one year's time.

about a year ago today, alex and i began a project called 'baldersnatch,' which would soon turn into 'little time.'  i was at a crossroads emotionally after a an autumn in which i didn't sleep.

meeting up at ford chapel in the evenings got me through life for awhile.

i'll never forget it.

here are a few clips of the beginning that i found tonight.  and some of the half-assed finished product made in the past year.

we were on track to make a somewhat polished, respectable cd-r, if i do say so myself, but i butchered the opportunity when i got out of dodge for my new job opportunity.  i have one regret about leaving defiance...and that will always be 5-7 months of lost opportunities to record with mr. vandersluijs.

it was therapy.

Otsu and Mitsuko Converse in Lyon

listen/download: Otsu and Mitsuko Converse in Lyon (rough draft)

a magician puts a wretched sparrow in a box, closes the lid and then with a wave of his hands opens the lid again.
the sparrow in the box has been changed into a pure-white dove and comes flying out.
and you're that wretched sparrow.

Mitsuko - you really are a strange one, aren't you?

Otsu - maybe i am, but i didn't change myself. i was transformed by the conjurings of God

M - listen, could you please stop using that word "God." it makes me nervous. i can't relate to it. and it doesn't mean anything to me. ever since i was in college i've felt distant from that word "God" which the foreign priests used.

O- sorry. if you don't like that word we can change it to another name. we can call him Tomato, or even Onion if you prefer.

M- all right then, just what is this Onion to you? you said at school that you really didn't understand him very well when someone asked you whether God existed.

O- sorry. to be honest at that time i really didn't know, but now in my own way i do.

M- tell me.

O- God is not so much an existence as a force. this Onion is an entity that performs the labours of love.

M- (she replied) that's even more repulsive. how can you use such unsettling words as "love" with a straight face? and what do you mean by "labours"?

O- well, for instance, the Onion found me abandoned in one place and at some time he gave me life in a completely different location.

M - (she chorted) that hasn't gotten anything to do with the power of your Onion. your feelings just sent you off in that direction.

O- no that's not true. it was the work of the Onion transcending my own will.

for that first time Otsu spoke decisively, and he lifted his eyes to look her directly in the face. he was different from the somehow ineffectual fellow she had known, whose only redeeming feature was his goodness.

they returned to the place Bellecour, where Mitsuko had noticed from her hotel window a convenient restaurant on a corner of the square marked by a statue of Louis (XIV). their table was surrounded by mirrored walls of vermillion color, and the table-napkins had been arranged like pyramids. the waiters looked on from a distance in bewilderment as the Japanese seminarian dressed in a stained robe seated himself.

dotting his threadbare robe with drops of soup as he ate, Otsu heaved a sigh.

O- this is delcious. how many years has it been since i've eaten something as good as this?'

M- you would've been better off not choosing your present way of life. there are any number of restaurants in Tokyo now that serve food as good as this. excuse me for asking, but is it the work of that Onion of yours that drove you into this kind of life?

Otsu gripped his spoon like a child and grinned.

M- you're a strange man. you're Japanese, aren't you? it makes my teeth stand on edge just to think of you as a Japanese believing in this European Christianity nonsense.

O- you haven't changed at all, have you Miss?

M- i haven't, but i'm serious.

press play.

Powered by Podbean.com

*****

egypt road, ohio

most credit for this track needs to be given to Brian Oilar, who was just screwing around, tuning his guitar a few weeks ago and played something that sounded like this riff. we had both been drinking a bit and I told him that it was "fantastic" and to play it again. one take. we tweaked it a bit (soaked it in reverb), spliced the thing and looped it probably 30 times to make what you're about to hear. no drums. no piano. no midi-mutations. nothing. just a simple clip from a cheap electric guitar (which has recently been confirmed by Alex to be severely out of tune)...turned song.

though most might not realize it, this is by far the most personal i've been with my lyrics in quite some time. possibly ever. the song isn't written from my own perspective, but i'm sure you would have figured that out.

it's long and repetitive, so brace yourself. i'm thinking this would serve best as background music (homework, dish-washing, drinking with friends, browsing the web, etc.) for most. i also find it to be more bareable when driving, late-night.

but the apologies/alibies end there. i'm proud of this one.


i'm too old to be pulling this
driving around aimlessly all night like this
i'm unstable
and unable
to change

as i stare off into the black
headlights turned off and seat pulled way back
i recall you
and the life that i had

i start crying my grown woman tears
i've had so many saved up through the years
my daughter
she wouldn't be proud



for a brief moment you come back
you're at the table in the kitchen with me
it's thanksgiving
you're tracing your hand

and as the years pass your blonde hair turns brown
and i'm getting older and sick of this town
but i hide it
enduring
vicariously

there will come a time when you realize, my son
your moment has passed and your friends have moved on
when this happens
just know that you're loved


press play.

Powered by Podbean.com

*****

lo light summer

in hoc signo vinces and
conquer she did bringing
free love to the empire

as i sat to write page one
from out my mouth came a muted hum
she heard it and she judged me some

being a tad bit shy my
cheeks turned lupus butterfly
damn her quiet steps

the end of the first tierce neared
while wearing my finest beard
...distant father, turned harbinger

one third of the angels fell
at the undeniable smell
of your lusting


you kept me around because
i didn't bitch when they avoided us
i'd sneak out to the spot

you'd lie in the grass arms out
point to the sky and shout
i'd missed another shooting star

you never realized this child
but my eyes rarely left your profile
in the darkness

press play.

Powered by Podbean.com

*****

bait/world is spacious

now, she's got time to make it through
now, she's got ways to make it through
i feel one way or another
i see things for one or another
she baits my time
and she'll bait yours

behind the milky walls
of her lonely ways
there she bosomed his letters
enticing, frightening persons
situation worsens
forgive us our threats
as we ignore our threators

say it
scream it
that's just fine
don't repress what's on your mind
just shut the door when you are through

believe it
see it
and be kind
take it as your own sometime
either way we're coming for you

i hope this news don't disturb you
it's far from new
someday you'll realize it's true

the moon is high, crisp and forlorn
the world is spacious and unforgiving
i have all night to relive my life
but i don't know where i am going or where i have been
i knew you would understand

i find that i am at my happiest
when i'm creating
whether that means music or that which is non-relating

in an interview with Pitchfork Henrik Markstedt said that
it is pathetic to aim to create some perfect pop song
i'm paraphrasing
but he closed by saying
something like if it's meaningful and beautiful to him
then who cares what anyone else thinks

i'm holding onto the wish that somehow my doppelganger is female
and can't beat me at arm wrestling

the world is spacious
i knew you would understand
i knew you would understand
me

press play.



Powered by Podbean.com




*****

8.2.09

midi mania

Sluijs and I will be posting drafts of some new trax we've been working on over the past couple of days. These have literally came out of nowhere. I think the new midi's ignited our creativity quite a bit. We were in what some might refer to as a 'lull' for awhile there.

In other news, I can't log tonight's run because Running2Win's being updated. Whatthehell, bro? (in the voice of Jack Black's character from Anchorman)

life is a game and true love is a trophy.

no moving images of Nick Drake exist.
nor do any of this pond (puddle?).
still, i'll never forget it.



par for course.

*****

glo worms

Great new GB vid for "Two Weeks." Reminds me a bit of this and this. Both classics.

*****

mother's day

inspiration:

http://www.asofterworld.com/archive.php

*****

them

i wish i were mixtures of nick drake, daniel rossen, ashcroft, buckley, noah lennox, stephen jenkins, win butler, stipe, the greenwood's, fiona apple, hamilton leithauser, james jimes, miley cyrus and selena gomez.








sometimes.


*****

one. eighteen. fifty-something.

Is it really true that if you don't use it...you lose it?

Is that a serious question?

:::pause::::

No.



If you could lose your legs and lungs via neglect, well...I would have lost mine sometime after graduating from the 'Berg.

I had a great time this weekend with Wysocki, Loramie, Blake, Kara and Amy at the Toledo half. It's always such a good time reuniting with former teammates. I really do wish it happened more often.

What was essentially a 1:19...on one of the flattest courses known to man...was somehow enough to earn me $100 and a third place overall finish at the inaugural Toledo half marathon.

I count my lucky stars.

I must also mention the fact that I was pleasantly surprised by the prescence of four of my athletes: Fraley, Kailtin, Kelly and JP all woke up much too early to come out and cheer my fat arse on. Speaking of which...the reason you don't see more pictures from the weekend is because of that reason precisely. I refuse to show those who know/knew me as "Dan the Runner" in my current state.

I do swear to the following: the summer of '09 will include vast amounts of mileage. Not only will I shed the pounds, I'll be in position to murder the Chicago Marathon in October.

Mock my words.

Seriously. Go ahead. Mock 'em. You'll see.


Myself, Blake (eclipsed by my ginormously large/orange self) and Loramie at the gun.



*****

Altitude Change

A couple nights ago (actually, maybe it was last night), Alex and I moved the studio yet again...this time from the chapel to the second floor of Schauffler where the piano pods are. We fancied one particular piano over all the rest and chose that cozy room as our new recording area. It was a smooth move besides the ants and toy boxes.

Tonight we finished what we'll call the accoustic version of a track formerly known as "Sweet Honey," and what I'm now tentatively calling "Skipping Rocks" - though that will certainly be subject to change as Slice has not even been asked his opinion on the matter.

After Alex went home for the night I took a few minutes to record a little song of my own which I called "Mom, I Forgot Your Birthday." I'd thought up the piano diddy about a week ago and it was becoming obvious that it had no place for the current material we've been working on. As with most of the melodies I create, it's extremely repetitive and easy as all get-out to play. Infants could basically write songs of equal complexity to mine.

No matter.


-content deleted-


One last item. We're no longer calling ourselves Baldersnatch, though the name had a nice run. As I type this we've changed our name about five times over the span of the last week. We're clueless. I guess that's the least of our concerns right now. We've got plenty of ideas that we're pretty excited about and we've got our work cut out for us to bring them to life. We'll remain nameless until the job is done.

Or until we can't take being nameless any longer. Whichever.


*****

mirror cat

work in progress.

while i'm okay with the idea, the half-finished progress is not something i'm necessarily proud of. plenty of time to fix that though.


always wants to know where that mirror's at
she flashes a smile
then leaves like the cheshire...
i decree you
thing of beauty
mirror cat

she's untouchable
but she knows it
it makes her less attractive
i wish she were more concerned
with the look
of her mind


*****

palmetto

i came to the 'studio' tonight with the intention of finishing an idea i'd started yesterday for baldersnatch. as i was tossing around some notes for a harmony on alex's casio i slowly began to just start a new song. could end up a b-snatch song. time will tell.



her face in the candlelight
walking through the woods at night
you know I want to tell her
she's got more soul than, I've seen ever

she taught me not to settle
her skin smells like an old palmetto
I kiss her cheek goodnight, that's my style
and walk back to the car, reading my pocket bible


*****

Little Time

One more.

The entire complextion of this song will change over time, guaranteed. It will be painfully obvious that these lyrics were inserted with very little thought. Think of it as a foundation or blueprint. Still a lot more building to be done.

Again, riff by A-Slice.
Words by yours truly.

Happy Thursday!

Alicia

Fellow DCGA Alex Van der Sluijs and myself teamed up to make baldersnatch around Christmas. We collab in the office 'studio' in our free time.

Here's a very rough something we came up with 24 hours ago:

Graber's Drive to Alpharetta

While in Augusta this summer and in the process of creating OACDistance.com I was looking through Craigslist and found a cheap camcorder I wanted to use for the site on the west side of Georgia--a town called Alpharetta. Since Graber was in Atlanta at the time, naturally I decided to give him a call and see if he could pick it up for me. He did. On the way, while lost, he left me this voicemail. It's nothing special...typical Graber. I'm sure he leaves gems like this to everyone he knows on a consistent basis. For whatever reason though, be it a bad week or whatever, I saved the thing for a good laugh and listened to it again for the first time in about six months tonight.

I decided, 'why not post the thing?' And so it is.



*****

High Praise for MPP (via P4K)

I've made several resolutions this year (which I'll post later in the week)- one of them being to review an album each and every month in detail. The obvious pick for my first review of '09? Animal Collective's much-anticipated January 6th release, Merriweather Post Pavillion. Until that makes the ol' blog, Pitchfork took the liberty to do just that, and let me tell you, they're pretty excited about AC's effort.

Read P4K's review here, then come back in a few days for one of my own.

*****