Current Listening- Punk and Noise Central
Current listening is where I post about artists I am listening to.
Mekons- A first wave (and first rate) Punk band, started in the late 1970s. They are still playing together.
The Replacements- Minnesota Rock and Roll with Punk leanings. Their bassist was still in High School when they went on a tour back in 1984. Great songs that more people should know.
The Velvet Underground- Lou Reed’s original band; Catchy tunes, good noise.
Ponytail- A great live band, I saw them at the Black Cat, opening for Yeasayer. Sounds like very energetic Noise Rock from Mars.
When is the new album coming out?
J RAUD & THE FIRING SQUAD’s upcoming album is about 70% complete. The title is Dance of Words. Its projected release date is sometime in the Fall of this year. Most of the songs were written between September 2009 and May 2010. Ryan Minton is producing, with assistance from Bryan Bowman and me.
Songwriting Process
When I write a song, I like to work quickly. My lyrics and music are usually finished after about 15-45 minutes. I edit later. Artistic clarity is brief. I usually write after an epiphany or a summation of thoughts I’ve had over the course of days or months. The songs are helpful to me (that’s why I write). I also hope others can discover something from them and be a part of them.
The songs for Dance of Words were written while I was sitting at a desk, guitar in lap, and typing out lyrics on my computer. I would look out the window. The words just came to me like epiphanies do.
More updates to come…for your reading pleasure, lyrics for “The Ego Song” from Dance of Words are below.
The Ego Song
I’ve been going through day to day
Waiting for a change
Wait could make me new, not stay the same?
I live in a world where humans are robots
And robots stay the same
Have I lost all feeling? I’ll be lucky when I’m blue
Chorus:
Take my money, take my clothing, take my car
Take my status, take my ego too
Take my blindness, take my narrow-mindedness
Take my heartache, take my selfish nature too
-
It’s a matter of sane
This day to day
What could make a change?
Though my heart stays the same
I live in a world where humans are robots
And robots stay the same
Have I lost all feeling? I’ll be lucky when I’m blue
(Repeat Chorus)
Current Listening – 70’s Songwriters, African music, and 90’s Flashbacks
Current listening is where I’ll post about artists I am listening to. Below is my current soundtrack:
Bobbie Gentry- 60’s and 70’s folk singer-songwriter with an incredibly sexy voice, great writing, and good looks to boot (the ultimate trifecta). Some of her fairly well known songs include “Ode to Billy Joe” and “Fancy”. Dig deeper and you’ll find she has a great selection of material, though she retired from music in the late 1970s.
Fela Kuti- The Afro-beat pioneer with political songs and nice rhythms. His voice and saxaphone work are powerful, and the long songs can put you in a trance.
The Cranberries- This 90’s group reminds me of middle school. Listen to the album “Everybody else is doing it so why can’t we?”, and I dare you to tell me this isn’t epic music that will chill your spine.
Oasis- I am referring to the “What’s the Story Morning Glory” album. Who sounds like that album right now? I say no one does. Listen to the songs “Champagne Supernova”, and “Wonderwall”, they epitomize the 90’s sound, yet still sound fresh. These guys were not Beatles rip-offs like everyone claimed.
Os Mutantes- Psychedelic Brazilian group from the 60’s and 70’s, though they just released a new album about a year ago, and are still good at what they do. Their sound conjures up images of drunken monkeys tipping over couches and splattering paint on the walls.
Link Love- Edition 2
Link love is a category where I post links to sites I enjoy. They entail a wide range of topics.
The Hope Chest- Old newspaper clippings of the early 1900’s, often humorous. Topics include the evil that is Jazz music, mince meat pies, and radical health advice. You really should check this site out to see what I mean.
Assignment Detroit- Time magazine is doing a year-long feature on Detroit, with a mostly positive, refreshing outlook on the economically dire city.
Spinner- Music news about indie acts and big-time artists too. This site covers a broad range of music, although they leave out Polka. Polka has it bad right now.
“Nickels & Dimes” is 5 years Old
My album “Nickels & Dimes” is 5 years old this year.
This album took a long time to create. All of the tracks were recorded between 2001 and 2004. They were recorded in a don’t fret over the mistakes (punk folk?) manner, in my Dad’s basement, when I’d come home from college during breaks. There are so many different styles and sounds incorporated on the album: electronic, folk, alt-country, psychedelic, and more. Its chaotic, messy nature was either loved or loathed (or somewhere in-between) by people who heard it.
I found an old review of the album here.
Give a listen to a few tracks (and read about each) from “Nickels & Dimes” below:
Candy Cigarettes This song was created from scratch over a period of 3-4 hours on a sunny day in 2001.The lyrics were made up on the spot. The vocal you hear on the recording is me ad-libbing (sort of like what a lot of rappers do, although done in the genre of folk pop). Inspiration for the chime sound hook came from the tubular bells at McCurdy Park in Owosso, MI. It’s reminiscent of a Beatles song.
Red Rover I had the keyboard part for this kicking around in my head for months. In 2004, I finally came up with a vocal part from just joking around and having fun. You can hear my ecstasy in the Jerry Lee Lewis piano at the end.
Running Out Of Batteries This one was written in 2002, I believe. I used to write songs while standing alone in my Dad’s kitchen, looking out the window at birds and butterflies, and this was one that was written that way. I didn’t record it until about 2 years later, because for a long time I couldn’t get the right sound. This song is best done in a sparse way. One of my favorites.
Doodle Gallery
“Baby Bot”, pen on ink jet paper, scanned. Jeff Raudebaugh, 2010.
