So the title is just a placeholder, it's not supposed to be deep or anything. Recorded this some time back, putting it up now. As with everything, I'd like to retake a lot of it. I'm gonna redo the guitars and vocals with better mics and more takes. Regardless, I like the song, and I figured I'd put it up. Some of you might have already heard it.

No Name

So, this is a beat I've made over the last half year or so. I really like it, but I have no talent for rapping. If anyone would care to offer their input on it, I'd be glad to work with you. I envision kind of a Rage Against the Machine style rap over it. The piano and trumpet lines are placed kind of randomly, and I'd move them around to permanent positions once the vocals are in.

Newest Beat

Tentatively finished. Drums are subject to change, but overall I've made all the changes I can without changing what I like about the song.

Some fun facts: Guitar was one continuous take, solos were improvised on the spot. I've never actually tried screaming before this, so the screams in the song are the first two I've ever even tried to do. The vocal style is very belty, and about a step above my normal singing range. The noise in the guitar and quiet vocals bothers me, but there's not much I can do recording in an apartment, and I did my best to minimize it in the mixing. I freely admit to ripping off the style of Gary Clark Jr., but I'd been working on the fuzz tone for a while before I'd heard his music. Oh, and the feedback was achieved using a trick I came up with, since except for a Crybaby Wah the effects are all digitally applied.

Leavin' My Heart To Bleed

I always liked this song, but hated Alanis Morissette's voice and thought it needed more energy. Here's my take on it. A couple of the vocal parts need reworking, but I never have time for that. Maybe I'll do it later.

You Oughta Know

I had this guitar part in my head for a while, and I finally wrote a song for it. It's nothing grand, but it was fun to record.

Lonely Drinkin' Blues

I wrote this piece a little less than a year ago, recorded late this summer. I was hesitant to upload it for various reasons (there's some heavy introspection, the production is thin, the vocals aren't perfect, etc), but I figure I might as well throw it on here because I don't see myself revisiting it in the future.

That being said, I'm proud of the piece. I think the lyrics do a good job of conveying the intended message, and I had fun trying to be clever with them. The chord progression is pretty simple, but I tried to use interesting voicings.

Hair Of The Dog

Here's another kinda throwaway track I did this summer. If you haven't heard the song I'm covering, you should make sure to watch the music video. It's something else. I flubbed the Spanish line a bit (c'mon, they're Pitbull lyrics), but this is another track I don't see myself revisiting. The vocal style is really fun, and the lyrics are laughably stupid, so don't take this one too seriously.

P.S. Thank Jonathan Coulton for starting the whole "white guys with acoustic guitars covering rap songs" genre.

Can't Believe It (Flo Rida Cover)

Wrote this about a month ago, been toying with recording it through various setbacks. 

Where Should We Go

So, I have lyrics for this but I'm not really happy with them or my ability to sing them. I'm putting this up to ask for ideas. Anyone got anything that could go on top? It's just a simple building vamp on four chords.

Project in Works

So, I recorded this back in January but forgot to upload it. It's one of the few songs on here I'd consider done, with no more retouching needed. It's a very very simple song, but I like it. The only part I'm not entirely satisfied with is the harmony on the last few words, but it doesn't bother me enough to merit redoing.

ben-groebe