Sunday, June 20, 2010

if you want to keep playing games please know it's always gonna turn out the same

Sick of This by m3d1um

#064 - Sick of This - 2010

So the funny thing to me about this song is that after recording it, I realized parts of it have a very Wilco AM feel which is fine. Um let's see, I know that when I wrote it last week I was pissed off about something but I don't really remember what. It could have just been a blanket statement. Oh, the next version of this is going to be very different lyrically. The current lyrics aren't very complex and honestly I probably rushed it because I was stressed out and needed to release a jam.

broken moonbeams shout so loud

Silhouettes by m3d1um

#063 - Silhouettes - 2008

If you've been a reader of my blog for a long time, you might recall that I wrote the first draft of this one night when I was writing a blog post. A lot has changed since then, but this song hasn't changed much. I'm actually not super fond of how this turned out and it might have something to do with the fact I recorded it at like 6 in the morning but the song is decent enough. The next version will probably have more going on. I always hear piano when I play this.

i need you to know that i don't care

I Don't Care by m3d1um

#062 - I Don't Care - 2008

The second Blistering Hearts Jam to make an appearance and it also has the distinction of being the first song Clay and I wrote together. I've grown kind of attached to this one lately because even though I wrote it a few years ago it actually maps very accurately to some of the stuff I'm feeling in the present. Funny how music can morph like that. Means one thing when you wrote it and then something completely different when you revisit it. Pretty cool. I hope you like it.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

tarantulas they frighten her even if they're just paper

Theme by m3d1um

Origami by m3d1um

#060 - Theme (from Werewolf Monday) - 2010
#061 - Origami - 2010

See the thing is, I'm a smart ass. We went and saw Vampire Weekend at the Sasquatch fest and while I love that band, it's more fun to yell about them being hipsters and them being revered by hipsters.

Long story short, during their set I decided I'd write an album that sounds like Vampire Weekend (sort of) and name it "Werewolf Monday." I was totally wearing a polo and sweater when I wrote these and I used lots of vocabulary in Origami.

Hope you like them. This project is kind of on the back burner at the moment but will probably come around again sometime soon.

More later. I'm actually almost caught up now so that's good. :)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

the loss of hope is running down your face

Sleep It Off by m3d1um

#059 - Sleep It Off - 2008

This is the first of the Blistering Hearts songs I've finished and released. I wrote this with my man Clay in 2008 and had a really hard time with the lyrics. It really does capture my mindset from a few years ago at the point I wrote it which is kind of weird for me because I'm not that person now. Anyway, I love how the guitars turned out on this but it needs some soloing. We used to solo on this a lot when we played it in rehearsal. So yeah, I hope you like it.

you can go ahead and have these tears i can't cry anymore

You Can Have These Tears by m3d1um

#058 - You Can Have These Tears - 2004

So this one I started writing in 2004 and I recorded a guitar part once a long time ago and forgot about the song for like 6 years. It's actually one of my favorites out of the recent jamz. It's part of the group of songs intended for "Emotional Masochism" and might stay in that group but is currently floating around a bit across all of the album configurations I'm working on (7?). It's kind of about that point where you're still hurt about something but you kind of say fuck it, I'm moving on. Hope you like it. Peace out.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

his eyes are so dark he's been falling apart in the shadows

The Shadows by m3d1um

#057 - The Shadows - 2008

I wrote this in 2008. When I quit drinking, one of the first things that I noticed was that my eyes seemed different. When I was drinking, they seemed much darker and after they seemed to regain color and were just different. It was strange and hard to explain but as of that moment, I often equate "shadows" behind the eyes with excessive drinking. This song is kind of a nod to that and the whole darkness that can come with all of that. It's part of an album primarily from 2008 that is not really part of the trilogy but a separate deal altogether. Hope you like. It's kinda sad.

Monday, June 14, 2010

falling down a flight of stairs in slow motion forgetting everything that he's learned

Sunlight by m3d1um

#056 - Sunlight - 2010

This was one of those tunes that just kind of formed from an idea I had earlier in the year and I was tuned to open G minor and the little riff came about and the whole song just kind of formed itself. I always like when the songs just appear. I almost like it as much as an older song that comes to life after a lot of years of nothing. I really like the chorus of this one. It's probably one of my favorites especially out of the 2010 jams. Hope you dig it. Only 10 posts behind!

I'll hit the gun show in Wichita and buy a brand new 45

Important thing to note: I decided today that there will be two different album configurations of "The Gun Show," which falls in the middle of a trilogy of albums that I've been constructing. It's like Empire Strikes Back. It ends on a dark note...

So the cool thing is that one configuration is intentionally poppy and more or less constructed for radio play/semi-world domination. What that means is there's a good mix of rocking jamz and slower jamz and lengths that are appropriate for radio play and everything is palatable and cleaned up nicely.

On the flip side of that, when you take the majority of those songs and you draw them out into nasty alt-country/noise rock jamz you get something that sounds like Old 97's meets Sonic Youth and to me that's far more exciting and intriguing.

I'll talk in more detail about this at a later date but I'm currently thinking about making both to see which one I like better and possibly then mass producing one and limiting the release of the other. We shall see.

That is all.

deflate my heart like a balloon

Balloon by m3d1um

#055 - Balloon - 2010

Balloon is basically the last of the "Self Destructor, Part 1" songs in the first two-thirds of the demos I have recorded (although "You Can Have These Tears" is a contender). This mix is okay. The vocals aren't my favorite because they got wind-blown and when I went to boost them it completely left them in a weird state. I like this one because of the imagery. This is on the list for a video which is a whole post on its own and so you'll get that at a later date. I'm really far behind again so I need to keep these short.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

how can i say i care when i can't stop drinking

Sober by m3d1um

#054 - Sober - 2008

Back when I used to drink, I drank a lot. This song kind of coincided with the time when I realized that if I continued drinking then everything I loved would eventually disappear and also with that whole realization that when people are drunk everything that they say basically falls closer to the fiction side than the reality side. I don't know. I just know that this one means a lot to me and this recording of it is better than the last, but the next will be much more epic. Intended for The Gun Show.

please just take these pills

Yellow Pills by m3d1um

#053 - Yellow Pills - 2010

This song is about anti-depressants and how I view my experience with that. It's actually sitting as the opener of Self Destructor, Part I right now. I'll get into all of that at a later date (track listings and the albums and what not). What's important is I wrote this around 6 AM on a Saturday morning which is not when I'm generally recording but I fell asleep very early the night before. I think it's going to work well as the opener and I really like the tune. It's got some tweaking it needs but overall I dig it and I hope you do as well.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

staring at the skyline i can see our bridge in flames

Burnt Bridges & Broken Hearts by m3d1um

#052 - Burnt Bridges & Broken Hearts - 2003

This is from 2003. It's one of the earliest of the Emotional Masochism tracks. It kind of hovered in obscurity for years as one of those tracks I was never really sure about. I'm still kind of like that with this recording of it. It feels like it's missing something. I don't know. Should be noted that my crew at the time fueled the formation of this one. We talked about it a lot more than we actually played it. :)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

the sun's eclipsed beneath the shadow of a girl

Shaded Rose by m3d1um

#051 - "Shaded Rose" - 2009

That title is in quotes and if you listen the song you might in fact wonder about the title. The truth is this song is kind of personal and sometimes I just want to avoid upsetting anyone or giving them the wrong idea. For the record, it's not about anyone from the present. It's only about me and and a lot of heartbreak and confusion that I suffered through for a really long time. It was also written on a Sunday in early summer of 2009 while I was listening to the Rolling Stones which kind of makes sense. This recording isn't my favorite. It's going to get a major overhaul in a few months because I think the song has potential but needs more work. Especially if I'm going to record it for a single release (which I'm tentatively planning). The sirens at the end were an accident but I left them because I felt like they actually fit. Hope you dig it.

i'm probably just trying to cleanse myself of these overwhelming fears and regrets

The Reason by m3d1um

#050 - The Reason - 2005

Back in '05 I was working on approximately three albums: Welcome 2 the Nightmare, Emotional Masochism & The Reason. "The Reason" the album was supposed to be more bluesy/psychedelic. Kind of my "Around the World in a Day" in a sense. I had toyed with this song idea for a few years and one day while I was sitting in my bedroom staring out my window at the snow, I wrote that first line and the rest of the song just kind of came together. There's a really shitty version of this recorded and in the hands of some people who I gave it to at the time because I was stoked on it. The Reason project kind of lost steam when I started working on The Gun Show in 2006 but as of late, it's potentially due for a comeback and so I recorded this in the style I had originally intended. We'll see how it all plays out over the course of the 100 demos. Oh also, please note, this is the half-way point to my goal and it hit in May. We are on a good course. Hope you like it.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

take me out tonight

Smiths EP by m3d1um

#045 - #049 Smiths EP

So two weeks ago I was chillin' on Soundcloud making some conversation and listening to Smiths covers and I was prompted to record my own. It was supposed to only be one but instead I spent the weekend recording a full EP. Parts of it are sloppy and there are a few things I'd tweak but overall I'm satisfied with them especially Unloveable and Disco Dancer and probably Shoplifters too.

Just for the record, prior to doing this I'd wanted to cover the Smiths for a really long time and I've actually recorded There is a Light That Never Goes Out acoustic but this was the full deal.

More later! Almost caught up!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

you love me so much it makes you sick

The Fuck of It by m3d1um

#044 - The Fuck of It - 2009

So this actually was written because one day I told one of my friends that I'd "Go home and write a song just for the fuck of it and call it the fuck of it." It actually turned out to be one of my current favs because the lyrics, while meaningless to many, are actually quite meaningful and very significant to me. Pretty much every line in this song means something very specific which is kind of cool. The mix of this is not my fav and I actually want to overdub some feedback but it's a demo so you know...

I hope you like it!

you're never locking down my heart you're never gonna cuff my hands

Handcuffs by m3d1um

#043 - Handcuffs - 2006

At one point this was one of my favorites but it has since fallen from grace to some degree. Maybe because it was about a specific relationship that in retrospect is not really something I regret. This recording of it is okay. It's still in contention for The Gun Show but in that lower tier (ie track 8 or 9).

Hope you dig it.

so baby please just buy me one last drink

Happy by m3d1um

#042 - Happy - 2010

I wrote this on the fly one night (a few weeks ago?). I had the hook stuck in my head for a while in like February but I wrote this pretty fast and it actually just kind of came out of me. The entire third verse is a nod to another musician. Other thing about this is that it kind of sits on the border between actually being a happy song and not because while I was still very much dealing with some stuff when I wrote this, I was also watching people get into my music and so I feel like the song is somewhat showing both sides of the spectrum but I don't know. Hope you dig it :).