It occurs to me that I didn’t actually get around to posting this, for those of you who aren’t all that active on facebook or Twitter.
So: a couple weeks ago, I recorded a cover of the acoustic version of FBD’s Marianne (original here), with guest vocals and viola by my marvelously talented friend Sarah Rude. It’s pretty sweet, I think, or so I’m told. Check it out, and let me know what you think. :)
There’s somewhat more of a story behind my recording this than I’m going to tell here, but suffice it to say this is a pretty important song to me in a lot of ways. If you’ve known me for a while, you may remember me doing a much crappier cover of this back in college, mixed with parts from a couple other Laughing Colors songs. Now would be a good time to forget that.
Without further ado: here’s my cover of Dave Tieff’s “Smile Mother.” Enjoy!
A few weeks ago, I got the Decemberists’ “Of Angels and Angles” stuck in my head, in a serious way. I had been meaning to cover it since around when I first heard it, and recording is apparently my therapy of choice when I have a song stuck in my head, so I went with it (four out of five doctors/studio engineers recommend it!). Now I’m fully cured, barring future relapses.
Here it is. Enjoy!
This past winter, someone near and dear to me put in a request for a non-cheesy, non-bouncy, slow, pretty version of José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad.” I’m highly suggestible, so I complied.
Here are the results. I suppose it’s kind of silly to listen to Christmas songs at the end of April, but whatever, right?
I should probably also post these here, for posterity’s sake, huh?
A week or so ago, I discovered that GarageBand and built-in laptop mics have much lower activation energy requirements than, y’know, real recording with ProTools and real mics and actual mixing. The differences in quality are significant (to me), but on the plus side, when going the GarageBand route, I actually get around to recording things. More often than once a year, even!
So. Here’s a cover of the last FBD song we ever recorded, Raven (original here), and here’s a cover of Anna Begins, the song that got me into Counting Crows after years of being unable to stand Adam Duritz.
More of these coming soon, I suspect, though you’d be forgiven for not believing me when I say that, given my track record. Anyway, enjoy!
Wow. This site has been inactive for a depressingly long time. Maybe it’s time to put something up, eh?
On that note, here’s a cover of the Mountain Goats’ “Woke Up New.” Enjoy! (And while you’re at it, make sure you watch the video for the actual song, directed by Rian Johnson. Totally awesome. Especially the zebra.)
Hopefully this won’t be the last recording I post this summer. I make no promises, but . . I’m pretty sure I’ll have more stuff up in the near future.
Two updates in less than a month? Let the gasping commence.
I started this recording somewhere around five weeks ago, but two rather long bouts of sickness and a certain number of other distractions have kept me from actually finishing the thing until now. Backup vocals are scratchier and less on-pitch than I’d like thanks to the Head Cold from Hell, and the mixing was a bit hasty, but I’ve reached the point where I just want a finished product. Despite the frustrations, though, I’m reasonably happy with the end result. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it too.
Download my cover of Girlyman’s “The Shape I Found You In” here.
Still haven’t gotten to the Next Big Recording Project, nor do I expect to until all the grad school apps are done (somewhere in the vicinity of late December/early January). As a consolation prize, I just put up a very brief and very simple recording of something else.
I am such a dork.
I decided on a whim on Friday to record a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “23.” This turned into an enormous project that consumed my entire weekend and then some, but hey, that happens on occasion. I absolutely adore this song, or I did before I spent ~36 hours working on recording it. Kind of ran out of time/patience towards the end of the mixing process, so some things aren’t quite right, but . . eh.
Still. Not bad, I think, for my first solo recording in over two years.
This is rather outdated by now, but it’s the only solo recording of mine I feel comfortable posting as of now. I’m still proud of the recording quality, even if the vocals leave something to be desired (namely training/pitch control/a decent voice). Plans as of right now are to sell off some of my old recording gear by the end of the summer in order to pay for a new Mbox, so that I can get back to doing new recordings once I move out of my apartment. So rest assured that there will be bigger and better recording projects posted here in a few months.
Until then, here is the version of Flashbulb Diary’s “Dark Star” I did for my music class two summers ago. Enjoy.