Cafe on the Hill

Released March 2nd, 2008

In early 2008, one of my favorite blogs would occasionally publish lyrics for song ideas -- some the author recorded as songs, some not.  One day while over caffeinated at a coffee shop and having trouble with Photoshop, I saw new lyrics had been posted on this blog for a song named "Hotel Hell". Too caffeinated to focus on that day's web design project, I decided to go home and record a spin-off version of the song (which is the kind of thing the author would have loved, I knew). The first verse and chorus were taken from the original lyrics, with the 2nd and 3rd verses being original from me. Within an hour I wrote + recorded the song on my pocket digital recorder. 

This was the first song I'd written + recorded in over five years, and kicked off a few weeks/months of very productive songwriting of the likes I'd never known. Unlike the past, where songwriting attempts took weeks at a time (and never yielded results I was happy with), the very tight time constraints of "Hotel Hell" taught me how useful it can be to give yourself a strict deadline. The content of the 2nd and 3rd verses were directly inspired by having too much caffeine that day (on account of drinking a tea the waitress had recommended), which I enjoyed spinning off into lyrics to fit the theme of the first verse + chorus.

Hotel Hell

Here is my first take on the classic NIN song 'Hurt' in the style of Johnny Cash.  Loved that guy.  Thank you, David Pots, for teaching me to play the guitar parts (https://playsongnotes.com).  

PS. I did obtain mechanical rights through Easy Song Licensing.

Hotel Hell

davidpots

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