes. While it's not a particularly good song (or even a complete one), you can see what possibilities abound. There was no external hardware involved (not even a pick!), meaning that I recorded the guitar and vocals without headphones directly into the iBook using its built-in microphone (that tiny little hole on the right side of the monitor...this is an older iBook, before the built-in iSight cameras), and used only the stock plug-ins etc that come with Garageband. The drums are one of the included GB loops that I dragged into the project without modifying, and the bass is one of GB's software instruments whose notes were played using the computer's keyboard.

As GOB would say: Ta-da! It's really amazing what can be done in less than an hour with this modern technology, even if that lead guitar sounds like some song from Mau's collection of 70s Yacht Rock.

But with all these modern advancements, why can't I get The Final Countdown (GOB's theme song) to play as a ringtone on my cell phone?

RECENT ENJOYMENTS
Book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
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Film: The Weather Underground

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life goes on within you and without you

2008-03-16T14:38:00.014-04:00

MP3: Faces on a Train (5.2 mb)

You know how sometimes you'll be having a conversation about one thing and several minutes later you'll be talking about something totally different and you think "How did we start talking about that?" and when you look back through the topics you discussed you see how one thing led to another (yeah yeah yeah) and often it's only one or two steps but sometimes it's quite many and you'll see how things fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, but not really like a jigsaw puzzle because the shapes of thoughts aren't that well-defined, they're more like amoebas shape-shifting around like the particles in our bodies which, they say, are constantly morphing and so leads many to believe that the body can heal itself, and still others to feel that it goes much further than that since everything is comprised of these malleable, affective particles and so why is it so hard to believe that someone like Uri Geller could bend spoons with his mind when really all one would do is cut the perceived distance and difference between the utensil and themselves into smaller chunks until there was no distance and everything was one thing?

Well, here's a song about travel.

FACES ON A TRAIN

Faces on a train
The streets of Madrid, Spain
So many to see, so few to know

Getting on the boat
And heading to the sea
Staring at the waves that rise and fade

You can't count them all, they all become the sea
All the waves in you are all the waves in me

Pieces of a dream
Like pearls across the floor
I raise my arms and fade into the sky

Everything I am is everything that is
I listen closely and I found out what it says

Cells in a body
Bodies in a country
Countries in a planet that spins and hums
[sing that stanza twice, please]

Faces on a train
The streets of Madrid, Spain
So many to see, so few to know

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Book: Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides
Music: Back Numbers by Dean & Britta
Film: Michael Clayton

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you may say i'm a dreamer

2008-02-07T19:25:00.000-05:00

MP3: I Wish It Would Snow (Electrically) (4.5 mb)

****************************************
LATEST NEWS

These songs are now available as a Podcast on iTunes. Check it out here:

Also, you can download each past years' tunes in separate tidy packages for ultimate Marble Tea convenience here.

****************************************

It just occurred to me that this is two months in a row where the songs dealt with wishing. Hhmmm, how 'bout that then? We could talk all night about wishing and dreaming (and hoping and praying, and anything else Burt and Dionne might warn you against), but there are other matters to address now so let's save those explorations for another fireside, shall we?

First let me tell you quickly about this song. True, there's a free acoustic version available as part of the Slave to the Tuna EP. This more electric rendition first appeared on the out-of-print 2001: A Case of the Tea CD, but I'm offering up here the cleaned up version that Jeff Booth so graciously set his knobs to. Considering the state of my timing and singing, I think he pulled it far out of the mire!

Second, I'm stent-free baby, so how 'bout we get a little snow on the Shore, eh?

I WISH IT WOULD SNOW

She said,
"I wish it would snow all winter long
Because I need something fun to tickle my little tongue.
Oh, flurries are fine: dusting my face and glitter my hair,
But they're infrequent, just like my lovers,
And I'd rather just stay in bed...."

She said,
"I wish I could do whatever it is that you do."
Well, this forced him to laugh and re-evaluate everything.
"No, don't wear my shoes: I'm always tripping and stumbling about.
And even though they look like they fit
Well, they're really far too big...."

I never understood selective generosity
And why does the shame of the past
Govern my thoughts like a fog?

She said,
"I'm waiting for you down by the dock,
And I'm tempted to throw myself in to see what Shelley saw."
Are kind words enough for someone whose head may burst into flames?
And in her diary the words are all true
But it never seems the same:

I never understood selective generosity
And why does the shame of the past
Govern my thoughts like a fog?

RECENT ENJOYMENTS
Book: Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
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Film: The Science of Sleep

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if 6 was 9

2008-01-16T15:32:00.000-05:00

MP3: If Wishes Were Fishes (3.9 mb)

Pardon me for being an old hippie, but I think that in much the same way Love can wound or heal, Vision can be a prison or it can be freedom. How do you see the grass, Glasshopper?

Er...I mean, how do you see the glass, Grasshopper? Half this or half that?

As an experiment, this song was recorded in Garageband (as opposed to Logic) so that I could reacquaint myself with that astonishingly ubiquitous program.

IF WISHES WERE FISHES

If wishes were fishes
Then dreamers would fish
For wishes and fishes
And dishes delish
And I'd still be in a boat
Out on the ocean

If money was honey
It'd hang from a tree
Like honey but money
And all very free
Would you still stick your paws
Down in my wallet?

Don't get any ideas about my beehive
Don't get any ideas about my fish

If oranges were violent
We'd all be surprised
We'd put them in cages
And run for our lives
Maybe they're not dangerous
Just different

If lovers were dolphins
They'd never say 'No'
They'd always be happy
And ready to go
Would I keep dangling worms
Into the water?

Don't get any ideas about my oranges
Don't get any ideas about my girl

If doctors were lawyers
They'd put us on trial
Disease is illegal
Buy your health in a vial
Maybe we should reassess
Those fishes

If vision was prison
Well maybe it is....

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i got stoned and i missed it

2007-12-22T16:57:00.001-05:00

MP3: Litho-Trippy (3.6 mb)

What a drag it is getting old.

Indeed. I've just had a medical procedure done on me called lithotrispy in an attempt to blast an obstinate kidney stone out of my body. This seems to be the best way to have these sort of things taken care of these days, but mine has been fraught with minor complications that have made it something of a bear to deal with. I'll spare you my moaning here (Lord knows Kate has heard enough of it, bless her generous heart), and should state for the record that all is generally well.

This month's MP3 is what I imagine the procedure would sound like if it were run through a digital audio workstation and sweetened a bit for the chill-out rooms. Don't be frightened, my love, it's all very harmless.

Here's wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season and a New Year filled with joy. Drink lots of water!

**Don't forget to check the Blog Archives to get the songs you missed!**

There are also official Marble Tea releases that you can download right from my website!

RECENT ENJOYMENTS

life on mars?

2007-11-28T20:36:00.001-05:00

MP3: Life on the Moon (1.4 mb)

Another quick one this month. I'd really rather not live on the moon...Mars might be kind of cool, though.

** Don't forget to check the Blog Archives to get the songs you missed! (Or you can scroll down to see the most recent.) **

There are also official Marble Tea releases that you can download right from my website!

the tortures of the damned...

2007-10-24T15:08:00.001-04:00

MP3: Ingrid Pitt Indeed (2.9 mb)

In the late 60s/early 70s, there was a midnight horror movie show called Shock Theatre that came on TV in Montgomery every Friday and Saturday night. I was glued to the set each week as they showed hours of famously frightening movies starring the black and white likes of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr, but the ones that really caught my budding eye were the ones by a British company called Hammer. These lush and gothic films, shot in technicolor and seemingly always featuring Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee (or both!), careened my imagination far into overdrive...especially when they brought out the busty actresses who were either innocent victims or vicious temptresses, but always alluringly sexy. What more could a young boy want?

This tribute to Ingrid Pitt - Hammer's Queen (what, you were expecting maybe Barbara Steele?) - is from the out-of-print Marble Tea CD 2001: A Case of the Tea, a collection of home recordings from earlier this century. Happy Halloween....

INGRID PITT INDEED

I've got a Hammer horror film in my head
Starring Ingrid Pitt as the Queen of the Dead
I walk into the laundromat
with red and ripped sheets
a roll of quarters in my pocket
so I can wash rinse and repeat

I've got a Hammer horror mood in my brain
Sheer white gowns and a castle in the rain
I step out of the restaurant
and fall to my knees
rip my shirt down to the waist
because I know that she'll be pleased

I've got a Hammer horror look to my face
Ingrid Pitt wipes her mouth on the staircase
I don't know where I was today
I just woke up scared
when she comes again tonight
I'll try to be more prepared

Ingrid Pitt
In the Vampire Lovers
Ingrid Pitt indeed
Ingrid Pitt
As Elizabeth Bathory
Ingrid Pitt indeed
Ingrid Pitt
In Sound of Horror
Ingrid Pitt indeed
Ingrid Pitt
Dah dah dee dum dee dah
Ingrid Pitt indeed

** Don't forget to check the Blog Archives to get the songs you missed! **

And don't forget that there are also official Marble Tea releases that you can download right from my website!

Hey. Go buy the new Max Eider album. It's FANTASTIC!!

walkin' with jesus

2007-09-21T18:39:00.001-04:00

MP3: Iron Cross (4.6 mb)

Wilhelm, it was really nothing. And I swear to you there's nothing militaristic about this song. A dear friend gave me a beautiful cross made of iron as a gift, and that's all there is to it.

IRON CROSS

Iron Cross
Aye yay yay yay

I see you smiling
I see you laughing
I see you giving me

Iron Cross
Aye yay yay yay

On the road toward God
You need an accurate map
But there are so many
From which to choose

Iron Cross
Aya yay yay yay

You pick a path to go down
Find a spot and set up a house
Have you forgotten where you were
Going?

Iron Cross
Aye yay yay yay

I see you smiling
I see you laughing
I see you giving me

Iron Cross
Aye yay yay yay

** Don't forget to check the Blog Archives to get the songs you missed! **

And don't forget that there are also official Marble Tea releases that you can download right from my website!

Speaking of, have you bought the new Max Eider album yet? It's FANTASTIC!!

chocolates for breakfast

2007-08-28T15:20:00.001-04:00

MP3: Chocolates for Breakfast (3.5 mb)

Pamela Moore wrote the book Chocolates for Breakfast in the mid-1950s when she was just 18 years old. Its story of upper-class teen-aged decadence in a world of martinis, long white gloves and Stan Kenton records - set, most notably, in Manhattan (but in Hollywood as well) - intrigued me from the get-go 'cause I'm a sucker for that whole nicely-dressed and overly-educated but still slightly ill-mannered mid-morning cocktail in an Upper East Side apartment liberal/bourgeois explosion kind of scene. The style and constraints - and the breaking thereof - create, for me anyway, a really interesting story landscape.

Back in the late-80s, after having read the book, I brought the song I'd written not so loosely based upon it to the band I played in called Blond Popsicle. We worked out an arrangement and played it live frequently (we even called our second full-length cassette Chocolates for Breakfast), but we never recorded it. That's a shame....

About a year ago the itch appeared to give it its due, so I sat down to begin recording. The project became a little too ambitious, and I soon lost interest in it. However, a recent cleaning of my hard disk brought it to my attention once again, and it's not as muddled as I initially thought and it certainly deserves an existence somewhere in this interconnected universe of ours. Even though this version is somewhat different, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Steve & Kenny (and Jim & Toasty & Brent & Clark) for the contributions they made to the song back in those Popsicle days.

I hope you find it tasty....

** Don't forget to check the Blog Archives to get the songs you missed! **

senses working overtime

2007-07-31T19:19:00.001-04:00

MP3: Old Letter Opener (2 mb)

I've just returned from my first visit to Seattle, home of coffee convenience and entitled pedestrians. A cousin was married in a park upon a hill overlooking water and that gorgeous skyline, and it was great to have some small semblance of a family reunion during that festive occasion. However, these things are often laced with a bit of sadness when family members that you'd hope to see at these events are no longer with us, and you feel a large gap where their presence might have been.

My father and his older brother both passed on within the past few years, and they were giant men with giant personalities - Greek gods they'd been called, though their blood was more Jewish than Athenian - so imagining them there was easy, and then disappointing in the light of reality.

Well, sorrow seems to be the standard springboard for creativity, at least that's what I've heard and been told. You wallow around alone in it and then let your feelings out in a beautiful piece of art. And that's where the trouble begins. Sometimes this beautiful thing is just an expression of depression, often conjuring tired imagery that we've all heard a thousand times before. At least that's what usually happens to me in these situations, and why I generally lean toward exploring things (serious or not) from a more whimsical vantage point: I hope to spare us both the cliches of sadness.

That said, there was an outpouring of songs when my father died, and they live in various states of completion and predictability. Here's one about the letter opener I watched him use since I was kid (it had been his father's before him), and which I now count as one of my most valuable possessions. The noisy and quickly recorded mp3 file can be found at the top of this blog entry.

OLD LETTER OPENER

I'm looking at an old letter opener
It's got to be 45 or 50 years old
The handle has your father's name engraved upon it
It's made of silver but in my opinion it's gold

The handle's kind of worn from your hands upon it
I can feel the imprint of your fingers where they would bend
As you opened up your correspondence with glee or horror
And I'm sure on occasion with some indifference

This was your father's key to the letters
It was your key too for a while
Now it's mine, and I'll keep it here with me
To open the letters that'll never come from you again.

** Don't forget to check the Blog Archives to get the songs you missed! **

catch a wave

2007-06-07T19:17:00.001-04:00

MP3: Seaside Hula (1.2 mb)

What do you say we become little cartoons for a minute and hit the beach? I'll bring the hula if you bring the hoop....

and now for something completely different....

2007-05-06T19:20:00.001-04:00

MP3: Mine All Mine (4.2 mb)

So there was this slasher flick that was looking for a song to compliment a scene where one evil, punkish sorority sister had kidnapped and seduced the devout and angelic girl she'd had her eye on for some time. The producers wanted something that blended the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Ramones, My Bloody Valentine...and XTC of all things. Hhhmmm. My noisy demo is presented here this month. It didn't make the cut, but at least I got another song out of it...

...and it let me explore that whole innocence defiled thing, which holds a certain attraction but often makes everyone involved want to take a long shower the next morning.

Oh, PS and BTW: there's a new single in the works. I hope to have it mixed and available within the month-ish. Acquirable via download only. Watch this spot for details....

MINE ALL MINE

I've been waiting for you like a night for a moon,
To hold it in its arms and to love it

Oh yeah Oh yeah
You're gonna be mine
You're gonna be mine all mine

It's not like you have wings and I'm pulling your strings
But my heavenly girl, don't you want it

In the fleeting of flight, I'll be your only light,
I'll be your start and end, and you'll love it

Oh yeah Oh yeah
You're gonna be mine
You're gonna be mine all mine

I've been waiting for you like a night for a moon,
To hold onto its light and to love it

It's just like you have wings and I'm pulling your strings
O my darling delight, don't you want it

Oh yeah Oh yeah
You're gonna be mine
You're gonna be mine all mine

the quiet game chronicle

2007-04-15T18:42:00.001-04:00

MP3: The Quiet Game (1 mb)

When I was a young lad and my family would pile into the car for a long trip, my sister and I would - as children do - be quite loud and obnoxious in the backseat throughout the journey, deprived as we were of any of the usual stimulations and attention required by those of that age. (This was long before we even dreamed of having a portable DVD player to calm us.) In what was to be at once a successful and beautiful stroke of genius, my parents told us how to play "The Quiet Game" which was a very simple game to play in that whoever made any sound first lost.

Determined to be winners, my sister and I shut up for long stretches at a time, much to our parents' delight, though we weren't beyond trying to trick each other into laughing or screaming. Naturally, the rules were modified a little to prohibit any touching or prodding of the other contestant.

I've never been the quickest bullet out of the gun, but years passed before I realized the true purpose of that game, presented as it was in the spirit of fun. Both of my parents acted in the local theatre, so I'm sure that didn't dampen their persuasive skills....

Well, fast forward to now and I realize the importance of imposing my own Quiet Game upon myself. The world is too much with us, this is true. As fun as that can be, there come times when I need to let the world not be with me for a while so I can soak in the stuff behind the clatter and pull the magic back into my life (and hopefully spread it around a little bit). It seems increasingly necessary now that they put High Fructose Corn Syrup in just about anything you could possibly want to eat.

Anyway, one of the things that stayed with me from Haruki Murakami's book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was the magic achieved by the protagonist during his imaginative time spent sitting at the bottom of a deep, dark, quiet well. A place of silence and sensory depravation, where he was able to, if not unravel the mysteries of his life, at least journey through them toward some resolution.

A one-minute audio experiment from this quiet, rainy Jersey Shore day is at the top of this blog for your consideration....

time of the last persecution

2007-03-12T23:17:00.001-04:00

MP3: Time Is Like A Dream At Dawn (1.2 mb)

I have a real problem with time, besides there never being enough of it. For one thing, I can't wear watches because there's some weird electro-magnetic current situation in my body that always causes them to quit working. It's true, and not a particularly rare condition from what I understand.

Setting our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time rarely affects me since I have no solid comprehension of the passing of time in my day-to-day life anyway. It's like time really is a river, rolling into nowhere, but how can that actually be if time is round? And if it is round, is that why we're doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past? And if that's the reason, then why am I not getting any younger?

I have a real problem with time. However, I've always felt Philip Seymour Hoffman would make a delightful Cheshire Cat.

TIME IS LIKE A DREAM AT DAWN

She wants to make a movie
Based on the life of her cat named Cole
And she wants Philip Seymour Hoffman
In the title role.
But these things take time
And time is like a dream at dawn
It's gone by the time you wake.

i can see it (but i can't feel it)

2007-02-13T17:45:00.001-05:00

MP3: Theoretically Being There (1.04 mb)

It's been a while since I read Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination, but one interesting thing that stuck with me - if I remember it correctly...and so many times I don't - was that when the characters would "jaunte" (or teleport) from one place to another, it was important that they have an image of the place they would be landing set firmly in their mind's eye or else things could go horribly wrong.

As Dr. Mystic and I have discussed, there's a plethora of theories out there about making your life what it should be, and most of them hold to the belief that it's important to see oneself vividly being where one wants to be in order to...be there. That's oversimplified, of course. Basically, thoughts precede action and all that. Wanna be a fireman? See yourself fighting those fires, complete with coat, axe, badge, and boots, and see it often. Rock Star? Tighten up those pants, lad, and strap on a six-string in your mind.

Anyway, our cat Cosmo brings this down to earth. When he's about to leap onto something unfamiliar, he stares at it intensely, vibrates for a moment, and then jumps successfully to his destination. Kate and I call this the See It...Be It configuration. He sees where he wants to be, and then he is there.

With this in mind, I hope this simple song will provide some nourishing entertainment along your path.

THEORETICALLY BEING THERE

You can't be anywhere
If you're not already there

You've got to see where you want to be
If you want to be where you want to be
Coz

You can't be anywhere
If you're not already there

borrowed soul

2007-01-06T13:18:00.001-05:00

MP3: Cheese (2.2 mb)

If you got a digital camera for Christmas, congratulations to you. But one thing has me puzzled: do we still run the risk of having our souls stolen in the picture taking process when film has left the equation?

As a way of somehow explaining what I mean, here's another one of those late-night 4-track recordings. Proceed carefully, children. Dangers lurk in even the most incidental appliances....

CHEESE

Today I had my picture taken
Today I had my soul stole
Today it went into a camera
And landed on the film roll

We took it to the drugstore quickly
Development in just one hour
It's rare that these things often happen
But when they do it's ACTION TOWER [...I don't know. Ed.]

I sat around oblique and friendly
Unaware I was un-whole
My friends took care of all the details
And soon they had the prints in tow

They put them in my hands discreetly
And magnetism did its job
It filtered through the waxy colors
And I had what was almost robbed

Cheese....

one christmas for your thoughts

2006-12-10T16:02:00.001-05:00

MP3: Silent Night (4.6 mb)

You know what? I love Christmastime. I love the Holiday Season. My spine tingles from all the bell sounds and the crispness of the air, and I know it's generally the last bright spot before another dreary Winter, so it's a good time to get in a last round of cheerfulness before the hibernation begins.

And what about the music?! So many great tunes covering so many different feelings in so many styles: the classic spirituals; the celebratory songs of gathering with family and friends in the cold; the lonesome and sad songs of being disconnected from the ones you love; the funny, catchy ones that make you laugh; those great obscure blues numbers about how everything's gone wrong. Anything you want, there's a Christmas song somewhere about it. It's gotten to the point where I even enjoy watching carolers! (Am I mad?)

Now you can tell me how you're sick of all the bogus Holiday cheer, and how it's become too commercialized, and the original joy of giving has been overtaken by the joy of getting. You can even tell me you don't believe in Jesus so what's the point.

Well, I'd say just try this: forget all that and just be happy for a moment (it's something you do, you know, not something you are). Don't worry about how anyone else is treating Christmas, just consider it a fine excuse to smile for a minute. Trust me, there's a lot more to be troubled about in this world than to get bogged down about a Holiday....

falling and laughing

2006-11-22T23:52:00.001-05:00

MP3: Falling (Even the Angels) Demo (5.1 mb)

The revelation hit me hard once, as I lay in the grass looking up at the sky, that I was in reality looking out at the sky - much as a magnet stuck on the fridge is looking out at your kitchen - and I swear to you I became dizzy with the thought of suddenly catapulting out into space if gravity decided to unexpectedly give up the ghost. And who's to say it won't one day? You can't take these things for granted, you know.

Anyway, it was autumn and one of the best things about that as a kid was playing in the piles of leaves on the edges of suburban lawns, the sweet smell of Fall all around. When the air's just right, you can see the angels sparkling in front of you like tiny white fireflies. Oh you'll blink your eyes thinking it's a trick of the light, but they're there all right - dancing and winging about elusively and challenging your ability to hold them in your site, taking the pleasure with the pa-pa-pa-pain.

This entry's MP3 is a late-night recording about all that done on the old iMac. I'm hoping soon to re-record it for better sound and performance.

FALLING (EVEN THE ANGELS)

We took a blanket and laid it down
Smoothed out the grass beneath like icing
Untied our shoes and then
Tied up our arms
Stuck to the side of the world
We looked out to the sky around

And there were angels dancing
But we didn't know what they were
So we laughed until they ran

It's like I told you:
There's pain in humility
and even the angels will tell you

We had a magnolia in Cloverdale
The street smelled like autumn for so long
Into the leaves we fall
Into the leaves
Over and under again never thinking
Of falling out

And then the angels brightened
Just like they were lightening bugs
So we tried to touch their hands

It's like they told us:
There's much to be sorry for
and even the angels will tell you

an unrelated thing

2006-10-23T20:15:00.001-04:00

MP3: Love Bomb (2.3 mb)

THE NEW EP IS HERE:

You can listen to all the songs on your computer anytime you want and, in addition to it being available on CD, you can also buy it in MP3 format. Totally cool, but even cooler is that there's a FREE downloadable EP of 5 more groovy tunes when you buy it. Do it now...you know you want to.

With all this love raining down, it seemed appropriate to post another song here this month. So what you have here is an older song about dropping a bomb of love that might hopefully open the eyes and hearts of...well, just everyone in general. Much better than those nasty ones that destroy lives, right? PEACE AT ANY COST...find me a political party with that platform and I'll sign on.

[UPDATE 10/25: Kate has informed me that "Peace at any Cost" sounds a little harsh, as if to say "We'll bomb 'em into submission." Truly, that's not the intent of the phrase, nor the direction of my beliefs. I just liked using the word "cost" while offering a free song, and then segueing into the bit below about COSTCO. Understood? Thank you.]

Camera update: COSTCO really came through. As mentioned in the last entry, I returned my 2-year old defective camera to them (with receipt and I found the box) and they gave me store credit not only for the full price of it, but - since sales tax had increased here in NJ in the interim - even a few cents more! Sweet. I used the credit to purchase a brand new, much better camera than my old one.

camerA

2006-10-11T22:34:00.000-04:00

MP3: Pumpkin Postcard (1.5 mb)

My camera's broken. Sometimes I wish my cell phone had a camera on it, but it doesn't so I'm without an image capture utility at the moment. Let's see if the rumors are true: I bought the camera at Costco two years ago and I still have the receipt (but not the box). I've heard they're pretty liberal with their return policy so I'm going to be testing that very soon. I'll let you know how it goes....

Since it's October, a pumpkin song seems in order! I received a postcard a while back that had a picture of all these little kids dressed in crazy animal Halloween costumes, and they were splayed about someone's yard amongst a smattering of pumpkins. It looked like they (the kids and the pumpkins) had all been thrown there haphazardly by some giant hand, and it kind of freaked me out. Sometimes when I get freaked out I write a song. Sometimes when the song seems sparse I cut little loops into it. And sometimes when it seems even slightly interesting, I'll post the song here. Ah, the 21st century!

The new EP is at the duplication palace and should be available within the month!

Oh yes and finally this: I've got a spot on MySpace.com now, so come on over and be a friend, eh? The URL is myspace.com/marbletea. I've got the little Blogthing going there too, and I'm trying to synchronize them in such a way that there's complimentary information that reading both will reveal in some obtuse way. Yeah, I didn't explain that very well. Let's just say REM, Christopher Isherwood, and Julie Harris are all in on it, m'kay?

where the ocean meets the eye

2006-09-15T20:31:00.001-04:00

MP3: Me & the Sea (For Better or Worse) (4.5 mb)

I have been looking for a long time
For something to ease my troubled mind
The closest thing I've found
Is an inaudible sound
That I discovered accidentally tonight

I went out walking by the ocean
I went out under the dark sky
Autumn has begun
So all the tourists have gone home
And I was watching the big waves go by and by

At first it seemed to harmonize so sweetly
Above the crashing waves upon the sand
But then I realized
What I was hearing with my eyes
As it was coming from the sea to take my hand

Now I'm not one to go for new age icons
Or pantheistic flights in empty verse
But when it held me near
And it devoured my little tear
I had to "Halleluh" for better or for worse

busted afternoon

2006-08-07T17:59:00.001-04:00

MP3: Welcome to the Neighborhood (3.5 mb)

Here's a song based on my friend Cliff's experience moving our friend Lisa Marie up from Montgomery to Atlanta several years ago. As these things generally go, the lyrics are a combination of separate events, and I'll have to admit that Cliff was somewhat disappointed that they didn't reflect the seedier aspects of the situation. I'm inclined to agree, but was pulled in the direction of writing a fairly "safe" laid-back country-ish tune this time around.

In other news, the new EP is almost finished and should be in your ears very soon!

white punks on dope

2006-06-16T22:31:00.001-04:00

MP3: Suburban Girls on Tranquilizers (1.6 mb)

Or perhaps they feel kinda sexy, but they look pretty dumb. You know the look: droopy eyes, funhouse mirror faces. I rather dig it sometimes....

Yes it's true. I never had a synthesizer back in the 80s and I'm experiencing a mid-life crisis. Wouldn't you?

a feast of snakes

2006-06-05T22:10:00.001-04:00

MP3: Martha & the Snakes (2.4 mb)

If I had to choose, I'd say that my favorite Harry Crews book is probably A Feast of Snakes (though that Gypsy's Curse story from the Classic Crews collection ranks about as high as anything). Grotesque more often than not, his tales expose the slithering underbelly of rural Southern culture in sharp contrast to those of greats such as Capote and O'Connor. It can be vile and depraved, but it's sure good for your eyes.

Martha's snakes aren't quite as real, and therefore aren't quite so frightening. With the change of a word or two, it might make a nicely disturbing children's song.

pure imagination

2006-05-28T16:32:00.001-04:00

MP3: Pure Imagination (2.6 mb)

This entry's mp3 was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Jeff Booth and I recorded this version of the song at his studio for the LittleWalks New York children's video, and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up here but I thought it would be nice to make it available at least for a listen.

Besides being a great guy on all fronts, Jeff's an amazingly talented musician and someone that I'd like to nominate for sainthood right now for all his patience with my never-ending struggle to find the "right note." (Check out Jeff and his brother Dwayne's music here)

My favorite part of this song is the instrumental break. After we figured out the backwards guitar lead and Jeff kindly let me play it, he added a beautifully complimentary guitar part using the e-bow. I couldn't be happier with the way the melodies snake around each other. Excellent.

For those interested in the playing credits: I played a couple of guitars, Jeff played some guitars, bass, tambourine and drum programming, and Tim Shea played some drumstuffs. I can't remember if we lifted the organ intro from my original demo or if Jeff played that fresh for this version. Oh well. Enjoy....

dreams never end

2006-05-19T20:16:00.001-04:00

MP3: Who's Been In Your Dreams? (2.4 mb)

Several months ago, I had a dream that I was having a telephone conversation with the very funny comedienne Amy Poehler, the details of which are documented in this entry's MP3.

It got me thinking again about the people that populate our dreams: usually they're people we know, or occasionally celebrities of some sort, but many times people that aren't familiar to us make appearances of varying degrees of note. Often I'm sure they're huddled in the background, bit players in the performance, but sometimes they play a more dominant role - such as the unknown man who sold doughnuts in many of my childhood dreams. Paging Dr. Freud. Who are these people?

My first guess is that their faces are ones we've seen somewhat peripherally during our waking hours, whether on the street or maybe even in magazines or on television. But what if - sometimes - they were real people who happened to be having their own dream that got cross-referenced with our dream?

For instance, what if Amy Poehler actually had a dream that she was speaking with a stranger on the telephone while she was eating Chinese food, and that stranger was me having the same dream but from my point of view? You see, I would be a stranger to her since she doesn't know me, and because of that the dream would probably offer little reason for her conscious mind to remember it. But - it was me on the phone, whether she knew it or not.

A simple movement or rhyme
Could be the smallest of signs

Don't you just love early New Order? I like to think Amy Poehler does too, but that's probably just me dreaming....

somewhere apart

2006-04-30T19:33:00.001-04:00

MP3: There's A Girl I Know (3.7 mb)

I'm in the process of ripping all of my CDs (and some vinyl and cassettes as well) into the computer since that seems to be the way I mostly listen to music these days. It's a never-ending task but I've got a dedicated hard drive, and iTunes makes it all streamlined and organized.

Last night was the night to tackle the Robyn Hitchcock discs, and there are quite a few of them. I've usually found that the music I like best, rather than being something just enjoyable to listen to, is the music that inspires me in my own attempts at writing. Robyn never fails there. His surrealistic tendencies, memorable melodies and explorations of both body and spirit (often in humorous and enlightening ways) are always a spark igniting the fuse to my muse.

Listening to his songs, the itch to do some recording landed on me hard, and I thought what a great exercise it would be to try recording one song every weekend and post the results here. A lofty goal I know, but I was doing something similar a few years ago - recording and uploading two songs a month to my website - and I found it an enjoyable and educational experience. Plus, working with that type of deadline/commitment helped lift a lot of the old songs off of the notebook paper and into their proper dimension in space...and it kept me focused (the bane of my existence being a lack thereof). The results may be predictably quick, rough & noisy, but modern technology makes it fairly easy to clean them up when there's time or a suitable reason to do so. No guarantees that I'll pursue that but I might, so check back and see, okay?

So - properly inspired, I sat down to write and record a new song last night. Unfortunately, it was becoming late and the few words and chords I had strung together weren't quite getting anywhere. Then I remembered a song I'd written several years ago and often played when sitting around with guitar in hand, but never recorded. I suppose still being shocked at the recent death of Nikki Sudden brought it to mind as I had been living with some records by Epic Soundtracks (Nikki's brother, who passed away in 1997) at the time I wrote it. "That's the one," I thought, and rolled the tape, as it were.

Not being a particular fan of "love songs" - I find my attempts at that horribly smaltzy and ridden with cliches - I would suggest to you that this one is less about unrequited love and more about a ghost or spirit of some sort who seems to be confused about the reality of his existence. But then, maybe I've been listening to too much Robyn Hitchcock again....

THERE'S A GIRL I KNOW

There's a girl I know
She lives right down the street
And every night I hear her
Talking in her sleep
But it's not ever me she's dreaming of

All the time I see her
Walking every day
But she just walks on by me
Never looks my way
So I just have to find a way to say:

Can you see me?
Am I really here?

vicious

2006-04-26T19:52:00.001-04:00

MP3: You Really Piss Me Off (2.9 mb)

There's a great series of videos called something like "Classic Albums," and the one about Lou Reed's Transformer album is particularly good. Mauricio suggested it to me and I will in turn suggest it to you. [Here it is at Amazon]

The mp3 for this entry is from a few years back and well you can guess who inspired it....

baby's on fire

2006-04-04T19:53:00.001-04:00

MP3: To the Lake (4.5 mb)

I've got a thing for Brian Eno.

It began several years ago when a fellow high school stoner brought over his vinyl copy of Here Come the Warm Jets, a record that - though having been released four years prior - was a new discovery in our endless search for music that "did it" for us, music that rose above the dreadful clatter of disco and the sensitive MOR that dominated mid-70s radio in central Alabama.

A million groups fit this bill at the time, one of them being King Crimson, and it was through reading about them (Robert Fripp, specifically) that my friend had happened upon Mr. Eno. So we put the record on and became infatuated with the strange sounds and rhythms. But even though "Baby's On Fire" became something of a weekend battle cry for us, we perceived Eno as little more than the jester in the court of the Crimson King, not realizing he was actually more a Merlin whose sonic magic would prep our ears for the music in our future. He was duly noted, but not further pursued.

Throughout the years his name would appear again and again on the backs of interesting albums, and a worn cassette copy I had of ...Warm Jets returned to my playlist less a curiosa than it had been before. The music was really beginning to make sense, and so I began paying more attention. And I liked it. A lot.

Fast forward to now and I'll tell you that I recently finished reading Brian Eno's Diary: A Year with Swollen Appendices (a Christmas gift from Cliff) and am currently making my way through Brian Eno: His Music and the Vertical Color of Sound (a gift from Kate...I am a lucky man). Both are fascinating reads, and have even further enhanced my appreciation of not just his music, but his whole way of thinking.

Well, getting to the point. A few months ago I had an idea for a song that felt to me like one of Eno's layered vocal type songs (as opposed to the ambient or "idiot energy" ones). Naturally, it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned, but I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless.

TO THE LAKE

She sits in her chair
While the old man has his paper and coffee
Her knees bent, feet on the seat
With a glare that could topple Qadhafi
The walls oh the wooden walls
How she wants to tear them down
With a cry to the glistening sky
To the lake without a sound

She waits for the rolling of shoulders
Revealing a subtle benigning
Half-dressed in her favorite suit
When she sees me at the window signing
So we go down, so we go down
So we go down to the lake
Through the brush and the brambles and such
That get tangled in my cape

To the lake, to the lake

We stand at the edge of the lake
Like content little conquering warriors
Our screams as we dive in delight
Surely fade into neighboring foyers
Mary Mae, Mary Mae, Mary Mae
Won't you take me in your fort
In the light till the coming of night
Till the autumn ships de-port...