i was blindsided by the chorus; it put a lump in my throat.  i'm proud of it, but i'm also hurt by it.  most of the time i try to find a hook and some convenient lyrics as a vehicle for a melody, and hope that somebody else can find meaning in it.  but i can't help but be attached to this one.

The vocals and structure and use of a slide give a nod to Weezer songs like "The Good Life" and "Pink Triangle," and the lead guitar arrangement and use of reverb is inspired by bands like (mostly) The Pixies, Oasis, and Built to Spill.

through the night, joshua medlock 2015

Eb tuning (chords are given, but the progression must be determined by the reader)

   to me grown ups are just like little kids
A                                     Bm
   who don't realize what a mess they're in
E                                A
   i've been watchin the world fallin down
A                                      Bm
   it's ok cause im anchored to the ground
E                             A                         A7

   why don't this happen to anybody else?
D                          E                 C#/F       F#m
   longtime sunshine,
   B              D                E~~~
   there goes a part of me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   suddenly when it's gone away
   A                                          Bm
   turns out it's here anyway
E                 {x 8 9 x x x}    F#m      A7
   gonna be alright if make it through the night
   D                 E                     C#                     F#m
   i couldn't explain it if i tried
D                      E               A
   i couldn't explain it if i tried
D                      E                A

i don't wanna know anybody's sign
i don't have to know they don't know what's mine
i feel comatose, separate from time
i know better than to take what isn't mine

why don't this happen to anybody else?
longtime sunshine,
there goes a part of me

suddenly when it's gone away
turns out it's here anyway
gonna be alright if make it through the night
i couldn't explain it if i tried
i couldn't explain it if i tried

   tough break, is it more than i could take
D            E/G#          A                             C#
   i'd rather have it all
D                  E/G#        A      C#
   tick tock no more seconds on the clock
D         E/G#              A                         C#
   it's time to say goodbye
D                                          E
suddenly when it's gone away
turns out it's here anyway
gonna be alright if make it through the night
i couldn't explain it if i tried
i couldn't explain it if i trieeeedohhhhhhhhh
                                                      F#/A#

(key change)

   when i separate from my heart (ooo)
   B                                          C#
   it nearly tears me apart
F#      {x 10 11 x x x}  G#m    B7
   fallen to bits again, is it like this with my friends
   E                      F#             D#                        G#m
   i'm black and white until the end
E                         F#                     B      B7
  fallen to bits again, is it like this with my friends
  i'm black and white until the end
                                                  B

through the night

Get Back In Formation You Drunken Fool!

if "songs for my shrink" has a theme, this is the core of it

Eb tuning, barre chords only

slash chord convention might confuse the reader, but E/B is simply another voicing of an E chord, played instead like {7 7 6 x x x}

(intro)... followed by

(verse 1)
every day i start anew
A E/B
high on chemicals my brain does spew
in and out and up and down
down and up and out and in and now
frankie black went up in flames
rivers cuomo seems to be insane
a timely death for three-chord me
another melody i'll never sing

(chorus)
ohhhh----ohhhh
D Dm A E/B
ohhhh----ohhhh
ohhhh----ohhhh
ohhhoooooooo
D Dm Dm6

(verse 2)
did some things a time or two
that no person want should ever do
life alone in solitude
vodka whiskey gin and junk food
double side[s] i run and hide
dr. jekyll mr. cyanide
i'm like you you're not like me
biochemical anomaly

(chorus) again, then...

(bridge)
a bloody test inside of me
B D E
valproic acid i see what i don't wanna see
B D E Dm

(solo)
A E\B

(verse 3)
every day i'm growing old
a broken ending to the story told
front to mid and mid to back
back to mid and mid to front and that
black is one and white is two
purple violet mauve and navy blue
colorless like monoliths
thrown together in a goddamn mess

(chorus)
[melodica begins]
very last guitar chords are...
D Dm Dm6 Dm7 A

joshua medlock 2015

black and white

this is crazy.

i found it in the depths of my email.  i came up with the outline for "new year" nine years ago, but never put it together until recently.

new year, 2006 (early, instrumental)

joshua medlock 2/19/15
for remembering this song.  i'm totally aware of pitch and rhythm imperfections, and i don't care currently.  my neighbors would slay me if i did additional takes.


Eb

taxi to heaven

(verse 1)

i've got a lot on my mind
C E Am C7
but i've forgotten about it
F G C
i've cornered something that's mine
but i don't care much about it
2,000 miles away
i wish i couldn't recall it
time has its own kind of way
there's no you and me without it
C C/E

(chorus)

can't you see disparity in
F G
neuroscience
E/G
self reliance
Am D/A
my taxi's mine and mine alone
F G C Am G
self inflicted
i am such a fool
i'd go to hell for me and you
my taxi's mine and mine alone
F G G# Bb C

(verse 2)

try to think of a theme
for what i already said
so far duality
is occupying my head
but now i know what i think
steadfast, contrast
i know a memory link
i finish first at being last

(chorus)

can't you see disparity in
neuroscience
self reliance
my taxi's mine and mine alone
self afflicted
i am such a fool
i'd go to hell
for me and you
my taxi's mine and mine along

(bridge/outro/?)

and i couldn't be alone if i tried
F E Am C
cause i came with you attached to my side
F E Am C7
you can run along with me
F E
there's no telling what you'll see
 Am D/A
cause we live and die together anyway
F G C (possibly C7)

(solo)
ends with F G Am

(coda)

you can run along with me
F E
there's no telling what you'll see
Am D/A
cause we live and die together anyway
F G C

taxi to heaven

Written, recorded, and engineered by Joshua Medlock.

Thanks to Jon O for recording guidance and access to space, a bass guitar, and drums.

(2015)

Believe In Love (2015)

another in a long sequence of direct input recordings in the twin towers

Eb standard tuning
chords are open if preferred, except in part of verse 2, which uses power chords.

***verse (1a)***

we were friends 'round the clock
G
playin with the sidewalk chalk
D
we were friends 'round the clock
G
even when I drank a lot
D

we were friends in the street, on the slide, in/on/and the swings, now
G B Em G7
i'm afraid for you
C D G

***verse (1b)***  same chords

we were friends right away
water fight every day
we were friends right away
even when i went away

we were friends right away
up until this very day, now
i'm afraid for you

***chorus***

yet i feel bad about myself
C D G Em
feel guilty cause i don't wanna know
C D G G7
what you miss while i throw it all away
C D G D Em
that's the way I see it anyway
C D G

***fill***
G D G D

***verse (2)***

we were friends all the time
G5
i remember summertime
D/A
up until it had to end
G5
when i'd wreck my life again, and if
D/A

god gave a damn it would be only me, 'cause
G B Em G7
i'm afraid for you
C D G

***chorus (repeats, except...)***

i'm afraid for you
C D G G7

***solo (like chorus)***

C D G Em
C D G G7
C D G D Em
C D G

***verse 3***

and we're still friends today
G
i don't care what doctors say
D
you could have my body too
G
if it bough more time for you
D

still have the pictures, you and me were six years
G B/F# Em G7
old the polaroid
C D G

doesn't lie, but i hope that we both never die, so
G B/F# Em G7
we can play again
C D G

***coda***

we can play again
C D G
we can play again
C D G
we can play again
C D G

joshua medlock (2015)

D####

Stop (fake drums)

New Year (fake drums)

Over the Moon (July '15)
Joshua Medlock

this one's a bit more complex.
most of my songs use 5-7 chords.

this one uses 11.  if you count multiple voicings, it uses 15


chords usually open except for the following: F Bb Bb/F G# and (mostly) G

[Eb tuning]

***verse 1***
i couldn't sleep so i put on my suit and helmet
C Am F G

i hit the airlock, turned communications off and
C Am F C E

***chorus***

walked the lunar landscape, looked into the cosmos
F C E Am

wondering if i cared what happened tomorrow
F C E Am

gonna be a hero, protected by the stars in the sky
F C { 4 5 x x x x} Am Bb/F

cosmonauts can never die
G

***fill***

C Am F G
C Am F G

***verse 2*** (same chords as verse 1)

before i left base, i disabled every system
i cut the power, then i blew the place to hell and

***repeat chorus***

***bridge***

it's so lonely in my spaceship
Am Em

it's so lonely in my cell
F C G3

it's so lonely in my spaceship
Am Em

it's so lonely, just as well
F C G3 (if you want)

***bridge / solo***

FM7 Em7
FM7 Em7
FM7 Em7
G# Bb C

***verse 3 (same chords as other verses)***

i've found a good spot where i'll watch my last sunrise
over the moon while all the backup power dies and

***chorus, different lyrics***

i guess i must want this, took a lot of planning.
corporate can never know, neither can my family
gonna be a hero, protected by the stars in the sky
cosmonauts can never die

***outro***

G# Bb C
G# Bb C
G# Bb C
G# Bb C

Over The Moon

when you're singing a song
and you don't know the words
make them up as you go
we pick a trivial day
to wash away all our sins,
we're gonna reap what we sow

tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down
tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down
another day to drink away
the memories of yesterday
tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down

empty bottle in hand
empty promise in mind
what have I got to show
celebrate for the sake
of celebrating mistakes
I feel sad and alone

tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down
tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down
another day to drink away
the memories of yesterday
tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down

tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down
tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down
another day to drink away
the memories of yesterday
tick tock get ready for the countdown
new year is always such a let down

new year

i'm still actively writing, recording, and performing, more than ever.  but i have extremely poor access to the internet.  fuckin 90s.  i'll upload a bunch of stuff soon.  good stuff, better quality, not years old.  my most recent upload belongs to a set of many other unmixed ones.  good things are to follow.
josh medlock
jmedsy@gmail.com

channel34

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