HELLO – song a week is back. I have been slacking off lately, but it is mostly due to me not having the things I needed to get my recording rig rolling in the new place.
Here’s a new song that I’m pretty stoked about…. I’m using Kristin’s guitar – which you will notice sounds much nicer than my craptacular epiphone.
Fairy Tales
Copyright 2007 Matthew C Good
Fairy tales
are how I will survive
when now and then
I lose my love for life.
Bearing down
are the winter and the night,
struggling with the joy
from the Christmas lights
I know what I want now,
I didn’t know at first.
But I still can’t tell you,
It takes many forms.
Do you know that feeling
you get when you’re haunted
by the ghost of the unknown?
That’s what I wanted
From science books
and the arms of a good friend,
cuz make believe
helps me feel alive again
This world is small
if I can fit it in my mind
and pick and choose
and leave the reset behind
Call me dreamer
Call me absurd
I want what can’t be
Except in thoughts and words
Do you know that feeling
you get when you’re haunted
by the ghost of the unknown?
Do you know that feeling?
That’s what I wanted
when I prayed for better dreams.
That’s what I wanted…
That’s what I wanted.
—
I used my cool little ghetto-harp, and i think it sounds neat. maybe a little out of tune but this is just a demo, so who cares. I’m thinking this song might be a good closer, lyrically, because it sums up pretty much where i’ve been trying to go with a lot of my other songs, like worlds unknown, the way off the ground, nostalgia, and to a lesser extent, drive, every time I close my eyes, human nature and love, etc…
Let me know what you think!
Another junky laptop mic demo, since I’m waiting for the online retailer geeks.com to ship me the correct KVM switch… not that you need to know that, but that’s whyyyyyy. Its pretty neat though. Here ya go!
Jealousy and Greed
Copyright (C) 2007 Matthew C Good
I’m looking for a game
where no one has to lose.
Cuz it feels so good to play,
to live life by the rules.
And when it comes to this mess,
I am of two minds
cuz I wanna get ahead,
yet leave no one behind,
So what are Jealousy and Greed
doing with me?
Why are Jealousy and Greed
part of me?
I am just a man
who’s never seen his face.
Just some photographs,
an image in the waves
So what in God’s name does it mean
to feel so in between
all the subjectivities
and the ideal?
What are Jealousy and Greed
doing with me?
What are Jealousy and Greed
doing with me?
—
I was at two of my friends’ wedding the other weekend, and my bud and fellow songwriter-guy Jonny Weaver was there and asked me what I had learned from doing the song-a-week thing. I told him that I just don’t have golden ideas every week, and that anybody that has a major life epiphany or emotional crisis on a weekly basis can not survive long. What that means is that I’ve had to fictionalize a lot of these songs, and I’ve tried tricks like writing them from different perspectives, or thinking up a character in my head and writing about THAT person. It used to be that my songs were pretty personal and about me nearly all the time. They’re still pretty personal, but they are less and less about me, and more about somebody I made up, who may or may not be based loosely on someone I know. That’s still personal, and I still have some kind of emotional connection with the characters…. which is weird. I’ve never had that happen before, really. I would assume someone who writes a lot of stories would probably know what I mean, but even more so.
But this is the first song in a long time that I didn’t really have to fictionalize much on. Greed is something that I could see, check that, have seen creep into my life and spill ink all over the part of my brain where I wrote down that all people can be redeemed and deserve good will, and that helping others is about the most uncomplicated good that I can think of. ::sigh::
I guess that’s why there’s the sermon on the mount, eh?
Hello, my sweet chinchillas!
Song-A-Week is BACK – with an attitude, a new haircut, and a (oddly enough) some kind of bizarrely-colored rash that I really autta get checked out. Jeez, that’s awkward.
Dang, I must be in a silly mood tonight. Well, here’s #27: An old one called “Sex and Gadgetry.” This was originally written at the end of senior year at Greenville, and i was never able to record it or demo it because the guitars I had up to now would get nasty-out-of-tune when you played as high up on the neck as this song needs. But I just started playing kristin’s nice fender acoustic. It has a really nice bright happy sound, with more sustain. And its more in tune than my old Epiphone (or at least out of tune differently). So I finally got around to demoing it, and here it is. Sorry, the audio sucks – things are still a bit crazy around the studio after the move.
Sex and Gadgetry
(C) 2007 Matthew C Good
So sell me on sex and gadgetry,
I almost believe you.
Beautiful people loving me,
I almost believe you.
Cuz I feel warm when I’m buying something
I feel warm when I’m going somewhere
and not when I’m there.
Gonna buy me another eastern philosophy,
I collect them.
Gonna get me excess eccentricity,
I need it.
And I feel dead when I don’t have coffee,
cuz headaches and heartaches all mean something’s
wrong.
buh-buh-buh, buh-do-buh, buh-do-buh, buh-duh-bum.
buh-buh-buh, buh-do-dum, bud-do-dum, buh-dum-buh-dum.
So sell me a lifestyle from the magazines,
I want to be you.
Oppress me a thousand middle classes.
Don’t you want to?
Cuz I’m tired of fighting natural consumer urges.
Let me become the focus of my own hatred,
you might as well cash in.
Sell me on sex and gadgetry,
beautiful people loving me,
I want believe you.
—
Yeah – so the audio sucks. But the song could be cool with the right production. Sounds good with the Nashville Hi-Strung Acoustic. Caitlin (chase’s girl) played that sucker when me and my ragtag band played this on hogue steps that one time to a rousing crowd of at least 5 people.
Just what, you ask, IS a Nashville Hi-Strung Acoustic? Well, its an acoustic guitar that you string up with just the high set of strings from a 12-string guitar. So the lower-pitched 4 strings are actually tuned an octave up, and the b and e strings are the same. You end up with a really cool sound that is a mix between a harpsichord, a mandolin, and an acoustic guitar. neat stuff. I haven’t used it in a long time, since uh, its been at home… Maybe I’ll go grab it at thanksgiving time.
On a side note – I started working on a song the other day that makes me more excited than I’ve been about a song since… Well… i don’t know, maybe standoff, vision, or you know where I’ll be. Or maybe not even those. This song makes me really happy. So far. And its the kind of song that I could see getting picked up by a non-screwed-up band, so if any of you have any songwriter-publishing contacts, I might be asking you to call in some favors in a few weeks. ha. peace out dudes.
Actually, on second thought, this song might be better called “what I know.” Maybe. maybe not. two things sounds cooler.
Okay this song is sorta about the difference between where you are and where you are going. Life is both, isn’t that odd? Dissatisfaction with where you are – its natural, and sortof annoying. And what happens when you emphasize the one over the other, as I often do? What I mean by all that is happiness is both the easiest and hardest thing to find. It’s always there, all you have to do is be satisfied with your life. That doesn’t seem that hard or that bad, and you can do it anytime… But we don’t, or at least I don’t. Its “the grass is greener” all over again. Its so hard for me to be content with anything, and couple that with the fact that I’m a worrier and… well, you get songs like this.
Two Things
Copyright (C) 2007 Matthew C Good
oh dear
its all that i have
it’s not much
but its all that i have
oh my lord
could it be so simple?
it’s enough
and it’s all that I have
I have flown like pinwheels,
my tin wings turned to dust
there are only two things
that I have come to trust
They are contradicting but
they both are true enough
to stand alone
it’s what I know
don’t you think
that somewhere else is better
don’t you know
your head is a liar
life is a journey
its a river we must cross
but we are standing on both sides
of this paradox
Cuz we’re always going somewhere
but we’re aching to get lost
we’re staring out the window
adding up the cost,
and we are missing out.
—
No bass on this one, specifically so that Ian McD won’t have to listen to my drivel when he lays down his crazy-insane mad skills. Sorento didn’t sound good on this one for some reason, so its the yamaha. man I love all things yamaha.
Tonight was laundry night, so that pretty much guaranteed that there would be NO production on whatever song I managed to squeek out. This week’s song was recorded on my cruddy laptop microphone in Audacity and, as a result, may be bad-sounding, quiet, and generally sloppy. But you’ll get the idea of what the song is at least, which is really the whole point of the song-a-week exercise anyway.
The Right Thing
Copyright 2007 Matthew C Good
I don’t agree
about doing the nice thing
That doesn’t mean
you’re doing the right thing
Cuz some people need
lightening in their eyes
before they can feel
the flood water rise
Some of us need
to make a something
Some of us don’t
and that is fine.
But all of us need
to examine the line
between what we need
and what we can sacrifice
—
Another short and sweet one there. I think its kinda neat though… Could have a good pulsating/driving feel, add some piano/rhodes and open chords or something…. Let me know what you think.
An actual song, not like last weeks. A simple one, a short one. Has no real chorus, and in that way is like a lot of the songs off of “Shortest Distance…” So that’s kinda funny, but I think it’s pretty good. Some keys and bass would be nice on this one.
Human Nature and Love
(C) Matthew C Good
If you would come home
I’d admit that I was wrong,
If you’d be my love
that’d be enough
Hey, if you won’t
it wouldn’t be that bad
Just thought I’d ask
in case you’re holding back
Nothing’s funny.
I turn off the TV.
This house is quiet,
I hear every creak.
These past few days
are a mystery to me.
I float like a feather,
I drag like a leaf.
Fear is the consequence
of the intermingling of
human nature and love
—
The main guitar is the souped-up sorento. Man I love that thing. The accent is the goldfish.
I had no song in me tonight. I tried. I couldn’t do it.
So here’s a mishmash of stuff instead.
Mishmash
Also, here’s a rough mix of Seth’s drumming on Worlds Unknown. It’s a little dull-sounding now that I’m listening back, so next mix i’ll brighten it up a bit. Also, you may notice spots where the drums seem off. They aren’t. The instruments are off. I’m crappy at playing in tempo to a click. I’ll either replace all the parts or edit them so everything’s in the pocket when the appointed time comes.
Worlds Unknown with a Big Drum Kit.
Well, I’ve been a bit down lately. And thinking about my own mortality more than usual. It’s weird for me. School for me was a brilliant way of putting that sort of thinking off… Now the future is not so nicely laid out, and the few things in the future that ARE certain (or nearly so) are fairly depressing. Anyway, for your enjoyment, here are but a few of my insecurities.
Maybe Not
(C) 2007 Matthew C Good
The only cure for life
is death
and everything in between
is a bandage.
Everyone will draw
that breath,
and one day they will forget to take
another.
The only thing that scares
me more
than shutting down is being around
forever.
I think I’ll feel trapped
and bored.
When I stop to think, it makes me
shudder.
Lately I been thinking
impossible thoughts,
asking heavy questions
where nobody talks.
Maybe if I’m lucky,
it’s a long way off.
Maybe I’ll be lucky,
maybe not.
The Midwest plains pass by
slow
Other lives hide behind
the horizon
So the only thing I wanna
know
is why God made the landscape long
but the living short
Lately I been thinking
impossible thoughts,
asking heavy questions
where nobody talks.
Maybe if I’m lucky,
it’s a long way off.
Maybe I’ll be lucky,
maybe not.
—
I apologize in advance for the last chords. I changed them while I was playing electric and didn’t bother to replay the acoustic, so there’s a bit of a clash there. If I record this song “for real” whatever that means then I’ll fix it.
What do you think? I like the lyrics and the song is alright. My 12-string playing aint *that* bad either.
Here’s a song… I will need seth to rock some drums on it, and the john/chase to rock the explosions in the sky solos. I like my octave doubles on this song… hehe…
Every Time I Close My Eyes
(C) 2007 Matthew C Good
Every time i close my eyes
It’s like the darkness aids my mind
And all I see is through your lies,
And what a sight it is.
When you called to pick me up
Take me to that country bluff,
Tell me you weren’t thinking of
someone else.
Baby, I have scrapbooks
Filled with fantasy.
And baby, I could’ve been there
If you were there for me.
I never got inside your head
Wasn’t room with all that indiference…
I don’t mean to misrepresent,
I really did believe.
But since you never came home
It’s probably best if you just left me alone.
I’m already emotionally blown,
I might as well just leave.
Baby, I have scrapbooks
Filled with fantasy.
And baby, I could’ve been there
If you were there for me.
Baby, I got love songs
I will never sing.
Baby, I lost them
When you let go of me.
Every time I close my eyes
I dream a dream that makes things right
Where I don’t have to sacrifice
everything.
—
All electrics are the Sorento. Sounds a LOT BETTER. those old pots must’ve really be hampering the sound… or the tuners dampening the vibrations, or SOMETHING. I can’t get over it. Unfortunately, the intonation isn’t perfect cuz it aint got no tune-o-matic bridge, and I’m not sure I can retrofit one on there.
I’m currently editing drum tracks for Worlds Unknown and they sound killer except for I’m doing a LOT of editing and my protools is FREAKING OUT i need like four gigs of ram to do it… and the crash cymbals sound wierd over the edits with the auto-created fades, so i’ll have to go back and manually do em, but that’s hard since protools decided it doesn’t like a BAJILLION edits in a session. BUT IT SOUNDS GREAT. Seth and I worked out some really cool loopy parts that he played and I edited… and reverse cymbals and stuff. Man I reall like his parts. “Hold On” has some rock to it too. And chase will like the end of Any Happier.
Well, let me know what you think about the new one!!!!!!
In keeping with the ‘Cosmonaut Rock’ theme…
…which may or may not exist anywhere except for in my head…
…here’s a tune called “Star City.” It is weird. I’m not sure I like it. I think the lyrics are cool in a quirky sort of way. The music is kinda wierd, it sounds like songs I write when I try to write loud angry electric guitar songs. Which is pretty formulaic, in my opinion.
Read up on Star City on Wikipedia, and it will make more sense.
STAR CITY
(C) 2007 Matthew C Good
I wanna go to Star City
The skies are clean, but the streets are gritty
Rockets designed by committee
Yuri Gagarin, Star City
Ten pm, Tennessee, cool breeze, the earth
is trying hard to flirt with me, but I
been counting stars and naming other planets
and no jealous wind is gonna take me for granted.
I packed my things, I got everything I need
candy bars, a telescope, and books I’ll never read
I’ll have left my friends, and I’ll never see them
but at least that way, we’ll have a good reason.
I wanna go to Star City
The skies are clean, but the streets are gritty
Earthbound people, what a pity
I wanna leave Star City
Take a train, take a car, take a cab,
no matter what you take, yeah, the route’s still flat.
Baby where we’re going, horizons don’t exist
The only frame of reference is the one inside your chest.
Pass by the guards with the AK-47s
Grab a quick look, they’re the guardians of heaven.
Maybe one day, we’ll be in that museum
as the first two captive hearts that finally freed them.
I wanna go to Star City
The skies are clean, but the streets are gritty
Rockets designed by committee
Yuri Gagarin, Star City
I’ve been west, north, east and south
Through the atmosphere is the only way out
So you made a mess you wanna to leave behind
Wanna go somewhere without a critical eye
So you pack a bag and move through Siberia
To chase a dream you can’t know till you find it here, you’re
leaving now for some place desolate and
where the loneliness at least is reciprocated
We’re headed out to Star City
A pilgrimage for the lost and pitied
Hitch a ride with someone pretty
We’re gonna go to Star City
—
I played my new-and-improved fixed-up Sorento on for the guitars on this one. Through the Tech 21.
The details on the Sorento fixes… Well I ripped off the old crappy tuners and replaced them, which was a pain because they are 6-in-line but they are NOT the standard 6-in-line ferrule diameter. So i rigged it up with paper rolled up in there and wood glue, but you can’t tell AT ALL. They also are farther apart than normal 6-in-lines, so i had to eyeball the straightness of them… the angle they come off the headstock. One is a little -not perfect- if you look at it long enough. But oh well. That freaking wood is soft too. Better not have to replace those ever again or things could get interesting. Okay so I replaced the volume and tone controls because they scratched a lot, and replaced the jack with a new one, so the sucker makes no noises it shouldn’t anymore. I added a string tee to the B and E strings so they no longer fly off the nut when you strum hard. I cleaned the contacts on the pickup selector switches pretty extensively (which was scary, cuz that thing is WIERD) and they work right now… so that’s good. Cleaned the whole thing up a lot and put some lemon oil on the fingerboard… It plays good and sounds muuuuch better now. freakin awesome.
The drums are a rough-mixed, slowed down, protoolsized, and looped sample from Seth playing on “Worlds Unknown,” which I think has a sort of similar feel to this one.
That’s pretty much all I got on this one. yeah.
