Sister Morphine has been one of my favourite songs for decades. Originally an album track from The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album, it was released in 1971.
When I first heard it, I was floored. Such brilliance, both in composition and sound!
It epitomized the acoustic guitar for me - I've always felt that it is a very raw instrument. When I pick one up, the acoustic guitar either becomes angry or lonely. As such, my acoustic parts are either soft and sparse (Johnny Cash's version of Hurt is a perfect example), or furious (Pinball Wizard by The Who). I can't bear to play "happy-clappy-singalong" songs with it (think Big Blue Sea or The Barenaked Ladies).
As I've said before, Keith Richards was THE reason I wanted to be a guitarist. And this song, one of my favourite Stones tracks, shows the moodier, more vunerable side of the band.
The other morning, I was having breakfast when Sister Morphine appeared on my random iTunes playlist. Love. Inspiration.
2 hours later, I had recorded a rough cover version of the song. I know I can't recreate the feel of the original track (linked at the bottom of this post), so I took it in a different route. More electronic, Depeche Mode-y. Just a little bit of guitar to really give it a punch.
Almost finished the song, it seemed to lack something. I had put a delay effect on the snare drum, to carry through the sparse arrangement. I decided to slow down the decay a little, to pull it out of the tempo. Now it seems to be limping. PERFECT.
I'm really proud of this track - I think I very quickly managed to compile my interpretation of the lyrics and give them a "swift touch."
Have a listen to this:
http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=208439&html5=yes
And now this:
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Action Pants
A new project is starting rehearsals this week!
Three friends and I are putting together a band called Action Pants. It's a cover band, doing inappropriate versions of songs we all know. Inappropriate because it'll be a dance/distortion/punk performance of decidedly non-aggressive songs from artists like Gowan, Chris Isaak, The Shirelles, Kylie Minogue, and Petula Clark. Among others.
I've been in a few bands that take themselves way too seriously. This one will be FUN. We're determined to do a good job, and treat the songs with respect, but we're all adults with no sense of shame. So we're going to do what we want with the stages we're allowed on.
Sorry to keep this short, I have to get down to my studio to figure out how to funk-up Wicked Game...
Three friends and I are putting together a band called Action Pants. It's a cover band, doing inappropriate versions of songs we all know. Inappropriate because it'll be a dance/distortion/punk performance of decidedly non-aggressive songs from artists like Gowan, Chris Isaak, The Shirelles, Kylie Minogue, and Petula Clark. Among others.
I've been in a few bands that take themselves way too seriously. This one will be FUN. We're determined to do a good job, and treat the songs with respect, but we're all adults with no sense of shame. So we're going to do what we want with the stages we're allowed on.
Sorry to keep this short, I have to get down to my studio to figure out how to funk-up Wicked Game...
Friday, January 16, 2015
Watch The Blood Run
This song deals with the troubles I had as a teenager living in a small town.
With the frustration of not feeling "at home," and with no clue on how to obtain a sense of belonging, I would often cut myself. My left arm, shoulder, and hand are covered in the scars left behind. I started getting tattoos, and these helped to keep me from cutting as I didn't want to ruin the inked designs that took their place. Surprising, but it worked.
Cutting was a way to release the frustration and pressure - perhaps it was the adrenaline rush that came with the pain, maybe it was self-punishment for not being able to fit into society like we're "supposed to." Or maybe it was just the increased stimulation that was intellectually lacking in such a lonely place? Who knows...
Almost 20 years later, I was sitting in my studio strumming the acoustic guitar part for what would become "Watch The Blood Run." The first lyric came from nowhere: "Every time I think of you I find myself just sitting in the dark." That line brought back memories of a time when I was caught cutting, when my girlfriend walked in on me. Sitting alone in my darkened bedroom, she initially thought she'd walked in on something else... haha, nope. I was digging a sewing needle into my arm and excavating a deep groove. The rest of the lyrics came quickly, and I was finally able to express what was going on in my head while I cut.
The rest of the song came very quickly, surprisingly including the harmonica melody. I think it was the first thing I wrote on that instrument, and I can still only play my own songs on it. I've never learned to actually perform anything but this and "Your Heart And Mine" on a harmonica.
When I mixed the song, I realized the guitar-and-drum-based song needed more. I asked John (the mixing engineer) to add some keyboards to it. He created a fantastic, 70s-inspired organ piece. In turn, that lead to my writing another guitar part in the 5 minutes that John laid down the keys. Then I asked him to play the new piece on an electric piano. The song now had a very different feel to what I had originally intended. Now it needed a tambourine loudly bashing through the song! Scope Creep ensued... Finally we had finished it and listened to the mix. It was done. Or so we thought. About to it save, I interrupted with "um, I might have an idea. I'm not really liking the start. What if we copy the heavy guitar and drums, and paste them as a 4-bar lead-in to the song?" We tried it, copy/pasted the bass guitar as well, and ended up with the huge introduction that you now hear. God I love the rearrangment capabilities of computer-based recording.
And that was how Watch The Blood Run came to be. And personally it means a lot to have finally been able to express what I was dealing with so long ago.
With the frustration of not feeling "at home," and with no clue on how to obtain a sense of belonging, I would often cut myself. My left arm, shoulder, and hand are covered in the scars left behind. I started getting tattoos, and these helped to keep me from cutting as I didn't want to ruin the inked designs that took their place. Surprising, but it worked.
Cutting was a way to release the frustration and pressure - perhaps it was the adrenaline rush that came with the pain, maybe it was self-punishment for not being able to fit into society like we're "supposed to." Or maybe it was just the increased stimulation that was intellectually lacking in such a lonely place? Who knows...
Almost 20 years later, I was sitting in my studio strumming the acoustic guitar part for what would become "Watch The Blood Run." The first lyric came from nowhere: "Every time I think of you I find myself just sitting in the dark." That line brought back memories of a time when I was caught cutting, when my girlfriend walked in on me. Sitting alone in my darkened bedroom, she initially thought she'd walked in on something else... haha, nope. I was digging a sewing needle into my arm and excavating a deep groove. The rest of the lyrics came quickly, and I was finally able to express what was going on in my head while I cut.
The rest of the song came very quickly, surprisingly including the harmonica melody. I think it was the first thing I wrote on that instrument, and I can still only play my own songs on it. I've never learned to actually perform anything but this and "Your Heart And Mine" on a harmonica.
When I mixed the song, I realized the guitar-and-drum-based song needed more. I asked John (the mixing engineer) to add some keyboards to it. He created a fantastic, 70s-inspired organ piece. In turn, that lead to my writing another guitar part in the 5 minutes that John laid down the keys. Then I asked him to play the new piece on an electric piano. The song now had a very different feel to what I had originally intended. Now it needed a tambourine loudly bashing through the song! Scope Creep ensued... Finally we had finished it and listened to the mix. It was done. Or so we thought. About to it save, I interrupted with "um, I might have an idea. I'm not really liking the start. What if we copy the heavy guitar and drums, and paste them as a 4-bar lead-in to the song?" We tried it, copy/pasted the bass guitar as well, and ended up with the huge introduction that you now hear. God I love the rearrangment capabilities of computer-based recording.
And that was how Watch The Blood Run came to be. And personally it means a lot to have finally been able to express what I was dealing with so long ago.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Restart... Again
Wow, the last time I blogged was a year and a half ago!
When we last spoke, I had just recorded an 8-song album titled The Scars That I've Earned.
Right after the recording sessions, I had a cycling accident that took me out of commission for a year or so. It was tough, all I could think about was finishing the album.
At my return I tried to mix it myself, like I did for Love Isn't Enough. It didn't sound good enough, my mixing talents just aren't quite up to par. So I asked John Jamieson, of Soundhouse Studio, to help. He did, and we created a collection of songs that exceeded my highest hopes.
The Scars That I've Earned is now available on CDBABY (CD and MP3), iTunes (MP3), and directly from me at MATTSWIFTMUSIC.COM (CD and MP3)!
Here's the song I'm most proud of. One of these days, I'll tell you it's story - it's a tearjerker.
When we last spoke, I had just recorded an 8-song album titled The Scars That I've Earned.
Right after the recording sessions, I had a cycling accident that took me out of commission for a year or so. It was tough, all I could think about was finishing the album.
At my return I tried to mix it myself, like I did for Love Isn't Enough. It didn't sound good enough, my mixing talents just aren't quite up to par. So I asked John Jamieson, of Soundhouse Studio, to help. He did, and we created a collection of songs that exceeded my highest hopes.
The Scars That I've Earned is now available on CDBABY (CD and MP3), iTunes (MP3), and directly from me at MATTSWIFTMUSIC.COM (CD and MP3)!
Here's the song I'm most proud of. One of these days, I'll tell you it's story - it's a tearjerker.
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