'Before the Gates of Answer Flood' : 13 hitlets!

Songs:
1 - Someone Who Didn't Rot Away
2 - Who Cares?
3 - Arrows of Hope
4 - Pageturner
5 - Sugar and Bones
6 - What's a Man Without Eternal Passion
7 - I Was a Happy Clown
8 - The Side-Effects of Jesus Christ
9 - Sing for the Planter of Souls
10 - Before the Gates of Answer Flood
11 - The Emptiness Cage
12 - 'Welbehagen'
13 - Time for a Release

Session Date: September and the first bit of October 2007

Recording Gear: PC using Audacity, Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic, cheap dynamic mic

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar, Yairi acoustic guitar, Squier bass, percussion stuff, toy xylophone, wind-organ

Log: This was born out of the enthusiasm of beginning something new. I wanted even shorter songs - and lo, I succeeded. With Sunblisters, I arranged the songs in chronological order of recording. Now I've arranged them strategically. It's only 12:47 minutes, but it's meant to seem much longer. There are different atmospheres here: lovely and absurd, cynical and honest.
The cover was created by Jonathan Sterkenburg (thanks pal. And thank your granddad for cooperating.)

Lyrics:

1 - Someone Who Didn’t Rot Away /And if I dream – somebody pinch me - but I don’t feel a thing! / I’m alive with all the hazards of you /And if I cry, it’s because I can’t remember a thing / Of all the miracles that I have seen / Through the curtain / And it is certain / That we die / But hey, hey, hey! / There’s someone who didn’t rot away..

2 - Who Cares? / Don’t say you’re sorry / When you ain’t / Don’t say: ‘Don’t worry’ / To a saint! / Don’t say anything at all when you got no message for the unrich / Are you sandwhiched? / Between hope and despair / Like everybody cares / But someone does / Yes, he does

3 - Arrows of Hope / From the city I fled when I lost all my pets / I thought it was a joke.. / I’m a supersad guy with the moon in my eye / And I am always broke / Come to me, arrows.. / In the village of grey I am lost in today / I’d like to travel back / To the years of delight when the future shone bright / I always hit the deck / Come to me, arrows / Of hope..

4 - Pageturner / Don’t wanna hurt nobody / I’m in too much pain / I’m gonna throw a party the day it’s gonna rain / It’s gotta be stopped, and started / Someone open this cage / It’s gotta be robbed or guarded / Someone’s gonna turn the page / I am a simple fellow, all I see is blood.. / I just don’t know why I know that there’s a God / It’s gotta be stopped, and started / Someone open this cage / It’s gotta be robbed or guarded / Someone’s got to turn the page

5 - Sugar and Bones / Riding the waves of a million flies / I’m heading back to this paradise / If you feel cold or cannot sweat / I’m not so bold, I’m just a head / Carry the stones / Oh oh oh / Sugar and bones / Oh oh oh

6 - What’s a Man without Eternal Passion? / You’re extraordinary and afraid that your moment won’t last / All catastrophes in a box, always up to the test / Several sequences later you’re still on the very same spot / All exacerbates when you don’t have a passion from God

7 - I Was a Happy Clown / Rain is falling down on the highways of desire / And the sellers are so tired / Wearing heavy crowns / I have been around / For a short while and I think back / To my schooldays, oh how happy / Yes I was a happy clown

8 - The Side-Effects of Jesus Christ / I’m sick and tired of these crazy meds / They steal and lie and have no regrets / There’s only one medicine / That really works / It’s the Son of God / Who was killed by jerks / Like you and me / But can you handle the side-effects, the heavy side-effects? / Can you handle the side-effects of Jesus Christ?

9 - Sing for the Planter of Souls / With my cold head on the playground / I should just stand here, I suppose / Breathe the air that I still take for granted / If I’m broken, then it be so / I know the one who loves the most / Will never leave the souls that he has planted

10 - Before the Gates of Answer Flood / I’ve entered a new story / The tunnel of a green light / I lingered till she came with force / The night / A dozen teardrops falter / The night is endless and without / A goal / Clap in your hands, it’s appalling! / The shameless way you’re happy to exist

11 - The Emptiness Cage / I need a break here, I step to the side / With a hole in my head, and a knife in my thigh / I feel so lucky, I’m one of the few / With the problems of Mars, yes I do! / Gather together all the flocks of delight / But when you got no mustard well them dogs gonna bite! / There’s sorrow and wisdom in the eyes of a child / But the beggars and tramps have gone wild / Beggars and babies in need of our love / Prisons and parties, keep spending your time / Your time and your money, your sugar and honey / I’m with the emptiness cage!

12 - ‘Welbehagen’ / Pictures of hot chicks abound / If you feel an unclean spirit, cast it out! / All the good things that the Lord has bestowed upon us, we try to steal them away / All my petty sorrows are bizar / My cravings and my longings are at war / I want to feel like a high botherbugger but I’m really just ripping myself apart / He wants to make us feel good / He wants to make us feel good / He wants to make us feel good

13 - Time for a Release / It’s time for a release / The stars are sighing: ‘please’.. / I’m hardly ever on my knees / I want the honey without the bees and flowers / Trepidation, yes / I hardly can believe that I’m alive / With all that’s hunting me / I hardly can believe what I can see / It’s time for a release / The stars are sighing: ‘please’..

Copyright and attribution: You are free to copy and/or share this album or the songs on it on a strictly non-commercial basis. This album is licensed under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0) which can be found at the following internet-address: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed-music

Cover created by Jonathan Sterkenburg. Thanks!

I used the following sound files from Freesound (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu):
By Spandau: rainoncarroof.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=40700); by sazman: 070422-cats-sample.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=34094); by sandyrb: USAT BOMB.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=35643); by Paracelsus: radio.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=32266); by ERH: Sweethearts at war.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=31645); by freesound: Bye_Bye_Claps_ses1.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25292)

The New EP: 'Sunblisters'

Songs: 1 - Rearing Dogs That Never Bark
2 - Solomon's Choice
3 - Post-Euphoric Blunder-Soup
4 - Whatever Happened to My Calling
5 - Maximum Output, Minimum Gain
6 - Secrets of the Night-Air II
7 - The Old Light-Searcher
8 - Moonspells
9 - Funkin' with Cornelia
10 - The Daily Mysery
11 - Waiting for the King

Session Date: Last third of August and first bit of September, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, cheap dynamic mic

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guita, Yairi acoustic guitar, Squier bass, shakers, Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer

Log: Rather different from 'Cool World', both musically and lyrically. Short songs again. Used a lot of samples of every day sounds. Recorded in less than a month. Only 'Whatever Happened to my Calling' (original title 'Called for the Job') is an older song that had to stand in for a weaker little brother that died prematurely.
'The Daily Mysery' is not a misspelling.
Reception by small fan base was enthusiastic. Now what do you think of it, world? (Comment!)

Lyrics: 1 -Rearing Dogs that Never Bark [1:15] Questioning the question-marks / Never taking stand / Rearing dogs that never bark / Laugh while shaking hands / Wasn’t cruel otherwise / Had a puff too much / Had a passion to argue / Always feeling too slow / See, believe, if you don’t stop yourself / You’re gonna travel low / On the road to where you find the end / Of everything that grows / Having a good time you suppose / A fatal overdose

2 – Solomon’s Choice [2:10] A Solomon’s choice / Raise your voice / And speak to the terrible boys / Confident stuff / Opened wide / But closed when the going gets tough / I feel fresh tonight / Don’t think that I will ever sleep / Lost my cash tonight / Climbing a mountain way too steep / Warmer than me / All you see/ Are bits of spectacular dreams / I’d like to be/ Far away / From faults and failures today / I feel hot tonight / Don’t think that I will ever sleep / Talk to God tonight / Climbing a mountain way too steep

3- Post-euphoric Blunder-Soup We wondered if it was real after all / The feelings we had were giant and small / Striking us like a power we didn’t know did exist / It was a fortunate explosion / Of disproportional emotions / I wanted to grasp the magical past / Preserve the contact that came with a blast / Muddling in a soup I didn’t know much about / It was an unfortunate exception

4 – Whatever Happened to my Calling [1:26] Haven’t you called me for the job of saving? / Haven’t you been true to the life that you’ve given? / Haven’t I lied to myself and to you? / Haven’t I died to the world to be your son?

5 – Maximum Output, Minimum Gain [1:11] Maximum output, minimum gain / Without you I just can’t sustain / In every season / There is you / Devil-dead-end at the corner of the road / Wish I could push a little button / And implode / You long for love that burns away / Everything else

6 – Secrets of the Night-Air II [1:01] I spend some time with the night / She tells me that everything’s right / But I can’t hear the cries of those / That get hurt / I can’t get out of this train / Of thoughts that drive away pain / Now I can’t hear the voice of him / Who got hurt/ And died to fill the universe / With his life

7 – The Old Light-Searcher [0:57] I’m a silent crow / Waiting for a glistening light / To catch my old eyes / I just wanna grab and to hide it / Don’t ever play no more / I can feel the weight of my bones / I’ve seen too many nights / But I still hope that I will find it

8 – Moonspells [1:20] Once again I hear the church-bells / Hear the living call the dead / I’m swimming in a sea of moonspells / I’m driving around in a bed / And all the pills that make you sober / They’re gonna turn you into an elephant / They’re gonna work until your brain is fried / Might it not be better to turn to God? / Might it not be better to turn to God?

9 – Funking with Cornelia [0:30]

10 – The Daily Mystery [1:48] In the middle of the week I fall down / Lying blinded on the floor / Struck by lightning that has come to turn around / In my mind I see the door / This is how I wish my life would start / Because I’m not as smart as you are / ‘Read your Bible and pray every day’ / But when you fade away, it’s hard / The dishes are waiting for me / Cold and absorbing / Rude and exhausting / I’m building a tower of songs / Their destiny is falling / Gibberish they’re calling to you

11 – Waiting for the King [1:37] Far horizons / Glorious reminders of our hope / Shattered puzzle-solving / Newspaper, coffee, I’m alive! / Don’t you sit down / Forever in an electric chair of fear / The future is waiting / The future of the king who will appear / The binding of the anointed one / Has freed us from our strings / He died a torturous death for us / The creator of all things / And now I wish to praise his name / The living one of old / You love me and I stand ashamed / How could I grow so cold?

Newsflash: Got Some Five+ Songs But Am Waiting Till Full Release

Yeah, I got some five+ songs, but as I said, I'm workin' on an EP, and though my EP's may be short, five short songs is too short even for me. So hang on, it's gonna happen, just give me some more time.

Newsflash: Workin' on a New EP

I've decided to start working more project-wise, that is, creating collections of songs (EP's or CD's) rather than individual songs. This will significantly slow down my output but I think it's a better way of working eventually, one from which I will learn more. So I'm working on another collection. I'll keep you updated.

Seven New Songs: 'Cool World'

Songs:

1 - Rushing, Blushing and Reality-Crushing [2:08]
2 - Accidental Semi-Pig [1:35]
3 - Lamebrain's Sad Silly Song [0:58]
4 - Happy with You World [1:20]
5 - Wrong Lane [1:03]
6 - Martyr in the Wrong Arena [1:36]
7 - On a Monday He Stepped Out of His Grave and Went to Work [2:57]

Log: I recorded this little lo-fi sucker for a friend of mine, Dirk in Amsterdam (cheers mate). It's a bit of a concept album, mixing biographical elements with a harsh critique (clothed in harmonic sarcasm) on our modern day hedonism and escapism.
It was recorded between Tuesday, July 17 and Tuesday, July 24, 2007. It's got seven songs that were all primarily recorded on my Tascam 8-track and edited in Audacity, sometimes adding extra tracks.

Session Date: July, Tuesday 17 till Tuesday 24, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic, dictaphone

Music Gear: Ibanez electric guitar, Squier bass, Takamine acoustic guitar, eggs, shaker, wind-organ

Quick and Drowning in Cult: 'Snapfastener Pre-Breakfast Kick'

Song: Snapfastener Pre-Breakfast Kick

Session Date: July 7-8, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 4588 MKII used as a mixer, PC with Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic for guitar, cheap dynamic mic for vocals

Music Gear: Ibanez electric guitar, Vox AD15VT amp, Squier bass, conga's with paint-brushes

Log: The title is admittedly slightly Pollardish.
Played a guitar with the Vox's tremolo; played them old conga's with one euro paint-brushes bought at Xenos (flung quite a bit of delay over that track). That was yesterday. Wrote the lyrics this morning and recorded the vocals in the afternoon: 2 times the same part plus a higher voice. Used some reverb and delay over the first two vocal tracks. Mastering: Compression, hard limiter... You know how it goes.

Lyrics: Straightforward and shy at the same time / I die in the midst of a telephonic poll / Hey sandgirl, Stop lookin' at me! / I'm just a stand-in for the better part of me / Stop cookin', We're all gonna die / I'd like to order an airballoon - oh my!

Plain, Simple and Possibly Beautiful: 'Diarrhoea'

Song: Diarrhoea

Session Date: Friday July 6, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as mixer, PC using Audacity, Behringer C1 condensator mic for guitar, cheap brandless dynamic mic for vocals

Music Gear: Old Yairi guitar in alternative tuning, Vox AD15VT amp

Log: Alternatively tuned my old Spanish guitar and plugged it into the Vox. Put the Behringer C-1 in front of it. Used the amps' tremolo. Strummed around.
Grabbed an old cheap mic that my wife once bought for singing in a band called 'Fudge' (long, long ago). Invented some lyrics, sang, didn't bother 'bout perfecting it so sticked with the first track. Put some classical delay over the vocals as well as some reverb. Duplicated the vocal track and ran a high pass filter over the dub.
Mastered the whole thing. There you are. Plain and simple.

Lyrics: You found me high and dabbling in plastic truths / Got no reply / You let me go lo[o]se / Stepped into the world with a broken radio / Lookin' for a girl that would speak and make me slow / There was anguish / I was sandwiched / Between hope and bitter curse I pronounced / Over myself and over her / So we drowned / I didn't get it / I didn't know how love would feel / Thought it was just diarrhoea / It never made me kneel / There was sorrow / No tomorrow / But you have led us along paths unknown / Taking out this heart of stone

Dreamy Alt Country: 'Closing Up the Hatred Chapters'

Song: Closing Up the Hatred Chapters

Session Date: Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic for instruments, semi SM-58 mic for vocals

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar, eggs, shaker, Squier bass

Log: I wrote this song the day before yesterday, at least the chords and the melody, in about five minutes. Today I decided to record it. Invented the lyrics on the roll as I usually do.
Mixing the song took quite some time. I used a classic decay effect over the vocals, amongst others.

Lyrics: If you take me to the perfect storm / Where hearts are warm / And we get harmed.. / Don't believe that it comes today! / When it comes it will rain and rain / If you draw me to those poison eyes / I'd rather die / Than to hear him speak / But you gave me the words of truth / When you come, you renew my youth / The starlight shines again / The parlour is my friend / And I will close up all these chapters again

Experimental but Song-Like: 'Simply So Little Time'

Song: Simply So Little Time

Session Date: Friday June 29, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Ibanez electric guitar, Vox AD15VT amp

Log: An attempt at using my new amp's delay. Lots of cutting, copying and pasting here.

Lyrics: There is only a phrase in the sand / Are you stuck in the middle / Of something falling out of your hands / There is simply so little / Time / That's why you should make the best of the rest of your life

Just Another Imperfect Beatlesque Song: 'Fighting Snakes' (Bonus-Track: 'The Swinging Stellabirds')

Song: Fighting Snakes

The Swinging Stellabirds

Session Date: Tuesday June 19, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; PC using Audacity; Behringer C-1 condensator mic for instruments; semi SM-58 mic for vocals

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar, Squier bass (new strings!), percussion

Log: Wrote the song yesterday and recorded it, but the first session crashed and the second was bogus. So I did it all over today. I think it's not so bad; a beatlesque song. The lyrics are inspired by my preparation of a sermon on Numbers 21:4-9. I've been editing the vocals heavily to straighten up volume-wise imbalances. Used an 'anechoic room simulator' on the verse vocals with a large room. Recorded the chorus vocals with boosted hi frequencies; then edited the sound with some classic LP equalization; then pushed it through a hi-pass filter..
Yeah, it's a lot of work.
'The Swinging Stellabirds' was the aperitive.

Lyrics: I don't know how / I could ever trust you again / 'Cause I am hardly innocent myself / I don't know who / Could ever clean up this mess / When will we ever get some rest at home / But you need Jesus in your heart / To fight the snakes that bite your heal / Only he can heal you / But you need Jesus in your veins / 'Cause there is comfoprt in his blood / You need a blood-transfusion / Your pain is no illusion / I don't know how / I will ever love and be loved / I find that my wells have all dried up / I don't know who / Could ever wake 'n shake me up / Misery will never stop, they say / But you need Jesus..

Semi-Taperecorder to Taperecorder Songlet: 'Seed'

Song: Seed

Session Date: Friday June 8, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, pC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic for guitars, semi SM-58 mic for vocals

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar

Log: This is an attempt to do some taperecorder-to-taperecorder-like recording. When I was younger, so much younger than today, I used to record that way. It was an effective way at beating perfectionism: I used to overdub everything so many times that making mistakes was no longer an issue as you wouldn't hear it in between all the overdubs anyway.
So, for this song, I recorded some six semi-identical guitar-tracks and ditto vocal tracks. Did some ping-ponging here. It sounds... Well, not as quirky as the real thing, but quirky it is, no questioning.

Lyrics: It is too warm today / To be afraid of distant wars / The sun is spoiling our heads / And wealth has made (up [Hollandism]) our beds / There's babies everywhere and / Mums who care about their / Brand-new families they / Wish to do a better job / And we're still childless we are / About to enter a new world / At least we hope that we will / We know we're ready for life / You put us together, didn't you / Say that you had our seed in mind / We know we can't do it / Only you..

Another Impressively Simplistic Ditty: 'Knick-Knackery Peace'

Song: Knick-Knackery Peace

Session Date: Tuesday and Wednesday June 5 & 6, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic, PC using Audacity

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar, shaker, eggs, Ibanez electric guitar, VoxAD15VT amp

Log: Another improvisation that grew into a song. Not an easy birth, this one.

Lyrics: Don't gimme / No knick-knackery please / I see a swarm of bees / Failing to find the flowers of peace / They suck the nectar of disease / Hey now, seems like you're struggling / Just to find a place to be safe / Hey now, seems like you're smuggling hope from the cradle to the grave / And the thingies aren't quite what they seem / Are we living in a dream? / Everything has a price and everyone wants reliable lies / Happy money, happy food and neuro-sorcery / For a happy-snappy mood / Hey now... / Razor-edge coins fall from the clouds inside your head / The fire in your loins could drive you home until you're dead

Lo-fi is cool-fi: Five Brand New Songs!

Songs: 1. Deaf & Dumb & Blind
2. Called for the Job
3. Morning Zombie Needs to Pray
4. The Will That Didn't Work
5. Laughing at the Juncture

Session Date: Tuesday and Wednesday May 30, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII and PC using Audacity

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar, Ibanez electric guitar, Vox AD15VT amp, Squier bass, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic, eggs, shaker

Log: Decided to start recording some real lo-fi sh*t right on my Tascam. I only have a 90 minutes tape left, which is not good for quality (you need 60 minutes). Sixties weren't available anymore. What the heck. I want it to sound bad. Lo fi is cool fi.
Did these songs yesterday and today. Just improvising, guitars first and then the vocals. Juts mixing it down on the Tascam and then recording it on my PC. Added no digital effects, as far as I remember.
O yeah, the guitar amp is new, as well as the electric guitar. I bought them with the money my parents gave me for finally finishing my studies. My Godin Radiator is gone now. This Ibanez is the sh*t. The amp ain't too bad either, though a bit over-fancy.

Lyrics: Deaf & Dumb & Blind:

I'm so afraid that maybe I will die / Without blooming up into the sky / Without being whom you had in mind / Without seeing / Deaf & dumb & blind

Called for the Job:

Haven't you called me for the job of saving / Haven't you been true to the life that you've given / Haven't I lied to myself and to you / Haven't I died to the world to be your son?

Morning Zombie Needs to Pray:

I wake up and feel like a zombie again / I'm glued to my bed, Sister Sleep is my friend / But I know her older sister is Death / I get up and head for the shower / I shoot at ideas as the water comes down / Get dressed and I eat so I know I won't faint / There's no way to beat the new day / Man, I need to pray 'cause I long for you

Laughing at the Juncture:

Listen to me and dust the moon / Wipe off the cheese and cry / You had a fight for eleven years / And lost every natural high / Go blow the trumpet, they will see / You never chose thsi hour / Clappin' and jumpin', let them be / First we all need a shower / 'n All this rivalry, it's only good for adrenaline / Too much too high for me / I just need food, please no channelling! / There's so much left that we can count / We need to take a break / There's so much lost that could be found / We must stop being fake

It Began with Alternatively Tuning a Rattling Guitar: 'Between Death and TV'

Song: Between Death and TV

Session Date: Wednesday May the 23th 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Old ragged acoustic guitar, Squier bass

Log: Oh boy, does that guitar rattle. Anyway, lo-fi is lo-fi, and the question is: are you willing to go all the way with me? Did some percussion with my bare hands on this one. Guitar was in alternative tuning.

Lyrics: Well, I think that I am wrong /As I tell every hurt to get lost, oh! / And all options have been thoroughly discussed / I didn't come here just to watch TV and die / And release some kinds of tension in between / Neither is this a commercial enterprise / Well, I think(/know) that I am wrong.. / Couldn't we get a new morning?

Spaced Out Synths: 'On the Verge of Going Nuttiebops'

Song: On the Verge of Going Nuttiebops

Session Date: May 17th 2007

Recording Gear: PC using Audacity

Music Gear: Tuareg 2 (freeware tracker with in-built synths)

Log: Played around with software synths.. Results are completely random and completely cool. Almost.

Lyrics: -

Semi-Disco: 'Are You Hungry, Nino?'

Song: Are You Hungry, Nino?

Session Date: Monday & Tuesday May 21-22th, 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar, Squier bass, Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer

Log: A jam that rather quickly grew into a song. In the end you hear my wife asking: 'Are you hungry, Nino?' and our cat affirming her question with heartbreaking intensity.

Lyrics: Gonna find another reason / To hide inside myself / Anticipate the orange season / Gonna cut the world in half / And all this juice is gonna make me / Be a prisoner of fun / And all these bombs are gonna shake me / Leave me searching for the pun / Now I know that I'm too late/ I have to pay back what I ate

Sunday Afternoon Vibes: 'Henry & Cinderella'

Song: Henry & Cinderella

Session Date: Sunday May 20th

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer (what's new?), PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic

Music Gear: Takamine acoustic guitar

Log: A quicky. Tried to add some space guitar after the basic two guitar tracks and the two vocal tracks - didn't succeed, just left it like this. Not pretending to be anything special.Those I often like the best. Has a peculiar quality about it - the quality of earlier four-track-stoned-on-a-sunday-afternoon recordings. Not that I'm stoned, far from it. Won't touch that shit again, preferably. Might go to hell if I do.

Lyrics: I sailed the seven seas / And hoped that you would find me in a dream / I could find no release / I looked behind the screens of plastic trees / And plastic minds / Lying in the grass with you / Are we through / With the games that aliens play / And they do / Try to fool / Henry Hunter and Cinderella Drool

Toy Instruments Out of Pandora's Box: 'P-Box Ditty'

Song: P-Box Ditty

Session Date: Saturday May 19th 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer, PC using Audacity, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Kawasaki toy keyboard, toy trumpet, Takamine acoustic guitar

Log: This is typically a song born out of despair. I bought a one euro Kawasaki toy keyboard which turned out to be hardly functional. The keys were so stubborn that for getting the bass and higher keys together I had to record two tracks. I played a passionate piece on a little toy trumpet and threw a bunch of reverb and delay over it. Played a rythmic acoustic guitar bit which serves as a bass as well. Wrote some lyrics, recorded two vocal tracks.. There you go.

Lyrics: Will you raise up in the sky a new breed of clouds to follow me / Will the end come to the world and wake up dead parts of me / Coming to swallow me, coming to make me see, coming to open up Pandora's box / Coming to chase the sea - there's the moon! / I feel dead but I must live cause I'm alive ain't I / He has touched me and I cried cause I was all hurt by / Stinking fish I kept as pets behind the cellar-door / But they krept under my bed and made a lot of noise

Video of 'You Belong to Me' Performed at the 5th-of-May Gig

Song: You Belong to Me (audio extracted from camcorder)

Log: Here we are, P o r c u p i n e, risen from the ashes. This song was one of the songs I recorded for my first demo in 1995. The lyrics were inspired by a friend of mine, Jelmer van der Leij, who asked me if I couldn't write a songtext with the lyrics 'As the flowers bleed in heaven'. Well, I could.
The song, though most often performed alone and acoustic, suited the band real fine. The last time we played it was some ten years ago, but it surfaced immediately when we got together again. Rocks.

Lyrics: As the flowers bleed in heaven / You belong to me / As the hours fail to severe / You belong to me / Up in the sky / She looks at me / I whisper Love / For you and me / She aks me Why / We cannot flee / And I sing: You belong to me

Melodic Mystery: 'Travelling through the Night with My Lungs Full of Cosmos'

Song: Travelling through the Night with My Lungs Full of Cosmos

Log: I was restless. Instead of sitting in a chair and biting my nails (a very non-productive way of coping) I wrote a song about travelling through the night with your lungs full of cosmos. Somehow, it was like having a bowel movement, or like giving birth. It all came very naturally. I like the song, I think I even love it. I like the melody and the atmosphere. It doesn't sound quite as what I had in mind or as it sounded when playing and singing on the couch. But I still love it.

Lyrics: Yearning for your silence / Leave the hairy violent home / On the road I'm dead, I / Bite my nails and head for Rome / I still hear the ringing / Telephones are singing songs / Night is bringing thrills and / Summer fragrance fills my lungs / I am still so weary / Feel alone and very old / Hear the television / Whispering magician's gold / Outer space or sea, it's / All the same to me today / Wake me with a kiss so / I can win the quiz and pay

Prayer and Soft Rock or a Kind of Gig-Evaluation

Song: Prayer

Log: This one was taped rather quickly, using Audacity and Tascam 488 MKII as a mixer if I remember correctly, just before taping 'Risk Unspecified'. It's short and nice if you ask me.

By the way, the gig was 'great'. My hands were shaking but the audience was pleased. Our drummer needs a beer infusion on stage next time. If he ever gets it I want an audiologist to tour along with us and a 90 decibel limit on stage and before the stage. Let's be the first band that rocks softly.

Lyrics: Will you be with me forever / I can't live without your blood / Will you give yourself forever / I want you to be my God!

Recorder Frenzy and Neat Prog-pop: Rebel Clowns and Rebel Semi-gods & Desultory Speech-machine

Songs: Rebel Clowns and Rebel Semi-gods & Desultory Speech-machine

Log: RC&RSG was a desperate attempt to use the recorder in a recording. It was finished on the 4th of April.
I made Desultory Speech-machine today and yesterday. It was a lot of work, but I'm not really satisfied - I think the vocal style is a bit overdone.

Lyrics: Rebel Clowns and Rebel Semi-gods:

I see the stars / The evil wars / Schemes of self-destruct / Reluctantly I take your hand / 'cause you are God / You blow my mind / With the way that you still love / Your rebel clowns and rebel semi-gods / You break my heart / Just like I asked you to / But I'm holding on / To all that isn't true / Show me your eyes / In the beggar-junkies' lies / The fierce innocence / Of a homeless child

Desultory Speech-machine:

Detribalized and detoxed / I am young, I am boxed / A diskette with a lost code in mint condition / They have asked me to win /And I know where to begin / I will feel every starburst through competition / Have I told you that the crowds are lost and they must be entertained at any cost and they must wear / Blindfolds, so they won't see / The blood of their brothers and sisters and children and mothers and fathers and others / Remarkably rearranged / I am old, I have changed / A dispute without warning or superstotion / They have pushed me up the stage / In a colorific cage / I'll be free from every thread of wrong ambition

Het optreden op 5 mei: de setlist en nieuws

De setlist van 5 mei, de Lawei te Drachten (13.00-14.00 uur, gratis!):

* Little Fly (klassieker; zeurderig liedje over het doden van een vlieg)
* A Farmer's Son (enthousiaste, bluesy, melodieuze en swingende ode aan de besluiteloosheid; Hendrix-invloeden)
* One Heck of a Lot (één van de eerste liedjes die ik schreef; poppy en stoer, klinkt als een kruising tussen de vroege Bryan Adams en Hendrix)
* Indian Girl (betoverende zwijmelhit over Pocahontas)
* Your Good-Times Novelette (logge britpop met gepassioneerd apathische zang)
* She Leaves, She Opens the Window (lyrische, intense ballad met tokkelgitaar en lijzige zang met lang aangehouden noten)
* Botherbugger (poppy en raar; pet-shop-boys-achtige zang in de coupletten; op holgeslagen gospelfunk in 'r refrein)
* Johnny Go to the Loo (punk met een knipoog naar het middelbaar onderwijs)
* Filling Out Coordinates (alt.country hit)
* The Final Flattening of Proudheart Hill (verpletterende gitaarballad over lijden en vergelding)
* I Need Your Love in Dangerland (dampende, melodieuze pop-rock)
* Beyond the Age of 8-bit Computers (kort, melodieus met typische staccato-baspartij)
* Blame it on the Amalgam (tikkeltje jazzy en gestoorde rock)

en als toetje:

* You Belong to Me (swingende gitaarriffs, zang knipoogt naar Eric Clapton)
* The Blood Dried Up (het ultieme beatlesesque swingende gitaarpopliedje over de effecten van de liefde op het darmenstelsel)

Sicco, Gerben en ik hebben ondertussen op maandag 9 april voor de eerste keer geoefend voor het optreden. Arme student als ik ben heb ik alleen maar waardeloze rotzooi, dus gelukkig mocht ik in Sicco's muziekwinkel gitaren en spullen uitzoeken. Gerben kwam helemaal uit Zeeland die dag. Sicco en Gerben hadden elkaar al zo'n 2 jaar niet meer gezien en waren bij het weerzien als twee jonge honden die dolblij tegen elkaar opspringen.
Bij Sicco thuis in de geluidsdichte ruimte van zijn muziekschool hebben we van de namiddag tot een uur of half tien in ieder geval het hele repertoire kunnen doornemen. 's Avonds haalde Mieke chinees, wat best erg lekker was, op één bakje na dat gevuld was met een vlezige substantie die rook naar de bacterieregen van een niesbui van een vreselijk zieke verkouden hond.
Tijdens het oefenen sloeg af en toe de meligheid behoorlijk toe, wat de sfeer natuurlijk slechts ten goede kwam. Gerben stond af en toe zo wulps te swingen dat ik mijn stembanden bijna niet meer onder controle kon houden.
We zullen zeker nog twee keer moeten oefenen, en met de krappe agenda van Gerben en mijn kaakoperatie er tussendoor wordt dat wat lastig.

De set is echt een hele mooie, chronologisch opgebouwd, van 1995 tot nu. Er zit van alles tussen, van een lange lyrische ballad ('She Leaves, She Opens the Window') tot nog geen anderhalve minuut durende pretpunk ('Johnny Go to the Loo').

We schijnen buiten te spelen. Wellicht is er aardig wat volk op de been. Wij hebben er wel zin in. Laat de Canadezen maar komen!

Meite U treedt op in de Lawei Drachten van 13 tot 14 u. op bevrijdingsdag!!!

5 mei aanstaande speel ik op het bevrijdingsfestival in de Lawei in Drachten, 's middags van 13.00 tot 14.00 uur in de foyer. De andere artiesten zijn Armand (van 'Ben ik te min') en Ernst Langhout. Blijkbaar is mijn status ondertussen mythisch genoeg om tussen dergelijke oudgedienden mijn opwachting te maken. Wij (zie onder) zijn de openingsact; Ernst Langhout speelt geloof ik van 14.30 tot 15.30 uur en Armand van 16.00 tot 17.00.

De legendarische drummer Sicco Kloosterman is reeds bereid gevonden om zijn medewerking te verlenen. Ook de al evenzeer legendarische Gerben Duisterwinkel heeft verklaard zijn bas tijdens dit evenement te willen beroeren. Daarmee is de complete line-up van het oude Porcupine aanwezig!

De organisator van het festival, de legendarische Teunis Spits, vroeg mij om 'singer-songwriter dingetjes' te doen. Ik ben van plan klassiekers als 'Indian Girl' of zelfs 'Little Fly' te gaan spelen, en nummers uit mijn 'kale periode' zoals de britpop-kraker 'Your Good Times-Novelette'; maar natuurlijk ook de nieuwere nummers die op dit weblog verschenen zijn. Wij zullen op verschillende momenten van de set waarschijnlijk ook een weinig rocken.

KOMT ALLEN! Het festival is gratis en met een beetje geluk regent het de hele dag op 5 mei, zodat je echt geen alibi meer hebt om niet te komen.

Heavy Revealing Weirdness: 'Risk Unspecified'

Song: Risk Unspecified

Session Date: March the 5th-6th 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII; PC with Audacity using Tascam as mixer; Behringer C-1 condensator mic; semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Epiphone EP-10 amplifier; Johnson DEQ2 distortion pedal; Squier strat; Squier bass; eggs, shaker, Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer

Log: I finally did some ping-pong-recording on the Tascam. Played a Squier over a cheap amp using a distortion pedal; put the C-1 (condensator mic) in front of the amp. Jammed a bit and knocked some riffs together. Played a couple of guitar tracks. The bass: same recipe, heavily distorted. Added the RY-10 drumcomputer - as always played manually - through the amp as well. By this time I recorded these six tracks to the last two tracks of the Tascam, track 7 and 8. This way I could reuse track 1 to 6. Added some percussion; eggs, shaker. . Wrote down some lyrics and sang a couple of tracks. There was some jamming at the end of the track. Now I transported the whole thing to PC, using Audacity. There I continued: I added some singing to the last part of the jam at the end of the track. I also took some sound fragments and added them at strategic places. I've developed a fascination for reverse sounds so I use some in this song as well. The russian sounding guy is me reading my own prose. I finally wrote some more lyrics for the jam at the end and did the vocals.
For the final mp3 I export all tracks to one wav file, use limiter and compressor on this wav and then export it as an mp3. That's the way I work usually.
Of course, I've still left out numerous details like panning and stuff.

Lyrics: I've encountered dangers / I can't specify / Flew right through a black hole / Thought that I would die / Oh, what's this journey got for me? / Oh, I dive and I float low / Search for the merry mind I once owned / I wanna give my life to you / ..... / You build your temple inside / Of my heart / And I start / To see the things that you hide / From the ones that refuse / To be used / By their maker / And accuse and excuse / I wanna give my life to you / May my old double mind be ruined

Music vid for 'Goal-miss-bearer'

I made a music vid to 'Goal-miss-bearer'! Click the 'play' button and enjoy.

Jamming Along: 'Driving West'

Song: Driving West

Session Date: Saturday the 3th of March 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; PC with Audacity; Behringer C-1; semi SM-58 mic

Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings; eggs; shaker; Squier bass

Log: Jamming along.

Lyrics: And as wild as I go / I want to show you, oh, that I matter! / And I'm a child moving slow / I love to fantasize in bad weather / I am the bridge that controls / The traffic driving west to the city / I hear the thunderclouds roll / But I sing my wee little diddy

Dreaming Away with Background Schlagers: 'Let's End This Conversation'

Song: Let's End This Conversation

Session Date: Saturday the 3th of march 2007

Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; PC with Audacity; Behringer C-1 condensator mic

Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings

Log: My neighbours are radio-pirates. On Saturdays, I hear a huge hum on my equipment and the kind of music that is supposed to cheer you up but makes you wanna throw up. Nevertheless, I managed to record a song.

Lyrics: Let's end this conversation, dear / It is leading to nowhere / I feel that there is bitterness / In my heart and I just don't care / I wish I could change into /A royal frog and kiss your lips / I wish that I could look into / Your weary eyes and touch / Your fingertips

Semi-fourtrack enthusiasm: 'Goal-miss-bearer'

Song: Goal-miss-bearer

Session Date: Between the 28th of Februari and the 3th of March 2007

Recording Gear: PC with Audacity; headset mic; Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; semi-SM 58 mic

Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings; Squier bass

Log: First, I recorded a guitar track with the headset mic, recording two (nearly) identical tracks panned left and right. Then I recorded the bass through the Tascam. After that I recorded the 'drums', hissing in the headset mic and adding lots of reverb. Later, I added the vocals through the Tascam; I added some 'Classic Reverb' to the vocals. I compressed all tracks a couple of times in the process as well as the final track; I also used some hard limiter.

Lyrics: Crazy entertainers try to draw into the moonlight / And there's a curse that staines us / Why can't we roll our eyes and do right? / You've come to take my hand / And I walked away / I still don't understand your love / So what can I say? / I'm a window starer / Tryin' to fade into the tree-leaves / But you're a goal-miss-bearer / Why don't we give away the dream-sheets?

Headset mic all the way: 'Song Has Been Deleted by the Artist'

Song: Song Has Been Deleted by the Artist

Session Date: Friday Februari the 23th 2007

Recording Gear: Headset mic, PC with Audacity

Music Gear: Yairi old Spanish guitar with steel strings; Squier bass unplugged; egg; shaker

Log: Inspired by a phenomenon seen on many Myspaces: somebody put a song on their Myspace but apparently there was a copyright issue, resulting in the text: 'Song has been - Deleted by the artist' in the fields covering the song titel and the artist's name, resoectively.

Lyrics: Song has been deleted by the artist

Nonsense diddy: 'The Secret Knowers'

Song: The Secret Knowers

Session Date: Februari the 21st 2007

Recording Gear: Headset mic, pc with Audacity

Music Gear: Squier bass, Yairi old acoustic guitar with steel strings in alternative tuning

Log: This is nonsense but perhaps a better waste of time than surfing.

Lyrics: Moving borders, New World orders / Finding pennies in the corners / Yeah / Whistle blowing, secret knowing / Missing body, Illuminotti / Yeah /Who is there around the corner / New peace leader is disguised / Still we know him, he's no foreigner / No he is the anti-christ