JOY IN THE NEW TRACK LISTING
Originally, I was going to read four of my poems on the album, but while
determining the track list, I reconsidered and decided to use only this one, probably my favorite,
and certainly the favorite of several of my friends. Written in 1992 during a spare few moments at
Toys 'R' Us, "Gasp..." is not exactly light-hearted, but neither is it as gloomy as it might appear
at first read (or listen).
Written in the winter and recorded in the late summer of 2000, "Joy in the Now"
tweaks the opening line of "For Dana" in a positive way; where the latter was despondent, this one's
exuberant. I played a single guitar part, but ran the signal through the overdrive pedal and the
punkifier separately, recording both, giving it a heavier sound. A guitar/bass/drums song, from a
mostly guitar/bass/drums kinda guy.
The lyrical theme, of two lovers looking in the night sky at the same time while
far apart from each other, came to me while taking the garbage out one night. Seriously. The title
and the drum intro were conceived back in the summer of '99, but I didn't flesh out the lyrics until
four years later, finally recording "Stars" in early '04.
Sitting on the couch with an undistorted guitar, I came up with the main elements
of this song, lyrically my "Layla," on a Monday in 1999. In my head, it was going to be more of a Def
Leppard-style power ballad... When I started working on the original recording, I realized I'd written
it just out of reach of my voice, so I brought it down half a step. The new version, recorded and mixed
in six days in June 2001, rocks a bit more than the original, though both recordings still rank among
my very favorites.
5. Swingin' in the Park (After Dark)
[listen]
[lyrics]
Not An Exit recorded our version of "Swingin'" back in 2000, a few months after I'd
written it following an introspective visit to Nutley's Yanticaw Park at night. While I certainly
liked the way it turned out (a friend told me it reminded her of Frank Zappa, which I found flattering,
if unexpected), I decided to do it on my own, too, and finished it in May 2003. My recording is
certainly very similar to NAE's; however, when we recorded our 'original,' I somehow couldn't reproduce
the guitar part I'd recorded on my demo, and found myself forced to improvise an alternative. The second
time around, I was able to figure out what I'd actually intended to play; the second solo is more focused
this time around, too.
I intentionally used the cadence of Sting's "Englishman in New York" when I wrote
these lyrics in St. James's Park in London in early 2000, and the lines are sort of a wink and a nod
to him, though the two songs don't sound alike at all. This song was improvised on November 9, 2002
while I sat with my guitar and let my 'new' Alesis drum machine inspire me. The track was the first
to feature the Alesis, as well as the EBow Plus, a nifty little gadget that takes the place of a guitar
pick, in the solo, giving the guitar a sort of violin/synth sound.
7. Extreme Close-Up, then Fade to Black
[listen]
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The word 'extreme' has stuck with me since my
'zine. When I wrote this song in the fall of
2000, I used cinematic references to portray someone who wants to share and to be understood. The
recording, completed in May 2001, reminds me of early-'90s industrial fused with early-'80s new wave.
John Hiatt's "Permanent Hurt" was in my head when I wrote these lyrics, and I again
borrowed another song's cadence, though once again I think I managed to get away with not
making my song sound like a rip-off. I wrote it in mid-2000, recording it before the end of the century
using a harpsichord sound on my Yamaha keyboard and a guitar lick (and drums at the end of the track)
reminiscent of the Beatles' "And I Love Her."
9. Forlorn, Forsaken... Forgotten?
[listen]
[lyrics]
This slow, brooding song was written in the summer of 2000 and recorded in January
2001. It reminds me of a cross between Nine Inch Nails' quieter, moodier music (like "Something I Can
Never Have" and "Hurt") and Not An Exit's early "A Better Place." Hmmm, starting to sound like myself...
Jon wrote most of the music to NAE's eponymous song, but when we first started
working on recording it in November 2000, we hadn't come up with any lyrics yet, just some basic
ideas. I figured I'd better sit down and write 'em myself, or we'd never get around to it.
We may end up with three recordings of this song down the road, but in any case, mine was finished
in late March 2004, and some people consider this the best track on the album. It certainly rocks, and for
someone who rarely does guitar solos, I did a nice job here. I think.
"Human Thing" is the first original song I recorded solo, in early '97, though I'd
written it in 1992. That version was a very primitive sort of industrial, kinda Jim Thirlwell meets the
15-year old Trent Reznor. Heh-heh... The recording quality, coupled with my lack of experience and
skill, made for a curiosity; still, some people liked it, and I have to admit that I still enjoy
listening to it. Most of it. Jon and I decided at some point that Not An Exit would record a version,
which hasn't happened yet, but I did re-record "Human Thing" myself in May 2003. This one's not really
industrial, I suppose, but it does briefly use the heavy Bo Diddley rhythm I'd created for the
original, as well as a sample or two at the start of the song. There's a remix, too; maybe it'll
be released as the album's first single...
I won't claim to be the biggest Ramones fan in the world, but I do
love their music, and I was fortunate enough to have seen them on the Escape from New York tour
(which also featured Debbie Harry, Jerry Harrison, and Tom Tom Club). I was saddened to hear of Joey's
death, and as I was having trouble deciding on an album title, the phrase "Joey Ramone's dead" sounded
as good as any other to me. A few days later, I figured that a punk song with the same title needed
writing, so I wrote it. I eventually decided on a new name for the album, but kept the track on it. I
wasn't really trying to sound like the Ramones when I recorded it in early April '04, and frankly I think
it's a little more reminiscent of the Offspring.
This was the first lyrical idea I'd ever conceived of, back in 1991, as a song
that wasn't on The Wall but should have been. Cocky, huh? I didn't get around
to writing the full song until ten years later, and the recording and editing spanned July and
August of 2003. To my ears, it does evoke Pink Floyd, and maybe even a little Queensrÿche,
but perhaps it's not quite Wall-worthy. You tell me. Not that Znowy White is in any danger
of replacement, but my solo does evoke Floyd's classic album, at least to me.
As I mentioned above, I'm basically a guitar/bass/drums rock 'n roller. I'll always
experiment with other instruments and other sounds, but I'll always go back to my roots, too. I guess
one of the reasons I dig punk so much is that the punk revolution was, originally, a return to that
stripped-down rock sound. You don't generally hear extended guitar or drum (or keyboard!) solos on a
punk record... and since I rarely try playing a solo, punk is a great fit for me. Heh-heh. When I
recorded this late in 2000, months after writing it, I had a Blink-182 sorta sound in mind. And no,
the song is not about me!
This sequel to "Human Thing" was written and recorded in the first two months of
2000 and is more heavily industrial than its predecessor's original recording. Part of the rhythm is a
loop of samples anchored by the (filtered and processed) sound of Fox Mulder kicking a garbage can across
his office. The first two verses are direct retorts to Billy Joel's "Angry Young Man."
More pop-punk, and one of my favorite self-penned lines: "We talked and we
talked / The fat we did chew." Yes, it's silly. I also like the double meaning of the 'second shot,'
both a new chance at love and an opportunity to have another drink together. Written in the summer of
2003, and recorded the following winter.
This song is, in part, an answer to Aimee Mann's "That's Just What You Are." It's
also a light-hearted love song. Not everything I write is deadly serious... I wrote and
recorded this tune around the same time as "Second Shot" and "Dances on Clouds."
She really does make me dance on clouds. I wrote most of this song while sitting
beside Walden Pond; maybe the Native American title was inspired by the beautiful setting. I know it
had nothing to do with Kevin Costner.
The morning of my thirtieth birthday, I pondered the lack of good, rockin'
birthday songs (with the obvious exception of the Beatles' track). So, I wrote my own, and tried to
make it the kind of tune you can play even when it's not someone's birthday. Whether or not it's good
and rockin' is of course open to debate. I finally recorded this in May of 2004, just in time to
dedicate it to Gina for her birthday.
20. Inspired by My Muse
[listen]
[lyrics]
The first instrumental I've recorded since 1994's "Victory Samba," "Inspired" is
a very cheery and uplifting tune. At least, it always makes me smile, and I use part of it as the
ringtone on my Treo when my muse phones me. The three guitar tracks (no bass in this song) were recorded
spur-of-the-moment on an inspired day in August '03.
No, that's not a typo. Several months after recording "Joy in the Now," I found myself
occasionally playing the song with a different groove. I hadn't planned on re-recording it, but falling
in love in the fall of 2003 gave me an excuse to write new lyrics to the old melody, and I turned the
whole shebang into a new song early in 2004. I find the title appropriate for this collection of tunes,
and I think bracketing the music with the two "Joy" songs worked out well.
"Extra-large thanks to Barbara, Dave and Dawn, the Hellevators, Jon, Joseph, Mart,
Michael, my parents, Not An Exit, Rene'e, Steve, and the other three people who have encouraged my
music over the years.
Special thanks to Gina, the muse who inspired several of these songs; this
album is dedicated to you, as am I."
Got anything to say about this CD? E-mail me at
webmaster@andersensilva.com, already. Keep on rockin' in the free world...
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