OK, now we're gonna see if I can write a song on the spot. You're going to witness the entire process, brainstorming and all. I have given this no prior thought (though if there are phrases already rattling around in my head, I will feel free to use them). So here goes!
My work is done (fun? run? I've rhymed done with sun too many times...)
TV spawn (gone)
fat America
Just 'cuz I'm right when I'm right don't mean I'm not wrong when I'm wrong
...when I'm gone
split-second decision (incision? division? collision? mission??)
My life is... (one-syllable adjective, has to be meaningful... is this where I should put "gone?" A little melodramatic... How about "one?" I like that! i.e. la vida es una)
Waking up...
OK, enough brainstorming. Let's see if we can make a song out of this crap!
My work is done
Why do I still feel like I'm under the gun?
I'll never change your mind, I've known it all along
Just 'cuz I'm right when I'm right don't mean I'm not wrong when I'm wrong
My life is one
I won't let you tell me that it can't be fun
But I'm from the (change to: We're the second) generation of the TV spawn
Will this voice upon the Internet still make a sound when I'm gone?
Fat America, I've washed my hands
You don't take advice, I don't take demands
Melodramatica, I'm not one of you
(yeah, Melodramatica... an unexpected result of the brainstorm!)
You're digging your own graves and that's nothing new
(hmm, maybe I can flip this around somehow. It might sound better as "fat America, I'm not one of you" but I'm afraid that could be disputed! ha ha! I'd have to wait until my diet takes more effect before I could ever sing it!! Just the same, let's try it this way...)
Fat America, I'm not one of you
You're digging your own graves and that's nothing new
Melodramatica, I've washed my hands
You don't take advice, I don't take demands
You wake up a split second from a head-on collision
No time to second guess a split-second decision
(Should I add another couplet to this bridge? I don't see any urgent need to... maybe I will, maybe I won't.)
OK, before I put this song in order, it's time to think about a title. There's plenty of good candidates: Melodramatica, Fat America, Split Second (not that great), TV Spawn... (???)
"Meh," I'll decide later.
Anyways, I think a more or less traditional order should work fine for this song (as usual!)
My work is done
Why do I still feel like I'm under the gun?
I'll never change your mind, I've known it all along
Just 'cuz I'm right when I'm right don't mean I'm not wrong when I'm wrong
Fat America, I'm not one of you
You're digging your own graves and that's nothing new
Melodramatica, I've washed my hands
You don't take advice, I don't take demands
My life is one
I won't let you tell me that it can't be fun
We're the second generation of the TV spawn
Will this voice upon the Internet still make a sound when I'm gone?
Fat America, I'm not one of you
You're digging your own graves and that's nothing new
Melodramatica, I've washed my hands
You don't take advice, I don't take demands
You wake up a split second from a head-on collision
No time to second guess a split-second decision
Well, I think that went well enough. It's good enough for now, anyway... not my best song, to be sure, but not the worst either, I think. At any rate, the above is what happens when I simply decide to write a song, without a real driving concept to start with. Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised that I was able to produce a whole song just like that. What's it been, 15 minutes? Closer to 20 or 25, actually...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
U.S.A.
USA
USA
USA
USA
Underneath Superficial Assumptions,
Unthinking Suspicion Accumulates.
Upon Simplistic Assessment
Unity Simulates Autonomy…
Unreasonably Silencing Academics’
Ugly Supposed Acronyms:
Unacceptable Subversive Ambitions
Unapproved Student Activity
Undermines School Allegiance
Usurp Superintendents’ Authority.
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Underneath Superficial Assumptions,
Unthinking Suspicion Accumulates.
Upon Simplistic Assessment
Unity Simulates Autonomy…
Unreasonably Silencing Academics’
Ugly Supposed Acronyms:
Unacceptable Subversive Ambitions
Unapproved Student Activity
Undermines School Allegiance
Usurp Superintendents’ Authority.
USA
USA
USA
USA
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The Kinder Gentler Punk Rocker
I was just thinking, along the same lines as my previous post about honesty in songwriting... Perhaps you'd like to see a photo of the way I look when I'm in that frame of mind! So here's a good image to bear in mind when I'm talking in such a sappy fashion.
A Couple New Songs
Under The Sun
When I lose it makes me lonely
The snow it blows but I am only
Thinking of the times I spent under the sun
Thinking that I never meant to say my work was done
The light is burnt out in the hallway
It seems so cold but I am always
Thinking of the times we spent under the sun
Thinking how I never went back there with anyone
You can’t save up the light of day
It won’t last into the night
Don’t waste your life away
You get one chance to get it right
Make a choice and you’ll defend it
All this time, you’re bound to spend it
Thinking of the times you spent under the sun
Think of all you need to do before your life is done
You can’t save up the light of day
It won’t last into the night
Don’t waste your life away
You get one chance to get it right
....
This song (Under the Sun) represents a slightly different direction my songwriting has been taking lately. I think the style is still pretty clearly "me," but something about the tone is new for me. It's serious, reflective, and metaphorical. I've written other songs with those characteristics, but usually they're not really about me. Writing songs that are at best loosely autobiographical is something I have hidden behind in the past. As for this song, I feel truly introspective and honest in the lyrics, and yet the specifics to which it refers remain fairly obscure. I have no interest in being gratuitously emotional... but I am really starting to believe that a song works out better when it portrays an opening of the narrator's heart as it were. Well, I've always believed it - at least inasmuch as I've always hated songs that were obviously written (usually commercially) by someone who was not at all "feeling" the emotion portrayed. Besides, I have some tolerance for "abstract art," but I'm not a big fan; this translates into music in the form of my belief that a song has to actually mean something! But converting that belief into a consistent practice of writing "from the heart" is something I have had to work on.
Is it still punk rock? Well, my first answer to that question is, Whatever. As far as I'm concerned, everything Crash Martinez does is punk rock, because you will always find MxPx and the Ramones at the proverbial bottom of my music-loving heart!! My second answer is: Is Social Distortion punk rock? Because I have to admit, they had the whole deep, meaningful, open songwriting thing down long before I started writing! Anyway, amid all this "growing up" lyrically, I continue to feel "balanced" when it comes to my punkrockerism by virtue of the more simple, fun and raucous songs I write. Under the Sun is in fact the second most recent song I've written, the first being the following number whose subject matter should be quite obvious:
We Like to Fish
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
Something about those floppy little dudes
Something kinda fishy about their attitudes
They’ll always be a sucker for a worm on a hook
Chuck it in the water and they’ll give it a look
Gut ‘em and scale ‘em and they’ll be ready to cook
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
Sittin’ in a boat or standin’ on a bridge
Soon we’re gonna have some fish in the fridge
I don’t wanna cry and I don’t wanna whine
But I hooked a really big one and broke my line
He took the bait and hook with him back into the brine
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
It’s the end of the summer and it’s getting kinda cold
The fish aren’t bitin’ now or so I’ve been told
The water’s gonna freeze all over the state
But I can’t resist the urge and I can’t stand to wait
So meet me at the shore with a bucket of bait
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
When I lose it makes me lonely
The snow it blows but I am only
Thinking of the times I spent under the sun
Thinking that I never meant to say my work was done
The light is burnt out in the hallway
It seems so cold but I am always
Thinking of the times we spent under the sun
Thinking how I never went back there with anyone
You can’t save up the light of day
It won’t last into the night
Don’t waste your life away
You get one chance to get it right
Make a choice and you’ll defend it
All this time, you’re bound to spend it
Thinking of the times you spent under the sun
Think of all you need to do before your life is done
You can’t save up the light of day
It won’t last into the night
Don’t waste your life away
You get one chance to get it right
....
This song (Under the Sun) represents a slightly different direction my songwriting has been taking lately. I think the style is still pretty clearly "me," but something about the tone is new for me. It's serious, reflective, and metaphorical. I've written other songs with those characteristics, but usually they're not really about me. Writing songs that are at best loosely autobiographical is something I have hidden behind in the past. As for this song, I feel truly introspective and honest in the lyrics, and yet the specifics to which it refers remain fairly obscure. I have no interest in being gratuitously emotional... but I am really starting to believe that a song works out better when it portrays an opening of the narrator's heart as it were. Well, I've always believed it - at least inasmuch as I've always hated songs that were obviously written (usually commercially) by someone who was not at all "feeling" the emotion portrayed. Besides, I have some tolerance for "abstract art," but I'm not a big fan; this translates into music in the form of my belief that a song has to actually mean something! But converting that belief into a consistent practice of writing "from the heart" is something I have had to work on.
Is it still punk rock? Well, my first answer to that question is, Whatever. As far as I'm concerned, everything Crash Martinez does is punk rock, because you will always find MxPx and the Ramones at the proverbial bottom of my music-loving heart!! My second answer is: Is Social Distortion punk rock? Because I have to admit, they had the whole deep, meaningful, open songwriting thing down long before I started writing! Anyway, amid all this "growing up" lyrically, I continue to feel "balanced" when it comes to my punkrockerism by virtue of the more simple, fun and raucous songs I write. Under the Sun is in fact the second most recent song I've written, the first being the following number whose subject matter should be quite obvious:
We Like to Fish
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
Something about those floppy little dudes
Something kinda fishy about their attitudes
They’ll always be a sucker for a worm on a hook
Chuck it in the water and they’ll give it a look
Gut ‘em and scale ‘em and they’ll be ready to cook
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
Sittin’ in a boat or standin’ on a bridge
Soon we’re gonna have some fish in the fridge
I don’t wanna cry and I don’t wanna whine
But I hooked a really big one and broke my line
He took the bait and hook with him back into the brine
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
It’s the end of the summer and it’s getting kinda cold
The fish aren’t bitin’ now or so I’ve been told
The water’s gonna freeze all over the state
But I can’t resist the urge and I can’t stand to wait
So meet me at the shore with a bucket of bait
We like to fish
It’s time to fish
Gonna go fish
Gotta catch some fish
Rejected T-Shirt Idea
Wanna see something? Well, this is an idea I came up with for a t-shirt. It was eventually rejected, for obvious reasons (I mean, "light rock?" We play punk! ha ha!), but I still think it's at least a cool enough idea for someone to steal. So making its first public appearance, here's my mildly offensive t-shirt concept for all to enjoy!!
El Punk Roquerismo
Welcome to my new blog!! If you're reading this, the chances are you linked here from my other blog, Anti-Commie Punk. That blog is for my personal musings as well as news about Crash Martinez, my life-changing rock band.
This blog, on the other hand, I am dubbing my "Crash Martinez Notebook," which means that various thoughts and ideas (borrowed phrase) that I have about the band and our material will be posted here first. This concept originated with my decision that posting Crash Martinez lyrics on our website or on my other blog would be a little unwieldy... and somewhat daunting as those formats require something of a "finished product" in order to be suitable for publishing. Here, on the other hand, I feel free to publish the incomplete, the abandoned, and the totally nonsensical, along with more complete material.
In short, you can expect to find Crash Martinez lyrics here. There will be songs that I've written over the past several years, as well as songs I am currently writing. I will also try to include my personal ramblings about band-related decisions. Many of these songs and ideas will never "see the light of day" apart from this blog. Still, I think it's a nice way to keep any interested parties informed: you get a glimpse of the creative process behind Crash Martinez.
Now, to inaugurate this blog, I will post the lyrics of a song of ours that I've always especially enjoyed; it is particularly appropriate as this blog shares the song's title.
El Punk Roquerismo - by David G.
I had a friend, she was "Daddy's little girl"
Until she heard a song and punk rock changed her world
Piercings and tattoos, spikes and DC shoes
Sheena is a punk rocker, and now María is too
El punk roquerismo le corrompió la mente
El punk roquerismo le cambió de repente
Punk roquerismo, ya no soy el mismo
Y ya élla se nota diferente
I had a friend, she was "Daddy's little girl"
Until she heard a song and punk rock changed her world
Now she's got the attitude and you can't tell her what to do
Sheena is a punk rocker, and now María is too
El punk roquerismo le corrompió la mente
El punk roquerismo le cambió de repente
Punk roquerismo, ya no soy el mismo
Y ya mi amiga se nota diferente
María es una punk roquera
María es una punk roquera
María is a punk rocker now
María es una punk roquera
María es una punk roquera
María is a punk rocker now
This blog, on the other hand, I am dubbing my "Crash Martinez Notebook," which means that various thoughts and ideas (borrowed phrase) that I have about the band and our material will be posted here first. This concept originated with my decision that posting Crash Martinez lyrics on our website or on my other blog would be a little unwieldy... and somewhat daunting as those formats require something of a "finished product" in order to be suitable for publishing. Here, on the other hand, I feel free to publish the incomplete, the abandoned, and the totally nonsensical, along with more complete material.
In short, you can expect to find Crash Martinez lyrics here. There will be songs that I've written over the past several years, as well as songs I am currently writing. I will also try to include my personal ramblings about band-related decisions. Many of these songs and ideas will never "see the light of day" apart from this blog. Still, I think it's a nice way to keep any interested parties informed: you get a glimpse of the creative process behind Crash Martinez.
Now, to inaugurate this blog, I will post the lyrics of a song of ours that I've always especially enjoyed; it is particularly appropriate as this blog shares the song's title.
El Punk Roquerismo - by David G.
I had a friend, she was "Daddy's little girl"
Until she heard a song and punk rock changed her world
Piercings and tattoos, spikes and DC shoes
Sheena is a punk rocker, and now María is too
El punk roquerismo le corrompió la mente
El punk roquerismo le cambió de repente
Punk roquerismo, ya no soy el mismo
Y ya élla se nota diferente
I had a friend, she was "Daddy's little girl"
Until she heard a song and punk rock changed her world
Now she's got the attitude and you can't tell her what to do
Sheena is a punk rocker, and now María is too
El punk roquerismo le corrompió la mente
El punk roquerismo le cambió de repente
Punk roquerismo, ya no soy el mismo
Y ya mi amiga se nota diferente
María es una punk roquera
María es una punk roquera
María is a punk rocker now
María es una punk roquera
María es una punk roquera
María is a punk rocker now
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