Tag: music

Categories
music

understandable rough working mix

here’s a song i’m working on right now; i think i’ve got a good one — just need to figure out a way to keep this godforsaken funeral dirge interesting through 5+ minutes

(warning: keep away from sharp objects)

transmothra · understandable (early mix)

Lyrics:

Sometimes it’s so unbearable to be me
I just can’t do anything anymore
For everything I’ve ever said and done
I have a regret that cuts me to the core

It’s my own fault my life is misery
Maybe i was born on my deathbed
I told an old friend I wanted to end it all
I’ll never forget what he said

“Understandable”

Nobody ever wants me around anymore
It’s been years since i’ve had any friends
I don’t wanna go out anyway
I just want all this to end

I think i might be the worst person ever
I just feel like such a fool
And i know there are so many reasons
Why you’d be so cruel

That’s understandable

This all started the day i was born
And love was only ever tough
It seems like it’s only gotten worse
I’ve been working on myself, but it’s never enough

My own worst critic is having company over
I’m just so glad that everybody agrees
My feelings are valid
Yeah they make a lot of sense

That’s understandable.

Categories
creative music

song snippet

just a snippet from a cover song i’m working on….

Categories
music

finally, some new songs are starting to emerge

A couple of sketches of works-in-progress. I’m always accidentally working in either a fucked-up time signature or a fucked-up key; here it’s the latter for both of these tunes. The first is practically fucking chromatic, while the second is diminished. What the hell is wrong with me.

transmothra · sketch #8

This one is at a very, very early stage.

transmothra · sketch #9
Categories
memories music

Prince Rogers Nelson, 7 June 1958 – 21 April 2016

Prince on stage

Today the world lost Prince, a true (and quite uncommon) musical genius, and I am shocked and devastated.

Prince’s artistic courage, his integrity, his fucking ALIEN skill on every instrument he ever looked at, his undeniably ultimate mastery of funk and every other genre he ever bent/combined/invented… these things are permanent, unforgettable, and quite possibly unsurpassable forever. He was the very pinnacle of musical achievement. Nobody who has ever listened to him play any instrument in any style could ever deny that he was literally The Best at it.

As a musician and songwriter who plays a variety of rock instruments in a variety of genres, his importance to me personally cannot be overstated. People like him, Stevie Wonder, and Todd Rundgren convinced me that it is totally possible for one person to play every instrument and make music of any style one might fancy undertaking. As a hero, he will always be the single most UNDER-rated musician I could ever name, no matter how legendary his status may grow. Prince was the True DIY King.

Go back and listen closely to his early records today. Then continue until his most recent work. You will find a thick thread of pure, unadulterated GENIUS.

You could do that, too, you know. Oh, none of us will ever be nearly as good – that’s just reality. But *practise* and *imagine* and *put it down* (DO IT!) on record, and keep on doing it. We can all create anything we can envision in our heads if we only try.

Categories
music

“like we are” working mix

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/257580417″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Rough, working mix of a recording still in progress.

I’m not sure how this mix sounds on various systems, so i’d love some feedback re: balancing elements, stereo panning, EQ, etc. (and yes, i do know the singer is shitty, but he’s all i’ve got to work with).

Here are the lyrics.

Categories
music

now on Bandcamp

Even if you don’t buy this (dirt cheap at $anything for 17 tracks), if you like it even a little, please share it. I’m trying to finance putting together a better record of new music, but i’ll need some help to do it. Thanks!

[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=2323311396 size=large bgcol=333333 linkcol=e32c14 tracklist=false]
Categories
internets media

Some great legal FREE music download sites

Recently, a friend asked me (me: the master of all things electronical) for some recommendations for downloading free music legally. Although i was hard pressed to name any legit source of free major label music, i have enough links to some really amazing sites that feature and host very good free music. Much of it is licensed under various Creative Commons licenses, and most is both free (as in beer) and free (as in free speech). As always, read the fine print for exact details for each site and every download. Additionally, check your local laws if you’re unsure about the license (personally, i have not found any gray areas here, since most of the music is either offered by the artists themselves as free, or is licensed freely, or is in some cases even public domain).

Since many of these are blogs, i highly recommend getting to know RSS feeds, and adding their feeds to your favorite feed reader. If you have no favorite feed reader, Google Reader is a great place to start.

So, without further ado, here are my top picks for really cool free, legal mp3 sites, in no particular order…

Amazon.com

Here are some free albums and some cheap albums. A whole lot of really good free stuff. At the top right you can select “Price: low to high” to get all the free stuff listed first, but the default setting is “bestselling, so that one shows the most popular free stuff, mixed in with some good cheap deals too. You can also go to single songs, too, and browse the links on the right by price and genre, etc.

Archive.org’s free music and netlabels categories

I could spend days without sleep sifting through some of these really amazing collections. You can drill down by keyword and genre and popularity. Very little big-name artists, but some serious gems (also a lot of duds, too, but if you look at the download counters you can tell which ones are liked – or at least downloaded – the most).

BlocSonic

This netlabel has tons of free samplers and whole albums by nobody you’ve heard before but every minute is really good, and they have an excellent mix of genres. I guess you could call them a metalabel, since their compilations frequently feature artists on other netlabels. One of the best free music sources around.

Note: these next two exemplary sites, despite my egregious lack of better-apt descriptions, are among my very favorite resources, not only for the wonderful personal touch you can find, but also for the incredible variety and sheer scope of their blogs and the insight gleaned from reading their notes on each feature, which are like meta-liner notes. These are both, as they say, earnest labors of love for their respective curators. As i’ve noted in a comment below, the best possible thing to do in lieu of giving you a lengthy and drooling description, is to implore you to go and dig deeply and feel the fresh cool sand between your fingers, and linger, and wonder at how new and interesting things can truly be when experienced with fullness and vigor. And maybe leave a note of thanks whenever you see something really cool that you enjoyed.

Free Albums Galore

This site frequently features avant-jazz and minimalist techno, but you can also find some fantastic alternative, pop, rock, folk, et cetera. Another great resource.

Catching the Waves

Another great free music source. See Free Albums Galore above. Same thing applies here.

Bandcamp

Bandcamp has tons of music from indie bands. Some free, some not. It’s fun to sift through, and you can find some real cool stuff here, sometimes even some up-and-coming bands that are just beginning to fly above the radar. Try this link for free stuff. I don’t use bandcamp that often, since i’m usually directed there by one of the other sites above.

The Peppermill

I have not heard anything from this label that i didn’t fall in love with immediately. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE. And try The Box: I cannot tell you anything about this record, except that it is freaky and weird and quirky, and yes, you DO recognize that tune.

I would be not only remiss, but probably also shamed before my peers, and quite possibly also drawn and quartered, if i didn’t point you to

Phlow

…who have awesome compilations and records, covering all kinds of genres, though a lot of it is maybe more techno and hip-hop and trip-hop oriented. Their massive year-end best-of mixes last year were pretty amazing.

Free Music Archive

Possibly the granddaddy of all free music sites, the FMA is a project of WFMU, “the most renowned freeform radio station in America”. They feature music of all kinds. This is one amazing resource that is just as much fun to sift through as it is to listen through.

Lastly, here’s one i just found out about:

Thomas’ Posterous

Having no experience with this one, all i can say is that it comes highly recommended from Catching the Waves.

Other great sites, archives, and blogs to check out

Oddio Overplay
The Silent Ballet
Netlabel Index
largehearted boy: daily downloads
RedFerret’s wikidump
3hive
FreeIndie
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog:mp3s
Netlabels Noises
Ektoplazm: free music portal
FrostClick:Audio
Jamendo (the King of free music sites)

Lastly (ok, really lastly), here’s my Google Reader bundle: Free Music et cetera (OPML)

Happy sifting!!

Categories
uncategorized

Some great legal FREE music download sites

Originally published at jeremyjarratt.com. You can comment here or there.

Recently, a friend asked me (me: the master of all things electronical) for some recommendations for downloading free music legally. Although i was hard pressed to name any legit source of free major label music, i have enough links to some really amazing sites that feature and host very good free music. Much of it is licensed under various Creative Commons licenses, and most is both free (as in beer) and free (as in free speech). As always, read the fine print for exact details for each site and every download. Additionally, check your local laws if you’re unsure about the license (personally, i have not found any gray areas here, since most of the music is either offered by the artists themselves as free, or is licensed freely, or is in some cases even public domain).

Since many of these are blogs, i highly recommend getting to know RSS feeds, and adding their feeds to your favorite feed reader. If you have no favorite feed reader, Google Reader is a great place to start.

So, without further ado, here are my top picks for really cool free, legal mp3 sites, in no particular order…

Amazon.com

Here are some free albums and some cheap albums. A whole lot of really good free stuff. At the top right you can select “Price: low to high” to get all the free stuff listed first, but the default setting is “bestselling, so that one shows the most popular free stuff, mixed in with some good cheap deals too. You can also go to single songs, too, and browse the links on the right by price and genre, etc.

Archive.org’s free music and netlabels categories

I could spend days without sleep sifting through some of these really amazing collections. You can drill down by keyword and genre and popularity. Very little big-name artists, but some serious gems (also a lot of duds, too, but if you look at the download counters you can tell which ones are liked – or at least downloaded – the most).

BlocSonic

This netlabel has tons of free samplers and whole albums by nobody you’ve heard before but every minute is really good, and they have an excellent mix of genres. I guess you could call them a metalabel, since their compilations frequently feature artists on other netlabels. One of the best free music sources around.

Note: these next two exemplary sites, despite my egregious lack of better-apt descriptions, are among my very favorite resources, not only for the wonderful personal touch you can find, but also for the incredible variety and sheer scope of their blogs and the insight gleaned from reading their notes on each feature, which are like meta-liner notes. These are both, as they say, earnest labors of love for their respective curators. As i’ve noted in a comment below, the best possible thing to do in lieu of giving you a lengthy and drooling description, is to implore you to go and dig deeply and feel the fresh cool sand between your fingers, and linger, and wonder at how new and interesting things can truly be when experienced with fullness and vigor. And maybe leave a note of thanks whenever you see something really cool that you enjoyed.

Free Albums Galore

This site frequently features avant-jazz and minimalist techno, but you can also find some fantastic alternative, pop, rock, folk, et cetera. Another great resource.

Catching the Waves

Another great free music source. See Free Albums Galore above. Same thing applies here.

Bandcamp

Bandcamp has tons of music from indie bands. Some free, some not. It’s fun to sift through, and you can find some real cool stuff here, sometimes even some up-and-coming bands that are just beginning to fly above the radar. Try this link for free stuff. I don’t use bandcamp that often, since i’m usually directed there by one of the other sites above.

The Peppermill

I have not heard anything from this label that i didn’t fall in love with immediately. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE. And try The Box: I cannot tell you anything about this record, except that it is freaky and weird and quirky, and yes, you DO recognize that tune.

I would be not only remiss, but probably also shamed before my peers, and quite possibly also drawn and quartered, if i didn’t point you to

Phlow

…who have awesome compilations and records, covering all kinds of genres, though a lot of it is maybe more techno and hip-hop and trip-hop oriented. Their massive year-end best-of mixes last year were pretty amazing.

Free Music Archive

Possibly the granddaddy of all free music sites, the FMA is a project of WFMU, “the most renowned freeform radio station in America”. They feature music of all kinds. This is one amazing resource that is just as much fun to sift through as it is to listen through.

Lastly, here’s one i just found out about:

Thomas’ Posterous

Having no experience with this one, all i can say is that it comes highly recommended from Catching the Waves.

Other great sites, archives, and blogs to check out

Oddio Overplay

The Silent Ballet

Netlabel Index

largehearted boy: daily downloads

RedFerret’s wikidump

3hive

FreeIndie

WFMU’s Beware of the Blog:mp3s

Netlabels Noises

Ektoplazm: free music portal

FrostClick:Audio

Jamendo (the King of free music sites)

Lastly (ok, really lastly), here’s my Google Reader bundle: Free Music et cetera (OPML)

Happy sifting!!

Categories
internets media memories

MTVMusic.com

Harkening back to the legendary days of old, i present to you… MTVMusic.com

Queen |MTV Music

Peter Schilling |MTV Music
Categories
uncategorized

MTVMusic.com

Originally published at jeremyjarratt.com. You can comment here or there.

Harkening back to the legendary days of old, i present to you… MTVMusic.com

Queen |MTV Music

Peter Schilling |MTV Music
Categories
uncategorized

christ, he STILL can’t find himself???

Am i the only one who hates the new Cure single “Freakshow”? That has got to be the most grating, irritating song ever recorded. And i LOVE LOVE LOVE The Cure.

Grr.

Categories
uncategorized

song changes & future plans

This first bit is mainly just for my own records, so you can skip it if you like.

Today i was fucking around recording and i hit upon a chord progression i want to use to substitute for the refrain in “like we are.”

original:
||: G – D/F# – Em – Em :||     <– like the 2nd half of “Comfortably Numb” verse at half speed – hackneyed!

modified a few months ago:
||: Em/G – D/F# – Em -Em :||      <– sounds a little more refined, leaving behind Floyd for perhaps Toad the Wet Sprocket

new version:
||: Em/G – D/F# – Esus4 – E :||      <– now it’s more refined still, a bit more Coldplayey

The harmony in there is beautiful; there’s so much chromatic content when you move thru the chords. Between them, we’ve got F#, G, G#, and A (in order: G, F#, A, G#). I love the way it flows now. It’s come so far since i first wrote it, over ten years ago now.

I’m recording it now, and these changes have been a little trying. I have to go thru and re-record things all the time. I think it’ll be worth it in the end.

So my plan now is to finish this one and then kick out as many tunes as i can over the coming months. I want to have about 10-12 really good songs for a CD. not too long, and not too short.

How much would you honestly pay for a CD of my tunes? For a download? Is 45-55 minutes long enough, or too long? Any other suggestions?

I’m sort of half planning on offering each song as a free download as i record it, including tunes that may not make the final cut.

I’m really not into the business thing. I just want to share this awful noise inside my head, but i would like to make at least a couple bucks when i’m done. Cover my expenses.

On another note, i have a strange burning sensation in the tips of two fingers and the side of my right hand, plus a sore spot on my ass. In the old days, i would just ask somebody else what happened. Now i have to rely on my sober memory. And i cannot remember being scalded, or saving any kitties from raging infernos.

Categories
uncategorized

my dirty rock

  1. I’m finally really recording a good version of ‘Like We Are.’
  2. This is the song i have always described as being inspired by/sounding like The Afghan Whigs.
  3. When i first wrote it, i wasn’t really thinking about that, but that’s what it resembled when i turned around and looked and saw what i had made.
  4. It will have slightly different lyrics than those posted online. Very slightly different; just a few words have changed so it’s not as sophomoric.
  5. I can’t remember what chord I changed a few months ago, so now it’s back to its original form. It’s ten years old, so i can live with that.
  6. The new piano part I wrote is still there, but it’s buried in the mix where it should be. This is not a damn piano song. This song has hot blood.
  7. It has 30 time signature changes. I know this for a fact now.
  8. Most of it is in 6/8, but some of it is in 11/8, or 6/8+5/8.
  9. One verse that’s usually in 11/8 is, in the second verse only, in 12/8 + 11/8, or 6/8+6/8+6/8+5/8!
  10. You wouldn’t think that it did that by hearing it. It sounds pretty natural. In fact, the 12/8 part sounds like it’s got an extra beat, as opposed to the 11/8 part. As if the 12/8 part was really 13/8 or something. Yet it still works.
  11. I recorded the electric guitar with a microphone. No amp, just direct on one channel and with a mic on a second channel. The resulting sound of the mic track is thin and trebly and sounds like hell by itself, but makes the whole mix shimmer like crazy.
  12. Unfortunately, the second half of the main verse riff is too muddy and doesn’t come out very nicely :(
  13. I am punching in and out, just like i said i wouldn’t. I have to be a realist. If i kept trying to get a perfect performance, i’d die before i ever got anything finished. Everyone else does it, so i can too i guess.
Categories
uncategorized

Dayton fucking rocks

(crossposted from a comment i made in

[info]olivetree

 ‘s excellent journal)

This is not my work, but you can get a taste of awesome Dayton underground rocka-roll here. I’ve never even heard of these bands, and there are a shitload of other really great bands, too, and that’s not even mentioning our two biggest and best ones.

Categories
creative life music uncategorized

home, sick

Been home sick for the past few days. Last night i finally went to see a doctor (at the local Urgent Care) and got a couple of prescriptions. Apparently, i’ve got a real crappy sinus infection that’s spreading to my lungs. I let it happen by not going to the doctor, but i honestly just thought it was the result of all the plaster i’d been breathing in lately. I figured it would just work itself out of my system, and that would be that. Well, it wasn’t.

Speaking of which, the ceiling guy (the old guy) did finally patch up our ceiling. In the process, he and his daughter managed to cover everything with yet another fine layer of plaster silt. They’re supposed to be painting the ceiling soon. They fucking better bring more drop cloths this time. Paint is impossible to get out of electronics compared to fine dust.

So i’ve been working on music in my downtime. The good news is that “Like We Are” is coming along rather nicely. The weird part is that it’s somehow morphed from an Afghan Whigs mope-n-dope dirge into a funky piano ballad. I’m not sure how it happened, but the refrain has managed to resolve itself into a syncopated shuffle. I guess that’s okay, but i have yet to toss the guitar part in. That was the first part i wrote, about ten years ago now. I’m just not sure how or if it’s going to fit. I can’t compromise my original vision for this song. Although it’s taking me down some unexpected paths – which i do find myself quite enjoying – i will not let this one stray yet again from being recorded as i have always heard it in my head. So we’ll see. Hopefully it will work out well enough that i won’t have to scrap everything and start over from scratch.

I promise to have some audio up soon.

Categories
creative current events life local memories music uncategorized

stuff and things

Holly- we went to the ER a couple of weeks back. She’s back on insulin. She’s been really up and down a lot lately. It’s rough for us both, but i can’t imagine having to be her and go through that. She’s getting better, though.

Music- i’ve been making music again. Funny thing is, i started trying to rework a 10 year old song of mine that i’ve always loved that i’ve never been able to get a good recording of. It’s a dark ballad about love gone badly wrong; very much in the Afghan Whigs tradition. I did arrange a brand new piano part for ambience, but stranger than that is that i was fooling around and stumbled onto a new chord that just completely breathes new life into a chorus part that was definitely in danger of being a little too comfortably numb. I changed a G to a Em/G in the third position, like a Cmaj7 but with a G root. I think it saved my song. I’ll have a recording of that in a few days.

Residence- we have yet to meet the new owner of the house we’re living in. We’re dealing with some tough issues with that. Like what happens if he decides that we’re not paying enough rent to live in a crummy but huge house? What if he wants us out right away? We have no idea what our near future holds with regard to our living situation. And that blows, big time.

Locally- It’s been so hot here that the glue holding the rear-view mirror onto the windshield of my grandpa’s Alero has melted and the mirror fell clean off!

Categories
friends life local uncategorized

The Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest Ordinance is a band from Dayton, OH. The Northwest Ordinance is also, in a roundabout sort of way, how I came to live in the slavery-prohibited state of Ohio.

I work with Chris Karnes, their lead singer and one-half of their guitar regiment. A splendidly nicer and more down-to-earth fellow you could not ever hope to meet. Yet, when he takes the stage, he becomes a possessed man, hell-bent on spreading the fire-and-brimstone Word of Rock to all within a six-mile radius (the approximate blast radius of their amplifiers). Jumping and skittering, leaping and zig-zagging around, he appears to be some kind of messianic epileptic. I’ve never seen more energy put out by a four-cylinder punk-rawk band in all my life.

Check them out at Canal Street Tavern in glorious downtown Dayton (1 Nov 2006):
[googlevideo]-2765128894187042447[/googlevideo] “Trouble”

[googlevideo]-4672745740412193341[/googlevideo] (no idea what this one’s called but it’s hella entertaining, with masterful tambourine stylings by “Ross,” a kooky bearded dude from the audience!)

Categories
CDs internets media uncategorized

Latest Chickenfish CD Reviews

Whee! My latest reviews are up at The Chickenfish Speaks. I feel truly sorry for the lashing I gave one new age composer. The rest I’m pretty proud of.

You should check out The Chickenfish Speaks. It’s a great site with lots of cool stuff!

(I’m jeremy mutant, BTW.)

Categories
CDs friends internets media uncategorized

Cocker Spaniels’ “Withstand the Whatnot”- free download

You can get The Cocker Spaniels‘ absolutely brilliant (and brilliantly named) album Withstand the Whatnot for free on their website! I urge you to listen and to donate (not only does the artist get 100% of the profits, but it will help him to finance the production of his next CD)! This is one of the greatest albums ever recorded by one of the greatest rock bands ever to come down the pike.

Withstand the Whatnot (lyrics & credits)

Categories
CDs media memories uncategorized

Grooves

Here’s one thing that I actually miss about vinyl records: you could actually look at the record itself and know instantly* which tracks were the interludes and which were the opuses. When will files on a computer be able to do that?

 

* yes, I know you can see it on CD, but you have to look really hard and close and squint a lot. That’s no fun!