Sorry I've been negligent with this blog. After a few weeks focussing on other aspects of my life, my muse has returned. I've been writing like a fiend!
In the last couple of weeks, the next album has been born. Along with 'What To Say' and 'Love Isn't Enough', I can now add 'Home', 'The Dream', and 'Wow' to the set list!
Wow
What do you think, to bring up words like that?
So poetic, not for me.
Whenever I try I always fall down
I can only say ‘Wow’
How did you learn to present like that
So emotic, just for me
You hold the charisma, you turn me around
I can only say ‘Wow’
How do you live with yourself like that
Open-shuttered, not like me
I couldn’t decide, I don’t know how
I can only say ‘Wow’
How do you excise your demons like that
Show no fear, breaking free
I’d love to follow, but I can just bow
I can only say ‘Wow’
(c) Matt Swift 2010
Written to force the end of writer's block, I was listening to the latest James album, Hey Ma. I've been a fan for years, but it finally struck me how great a lyricist Tim Booth is.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Disenfranchised
Warning: High-and-mighty Soapbox-style preaching on it’s way…..
There – you’ve been warned. If you’re still reading, I’m assuming you have given permission for me to speak my mind.
A couple of years ago, I read a fantastic article about the devaluation of music as an art form. It discussed how a piece of music had been devalued from AN EXPERIENCE, to AN ALBUM, A SONG, eventually ending up being worth $0.99 on iTunes, or free from online file-sharing. Thus, music is now considered worthless by most of the western world.
Blame it on lossless, virtually free, distribution. Blame it on the general quality of the product (commercial music as a whole). Blame it on kids that weren’t raised properly, and the parents that (mis-) taught them. Who knows, who cares?
I seem to be alone with this pet peeve, but I really hate seeing two people sitting next to each other, sharing headphones. Someone wrote and arranged that music, recorded it, mixed it, produced it, and stamped their name on it. And the listeners have chosen to ignore 50% of that. Not to mention that a stereo recording is never meant to lose one side. It throws off the other side, along with omitting (in some cases) entire melodies or themes.
Comparing art forms, you’d never go to an art gallery to see a specific piece and see a curtain draped over the left side of the painting. If you did, you’d see a furiously screaming artist demanding respect for the work he’d poured himself into. And chances are you’d understand his point. Music? Get’s none of that respect.
I complained about this to a friend, Celeste, who pointed out that as a consumer the listeners had every right to use the product as they saw fit. That I, as the creator, had sold my rights for the $0.99 paid. And she’s not entirely wrong.
So, I’ve removed the BUY option from my Soundclick page. Now it’s only available for streaming. Now it’s my GIFT, and it comes with a condition: Treat it with the respect it deserves, or ignore it altogether and move on.
I didn’t write or record this music for profit. I did receive some, and I’m thankful to those that bought. I earned enough to pay for my divorce in fact, but it’s not worth selling the respect I have for the art.
I’m dropping out of the industry side. For the love of the art, it’s pure again. Love it or leave it.
There – you’ve been warned. If you’re still reading, I’m assuming you have given permission for me to speak my mind.
A couple of years ago, I read a fantastic article about the devaluation of music as an art form. It discussed how a piece of music had been devalued from AN EXPERIENCE, to AN ALBUM, A SONG, eventually ending up being worth $0.99 on iTunes, or free from online file-sharing. Thus, music is now considered worthless by most of the western world.
Blame it on lossless, virtually free, distribution. Blame it on the general quality of the product (commercial music as a whole). Blame it on kids that weren’t raised properly, and the parents that (mis-) taught them. Who knows, who cares?
I seem to be alone with this pet peeve, but I really hate seeing two people sitting next to each other, sharing headphones. Someone wrote and arranged that music, recorded it, mixed it, produced it, and stamped their name on it. And the listeners have chosen to ignore 50% of that. Not to mention that a stereo recording is never meant to lose one side. It throws off the other side, along with omitting (in some cases) entire melodies or themes.
Comparing art forms, you’d never go to an art gallery to see a specific piece and see a curtain draped over the left side of the painting. If you did, you’d see a furiously screaming artist demanding respect for the work he’d poured himself into. And chances are you’d understand his point. Music? Get’s none of that respect.
I complained about this to a friend, Celeste, who pointed out that as a consumer the listeners had every right to use the product as they saw fit. That I, as the creator, had sold my rights for the $0.99 paid. And she’s not entirely wrong.
So, I’ve removed the BUY option from my Soundclick page. Now it’s only available for streaming. Now it’s my GIFT, and it comes with a condition: Treat it with the respect it deserves, or ignore it altogether and move on.
I didn’t write or record this music for profit. I did receive some, and I’m thankful to those that bought. I earned enough to pay for my divorce in fact, but it’s not worth selling the respect I have for the art.
I’m dropping out of the industry side. For the love of the art, it’s pure again. Love it or leave it.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Naked For Jesus
… I THOUGHT that title might get your attention.
I moved to Toronto in early 1996, from a little (a$$)hole-in-the-wall town in Southern Ontario.
Walking down Bloor St one day, I ran into an acquaintance from high-school. He told me that he was looking for musicians to start a band. Together we put it together:
We ended up as a 4-piece: two acoustic guitars playing punk rock guitar, a bassist, a Sarah McLaughlin-esque soft singer, and a dancy-techno drum machine. We called ourselves ‘Naked For Jesus’ and played exactly ½ of a show (a complete set, but only one guitarist and the singer were there).
We recorded a 4-song demo that I wish I still had.
Naked For Jesus could have been great. But I ended up "dating" the singer.
After a month or two, I found her laying on a friend’s kitchen floor making out with a homeless guy. AT MY BIRTHDAY PARTY. A homeless guy who had been stealing from my vodka bottle all night…. I stepped over the couple, took my bottle, expressed my anger at his swiping my liquor, and went home.
Ever the professional, I had no intention of leaving the band. It was too awesome. Neither did she, and agreed to be friendly. When it was time to choose cover song ideas, I suggested ‘Loose’ by Iggy Pop. Honestly, I thought it would sound fantastic, with raw acoustic guitars, a dance-y beat, and a soft vocal.
Unfortunately the singer didn’t believe me. Something about the chorus (I stick it deep inside, I stick it deep inside, ‘Cause I’m Loose) didn’t feel right to her…
She got offended and quit, breaking up the group before we ever really got our start.
I never saw the bassist again. I heard that the singer dropped out of school around the time her homeless boyfriend got beat up for being a Nazi. The other guitarist and I remained friends for a few years, until alcohol and a hectic city pace drew him back to small-town Ontario. We never played together again.
********
Also when I moved here, I was listening obsessively to The Velvet Underground. They appeared on my MP3 player this morning and I thougth about NFJ for the first time in over a decade.
I moved to Toronto in early 1996, from a little (a$$)hole-in-the-wall town in Southern Ontario.
Walking down Bloor St one day, I ran into an acquaintance from high-school. He told me that he was looking for musicians to start a band. Together we put it together:
We ended up as a 4-piece: two acoustic guitars playing punk rock guitar, a bassist, a Sarah McLaughlin-esque soft singer, and a dancy-techno drum machine. We called ourselves ‘Naked For Jesus’ and played exactly ½ of a show (a complete set, but only one guitarist and the singer were there).
We recorded a 4-song demo that I wish I still had.
Naked For Jesus could have been great. But I ended up "dating" the singer.
After a month or two, I found her laying on a friend’s kitchen floor making out with a homeless guy. AT MY BIRTHDAY PARTY. A homeless guy who had been stealing from my vodka bottle all night…. I stepped over the couple, took my bottle, expressed my anger at his swiping my liquor, and went home.
Ever the professional, I had no intention of leaving the band. It was too awesome. Neither did she, and agreed to be friendly. When it was time to choose cover song ideas, I suggested ‘Loose’ by Iggy Pop. Honestly, I thought it would sound fantastic, with raw acoustic guitars, a dance-y beat, and a soft vocal.
Unfortunately the singer didn’t believe me. Something about the chorus (I stick it deep inside, I stick it deep inside, ‘Cause I’m Loose) didn’t feel right to her…
She got offended and quit, breaking up the group before we ever really got our start.
I never saw the bassist again. I heard that the singer dropped out of school around the time her homeless boyfriend got beat up for being a Nazi. The other guitarist and I remained friends for a few years, until alcohol and a hectic city pace drew him back to small-town Ontario. We never played together again.
********
Also when I moved here, I was listening obsessively to The Velvet Underground. They appeared on my MP3 player this morning and I thougth about NFJ for the first time in over a decade.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Neglect
Happy Holidays Everyone!
I've been busy this month doing non-musical things. Work, Christmas parties, family visits, etc etc etc...
I've been making eyes at my Telecasters, and I think they've been winking back at me. I'll let this flirtation run for the next couple of weeks, but I'm sure we'll be hooking up soon.
C'mon baby, we could make beautiful music together. Or at least rush through a few bars...
I've been busy this month doing non-musical things. Work, Christmas parties, family visits, etc etc etc...
I've been making eyes at my Telecasters, and I think they've been winking back at me. I'll let this flirtation run for the next couple of weeks, but I'm sure we'll be hooking up soon.
C'mon baby, we could make beautiful music together. Or at least rush through a few bars...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Naive
The first week of January 2005 I got dumped. It was actually the only time in 35 years that it's happened to me, and it was crushing.
That first Saturday night, I hid at home alone and got really drunk. I remember waking up Sunday, and opening another bottle of gin.
Wallowing in self-pitty, I sat at my keyboard and started hammering out the notes that made sense at the time. Stopping only to scribble my thoughts, everything melded to be 'Naive'. I think it took about an hour to write.
So drunk that I could barely stand up, I programmed a strange 9-bar drum pattern that would repeat throughout the verses, only omitting the 9th for choruses. I think it accurately portrayed the anger and frustration I felt at the time, while the piano expressed my sorrow and hurt.
The off-kilter guitar line at the end spoke of my disorientation (and tipsiness).
Within about 3 hours, Naive went from being a twinkle in the Bombay Sapphire to a written, arranged, recorded, and produced track already been posted online.
I tried to encompass the only relationship (at that point) that I had believed to potentially last a lifetime. That was the girl that made me realize that I could spend my life with one person. The abrupt end was an experience that I (thankfully) have never had to go through again.
Recreating the song for 'Overture', I felt guilty over-writing the original performances. Unfortunately in my drunken stupor I had deleted the files as soon as i posted, intent on keeping it pure.
So I redid the track, keeping only the original guitar performance that I found somewhere random on my PC. I wasn't able to sign with the same swagger or hurt inflecting, but maybe that's just a sign that I'm much better now. I can't completely reconnect with the Matt that wrote that in a near-suicidal plea to my self-conscious.
Naive
Thought I'd want to spend my life with you
Told me that you felt the same
I let you in, I dropped my guard, tore down my wall
It left me so Naive
Blaming no-one but myself for this
Malice never was your style
Here alone, I'll think about what I gave in
To make me so Naive
Never want to love again
You hurt too much to be my friend
Don't understand, I can't believe
You got this far, I'm so Naive
Faith in no-one but myself from now
Tarnished soul that I'll conceal
Humanity I'll never feel a kinship with
It left me so Naive
Never want to feel this way again
Dead and breathing, just the same
An open sore for all to see, I'll wear with pride
I'll never be Naive
Never want to love again
You hurt too much to be my friend
Don't understand, I can't believe
You got this far, I'm so Naive
That first Saturday night, I hid at home alone and got really drunk. I remember waking up Sunday, and opening another bottle of gin.
Wallowing in self-pitty, I sat at my keyboard and started hammering out the notes that made sense at the time. Stopping only to scribble my thoughts, everything melded to be 'Naive'. I think it took about an hour to write.
So drunk that I could barely stand up, I programmed a strange 9-bar drum pattern that would repeat throughout the verses, only omitting the 9th for choruses. I think it accurately portrayed the anger and frustration I felt at the time, while the piano expressed my sorrow and hurt.
The off-kilter guitar line at the end spoke of my disorientation (and tipsiness).
Within about 3 hours, Naive went from being a twinkle in the Bombay Sapphire to a written, arranged, recorded, and produced track already been posted online.
I tried to encompass the only relationship (at that point) that I had believed to potentially last a lifetime. That was the girl that made me realize that I could spend my life with one person. The abrupt end was an experience that I (thankfully) have never had to go through again.
Recreating the song for 'Overture', I felt guilty over-writing the original performances. Unfortunately in my drunken stupor I had deleted the files as soon as i posted, intent on keeping it pure.
So I redid the track, keeping only the original guitar performance that I found somewhere random on my PC. I wasn't able to sign with the same swagger or hurt inflecting, but maybe that's just a sign that I'm much better now. I can't completely reconnect with the Matt that wrote that in a near-suicidal plea to my self-conscious.
Naive
Thought I'd want to spend my life with you
Told me that you felt the same
I let you in, I dropped my guard, tore down my wall
It left me so Naive
Blaming no-one but myself for this
Malice never was your style
Here alone, I'll think about what I gave in
To make me so Naive
Never want to love again
You hurt too much to be my friend
Don't understand, I can't believe
You got this far, I'm so Naive
Faith in no-one but myself from now
Tarnished soul that I'll conceal
Humanity I'll never feel a kinship with
It left me so Naive
Never want to feel this way again
Dead and breathing, just the same
An open sore for all to see, I'll wear with pride
I'll never be Naive
Never want to love again
You hurt too much to be my friend
Don't understand, I can't believe
You got this far, I'm so Naive
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Rushing Along on the Current
So "Overture" has started selling fairly well, and thanks to everyone buying.
Recording the album was a great pleasure. I really do love those songs and was happy to strip them down and put them into different poses.
Mixing the album was... interesting. I'm still learning how to do this properly, and in ways that suit me as opposed to "the industry." It took a lot of patience, trial-and-error, and care. I'm happy with the end result, i think I got it to around 95% of what I had wanted. That other 5% would only come from professional assistance, and I am happy to trade that off for the pride in it being a self-produced endeavor.
Mastering the album was more frustrating than interesting. Honestly, it's the part i like least. There's very little creativity, it's just adding that last little "sheen" to the project. Equalizing all the tracks so that they sound like one package (and not 11 isolated, random bits), compressing and controlling the volume, and such. Nitpicky, and not my thing at all.
I was happy to take a little time off after this job, but am now back to work! Aside from the batch of new songs I'm working on (title tbd), I also found a piece that I did a decade ago: I scored a play that ended up falling apart a couple of days prior to opening. A shitty script, but I really enjoyed the musical aspect. Along with writing and arranging the new songs, I am side-tracking to modernize, edit, and re-work this score. Who knows what it will become...
Recording the album was a great pleasure. I really do love those songs and was happy to strip them down and put them into different poses.
Mixing the album was... interesting. I'm still learning how to do this properly, and in ways that suit me as opposed to "the industry." It took a lot of patience, trial-and-error, and care. I'm happy with the end result, i think I got it to around 95% of what I had wanted. That other 5% would only come from professional assistance, and I am happy to trade that off for the pride in it being a self-produced endeavor.
Mastering the album was more frustrating than interesting. Honestly, it's the part i like least. There's very little creativity, it's just adding that last little "sheen" to the project. Equalizing all the tracks so that they sound like one package (and not 11 isolated, random bits), compressing and controlling the volume, and such. Nitpicky, and not my thing at all.
I was happy to take a little time off after this job, but am now back to work! Aside from the batch of new songs I'm working on (title tbd), I also found a piece that I did a decade ago: I scored a play that ended up falling apart a couple of days prior to opening. A shitty script, but I really enjoyed the musical aspect. Along with writing and arranging the new songs, I am side-tracking to modernize, edit, and re-work this score. Who knows what it will become...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Musical Tangent/ Shameless Plug
My fiancee and I are saving up for our wedding next year, which means no holidays. However, the other day I discovered a contest for Hilton Mexico.
I had a very short time to write a song on why Kate deserves to win a vacation, make a video of it, and submit it to Hilton.
So as of Tuesday, you're able to watch the video, and if you like it
VOTE FOR ME HERE!!!
You can vote again daily, or more often if you run between internet cafes.
Enjoy the video, have a good laugh. it's kinda catchy too...
I'll be taking down loads of Triscuits and maple syrup, and returning with lots of bottles of Mescale, by the looks of it. hahaha
I had a very short time to write a song on why Kate deserves to win a vacation, make a video of it, and submit it to Hilton.
So as of Tuesday, you're able to watch the video, and if you like it
VOTE FOR ME HERE!!!
You can vote again daily, or more often if you run between internet cafes.
Enjoy the video, have a good laugh. it's kinda catchy too...
I'll be taking down loads of Triscuits and maple syrup, and returning with lots of bottles of Mescale, by the looks of it. hahaha
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