I’m surprised that no one correctly guessed Superdrag as my 40th band. They’ve been one of my favorite bands since 1995. I’ve traveled to see them play in both NYC and LA (and others for a total of 8 shows). I’ve posted a lot of their music and I wrote a long review of their last release.

When I decided what 40 in 40 would become, I had a very short list of bands to include and Superdrag was at the top of it. The only reason they ended up as the last band is that I just couldn’t settle on a single song. There are literally dozens of tracks that are worthy of my attention (I would’ve had the same problems with both weezer and Pedro The Lion, but I recorded each of those two tracks before I committed to my rule of only one song per band). John Davis is one of my generation’s best rock n roll writers and anyone that didn’t write-off Superdrag as a one-hit wonder has been rewarded with consistently great music.

I slowly narrowed down my choices to five songs that I really loved and felt I could do justice, and ultimately settled on this track because I’ve always felt a really strong connection to how hard it rocks and to it’s lyrics. It felt like a very appropriate way to end this project.

I want rock and roll
but I don’t want to deal with the hassle.
I know what I know
but I don’t want to feel like an asshole.

It’s direct. Suspect. Insects have launched an invasion.
Chosen. Frozen. Poison in my vaccination.
I’m gonna figure out what’s mine
and keep it close to me.
It’s supposed to be.

I’ve got rock and roll
and it used to deliver me sweetly
I’m not gullible
but I feel like I’ve lost it completely.

Let’s make the most of it right now.
Let’s make the most of what we’ve got -
God only knows where it came from.
Let’s make the most of it right now.
Why is it hard to imagine
making life worth the distraction from now on?

I’m gonna figure out what’s mine
and keep it close to me.
It’s supposed to be.

Thank you to everyone that listened, liked, and reblogged over the past 40 days. Your support, both public and private, kept me motivated on the bad days and pushed me to be better on the good days. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Originally recorded: April 17, 2011

40 in 40

Keep It Close To Me

Listen: I’m exhausted. This project has taken up, quite honestly, every minute of my free time for the past 30 days. There have been days when I questioned why I was even bothering, why anyone was listening, if anyone actually cared, and if it was worth all the lost sleep, skipped meals, and increased stress.

Despite good effort and steadfast dedication, many of these covers have just disappointed me. Those days are tough.

But then sometimes I record a cover like this one and, despite having only eaten a bowl of rice for dinner and despite typing this up at 1:30am and despite the fact that I still have 10 more long days of this ahead of me, I feel good about myself. This isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty good.

Originally recorded: April 7, 2011

Pressed Against The Sky

These are a lot quicker to make when I’ve been playing the song for 20 years. It’s nice to be able to jump right in without having to spend any time learning each part. I went with the alternate lyrics on this song because I think they are better than the originals, but I think the impact of the last line of the third verse seems slightly lost with my interpretation.

One of the biggest challenges I’m finding in these songs is having to overdub each new part one at a time. Combine that with the slight latency in my audio interface and the result is fairly sloppy rhythm. The first instrument might be spot-on in time, but the next one is a little bit off, then the next one is a little bit worse, and so on. The end result is that each beat is a little bit wider than it should be.

Also, my hatred for software plugins and amp simulators is growing larger each day. Too many options translates directly to wasted time. I’d much rather throw a couple mics on my Marshall and press record than to have seemingly infinite and redundant options built-in to my computer. There’s something to be said for actually getting your hands on a knob, turning it, and hearing the sound change.

Anyway, musically speaking, I guess this came out as good as could be expected for 4 hours of effort. Frankly, I’d be content to just play that guitar solo endlessly for the rest of my life. I think it’s my favorite solo of all time. Perfectly crafted.

Originally recorded: March 29, 2011

Don't Cry (Alternate Lyrics)

Another beautifully simple song. This one left me with an appreciation for how amazing the mix is on the original; they managed to make two guitars and three voices sound like an orchestra… I managed to make two guitars and three voices sound like music therapy day at your local mental health institution.

Originally recorded: March 18, 2011

Blizzard of '77

This song taught me that my voice is somewhat better when I’m pushing it beyond my threshold of comfort (aka, the verses) than when I’m trying to be a little more gentle in an uncomfortable register (aka, the choruses). I considered singing the choruses down an octave but thought it sounded weird when I tried it, so I didn’t follow through. In hindsight I might have tried again. All that aside… not too bad for a couple hours of work with a song I’d never played before.

Originally recorded: March 17, 2011

My Favorite Game

Clearly I’m a sucker for simple songs with good harmonies.

Originally recorded: March 16, 2011

Lipstick

I’ve wanted to cover this song for 15 years. So much fun.

Originally recorded: March 15, 2011

Silently

This song kicked my ass and my performance is definitely not as good as I wanted it to be, but midnight is fast approaching so this is how it will have to remain.

File under: ♬ I fought this song / and the song won. ♬

Originally recorded: March 14, 2011

Lizzy

Sure, it’s just the same two chords as yesterday, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. Yeah she was the kind of girl that you would give up eating meat for. No more salami. No more, steak and potatoes.

Originally recorded: March 13, 2011

Nosering Girl

This one was simple, fun, and will definitely be a permanent part of my repertoire.

Originally recorded: March 12, 2011

Stranger

Japan on my mind.

Originally recorded: March 11, 2011

Butterfly

Three hours of work.

Originally recorded: March 10, 2011

Cold As Ice

Sometimes you find yourself awake at 2am and you just have to say “fuck it, I’m going to record a cover of a really sad song and it’s not going to be perfect and I’m going to screw up here and there and I’m self conscious about how I sing the R sounds but it doesn’t even matter so just press record.”

Originally recorded: March 9, 2011

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