Haven't written a song in a while, and I was listening to Vysotsky today and felt a bit inspired. The song turned out pretty cynical and didn't really go in the originally intended direction, but I think it turned out decent anyway. I've borrowed (heavily) from his song "Мой друг уехал в Магадан" (My friend left to Magadan), but I don't feel too guilty about it because apparently a lot of Vysotsky's song melodies borrowed heavily from the "standard" folk melodies. So it's not like I'm stealing from the rich, I'm stealing from poor, it's ok.
Here's a decent translation of the Vysotsky song My Friend left to Magadan:
(translated by Margaret & Stas Porokhnya)
My friend has moved to Magadan
Play him a fanfare, play him a fanfare.
He went himself, his own free man;
He wasn't sent there, he wasn't sent there.
It wasn't that his luck turned bad
Or done to make somebody mad;
It wasn't part of some big act:
He simply packed
If someone asked him: "What's it for??
Why just abandon your life at random?
That place has killers by the score
That's where they crammed "em, that's where they crammed' em!"
He'd shrug - "Whatever people say
There's more in Moscow anyway"
Then pack up everything he can
For Magadan
I wouldn't say my race is run:
I'd jump the night train like in the old days
But I won't go to Magadan
Leaving my old ways, starting a new phase
I'll sing, my guitar on my knee,
Of all the things he's going to see
Of all that's left unseen, undone,
Of Magadan
My friend had nothing left to lose
It's his decision, it's his decision
He won't be beaten by the screws
He's not in prison, he's not in prison
But God made me another plan...
Or should I go to Magadan?
And like my friend just go to ground
And make no sound
If you don't speak Russian, Vysotsky can be hard to appreciate because he's not translated, nor is he easily translatable, so you'll have to take my word for it that he is an absolute genius lyricist and performer. He wrote 800+ songs/poems before he drank himself to death at age 42, and they range from hilarious, to mysterious, to romantic, to cynical anti-establishment provocations. He has tons of songs about the criminal element, songs from the point of view of inanimate objects and animals, songs about love, science, war, love, betrayal, sports, the mentally ill, you name it. Most of his songs he performs with just his slightly out of tune guitar, but some have been pretty well orchestrated and might be easiest for the non-Russian-speaking crowd to appreciate. You can try these:
Дом Хрустальный (Crystal House)
Белое Безмолвие (White Silence)
Баллада о вольных стрелках (Ballad of the free archers - a song he wrote for a Russian movie about Robin Hood)
Песня о вещей Кассандре (Song about the clairvoyant Kassandra - not for the faint of heart)
Every once in a while I try to translate one of his songs for the benefit of Mario or Yuan Yuan and I'm always disappointed with what comes out. It's mostly lost on Yuan Yuan, but Mario seems to appreciate it, either out of the goodness of his heart, or maybe because he was enamored with Russian previously and subconsciously adds colors to my grey translations.
The song I wrote today is tentatively titled Compromise
Am Dm
you started out pure, of intention
Dm6 E7
you were never gonna be like them
Am Dm
your life, (your own), your invention
G C B
you'd be damned if you'd be someone else
Am Dm Am
but then a splash of milk fell in your coffee
Dm Am
you said alright, but just tonight
Dm E7
and then one day you pushed away the cream
Am
and your coffee's white
you said, you wouldn't age a day
you'd never let yourself get fat
you'd stay sharp as a tack
you'd be the blackest black of cats
but you were young, you didn't know
and now your hair's seen its first snow
you've learned another word for lies
it's compromise
it's not that you, lost your ideals
you just lost your baby teeth
they thought they had it all figured out
before they ever had any meat
you shouldn't be so hard on yourself
that optimism comes off the shelf
you're still a wonderful guy
some day drop by
If you think the last chord sounds dissonant, it is a bit. It's a Am6, with the 6 not in the key of the song. Vysotsky loves to throw in at the end of his songs, just in case you thought you had his song figured out. And when Vysotsky says drink yourself to death, I jump off the bridge without a second thought.
Showing posts with label new song. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new song. Show all posts
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
New Songs...Well, New Recordings
Yuan Yuan was out most of the day today so I took advantage and recorded some songs, four to be exact: "No," "It'll all be over soon," "Unsatisfied" and "美丽冻人." The last one isn't Wingdings, it's a Chinese phrase with a play on words. The original phrase is 美丽动人, which means "beautiful and charming." 美丽冻人, which has one character different but is pronounced exactly the same, means "beautiful, freezing cold" when interpreted literally. Add a bit of sarcasm and you get the colloquial meaning: "wear sexy/revealing clothes even though it's freezing cold," or "freeze your ass off to look hot." It's much more short and sweet in Chinese, but then again asses here are also smaller. Wait, hold up, English does just fine: "feel cold, look hot." Anyway, you can listen to them all on my YouTube page.
Based on some research I did today, I think I could complete a 30 day trial of watching an episode a day of NCIS without stressing myself out too much. The great thing is, I can watch it without actually "watching." I can do flashcards or pushups while NCIS plays in the background and though I won't have the slightest clue as to the plotline of the episode, I'll get all the little jokes. Today I left an NCIS episode streaming on my laptop at home as I took a stroll to the store and I caught myself laughing several times on the way. When I came back, I cross-checked my laugh times with the episode and they were spot on. Now that's convenience.
The knot of the day is the Rolling Hitch:
image borrowed from animatedknots.com
This one's good for tying a rope to another rope, or to a pole, provided the pull is parallel to the tie-ee (the rope being tied to)...and here I thought Russian was the only language that had a word with a triple letter.
I had a weird dream today. I don't remember all the juicy details but I was definitely the baby Harry Potter and everyone around me was trying to kill me. The twist in this fan-fiction-dream was that whoever killed me would become more powerful, maybe even MORE powerful. It was like the wizard version of eating your enemies or the visiting Captain Cooks to acquire their skills. I remember crawling around like mad, under a car at one point, trying to avoid all the power-hungry people out for my tiny little head. I wish I could remember more, I just know that it's applicable to my life somehow.
Based on some research I did today, I think I could complete a 30 day trial of watching an episode a day of NCIS without stressing myself out too much. The great thing is, I can watch it without actually "watching." I can do flashcards or pushups while NCIS plays in the background and though I won't have the slightest clue as to the plotline of the episode, I'll get all the little jokes. Today I left an NCIS episode streaming on my laptop at home as I took a stroll to the store and I caught myself laughing several times on the way. When I came back, I cross-checked my laugh times with the episode and they were spot on. Now that's convenience.
The knot of the day is the Rolling Hitch:
image borrowed from animatedknots.com
This one's good for tying a rope to another rope, or to a pole, provided the pull is parallel to the tie-ee (the rope being tied to)...and here I thought Russian was the only language that had a word with a triple letter.
I had a weird dream today. I don't remember all the juicy details but I was definitely the baby Harry Potter and everyone around me was trying to kill me. The twist in this fan-fiction-dream was that whoever killed me would become more powerful, maybe even MORE powerful. It was like the wizard version of eating your enemies or the visiting Captain Cooks to acquire their skills. I remember crawling around like mad, under a car at one point, trying to avoid all the power-hungry people out for my tiny little head. I wish I could remember more, I just know that it's applicable to my life somehow.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
La la la
Got back to writing songs today, for the first time in a while. I worked on one where I had some good music already but no vocals. Decent results so far, but of the two verses and two choruses, none have anything to do with one another. The first verse is no-way-out depression. The first chorus is about "free love" / polygamy / an orgy cruise. Verse two is some cryptic warning / "I told you so." And chorus two is some kind of identity crisis advice. Can't wait to find out what my brain will come up with for the bridge and final verse/chorus pair. One thing is certain though, it will be tasty.
I also did some recording today. I had Guitar Pro play the song I wrote about Chun and recorded myself singing the vocals to it. Came out better than I expected, but it could use another twenty or thirty takes. Here it is (use headphones, I tried to do some stereo mixing).
Chun
Ok, song's over Chun, you can stop blushing.
The next song on the to-be-written list is a song about Perry. Mario and I brainstormed some good ideas today. The theme of the first verse is "undercover Christian." In case you don't know, Perry is the biggest atheist on the face of the planet, despite being only a foot and a half over midget-size. Or rather, he hopes to appear so. But after listening to this song, you will be convinced that he's actually an "undercover Christian," overcompensating for his true beliefs. The chorus goes in a completely different direction, which I will keep secret for now.
In other news, the Tootsie Roll supply is running low. I now have to get into the bag up to my waist to reach the top layer. And that's after only two weeks! Another six, and we'll need a new bag. And I really don't want to, I'm finally starting to get the sharp end of the side-effect stick. My jaws are getting so strong from chewing Tootsie Rolls that all other food has the consistency of extra-creamy soup or oatmeal in comparison. Chicken drumsticks are like Jello to my bear-trap-like mouth. I don't even notice the bones. I hope I don't bite my tongue.
I also did some recording today. I had Guitar Pro play the song I wrote about Chun and recorded myself singing the vocals to it. Came out better than I expected, but it could use another twenty or thirty takes. Here it is (use headphones, I tried to do some stereo mixing).
Chun
Ok, song's over Chun, you can stop blushing.
The next song on the to-be-written list is a song about Perry. Mario and I brainstormed some good ideas today. The theme of the first verse is "undercover Christian." In case you don't know, Perry is the biggest atheist on the face of the planet, despite being only a foot and a half over midget-size. Or rather, he hopes to appear so. But after listening to this song, you will be convinced that he's actually an "undercover Christian," overcompensating for his true beliefs. The chorus goes in a completely different direction, which I will keep secret for now.
In other news, the Tootsie Roll supply is running low. I now have to get into the bag up to my waist to reach the top layer. And that's after only two weeks! Another six, and we'll need a new bag. And I really don't want to, I'm finally starting to get the sharp end of the side-effect stick. My jaws are getting so strong from chewing Tootsie Rolls that all other food has the consistency of extra-creamy soup or oatmeal in comparison. Chicken drumsticks are like Jello to my bear-trap-like mouth. I don't even notice the bones. I hope I don't bite my tongue.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Brain De-Freezing
Today's new song touches a topic close to everyone's heart: postponing #2 as long as humanly possible. Everyone's knows those painful moments in their lives where #2 is all but poking out, but you just can't put down what you're doing, or you're too lazy to walk over to the bathroom, and so you clench everything and swallow hard with your butt. Later of course, your sphincter has to stretch like a cannon barrel, but as Russians say: "art demands sacrifice."
In any case, the lyrics are before you:
Verse 1
Sometimes it hits you you're lying in bed,
your bladder says i'm ready, let me go or i'm dead
your colon's screaming i've been due for a while
and your intestines now measure in mi-iles
you're thinking
Chorus:
oh God
i got to go
but no, i can hold it
just a little longer
if i just squeeze and squeeze and squeeze those mighty cheeks
i know i can hold it just one more week
Verse 2
Two hours later you're blue in the face
but you never give up, this is a long distance race
you chant your strongest mantras and pray for success
and hold that sphincter tight so you don't make a me-ess
Chorus
...
That's as far as I've gotten so far, I'm afraid if I continue, things aren't going to go well for the protagonist. Here's the MIDI: Week #2 The melody is unambiguous, each note represents a syllable.
Got some puzzles secondhand from friends that are doing interviews. My brain wasn't exactly ready for any strain, so even reading them in the IM window was a struggle. Here they are, there's two of them:
1. Find the smallest number x such that any number above it can be obtained by a linear combination of 6's, 9's and 20's. (For example 127 can be obtained with five 20's and three 9's)
2. You have 2 glass balls and a 100 story building. You need to find the smallest numbered floor such that a glass ball will break if dropped from it. Minimize the number of floors tried.
WARNING: Don't read on if you don't want to hear hints or solutions
I didn't manage to find an elegant solution to the first problem before succumbing to the temptation of using brute force. Basically I tried numbers almost consecutively until I found six consecutive integers that held the requisite property. From there it is trivial to prove that any number higher will also hold the property. I won't say the answer in case someone has extremely well-developed peripheral vision and spots it while reading the spoiler warning.
I have no idea what the best answer is to the second problem. There are a handful of strategies that all have the same worst case scenario, but I'm too lazy to delve into calculating the average case scenario. The basic idea though, is to pick some interval, say n, and try every nth floor until ball 1 breaks. Then use ball 2 to go through the yielded interval. So say n = 15, try 15th, 30nd, 45th, etc. Worst case scenario is if ball 1 breaks on the 90th floor. Then you use ball 2 to try floors 76 through 89.
In any case, the best thing to do first would be to estimate the terminal velocity of the ball. Perhaps it will reach it after falling fewer than 100 floors, narrowing the testing range.
In any case, the lyrics are before you:
Verse 1
Sometimes it hits you you're lying in bed,
your bladder says i'm ready, let me go or i'm dead
your colon's screaming i've been due for a while
and your intestines now measure in mi-iles
you're thinking
Chorus:
oh God
i got to go
but no, i can hold it
just a little longer
if i just squeeze and squeeze and squeeze those mighty cheeks
i know i can hold it just one more week
Verse 2
Two hours later you're blue in the face
but you never give up, this is a long distance race
you chant your strongest mantras and pray for success
and hold that sphincter tight so you don't make a me-ess
Chorus
...
That's as far as I've gotten so far, I'm afraid if I continue, things aren't going to go well for the protagonist. Here's the MIDI: Week #2 The melody is unambiguous, each note represents a syllable.
Got some puzzles secondhand from friends that are doing interviews. My brain wasn't exactly ready for any strain, so even reading them in the IM window was a struggle. Here they are, there's two of them:
1. Find the smallest number x such that any number above it can be obtained by a linear combination of 6's, 9's and 20's. (For example 127 can be obtained with five 20's and three 9's)
2. You have 2 glass balls and a 100 story building. You need to find the smallest numbered floor such that a glass ball will break if dropped from it. Minimize the number of floors tried.
WARNING: Don't read on if you don't want to hear hints or solutions
I didn't manage to find an elegant solution to the first problem before succumbing to the temptation of using brute force. Basically I tried numbers almost consecutively until I found six consecutive integers that held the requisite property. From there it is trivial to prove that any number higher will also hold the property. I won't say the answer in case someone has extremely well-developed peripheral vision and spots it while reading the spoiler warning.
I have no idea what the best answer is to the second problem. There are a handful of strategies that all have the same worst case scenario, but I'm too lazy to delve into calculating the average case scenario. The basic idea though, is to pick some interval, say n, and try every nth floor until ball 1 breaks. Then use ball 2 to go through the yielded interval. So say n = 15, try 15th, 30nd, 45th, etc. Worst case scenario is if ball 1 breaks on the 90th floor. Then you use ball 2 to try floors 76 through 89.
In any case, the best thing to do first would be to estimate the terminal velocity of the ball. Perhaps it will reach it after falling fewer than 100 floors, narrowing the testing range.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
New Song
Introduced my parents to Malcolm in the Middle yesterday. They exhibited a common hypocrisy: while watching, they laughed themselves stupid, but when I asked them later what they thought of it, the biggest compliment they could muster was "I don't get it." Well, there's a good cure for "I don't get it," and that's "do it till you get it," so if they're thinking they're getting out of seasons 2-7, they're going to have to rethink their strategy.
Started a new song today, on commission from Mario. The requested topic was "how to discipline your children." Leaving the punch to the chorus, so far I have:
Verse 1
When you say Bobby, rub my feet,
or I've had a long day
make me something to eat,
you should only see obedience
don't put up with any less
Verse 2
When you say sweetie, I'm feeling kind of tired,
go and do my work
so I don't get fired
you should only see obedience
don't put up with any less
Pre-Chorus
But if the little ingrate doesn't run and obey
if he starts to whine and begs to go out and play
then you know it's time for discipline
then you know it's time to give him some...
I have a rough idea for up to but not including the pre-chorus. Here's the midi: Disciplining Freeloaders
The vocals begin 8 or 9 measures in, just match the dominant voice to the lyrics. It's nothing spectacular at the moment, I'll have to juice it up.
I left Boston yesterday, and in the emotional hurricane that surrounded the event, Chun let some truth slip through her usual compulsive lying. Her email to me yesterday had a great line, which I reproduce here with her permission: I have so little time to squeeze all the fun out of you. Now that's honesty in a relationship. I finally understand why I have intuitively been keeping so few friends. With more than a couple of people constantly squeezing me, I wouldn't stand a chance. It also now makes sense why I eat so much but remain skinny and beautiful - that's a tip for you fatties out there - hug yourselves and lose some weight.
Started a new song today, on commission from Mario. The requested topic was "how to discipline your children." Leaving the punch to the chorus, so far I have:
Verse 1
When you say Bobby, rub my feet,
or I've had a long day
make me something to eat,
you should only see obedience
don't put up with any less
Verse 2
When you say sweetie, I'm feeling kind of tired,
go and do my work
so I don't get fired
you should only see obedience
don't put up with any less
Pre-Chorus
But if the little ingrate doesn't run and obey
if he starts to whine and begs to go out and play
then you know it's time for discipline
then you know it's time to give him some...
I have a rough idea for up to but not including the pre-chorus. Here's the midi: Disciplining Freeloaders
The vocals begin 8 or 9 measures in, just match the dominant voice to the lyrics. It's nothing spectacular at the moment, I'll have to juice it up.
I left Boston yesterday, and in the emotional hurricane that surrounded the event, Chun let some truth slip through her usual compulsive lying. Her email to me yesterday had a great line, which I reproduce here with her permission: I have so little time to squeeze all the fun out of you. Now that's honesty in a relationship. I finally understand why I have intuitively been keeping so few friends. With more than a couple of people constantly squeezing me, I wouldn't stand a chance. It also now makes sense why I eat so much but remain skinny and beautiful - that's a tip for you fatties out there - hug yourselves and lose some weight.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
I Love Watermelon
I have pimped out all of my skills on Craigslist, with the frail hope of earning a dollar here and there giving private lessons. If there's something you want to learn that I don't know, and that you are willing to pay for, tell me. I will learn it and teach it to you.
Went to Barnes and Noble's again today, read a bunch of books that failed to make an impression on me. My sentimental half screams that this is because I'm still heartbroken from The Time Traveler's Wife, but I punished it with a Civil War book. Next time it'll keep its fat mouth shut.
Did some writing today - got well on my way into a song that started out about Tina, but tragically lacked a necessary depressing quality, and thus slowly transformed into a love song for Chun. I am now frantically juggling Tina between a slow blues, and an open window.
Meanwhile, Mario has come out with a new single, mourning his love for Iris, who is unfortunately a willing captive of a better man. The song is nearly complete, lacking only lyrics, but they will undoubtedly come around soon and be somewhere high on the scale from 1 to Pathetic.
Michelle asked me to tuck her in today. I considered it for a brief moment and then laughed in her face, a move which somehow doesn't hold the same element of surprise as it used to.
Michelle has a fat friend, who conveniently stores all self-consciousness for her condition in Michelle. Whenever Mom says "hey Michelle, where's fatty?" or Dad asks "where's Piglet?," Michelle inexplicably gets as offended as if it were her own liposuction-filled future they're talking about. Being intrinsically mild-mannered and considerate, I generally restrain my witty insults, and if anything, try to turn the conversation to safer and less fertile ground - such as how fat people contribute to society. By the way, has anyone found the answer to this one yet?
Went to Barnes and Noble's again today, read a bunch of books that failed to make an impression on me. My sentimental half screams that this is because I'm still heartbroken from The Time Traveler's Wife, but I punished it with a Civil War book. Next time it'll keep its fat mouth shut.
Did some writing today - got well on my way into a song that started out about Tina, but tragically lacked a necessary depressing quality, and thus slowly transformed into a love song for Chun. I am now frantically juggling Tina between a slow blues, and an open window.
Meanwhile, Mario has come out with a new single, mourning his love for Iris, who is unfortunately a willing captive of a better man. The song is nearly complete, lacking only lyrics, but they will undoubtedly come around soon and be somewhere high on the scale from 1 to Pathetic.
Michelle asked me to tuck her in today. I considered it for a brief moment and then laughed in her face, a move which somehow doesn't hold the same element of surprise as it used to.
Michelle has a fat friend, who conveniently stores all self-consciousness for her condition in Michelle. Whenever Mom says "hey Michelle, where's fatty?" or Dad asks "where's Piglet?," Michelle inexplicably gets as offended as if it were her own liposuction-filled future they're talking about. Being intrinsically mild-mannered and considerate, I generally restrain my witty insults, and if anything, try to turn the conversation to safer and less fertile ground - such as how fat people contribute to society. By the way, has anyone found the answer to this one yet?
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