This was the first song I ever wrote, so in this way a step back, don't expect too much off it. I added more guitars and a bass, but it is nevertheless a very simple song, only a 3-chord song, as you can hear. I wrote it about 2 years ago in summer of 2022. I was asked for the lyrics, so also here on this song:

Giants
We're racing down on the freeway
In the city lights caught in the chase of freedom
running through the late night
crowds are gone from the streets
I hear the jamming lead
a guitar with its own speed
Let's break the silence
No more compliance
Let's live the defiance
Then we'll be giants, then we'll be giants

Moonlight makes our shadows long
the night and this song to us belong
We feel us near in the dark
freedom, making our mark
all the chaos fades away
in our nocturnal play
I hear the jamming lead
a guitar with its own speed
Let's break the silence
No more compliance
Let's live the defiance
Then we'll be giants, then we'll be giants

Giants

Copyright 2024 Joe Stroffolino & Michele Ansani

When Michele Ansani. sent me his initial lyrics for this song, my first thought was that. I wish I had written them because I can relate to much of his musical journey.  He suggested that I turn them into a song so here it is. 

When I was thirteen I picked up my first guitar
it was my mother's, it only had one nylon string 
I tried to play it like a rock star
I learned to play the Coca-Cola jingle
So I could teach the world to sing
When I was fourteen, I put on six new strings
I learned to play Beatles, I learned a Bob Dylan song
I sounded out of tune but I tried to carry on
At fifteen I wrote my first original tune 
So bad it sounded like it might have been written by a baboon
When I was sixteen, I got a new guitar for my birthday
The metal strings sawed through my fingers 
But I continued to play
And the calluses formed and every day I learned a brand new chord
I was obsessed with that guitar and I never grew bored.
I wrote songs every day and most of them were a mess
But I believed that through hard work, I could achieve success
Malcom Gladwell wrote a book that said it takes ten thousand hours
To become and expert at your craft

But now all it takes is two commands and an enter
And in two minutes you have ten versions of the same damn new song,
You just have to choose the type
folk, rock, rap, pop, metal, jazz, trap or blues.
You don't even need to write the lyrics, 
your push a few buttons let the AI choose.
And people will like your songs because they’re danceable.

AI is generative and like the sleep of reason generates monsters
And like the sleep of reason generates monsters
the sleep of reason generates monsters

When I was 20, I did my first concert, it was time
it occurred in a village square
there were four cats all friends of mine
I was still using the plectrum and sometimes I got the chords wrong
at thirty I finally wrote what  I thought was a decent song
It had a very well thought out structure
And a catchy vibe and beat
It was overly verbose but when I played it people tapped their feet
In my forties I stopped wasting my time
Work was more fun I was doing just fine
I had a steady paycheck that could feed me 
And the record companies didn’t need me
In my fifties once again my musical juices started flowing
I bought the necessary equipment 
I was eager to get going
I recorded all my strumming and saved it onto my PC
The internet and technology were advancing rapidly
I took those special songs I’d written of which I was most proud
Posted them Instagram, You Tube, Tik Tok and SoundCloud
I asked myself if a tree falls in the forest and no one’s around
Does it make a sound?

And now all it takes is two commands and an enter
And in two minutes you have ten versions of the same 
damn new song,
You just have to choose the type
folk, rock, rap, pop, metal, jazz, trap or blues.
You don't even need to write the lyrics, 
your push a few buttons let the AI choose
And people will like your songs because they’re danceable.

AI is generative the sleep of reason generates monsters
And like the sleep of reason generates monsters
the sleep of reason generates monsters

AI Sucks Song [M. Ansani - J. Stroffolino]

Photo by: Stablecog.com
(AI Generated)

Suleiman the Magnificent was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. He was a conqueror, artist, poet, and lawgiver. 

This piece wanders back and forth between 4/4 and 6/8 a few times.

Suleiman The Magnificent

Cast of characters:

Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – Takamine acoutic and Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, composition, lyrics, mix, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – jaw harp, vocals, production, mix, and editing     
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- Yamaha Genos 2 for voices that include bagpipes, Celtic flute, and Hammond B3, along with the bagpipe and "off with her head" outro
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– mastering
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – four string Fender Precision bass

This song started as a rough recorded by Tez on his acoustic and electric guitars. He also wrote the lyrics right off the bat, and introduced them to the rest of The Eclectic Collective by singing them as a rough, too. His vision for this was to create a song that sounded like it could've been recorded at Headly Grange (recording place of several Led Zeppelin albums). He also wanted it to feature instruments that wouldn't sound out of entirely out of place in Feudal Age Britain (between 1000-1600 C.E.) to carry the spirit of his lyrics.
  Tez always writes songs that are fun to learn and have cool changes, so we all jumped in with both feet. Ken was first up with his Bonham like big, bad beat. To that, Josh added his P-bass, which he used a plectrum on, something he rarely does, trying to sound like JPJ to match his Ken's energy. JJ came along next, adding his colourful mix of raucous organ, time period relevant Celtic flute, and outro bagpipes. He did the entire outro, in fact, including the "off with her head," line, too. 
  Once the music was all laid down, Tez tapped Mark to sing the humorous lyrics. Mark came through with flying colors on the vocal performance, as always, too. Mark also added the textural, boingy-sounding jaw harp in the chorus sections.
  Now that it was all in the can, Two of our master producers Tez and Mark mixed it, then asked the third, Stephen, to do the final mastering. It should be noted, too, that Mark also contributed significantly to the production, too, with his masterful editing skills.
  This was a really fun tune to put together, as we always have fun working on Tez's seeds. He is telling the tale of lust between two Feudal era peasants. Of course, it's rife with ribaldry, being as Tez is British. We hope you enjoy listening to this a much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original yrics by Llanpsych:

Verse 1
Working in the fields
All summer long
Glowing like the sun
Oh so fit and strong 
Feudal Woman
I like the way you move
Feudal Woman
I want to plough your groove

Verse 2
Loving in the dusk
Lying in the hay
Drinking hot cider
Till the end of the day 
Feudal Woman
I like the way you move
Feudal Woman
I want to plough your groove

Feudal Woman Blues (The Eclectic Collective)

Sir Walter Taffy photo by Cole Coldheart 

Coldheart: guitar , vocals
Casio keyboard: everything else 

Key of D

120 bpm
The drum beat is bolero.  It comes from a song called Bolero, written by Maurice Ravel.  Happy 97th Bolero!

The chorus is from a song from my childhood 
We sang “Lo Bridge “ in music class
You know: I’ve gotta mule
                   Her name is Sal
                   Fifteen miles
                   On the Erie Canal…

Lo Bridge , Everybody Down - written by Thomas S. Allen in 1912.

The verses about time are mine

Thanks fer listening!

Erie Canal Redux

Clear And Pleasant Mix
thank you for this open collab.. https://soundcloud.com/ipg1 
https://soundcloud.com/ipg1/clear-and-present-vox-97-bpm-1in=ipg1/sets/vocals
https://soundcloud.com/ipg1/sets/vocals
https://soundcloud.com/30gradx/lazy-dayz-with-ipg1-funky-flow-open-collab
instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/30gradx/lazy-dayz
https://soundcloud.com/30gradx/clear-and-present-with-ipg1

Lazy Dayz 2 with IPG1

Here’s another old favorite song of mine, written by Baker Knight in the 50’s and recorded by many folks before and after Elvis’ most famous version, released in 1970. Once again, this is one of my stripped down recordings taken from an i-phone voice memo and transplanted to GarageBand for this final mix I threw together in homage to The King. Interestingly, Baker apparently originally wrote this as a gospel song, about the true King, but I think by now we all just read it as a simple and emotive love song, one of many done so masterfully by Elvis. I hope some folks will enjoy this quick take on it.
🥳This goes out as a special happy birthday wish to my dear friend and partner in all things musical, Nat Daniels. Thanks for all your support and inspiration.🤠

The Wonder of You

The Wonder of You (Elvis cover)

For my sixth birthday for weeks and weeks I begged my dad for a dog
But my dad didn’t think I was responsible enough and he was also kind of cheap
But I kept asking him constantly and finally he broke down
He gave me a little cabbage plant growing in a Styrofoam cup

He said if you take good care of this cabbage plant
Next year I’ll consider buying you a dog

I named him Charlie and I planted him in the flowerbed in the front yard
And every morning I’d go outside, and I’d feed him water and fertilizer
I’d update him on what was going on inside the house
And as far as cabbages go Charlie was a patient listener

Every night before I went to bed
I’d stick my head out the window and say goodnight to Charlie.

Our friendship was more than one of those passing fads
And every day Charlie grew until his head was bigger than my dad’s

And I guess my dad must have noticed too because one crisp autumn afternoon
Me and Charlie were sitting in the flowerbed listening to a baseball game
My dad came outside, and he said to me, it’s time for you to become a man

He reached down and he ripped my best friend Charlie out of the ground
For a couple of seconds, I could see his little roots gasping for soil 
Then we took him in the house and we cleaned and we gutted him

 And I swore that would be the last time I’d ever have a personal relationship
 with a vegetable of the cruciferous type
And as we sat around the table, eating our cabbage soup
It occurred to me I was so glad my dad hadn’t bought be a dog

I dedicate this song to Charlie because he made such a big impression on me
Those months we spent together made me so happy.
I go down the produce aisle at the grocery store.  I see those cabbages and it makes sad
I’m glad for the time we spent together.  Sorry it had to end up so bad.

Charlie (Cabbage Song)

File Updated 21/04/25 @ 19:14 GMT - More vox power in and mixed the drum and keys cheese a little higher... possibly still not enough cheddar there

Bass run live
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DItwK6NNYAk/?igsh=ZzkwbmkzbWxmazU0

Vocal run live
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DItiaLPt5_-/?igsh=MW0xNnR4ZXRuczg5bQ==

Acoustic warmup and some background
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DItU4cHNWRZ/?igsh=MTQzemFtcTV2OWxteQ==


The Other Side remake # 5. It started in 2002. Got adjusted in 2007. Had seperate facelift's to reflect new reality in 2015 & 2024. Now # 5 is truly Alive for The Other Side. Both the Song and me appreciate your time and love ♾️ If art is conscious in a universal sense as it's doing its job of inspiring love, then that appreciation from the piece itself doesn't have to seem misplaced...

It's great to make art... But the sharing bit can truly last and maybe it can actually transcend the artist as an energetic entity. Maybe all art is that after it's created ♾️ (unless souless ai made it)


Tempo 155bpm 4/4
Tuning 417Hz A and down one semitone then capo 2 (B string back up one semitone)

Lyrics

Why go beyond this face 
To no longer replace and only embrace this soul
You can’t grow while running from this
Down clenching your fist,
Your hot heads
Too mystical

Light up the other side
Light up the other side

I know to look to this place
Search every last little trace
Find why all is interlaced with the cold
(The Beautiful Dark: In order to.know we are playing with light we unfortunately need to understand the shitty darkness that exists in this universe most of which was created by what we currently refer to as  "humanity" - Can't recall a dolphin ever bringing evil to planet Earth - They show plenty of love though... maybe that's showing us how natural love is and where all hate comes from! Humans...)

Light up the other side
Light up the other side

Love like you mean it
Love completely
Is your heart beating?
Then love like you mean it!

We're wishing for middle eastern freedom
We're wishing for Tibetan peace
For 'free' Iraqi beliefs
We let go of Mugabe 🙏🏿 🥳
Zimbawes relief
Fuck you Burmese high priests
🖕🏽All black and white beasts

Rainbows of love
Your Dharma duties
Never end Peace and Love
No shame no doubt no guilt reigns

Just love like you mean it
Love completely
Just love like you mean it
Love completely

Light up the other side
Light up your inside
Light up the other side
Light up your inside
Yeah ➕📈


Notes
Man this feels good. It's like I'm handing a big chuck of myself over and its a good chunck of good in my head.

I pledge to write this song until I die and hopefully that means me making lots and lots of versions of this over the coming decades. It has to be rewritten because this song needs to reflect my reality and that always changes. When the time is right I'll pass it on to another human who I feel will be worthy enough to keep it going for another lifetime.

I wrote this song originally 23 years ago on a two octave Casio keyboard. It was so cheesily amazing. However the beat cheese was 155bpm of high tempo rhythm so when I went to write the lyrics I slowed the gait to try and say what I wanted to say and not sound like a chipmonk.

So today we go back to that gait and we do it without like sounding like a chipmonk and with new relevance for what I see in reality.
This is the result of the first wave of recompiling the idea again from scratch. I'll hone it now...

2002 Original Jam (Casio version)
https://on.soundcloud.com/KUfoFsjM5oUTyJgg7

2007 Version
https://on.soundcloud.com/zaTQnMc55Xaiuvc39

2015 (recorded in 2024 but in the light of v2015)
https://on.soundcloud.com/YzF6zUSGoTgCKkUx

2024 version
https://on.soundcloud.com/zewarjwwqzHtftZp7

The Other Side (2025)

Afterbreak

When Dreams Don't Come True...
Lyric Video :
https://youtu.be/b4vd8XZ5gHU?si=anh8wW7AuJvDj1gy

Wasnt My Destiny

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.