Man-Made Music: May Edition

This is a song I posted a number of years ago, but I've just recorded it with some *more* legitimate sound equipment.  This one was particularly fun to record because I did it with my friends Jim (cello) and Mark. Because of the nature of the song, we had to do it live, so this is live from our living room (after the girls' bedtime, of course).  The backup vocals, however, were put in after the fact.  I hope you enjoy it!




It falls apart
and it would all go our way
if we'd have done that right, done that different,
but these are my old ways

Something's changed around here;
this old path to nowhere
cuts right down through here
splits us down through here

When the rain comes
It all goes right here
Don't wash on by
Won't you wash me?

It's dark out here, and they
say that hell is cold
well here's the hell in me
here's the hell that I control

So be ashamed of me afraid of me
oh never lose me
This path is broad my path is clear
it's full of lies but lies are marked and clear

When the rain comes
It all goes right here
Don't wash on by
Won't you wash me?

I say that I want peace
and I hate like this
Please hate me, but don't hate me
because I just want peace

When the rain comes
It all goes right here
Don't wash on by
Won't you wash me?

Man-Made Music: March Edition

At Jamie's wedding I promised that I would record for her, as part of her wedding present, the song I sang during her ceremony. Well, over a year later the deed is done. :)

Special thanks go to Shiowei Cheng for recording the cello part!

p.s. - Had some technical issues; sorry that I had to repost... :)

Man-Made Music!

After a long intermission, Man-Made Music has returned. This song is the result of the time afforded by a much-needed Chinese New Year holiday break (and the benefit of living near my school’s band room and nice microphones!). Your comments and feedback are always more than welcome! Happy listening!

Fill Anew

The cold of it all will never shake away

With shivers that were meant for other places than today.

With black unblinking eyes she watched me sing upon my grave

In hopes that grace would maybe let me walk away.

O, skull; O, dew show me roses.

I care not for any color but crimson red.

Fill anew my brittle empty cup

And fill it full and fill it red

And let it spill upon my hands.

The frost that skirts my shoes is not a frost that melts or fades

But hardened callouses from scuffling frozen stones.

The brown beneath my nails is from the cold and ancient way

She bids me wallow ‘til the hardness touches bone.

O, skull; O, dew, show me roses.

I care not for any color but crimson red.

Fill anew my brittle empty cup

And fill it full and fill it red

And let it spill upon my hands.

Let mem’ry not betray the image you have left,

The issue of your heart on barren earth.

Her eyes must look away from full and perfect birth

And shivers that will shake the cold away.

Man-Made Music, October Edition

Here's the next installment of Man-Made Music. This song was written a few years ago, but I re-recorded it recently. Please feel free to share any thoughts or questions! Lyrics are below. Happy listening!

It falls apart

and it would all go our way

if we'd have done that right, done that different,

but these are my old ways

Something's changed around here;

this old path to nowhere

cuts right down through here

splits us down through here

When the rain comes

It all goes right here

Don't wash on by

Won't you wash me?

It's dark out here, and they

say that hell is cold

well here's the hell in me

here's the hell that I control

So be ashamed of me afraid of me

oh never lose me

This path is broad my path is clear

it's full of lies but lies are marked and clear

When the rain comes

It all goes right here

Don't wash on by

Won't you wash me?

I say that I want peace,

and I hate like this

Please hate me, but don't hate me

because I just want peace

When the rain comes

It all goes right here

Don't wash on by

Won't you wash me?

Man-Made Music, September Edition

Yes, I have remained faithful to my blogger-promise and now offer Part Deux of man-made music. I'm trying to stretch myself a bit in this hobby of mine, so please bear with me in my experimentation, and please feel free to offer your thoughts or critique. I really enjoy writing music but don't have much at stake in it (album sales aren't really an issue), so I won't be offended by disapproval, dislike, or honest criticism. I also won't be angry if you'd rather just listen to the homemade song and not comment at all (though it will certainly make me feel less special).

Here are the lyrics.

Poros and Penia

I still have the night

When you stood in the door and lingered

And both of us seemed right

When you opened up your eyes

I still have your stare

When I looked in your heart

And we both knew from the start

That both of us were wrong about something

And one of us knew but wouldn't say

That he stood on the stairs

As I reached for your hands

He watched and he waited

And love is all you wanted

To forget when pleasure showed his face

And you turned and walked your other way

And distance offered empty space

I still have the night

When you stood on the stairs and lingered

And both of us were right

About standing still in want about something

And, oh, the words in your mouth

Were lying in the folds of your dress

And waiting for the winds of the evening

To blow them away

or breathe into me

And only one of us knew

That he waited in your room

To guide you to your tomb

And show you how to cover up something

And show you love was only for something

And love is all you wanted

To forget when pleasure showed his face

And he laughed and let down your hair

Took off your clothes and dressed you in disgrace

And love is all you wanted

To forget when pleasure showed his face

And you laughed when he let down your hair

And distance offered empty space

Note: I decided on Poros and Penia because they were, as Socrates is told in Plato's Symposium, the parents of Love. The former is representative of abundance, the latter of need or poverty. The song isn't about the story from Plato, but the idea of Love having such parentage is what I'm trying to get at.

Man-made Music

Amazingly, I think this is the first time I (Joey) have posted on our Blogger blog! It seems one of us is more responsible when it comes to keeping in touch... Anyway, I was going to title this entry Monthly Music, but Kim laughed at me and told me it was a silly idea because I would never follow through with it. I was planning on writing that I would try to write and post a song once a month this year for your listening enjoyment and because writing music is selfishly therapeutic for me. But Kim's probably right, so I'll just post one song now and then maybe one or two more some time in the distant future. I can't figure out how to just upload a song, so I made a video (sneaky sneaky) with a picture of a cloister in Norwich, England, where we visited with Jesse and Kelly. Also, I recorded this on the wonderful Mac software of GarageBand (which I actually really love), so apologies for the rough recording (and the occasionally flat and/or weird backup vocals).

The lyrics, as requested by Mom:

In dawns and breeze

and summer streams

We wake our means

We shake our dreams

In moons and leaves

and fallen trees

We rest our heads

We make our beds

And down the sun will go

and east the wind will blow

and streams will flow toward

the ocean indistinguishable

We drown, we drown

It's hope, belief

It's fantasy

You lift your head

As moons turn red

And death, she's free

and broken knees

Will fill like trees

Will tumble like leaves

We walk down her streets unseen

We feign invincibility

And laugh out loud as if we'd

never know her crushing defeats

We drown, we drown

I plead for relief

In death is peace

My God is inextinguishable

My heart stops beating

And down the sun will go

and east the wind will blow

and streams will flow toward

the ocean indistinguishable

We drown, we drown

And down my sun will go

and east my wind will blow

and streams will flow toward

my ocean indistinguishable

I drown, I drown

In other news, things are going well for us. I'm just winding up with my summer classes and getting mentally ready to get back into the swing of things with school. I'm teaching Western Civ still and am excited about Round 2! I'm also coaching 9th grade volleyball in the fall, which should be interesting considering I know next to nothing about coaching volleyball. Good thing I took a volleyball class in college!