Wow, this is pretty precisely the 10th anniversary of when I decided to try my hand at songwriting. I started with this attempt to write lyrics to someone else's music, specifically Jonathan Coulton's "You Ruined Everything". Been quite a ride. When I wrote this, my daughter was 8 and crazy about becoming an astronaut. She read the Space Shuttle Operator's Manual I got at Space Academy when I was a kid, and talked about being the first woman on Mars. So why not pick a song originally written by a father to his daughter?
I heard this in my brain ear as a piano piece, and first learned to play it that way, but never could get it to sound quite like it did in my head. The first recording used programmed piano and drums on a brush set and sounded quite clunky, enough to find its way into my "Also This Other Stuff" album. Over time I performed it live on guitar (using JoCo's original playstyle), and finally ukulele, using a combination of fingerpicking and strumming. Now that I've actually found time to rerecord it, I didn't need to choose between the two. I settled on a "dueling ukuleles" style, with one doing a basic bass/strum on the on/off beats to create a bouncy feel, and the other doing fingerpicking reminiscent of the original. Add in a Mexican guitarron for a lower bass line with sustain that roughly matches the ukes, just a touch of shaker, and a string pad during the bridge, and I really like the sound of this.
lyrics
Everyone watches as you're racing
Across the sun. They can't avoid the glare.
None of us sees that star approaching.
It's nebulous. It could be anywhere.
There's no rush to know where you'll set down.
You'll find you've found your home when you get there.
All the while you run those rings around us,
You should smile, and orbit us aware
That we'll be the planet to your moon,
The gravity for the well we share.
Your trajectory's chaotic, but we'll still be
Right behind you when you get there.
Watch out for asteroids there. Cyborgs and evil droids there.
Black holes and empty voids where you're alone.
When solar winds get stormy, our fusion stays all warmy.
Collect some stardust for me while exploring
On your own. Discovering it all,
The great unknown; know it if you dare.
We'll be hanging on your every word,
So tell us all about it when you get there.
credits
from Flying Monkeys,
released October 12, 2015
Music by Jonathan Coulton
Melvins fans will flip for this lost ’90s indie classic, with its sludgy guitars, hypnotic rhythms and irresistible hooks. Essential. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 13, 2020
Another devastatingly beautiful batch of indie rock confessionals from Ontario singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Linnea Siggelkow. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 28, 2024
The experimental rock band's new record is as melodic and inventive as ever, but now with an even more honed sense of play. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 27, 2024
Ross J. Farrar of Ceremony creates dubby outside punk evoking the minimalism of Young Marble Giants on his second solo record. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 27, 2024
