original track ..poetry and spoken word by david randall curtis, with music by mary cigarettes

I guess u had 2 be there

original song written and recorded by mary cigarettes

jimmy page

burning bridges that never really mattered

i've got this thing called an omnichord on which i wrote this song.
the omnichord is somewhere between a toy and a musical instrument.
the great thing is a non musician who's willing could write a tune on it...
and what's even more interesting is if you are a musician who writes songs,it means you can't really go all muso on yourself....it's very limited. 
all you can do is plug into the essence of your own personality rather than musicianship, lay that over the top of it,and hope for the best.

once i'd written the song on the omnichord,i fattened it up with an analogue synth playing the omnichord pattern.
then when i turned off the dinky sounding little drum machine inside the omnichord,i liked what i was left with .....
but then i couldn't tell if i liked the version with the dinky little drum machine more...
i think i prefer the bare drumless version ,but i'll post the other version up too.

dear fellow musicians.....songwriters..... singers.....music lovers...reprobates...
i hope life is good..
sometimes it is..
sometimes it's just deep shit....

loads n loads of good feelings to you.
the mary one.

unemployable  [version one]

i'm almost ashamed to say i haven't done much collaboration...
i don't know why..too much of a lonesome maybe,
but i do know the times i've done them,they've been extremely worthwhile...
you get lifted out of your own musical terrain,where it's inevitable you'd learn new things,and that can only be a good thing.
i found the whole experience very interesting from a singing perspective..i reacted tonally in a different way than how i would with my own music...it just sort of triggered something else in me.
i loved working with *fish go deep*.
they're two chaps from cork who as well as produce records, run some of the best deep house nights in the whole of europe. 
they have their own record label,and cork itself is a very very musical city...
in the 21st century the musical mindset in cork is akin to sweden or norway or iceland or paris ... 
there's a strong modern jazz thing going on there..the dance music is the deepest house instead of that bang bang crap that you'd hear in the mainstream. 
so i love posting this for you to hear...such a nice groove...
fish go deep did the track,and i supplied the vocal,lyric, melody, and played the rather elementary saxophone at the end.
 
loads of love
mary of the wilderness.

hard times lately

*harley davidson*
i was strolling down palm canyon drive on a bone dry desert evening last year,and my nose was soaking up the beautiful smell of the very commonplace cigars,while my eyes would feast on the beautiful american motorbikes...and this new offering is pretty much born out of that.
every year i yearn to get back out in the desert for a few months....i love the looseness and the freedom...there's no oppression or peer pressure... it's too hot for all of that,and mostly everyone's too old to be bothered with wasting any time.....so there's a certain headspace out there,and somewhere inside me was a song that needed to be written about this good feeling.
my co-writer michael owens sent me this lovely ambient guitar part that he had already recorded...it sounded so nice to my ears,and reminded me of one of my favourite records ['gone to earth' by david sylvian].....it felt like just the right canvas to write some desert inspired words and melody on top of.
this is the third song i've written with michael owens ,otherwise known as 'little mickey fingers'..the other two being'rocket science' and'failure and reputation'.
i'm real proud of the songs we've written together.
this one's a little different from the other two we've done,and vocally i reached out to get something a little more unlocked.
there's no tempo to the actual track...it's fluid or legato,or whatever the word is...it took me a while to find phrases that would fit the mecurial shape of the thing,but i was well into it.
there's also a little video clip attached as well...i shot this on a day when i knew a huge load of bikers were gonna be decending on the town[it's usually fairly quiet].....i think the bikers look so great,and i identify with their freewheeling approach to life.i've always lived my life outside of convention ,so i feel comfortable in their presence.
i could have jizzed the video up and coloured it,but i wanted to leave it raw like a piece of reportage.
everyone looks so bad assed ,but they were sweet and rocking..it was a nice day.
it's fun going out with the camera...i do this in london sometimes...sink a few cocktails and then head out on to the street...so it was great fun trying that in the desert as well......
i love what harley davidson stand for...culture,passion,style and freedom...so this song is a tribute not only to the desert ,but also to those biker folk and their beautiful purring roaring machines.
long live rock n roll...
with love to you as always
mary cigarettes
written by mary cigarettes and michael owens ©


Harley Davidson

When i was your dog

sometimes i love to write a song, and render the recording nothing more than a cloud. 
vocally it's like walking a sort of musical/emotional tightrope.
listeners either love or hate this sort of thing,which in itself is a little bit of a thrill..
cause the audience always matter...in a way they complete the work,
and yet the ultimate way of respecting an audience is not to give them what you think they'd want, but to dig deep, and simply offer up what's honestly inside.

here's a link to the video http://youtu.be/EiAJPMsJUKA

onwards...and into the music...
mary cigarettes. 



Madman In The Rain

i wanted to write something that paid tribute to entertainers and artists.
it occurred to me the committed ones take a risk with their sanity...if you ever get close to any of these specimens..the ones who go deep into it for a lifetime, often they seem peculiar ...often there's a distance and sadness there.. or a deep need for love..a little bit too needy maybe,but there it is.
after years of rough and tumble some of them get a handle on it just fine,while others crash and burn.
...so here's to the artists,actors and actresses...the comedians...the singers and
writers....rave on each and every one of you ... well adjusted or otherwise.

true love
mary of the wilderness.

where it all got a little bit too rock n roll

hello dollies...here's a little thing i wrote about the more dubious side of our beautiful internet..i kept it very lean cause i wanted to evoke that skinny lonely needy person who lives inside many of us in this day and age.
warm regards music lovers..
mary fairy.

Worldwide Washing Machine

like many folk i oscillate between highs and lows, so i figured i’d have a go at writing something about that polarity in our lives.
in the arrangement i’ve attempted to conjur the sheer machinery of an elevator… all the way up to a garden on the roof, then back down to the ground floor, and then up again.

dear listeners and maestros…i hope you’re having a good summer…
loads and loads…mary fairy liquid.


where does that elevator go

original composition and recording by mary cigarettes

a movie called life

hello dollies … i’ve always been fascinated by photographers who document the world of rock and roll.
theirs is a special skill which goes beyond mere technique…indeed many of them would claim to have only the necessary grasp of technology ,
what they really have is the will to be where the drama is..they have the nose to sniff it out and the social skill to hang in such a way, where the artists feel relaxed while they take the pictures.

in this song i imagine one of these photographers who lived through the golden age of rock and roll,but is still working today.
perhaps he gets more money than ever on the back of his archive,but he misses the magic and danger of the ones he photographed all those years ago.
it was triggered by watching a sweet man i know called b.p fallon who takes lots of photos..if you don't know who he is,you can google.
i’m also imagining mick rock…linda mccartney..leee black childers..bob gruen…gered mankovitz…loads of great music photographers.

i enjoyed putting this track together…i was like one of those kids on a beach who’d spend ages building an elaborate sand castle with lots of sections and layers.

ride easy fellow maestros and music lovers…
loads of love...
mary fairy liquid.

the rock and roll photographer

sometimes country boys and girls need to get away..
because they're stuck out in the fields,the curiosity for urban life,and all its sins run rabid..
you sit out there out in your cottage licking the print off the pages in books, magazines and record sleeves...
some of us literally fumed at the idea of diving into city life...
i thought i'd made that leap when i left ireland for edinburgh and london in my teens...
but then in my late twenties,i was plunged into manhattan where i truly open my legs wide once and for all.
this song is born out of that..
i know there are many like me.
dear constant listener / reader..i hope this music finds you in rude health.
lots of love
mary of the wilderness.



Country boy hits manhattan

the song.. the whole song ... and nothing but the song, 

loads and loads and loads of love to you dear listener and fellow maestros... free to download as usual...
mary fairy liquid

Old Friends Falling Out

a song about a day in the life of a single parent mother living on an english council estate.
those girls are interesting to me,as they negotiate their way alone through this tricky world.
on a rainy english morning she’s late getting up out of bed, laying there pleasuring herself thinking about boyfriends from way back…
she remembers the electric sex she had in less than comfortable places, but rightly cherishes these memories with no shame,
many of us are lucky enough to have been there also.
alas the day calls her, and she has to think about survival…maybe moving on…who knows..
the song’s called ’full english breakfast’ cause there’s something about those lovely greasy spoon cafes where they serve a good fry up that always conjures up this feeling for me,


i’ve always loved the arrangements on early records by dionne warwick petula clarke, dusty springfield, sandie shaw. 
the whole idea of a rhythm section under an orchestra is a sweet thing to play with.
it fascinates me how those records so accurately evoke a city atmosphere full of streetwise people without resorting to loud guitars.

happy springtime music lovers.
your faery…mary.

Full English Breakfast

i've been writing songs for decades now,and i've hit a point where i often just want to write the most simple, paired down , clear and truthful thing possible.
i was breast fed on john lennon ...when thinking of him, i marvel at the idea of actually SAYING SOMETHING...it sounds silly, but it's very easy to say nothing in a song...so often lyrics are just decorative,and these days i'm thinking a lot about being more than 'pretty' with the words.
the idea of laying myself on the line and finding the deepest, yet most simple common ground between me and you the listener, is all important.


Whatever turns you on

do you ever go through phases of just listening to one particular group or album with mad passion?
for the last month or so i've had this thing for the pretenders.
i mean.....i always liked them in my early twenties...i respected it... .but i wasn't really a mad MAD fan...
yet these days,there's just something about chrissie hynde that i just adore...
i was a brash youngster,so maybe it's taken me to hit a ripe old age to appreciate her more subtle songwriting ways .
she was always a bit more low key than other girls in her position...i'm thinking debbie harry[who of course i also love]
but chrissie...she just let the songs do ALL the talking...
and her songs,when i listen to them now ,don't beg for attention..
they've just somehow weaved themselves into the fabric of my life,more than some of the other more instant records of my youth.
so here in mary cigarettes land...it's just been chrissie hynde/pretenders all day long for weeks and weeks...
and when i'm on the phone or out with musicians, or music lovers,i often bring up the topic of chrissie and the pretenders,to see if they feel the same way too.
sooooooooooooo......in the light of all that,i found myself wanting to write a song that had a pretenders flavour to it...
naturally i failed , cause by the time i had the track halfway up and running,my own character would filter through ....
if anything ,it came out a bit blondie who are also very dear to me.
so here's my new song for you ...it's called 'i'm not a bad girl'.
inspired by four weeks of having a complete chrissie hynde/pretenders fest.
i do hope you like it....and i hope anyone who reads this feels passionate about something today...even if it's just a pop group.
cause its not always the way ,is it?...
sometimes i feel dry as a bone,but these days i feel passionate about things...and i wish that for you too.
thanks chrissie for your brilliant pop records.....i love them.
you can also [if you wish]read an extended version of this blog on my myspace page.
love on ya
mary cigarettes


I'm not a bad girl

hello music lovers…
i’ve written a song that i suppose is a love letter to london, or perhaps some sort of stalker balled.
now in my late fifties i take great comfort from london..it’s familiar to me like no other city… i’ve never really tired of it, for it keeps my head and heart alive.

it feels good to finally be posting a new song…there were so many crazy distractions last year, and when i did record, it wasn't terribly good anyway,so i kept quiet.
i hope all you fellow maestros in soundcloud land are well, and connected to your own gorgeous guitars and synthesisers, or whatever crayons you have at hand.

all my loving
mary fairy liquid

English Paparazzi

this song'rocket science' is really nothing more than the philosophy according to mary cigarettes...
i was thinking how stepping out of the comfort zone,and loosing the plot,both have one thing in common...they both give us a story to tell,when we come back from the other side....
i hope you like the song...the words and vocal melody are written and sang by myself,while the heavenly guitar part is written and played by little mickey fingers.


rocket science

here's to our valuable time not being squandered by war or difference...
loads of love..
mary fairy liquid.

Time Is Not Cheap Anymore

when i was younger and not in love, i wrote many love songs, but when i eventually did find love, the love songs stopped…
all that yearning was gone, and frankly i was more than happy to broaden out and write about other things….……………..
HOWEVER.....every now and then…..

i hope all you fellow maestros and music lovers are alright…
it’s summer, although the world feels a bit upside down these days doesn't it…
i wonder what will become of us…

hang on to your dreams
mary fairy liquid.

Big Fat Mouth

i'm an old banger...
sometimes i feel like *next years ghost*...
whatever future is left for coffin dodgers like me,i want to make the most of...
i want my heart to be free of anything from the past that weighs me down...
so in the name of a happy ride, i don't want to die having squandered anymore time...
i want to open my legs to life and its inevitable end with a healthy sense of wonder...
nothing morbid..
that's what this gorgeous song of mine is all about.

power to the people 

mary of the wilderness.

next years ghost

trying to rise above things that get in the way of life.

rave on dollies…
mary of the wilderness.

middle class white trash ways

funny how i could write reams about this awfully short peace of daft self indulgence…[it's roughly one minute forty five seconds .]
i'd been thinking about jazz over the years…
i can't play it,but i do find with age i'm acquiring an actual taste for it…
so y'know..this song is me sniffing around,trying to learn a thing or two….

the song itself is some sort of scene between a freewheeler, and a smug home owning conformist,
there's also a little video here i did of me channeling that very freewheeler character at brian jones gravestone.
and if you want a little more of my babble about the song,you can find it on my wordpress blog
  http://marycigarettes.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/brian-jones/
fellow maestros and rock n rollers…i know it's all over the place,and lady gaga has nothing to worry about...
but music is still it's own reward...

mary of the wilderness.

International house of pancakes

oddly enough,i wrote this song at a time when i felt i had absolutely nothing left in me...

love and respect to you, fellow artists and listeners.

mary cigarettes

original composition written sang and recorded by mary cigarettes

dark night of the soul

this is a very old song i wrote a looooong time ago,and i'm only uploading it so i can embed it into an essay i've written for my wordpress page...here is the link   http://marycigarettes.wordpress.com

When The Music Turns Into Money

original song written and recorded by mary cigarettes and little mickey fingers

Failure and reputation

i've been getting back into synthesisers for this one…
in my music room there's a lovely old prophet 5 that's been gathering dust,and i made a cocktail mix of that along with software synths.
my first love is guitar,but out of some weird guilt i'd been avoiding woozy sounding synths for a while in order to keep my music more guitary and real maaaaaan
..but i've now decided that that's a load of old bollocks…synthesisers or guitars..they're ALL rock and roll crayons …
still...i wanted to pull the guitar in,make it's presence felt,and then pull the fucker right out again within two bars….
i really liked the effect of that…i was thinking how depeche mode,even though they're a synthesiser group,they also use guitars in a very cool way... 

i suppose this is some sort of hangover song
i was heading home on the tube train after a wild day on the town recently, and felt a little bit blue.
i figured this is the price i pay for instant self gratification,
and i was thinking the times i feel best and most happy are when i'm being of better service to myself,or at least service to other people instead…
 
tube trains are a great place to take self council…especially if they're empty,and you catch that defused reflection of yourself in the window opposite.
i'm tired of feeling like crap when i don't need to..it's not just about exercise or diet or too much inebriation ….
it's just……. sometimes wanting this..wanting that…the tired old scene…want want want
there's more happiness at home cleaning the toilet…working on a new song…singing….giving the dog a good brush (which he loves)...helping or being generous to someone else…
that's were the good feeling resides...much love...the mary one.

Reflected back from a tube train window

Wifebeater

          
      hello , people of the dolly-net.
i hope you enjoy what i'm posting here ...
if you like what you hear,you can download any of my songs for free by clicking on the cute little arrow by each track ..i'm all give give give,arent i?!
i'm also available for full on hard core sex ...but that shall cost you fifty thousand pounds, for what i promise would be the fuck of the century compressed into one heavenly evening...prices on that aren't negotiable. 

here's a few of my latest videos  https://www.youtube.com/user/marycigarettes

marycigarettes

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