Have a listen to this discussion about the book ‘Enjoy this Moment’. I found it engaging, insightful and enjoyable. I think it shows a great understanding of the challenges we face in life and the ideas that the book puts forward for dealing with them.
Do you find this audio discussion easier to digest than the book?
Finally, if I tell you the analysis, the script and the two voices are computer generated, how does that make you feel? Does it matter to you? Does it affect your enjoyment? Should it?
Here is some intermission music for you, as I transition from the covers I’ve been releasing so far this year to originals.
This is sort of a cover of the song Eye by the Smashing Pumpkins https://songwhip.com/the-smashing-pumpkins/eye2001 – but not really because I had not heard the original version of the song when I started making this instrumental. What I had heard was a midi version of the song played on a 1990s PC soundcard. Years later I used ADLPlug https://github.com/jpcima/ADLplug an emulator to reproduce the sound and you can hear that version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ2GaGDHnnU – listening to it takes me back to the days of trying to coax music out of these office machines and being entranced by the results like this. I even made an album of covers using this technique and still thrill at the sound of Dire Straits, Radiohead, Bob Dylan and Iron Maiden rendered using these puny sounds. I wondered if I could make the chip sound more impressive, to give it the chance to shine in todays hi-tech world, and so this cover was born. I took the bits of the original midi track that sounded cool and ran with them, trying to make the edges harder and the tops sparklier. I did use a specialist drum synth for some of the percussion and a ton of effects but everything else you can hear is that cute little FM chip singing it’s heart out. I hope you enjoy it.
I’m very excited for you to hear the latest Errorplane track, it’s another cover but this time I’m covering not one, not two but three classic songs so you really get your moneys worth with this one!
It began as an homage to the Dido classic ‘Thank you’, which shot to fame when Eminem sampled the first verse in his heartbreaking track ‘Stan’. I remember very clearly hearing the Dido version for the first time while visiting Barny and Myf at the farm. The slow intro build up from a Bongo beat, guitar and piano joining, then the drums kicking in, hits the spot. The familiar verse offers no surprises but then the bass drops and I thought ‘if only the chorus could live up to this perfection’. And amazingly it does, Dido’s detached vocal wraps around an uplifting melody expressing a heartfelt sentiment of thanks. Amazingly, after a slightly odd pipe solo it stays strong into the second verse, offering a completely different melody and finishing off in classic pop style with two rounds of the chorus. Although it’s been with us for over 25 years it still sounds fresh to me and I loved covering it, taking the structure apart and remaking it with the tools I have available.
As is so often the case while putting together a cover I kept hearing echoes of another song, this time the bass line from the Cure’s ‘A Forest’. The single best thing about making a song is that you can do whatever you like, so I ran with it and soon I had two songs mashed together like some obvious cut ‘n shut car repair job. I was still unsure what I had on my hands when the outro to the Beatles ‘Dear Prudence’ kept running through my head. In for a penny, in for a pound and now I’ve got some frankenstinian three way clocking in at over 10 minutes!
A search online revealed I had made a medley. Oh the shame! The last medley I remember were the much ridiculed ‘stars on 45’ singles from my youth. So I apologise in advance if this track offends you, you have every right. I can’t imagine any of the original artists will be pleased to be sharing a track with the others, thankfully I don’t have to seek permission, from them or anyone. And just maybe there are others like me who love it for the slice of joyful abandon that it sounds like to me. Do let me know what it sounds like to you??
So the new song is called ‘thank a dear medley’, it covers not one, not two but three songs. Anyone want to guess the songs? A clue is the title contains the first word of each song covered…
I Love working on my own songs, it’s a bit like being a chef – designing the menu, sourcing the best ingredients, all the careful prep work and the hours spent hunched over the stove. A punk cover like this, on the other hand, is like sticking a pizza in the oven: It may not be as cultured, deep and meaningful, but boy does it hit the spot!
It’s by no means finished, there’s hours and hours more enjoyment I can pour into a track like this. Fixes, mixing, harmonies, lead guitar, SFX… the possibilities are literally endless, which is one of the reasons I love making music so much! Or I could get back to working on the album.
Let me know what you think in the Youtube comments, and thanks for listening 🙂
