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Tom 7 album-a-day #26: Method and apparatus for removing the lug nuts
(07 Jul 2010 at 01:35) |
As has become something of an Independence day weekend tradition, I recorded another album-a-day yesterday and today. It's called Method and apparatus for removing the lug nuts and it's my 26th solo affair:
Method and apparatus for removing the lug nuts
The title comes from an "invention" I had during an unusually coherent dream yesterday. Last week (this part is real) we were playing soccer when a lady came over to ask if anyone could help her change her flat tire. I tried but could only get two of the four lug nuts off. Since I was disgustingly covered in soccer sweat and only making the tire iron less effective with that, and not to mention that in my absence Disney—that was the opposing team—scored on us, which I will have none of that (don't worry, we won in the end) I went back to the game and summoned more burly computer scientists to replace me. They did succeed just as the AAA professionals arrived. But anyway, yesterday I woke up having dreamt an idea of how you could use the car itself to undo even the toughest nuts. It's illustrated above. For all I know it's totally standard advice, or maybe even very dangerous or ill-advised (an alternative is to use the jack, but I don't think you'd get as much instantaneous torque). But that's okay because this is not a real patent, it's just the title of my album and the name of the title track, a techno dance party which happens to be my favorite. That track and others:
Method and apparatus for removing the lug nuts. Already backstoried. I think the best track on here. How could a chorus in 47/16 time be so catchy? It's a mystery to me, too.
Nothing makes cars flip out like seeing a bike. Based on a very embellished non-true story inspired by July 4 events. A theme of this album is the narrator insisting that other people "do their jobs" at inappropriate times.
Peace is rest. My entry for this week's songfight. I think this is another of the best tracks. It has percussion using a real percussive instrument, which is new. Also the thematic insisting.
TV chef breaks pizza record. Front-page headline, mainstream news.
Only ___ would rhyme ___ with ___. Uncharacteristically restrained MIDI ballad.
2 am pancakes. True story, but a pretty bad lexicographic pun.
Vulgar fraction 3/4. Straight-up 8-bit ditty.
Literally fall. Something weird is going on with this one, dynamics-wise, like there's a hidden compression plugin I couldn't find to disable. Oh, well. If you find the lyrics annoying, rest assured that they are much much better than the placeholder lyrics.
Label me purple. After achieving the singularity, mankind built a machine to judge them. It always reports "purple", the second-lowest rating.
When people tell me that I am a pretty good dancer they usually look surprised or like I should be surprised. This is true.
Life's a bleach. I'm sure this is an old pun, but I did enjoy it and writing lyrics for it, especially because I love rhyming science words.
Thanks to those who contributed ideas and titles. To enjoy/dismiss music go to the page and download the MP3s for free. |  |
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| I would very much be interested in seeing your "best of" album with your 12 favorite songs from the 26 albums--I guess you should do 26 best songs so you have one best from each session. |
| MECHANICAL ENGINEERING |
| I think my favorite is "Literally Fall." I love the lyrics, vocal melody and phrasing. |
| RED NAPED SAPSUCKER |
Hamden: Definitely. I've had in mind that I'd do this when I reached 31 albums (one month) but that might be a few more years at this rate. One per album probably wouldn't be enough since the songs are so short. Maybe up to two.
Scott: You always have the oddest favorites! But thanks. I think knowing that someone likes that song actually makes it better for me. |
Dude who wouldn't love "Literally Fall"? Clever, tricky vocals + pretty melodies = epic win.
Moreover, I'm all about tracks 8 thru 10. "Label Me Purple"'s been growing on me, and not just because the title features in a nonsense poem I wrote once while extremely sleep-deprived. The high notes at the end of "that hurtful ma-chi-ine" really get me. It's so emotional, you seem so oppressed by the machine.
Also I just realized I tend to get into your even numbered (summer) albums more than the odd (winter) ones lately. Not sure whether it's you (do you make a different type of music in the summer?) or me (am I more receptive to new music in the summer?). |
| Just noticed, in the verses, "Label Me Purple" reminds me strongly of "This Works on Average." Similar vox melody? |
Seems all the best songs are towards the end of this one. 2 am purple (new bass? I'm definitely liking the variety of arrangement in these last few AADs) and the last 4 tracks are all awesome, especially Label me purple and dancer etc.
Count me in as another one for wanting a best-of-AAD album. Aren't there newer, better versions of some of the older songs? |
| Oh, nice rhyme with yinz, btw. |
| Wow, 2 am purple. Good idea for a mashup, maybe. |
| If you evaluated me at 2 am, I'd be LUCKY to score a "purple." |
My main issues with Literally Fall come from knowing that I basically gave up on it while recording. There's the aforementioned dynamics problem, which burns my ears, and though there is stuff to like about the lyric tricks, some of them just don't make sense and that's also because I just gave up on some of them. Was one of the last songs I finished. But like I said, knowing that at least 1 person likes this does make it better for me.
Label Me Purple I'll stand behind. There are several throwbacks to the Tom 7 Formula there, but it hangs together and the recording's among the best on this disc. I doubt there have been enough albums to derive a trend, but I definitely believe in the concept of "summer music" and I even had that in mind when recording this one. I don't know if winter music's a thing, but e.g. Wrecking the Ghostlines is definitely not summer music. |
haha. this album is superior. another good job tom7. vulgar fraction three quarters!
i did a vocaloid remix sort of of one of your chiptunes, Theme from Petrolatum. its on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT7_MY_M8DI |
haha. this album is superior. another good job tom7. vulgar fraction three quarters!
i did a vocaloid remix sort of of one of your chiptunes, Theme from Petrolatum. its on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT7_MY_M8DI |
My medium-bad headphones broke when I was in Zurich, and so now I'm using the real-bad iPod buds that are almost intolerable, but now when I listen to Literally Fall it doesn't annoy me nearly as much. It may be with a little EQ I could learn to live with it.
Everyone can agree that "TV chef" is a stinker. "When people tell me..." has some stuff to hit the save key for (like the Yinz rhyme, though here I've employed an age old trick, which is when I have a good line (this time "... Sadie Hawkins") but the rhyme is kind of forced ("... yinz"), always put the forced part first so that you end with the good stuff. It's amazing how much of a difference that makes), also BTW spoiler alert since I don't think anybody will get it without hint: The first line of the song is referring to the fact that the song is 96bpm instead of 100, like almost all of my other MIDI trax. But it's just a bit too repetitive for me to feel good about. I wish I hadn't had so many repeats at the end, or that the chorus was more different from the verse. Oh well. So anyway, I'm surprised you guys (well, Adhesion) like the end half the most. To me the hearts are firmly on #1 and #3, and also maybe Vulgar Fraction 3/4 has earned the heartsuit badge. That's a top-heavy album, bros.
Anyway, no need to overanalyze. Thanks for your comments doods!
SeriousMF: Thanks! I love your remixes. |
| great album |
| Thanks! :) |
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