This, our 9th last song (!!), is probably best described as a cross between Apples in Stereo and Foo Fighters (or maybe just Dave without the band). Let’s get to it. Click to continue reading, comment and share »
Last weekend, Steve and Chris and significant others Erin and Claire gathered together in Toronto to eat, drink, play Settlers of Catan, and write this song. Since they like games, they decided to turn this into a game of sorts. First, Steve came up with a melody and taught it to everyone. Then we all brainstormed some rhyming and phrasing rules before passing a computer around the circle, writing one line at a time. The trick was that you were only allowed to see the line immediately before yours; all other lyrics were blacked out. Every word is a mystery, every line changes what I see. Click to continue reading, comment and share »
When we first started explaining this project to people late last year, an annoyingly common reaction was, “well yeah, but what counts as a song? I mean, you could just go ‘flurp!’ into a microphone and call that a song, and then you’d be done for a week, right?” We were obviously not going to do that. But some weeks have been more experimental than others. Today’s song, while hopefully better than “flurp!,” is really a single simple song idea flushed out into a soundscape. And it took 40 minutes to complete, including writing, recording and mixing, so judge it accordingly. Click to continue reading, comment and share »
Wow, this is getting real. 52 song project is actually winding down. Just 11 more weeks to go… satisfying and yet a little sad (queue:Â segue) which leads us into this week’s song which borders on mourning. Leaning heavily on guitar for many of our songs, we thought we would throw out a piano piece. This quickly turned into something of a meandering lamentation which… oh, just go and listen already. Click to continue reading, comment and share »
A 52 song project fan, let’s call him Johnny Drape and the Insufferable Sisters, just sent us this word cloud of the lyrics to our first 40 songs. He’s surprised, as are we, that “rain” and “water” don’t show up more often. He also writes that “it’ll get into your head next time you write lyrics…hahaha.” What a jerk. But, kinda neat, huh? (Click for larger image.)
This is our 40th song, and in our humble opinions, there have been a few really good ones. We’re probably at a 10%-20% success rate, and only a 10%-20% abysmal failure rate, which is pretty good. However, for many people we talk to, Elizabeth is still the best song we’ve put out. And that’s kinda annoying, because it was song number 4. The thing about Elizabeth, you will remember, is that it’s a “hate song,” which people seemed to like. So, in a blatant attempt to try and build on that success, here is another song with the word “hate” in the chorus. We hope it will become your second favourite song, so that we can feel like we didn’t peak in January. Click to continue reading, comment and share »
This morning’s song is posted slightly early as a favour to our friend and fan John (of Amber Kills, check them out), who writes, “look im in work early and bored, gimme the song.” It was also recorded with John in mind, since, after song 37, he wrote to say “I listened to the song today. Just letting you know, get your shit together. Get organized down there. At least throw a fucking harmonica into it. Show me that you give a shit.” He’s a good friend. So, as usual we have no idea if you’ll like this week’s song, but hopefully you can at least tell that we care. Click to continue reading, comment and share »
It is becoming standard that we publish songs that we are quick to write and almost as quick to record, and it is true that Steve conjured up this ode to the elements in a quarter hour on Chris’ front porch. Characterized by a simple but catchy chord progression and a melody that we think will be stuck in your head for at least the duration of the song, it also takes its title from a line in the song that refers to something… but what? If you guess the right answer, you get a prize! (Hint: the prize is a free song. Next Friday). Click to continue reading, comment and share »
This song is approximately what you’d get if you picked up the tempo on Wheat Kings and then asked Hootie to sing over top of it. It’s also what you get when Chris goes into his basement on a Thursday night without any song idea at all and comes out an hour and a half later with a recording. Have we lost you yet? No? Ok, here ya go… (And yes, we know that the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish is not actually called “Hootie.” Save your angry letters.) Click to continue reading, comment and share »
Remember when you wanted to be a rock and roll star? Remember when all you had was that tape recorder with the red “record” button… when you popped in the blank tape, making sure to put masking tape over the record tab if it was broken… and you would wail into the tiny microphone with everything you had, all the background noises, no filters, no effects, just you and your song… Well, this week we present you with a song inspired by youth and necessitated into archaic recording practice.
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