I happen to love the song. I think it's a wonderful story song, on par with Michael Knott's "When She's Gone." Both songs are full of wonderful narrative gaps that make for good, good storytelling.
Give "The Coming Home Party" a listen and see if Tiny Tim's own scathing assessment is correct. And give the Lifesavers' "When She's Gone" a listen for good measure.
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Tonight I recorded some big-time percussion: bass drum, bells, marimba, gong, hi-hat, ride cymbal, congas. It was good, except for the congas. I don't have enough soul to lay down a good conga track.
All the big percussion's done, then. All the rest of the necessary percussion is the hand-held stuff: tambourines, shakers, hand drums, etc. Unless I take a chance and go back to the congas. They call to me. In the summer, I posted that I was annoyed to notice that my new selection of demos would have 18 songs. That's just too many songs.
But I've decided to take "Your Strength of Will" off the record. The song's old and I look forward to releasing it, but none of my guitar takes from the Summer were good enough. I hope to release it with nothing but a single guitar take and a vocal—no synthesizer, no drum machine, no bass—but it doesn't look like it's gonna' happen this time. It was the last guitar part I recorded, and I was worn-out. However, it bugs me: will I ever have the chance to make the song exist in the future? Really, I've recorded this many songs because I'm totally freaked out that I might not have another chance to make a record. 17 tracks is still more than enough, but it's hard to let one go. I know that many songs end-up as B-Sides and lost tracks, but I don't feel as if I have the time for that. It's just a set of demos. I can't act like these songs will ever see the light of day if I can't put them here. Jay McClement isn't famous for scoring goals, and Cedric Desjardins isn't a great goaltender. Nonetheless, this is a very pretty goal. [UPDATE: I had some images here, but removed them for copyright's sake. 2015/12/04] I've seen a lot of material in the news about the tension between a creator's personal life and their creation:
I don't care about any of these people. If they've done these crimes, they should go through whatever process is necessary to convict them. Their celebrity status, no matter how limited, should not excuse them from criticism and abandonment. But what about their work? It seems that—as already mentioned—I should not support and perpetuate criminals' work. I shouldn't give R.Kelly credit for Trapped in the Closet when my support might whitewash his rape convictions; I shouldn't view Woody Allen films when it appears that it might support his messing-up-of-his-family; I shouldn't treat Bill Cosby as an "elder" when he clearly feels the need to exercise unnecessary power over women; I shouldn't support an anti-fraud podcast when the creator has admitted to a form of fraud. But I also think we should be able to separate the art from the artist. It feels slippery slope-ish. It feels like I'm going to have no media to use if I pick out all the bad stuff about everybody. Why should I allow art from people who don't show integrity? Because it's good art. Because I'm ignorant of most people's issues and have no way to know who I should support and who I shouldnt. I admit that I'm a subjective judge of how to separate the art from the artist, but I think it's much better to try to separate them than it is to not separate them. But it still doesn't sit right to just let it all slide. They made some good work; I have no reason to not enjoy the work. Is this a "grey" situation? Certainly. However, we navigate most of our lives through greyness, and what media doesn't cater to that realm? So I think I'll keep thinking I can separate the art from the artist, even if it may be a delusional endeavor. What about myself, however? What parts of my personal life might change the way people look at my music? What could people expose that might threaten my own art? Why should I expect people to enjoy my music in spite of my shortcomings?
Even moreso, as a teacher, could my own music call my professional standing into question? I know I have a couple sensual bits on the upcoming demos and even drop the word "shit" in "This is the Time." It's a little frightening to put my creative music out there when I'm a member of such a closely-watched professional group. |
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April 2024
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