The Morning After

Hey. It's still morning to us, believe me.

Scott & I talked about renaming the mp3s, blah blah blah at about 9:02 EST this morning, and then vetoed that idea in favor of some sleep. Now, however, the track tags have been edited, all the pertinent information added, and the files renamed. So, I give you, officially and with no further hesistation, the accomplishments of Blogathon 2003:

Southdown Download MP3 (3.8MB)
Nothing New Download MP3 (2.8MB)

Thanks for your patience, and to Jay Allen for a nice idea for the track tags.

Thank You And Goodnight

Well, it's been an incredible 24 hours, dangit. Here they are:

Southdown Download MP3 (3.8MB)
Nothing New Download MP3 (2.8MB)

Thanks Shannon, you rock, you rule. Thanks Blogathon. Thanks kabillions of visitors. Thanks sponsors who donated almost a grand to help MHOPUS. That's a lot of French horns and oboes.

This site will stay up for posterity. It's a weblog. Read it from bottom to top. Y'know.

Man, can you believe we did all that? Goodnight.

The End of the Whole Mess

Two songwriters. Twenty-four hours. Three thousand miles. Nine hundred seventy-six dollars. Four hundred ninety-seven comments. Seventy-four entries.

Two songs. I'm really proud. And tired. And glad I participated.

And a little pissed that Scott stole my idea for the final post.

Just sayin'.

Southdown (Interlude Part VII)

When you're struggling to name a song, sometimes ya gotta get creative:

<scottandrew> okay so:
<scottandrew> in the first song
<shannon> my mom's back
<scottandrew> where are they leaving?
<scottandrew> what state?
<shannon> Kentucky
<scottandrew> okay
<scottandrew> whaddya know, there's a Liberty, KY
<shannon> get outta here
<scottandrew> :)
<scottandrew> choose a town that would make a good song title:
<scottandrew> http://www.louisville.edu/~easchn01/kentucky/1citylist.html
<shannon> just the city name?
<scottandrew> sure
<shannon> k
<scottandrew> this is how I named Brickyard Bend
<shannon> ooohhh
<scottandrew> although I rearranged the song to work the name of the town in later
<scottandrew> Watergap
<shannon> flat lick?
<shannon> flingsville! haqhahahaa
<scottandrew> man, some of these are crazy
<shannon> fort campbell
<shannon> it's decided, sorry.
<scottandrew> thousandsticks
<shannon> or there's always head of grass
<scottandrew> southdown
<scottandrew> I like that one
<shannon> i like that
<scottandrew> could be anywhere
<scottandrew> we have a winner!
<shannon> of course, i also like mcwhorter
<scottandrew> but of course...
<shannon> southdown it is.

Play Along At Home

Here's fakebook-style tab of Song #2:

(C) you (D) say it�s (Bm7) okay, it�s (C) all right
if I (C) show up out (D) of nowhere
and (Bm7) ask if I can (C) stay the night
I�ve got (C) no place to go (D) right now
and I�m (Bm7) too tired to (C) drive
can I (C) stay aw(D)hile (Bm7)(C)

I�ve got a (C) flask on my (D) hip
and a (Bm7) song on my (C) lips
I�ve got (C) twenty bucks in (D) my pocket
just (Bm7) begging for us to (C) spend it
let�s (C) go out and (D) drink,
and (Bm7) try not to (C) think
'cause (C) we're too close for (D) lying
and (Bm7) too old for pre(C)tending

(chorus:)
(G) I used to (Am) think
we were (Em) nothing (D) new but
(G) I could be con(Am)vinced if I (C) wanted (D) to
if we (Em) started (D+F) this
why not (G) follow (C) through
(Am) I can't get (B) over growing (C) into (D) you

(C) and you don't (D) care
(Bm7) what I've (C) done
(C) 20 years be(D)hind us
and you (Bm7) know you're not the (C) only one
and (C) I know time has (D) changed you some
and (Bm7) so have (C) I
can we (C) talk a(D)while (Bm7)(C)

[chorus]

(bridge:)
(C)(D)(Bm7)(C) x3
(Am)(Bm7)(C)(D)
(C) I remember (D) times when I was
(Bm7) half-dazed and (C) crazy
(C) looking for re(D)demption
in the (Bm7) palm of (C) your hand
and (C) I remember (D) lies that we would
(Bm7) tell ourselves to (C) get by
(C) so afraid the (D) truth was what we
(Bm7) couldn't under(C)stand

[chorus x2]

The Name Game

Shannon shannon bo-bannon, banana-fana, fo-fannon...

Let's see what we've got:

Song #1 Download MP3 (3.8MB)
Song #2 Download MP3 (2.8MB)

Not bad for a day's work. A full day, that is. Considering we started from almost nothing.

So, let's name these puppies. But not with puppy names.

Is It Soup Yet?

Mmm mmm mmm. I'd say this song is just about ready to come out of the oven.

Final guitar and drums arrangement with vocals
Download MP3 (2.8MB)

To do:
- add bass guitar
- add Tele lead

The Suspense is Killing Me!

MP3 for Song #2 encoding... toes, frozen... ass, asleep...

The Houreth is Fasteth Approachingeth

Somehow, I've managed to lose a rather lengthy post twice. I'm not typing it again. Right this second. Next time around. I'm going to keep my eye on the Blogathon home page to see if I can't win myself some schwag real quick-like.

Scott's laying down vocals, electric guitar and a bass line for song #2 as I type this. He put in more than his fair share of work this evening, and I'm glad to say at least ONE of us knows what they're doing.

Two hours to go.

The Smell Of Bytes In The Morning

Ah, the smoky, exhilirating odor of fresh bits being crunched and the warm glow of the floating-point math processor.

Here's where we are so far: drums, geetars. Shannons is recording lyrics now, and I'm gearing up to add a bass line. As the dawn fast approaches, the question remains: will we prevail? Hell yes!

Drums with guitar arrangement
Download MP3 (2.7MB)

Songs For Dustmites

Remember that guy in the green striped shirt that hosted Blues Clues on Nickelodeon? After years of talking to an imaginary blue dog, Steve (that's his name) has struck out in a different direction, releasing an album of sweet experimental pop called "Songs For Dustmites." Featuring members of the Flaming Lips, you can listen to the whole album online with a Flash player. Pretty nifty.

(Note to self: bring web cam next time)

Okay, it's off-topic, but we're desperately trying to entertain you while you wait for us to record.

More Behind the Music

Hey! Maybe you don't know how we met. Maybe you've never read our blogs before, maybe you're just surfing the ring, trying to stay awake. Lemme enlighten you.

Back in October of 2002, I got an email from Scott I never expected to get from anyone in a million years. Basically, he'd taken one of my songs, inserted himself as my backing band, and emailed it to me with a short note explaining what he'd done. I was absolutely blown away, and immediately posted it to my weblog. He shared his side of the story, and the song - "Dreaming of Violets" - enjoyed quite a bit of success, garnering about a thousand downloads in a week or so.

We've been friendly ever since, but I can honestly say that I hope the Blogathon has made us friends. How many people can you say you've stayed in constant contact with for 24 straight hours, pouring your guys out for the whole world to see?

Yeah, me either.

Interlude, Pt. VI

Whilst we work on structure and tracking the drums, another interlude for your reading pleasure:

[04:23:55] scottandrew: do we have enough lyrics?
[04:24:09] shannon: we have three verses
[04:24:24] shannon: we're still iffy on the last line of the chorus (but not really) and the bridge-type-thing
[04:24:57] scottandrew: I thought the bridge type thing was the four line thing your were stuck on
[04:25:08] shannon: right
[04:25:16] scottandrew: oh, still stuck
[04:25:22] shannon: yar
[04:25:25] scottandrew: it'll come
[04:25:44] scottandrew: think on that, whilst I cobble more drum patterns together
[04:25:46] shannon: i know, but it's like someone left the last piece of the puzzle out of the box
[04:25:50] scottandrew: cobble cobble
[04:25:58] shannon: why is that funny?
[04:26:17] scottandrew: look, I don't make the rules
[04:26:25] shannon: oh, i think you do

Moving Forward

Here's how it comes together. And I think I'm with you on that last line of the chorus. I tried it several different ways and it never really gelled. Let's nail that puppy down. Also, I didn't exactly "mix" anything, I just laid the crap in there. So no meanness. It's just an example.

2nd gtr track & vocal addition to suggestion rhythm & drum tracks
Download MP3 (1.2MB)

Go Easy On The Thumbs, Ringo

So it's looking like this one will have a somewhat realistic-sounding drum track. While Shannon's filling the lyrical gaps, I've been busy stringing drum patterns together. Here's a sample.

Suggested drum and guitar arrangement
(Intro, 2 verses, chorus)
Download MP3 (1MB)

It also looks like our bridge will be a modified verse, but maybe this will inspire something new.

So CLOSE

Thanks to a couple of late-night pledges from people like Brandon Valentine and Sam King, not to mention a couple of anonymous donors, we're only $64 away from have a thousand dollars in pledges.

That's one hell of a tuba, folks.

So if you haven't sponsored yet, if you have a dollar you could pledge for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, that'd be just nifty, swell, and/or keen. Take your pick. Seriously, thank you for your continued pledges, comments, and IMs. This second song is shaping up to be a doozy!

Interlude, Pt. V

Or, what we talk about behind your backs.

[02:31:42] scottandrew: in my old band, we used to think
[02:31:59] scottandrew: that Queensryche prayed to satan to get the bridge to Silent Lucidity
[02:32:23] shannon: Geoff Tate IS Satan, so that's impossible.
[02:32:38] scottandrew: have you ever seen his eyes?
[02:32:42] scottandrew: he's demonic alright
[02:32:44] shannon: I smooched him once, actually
[02:32:51] scottandrew: !!!
[02:33:06] scottandrew: how does THAT happen?
[02:33:31] shannon: I knew a DJ that was backstage at a show... them and Type O Negative
[02:33:47] shannon: I actually have a picture buried somewhere
[02:33:51] scottandrew: oh yeah, I saw that show
[02:33:51] shannon: it was a camera smooch
[02:34:00] shannon: i was like, fifteen
[02:34:02] scottandrew: was he wearing his hot pants?
[02:34:10] shannon: does he ever NOT wear his hot pants?
[02:34:43] scottandrew: anyway. yeah, satan.
[02:34:48] shannon: hail
[02:35:12] scottandrew: tht Peter would take Geoff apart with one arm
[02:35:29] shannon: i used to think peter steele was the end all, be all of men
[02:35:35] shannon: then I realized, he's disgusting
[02:35:45] scottandrew: yah
[02:35:47] scottandrew: but big
[02:35:53] shannon: and disgusting

Bridge Possibilities

I feel like that fourth line is right there, but I can't reach it.

I remember times when I was half-dazed and crazy
looking for redemption in the palm of your hand
and I remember lies that we would tell ourselves to get by
blahblahblahfourthlinehelpmescott

Thump

Here's what I had in mind for rhythmic percussion during the chorus. Kind of a thump-thumpa-thump-thwack to drive it along. Maybe this will help illustrate the idea. I was going to post this in comments, but I wanted the CC license on it:

Suggested rhythm for chorus.
Download MP3 (340K)

A Chorus! Kinda!

Okay, so I wanted the chorus to be kinda cheery. Sue me.

I used to think
we were nothing new
but I could be convinced if I wanted to
if we started this
why not follow through
I can't get around ~~getting~~ growing into you
Download MP3 (648)

Chords:
(G)(Am)(Em)(D)
(G)(Am)(C)(D)
walk: (Em)(D)* (G)(C)
walk (Am)(Bm?)(C)(D)
resolve to verse

*It's a D with an F# bass. Erik showed me that.

Is This Thing On?

I get the feeling we're the only ones left awake 'round here.

Anybody out there?

Update: There are indeed people out there.

On Fire!

Man, it feels so good to write.

To anyone who may not follow my site, and may not know, I haven't written a thing in months. It's been one hell of a dry spell. But I have another verse!

you say
I�ve got a flask on my hip, and a song on my lips
I�ve got twenty bucks in my pocket just begging for us to spend it
let�s go out and drink, and try not to think
�cause we�re too close for lying and too old for pretending

Good thing Scott's the chorus master.

Chunklet

That's a technical term for "chunk of lyric." Bet you didn't know that.

Building on the theme:

And you
don't care, what I've done
20 years behind us and you know you're not the only one
and I know time has changed you some
and so have I, can we talk awhile

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Been up for sixteen hours and need to find out exactly what the chord you're playing is, even though your brain is fried and your eyeballs are mush? A handy-dandy chord generator, brought by the folks at OLGA, the OnLine Guitar Archive. Who said we never gave you nothin'?

Now: Is it nap time yet?

Truthfully, actually, I'm feeling way better 16 hours into this than I ever thought I'd feel. We've got one song finished, another on the way, and some hardcore friends still sponsoring (thanks, Paul!), instant messaging, and commenting to keep us awake and ready for action.

Scott's working on some lines as we speak, and I'm seriously psyched to see if we can actually complete two songs in 24 hours.

We're not slowing down. We're not even thinking about it, you hear? It's about to get buck wild up in here!

Song #2: The Beginning (Hopefully)

Okay. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVES! (Ten bonus points to whoever gets that.)

So. I've had this opening verse in my head for months, and never got anywhere with it. I also have a melody and chord progression, which I've also uploaded. Here goes nothing:

you say
it�s okay, it�s all right
if I show up out of nowhere and ask if I can stay the night
I�ve got no place to go right now
and I�m too tired to drive
can I stay awhile

Download MP3 (490k)

Bring it!

Onward!

So. With little over nine hours to go, the question of the moment is, can they do it again? Well, we're sure as hell gonna try. What else is there to do?

Early this morning, I threw out the first song kernel. Now it's Shannon's turn. Open those notebooks, Shannon! Bare your soul to us! I've splashed my face with cool water, and a little in my armpits too, and now stand ready before the challenges that lie ahead!

Where are we headed now?

Now We Need A Title

Whew. That took awhile. But the good news is: it's practically finished! Anything else we add is icing. Mmmm, sweet, delicious icing.

Beware: this is a big file at 128K. Only the best for our dedicated followers.

Finished vocals and guitar w/ harmonica
Download MP3 (3.8MB)

Fo' Shizzle

I know I should post something worthwhile, but I'd rather point to these comments and let you find out why I'm not posting something worthwhile.

And the Hits Keep Comin'

Man, I wish I knew more about what I was doing, because I'm having a hell of a time tracking tonight. I can't remember ever having sync problems like this, but luckily Scott's a genius and is making it all work.

So. My vocal tracks are done, and it appears Scott rocked out his harmonica solo whilst I was singing... so all that's left is his harmonies. I can't wait, I tell you. We're almost there, peepsicles!

I'm sorry to say, you're going to have to wait until Scott's worked his magic before you can hear another composite sketch - I'm totally frustrated, and had to send my vox tracks to him in two halves due to different issues. He's got to be the most patient man alive, I swear.

Harmonica Solo

The title sez it all, eh?

Harmonica solo.
Download MP3 (300K)

Now With Singing And Stuff!

A new composite with my vocals included. The guitars are panned a little more severely, and the vocals have a dash of reverb, because I can't stand listening to my voice dry like that. Shiver. Again, sorry for the low bitrate � it's causing a bit of warble at that rate of compression.

I also messed with the phrasing of the choruses a bit, made it a bit easier to take breaths in between all those syllables.

Composite acoustic with Scott's vox.
Download MP3 (1.6MB)

Megan, who was in the next room when I was recording this, knows I did about a kabillion takes. "What did you neeed...crap. ::click:: What did yo...CRAP."

Shannon's turn to do vocals, while I go back to the harmonica. No time to waste!

Holy Crap!

Pledges for the 2003 Blogathon just reached over $80,000. Way to go, Cat. You're to be commended.

Halfway There!

As the Blogathon hits the halfway mark, Scott's busy recording the vocals for our still-untitled song, and I'm eating a ham and cheese sandwich.

Hey. Someone's gotta do the dirty work.

I hit a second wind about a half-hour ago, and I hope I've got like, eight more winds in me because it's gonna be a long, long night. It looks like, if everything goes well, we might get two original collaborations out of this day, not just one like we were hoping.

Thanks again for everyone who's sticking around, leaving comments and all that good stuff. You have no idea how much one nice comment can mean, and it's really keeping us going. As the night wears on, we're gonna need you more than ever... so get that coffee going, and stay with us as long as you can.

See you on the flipside.

Taylor vs. Epiphone!

Here's a composite of the the two guitar tracks. I'm panned to the left, Shannon to the right. The alignment between the two was just a few fractions of a second off, but I was able to correct by slicing some dead air at the start of Shannon's track. The composite loses sone definition at 56K -- it sounds MUCH cooler at 24 bits.

Composite acoustic gtr. track (Scott + Shannon)
Download MP3 (1.6MB)

I guess I'm up next for vocals, huh? Good thing I practiced.

Interlude, Pt. IV

[20:18:52] scottandrew: it's just your guitar?
[20:19:04] scottandrew: that's pretty cool
[20:19:13] scottandrew: I thought you were overdubbing
[20:19:16] shannon: i thought that's would be the best way to do it
[20:19:23] scottandrew: ah
[20:19:29] shannon: that way, we'll both have single tracks we can add effects to
[20:19:40] shannon: a copy each, a *good* copy, on our own computers
[20:19:47] shannon: then maybe each do our own mix at the end and compare
[20:19:47] scottandrew: I'll try overlaying on a separate track.
[20:20:00] shannon: it should work perfectly. if not, i can still send an overdub
[20:20:35] scottandrew: k
[20:20:43] shannon: i'm dying to know if it syncs, so tell me
[20:20:52] scottandrew: shhH!
[20:20:56] scottandrew: :)
[20:22:34] scottandrew: hehehe
[20:22:43] scottandrew: just a skotch off, but I fixed it
[20:22:45] shannon: tell me that's a good laugh
[20:22:54] shannon: YOU RULE
[20:23:03] shannon: how do you feel about it?
[20:23:10] scottandrew: sounds fine so far
[20:23:23] scottandrew: messin' with it, hold on
[20:23:33] shannon: yeah... the levels are going to need adjusting, etc
[20:24:29] scottandrew: panned sounds AWESOME
[20:24:42] shannon: you read my mind on that one
[20:24:48] scottandrew: shall I post a composite for our readers?
[20:24:55] shannon: by all means, m'dear
[20:25:29] shannon: i'm going to go happy dance for awhile and wake my right buttcheek up

Shannon's Acoustic Track

Wow, if that wasn't scary, I don't know what is. I guess everyone has setbacks during Blogathon, but that was a big one. Best I can figure, the mp3 track sort of hiccupped on playback, and caused a sync problem with the recording. I think I've got it now, though, and here it is:

Rhythm acoustic gtr #1 (Shannon)
Download MP3 (1.8MB)

Like I told Scott: I surely hope this was worth the wait.

It Had to Happen

Everything was going soooooo smoothly, but it had to happen: I've been tracking for the last half an hour or so, and there seems to be some sort of syncing problem with my software. So, bear with me while I try to work this out - and keep your fingers crossed.

Tabs and Transcriptions

BTW, I borrowed the fake-book-style tabulature from Ron Grittz, curator of Ron's Folk Music Chords & Lyrics. Ron has transcribed tunes by a lot of my favorite songwriters, including Richard Shindell, Dar Williams, Gillian Welch and Cheryl Wheeler. If you're into that brainy singer-songwriter scene, check out Ron's site.

Tons more transcriptions at the Ballad Tree, too.

Guitar #1 In The Can

Okay peepsicles, the recording process has begun! I've tracked the first rhythm guitar and sent it to Shannon. Below is the same track as a 56K MP3. We're posting the big tracks at lower bitrates to keep the download times sane.

Rhythm acoustic gtr #1 (Scott)
Download MP3 (1MB)

Pretty damn good for a first take, if I do say so myself. And Shannon, I stretched the outro out by 2 bars. Sorry.

Interlude, Pt. III

[18:19:03] scottandrew: okay
[18:19:05] scottandrew: now what?
[18:19:15] shannon: hahhaa
[18:19:18] scottandrew: :)
[18:19:28] shannon: Okay - I think you should lay down a guitar track
[18:19:32] shannon: then I'll lay one down
[18:19:37] shannon: Then you do vocals
[18:19:41] shannon: then I'll do vocals
[18:19:48] scottandrew: k
[18:19:50] shannon: then you do harmonies, then I'll do harmonies
[18:20:00] shannon: then we'll add the harmonica and any other random stuff
[18:20:09] shannon: how's that strike you?
[18:20:10] scottandrew: yes! overdub mania!

Absolutely Amazing

I have to admit, I'm floored at how spectacular this whole process is going. Not even halfway through, and we've got the song laid out, ready to be recorded, $841 in pledges, and 200 comments and counting.

Thanks to everyone who's hanging in there with us, to all of our sponsors, to everyone who's linked us - and many thanks to Scott for being crazy enough to take this on with me. It gets better and better. (Just wait - by midnight I'll be like one of those lovey drunks... "I love yoooouuu... yer soooooo great. Gimme a hug!")

So I guess we're ready to start recording. Yes!

Tabbing

Let's see how this works:

~~(Er...not too good. Working on it)~~ Ladies and gentlemen, we have a song! Happy birthday, whatever-your-title-is!

(G) I think I've got a good idea
(D) if you'd just take a right turn here
(Am7) we'll go right past the place I come from
(C) I'll tell you everything that I've done
(G) sometimes I wonder why you stayed
(Em) so long after the fire went away
(Am7) didn't want you around to hear them (C) say

(chorus:)
(G) they're still ar(D)ound here somewhere
(C) I can't be(D)lieve we haven't (G) seen
your face ar(D)ound here lately
(C) why did you (D) leave?

(G) sometimes i take the long way home
(D) just so i can ride these roads
(Am7) just so i can think of midnight
(C) and wonder if it all turned out right
(G) and even though you felt I was wrong
(Em) never really felt I belonged
(Am7) and even though i stayed behind
(C) you won't hear them say this time

(ext. chorus)
(G) they're still a(D)round here somewhere
(C) I can't be(D)lieve we haven't (G)seen
your face a(D)round here lately
(C) why did you (D) leave, what did you (G) need?
what did you (D) need, what did you (C) see?
in all of those (D) places I've never (G) been
in all of those (D) faces I'd never (C) dream
that you'd find a (D) way to come home (Am) clean

[bridge]
(Am x2)*(Em)(D)
(Am x2)(Bm)(D)
(Am x2)(Em)(D)
(Am x2)(C x2)

[* First Am is the last one in the preceding chorus]

(G) I think we've got the right idea
(D) take the wheel and drive out of here
(Am7) cut our losses and leave 'em at the roadside
(C) but trouble tends to hitch a ride
(G) we'll go back to the place we began
(Em) to whiskey and the best laid plans
(Am7) and they don't need to under(C)stand

(ext. chorus variation)
(G) they're still a(D)round here somewhere
(C) I can't be(D)lieve we haven't (G)seen
your face a(D)round here lately
(C) why did you (D) leave, what did you (Em) need?
what did you (D) need, what did you (Am7) see?
in all of those (C) places I've never (Em) been
in all of those (D) faces I'd never (Am7) dream
that you'd find a (C) way to come home (G) clean

Outro:
(G)(D)(Am7)(C) x2
Resolve to G

Behind the Music

Some pictures of my workspace for this Blogathon, if anyone might be interested:

Photo #1
Photo #2
Photo #3

And yes, cats, Jack in the Box, a kick-arse tuner and Marlboros are all key to making it through this thing in one piece.

A Bridge Too Far

How's about this? We punt on lyrics for the bridge, use Shannon's Am/Bm idea and slap some harmonica on it?

Download MP3 (894K)

Frustrating

If Mozilla crashes on me ONE MORE TIME, I'm gonna break something. I just can't do this without tabs, dammit!

Oh. I feel much better now.

Bridge, Part Duh

Now that I've recorded this, I'm not sure I like it. I feel like I'm trying to force something. But here it is anyways:

Download MP3 (1.2MB)

The Confounded Bridge

Here's the chord ideas I have for the yet-unwritten bridge, from the second chorus:

Download MP3 (1MB)

Chords: Am7, Em, D

Now that I think of it, maybe we don't need lyrics here? I happen to have a harmonica handy.

A Little Love

Thanks to the Creative Commons weblog for the love, and for coming up with such a great idea as the CC license in the first place.

We're proud to issue our work under it, and hope everyone takes advantage of the opportunity this offers.

Some Editing Fo' Yo Buttocks

Preliminary changes to make it all fit:

I think I've got a good idea
if you'd just take a right turn here
we'll go right past the place I come from
I'll tell you everything that I've done
sometimes I wonder why I you stayed
so long after the fire went away
didn't want you around to hear them say

(chorus:)
~~she's~~ they're still around here somewhere
I can't believe we haven't seen
your face around here lately
why did you leave, what did you need?

sometimes i take the long way home
just so i can ride these roads
just so i can think of midnight
and wonder if it all turned out right
~~and it's no secret i was wrong~~ and even though you felt I was wrong
~~i think you knew it all along~~ never really felt I belonged
and even though i stayed behind
you won't hear them say this time

(ext. chorus)
she's still around here somewhere
I can't believe we haven't seen
your face around here lately
why did you leave, what did you need?
what did you need, what did you see
in all of those places I've never been
in all of those faces I'd never dream
that you'd find a way to come home clean

[insert big nasty bridge here, preferably in 7/8 time, like that part in "Red Barchetta"]

I think we've got the right idea
take the wheel and drive out of here
cut our losses and leave 'em at the roadside
but trouble tends to hitch a ride
we'll go back to the place we began
to whiskey and the best laid plans
and they don't need to understand

(ext. chorus variation)

Editing

Okay, Shannon, if you wanna mark up edits on the blog, we can use the <del> tag to ~~cross out text like this.~~ Cool? Cool.

Recapping

Okay, let's review what we got so far:

I think I've got a good idea
if you'd just take a right turn here
we'll go right past the place I come from
I'll tell you everything that I've done
sometimes I wonder why I stayed
so long after the fire went away
didn't want you around to hear them say

(chorus:)
she's still around here somewhere
I can't believe we haven't seen
your face around here lately
why did you leave, what did you need?

sometimes i take the long way home
just so i can ride these roads
just so i can think of midnight
and wonder if it all turned out right
and it's no secret i was wrong
i think you knew it all along
and even though i stayed behind
you won't hear them say this time

(ext. chorus)
she's still around here somewhere
I can't believe we haven't seen
your face around here lately
why did you leave, what did you need?
what did you need, what did you see
in all of those places I've never been
in all of those faces I'd never dream
that you'd find a way to come home clean

[insert big nasty bridge here, preferably in 7/8 time, like that part in "Red Barchetta"]

I think we've got the right idea
take the wheel and drive out of here
cut our losses and leave 'em at the roadside
but trouble tends to hitch a ride
we'll go back to the place we began
to whiskey and the best laid plans
and they don't need to understand

(ext. chorus variation)

Discuss in comments!

Once More, With Feeling

The bridge is kicking my arse, but I think I got a rough third verse:

I think we've got the right idea
take the wheel and drive out of here
cut our losses and leave 'em at the roadside
but trouble tends to hitch a ride
we'll go back to the place we began
to whiskey and the best laid plans
and they don't need to understand
we only do it because we can

Things are taking a twang for the worse, I fear. I think the lines fit the direction of the song, but that "roadside/hitch a ride" thing puts the fear of Clint Black into me. Suggestions welcome.

Breaking News

Thanks to a very generous donation from an anonymous sponsor, we've received $781 in pledges for MHOpus. To our Anonymous Donor #7: thank you, thank you, thank you - and if, for some reason, you pushed the wrong button (say, the per hour instead of per day button), we'll understand.

Second Verse, Not the Same as the First

Okay, Scott: I've got the zygote of a second verse for you. I'm not going to post an mp3, because I want to hear how you sing it. There's some things I know aren't quite right, and I want you to dice and slice this verse and put it back together. It also seems a bit wistful, like maybe I'm going in the wrong direction. Don't be afraid to tell me to scrap it. (Not that you would be).

sometimes i take the long way home
just so i can ride these roads
just so i can think of midnight
and wonder if it all turned out right
and it's no secret i was wrong
i think you knew it all along
and even though i stayed behind
you won't hear them say this time

Interlude, Pt. II

[13:56:15] scottandrew: stuck the CC button in there
[13:56:21] scottandrew: I hope you don't think that's rude of me
[13:56:22] shannon: shit, i forgot
[13:56:26] scottandrew: no problem
[13:56:28] shannon: no... i need to remember
[13:56:38] shannon: you broke it, though
[13:56:41] shannon: at least in mozilla
[13:56:43] scottandrew: haha
[13:57:16] shannon: now add the link back
[13:57:20] shannon: dork
[13:58:11] scottandrew: shhheit
[13:59:09] shannon: way to go, baby!
[13:59:17] scottandrew: :)
[13:59:20] scottandrew: to the bridge!
[13:59:29] shannon: cap'n!
[13:59:35] scottandrew: (where's that confounded bridge?)
[13:59:45] shannon: it'll come to you

As you can see, our chat is mostly, "Damn, we're stupid," intermingled with lots of exclamation points.

$541 In The Kitty For MHOPUS

Thanks to the heroic efforts of our sponsors, we've raised $541 in pledges to benefit MHOPUS. There's just no other way to say it: our sponsors rule. And there's still time to become a sponsor. Do it! Do it! Seriously.

It's becoming obvious to us that the self-imposed goal of "something new every 15 damned minutes" isn't very conducive to songwriting. It's a lot like taking a timed test on long division or something similarly nightmarish. Omigod! Ten more minutes have passed and I haven't written a thing! What? "Pencils down?" But I...

Our primary goal: blog all day, for 24 hours straight, and write sweet folky tunes collaboratively across a distance of 2000 miles with people we've never met in real life. And it's working, whaddya know.

I Heart Harmonies

It's not perfect yet, but I wanted to give you an idea of what I'm doing. Here's the rough draft of the chorus harmony:

Download MP3 (620kb)

Chorus Variations

So, here's a variation on Shannon's extended chorus. No lyric changes, only a few minor chords stuck in for flava.

Download MP3 (613K)

Chords:
G, D, C, D (x2)
Em, D, Am7, C (x2)
Resolve to G at end

I'm thinking we can stack the choruses:

1st chorus: shortened
2nd chorus: extended (as Shannon recorded it)
3rd chorus: extended with minor chord variation

Whaddya think?

Crushing Krisis

The original song-blogger himself, Peter Marinari, is cranking out the tunes for Blogathon over at Crushing Krisis. He's got a great selection so far, including "Yellow," originally done by one of my favorite bands ever.

Go. Support. Sponsor. Sing.

Meshing and Melding

Scott: are you thinking, verse, 1/2 chorus, verse (or two), full chorus? I hear that, in my head. And then maybe a bridge, starting with Am.

Chorus Additions

I'm still not sure if Scott and I are on the same page regarding this song, but I don't think it'll be long until we find out. So I've added a bit more to the chorus, and we'll see what he thinks:

she's still around here somewhere
I can't believe we haven't seen
your face around here lately
why did you leave, what did you need?
what did you need, what did you see
in all of those places I've never been
in all of those faces I'd never dream
that you'd find a way to come home clean

Download MP3 (600kb)

I also hear Scott's voice in my head for this, especially since this isn't exactly my sweet spot as far as range is concerned. I can't wait until we agree on a chorus and I can start adding harmonies.

First Verse!

So, sometimes the best thing when you're stuck with music but no lyrics is to record the music and play it over and over and over, humming along until something clicks. That's what I'm doing today.

I have to admit to a very weird and potentially bad habit: when I write vocal melodies, it's almost always someone else's voice singing in my head. Can you guess who was guest-starring in my head in this verse?

I think I've got a good idea
if you'd just take a right turn here
we'll go right past the place I come from
I'll tell you everything that I've done
sometimes I wonder why I stayed
so long after the fire went away
didn't want you around to hear them say

Download MP3 (823K)

Verse chords:
G, D, Am7, C
G, Em, Am7, C

Man, my voice is shaky this early in the morning.

In Progress...

So Scott's working on verses, and I'm adding to the chorus. I believe we'll both have some mp3s to post here shortly.

Brad has posted a Metafilter thread mentioning us, which is already spawning some interesting comments on the Blogathon itself. I encourage you to drop by and add your two cents if you have a MeFi account.

In other news, my mom is crazy.

Chat Snippet

There are no secrets here!

[11:31:06] scottandrew: so is this working?
[11:31:24] shannon: too early to tell for sure, but i have massive amounts of faith. i'm still totally excited.
[11:31:30] shannon: how do you feel about it so far?
[11:31:32] scottandrew: kewl
[11:31:37] scottandrew: very good
[11:31:49] scottandrew: totally weird to hear you sing that back to me :)
[11:31:53] shannon: i think parts are going to be tedious, but it's completely going to be worth it.
[11:31:58] shannon: jesus, i feel like a cheerleader
[11:32:00] scottandrew: heh
[11:32:11] shannon: go team!

Chorus, Take Two

Yeah, this is harder than we thought. We're not even on the same coast, let alone in the same room, so every little thing is going to require an example. Lucky for y'all, that means you really do get to see everything.

Here's a tiny little twist on the chorus Scott uploaded. I'm so anal, but I think it totally lends itself to this:

Download MP3 (280k)

Still Around Here Somewhere

The first song snippet is up, just a single chorus. This is obviously harder than we thought. I hoping Shannon will come up with some cool verses, because I suck at that. I often have songs sitting around unwritten for years for the want of one good verse. But I have faith, because Shannon totally rules, totally.

Download MP3 (350K)

Sponsoring, Etc.

Whilst I'm waiting for Scott to upload the first snippet, I'd like to once again give a shout-out to all of our sponsors. You rock the hizzouse.

You too could rock the hizzouse, and get a nifty link in the process. All you've gotta do is think of the children and sponsor us. I'll believe you'll still be able to sponsor up until 48 hours after the end of the Blogathon, but don't procrastinate, y'hear?

Also, to another sponsor of sorts: Phil Ringnalda, who generously donated server space and bandwidth for the mp3s we'll be uploading today. Once again, you've come to the rescue, and are near and dear to my heart.

Hey, Guess What?

I have to be totally open to the idea that at some point, you're going to say, "Shannon, that totally sucks."

It's intimidating, but hopefully I'll get to reciprocate at some point. And hopefully, you'll take my tactless bantering in stride. Seriously.

To do a complete 180, I've had the opportunity to speak with Scott on the phone a few times over the last couple of days, and it was really nice to put a voice with the words. He's a super nice guy, and very funny. I hope I get a chance to visit Seattle some day and rock whatever we're going to come up with today.

La Di Da Di, We Likes to Party

Just got off the phone with my mom, who promised to call every now and then and make sure I'm still upright, if not totally awake.

Ain't she grand?

So, I think we're going to go with comments for riffing on lyrics, so watch Scott's previous post. This is gonna be so much fun. I'm so excited.... and I just can't hide it... I'm about to lose control...

...of my bladder. Back in a moment.

Consider This Party Started

Okay, here we go. To get things started, we're going to free-associate some lyrics and stuff here. I'm going to throw out a phrase, then Shannon will either riff on it, or add her own lines, etc. And then, back to me. And so on. We really have no direction here � the goal is to just to get the inspiration flowing and get some words down. Seriously.

Oh, and everyone is invited to contribute and critique in the comments. Group effort and all. The kids are counting on us! Won't someone think of the children?

Since Shannon's had coffee and I haven't, I get to go first. Just because. Here we go.

She's still around here somewhere

Holy Crap

It's time for Entry Numero Dos already (don't worry, I can only count to three in any language, so you won't have to watch me count in Greek or anything up to.. uh... 24X2 for long) and we're still getting administrative duties out of the way. How the hell are we supposed to get anything done?

I was thinking, though.... we should rap. Definitely. I mean, "East Coast/West Coast?" It's a perfect set up. I'm really not looking forward to having someone shoot Scott in a few years though. I'll bet that's expensive.

Some Rights Reserved

We're making the audio files posted here available to the public under a web-friendly Creative Commons license, which allows you to, um, do stuff with them you'd normally have to get our permission to do. We're going with the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, which grants everyone permission to copy, share and play copies of the files, so long as you observe the following rules:

give Shannon and I proper credit as the original author(s)
use the audio for non-commerical uses only (no jingles for cat food or auto-parts stores, please)
if you use our stuff to make a derivative work (like, a remix), you must release it under the same CC license.

You can learn more about Creative Commons stuff here and here.

You Beat Me

But I'm up, baby. Working on some coffee. Feeling the burn. All I have to say is, "Ha ha, it's 9 a.m. here. Not 6 a.m. Ha ha!" Sorry. Anyway, we hit $500 (and then some) over the course of Friday, and I wanted to say thanks to everyone. We'll have a full sponsor list on the left sidebar soon to expose you. In all your glory. (If you want naked pictures, you're going to have to send them, though. The ones I've taken of all of you are surely illegal.)

Top O' The Mornin' To Y'all

...and welcome to Pet Rock Star^S Blogathon 2003 extravaganza. First post!

Man, it's early. I need coffee.

'Twas the Night Before...

Wow. It's almost time. Ten hours to go, and I suppose I should be sleeping. But hey, I'm excited. Apparently, Scott's out yucking it up tonight and might be a tad hung over in the morn, but maybe we'll end up with killer songs about freedom and drinking. Or something.

So, anyways: see you in the morning. ~~Bright and~~ early.

We Need Sponsors!

For 24 straight hours on July 26, Shannon Campbell and Scott Andrew will be co-writing songs online as part of Blogathon 2003, to raise funds for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

Shannon and Scott will be posting every step of the songwriting process here on this site � lyrics, melodies, rough mix MP3s, everything.

This site will officially go live in a few days, so pardon our mess. But in the meantime...

Please help us by sponsoring us in Blogathon '03.

Scott and Shannon rock the Blogathon On July 26th