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iuka session: me doing a stripped down “mars over sea” with rachel baransi of [rachel joy photos] yesterday.

you can stream and download the official studio version of this song by clicking here:
http://deadwoodfloats.bandcamp.com/album/mars-over-sea-single

this song is for emma. it is about emma and i, it’s about this time period where we’re separated by large geographical distance. happily, that chapter comes to a close in august when she moves to columbus while i finish up my gis degree. next year is a gift and one of many.

this song’s about two points actively fixating on and connected by another point which introduced them and keeps them. that triangle representation has been a part of our relationship as long as i’ve known emma. early on, i remember marking a triangle on her thigh with a piece of paper or maybe my fingernail at ten pins. emma and i are two of the points and “mars” is the third. that’s availably interpretable. it has distinct meaning for emma and me, also.

i hate wires, bug, i learned to use them
you’ve broken my bones next to the kitchen
mars is over the sea

two years ago, bug, i sat in space
rocking chair in hughes, a lonesome blue egg
mars is over the sea

the sea is not mine
mars is not mine

this song would be fellow hollow again
but it won’t be me, won’t be me, won’t that not be me again?
mars is over the sea
(the sea is not mine)

too many miles, bug, and itches from the kitchen sink
half grand a month for two fonds in one piece
mars is over the sea
(the sea is not mine… mars is not!)

the sea is not mine
mars is not mine
but fitting with you is fine

this is a piece by emma.
see more of her work here.

∆

(Source: vimeo.com)

this is a new song, called “palette of light.” it’s for ellen, my sister.

for her birthday this year, she asked me to write her a song. it’s a little bit late, but i finally figured it out. i think the timing is good, too. i love my sister a lot.

it’s hard to picture what we’ve grown
when it’s on a palette of light
they say: it’s easy now, it’s done
if that were true, we wouldn’t be right

you crossed the eyes and shoes don’t fit
what don’t fit is holding down
and i’ve years i’ve been held down
that’s part of it all, i’m afraid

look and picture how we’ve grown
it gets easy now, it’s done
you beautiful, i love your soul
we share it when we are held down

i love this piece by emma and it works really well for the song.

for ellen.

here is a cover of “kids on the run” by the tallest man on earth. from the wild hunt (2010).

click here to download.

i had so much fun doing “there’s no leaving now” last november that i wanted to try out another piano-based tallest man song.

oh, meet me when the morning fails on the fields of desire
oh, meet me when i lost my part in the choir of dusk
where the promise to lead what is right
as we both know how fields will turn white

and know i will never speak of days ‘cause i know you won’t count them
no, we have never grown a day from the poison we shared
and we’re walking our crooked backs home
but will we ever confess what we’ve done?
guess we’re still kids on the run

and no we will never be a part of the pictures once taken
when we’re feeding fire with the flames ‘til no memories gone
and the cold sky will write us a song
but will we ever confess what we’ve done?
guess we’re still kids on the run

and the reflections in their eyes
sure could paint us as killers
oh, i’ll be there
and ‘til the terror of our time
could forgive us as lovers
oh, let’s break some hearts

and no i will never speak of ways ‘cause i know you won’t try them
but all the weapons raining from the sky will be ours to embrace
and the cold sky will write us a song
but will we ever confess what we’ve done?
guess we’re still kids on the run

for my love emma. life is long and we’re at the beginning of it. we are always basically kids running around. it is important that we are always kids.

another nearly finished song from our upcoming album. this one’s called “three years” and will probably be the opener.

in my opinion, this song encompasses the overall sound of the record as well as the experiences we were writing about from the past few years.

this track was written by adam, and production on it started a little over a year ago.

this version will be sent into a cd 102.5 contest to play summerfest, so we had to make a radio-friendly edit. (the parentheses.)

it took us all of three years/ just to see how ugly we are
it took us all of five years/ just to see we were never really in love

it took us all of three years/ just to see we never had hope
it took us all of five years/ just to see (we’re fucked)

so we huddled ‘round the kitchen/ tried to keep the winter out
but the snow that hits the window/ seems to creep inside the house
our friends were here three weeks ago/ three weeks seem like a life
three weeks weigh on your mind/ on your mind, on your mind

it took us all of three years/ just to see how ugly we are
it took us all of five years/ just to see we were never really in love

so we huddled ‘round the kitchen/ tried to keep the winter out
but the snow that hits the window/ seems to creep inside the house
our friends were here three weeks ago/ three weeks seem like a life
three weeks weigh on your mind/ on your mind, on your mind

and i won’t let you down/ no, i won’t let you down

here is a demo of another song if you’re interested, written by luke.

enjoy!

this one’s unnamed but nearly done. from our upcoming lp.

the music was written by luke, the lyrics were written by colin. production and temporary vocals were done by me.

the corner of the bed, you sit/ across the line in the sheets
naked, drunk and shivering/ the world between your knees
i do not love you/ every look just begs for leave
an evening chasing girls around the trees

looks like a perfect night/ for this
oh, i can’t help anymore/ and here y’are
here we are/ “guess that’s all it is”

when every scent just begs for leave/ and wanders off in the afternoon
you will understand why i’m the moon/ who chases the wind through the trees

looks like a perfect night/ for this
oh, i can’t help anymore/ and here y’are
here we are/ “i can’t help anymore”

it was a perfect night for this/ until you threw it to the sea
it was a perfect night for this/ until you threw it to the sea

looks like a perfect night/ for this
oh, i can’t help anymore/ i’m a little bit gone right now
here we are/ “i can’t help anymore”

back to back, i feel you move in/ across the line in the sheets…

this is a cover of “after the gold rush” by neil young from his album with the same name (1970).
download here. 

my aunt susan passed away on 1 october 2012 after battling breast/bone/brain cancer for almost a year. this is the night before the news was broken to my brother and i that our aunt had stage iv cancer spreading into her bones. remember very vividly being told that in the kitchen.

mid-september became a blur of changing through rooms quickly, bad hospital food and more time with those uncles, aunts and cousins than i can remember any time before. a lot of green tea and black tea and coffee and visitors i didn’t know.

my brother, sister and i wanted to be present and around my aunt as often as we could because every day was less and less sure she was hearing us. so at night, leaving the hospital/hospice center was always really difficult.

i remember showing up behind tommy’s house one night all out of sorts in tears, and sitting on his dingy back porch having a conversation about losing my aunt and what it meant and he shared a few passages with me.

“how long, lord? will you forget me forever?
how long will you hide your face from me?
how long must i wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
how long will my enemy triumph over me?

look on me and answer, lord my god.
give light to my eyes, or i will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, ‘i have overcome him,’
and my foes will rejoice when i fall.

but i trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
i will sing the lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.”

the first verse of “fond, pt. 2.”
you can hear an audio teaser of “fond, pt. 1” by clicking here.

hughes auditorium is my favorite place.

the last year has been wild and would be rather exhausting to try to explain but anyway i don’t need to do that. perhaps it’s a dark, sad-sounding melody and that’s because that’s the best way i know how to emotionally sing. but part 2 is about falling in love. it’s a linear story and it’s about kitchens, too.

katie and i did a quick cover of “i’ll follow the sun” tonight by the beatles. from their 1964 lp beatles for sale.

this is just ukulele and vocals and we did it in one evening sitting.

one day you’ll look to see i’ve gone
for tomorrow may rain, so i’ll follow the sun
some day you’ll know i was the one
but tomorrow may rain, so i’ll follow the sun

and now the time has come
and so my love i must go
and though i lose a friend
in the end you will know

one day you’ll find that i have gone
for tomorrow may rain, so i’ll follow the sun
yes, tomorrow may rain, so i’ll follow the sun

and now the time has come
and so my love i must go
and though i lose a friend
in the end you will know 

one day you’ll find that i have gone
for tomorrow may rain, so i’ll follow the sun