**A little on the quiet side

Finally got around to putting this one on SC - super late. It's a song that came to be in 5 minutes after having a short conversation with Charlie Peppers.. I love it when that happens. Hope you like!

Words & Music & Performance by Brianna Whitney McClenithan

Lyrics:

Oh, I'm gonna save the world
But - uh - let me tie my shoes first
I've been ready to burst
For some time now
And wouldn't it just be the worst
For me to trip and fall?
So I will tie my shoes first

Oh, we could feed the world
If we could grow the food
Without the say of you-know-who
(at least I hope you do)
A seed, so tender, 
has no agenda
It doesn't give a damn
where it grows - so let it go!

Oh, you can change the world
Any old day you choose to
In simple ways, worthy of praise and just dues
It's a wee absurd because
you've heard this one before
Just - uh - do unto them
as you would have em do to you!

Oh, I'm gonna save the world
But - uh - let me tie my shoes first
I've been ready to burst
For some time now
Wouldn't it just be the worst
For me to trip and fall?
So let me tie my shoes first.

**Featured in the credits of the short film "To Each Their Own"

Save the World (Lace Up) - Live!

I finally got in the studio and recorded this one proper because I shot a music video for it to help out a friend with a project for his film degree. Incidentally, it's going to be screened at WB, so I couldn't possibly use the previous recording.. Just wasn't going to cut it. 

The song itself was written in about 5 minutes after a conversation I had with my friend Charlie Peppers. The message is short and sweet, but something that really does resonate for me.

The vocals are intended to be as crisp and intimate as they are. We didn't remove any audible breaths or lip smacks or what-have-you. Hope you dig it!

Save The World (Lace Up)- Studio

http://www.facebook.com/BriannaWhitneyMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/BriannaWhitney

This is a song you've never heard before - guaranteed. Don't worry, you're still the super hipster music connoisseur you've always been; it's only because I wrote it. Maybe you know me, maybe you don't, but don't be shy (hey, I'm not)... click play and let me know what you think, please. Lyrics and credits are below. Thanks as always.

Piano Arrangement by Brianna Whitney
Live Piano Performance by Brianna Whitney
All Live Vocals by Brianna Whitney
Words/Lyrics by Brianna Whitney:

"I saw the lines -
straight, but faded -
on the road ahead,
but I stayed up late
and forgoed my bed.

No time to blink,
but all the time to think,
those morose thoughts
that come tip-toeing
out of the dark.

I was not waiting for the time to pass
I was not waiting for the signs to last

Not one word said
this 80 mile spread,
but if I listen real close
I can hear the noise of my mind

Nearing lights, so bright
will have you convinced
you'll never see the sights,
but wait -
the haze dissipates.

I was not waiting for the time to pass
I was not waiting for the signs to last

All I hear is static on the radio -
where did the music go?

If I could see my rearview,
the ghost that's there
would look a lot like you."

*All rights very, very, very reserved*
(Catch all them "very"s?)

Photo Credit by Sam Pearlson '07
Design by Brianna Whitney
Fonts Used by DaFont.com and their original publishers (Tall Paul, Shit Happens, Frakturika, and Dirty Little Secrets)

Thanks for reading and listening!!

"The Haze"

http://www.facebook.com/BriannaWhitneyMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/BriannaWhitney

This song is written with purposefully ambiguous lyrics because I enjoy mythology. Hope you love it as much as I do. Big thanks to Noelle Ann Mabry for lending me her ears and her violin. She's truly the best.

** In response to the suggestions about mastering: everything was recorded with a Logitech external computer microphone. You know, the one that looks like you're talking into a thick black blade of grass. Now I'm no expert, but I feel like equipment plays a big part in how recordings sound. You can master something into the ground, but if the original recording is somehow distorted (like it was in this case, due to a microphone that wasn't built to receive the volume of loud live instruments) not much is going to change. I very much appreciate your comments and as always, thanks for listening **

Lyrics by Brianna Whitney:

"The sun was shining like any other day I've had
And then a flame -
a flame with a name -
Now I'm sitting here praying for the rain!

I once was the champion,
but it was not enough.
One spark is all it took
and now that bridge is dust.

The rub about fire
that we never learn,
is even if you own the light
you can't control its burn.

The night was brisk
and my temper was quick -
Who knows what I said?
All I know is I'm not dead yet.

I played with a fire
that I could not put out.
One flare to the wind
and I'm engulfed now.

The rub about fire
that we never learn,
is even if you own the light
you can't control its burn.

Immortal in the worst way
My resolve is here to stay
My liver felt it everyday

Tethered to this rock
I'll never get too far
Least of all to where you are.

The rub about fire
that we never learn,
is even if you own the light
you can't control its burn."


Credits::
Piano & Organ arrangement - Brianna Whitney
Piano & Organ performance - Brianna Whitney
All Vocals (Solo & Harmony) - Brianna Whitney
Violin arrangement & performance - Noelle Ann Mabry
Original Photo - Brianna Whitney
Design - Brianna Whitney
Fonts Used - DaFont.com and their original publishers (Starstruck and Burton's Nightmare)

"Prometheus"

As it says on my profile, I'm always willing to collaborate and share my voice. This is why you'll find that there are large spaces of silence (well, some static) in this particular track. This is where piano would be, but it's been removed - you know, so other people can have fun.

***Now, for those that want to have fun with these particular vocals, feel free to contact me about it. Be advised, however, that I expect you to regard my vocals as my property and respect my wishes regarding its use. I'm open to whatever genre or ideas you care to throw at me and you can  chop it, flip it, whatever, but I would appreciate some veto power on final cuts/edits and the like. Also - though this should really go without saying, as we're all in the same boat - if you make a dime off the rhyme, you share. That's what it's all about. Much love. Cheers.***

Note: if you download this track with the aim to remix it, you're also saying to me that you read the above statement, you understand it and are willing to cooperate in the way I've outlined. Simple. This is the honor system, guys - let's be honorable, shall we? ;)

"Stay Up" (A cappella for Free DL) *Always read the fine print

My new friend http://soundcloud.com/dich-2 made a remix using the vocals from my original song "Stay Up." Check it out!


Vocals - Brianna Whitney
Mastering - http://soundcloud.com/dich-2
Remix material/accompaniment - http://soundcloud.com/dich-2

"Stay Up" (Remix by DiCH)

Another remix by my friend http://soundcloud.com/dich-2


Only the vocals are by Brianna Whitney, everything else is http://soundcloud.com/dich-2
Best believe all rights are reserved to the two of us ;) 

"The Haze" (Remix by DiCH)

Another remix of my song "Stay Up" - this time by my friend http://soundcloud.com/pyrobooty

Vox & Lyrics: Brianna Whitney
Mastering & Background: http://soundcloud.com/pyrobooty

Give us some feedback!! =)

"Stay Up" (Remix by Pyrate)

"Stay Up" is slowly being dragged through Genreland, so here's another track, but! remixed by Dubious1

Original track, lyrics & vocals by Brianna Whitney
All remix material/content by Dubious1, http://soundcloud.com/rub-a-dub-out

"Stay Up" (Remix by Dubious1)

Just purchased my new Blue Baby Bottle microphone, complete with all the nerdy tech goodies I love so much. This thing is face-meltingly amazing. What you're listening to has zero effects added. Just two tracks - main vocals & piano, then secondary vocals.

I can't really put out a message to everyone that's been waiting for me to collab with them, so this was the next best option. Come put me to work!

Brianna Gets a Fancy Mic ("Testing 1-2-3")

That's not meditation CD waves you're hearing. Just cars passing by. Left the windows open for this rough recording of something I made up right after I pressed the REC button. It's not perfect and you can hear some shouting from the sidewalk, but LA isn't perfect. I try to let it ride all the same. I always do weird improv shit when I'm trying to pass time, but this is the first time I've ever recorded it. Remember what Thumper's mom said.

Piano Impromptu No. 1 (a la L.A. nuit)

**I do not own this song nor did I write its lyrics**
The credit for that goes to Roland Orzabal.

I learned the song from the original sheet music available for free online. Two of my students are learning how to play it in our lessons, so it's been stuck in my head for quite some time. I will admit to changing the vocal melody - as I am often wont to do - to better suit my range. I am playing it in its original key of Fm though.

As you may have heard, this was recorded on an iPhone with my dishwasher running very closely behind me and with my windows open, free to allow the wafting in of L.A. traffic. Of course it doesn't due the recording process any justice, but, in retrospect, I think it does something for the true meaning of the song. We can't always escape the world around us, mad as it is. You try to let it be and go about your business. 

Also, I put it up for free download if anyone likes it that much. Seemed appropriate since it's not my song and all. ^_^

"Mad World"  iPhone imPromptu

What can I say? I'm just another human being - with some vocal cords and phalanges with decent muscle memory and control - out here in the world trying to be heard. Holler if you hear me.

I'm always open to collaborations, so if you have some ideas creeping around in between those ears, feel free to drop me a line. Cheers.

** To answer questions about my musical credentials: my undergrad was in Music Studies and Music Education with an emphasis in Voice (opera,  general classical and contemporary) and History/Theory. Piano was a heavy part of my curriculum at university, but it was not a focus of mine personally. Currently, I mostly focus on indie work (personal and with colleagues cross country) and music for films, though I teach performance, sight-reading, technique and theory (in both voice and piano) at a private music studio here in California. I also teach primary music (K-3) at a public elementary school. I'm hoping to get my PhD in Musicology at UCLA in the near future when I can establish residency and stomach the rest of the bureaucratic business.

Bree Whitney

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