Author: h

The A.V. Club – The Big Questions The story of my life: Is there such a thing as an honest song?

“…I’ll admit that the question is fundamentally unanswerable. You might as well ask “How do you quantify honesty?” or “Is anything really honest?” Pondering such a conundrum forces you to assume way too much about the inner reality and deepest intentions of a songwriter. But that doesn’t make it any less fun to bat the question around, especially since music fans, critics, and songwriters themselves take the issue of honesty so seriously…”

Worth the read, but as usual when it comes to issues of black, white, and gray, the author can’t quite manage to get it right.

Nothing’s purely, perfectly honest in the way the author seeks.  Nothing’s completely fake, either.  (There’s the black/white fallacy.)  Everything’s gray, but we can still make meaningful distinctions between lighter and darker gray (the fallacy of gray claims we can’t), and that’s all we need to do the critical work we’re trying to do.

Honesty and integrity are slippery buggers to nail down, but I suggest the real test is the presence, or absence, of a hidden agenda.  An artist who is sending dog whistle messages, or using irony in a way most listeners don’t pick up on, or is presenting fiction as fact, is less authentic than an artist who is not doing these things.  From this perspective, we avoid the issue of privileging either literal or abstract lyrics over the other.

Also, it separates the issue of honesty/integrity/authenticity from aesthetic value; it allows us to say a song lacks integrity and is amazing, or that an honest tune is rotten.

From: howie [mr@mrfuriousrecords.com]
To: Jake [jaywill@almamater.edu]

walking down the stairs first thing yesterday morning, i found myself singing “always on my mind” for no apparent reason. cool! -h

From: Jake [jaywill@almamater.edu]
To: howie [mr@mrfuriousrecords.com]

While working on lessons for my students, ran across an idea. We’re reading/writing over the idea of “Everything I know I learned in kindergarten” and this list spun out of that idea. Some of the first lyrics that popped into my head were h&s. Pretty crazy, because I haven’t spun those discs in a year or so.

Everything I know I learned through song lyrics.

10. You’re going to miss the innocence you’ve known.

9. If you want to end up with more, you should just stay in bed.

8. You’re never too old to come back with, “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me.”

7. Sometimes you’re out of your league, like Jordan was with baseball.

6. If I hadn’t made me, I’d have fallen apart by now.

5. You can paint whatever pictures you want to when you’re on your own.

4. It takes a long time to stand, and an hour to fall.

3. We don’t stop until we reach an end.

2. Nobody gives a fuck about an oxford comma.

1. Turns out not where, but who you’re with, is what really matters.

You recognize all/any of these songs? It is pretty strange to think about the lyrics that run through your head at such random times. What would be on your top ten? -jake

From: howie [mr@mrfuriousrecords.com]
To: Jake [jaywill@almamater.edu]

mind if i blog this exchange this weekend? i’ll do my best from memory, then turn to google…

10. reminds me of wilco’s “i’ll miss the innocence i’ve known, playing KISS covers, beautiful and stoned…” from Heavy Metal Drummer.

9. huh, no idea. top google result is an article about how to stay awake all night at a sleepover. can’t find it.

8. Rage, of course! That record *always* sounds great when it comes on shuffle.

7. i’m sure it’s part of some rapper’s verse, but i don’t know who. could be Tribe given our past conversations.

6. yep, Incubus.

5. :-)

4. Don’t know – great line – oh, Elliott Smith, rad. He’s got a thousand great ones.

3. Stop Walking

2. Vampire Weekend

1. oh, I know this… oh, Dave!

here’s a few… don’t know how recognizable they’ll be… just scanning through my library, picking some stuff that always catches my ear or is more meaningful than usual. -h

10. Did you feel the breeze, my love? Summer’s kiss is over baby, over… Do you know the words? Sing along with me, and put on your rose fur coat, baby, ’cause it’s 1973…

9. Handfuls of pills, bottles of pills, now do you see? – this isn’t over yet. This isn’t what I’ve asked for, this is what I’ll get.

8. Hey, Gordon Shumway, what does a guy like you see when you look at me? Is there a geek extraterrestrially, or is the universe full of a bunch of MIBs? Is there a planet you’ve seen where everybody unique is jamming to the same hard geek rock beat? I said, “How do we get there, how do we stay, hey what do you say Gordon Shumway?”

7. I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in and stops my mind from wondering where it will go…

6. She’s got cigarette on each arm / She’s got the lily-white cavity crazes / She’s got a carburetor tied to the moon / Pink eyes looking to the food of the ages

5. This isn’t easy for me to say, Diane / I know you don’t need anybody’s protection / I really wish I was less of a thinking man, and more a fool who’s not afraid of rejection…

4. What is the Black Star? / Is it the cat with the black shades, the black car? / Is it shinin’ from very far, to where you are? / … / Black like my baby girl’s stare / Black like the veil that the muslimina wear / Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared? Black like the slave ship that later brought us here / … / Blacker than my granddaddy armchair / He never really got no time to chill there / Cause this life is warfare, warfare

3. Just the other day you tried to explain / Afraid and wondering what the older has to say about what it is that you are going though / And I would not listen / And it disappoints you, but I hope your wax wings keep the air under you…

2. Mystery achievement / Don’t breathe down my neck, no / I got no trophies on display / I sign them away, I mean what the heck / All of your promises don’t fill me with pride, no / I just want to get out on the floor and do the Cuban Slide, Slide, Slide…

1. I wonder what you’re waiting for / … working for / … living for / … dying for / First wave down / I wonder when they’re coming back / First wave intact

From: Jake [jaywill@almamater.edu]
To: howie [mr@mrfuriousrecords.com]

Nice job! Numer 9 and 7 were the most abstract. 9 is “The Streets” on “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy” one of my favorites from his best album. 7 is “Jurassic 5” from the track “At The Races.” Not sure on the rapper, but I think it is Big Daddy Kane absolutely killing it.

I had a hard time on your list. 7 is The Beatles. Is number one Modest Mouse? 4 is some emcee. 8 I’m thinking must be Arturo Got The Shaft. Feel free to blog it. It’s pretty interesting to look back at the tracks or lyrics that have stuck with you over the years. -jake

See the comments for my key. -h

We’re moving to the mastering process with the first tunes from the Band Formerly Known As Fifty Bears In A Fight.  If you have any awesome band names you’re holding on to, please comment.  This means we’re close to getting the first jams out to you, finally, after two and a half years of work.

We’re also planning for a show in June, probably in Lawrence.  Stay tuned; same bat time, same bat station.  -h

Next Saturday, April 3, Mr. Furious Records will release The Golden Age’s self-titled album, Rob Hawkins’ follow-up to the incredible “Calla Lily” EP.  We hope you’ll enjoy it, and we’re honored to be a small part of it.

Mastering is tricky business; there are so many options, and such fine balances to weigh, that it’s never a straightforward proposition.  That being so, the final dynamics of the music I work with is always my top concern.  If the final master is too crushed, loud, and flat, or (on the other side of the spectrum) perceived as too soft relative to other music that listeners are likely to hear, nothing else I do is going to make up for it; it won’t be an enjoyable listen.

Toward that end, from the Production Advice blog:

Dynamic Range Day is March 20th, 2010

Join us in a day of protest against the CD “Loudness Wars” – more info below

• Show your support – check out the Facebook Event and RSVP to say you’ll “attend”
• It’s easy to take part – just SHOUT (type in all caps) ALL DAY, EVERYWHERE !
• And when people ask, tell them why you’re shouting
• Add a Dynamic Range Day Banner to your website or blog
• Use the Twitter hashtag #DYNAMICRANGEDAY

Read the full story here: Dynamic Range Day – The Idea

Latest News

• 05/03/10 Over 1200 guests confirmed to the Facebook already – and climbing
• 25/02/10 Dynamic Range Day Banners available for download
• 25/02/10 TurnMeUp.org adds a Dynamic Range Day banner to their front page…

What are the “Loudness Wars” ?

Music is getting louder, and sounding worse.

Engineers and artists are using modern technology to push the average level of recorded music up and up and up against the “brick wall” maximum level of the CD format.

This results in distortion, lack of punch and a flat, two-dimensional, lifeless sound …

This Wednesday, March 3, Mr. Furious Records and Brandon McKenzie will release Panda Face’s self-titled record.

Some of you know Brandon from Lincoln, NE indie band Strawberry Burns and his solo work as BLANE.  To my ears, if you dig BLANE (or MFR’s own Bike) you’ll enjoy Panda Face.

If you don’t know, give it a shot on Wednesday! -h

My ’80s-ish pop band, Five Star Crush, will perform in Kansas City at the Riot Room (formerly the Hurricane) in Westport on Monday night, March 8.  Hope to see you there! -h

As I finally got to answering the week’s email, I wrote the below to my friend J. who asked me what I thought of The Who at the Super Bowl last weekend.  I know it’s kind of late in interwebs time to weigh in, but I think I captured my sentiments pretty clearly. -h

The Who – meh… #1) I love The Who and Pete Townshend, especially. #2) Likewise with grunge, it bums me out that my generation and younger know them through the credits to the NCIS franchise. #3) I know these guys have bills, but I have to say the Super Bowl performance eroded their legacy. They looked very human; those old records have become something more. #4) That said, I enjoyed the halftime show. #5) The NFL has *got* to loosen up its post-Janet’s-boob prudishness, and find an act under 40 with some fresh material to play the halftime. You know what I’d love to see? Marching bands! Have a nationwide marching band contest for high school bands, have them submit videos or whatever, send scouts out to see the top 20 and pick one, and give them an all-expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl. Great PR, exciting, safe, cheap halftime show… seems like a win all around.

Dear Friends + Family: the Sleepover record is finally finished (the title is yet to be determined), and we’re in the process of figuring out what will be done with the record. In the meantime, I would like to share with you four songs from the record, available for stream:

http://www.reverbnation.com/thesleepover

or

http://www.myspace.com/thesleepoverlincoln (scroll to the “Bio” section for the reverbnation widget. Myspace sucks and would NOT let me upload).

These songs were recorded/edited by Chris Steffen at Steffonic Recording, mixed/edited by Eric Medley at Medley Productions, and mastered by C. Howie Howard at Mr. Furious Records. We started recording in August, and have slowly been trying to make the best record that we could make. It is an understatement to say that this record was a team effort including the band + Eric, Chris and Howie.

If nothing else, please give these songs a shot. In my opinion, they sound great, and I happen to like the songs a lot, too, although I am biased, lulz. If you hate them, you’ll have only sacrificed 20 minutes, and now you’ll have something new to dislike, which can be fun.

If you like/love them, I strongly encourage you to pass them along to others who might be interested in hearing them. Post them to your blog/Facebook/myspace/website/whatever else. Send them to friends and family. Grab the music-player widget from either site and spread it around like a nasty rash.

As I said, we hope to release the record in the next few months, and it all hangs on if anyone is interested or if it’s self-released. Hopefully we’re able to find a small label who is interested in helping us with the pressing costs, but if not, we’re dedicated to making sure it comes out in a timely manner. Either way, it’ll be out soon. And then it will be full-quality .wav files instead of the 6 megabyte mp3s that these sites require, so that Eric/Chris/Howie’s expertise can fully shine.

Thanks in advance for listening! We’re really proud of this record, and we think we (everyone who was a part of this record) made something really special.

Love, Cory + The Sleepover.