Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Baby Let Me Write A Song

So now that I’ve gotten a whole bunch of stuff done with "The Dino Soars" (printing, promos, etc), I’ve gotten back to working on some new tracks.

Between all the hip-hop, electro, and metal that I’ve been doing (super-precise editing and sequencing), I haven’t had any time to just sit down and jam, that is, until last week. I began playing some drums because I haven’t worked on it in a long time.

Getting back to creative work after a long period of busy-work is pretty tough, because I usually have writer’s block for a little bit, and it feels pretty disconcerting because it feels like you no longer have control over the creative side of your brain. So far, I’ve always been able to get a spark of an idea before I really start panicking (knock on wood). Either that, or I pound out a small idea that I store for later.

So last week, I decided to record some of the drum stuff with an already existing bassline. I worked pretty slow, because it’s been a while since I’ve worked on my drumming skills. My sixteenths were a little sloppy and I was pissed that I hadn’t been practicing. However, I did manage to get a couple of really nice takes in a sea of pretty sloppy ones (just have to keep cranking them out until it’s right).

I let the track sit there for a few days so I could let my brain rest.

What words could I set to this thing? How long was this piece of shit going to take me?

It was a Saturday night and I was reading for a little while when it just hit me. I had some pre-existing lyrics: "baby let me write a song..."

Why don’t I just write a song about me writing a song? I tried to fight it because I knew that only some sappy shit could come out of it.

I didn’t care, I wanted to get a damn track out of the way.

I just gave myself up to the ideas that were firing up a storm in my head, and the melodies just rushed out from my brain. Certain words and phrases dripped from my consciousness so quickly that I began just listing them frantically on paper. Holy Moley, I knew I had to record this thing before I forgot it!

I fired up the coffee machine around 1 AM, tuned my damn guitar, and I prayed to God that my housemates wouldn’t wake up then and there and destroy me (because that’s what I would do if some fucking idiot began to record a track at that time).

That night, I spent about 6 hours just writing, recording, and singing. I worked like a madman, and burned through 2 pots of coffee to stay awake and a pot of tea to make sure my vocal cords were nice and loose.

Guess what? It was worth it.

When I mixed it all together at around 7 AM bleary eyed and hungry, I knew I had a hit in my hands, because such sappy pop music will not go unnoticed. I made one last render and I fell asleep knowing that some idiot out there would have to enjoy it, even if it is a stupid little ditty. If nothing else, I sure had fun producing it.

--Steg Rex

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