January's challenge ~ "Somewhere" ~ GZ's contribution

[gecko zzed]

When Upfiddler posted his latest challenged, he fired with both barrels. Barrel one was to write lyrics for a song "about your first bike, your first car, or your first apartment/house" by 31 December. Barrel two was to "develop the material into a fully produced (any genre) piece of music", with a deadline of 31 January.

I started on the music about halfway through the development of the lyrics. I needed to do this to get the lyrics happening properly. As a result the track is ready to be pulled apart.

So I thought I might as well get it up here . . . it gives me a chance to change things before the end of January . . . maybe.

But . . . the mental images generated through preparing this contribution to the challenge so dominated my mind that I felt compelled to create a video to accompany the song.

Here, then, is the result (links are below).

Somewhere

Leather, rubber, oil and dust
Machine Chanel beneath the rust
A carcass rusting in the grass
Silent eyes reflect the past

In satin black I drove the streets
Master of this four-wheeled steed
Proud I sat, so high in seat
A windscreen world in front of me

You were a friend to me
But time got in the way
On the outskirts of importance
The threads began to fray
Somewhere the spark went missing
Somewhere the lights grew dim
Though I recall the surge before
Somewhere I just gave in.

Abandoned in a lonely field
Overgrown with tangled weed
A metal hulk that's now a home
To other creatures more in need

In chariot I crossed the map
The miles slipped by beneath my feet
I drove for love, I drove too far
The boundaries disappeared

You were a friend to me
But time got in the way
On the outskirts of importance
The threads began to fray
Somewhere the spark went missing
Somewhere the lights grew dim
Though I recall the surge before
Somewhere I just gave in.

Here is the video*:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOoAusfjCM&fmt=18

* This is the "watch in high quality" option which gives better results. Watching in "normal quality" sounds pretty rank.

The MP3 is here:
http://www.box.net/shared/8b82bdodlu

[SEDstar]

just reading the lyrics develop the first month... it was like reading the cassette liner lyrics... without hearing the song, you sometimes dont "get it"

just a month more on the music?

huh... pretty cool...

after a couple songs heard frm you now, I am starting to like your slightly low, slightly gravelly voice... kinda like a hint of "Bruce Springsteen" in there somewhere.

the song lyrics READ okay, but after hearing the song?

there's a HINT of bittersweet in it... and in one or two spots here and there, I thought I fancied a HINT of "lost love" of a woman long gone you miss, too...

so, the end result hearing it sung and played, was "more than the sum of the parts", and I felt that slight "twinge" in my gut of a lost love in my own past... but I smiled at the memory... you definitely have some "songcraft" there... even though "technically" is was JUST about a car you liked... smooth, "sideways" metaphor, that catches the listener when they arent looking, like a good left hook you never see coming in a fight.

PS - there was "something" I couldnt "put my finger on" in your singing before, now I know what it was when you slowd down and did the balladsy style... I completely forgot your from oz! (what an idiot I am, I miss the forest for the trees, LMAO)

oddly, when you "wind up" like in anklepants, that pretty much "disappears".



if this is what you call a "rough pass" with 1 month on lyrics, and 1 month on music? *you have skills*

[up-fiddler]

in my view. (Pun intended.) I just got back from two weeks in New Orleans and will start on my recording on Tuesday or Wednesday depending on when I finish the PAYING session demo for a client. I WILL get it in under the deadline wire but there may not be much time to spare. (Again with the puns!) Wonderful effort here, geck. Comments after the 31st will be forthcoming.

[Hakea]

Hi,

What a delightful surprise.

Thoroughly enjoyed the song and the singing. When I read the lyrics I was a bit unsure about "steed" and "chariots" but you can't tell what the effect will really be, or how the singer intends to 'sell' the words until you hear the whole thing, and it all worked fine for me.

For some reason, when I read it (possibly that "steed") I got the impression that it might be about some big old fashioned cruising Harley hog (some of which do have windscreens). So it was a real treat to see all that footage of the old moggies. Was that your own film? You on the black one at the end? Back in the mid 70s I had several Morris Minors, from an old split windscreen side valve, through to a more 'modern' van. Loved that van. I had one or other on the road at various times and 2 or 3 wrecks for bits.

I was often cannibalising for bits. I recall one classic occasion, driving home somewhat exuberantly after a party and stopping outside my shed to turn some lights off. I got back in, drove forward six feet, and the whole front left wheel assembly fell off. At least it stayed attached at the bottom but the threaded trunnion at the top came apart and the wheel, brakes, drum etc all flopped onto the ground. Goodness knows why it waited until I got home and was travelled at virtually zero speed. But it was easy enough to swap out another front suspension the next day. Good times...

Good job all round on the song. Some great lines, well delivered. Particular liked the "outskirts of importance" and the sections immediately before and after that.

Cheers,

Chris

[gecko zzed]

Thanks for your kind words.

The clip of the Morris Minor driving along I found on YouTube. It's actually a relatively new piece of footage that I made look old.

The shot at the end is me sitting on my own Morris, my first car (note the P plates!).

[Hakea]

Ah, thanks for the explanation. That explains why I was having trouble lining up the scenery with my image of Tassie. It's been over 30 years since I visited your state - I took the train from Launceston to Hobart and then explored a bit of the south - but I do remember it had some great scenery.

Cheers,

Chris