Currently working on songs. Laying down some electronic stuff. Going… well.

This morning I put the ten demos on my MP3 player – in a slightly rejigged order – and has a listen on my way to work.

I mentally made a note to do some further rejigging. And now the tracklist is looking like this:

I also noted down some snippets of lyrics that could be used as album titles. Current contenders:

• forgive me, future you
• cut me up
• when the lights come on
• can you hear what i was trying to say
• remnants of the other life
• just another lie
• back from the other side
• a not so shocking turn of events

At the moment I like Cut Me Up the best. It’s short and snappy. Though it mightn’t really be representative of the album as a whole.

Perhaps intentional misrepresentation could be a route to take. I could also take one of the working titles of the songs and call the album Everybody Get Busy Tonight!

Hmm. Options…

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And so I followed on from yesterday. No arranging/recording – only lyric-writing.

And I did it. The final two songs got worded:

[download 'Gouge (Demo - Vocals)']

[download '13 (Demo - Vocals)']

Now, all the lyrics aren’t all set by any means. The ones for the ‘gouge’ song above are particularly mumble-y and incoherent… But having stuff in place – before the final week has even begun – is a relief, for sure.

Although remaining time is minimal, a good bit of pressure re:the challenge is off. If the next nine days are a complete whitewash, I could still present ten brand new songs, music and words, written and recorded (very roughly) within the month.

That album would be the one below.
It’s not Nebraska, but it’s something…

hmm, tracklist might need some tweaking still…

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Well. So although I intended to jump straight back into my old ways, the original plan lingered on for a bit. Instead of getting instrumentation down for various songs, I focused on writing some draft lyrics for the remaining lyric-less ones. I think I was spurred by remembering how I tend leave the lyrics till the very end of month and find them really difficult. I got two this evening. Two more remain. Hmm…

[download 'Confused (Demo - Vocals)']

[download 'Spiders (Demo - Vocals)']

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Either way, I don’t really have time for any of that anymore!

Today has been all about getting things back on track. Part of this has involved now abandoning my original plan to work on the tracks one by one. Instead, I’m reverting to my usual “approach” of mainly working through all tracks on a part-by-part/instrument-by-instrument basis. It seems to suit me. And it saves space – not having all your gear all over the shop at all times: once all the, say, bass parts are done, you can put the bass away.

I haven’t decided if there will be bass (guitar) yet. That’s one thing I’m still figuring out – the instrumentation. It was always going to be one of two options: a free for all, or imposing restrictions. Given how late in the month it is, restrictions might just have to be imposed. Which ones though? One idea I’d toyed with before Feb began was to place a limit on the number of tracks on each song – to prevent going overboard with layering and to force myself to be more selective. I might do this.  Six mono tracks was the original idea. Too restrictive?

Probably the most inevitable part of the getting-(back-)on-track process was cutting down the number of songs. My quest to have an album with at least 12 songs on it looks like it will have to go unachieved this year. I’ve taken the 13 demo/sketches and taken it down to 10. I’ve also settled on a preliminary track sequence:

This something I always like to do as early as possible, preferably long long before the individual songs are anywhere near completion, so that they get sort of shaped by what will lead into them and what will follow – hopefully helping the album’s “flow”. I remember Chris Walla recommending likewise in the documentary on the making of Tegan and Sara’s The Con.

So yes. That’s how things stand as of now.

Ten songs in various stages of being written – four lack lyrics of any kind.  No “proper” recordings done yet. Ten days to go.

I’m oddly optimistic about it. I know I have the capacity to do this. I’ve done this kind of thing before. It’s going to be rushed, but that’s okay. It leaves me with no chance to over-think things. That’s what is so great about the RPM Challenge and its time constraint.

I think. Maybe…

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I got frustrated trying to come up with lyrical ideas.
So here are seven rough instrumental sketches instead:

[download 'Why Not? (Demo)']

[download 'Confused (Demo)']

[download 'Gouge (Demo)']

[download 'Penelope (Demo)']

[download 'Spiders (Demo)']

[download 'Racism Isn't Nice (Demo)']

[download '13 (Demo)']

I think with those seven and the previous six, I have enough viable seeds of the minimum 10 songs – if not one or two more.

Tomorrow will be a non-music day. The weekend, however, will be a music weekend.

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