There’s a lot to unpack with this one.

“Lip Gloss” is a campy, quirky romp through glam, proto-punk and art pop.

It harks back to the early to mid-1970s and that special time and space between the big rock of the late 1960s and early ’70s and the punk and new wave that followed.

The influences are clear and help to understand the song’s inspiration and spirit.

David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” is an obvious one, even drawing on the E major buildup that leads up to the “Ohhh, wham bam thank you ma'am” line that is forever etched in my and so many people’s brains.

Similarly, British glam bands Sweet and Slade provide inspiration, as does Roxy Music.

But there’s also some distinctly American influences with The Runaways, Suzi Quatro, the New York Dolls and Kiss.

Those acts, along with Bowie, were the alternative rock of their day, setting themselves apart from the prevailing mainstream of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Bad Company and so many others.

They paved the way for the song’s other obvious influence: new wave. Blondie is a big one on “Lip Gloss,” as are Gary Numan, Devo and The Cars at their edgiest.

The staccato bridge deserves recognition unto itself: quirky art pop kings Sparks.

The bridge is whacky, whimsical and weird, just like so much of Sparks, with a rising and descending cello scale in between the pounding chords and beats.

While obviously an homage, “Lip Gloss” is an entirely new composition (though, I confess, there’s some echoes of other songs I’ve done, including “Dream in Between” and “Quarantine”).

For what became “Lip Gloss,” I woke up a few days ago with a Blondie-like bouncy riff in my head and created the intro verse for the song on the piano before committing it to guitar.

From there, the song came together in a matter of days, one of the quickest from start to finish.

As always, my cousin and music partner Matt Jones makes the song with his drumming. After a first pass, he nailed it on the second go-round, commanding and driving the song and making it what it is. His solo drum break two-thirds in screams cool 1970s rock.

In the ultimate compliment to him, I was going through a mental back and forth on whether the song was going to work or not. Then he came through with his drum take, and there was no looking back.

The arrangement is pretty simple. Driving rhythm guitar, lively bass runs and forceful drums are the core. On top of that are a Moog-style synth, keyboard horns replicating that 1970s glam brass sound, a distorted lead guitar and the keyboard cello in the bridge. 

The title is meant to evoke the glam era. “Lip Gloss” sounds soft and pretty while the song is hard driving and tough, pretty much summing up the rock ‘n’ roll in lipstick ethos of glam.

March 29, 2022

Lip Gloss

“Dot Matrix” is a mini alt-rock symphony with dramatic instrumental shifts among a driving verse, a dreamy pre-chorus, a bombastic, pounding chorus and a lively two-part bridge featuring a synthesizer accordion sound.

The song is inspired by 1980s alternative rock. The Cure figures large with songs such as “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” and “How Beautiful You Are.” There’s a bit of another British Band, The The, subtly reflected in the dreamy piano part. I can hear The Buzzcocks in there, too.

Matt Jones, who commands every beat of the song on drums, says he even hears a bit of prog-pop band Asia in there.

As always, Matt’s drumming makes the song and brings it to life. We start each recording with an unchanging drum track. Once Matt adds live drumming, it’s like night and day.

At its core, “Dot Matrix” is a simple riff and chord changes. It ends up being more complex with different treatments on the twists and turns. Doing standard format songs as instrumentals requires variation from part to part to hopefully keep people interested.

There are three guitar parts, including the soaring lead on the second verse. That same lead gets a fainter reprise on the third verse, an arrangement suggested by Matt, who found the part to be a compelling, memorable hook.

There are many keyboard parts, including strings, a dreamy piano, chimes and the accordion sound, the latter being something I’ve been wanting to work into a song after hearing The Cure’s Parisan-themed “How Beautiful You Are.”

There’s a steady bass guitar part throughout supplemented by two added bass parts on the chorus: a synth bass for texture and a slap bass for emphasis.

The song played out over weeks with Matt’s move from Southern California to Anacortes, Wash. As with all of our tracks, the recording starts with a Spire Studio device and trading tracks back and forth before being compiled and mastered in Adobe Audition software.

The song was a bit of a sleeper waiting in the wings during Matt’s move and then was brought to life once Matt set up his electronic drums in his new apartment.

The “Dot Matrix” title is meant to evoke the 1980s, sort of in the vein of TV show “Stranger Things.”

Dot matrix was a type of primitive printer back in the day. The dot matrix style lives on today with digital displays and pixel art. There’s even some dot matrix printers still around!

May 30, 2022. Memorial Day posting is coincidental. Respect to the fallen.

Dot Matrix

“Barrelhouse” is a double shot of roadhouse blues.

The song evokes a raucous, blues rock house band at a shabby roadhouse bar with sawdust on the floor and whiskey barrels all around.

A blues rock guitar riff drives the song as the verse and as part of the chorus, which is a variation of a classic blues turnaround. Added to that are bass, organ and additional guitar.

The star of the song: a wailing harmonica lead three-fourths through by Mark Fulton, a blues harp pro from Anacortes, Wash.

Mark’s part comes by way of Matt Jones, who plays drums on the song and recently moved to Anacortes north of Seattle. By luck, Matt met Mark as his downstairs neighbor and got him to play on the track.

It couldn’t be a better fit. His howling harmonica adds the perfect touch to the song’s roadhouse feel. A big thanks and shoutout to Mark!

“Barrelhouse” is classic American blues rock, rooted in early American blues and broadened to include rock touches of high-gain electric guitar and powerful drums.

The song is a shift for me. My go-to is more alternative rock. This started as a rocking alt-rock song that I came up with years ago. Funny, the real inspiration is “Heaven Up Here,” the drunken, bluesy song by Echo and the Bunneymen.

But once you start recording, a song takes on a life and feel of its own. The end product has obvious echoes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Clark Jr., “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors, and, as Matt notes, even ZZ Top.

The song’s name comes from barrelhouses, a type of juke joint and forerunner to roadhouse bars.

Barrelhouses were common across the South. They were no-frills with blues bands and barrels of whiskey and other alcohol often tapped right from the barrel. As with all things American blues, barrelhouses were a big part of African American culture.

Today, a lot of craft breweries and other hip places use the barrelhouse name as well.

June 4, 2022

Barrelhouse featuring Mark Fulton

“Lullaby” is a dreamy, mid-tempo orchestral ballad reflecting the ethereal wave genre of the 1980s and ’90s.

The song is inspired by Cocteau Twins, the Scottish trio that combined alt-rock instrumentation with the otherworldly vocals of Elizabeth Fraser. Fraser’s latest Sun's Signature project is also an inspiration.

Cocteau Twins were one of the few in music to come along and create an entirely unique sound.

They drew on Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and others but ultimately ended up with something that went beyond those influences. They influenced later variations of shoegaze, chill and, to some extent, EDM.

As an instrumental without vocals, “Lullaby” draws on the rich arrangements of Cocteau Twins songs, particularly those from the albums “Blue Bell Knoll,” “Heaven or Las Vegas, and, on the bridge, “Treasure.”

The post-bridge breakdown and return to the verse near the song’s end is inspired by a similar dramatic crescendo on Cocteau Twins’ “Spangle Maker.”

Besides Cocteau Twins, the song draws heavily on Tears for Fears, including “Sowing the Seeds of Love” with the orchestral chorus, oboe accents and plucked violins.

One of my favorite bands, Downey Mildew, a Los Angeles 1980s-era quartet that drew inspiration from Cocteau Twins, R.E.M. and others, is also big influence here, particularly with the acoustic guitars.

There are also hints of the spacey dream pop of Flaming Lips.

The song dates back to the era it reflects — the early 1990s — when I created a fairly good Tascam multitrack tape recording of it around that time.

My songs on Soundcloud are a mix of new compositions and songs I came up with and recorded in low-fi style in my teens and 20s. They still hold up well, and it’s fun to give those older songs some better production quality.

“Lullaby” is built on a lofty, airy acoustic guitar verse with a six-string acoustic guitar layered with a 12-string acoustic.

A chorus-effect electric guitar gives that Cocteau Twins sound on the verse. There is also a string accompaniment and a woodblock on the first verse.

The chorus is the most orchestral part with a powerful cello and plucked strings.

For variety, the second verse features a chiming, bell-like piano melody.

Then there’s the bridge, where it gets a bit weird. The bridge is a variation of part of the chorus and is tense and dark with gothic bells, cellos and other strings. I envision scenes of an old clipper ship sailing through rough seas when I hear the bridge.

The bridge ends abruptly with a brief, atmospheric ring and fadeout before the verse returns for a third time in grand, explosive fashion with sleigh bells and a thundering snare drum.

There are about 20 different tracks that make up the song. Some are constant throughout, such as acoustics, bass and drums, while others are on select parts or are used as spot accents.

Drums are by my music partner, longtime collaborator and cousin Matt Jones. He gets an incredible thundering sound out of his electronic drums, giving that big percussion sound of the 1980s and ’90s.

The song wasn’t easy, but Matt makes it sounds that way.

“Lullaby” was recorded on a Spire Studio portable recording device and compiled and mastered in Adobe Audition. Matt and I traded files between Southern California and Washington.

The title “Lullaby” evokes the dreamy titles that Cocteau Twins used for their songs. The name also reflects the song itself. We all know lullabies as bedtime songs for children. But they are so memorable and universal because they are simple, melodic and emotional, and this song is all that.

The image that accompanies the song on Soundcloud is a shoutout to Cocteau Twins covers and the artwork of their label 4AD and the label's signature graphic artist Vaughan Oliver.

June 23, 2022

Lullaby

“Curve of the Earth” is a new version of a song formerly known as “Ice Age” and much improved with my cousin Matt Jones on drums.

The song is pure alternative rock, an instrumental with a tense verse, an explosive, dramatic chorus and a synth vocal chorus led bridge.

There are tinges of R.E.M., Echo and the Bunnymen and other alt-rock staples in there.

“Curve of the Earth” bridges a gap in my Soundcloud catalog here.

My early songs, including the forerunner to this one, relied on drum tracks or keyboard drumming. But there’s nothing like the real thing.

So in early 2020, Matt joined in recording on drums. We’ve now done more than a dozen tracks together.

For the longest time, I said I wouldn’t go back and redo those earlier tracks. But this was an exception. I had a good working file of the song that made it easy for Matt to step in and replace the keyboard drums of the original.

He also adds tambourine on the chorus and accents on the bridge.

The new title also comes from Matt and our conversations about how much hotter warm days feel in Washington state, where 80 degrees will feel more like 90. It comes down to latitude and the “curve of the earth.”

June 28, 2022

Curve Of The Earth

"Pendleton" is an alternative rock and alt-country instrumental. 

The song is made up of a driving intro guitar riff, a flowing, country-tinged verse and a powerful chorus of guitar and drums.

The memorable opening riff is reminiscent of "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" by The Hollies and "Only a Memory" by The Smithereens.

It gives way to the song's flowing verse, which has an alt-country feel in some ways recalling R.E.M.'s "(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville." There are also influences from Minnesota alt-country bands Golden Smog and The Jayhawks.

The twangy guitar of the first verse was inspired by 1980s new wave bands such as Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow and Depeche Mode, which incorporated 1950s-style country-rockabilly guitar into their otherwise alternative sounds.

The song's verse transitions to a prechorus of building guitar, piano and synth strings before culminating in a chorus of warm, distorted guitar, strings and tribal drumming.

The second verse showcases a country-folk guitar solo, while the third verse features a haunting synth string melody.

Three-fourths in, the song's bridge is meant to be a change of pace and sound and a bit spacey with a music box simulated on a keyboard, sequenced guitar and a ghostly sustained guitar. There's also a lively, running bass line.

Drums are by Matt Jones, my cousin and longtime collaborator. As always, he makes the song and brings it all together. A few weeks ago, I sent him a rough recording of guitars and bass and continued to wonder if it could be made into anything.

The result is one of our strongest songs to date.

After hearing initial takes, Matt also suggested the song's piano accompaniment, which adds to its Americana feel. 

While I've had the intro guitar riff for decades, "Pendleton" is largely new, composed over the past few months as the song was built around the riff.

The song name "Pendleton" is designed to evoke the western, rural feel of some parts of the song. The name is taken from Pendleton, Ore., an Oregon Trial town and home to the famous Pendleton Woolen Mills and its iconic shirts, blankets and other items.

July 31, 2022

Pendleton

A crowd favorite! Ha ha!

“Dragster” is a driving, alt-rock instrumental with guitars, bass and drums just right for a live performance.

As the song came together, it really sounded like a live band playing, with less of the extended studio production of some of our other songs.

It brings back memories of me and my cousin Matt Jones — featured on drums here — when we used to play in garages, bedrooms and the occasional studio space.

So we had some fun with “Dragster” by mixing in crowd audio and even a “one, two, three, four” count-in to sound like a live show in a small club 

It evokes a scene familiar to any live music fan — that seemingly forever wait for the band to take the stage, then they do, and launch right into a powerful leadoff song.

The song’s inspirations are many. A big one is Echo & the Bunnymen’s early live performances, particularly “Crocodiles” and their raucous show versions of “Do It Clean.”

The song is a straightforward with guitar parts, an underlying bass and Matt’s powerful drumming.

The bridge provides a break with dreamy guitars before launching into a back-and-forth between the crunchy main riff and the softer guitars of the bridge.

The “Dragster” song title comes from Matt, who has kicked it around as a band name. It worked here, with the song’s rapid pace and heavy sound.

Aug. 11, 2022.

Dragster

“Pachinko” is a dreamy, even danceable, bit of instrumental synth pop.

The song evokes 1980s synth pop, with a multitude of influences including The Buggles, Pet Shop Boys, Ultravox, Eurythmics, New Order and alternative dance super group Electronic.

There are contemporary influences too with echoes of Muse, Phoebe Bridgers' "Kyoto" and Declan McKenna, a 23-year-old British alternative great who mixes a love of earlier Brit rock with modern electronic touches.

Like much electronic and synth music, particularly the 1980s variety, there is a clear Japanese influence and a debt of gratitude for all Japan has done for music technology.

We would not have electro-synth pop if not for Japan and companies such as Casio, Roland and Boss that helped define a genre and sound.

The title “Pachinko” refers to a pinball-like gambling machine found in parlors throughout Japan.

The title is meant as a nod to the influence of Japan on electro-synth music, as is the Japanese sounding piano lead on the second verse as well as other sounds of the song.

Likewise, the 2022 movie “Bullet Train,” with its fest of Japanese neon and other imagery, is another influence on the song.

“Pachinko” is built around guitar chords played through a heavy chorus (via a Boss pedal) to get a warm processed sound.

From there, multiple keyboard parts are layered to create different verses, a haunting chorus and a chiming arpeggiated bridge that evokes a 1980s Casio keyboard.

Most keyboards sounds are played on a Yamaha, while the bridge is played on a synthesizer from the Garage Band app.

Drums are by longtime music partner Matt Jones. The song required a clean, tight, steady and crisp drum sound throughout the song, and he nailed it.

Matt added a second track of electronic sounding hand claps, which make the song. 

The drumming is simple but elegant and is high in the mix as is called for in electro-synth songs.

The song is an entirely new composition that started with a memorable chord progression verse played on an acoustic guitar in mid-summer 2022. 

From there, the chorus and bridge came together quickly. Recording also was fairly brief over a couple weeks and about a week for Matt.

Unlike some of our other songs, “Pachinko” is relatively simple at eight tracks.

As with all our songs, it is recorded on Spire Studio devices with Matt and I trading files back and forth between Southern California and Washington state.

The song was then mastered in Adobe Audition.

Sept. 8, 2022

Pachinko

“Terraplane” is a driving, alt-rock instrumental with twists and turns.

It features a main fuzzy electric guitar riff, multiple other guitar parts, organ and synths, and, prominently, wide-ranging drumming and percussion.

The song is made up of a lively, groovy verse, a harder prechorus with punk rock tinges, and a prettier, dramatic chorus that builds up with a snare drum and cello crescendo.

For the third verse, “Terraplane” turns to a slower, spacey breakdown with airy guitars and atmospheric drumming.

The song ends with a reprise of the verse with a jazzy twist, where a trumpet and guitar trade riffs in a call and response.

The trumpet then soars, sometimes discordantly, over the drums, which finish the song in a final rideout after the trumpet, guitar and bass dissolve.

Drums and percussion by my cousin and music partner Matt Jones are the star of the song. Listening to the track, you can hear the passion, sweat and skill in his complex drumming.

At the outset of recording, we set out for drums to drive the song and feature more as a varying lead instrument rather than just steady rhythm accompaniment. 

We listened to "Fire"  by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and "Funeral Pyre" by The Jam, two songs driven by drumming, for inspiration.

Drums are made up of a jazzy main beat, tribal drum sounds using toms, an extended snare drum buildup, an egg shaker that gives the verse its gritty, groovy feel and a tambourine that helps the chorus get that soaring sound.

What became “Terraplane” dates back about 20 years to my early music recording days. While many songs on the SoundCloud profile here are recent compositions, this was another one mined and rebuilt from a collection of old Tascam multitrack recordings I did in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

While bigger, more thought out and better produced, the song is fairly true to the original bedroom recording from decades ago.

The “Terraplane” title was picked largely because it’s a cool sounding phrase. It refers to a 1930s-era car by Hudson Motor Car Co. formally known as the Essex-Terraplane.

It gets name-checked in “Children of the Revolution” by T. Rex in the line, “Well you can Terraplane in the fallin' rain; I drive a Rolls-Royce ‘cause it's good for my voice.”

Oct. 6, 2022

Terraplane

“Sleigh Ride” is a bright, uplifting Christmas instrumental driven by sleigh bells and 12-string acoustic guitar.

The song is in the tradition of alt-rock Christmas favorites including XTC’s “Thanks for Christmas,” “A Great Big Sled” by The Killers, “A Snowflake Fell (and It Felt Like a Kiss)” by Glasvegas, and, of course, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid.

The idea for a Christmas song came from my cousin and collaborator Matt Jones, who plays the driving drums, ringing sleigh bells and chiming tambourine on “Sleigh Ride.”

I’ve had the song’s melody and chords for years and never thought of them for a Christmas song. But when played with keyboard bells, 12-string and actual sleigh bells, it’s amazing just how Christmas it sounds.

A double tracked 12-string and a keyboard cello are the foundation of the song. To those, Matt adds tight, clean and crisp drumming.

Then come the layers: keyboard bells as the melody and for accents, sleigh bells throughout, tambourine touches on the bridge, a choir on the chorus and a holiday trumpet soaring over the bridge.

The song ends with a rising chorus for dramatic effect.

Sure, Christmas songs have been done to death. But they sure are fun to make and listen to this time of year.

The title plays off the sleigh bells that dominate the song.

The song shares the “Sleigh Ride” title with a symphonic piece of the same name and pop versions by The Ronettes and Gwen Stafani. But, other than that, there’s no relation.

“Sleigh Ride” was recorded quickly over about a week with Matt and I trading tracks and ideas back and forth.

Tracks are recorded using a Spire Studio portable device with the song mastered in Adobe Audition software.

Dec. 10, 2022

Sleigh Ride

“Television Rock” is a raucous, fun instrumental inspired by the 1970s television shows that raised a generation.

The song evokes the music and spirit of “Schoolhouse Rock” and “Fat Albert” and their mix of traditional, conventional song styling with 1970s flare. 

There’s also the influence of classic TV theme songs including “What’s Happening!!” and “Sanford and Son.”

“Television Rock” is built around a bluesy, guitar-driven verse with soulful organ and deep bass.

The verse is broken down into four louder intro bars then four slightly softer bars that host varying lead parts:

* The first verse’s funky, even silly ’70s clavinet, an instrument and sound made famous by the great Stevie Wonder

* The second verse’s sassy, soulful tenor sax

* The third verse’s vintage ’70s-style guitar solo

The verse intro really gets going on the second go with handclaps and honky tonk piano, which repeat behind the guitar solo on the third verse.

The pretty and poppy chorus contrasts with the hard-driving verse with a chiming, catchy melody.

Then there’s the bridge about three-fourths in. Keeping with the ’70s theme, I dub it the “Jesus Christ Superstar” bridge with its dramatic rising organ and powerful horns, reminiscent of the rock opera play and movie, as well as others of the era.

There are other influences too, including The Velvet Underground — particularly “I’m Waiting for the Man” — and Oasis with its overall mining of classic rock for the big, bombastic arena rock of its heyday.

As always, drumming and percussion by my cousin and collaborator Matt Jones make the song.

Like others, “Television Rock” started out as a simple guitar and bass demo and was brought to life with Matt’s drumming.

He instantly heard the Oasis influence and built on it with the big, awesome rolling fills heard on the verse and chorus transitions.

Building on the ’70s vibe, Matt adds handclaps — real, not digital — that add to the street party feel of the song.

“Television Rock” marks our 22nd song recorded together and posted here to Soundcloud.

There was a two-month gap from this and our last song. Work and life got in the way, leading to a creative rut.

“Television Rock” was designed as a simple comeback song to get out of the rut and get back into recording. 

While certainly a simple rock song at the core, “Television Rock” ended up being complex with multiple tracks and mixes.

The simulated sax sound of the second verse was the hardest to nail down with an authentic keyboard simulation.

It’s no coincidence that many of the song’s influences affectionately hail from the incredible contributions of African Americans to the music and shows of the ’70s, including Stevie Wonder and Bill Cosby (with his later issues acknowledged and condemned here).

Of course, shows such as “Fat Albert,” “What’s Happening!!” and “Sanford and Son” had their stereotypical moments. But they also had an undeniably lasting impact on a generation that, for the first time, grew up watching and admiring African Americans on TV without thinking twice about it.

Those great childhood memories are a big part of “Television Rock.”

Feb. 10, 2023

Television Rock

“Planet 9” is an alternative rock instrumental rooted in mid-1960s British psychedelia as well as a 1980s Southern California revival known as the Paisley Underground.

There are also influences of R.E.M., Echo & the Bunnymen, XTC offshoot The Dukes of Stratosphere and even prog rock bands Yes and Rush. 

Most of “Planet 9” is a driving rock song reminiscent of The Beatles “Revolver,” early Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane.

It echoes the early part of an era — before things got too wild — with tight playing and composition underpinning dreamy cello, strings and guitar sounds. 

“Planet 9” even includes a backward guitar part, an ode to the backward tape experimentation found on many 1960s songs.

The song’s trademark is the opening guitar, which repeats throughout. It’s a hammer-on and pull-off riff that gives an exotic, sitar-type sound.

The prechorus section of the song introduces cello along with a trippy guitar effect before giving way to the chorus with its dramatic strings.

After the second verse comes the song’s bridge, which is pure flower pop with pretty, jangling guitars and chiming bells. At this point, this would be enough for a complete song. 

But then comes the rabbit hole ... 

The rock part of the song fades out and unexpectedly gives way to a baroque orchestral passage, introduced by harpsichord and then layered with cello, strings and oboe and flute — the latter two sounds thanks to a digital replica of a ’60s touchstone, the Mellotron, a synthesizer precursor made famous by The Beatles on “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

While using the same chords of the verse, the orchestral segment is still a big change from what comes before and after, creating the rabbit hole effect.

It’s distinctly English, conjuring up visuals of a gothic manor, garden and a bygone era.

Whereas American psychedelia went over the top with soaring guitars and mind-bending visuals, Britain turned to nostalgia for Victorian and Edwardian music halls, carnivals and symphonies, as with The Moody Blues, The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “She’s a Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones.

The juxtaposition creates a daydream feel, as done so well by Electric Light Orchestra in the 1970s and by XTC in the 1980s with its “Skylarking” album.

The song also draws inspiration from R.E.M. and others that were part of a general 1980s revival of ’60s guitar rock sounds.

An entire subgenre, including The Three O'Clock, Dream Syndicate and The Bangles, became known as the Paisley Underground in Los Angeles in the early 1980s.

What became “Planet 9” is from that time. Songs posted here are a mix of new and old, with this one being one of the earliest songs I came up with when I was in high school in the 1980s.

I still have a low-fi version from back in the day recorded by ping ponging tracks back and forth on a dual-cassette deck.

This new version is recorded using a Spire Studio device with tracks transferred into Adobe Audition for mixing and mastering.

I traded files back and forth with my cousin and collaborator Matt Jones, who is on drums, tambourine and other percussion.

“Planet 9” is one of our most complex songs with 20 individual tracks. Some, including guitar, bass and drums, are big. Others are small, made up of just a few seconds of cymbals or bells.

We’d been working on the song for months. We started in November with a good working demo. But getting the harpsichord and orchestral part right proved hard. So we scrapped that version and started fresh with new recording.

The title comes from the discovery of evidence of a potential ninth planet in the outer region of the solar system beyond Pluto.

At this point, Planet 9, also referred to as Planet X, is hypothetical, which makes it even more intriguing as a song title.

The song's artwork is meant as an homage to the classic album covers of the 1960s and ’70s designed by British design shop Hipgnosis.

Feb. 19, 2023

Planet 9

“Modulator” is an alternative rock instrumental that, well, modulates, between a driving, darkly groovy verse and a bright, lively chorus.

The song is fairly simple and built around electric guitars, a thumping bass and intricate drumming from my cousin and longtime collaborator Matt Jones.

Unlike other of our songs, there’s not a lot of instrumentation, which didn’t seem needed. The main embellishment: a warm, fuzzy synth inspired by “Jet” by Paul McCartney and Wings.

While modern in sound and original in many ways, “Modulator” is rooted in 1980s new wave, post-punk and alternative. There are influences of Joy Division, U2 in their edgier moments, Echo & the Bunnymen, Modern English and Translator’s “Everywhere That I’m Not.”

The verse’s rhythm also shares some resemblance to Joe Jackson’s “Look Sharp.”

Like some other of our songs on Soundcloud, this one dates back to the 1980s when I was in high school.

I came up with the song back then and still have a low-fi archive recording of it. That early version was recorded by bouncing tracks back and forth on a dual-cassette deck.

“Modulator,” the modern version, is true to that original but benefits from better playing, refined arrangement and advanced recording and technology.

Like other songs here, the tracks of “Modulator” were recorded using a Spire Studio device, trading files with Matt in Washington state, then mastering on Abode Audition software.

This is Matt and I’s 24th song together and posted here.

The name “Modulator,” an electronics and sound technology term, is meant to reflect the song’s feel and era, similar to Joy Division’s “Transmission” and the band name Translator.

March 14, 2023

Modulator

With chiming guitars, Irish bagpipes, violin and banjo, “Giant’s Causeway” is a celebration of Celtic alternative rock.
 
The instrumental song recalls Celtic alt-rock of the 1980s and bands and artists including U2, The Waterboys, The Pogues, Big Country, Sinead O’Conner and The Alarm, as well as later bands including The Cranberries and The Frames.

Specifically, “Giant’s Causeway” leans Irish, though there’s Scottish Celtic in there as well. It’s a mix that’s best pinned to Northern Ireland and its often rocky blend of two similar but subtly distinct cultures.

The “Giant’s Causeway” title — taking its name from a collection of seaside columns along the North Channel separating Northern Ireland from Scotland — is meant to capture the Irish and Scottish mix that makes up Celtic music and culture.

The Giant’s Causeway is a natural wonder made famous in the music world on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” record.

The legend of the Giant’s Causeway is classic Celtic folklore. The volcanic columns are said to be the remains of a causeway built by Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill, who was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner.

The song, in its own simple way, is also meant to show how the music and cultures of Irish Catholics and Scottish Protestants can harmoniously blend together and bridge differences. 

“Giant’s Causeway” starts with a driving, rising verse propelled by a 12-string acoustic guitar, a six-string acoustic and an electric guitar played through a chorus effect, getting that chiming sound common in the 1980s.

The verse builds and then gives way to a rich, welcoming electric guitar melody that recalls Big Country and Echo and the Bunneymen.

From there, the song moves to a vivid, dramatic chorus with a haunting, memorable violin melody that is both pretty and melancholic, in the Irish folk tradition of songs of longing and lament.

The verse returns for a second time with a keyboard-simulated dulcimer adding an electronic folk feel.

And a new addition: A banjo! For reals! My wife just graciously bought me a five-string banjo after I mentioned the song really called out for it.

I’m still learning to play it, but you’ll hear basic pluckin’ on the bridge and final chorus.

The song breaks down midway with 12- and six-string guitars playing a drone-like chord pattern of G major to a B minor with an added G played as an open string.

The acoustic guitars are joined by a droning bass guitar, banjo and a spirited electric guitar with hammer-ons and pull-offs for a folk sound.

Then comes a realistic keyboard simulation of Irish uilleann pipes, smaller than Scottish bagpipes with a distinct duck-call tone.

The bridge is full Irish folk song. To me, it evokes mental images of an Irish traveler caravan with people playing music around a campfire.

That transitions perfectly back into the violin chorus with the uilleann pipes continuing for dramatic effect.

The verse then repeats for a third time, with an enveloping, echoing, cathedral-like electric guitar.

The electric lead borrows inspiration from U2 and Big Country, which used chiming guitars run through effects to create Gaelic and Celtic sounds.

The passage is made up of three guitars playing the same part, each with different but complementing effects. The main guitar is played through a cavernous echo. The second is run through a modulating effect, while the third is a rotary or organ sound. 

The layering technique is borrowed from Robin Gutherie of Scotland’s Cocteau Twins, who used layered, processed guitars to create a wall of sound.

Drums are by my cousin and music partner Matt Jones. He recorded two different main drum parts and the booming Celtic drums on the bridge.

May 5, 2023

Giant's Causeway

“Retrograde” is an alt-rock instrumental that mixes jazzy, groovy verses with a lush, pretty prechorus and chorus, echoing a range of influences and a grab bag of sounds and styles.

The song builds on some familiar precursors, namely British alternative bands World Party, The The, The Style Council, James, The Lightning Seeds, Razorlight and Richard Ashcroft and The Verve (just to name a few!). There’s even some Carol King in there.

I’ve been listening to all the above recently and was inspired by the way they use piano in many songs.

“Retrograde” features a jazzy, even bluesy piano verse that gives way to a brighter, chiming piano melody on the chorus.

While piano is front and center, the song is actually built around jazzy guitar chords — A minor, G minor 9 and E minor and D with open strings thrown in — to get an airy, exotic feel.

When I first came up with the verse on guitar, it sounded a lot like the 1964 classic “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondells. 

While that influence is still in there, the song went on to take a jazzier feel.

Guitar, piano and bass are the heart of “Retrograde.” Layered on those are moody, synth strings and a synth cello to add weight and tension to the verse.

As on most songs on this Soundcloud, drumming is by my cousin and music partner Matt Jones. He nails the dynamic range of the song and soars with some amazing, rolling Oasis-style fills throughout and particularly on the ending chorus ride out.

By our standards, the song is slower at 125 beats per minute. That really gives Matt some room for transitions and fills.

The song’s prechorus is a buildup with a tease of the actual chorus. In it, the tense and groovy verse starts to give way to lush, lofty and sweet passages, while still interspersing the main riff of the verse. 

Then the chorus finally arrives with a ringing acoustic guitar and a charming, memorable piano part.

As an instrumental, each verse is varied to keep the listener engaged. 

The first verse starts quietly with just piano, guitar, bass and strings with a hi-hat keeping the beat. 

Then a big fill ushers in full drumming, a cello and a segueway to the prechorus.

The second verse features a keyboard-simulated jazz flute lead (insert your “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” joke here!).

Following a bridge, breakdown and incredible drum fill by Matt, the third verse features an ultra cool sounding xylophone lead, also played on a keyboard.

The song ends with a trumpet playing a variation on the chorus melody.

“Retrograde” was recorded using a Spire Studio device and app with tracks then transferred to Adobe Audition for mixing and mastering.

Matt and I traded tracks back and forth between Southern California and Monterey.

The name “Retrograde” was picked largely because it sounds cool. It has astrological and astronomy meanings, but that wasn’t really the motivation.

Along with sounding cool, the title was picked for some of the song’s throwback feel to bands in the late 1980s, 1990s and even early 2000s.

The song art recalls the retro-cool cover cases for VHS videotapes from the 1980s and ’90s.

July 23, 2023

Retrograde

“Nothing New” is a brash punk rock instrumental inspired by the golden age of the genre.

The song draws on memories of British punk bands the Sex Pistols, The Damned, Buzzcocks and the Southern California punk they inspired, including X, Black Flag, Adolescents, Middle Class and more.

“Nothing New” is also inspired by New York punk rock after recently seeing “CBGB,” a 2013 biographical drama about the famed East Village club.

While New York punk wasn’t as hard as the British or California varieties, the scenes with the band Television in particular sparked interest in doing a punk song.

Drums are by my cousin and collaborator Matt Jones, who nails it with tight, driving playing throughout the song.

Matt and I grew up as kids of the punk era. Some of our earliest times playing together were doing loud, thrashing punk-inspired songs in a garage or bedroom.

“Nothing New” is a celebration of our early days, but with more polish and experience.

Recording and mastering the song was a challenge. The goal was to capture gritty punk rawness while also giving the song some professional finish, like the Sex Pistols, The Damned or X had in their recordings.

“Nothing New” is built around a driving, taunting guitar verse and a lively chorus that evokes the Buzzcocks’ “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays.”

In the middle is a breakdown that features a classic thumping bass and tribal drums found on many punk songs.

The title “Nothing New” comes from some lyrics I played with for the chorus while creating the song: “Nothing new, nothing new, I’m turning blue because there’s nothing new.”

While I didn’t get any farther than that with lyrics, the “Nothing New” phrase seems to capture the spirit of punk angst.

Aug. 25, 2023

Nothing New

“Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul” is driving rock song with a mind-blowing middle breakdown and buildup.

The song is somewhere between rock and hard rock, more Neil Young and “Rockin' in the Free World” or Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at their hardest, than, say, Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin.

As with all songs here, this is really alt-rock with a hard edge, with echoes of Cracker, The Smithereens, Oasis, Libertines and Arctic Monkeys.

The song is built around a verse that mildly recalls “Rockin' in the Free World” with a powerful rhythm guitar, stack amp lead and gritty rock organ.

The organ takes the lead for the more melodic chorus.

The song’s defining feature: the middle breakdown and buildup.

It’s a nod to Calexico, a Tuscon, Ariz., band known for mixing alt-rock with mariachi but also for spanning a wide range of styles. They’re one of my favorites.

On a couple Calexico songs played live, “Not Even Stevie Nicks” and “All Systems Red,” the band, one of the best around, does extended breakdowns and buildups that culminate in well orchestrated noise with wailing guitars and pounding drums.
 
After the second chorus of “Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul,” the song breaks down with strummed and picked guitars in a pretty, dreamy break from the harder verse and chorus.

From there, the music gradually builds up with more distorted lead guitars, syncopated rhythm guitars and drums dramatically accenting the beat as an emotional, cathartic guitar line soars above it all, reaching the highest fret on the neck for the final notes.

My cousin and musical partner Matt Jones is like a runaway train conductor on drums, taking the middle section from slow and graceful to overwhelming power and drive.

His playing, inspired by Oasis, propels the song throughout with pounding cymbals, sharp snare hits and power fills.

After the dizzying middle section, the song seamlessly returns to the verse and chorus for a final time before ending.

The tracks you’ll find here on this Soundcloud are a mix of songs I first came up with in my youth in the 1980s and ’90s and are rerecorded here with polish and professionalism, or, in the case of “Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul,” recent compositions.

To those who love music, you know it serves many purposes: joy, sadness, excitement and raw energy stress relief.

This song has a little bit of all of those, but the last one for sure! 

I came up with the verse banging out some chords to decompress with the song evolving from there.

The title — different, I know — is a line from Don McLean’s classic “American Pie”:

“Do you believe in rock 'n' roll? Can music save your mortal soul?”

The lyric, and its use as a title here, speaks to the redeeming and reaffirming power of music.

After some tough weeks at work, there was a period where I wasn’t listening to much music and couldn’t seem to enjoy anything.

That brought to mind another lyric, from Libertines’ “Good Old Days”:

“If you’ve lost your faith in love and music, oh, the end won’t be long.”

"Can Music Help Save Your Mortal Soul" helped me get past that existential funk, with the title seeming like a good fit.

Oct. 2, 2023

Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul

“Fire in the Rain” is a modern take on 1980s alt-rock with moody guitar and bass, dramatic synth strings and driving drums.

The instrumental song invokes Joy Division on the bass and drum intro and then goes wider with echoes of The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen and the modern day work of Johnny Marr, The Smiths guitarist who channels the sound of 1980s in his present day solo work. 

Like some other songs on this Soundcloud, “Fire in the Rain” is from the archive — a redo of a song I came up with and recorded on a Tascam Portastudio multitrack cassette recorder back in the 1980s.

As with other updated versions of earlier songs, the recoding, playing and production benefit from experience, better instruments and digital technology.

While songs on our Soundcloud vary in style, “Fire in the Rain” is our sweet spot — alt-rock from the birth and heyday of the genre, when it was known as new wave or post punk.

The song is simple with a monotone verse of two chords just a half step apart, giving that Joy Division or The Cure feel.

It then goes bigger and wider with a soaring synth string chorus that provides relief from the tense verse. 

The chorus is actually two parts with a melodic chord progression that gives way to a repeated two-chord pattern of B minor to C major (similar to the verse) and then a release to D major.

The breakdown after the second chorus features the same verse chords played more softly with a chiming guitar harmonic melody lead on top of deep strings and a sweeping synth.

Drumming is by my cousin and longtime music partner Matt Jones. His work is always outstanding, but his drumming on “Fire in the Rain” is one of his best performances.

His playing starts out fairly conventional before going off the hook. You start getting the feel on the first and second choruses where straight drumming starts to give way to rolling, polyrhythmic fill patterns.

Matt’s drumming culminates on the rideout, which turns into rolling drumming, perfectly in time, along with rising guitars and keyboards.

“Fire in the Rain” was recorded quickly, over a week or so after some time spent revisiting the original recording for reference.

With some basic tracks in place, Matt added drums, and then final guitar and keyboard overdubs were recorded.

Like others here, the song was recorded using a Spire Studio device with Matt and me trading files between Southern and Northern California. 

“Fire in the Rain” was then mastered in Adobe Audition.

The title comes from some basic lyrics for the song that were never recorded as vocals because we’re not signers!

But we hope you enjoy the instrumental.

Nov. 9, 2023

Fire In The Rain

Chunky rhythm guitars, epic horns, swirling, soulful organ and a pumping bass that goes out for a walk atop a driving Memphis Soul drum beat.

All of that and more comes together for “Working Threads,” a groovy, danceable, soul-inspired instrumental.

The song pays tribute to the Memphis Soul era of the 1960s and ’70s, with nods as well to Motown and the Northern Soul revival movement in Britain in the 1960s.

Borrowing from Motown arrangements, the song starts with a chorus of rising horns, organ, rhythm guitar, bass and driving drums.

Then comes the ultra cool verse with scratchy rhythm guitar, organ and bass.

Bass is one of the stars of “Working Threads.” In the verse and chorus, the bass is like a steamroller, driving the song forward with a fierce intensity before giving way to liberating runs.

And you can’t miss the wah-wah guitar accent. It comes late in the verse and is used a transition to the chorus, sounding like a funky big cat roar.

Percussion is from my cousin and musical partner Matt Jones. 

Throughout the song, he masters the four-beat Memphis Soul drum style. It’s fairly simple and consistent, by design. 

Matt plays with razor precision, hitting just about every beat and varying with sharp snare fills and cymbal crashes.

Tambourine and street party handclaps are added to the verse’s bluesy turnaround and on the bigger chorus.

On the chorus, horns are the star, giving that powerful Memphis Soul sound.

Throughout the song, there’s a staccato transition where horns and other instruments sharply hit each of four beats (and eight for the song’s conclusion).

It’s a technique inspired by the godfather of soul himself, James Brown. You can almost hear him doing his signature shout “hit me band” as each beat is stomped out.

“Working Threads” changes it up on the bridge, which is pure Motown.

Softer and prettier than the edgy verse and powerful chorus, the bridge features a bubbling organ, lighter, jazzier rhythm guitar, rhythmic shaker and, in Motown fashion, a string arrangement that crescendos back to the song’s staccato transition stomp.

For the third verse, a distorted, 1970s-feel guitar solo jumps in for the gritty sound of the era.

The song ends with an extended chorus with additional horns playing a bump-bump-bump-bah line before building up to an eight-beat stomp of each note by the entire band.

“Working Threads” is a current, recent composition. It has a distinct inspiration: 1968’s "Big Bird" by Eddie Floyd, one of the greats of Memphis-based Stax Records and the Memphis Soul sound.

While proud of “Working Threads,” we stand in awe of Floyd and other soul greats and can only aspire to their intrinsic mastery of the genre.

“Working Threads” was a labor of love with a lot of blood, sweat and near tears. 

The song composition itself is fairly straightforward. The challenge comes in the playing — the lively rhythmic guitar, the swirling organ, the active bass line and precision drumming.

And we hit some technical snags, including a first drum track that didn’t sync up in the mastering software, a hi-hat that was too loud and a failed attempt to add a Ray Charles-inspired Fender Rhodes electric piano lead on the second verse.

In the end, it was all meant to be with the final product better for it all. 

“Working Threads” was recorded using a Spire Studio device and app with tracks then transferred to Adobe Audition for mixing and mastering. Matt and I traded tracks back and forth between Southern California and Monterey.

The song title comes from a line we remember (though can’t precisely find in scripts) from the “Adios, Johnny Bravo” episode of “The Brady Bunch.”

That’s the one where Greg Brady is tapped to become rock star Johnny Bravo because he “fits the suit” — a classic 1970s-fashion ensemble.

The phrase also is 1970s slang, fitting with the feel and inspiration of “Working Threads.”

Dec. 3, 2023

Working Threads

“Arcade” is a modern take on a moment in the mid- to late 1970s when glam rock gave way to new wave.

The alt-rock instrumental starts with a raunchy guitar riff, recalling ’70s glam greats Sweet, Slade and even the Rolling Stones as they dabbled in the style.

“Arcade” then transitions to a bright, swirling synthesizer chorus inspired by the Buzzcocks and offshoot Magazine and Pete Shelley’s solo work.

The song captures how new wave took unadorned glam and punk and added melody and song craft while still keeping things simple.

The bridge of “Arcade,” coming after the second chorus, is also a mix of styles.

The heavy, darker guitar chord progression is both glam and punk. Subtly layered on top are spacey synths, recalling Gary Numan and Tubeway Army.

The bridge builds to a climax with an enigmatic,1980s-sounding guitar lead. Funny enough, the bridge guitar lead was inspired Ace Frehely’s dramatic guitar bridge on “Detroit Rock City.”

From there, the song returns to the verse with a soaring organ lead, inspired by The Damned, who seamlessly blended punk and rock organ with “I Just Can't Be Happy Today” as a standout example.

“Arcade” is an entirely new song, developed over a few weeks in late 2023 and early 2024.

This Soundcloud is a mix of songs I came up with in the 1980s and ’90s and then redid, or, as with “Arcade,” are newly created songs.

Extensive guitar, bass, keyboard and drum tracks were recorded using a Spire Studio device and then mastered in Adobe Audition.

A note on drums: my cousin Matt Jones, who amazingly drums on some 30 songs here, is taking a break.

So drums on “Arcade” are keyboard loops with cymbals and fills added via drum sets in GarageBand.  

The “Arcade” title and cover art seemed to fit the era that the song draws on. It also plays well with the happy, upbeat chorus of “Arcade.”

Jan. 28, 2024

Arcade

“Vocera” is a bright, dreamy alt-rock instrumental and a modern take on 1960s baroque flower pop.

While entirely original, the song is Beatlesesque with some additional influence nods to The La’s, Tears for Fears at their dreamiest, the most recent work of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and British band James at their liveliest.

“Vocera” is driven by strummed acoustic guitars, a synth string melody on the verse and an evocative French horn interplaying with a warm, processed electric guitar on the chorus.

After listening to several times, the chorus melody has an unintentional, subtle echo of “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

This is an entirely new song developed over a few weeks in late January and early February 2024.

On this Soundcloud, you’ll find a mix of songs I came up with in the 1980s and ’90s and have redone, or, as with “Vocera,” created entirely new more recently.

With this one, I wanted to come up with a song built around a bright, lively chord progression.

“Vocera” revolves around a four-chord verse and prechorus, and then a complementary chorus with a transition back to the verse.

The bridge is a dark, moody and dramatic change, based on an A minor and B flat progression I made up decades ago and worked in here.

Extensive guitar, keyboard and drum tracks were recorded using a Spire Studio device and then mastered in Adobe Audition.

Drums are a pretty good, realistic-sounding loop with cymbals and toms added via a drum set in GarageBand to add variety and to punctuate changes.

The song is highly produced. Early versions were messy and undefined. To get more clarity, parts were rerecorded, and individual tracks were painstakingly edited, raising volume here or lowering there.

The end result is a bright, lively “Yellow Submarine” power pop feel.  

The “Vocera” title comes from how Spanish-language television refers to my work colleague to mean spokeswoman. It’s a lot prettier, and seemed to lend itself to a song title.

Feb. 18, 2024

Vocera

For those about to rock …

“Leap Year” is a guitar-driven alt-rock instrumental that spans a range of influences in a modern, original song.

The song is built around a brash guitar intro, groovy verse and anthemic chorus with a cool bridge in between.

As points of reference, “Leap Year” evokes several influences.

One is John Mellencamp’s 1983 heartland rock classic “Crumblin’ Down.” Both songs share driving, but not heavy, electric guitars combined with acoustic guitar in a modern nod to the earliest rock ‘n’ roll songs.

And see if you can’t unhear this afterward: There are subtle echoes of the early “MTV Theme Song (Man on the Moon)” in the driving guitar riff.

As with many things, The Who isn’t far in influence on the driving power pop of “Leap Year.” Then there are traces of Tom Petty and even Thin Lizzy in there. 

See what you hear in it. My wife Diane hears echoes of Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom” in the chorus!

In terms of the song’s place in the world, The Replacements of Minneapolis are a pretty good touch point with their songs versed in classic rock but delivered as modern alt-rock.

In just about all I do, including here, alt-rock great Johnny Marr is a big influence with his modern songs reflecting genres that came before. 

The song is a relatively new composition from what I jokingly call “the middle ages.”

I’ve been doing music since the 1980s, and many songs on Soundcloud here are modern remakes from the 1980s and ’90s.

Others are entirely new and done more recently.

“The middle ages” refers to a period about 10 years when I took up music again after a long break for family and work.

It’s a direct line to where I’m at now — doing music for fun, stress relief and the love of it.

When I first got back into it, I had a rush of creativity and came up with several songs.

There’s a couple already on this Soundcloud from that time: “Quarantine” and “Dream In Between.”

Now add “Leap Year” to that group.

Despite potential, I’d been sitting on the song for a while, turning to and then turning away from it several times. 

It is a straightforward, simple rock song, to be sure. But the verse, with its bouncy three-chord pattern and then ringing acoustic guitar, takes a bit of time to get used to playing against a steady four-four beat. 

The chorus of the song is actually new, added for this recording. It’s classic, catchy arena rock that sticks in your ear.

The song is built around several electric guitar parts, an acoustic guitar, bass and organ on the chorus. 

Drums are a realistic sounding loop, plus a new addition: an electronic drum pad I just got and used to add cymbals and tom fills to vary up the drum pattern. 

The song was recorded using a Spire Studio device and then mastered in Adobe Audition and came together in a couple weeks.

The “Leap Year” title takes its name from today, Feb. 29, in the leap year of 2024, the first since 2020.

The artwork is just weirdly fun with a guy in a spacesuit playing guitar on a hill, sort of evoking the song’s MTV moon man influence.

Feb. 29, 2024

Leap Year

“Museum of Lovers” is an alt-pop instrumental that’s impossible not to like.

The song is glorious and uplifting with ringing guitars, warm synth strings, chiming keyboards, bubbly bass, jangling tambourine and commanding drums. 

While original, like any song, there are influences.

See what you hear. Some include R.E.M., Stone Roses, The Who, The New Pornographers, The Smiths and Johnny Marr.

And you wouldn’t be wrong to hear some Rush at their poppiest with echoes of “The Spirit of Radio” in the airy, plucked guitar.

The song’s hallmark arpeggio guitar opens “Museum of Lovers” and continues throughout.

A drum buildup then brings in a complement of lead and rhythm guitar, bass, full drums and tambourine before being joined by synth strings on the prechorus.

The chorus is pure power pop, with a three-chord stomp reminiscent of The Who.

“Museum of Lovers” is built around three repeated verses that add new arrangement each time.

The first verse is a standard four-piece sound with rhythm and lead guitars playing off each other atop bass and drums.

The second verse adds a lush synth string melody that soars over the rising chord progression.

The bridge features a chiming keyboard contrasted with an intensifying string melody.

Tambourine plays a key role on the bridge, increasing in tempo to help build the section’s climax before returning to the chorus.

To build anticipation for the final verse and triumphant ending chorus, everything stops for a drum break and fill recalling The Beatles or Oasis.

The final verse is pure joy with an endearing keyboard lead that hands off to powerful melodic guitar lead on the prechorus through the ending chorus.

“Museum of Lovers” marks a return to working with my cousin, drummer and longtime musical partner Matt Jones after a brief break. 

His drumming is always great, but on “Museum of Lovers” he delivers one of his best performances yet.

The song is near midtempo and ballad-like in parts. But, rather than going light on drums, “Museum of Lovers” benefits from strong, steady drumming interspersed with big rolling fills, all high up in the mix.

You wouldn’t know by listening, but Matt actually delivered this amazing performance while sick as a dog with a stomach bug. Whatever it was, it worked.

The song’s distinctive sound comes from a guitar chord progression that utilizes open high strings. 

As a music geek, my Instagram feed is filled with music stuff, including guitar tips and tricks and one that gave birth to “Museum of Lovers.”

The song came together quickly in April and May.

Like others on this SoundCloud, the song was recorded using a Spire Studio device with Matt and me trading files between Southern and Northern California.

While recorded apart, “Museum of Lovers” was one of those songs that brings back memories of Matt and me effortlessly playing together in garages and bedrooms when we were kids.

“Museum of Lovers” was mastered and finalized, with a lot of precise mixing, in Adobe Audition.

The title is a borrowed phrase from No Doubt’s song “Bathwater.”

“Museum of Lovers” came together around the time of Coachella, where No Doubt reunited for the first time in nearly a decade.

The reunion was a major cultural phenomenon for Anaheim, where I work as head of communications for the city.

Like others, I enjoyed seeing the band reunite and got caught up in the excitement around their Coachella shows.

“Bathwater,” which mixes ska, power pop and a campy, cabaret chorus, details insecurity about dating someone attractive and promiscuous.

It starts with the line: “You and your museum of lovers, the precious collection you've housed in your covers.”

The phrase stuck. Used here, it is meant to be evocative, dreamy and passionate.

The song’s art is a picture taken by me in Paris. It’s of the "Umbrella Sky Project," a public art display of 800 colorful umbrellas above a shopping arcade.

May 12, 2024

Museum of Lovers

“Badoit” is an oddly strange alt-rock instrumental that abruptly shifts between a jazzy, bluesy verse and an explosive, flamboyant chorus.

The song is a mix of highs and low, quiet and loud and brooding and dramatic.

While original, there are influences on “Badoit.” 

There are obvious blues and jazz on the verse and glam rock on the chorus. 

Other influences include early goth alt-rock with Bauhaus and offshoot Love and Rockets, as well as, more contemporary, Britain’s Kasabian and The Libertines.

The quiet-loud style is reminiscent of a lot of songs, including David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” “Baby You’re a Rich Man” by the Beatles and a lot of Nirvana tracks.

But there’s one deep-seated inspiration: Kate Bush’s power ballad “Babooshka,” which features a jazzy verse and extravagant chorus.  

On “Badoit,” thick, warm bass guitar leads the song.

For the intro, the bass starts off alongside a dark piano and builds up to a tense verse with dark Quincy Jones-style synth strings.

The prechorus features a bass run that stands nearly by itself with just a swing drum track behind it.

Then, all of a sudden, the dark quiet of the verse gives way to a bombastic chorus of electric guitars, piano and lively bass. It’s startling if you’re not expecting it.

The chorus has a decadent feel of glam rock, cabaret, even swashbuckling pirates.

From there, “Badoit” repeats the quiet verse a second time and then goes to a slightly longer version of the boisterous chorus.

The second chorus gives way to a bridge, or unique middle section typical of standard song composition. 

Bridges are some of the funniest parts of a song to create and record as they’re a chance to do something different within the confines of a larger song.

Here, the bridge is a mini symphony in an otherwise stark piece with rising synth strings, dramatic, deep descending horns and marching band-style snare drum. 

After the bridge, the verse is revisited for a third time before the final chorus takes off with a driving guitar solo.

The song’s intro then repeats as an outro, this time with a jazzy, torch song synth trumpet. Then “Badoit” dissolves with a final piano chord.

“Badoit” is a bit of self indulgence and the kind of song a sales-minded record label might hate. That’s the fun of it!

Like some other songs on this Soundcloud, what became “Badoit” was an early composition from my 1980s youth recording on a Tascam multitrack tape recorder. 

The early version had more guitar than bass, and, like many early lo-fi bedroom recordings, was unpolished and unwieldy.

But the big chorus really stood out and made revisiting and recreating this one worth it. 

“Badoit” was recorded using a Spire Studio device and then mastered in Adobe Audition and came together in a month or so.

The song title is an homage to my favorite French sparking water, Badoit (with all brand rights respected for what is a noncommercial song).

The Badoit name, pronounced bad-wah, just seemed to fit the tone of the song.

The song artwork also pays tribute to Badoit, echoing the brand’s unique roundel, or target symbol, in shades of green. 

“Badoit” is dedicated to my cousin and longtime musical partner Matt Jones, whose fantastic drumming is featured on most of the songs on this Soundcloud.

Matt was unable to play on this one. I look forward to reuniting with him soon.

June 28, 2024

Badoit

“Alberta Terminals” is a roots rock instrumental with touches of alt-country, rock and blues.

The song pays homage to several influences, including R.E.M. and Minneapolis bands Velvet Smog and The Jayhawks. 

Like those groups, “Alberta Terminals” mines folk, Americana, soul, bluegrass, country and rock and blends it together in a mishmash.

The song is made up of a verse, prechorus transition, bouncy chorus and a dramatic bridge. 

At the core of “Alberta Terminals” is a 12-string acoustic guitar, electric bass, piano and drums.

On top of that is a violin melody on the lead verse, a banjo lead on the second, soulful organ on the prechorus and a twangy guitar lead on the third verse.

The song is pretty and poppy throughout with some harder edges here and there 

The extended outro builds up with swirling, chaotic piano, driving bass and intense fills and other drumming by my cousin and musical partner Matt Jones.

The song takes its name from the Alberta Terminals grain elevator in Lethbridge, Alberta. It’s also the song’s cover art.

The terminal building is an icon of the plains, providing visual representation of the song’s heartland feel. 

Like others on this Soundcloud, “Alberta Terminals” was recorded using a Spire Studio device with Matt and me trading files between Southern and Northern California.

The song took several weeks and attempts to get the swing of, with days of overdubs and mastering.

Jan. 16, 2025

Alberta Terminals

“Glow” is alt-rock instrumental that evokes Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Smiths and other bands of the 1980s and early ’90s.

The song is built around a bratty guitar line that echoes “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones and “Hash Pipe” by Weezer.

The guitar melody draws influence from Echo & the Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant, who brought twinges of sitar-style flourish to his alt-rock playing.

The song's two-part chorus is glorious, pretty and warm and easily transitions from the tense and darker verse.

The chorus draws on parts of The Who’s “The Who Sell Out,” which features some gorgeous 1960s baroque pop on “I Can’t Reach You” and “Our Love Was.”

That era of Pete Townshend is always an influence, as it was on so much alt-rock. 

The second half of the chorus features a memorable guitar melody set against climbing synth strings before culminating in a jangly plucked guitar refrain.

After the second chorus, “Glow” goes into a dramatic bridge that recalls “Spellbound” from Siouxsie and the Banshees with dashing acoustic guitar, a ringing strum on an electric guitar and driving tribal drums.

Then it’s back to the verse with a little dark, pinging synth melody and then a final chorus.

“Glow” comes in a tight three and a half minutes and follows a conventional format of verse, chorus and bridge.

The song is an original composition that dates back to the early 1990s and my days of bedroom recording on a Tascam multitrack cassette recorder. 

The archive recording of what would become “Glow” was pretty good — reflecting my advanced stage of recording back then.

I rediscovered the song while mining my archive in search of something to remake. 

While a lot of the songs on this Soundcloud explore different genres, including soul, country, classic rock, electronica and more, “Glow” is me in my natural habitat of carefully crafted post-punk, new wave and alt-rock.

Like others on this Soundcloud, “Glow” was recorded using a Spire Studio device and mastered using Adobe Audition.

Instruments include extensive guitars, keyboards, bass and a steady digital drum beat with some electronic tom fills and cymbals added.

The song was recorded over several months and held as some life things got in the way.

May 12, 2025

Glow

“Lady Petrol” is a time capsule of influences from a unique period from the late 1970s to early ’80s.

It’s a time when several styles converged — glam rock, power pop, new wave and power pop — all on the heels of punk rock. 

“Lady Petrol” echoes several bands and artists of this transitional period, including Sweet, T. Rex and David Bowie, The Babys, The Police, Cheap Trick and The Knack, and even Tommy Tutone's “867-5309/Jenny” and Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like a Lady).”

The song is accessible rock with its brash power chord intro, big, sassy brass verse, moody, cello-driven prechorus and clean plucked guitar chorus that evokes so many new wave songs of the era.

The bridge takes an entirely different turn with ringing guitars and strings to create a bright, pretty interlude to an otherwise gallant and bold rock anthem.

As with all of the songs on this Soundcloud, there are no vocals (I can’t sing!).

But “Lady Petrol” is written in a standard verse and chorus format as if there could be vocals.

The song came together relatively quickly after I stumbled upon the power chord riff, though it took some time to figure out melodies and instrumentation. 

“Lady Petrol” is relatively simple with a standard guitar, bass and drum foundation with brass and other touches added.

The entire song was recorded on a Spire Studio device and mastered in Adobe Audition using electric guitar, bass, synth brass and other keyboards.

The drum track is good sounding software program with cymbals and tambourine added via keyboard.

The title is 
British slang for alcohol preferred by ladies as social fuel, hence lady petrol.

I heard it recently in “Mobland,” the British crime family drama, where Pierce Brosnan’s character says to his flask-swigging wife, played by Helen Mirren, “ease up on the lady petrol.”

July 21, 2025

Lady Petrol

“Fever Dream” is a trip down a rabbit hole of dance, electronica and alt-rock.

The instrumental features propelling guitar, thumping bass, animated synths and driving drums. 

“Fever Dream” is built around a main verse, prechorus and explosive chorus, which takes the danceable beat of the verse and blows it up big with distorted guitar and a soaring, modulating synth effect.

About halfway in is a trippy bridge with eerie synth voices that provides a brief respite from the frenetic pace of most of “Fever Dream.”

From there, the song slowly builds back to the its main beat and returns to the main verse with a funky, crowd pleasing wah-wah guitar part.

“Fever Dream” draws on 1980s dance, ’90s house, alt-rock and today’s EDM. Ultimately, it’s a grab bag, mixing old school alt-rock rock with modern electronica with a lot in between.

There are some specific influences.

New York’s Luscious Jackson, which mixed alt-rock, hip-hop and dance in the 1990s, is a big one. 

So are British trip hop artists Gorillaz, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and offshoot Tricky.

Others aren’t as obvious: Simple Minds, which blended new wave with dance in the ’80s; the grunge of Nirvana on the heavy guitar chorus; “The Fly” from U2’s “Achtung Baby” for the wah-wah guitar line; and, an obscure one — 1980s alt-rock L.A. band Downey Mildew, whose “Experience in the Far Southwest” inspired the bridge.

“Fever Dream” is an entirely new song that came together quickly over the past few weeks.

It joins other recent compositions on this Soundcloud alongside remakes of songs from my early days recording during and after college.

The song was recorded on a Spire Studio device using a Fender Stratocaster played through a Boss GT-100 effects processor. 

Synth and keyboards are from a Yamaha YPT-300 as well as the GarageBand app on an iPad.

While relatively simple, the piano on the second verse posed the biggest challenge.

Synth piano sounds never quite live up to the real thing. So, after unsatisfying nine tries on a keyboard and Garageband, I went down to the Downtown Anaheim Community Center to use a baby grand they have there. It was great!

The drums are from an app called Quick Drummer, which features a range of realistic sounding beats in various styles. This one is “Pop 7,” which provides a fitting, steady dance beat.

Minimal crash and ride cymbals were added using a Pyle drum pad.

“Fever Dream” was mixed and mastered in Adobe Audition. 

The song’s title comes from a vivid, intense fever-fueled dream and captures the music’s fervent, dreamy out-of-body feel. 

Throughout “Fever Dream” and especially on the chorus, you can envision a crowd of people dancing amid lights and pulsating music at some club.

The song art tries to capture that feel.

Aug. 10, 2025


Fever Dream

“Warm Jets” is an instantly likeable instrumental that evokes 1980s post-punk and new wave. 
In
The song is made up almost entirely of modern sounding guitars — a main chorus rhythm topped with multiple lead parts run through different effects.

There’s no bass but rather a pumping synth bass cello sound that propels the song. Drums are a prerecorded beat with some added cymbals.

The result is a soaring, bouncy anthem with some twists and turns. While an original composition, influences include U2, Simple Minds, Big Country and The Cure.

The songs of this Soundcloud are new, recent compositions alongside remakes of tracks from my early days recording in and after college.

What would become “Warm Jets” has its roots in those early days of recording in the 1980s and ’90s.

From time to time, I’ll go back and mine old recordings, bringing better technology, arrangement and playing to what often were some good but not always well executed ideas. 

“Warm Jets” was more of a jam than a strictly structured song. That made recreating a bit challenging. 

Recordings from the old days often wound up at a different tuning, so I had to down tune a guitar to figure out the chords and other guitar parts. 

“Warm Jets” is made up of largely open string chords using the first and fifth notes of the chords — creating a ringing, airy sound.

The chorus is an abrupt switch to a dramatic F chord with a dissonant lead melody, followed by an A9 chord and rising, triumphant guitar line.

For variety, there’s a bridge about two-thirds through that follows a similar melody to the verse but provides some varation.

“Warm Jets” was recorded on a Spire Studio device using a Fender Stratocaster played through a Boss GT-100 effects processor. 

The synth and added cymbals are from a Yamaha YPT-300 keyboard with a GarageBand synth on the bridge.

The drum beat is from an app called Quick Drummer, which features a range of realistic sounding beats in various styles.

The song’s name draws inspiration from the title track of Brian Eno’s “Here Come the Warm Jets” album, which itself is thought to refer to a “warm jet guitar” processed electric guitar sound that evokes a steady, warm jet engine.

The song’s artwork tries to capture that feel.

Sept. 15, 2025

Warm Jets

Exploring sounds and styles in the love of great music — that's what I do.

I make music for fun, recording using guitar and keyboards and composing and arranging instrumentals.

My go-to is alternative, particularly British varieties, but I love many different styles and experiment with them. You'll hear mod-influenced Northern Soul, classic rock, 1970s glam and pre-punk, post-punk, punk, surf, cowboy country, synth pop and even a bit of House electronica and dance. More to come! All rights reserved.

Mike Lyster

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