Tag Archives: music

Listen, New Song

New Song: Hey hey! Hey ho!

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Hey hey! Hey ho!

I wrote this one-liner on Saturday. Or Sunday. Whichever day I thought was the 20th on that day since I thought today was the 21st.

So I wrote it, then I added the “Hey hey!” and “Hey ho!” parts tonight. Feel free to join in on those sections. It’s fun! Shout it! Strain your throat. I did.

By the way: It surely is a hard thing to try and write and record one song every day, even if that song is only one line with a few words. It’s doubly hard when your throat seizes up due to allergies. Apologies to everyone this had any effect on.

Now, I tried and tried and tried to add several different harmony parts. But I have so little clue on how to add harmony parts.

Then I attempted some drums and a tambourine and even a small children’s xylophone. I thought that was a little much, though. It didn’t work anyhow.

So, I just duplicated the main guitar and vocal track a bunch of times, applied several canned effects, adjusted the volume settings, and wham-oh!

I realize it’s a little bit behind-the-times. A little bit, say, somewhere around 2007 or 1998 or 1987 or 1971 or 1952 or 1536. But, this is folk music that I’m doing. This is a folk song that I’m building one line at a time.

If you call what you do a folk song then you can do whatever you want. I’ve learned that over the years. It’s in the folk music manual.

Look it up.

When it comes right down to it, though, I just really like this line or this verse or how these words go together. The music is way less important.

It is in three-quarter time, though. And everything is better at that speed. Try it. Then you’ll understand.

Note: If you have more than the 2 minutes it takes to listen through the whole song once, I suggest listening at least twice. Once through speakers (computer, or otherwise) and then a second time through headphones. It’s different.

Listen, Talkin' Headline Blues

The Talkin’ Headline Blues #86

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The Talkin' Headline Blues #86

Remember these? Where I grab headlines from CNN.com and make them into a talkin’ blues song?

Haven’t done one since…last October!? So, I figured it’s time to start them up again. Here’s why:

I can only pay attention to the news and events of the day, week, or month like this:

  1. Pick one small segment of news…like SPORTS or CELEBRITIES or POLITICS and really read up on everything to do with that topic each and every day. Lately, I’ve decided that SPORTS is the most entertaining to me and I read articles at this place.
  2. Attempt to take in ALL the news and only really take in the brief summaries heard or headlines read. This gets me in situations where I’ll be at a party or talking to someone and I’ll try to follow along with a current event conversation and I’ll just be lost. Also, I think this means I’m getting old.
  3. Don’t listen to ANY news at all. This is similar to number 2, and a little more relaxing, in a way, but I start to lose a grip on reality.

How do you listen to the news? Any other ways that you can suggest to me?

Maybe you can start listening to the news as a song, huh? I’ll keep on doing these if you keep on listening (and probably I’ll keep doing them even if you don’t, because…I don’t know who you are and because, like I said last night in my post about songwriting, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the more songs you get).

Listen, New Song

New Song: Too loud to hear, too bright to see

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Too loud to hear, too bright to see

Well, here we go. I haven’t posted a song since…this one back at the beginning of May. I haven’t even really touched my guitar or sung many tunes since then. Except lullabies.

Anyway…so, I’m posting this. It’s similar to that last song I posted. It’s the start of a new idea, I think. I mean…it’s the start of me posting a new song each and every day, Monday through Friday, every single week.

You say: “No! Can’t be done! Don’t even try!”

I say: “Hold on, honcho.”

Each song is going to be only one line. Or, one verse/chorus/phrase. Just one. I’ll use parts to add on, as I did in this song, but I can only use the words from the one line that I write on whatever day I write it.

I wrote this one yesterday…on Sunday. I saw it on a book cover sitting on the counter. It’s this book. And, yeah…okay…I totally did not write down the words the same as the book title (which is Too Loud to See, Too Bright to Hear). And the actual book title is way more interesting than what I mistakenly wrote down. (UPDATE: By the way, I have NOT read this book, but just saw what it’s about and that’s kinda funny that it weaves different stories together since that’s what I’m attempting to do with these songs.)

But it’s the first thing I’ve done in two and a half months, so I’m not gonna be too critical.

Now, at the end of a month of doing this, I figure I maybe will have a song that I can piece together. You know…all the one-liners will just fit snugly together in one song and I’ll dust my hands and call it a day.

Or I won’t do that because I’ve never been able to piece together a song. I like to really practice at writing. Like, 5 to 6 thousand words a day. Just anything but also entire songs. Something whole and beautiful and terrible eventually pops out. Then something else. And then a bunch. And then it gets really easy. A lot of the writing is bad. A lot of the songs are horendous. But some are okay. A few work. One or two are successful.

And now I’ve shared too much about my secret process that every other writer knows about and uses.

But, anyway…I’ll try to piece together a big collage song. At least one time. And then I’ll move on to something else, maybe.

This is only a start at becoming.

Map

Andrew Francis Song Location Map

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So, I saw this the other day. A map of all the locations in all of Bob Dylan’s songs.

Got me thinking. What would it look like if I did that? I know I don’t write a whole lot of songs that are location-specific, but I figured I’d give it a whirl.

And here’s what it looks like…so far:

Not a whole lot on there. And I think there’s a few more that I need to fill in. But for now, here are all the songs that link up to the specific locations:

A. Chicago, IL 

  1. I wrote an entire album of Chicago songs here, including:
    • Pilgrim of Sorrow
    • Mister Mayor Says (I’m Guided by the Love of Gold) (here’s a different version, and a video)
    • I’m a Jolly Biker (The Biker’s Lament)
    • Dollars & Change
    • The Talkin’ CTA Blues
    • Out in the Cold Cold Wind (here’s a different version)
  2. I Have No Idea from this album has a Chicago reference.
  3. Chicago, Chicago (versions 1 and 2)
  4. Talkin’ Tax Blues
  5. Talkin’ Bus Blues
  6. Big Cat Blues

B. Starkville, Mississippi

  • Southland Blues (I don’t say “Starkville” or even “Mississippi,” but it’s where this one was written) (versions 1 and 2)

C. Rio Grande River

D. Arizona

  • Brown-skinned Woman from this album. Also know as “Arizon-ee-o” here are versions 1 and 2.

E. Colorado

  • She’s Out On Her Own (version 1 and 2)

F. Fairway 12 Motel, Meadville, Pennsylvania 618, Conneaut Lake, PA

G. London, United Kingdom

H. Turkey

I. Puget Sound, WA

J. New York, NY

K. Deepwater Horizon Claims, Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans, LA

  • The Sinking of the Deepwater Horizon (versions 1 and 2)

L. New Orleans, LA

M. Tahrir Square, Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

N. Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA

O. Washington, DC

P. Baghdād, Iraq

That’s not so many, huh? Now I think I need to write some more location songs. Or at least use different locations as ways to explain different ideas in my songs. It’ll be something to try. Look for that in the songs I post every week (which I’ll be starting again in the next few weeks) over at my Tumblr blog.

Know of any others that I’ve written, recorded, or performed? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

Listen, New Song

New Song: What’s always in my dreams

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Well, here’s another song I wrote on my trip out to New Jersey. This one I wrote in an airplane way up high on my way back to Chicago after spending some time way up high on a mountaintop in the middle of the Catskills in Upper State New York.

It’s another train song. Been writing a lot of those lately. Most of them have nothing to do with a train, though.

Anyway, it’s a new song and I like it. This’ll be one that I commit myself to learning. I’ll add mouth harp. I’ll play it with conviction. So much conviction that whenever I play it I’ll just start to giggle in the middle of the tune. So watch closely for that.