I haven't written an opinion here in weeks. I'm drained of creative energy. I can't wait till this project is finished. What could I possibly say that would be interesting to anyone? I told myself that I would write at least 1 article per week. Nope. Too much pressure. I should've known that wouldn't have happened. I told myself I'd put up more pictures of me and my life. Nope. That seems to personal--- which doesn't make sense because a lot of these songs are pretty personal. I won't really know if putting these songs(rough demos) 'out' on a daily basis will be a positive move until years later when I can see the past more clearly.
Some of these tunes have potential. Maybe. But I cringe when I listen to most of them. I've been trained to take my time and to develop a musical idea. I haven't been able to develop anything except the process of writing--which in reality, hasn't really improved much. I'm more comfortable with the actual words on the page, but no more comfortable listening to my music.
Part of this discomfort is because my performances are lacking as well. Ideally, I'd write a song and play it over and over until I really knew it. Then I'd record a simple demo and drive around listening to the tune for weeks before coming back to the piano and tweaking the song further. I would then take my time in the recording studio to get great sounds and arrangement ideas. I'd probably make several different recordings of the same song(in a perfect world where I had easy access to a great recording studio). After much deliberation and work, then more tweaking, and finally more deliberation, the song would be finished. And I'd know it was finished not because of the time spent, but because of the ideas exhausted throughout the process. I could confidently say that I tried lots of different ideas and this particular idea was the best fit for the given song. But instead, I have to listen to under developed, half-finished ideas that rake my nerves to the very core. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter. I'm just frustrated with the very nature of this project.
I will make an album. I will eventually get to develop these songs further and to really spend some quality time with each individual tune. I can't wait for that. If anyone has any ideas about which songs I should consider, then let me know. I'd love to get an idea of what other people think. My email address is -- brycemccormick@hotmail.com -- Or you could just post a comment on the blog. Here is the tentative list of songs I've chosen thus far to be considered for my album...
Annabel 06.22.09
Better Learn To Fight 12.29.08
Bill Gates 01.29.09
Cant' Put Up This Fight 01.01.09
Chicago 01.30.09
Crystal Ball 01.22.09
Desolation 02.17.09
Faithful,Mindless,Chaos 12.25.08
Falling Creek 01.16.09
Falling Star 01.25.09
Forever 01.08.09
Freedom Song 01.03.09
Girls Around The Table 06.23.09
Humble Prayer 03.19.09
I'd Never Buy Your Record Now 01.23.09
If Children Ran The Gov't 12.24.08
Jeans And T-Shirt Type Of Guy 03.21.09
Leave Me Alone 02.19.09
Lets Get On 05.11.09
Let It Go 01.11.09-- (Video)
Letter To The Editor 01.13.09
Little White Bird 02.10.09
Living Off The Land 12.27.08
Lost River 05.30.09
Love Is Blind 02.03.09
Luke Burbank And The Never Ending Freeze 04.19.09
Mary The Librarian 12.30.08
Never Ever 02.21.09
No More 03.26.09
No More Nevermind 01.04.09
Not As Beautiful 03.11.09
Ode 01.24.09
Paltry Urban Truth 01.07.09
Pike Place Market 01.15.09
Promise The World 04.11.09
Puppet For A Profit 01.26.09
Sad Songs 04.06.09
Sail Along The Road 05.16.09
Southside Of The World 03.25.09
These Are The Times 03.17.09
These Eyes 06.27.09
This Life 07.28.09
Toxic City 02.06.09
You Asked Me 07.25.09
Your Face 06.16.09
76 Cents 07.13.09
100 Years From Now 12.26.08
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3 comments:
I think the fact that my computer at work (where I sneak in most of my blog reading) doesn't have speakers has really prevented me from listening to a lot of your songs but 100 years from now, Mary the Librarian and ... The coffee song? (you know which one) are my favorites! It was good to see you yesterday!!
Fantastic collection!
I wonder why i could not found this site before. I can guess that Sad Songs, Love Is Blind, Leave Me Alone will be the best out of good list. I will surely download them as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing your list here.
Bryce,
I can relate to your frustrations. It's very challenging to put a contract on the creative process - especially with the best of intentions. Even though you feel drained, I'm sure you've learned a lot about your ability to work under a self-directed pressure, which is critical for any musician. Dude, I miss ya - hope you're well.
-Ev
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