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Here are RAR originals published to Soundcloud:
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Click on the graphics or links
provided to listen to the following originals from the RAR catalog. |
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Donald's House came
into being as an exercise in chord substitution, ala the kind of thing
that Donald Fagen does with his "fake jazz" (his words). The song
"Donald's House" is nothing like a Steely Dan or Donald Fagen song, it's
just that I think of the compositional technique as being "in Donald's
house".
And while I was there I thought I would steal some stuff. As a song,
"Donald's House" turns out to be about social mobility, or lack thereof,
unobtainable dreams, and grand larceny. |
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Phrygian Dominatrix
- On another compositional track, the tune "Phrygian
Dominatrix" is an exercise in writing in the Phrygian mode. This is one
of those modes that the likes of Dream Theater get lost in because it is
just inherently spooky and dark. I used it to build a really lovely
story about somebody in a dead relationship who can't find anything on
his car radio so would just prefer to die.
You read about that kind of stuff all the
time. |
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No Matter What She
Said We have this cat, a Snowshoe Siamese, who my
wife named "Magnolia Thunder Pussy" after a '60s San Francisco radio
spot, and who came to us as a replacement for our dear deceased cat
"Gary Gilmore", also named by my wife. (One can imagine the
psychological damage or purr enlightenment the children have
endured.) Anyway, "Maggie" was a rescue cat, plucked from the
Stanford University campus by a student who found her injured, starving,
alone; a refugee from God knows what. Maggie grew to the size of a house
living in the student's apartment, but upon graduating Maggie's
student-savior had to give her up to move wherever Stanford graduates
move to, so she put Maggie on Craigslist and my wife brought this fat
cat home. She slimmed down, given some room to roam, and is now a much
different cat from that which she was when she came to us - accept
for her monotonic meow. I have no idea what this cat is saying. It
may be "hello"; it may be "there is a tarantula on your head", I don't
know, it all sounds the same. I assume her issues in this song.
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No one ever achieved wealth by
themselves. It is time we began emphasizing that fundamental truth and
treating all of those who contribute with their due respect.
Rock Rap
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Feeling a little down? Sometimes a little
perspective may be in order. A lot of silliness here to help with that.
Rabble Rock |
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"Dark Matter"
"Dark Matter" re-envisions the Apollo moon
landing as an end of life voyage culminating in the touch down at Tranquility
Base.
Rock |
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Knockoff tune depicts a day in the
downward spiral that is California in 2012.
Folk Rock |
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Yours truly is offering up a little
Jazz-Pop confection, with all admiration for the ancient Romans, like
the playwright Plautus, who inspired the tile below and knew a thing or
two about winging it philosophically and comically.
Pop Jazz |
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Oh perversity at the county fair! I'm
sure involvement with the Future Farmers of America has ruined more than
a few young boys, what with all the glamour and all, and the exposure to
breeding stock... This song is just stupid, which is a part of my
personal cathartic process based on the assumption that no one is
listening anyway. Surprise be mine, I have had this song referenced by
others as a RAR favorite. I have never understood these things.
Uptempo Country |
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DOWN FOR REPAIRS
"Betty from
Memphis", a tribute to stable types such as my actual
Aunt Betty (Olita) in Memphis (not shown here), as well as to all those
weary road warriors out there playing the soundtracks to everybody
else's movies.
Blues-Rock
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This is one of those songs
that started as a guitar exercise a little along the lines of "Little
Wing" and then just kept morphing into something bigger, more operatic
in structure, if not vocal arrangement. I have no idea where the song
came from or why this particular one made it this far. I write 10,
record a couple, and this one moved quickly from idea to finished demo.
It is derivative, to be sure, referencing everyone from Pink Floyd to
The Beatles to Tears for Fears and Tom Petty. In that, it breaks a
cardinal rule against imitation. On the other hand, I feel this tune
personally so it can't be all bad.
Blues-Rock |
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"Until Sam
Walty's Dead" is a cowboy yarn about a villain - portrayed by
the late and wonderful Warren Oates (below) - who has left an
unfortunate legacy for himself (see chorus...). Walty is my metaphor for
early 21st Century predatory capitalism, a force that must be dealt with
so that honest souls can carry on.
Alternative Country
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I can't seem to get my country roots out of my system
- I hear Marty Robbins in my sleep - and yet can't do a country tune
without turning it into a joke. I love those sappy background vocals of
1950s-era classic country and I tried to replicate some of that with
this tune, which, by the way, I love. I hope you do too.
Classic Country |
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Glory be unto Angie Omaha, whoever she is,
pictured below on the cover to my re-recording of "The Glow of Your Dark
Eyes" introduced several years back as a tune about "the dark side of
loving a dark soul". Our girl Angie may not let me exploit her in this
way for long, but as long as she does isn't she perfect? I mean, for
this song?
Country 2-Step
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Sometimes songs just arrive unannounced and this is one that did so with
great impact for me. The whole feeling of the piece is helped along by the great
photo above, the photographer of which I am trying to find. Click on the
picture (left) to hear the RAR original, "The Clues," a new personal
favorite.
Alternative Folk |
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"Just Eleven Minutes" comes from a few years
back, and from the same box as "The Glow of Your Dark Eyes", but the
versions provided below come much closer to my ambitions for this story
of a cuckold speeding toward a crime of passion and revenge. Almost the
entire song is the single chord of E, with brief passes through A-B, for
those keeping score. The "psycho" version was the original inspiration,
but the Nashville chicken-pickin' version has some nice qualities.
Unfortunately it probably also shows that as a guitar player I am no
Randy Barker, though I hope to be when I grow up.
Country Boogie
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"Laughing (Nuke'em From Orbit)"
DOWN FOR REPAIRS
The line "nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to
be sure" resonated both comically and viscerally. It came from the film
Aliens, and carries such broad metaphorical potential for social
commentary and self hatred that I sang this song for years before
finally getting around to this draft.
Folk-Rock |
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DOWN FOR REPAIRS
Hard Rock
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How many
ways interesting was the Gates/Crowley incident of President Obama's
first year in office? And does anyone ever do anything right where
"race" is concerned? Folk-Rock |
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Inspired by the
demonstrations in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy Wall Street locations
around the country, "Start A Fire" explores the motivations of those who
aren't quite ready to make the commitment that those people living
outside in the cold are making. Click on the cover shot above to listen
to "Start A Fire", a RAR casual. And thanks to whomever is pictured in
the shot above, taken recently in Zuccotti Park.
Acoustic Pop
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DOWN FOR REPAIRS
Other than for a few musical devices common to earlier Beatles
recordings, this song doesn't really have anything to do with that band.
It has more to do with a desire to capture a certain feeling of youth
and of the redemptive power of love that really typified later Beatles
recordings. Mostly, it is about the energy of dreams yet to be explored,
a gift exclusive to the young. Pop-Rock |
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Accepting resignation on the playing field
of...well, you know... an appreciative tip of the hat to the New Orleans
sound of Dr. John...
New Orleans Pop |
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More silliness with sound clips from "Sexy
Spanish" and some other source I need to re-find and properly
credit. I'll get back to you with this info.
Alternative Pop |
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"Porn International" is a tune of mine
from the ’80s previously known as "If We Get Buzz." I recently revisioned it around some of the great sound samples available at
freesound.com. I grabbed a variety of sounds and mixed them, hopefully to
humorous effect, to create the appropriate ambience for my tale of
temptation, pornography and free market capitalism. I felt compelled to
rename the song because the voices in the freesound samples seemed
obviously Asian, so my bump on the American porn industry morphed into a
riff on porn international. I don’t really know anything about the porn
industry, but I like this tale of this older guy who gets into the company
of impressionable nubiles, "understands" and ultimately exploits
them.
Pop Rock
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For
when being under wrought just isn't enough
Pop/Adult Contemporary |
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Lay it light on
Uncle Bob: This one was written for the 2006 election cycle and I may
bring it back every two years just to remind myself why we vote...or
don't. (That's my Aunt Lillian on the left, my Uncle Chas in the center,
my Dad Phil on the right.)
Alternative Country
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Remember back to
having a soul? (My Bechtel song): This one is resurrected from five years
back, a good election cycle offering, an opus of the common man.
Pop Rock
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A neighborhood
tragedy -- in Spanish
Alt-Folk
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Oh help me my father, for I have dissembled
From beauty and grace and from passion and fear
The love of a maiden so pure and so precious
Lord what have I done to a heart that’s so dear |
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Evidence
of understatement...
Rock |
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"Essential Me" is just Eros rising. It
portrays inner character that is universal, though not revealed in the
same way with everybody. This guy’s a little much for my own comfort
level. (You sense split self?) Interesting to me is that this song, which
I did as a knock off, is one I get the most positive comments on. Weird,
huh
Rock |
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Woh!
Look what I found in the medicine cabinet!
Folk-Rock |
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Sometimes
all that's left is to throw one's self into the flames
Pop |
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Saying
goodbye to the alcoholic in your life. "Wake of Your Whiskey Blues" is a folk
anthem for the fed up.
Pop |
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A film directed
in my mind, infer nothing, apologies to the great guitarist
"Dime Bag Darryl" could be considered a
racist slapper-doodle (thanks Ricky) if it weren’t so silly. It is a
soundtrack for a video I have been trying to get produced and it would be
helpful to scroll through story boards to get the actual nature of the
piece. It is a joint on the weird schizophrenic yet symbiotic relationship
that many white people have with a certain segment of the black community.
The visuals are all about poking fun at white insecurity and need, and an
Alice In Wonderland cast of ghetto community representatives climaxing in
the image of Dime Bag Darryl himself, who I have always seen as Samuel
Jackson.
Pop Rock
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Autobiography --
what has happened to America?
Rock
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Marriage
dissolution (not autobiographical)
Rock
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Pain at the pump.
"RATZ" is a personal favorite about a
vulnerable older man who does things he shouldn’t and whithers in the
blast of youth.
Rock
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So
What #4
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Port in a storm,
situation dire
Pop Rock
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6:30 Ferry
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Unrequited love
on the Vallejo to San Francisco ferry
Pop
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Tibetan way of
death played out in a taxi
Pop Rock
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Disappointment
on a spiritual plain
Pop Country
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Your High
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What will you
make of your life?
Alt-Rock
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She
Is the Queen
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From 20 years
ago. I've known some awful women
Blues-Rock
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When
We First Met
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From 20 years
ago, noisy garage jam
Blues-Rock
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Republican
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A corrupted soul
Rock
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Riot Grrrl of my
twisted dreams
Alternative
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Cold Moths
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Unrequited love
among the homeless
Alt-Pop
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Warrior
for Love
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Daddy
Rock
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The Cove
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Instrumental
theme
Pop
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