SongFu Song Update

I’m happy with my SongFu song and I think that people should vote for it. I put lyrics out on another blog entry. But I like it so much that there’s a better version that I have put on my myspace site and on the Too Much Awesome website on my profile page.

Just watch out when you go to my TMA profile site. There’s a song on there called ‘Humbug’ with some cussin in it!

 

SONG FU 5: Lyrics

In a perfect world, I will fix this.
I swear it shall be done
This is the MASTER’S OF SONG FU5 ENTRY that I made it in for just in time!

BTW: (*there’s a note at the end, about some lyrics)

“four5ths“

[1]
I never seem to finish / any thing I start
I never go audition / so I never get the part
Always sitting in the shadows / while the cool kids pass me by
Racking up excuses / and all the reasons why

[CH]
Four-fifths
It’s only four-fifths
And it’s not good enough to win your love
Four-fifths / and it’s not good enough
to make it …

[2]
This isn’t going well / I’ve just got something random down
I’ll commit to it right now / maybe you can’t tell I’m freaking out
… with a boy that makes you paranoid, your sit’ch is gonna crack
So you set yourself back up in case the other one don’t stack up

[CH]
Four-fifths, this is only four-fifths
And it’s not gonna be good enough / not good enough
Four-fifths / it’s only four-fifths
And it’s not good enough
to make it … to #1

[Weird trippy BRIDGE]
But you know that the other songs were perfect
…perfect and superior
and superior to everything
I ever, ever did
(the angst is palpable)

I obviously take exception to the rule … of mediocrity
“She’s such a fabulous specimen of a songwriter.”
(Look at her go …)
- – - – (na, na, na, na …)

Time bends slowly in exile
no one understaaaaands
in my bedroom all alone

ahahahahahah….
No one understands the bleak black dreary darkness that my emo soul demands….
(no one understaaaaands…..)
*

CH
Ah……
four-fifths
it’s always four-fifths
but apparently it’s not good enough
four-fifths / four-fifths
I’m always faking it / but it’s not good enough … for your love

REPEAT IMPROVY ADNAUSEAM PIANO AND VOCAL STUFF:
(only good enough for a fraction of your love
only good enough for a little tiny decibel of your love)

*this is an inaudible line that BARELY got heard in the mix. I decided to put it in the lyrics anyway. It’s kind of a rumbling grumble under everything. Oh welllwhale!

 

DENISE’S IDEAL DAMN DAY

1.Wake up. Drink some coffee. (awesome example)

2.Play some random piano for quite a while.

3.Do some writing.

4. Make sure I eat breakfast. While I do this I can catch up on all the reading I have to do. The online stuff. I have a tunna subscriptions, websites, MyTwitBook, all that stuff. Then I need to call venues.

5. Then I should write, and record, and rehearse. All day. If I have to run errands, I run them. But mostly, write, record, rehearse. Maybe clean.

 

So I need to time my internet time. That’s just how it needs to be. It needs to get done, but it needs to also be left behind when it starts to take over my life. It’s eating my brain. So ironically, I’m blogging about it. Sheesh …

 

 

 

NaNoWriMo: #1

I have entered the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest. You don’t “get” anything if you win but satisfaction. I’m terribly nervous.

My only other attempt at a novel – a little sci-fi number called ‘Priest and Prophetess,’ was only around 23,000 words. There was probably a couple documents full of research. Maybe they each had a few thousand here and there. But there wasn’t more than 30,000 total in that whole project.

I don’t know how I’m going to do 50,000 words. That’s the requirement.

I am also trying to book more gigs. I have a first one. It’s at Westgate’s New Artist’s Market on Nov 15th, at 3pm. I haven’t played in a really long time. So this is pretty exciting. But I really need to get on the stick and book some more things.

Getting organized would be a good idea about now.

 

Nice New Post :)

I’m not going to elaborate much. It’s not cool. But it’s time for me to get A LOT more professional about how I deal with my emotions. I’ll probably find that there will be a lot more time in my day.

In other news, here’s 10 EXCITING THINGS that have occurred.

1. I’m learning all about the II-V-I chord progression in jazz. This is basic stuff to some people, but this is stuff that I just kind of glossed over. It’s not really something I ever utilized much.

2. I finally bought a Longhorn shirt. At Academy.

3. I renewed my Austin Public Library card.

4. We went to Costco and all we got was Q-tips and Listerine.

5. When I went to the library with my friend (the massage therapist who owns the turtle), I checked out an OBSCENE number of books:

-Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)

-The Lovers (Pearl S. Buck), The Good Earth (also Pearl S. Buck), Bound Feet & Western Dress, The Beauty Myth

-Jass, An Equal Music, One Bite with a Stranger, Bergdorf Blondes

6. I have till midnight to have – my Brahms Intermezzo, and I think I’m gonna do it.

7. I cleaned my fridge

8. I worked on three songs and started some new lyrics

9. I buckled and downloaded a superfluous app for loyalty points in Vampires Live

10. I got to wear long sleeves three and a half times.

 

I have just had something happen to me. Something of religious import. It’s difficult to describe. It will make me sound crazy.

I think that I have been going about all this music stuff in the wrong way. My body knows it. I don’t know what’s surrounding me, in the cosmos – or whatever. But I know that I’ve probably woken something up by all my … behavior.

I’ve been living on borrowed time. I know that I’ve been working, after a fashion. But what have I done with it? I can only be kind of general here. So many things of great significance happened lately.

Specifically? I need to do something specific about getting going on very specific work, before something very bad happens.

 

The 4 Month Challenge

I have a friend called Shelley who is a very motivated human. I met her in Longhorn Band. I have to admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of my time in the band, as I spent most of my time in the pit percussion area (mallet instruments), muttering under my breath. Like Gollum, but not as charming.

Anyway, Shelley exercises and stuff. I’m kind of on an exercise kick too, and I’m receiving the benefit of happy drugs since I’m ditching some of my more offending pharmaceuticals. I won’t get into it, but I’m not as sickly as I used to be. No more Hector Pi Laureate or anything. No more hormonal madness. Nada. So I have an oppurtunity to bend my metabolism to my ever-loving whim.

I put my goals up in a previous blog entry. So how am I doing?

Well, not well so far. This is typical of me. I always rebel at the first start. I stick my tongue out at it.

AT THIS POINT:

1. I have not gone to martial arts this week once. This is bad because I only went once last week, and twice the week before. Unk! I’m going to have to go tomorrow morning, which is going to HURT! And then there’s classes every day including Saturday. I should try to make Saturday, because they have tournament practice then. I should also go Thursday, because that’s when I usually meet up with the 8pm people (which is where I should be tonight!).

2. I didn’t write down my food for the last two days. This is a two day slip-up and has happened for the first time in over a month. I’ve been good about this for an entire month. I’ll write down my food as soon as I’m done with this blog. I’m going to take my vitamins too, because I just loaded three weeks worth of them. It’s not on my “official” list of goals – but it should be in my mind.

3. I practiced for over 4 hours today, so that’s good. It was not really regimented practice, nor did I really get any ideas down. I am firming up ideas for 3 or 4 songs that will need to be finished and put on the 2 hour set though. I’ll need to tighten up on the scheduling and get organized about the rehearsing soon, but it’s good work. I did some good vocal rehearsing.

4. I was all over the place today, socially. I’m net-stalking people who really shouldn’t be net-stalked … I’m CARING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK (this is a huge no-no in my case), I’m getting in over my head. I need to detach and go back into my own little world. I have told myself that I’m Face-banned. I don’t know for how long. This is good. I’ve enrolled in a writing contest and I’m waiting for Song Fu. These things don’t directly pertain to my goal … but they will help keep me out of the trouble that excessive brooding brings.

I will try not to engage in excessive blogging, or Twittering … or anything.

5. I didn’t get anything done on the studio, but everything tiny thing in the house that I clean is a step in the right direction toward that.

 

Practice makes Totally-Adequate-and-that’s-Just-Fine, thanks

I’m in a group on Facebook where we’re trying to meet our goals by the end of the year. Here are mine:

Denise’s goals:

1. Go to martial arts no less than 3 times per week for the rest of the year

2. Continue writing down everything I eat – every day (avg. 1200-1500 calories-ish, and not usually more than 2100-2300 – depending on exercise needs and other-type things)

3. Get my studio completely set up and all my songs rough recorded

4. Rehearse two full sets to “readiness” so that by January I can … START PERFORMING AGAIN.

5. Think before I dial, click send, or do other potentially neurotic activities.

I would like to blog my progress on these things, but I’m going to be gentle with myself. If the computer distracts me from all this, off it goes. I suppose I will (try to) keep you updated, whoever you are

 

‘O Queen’

I have gotten into Masters of Song Fu round three by the skin of my ass. Here is the song, ‘O Queen‘ – and its lyrics below. I will post reviews of both rounds on this site.

Thank you!

 

O QUEEN

Men look at queens of the past for their clues
trying to see where the problem lies
in these old women’s shoes

Many men could have said / off with the ladies head!
what shall I do with her ?
maybe my wife should burn …

 CH
Queen Christina, oh Queen Christina
how thankful am I, that I live my life in 2009 …

I look to the past and know my sorry ass
would have tried not to fight
but my head would have ended up upon a pike –

for all to see
matrimonial expressions of horror
at justice gone so awry!

CH / BR
If now were then
would you’ve pulled me off of the fire … then ..?
 - instead of now asking me for advice

CH-out
Queen Christina, Queen Christina oh queen …

 

PS. Christina is Christina of Sweden. She was not executed and lived from 1626-1689. She was the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus and she was a patron of the arts – helping men such as Corelli and Scarlatti.

 

Anna’s Gerbil – starring TORI

This is Tori, the gerbil in question and the star of the Masters of Song Fu Round Two competition song ‘Anna’s Gerbil & the Singularity.’ Tori is part of a gerbil community with the charming name Twin Squeaks Gerbils.  I really lucked out by not sampling some random gerbil.  I know all gerbils are God’s creatures; all heading toward eventual singularities of their own … But this is a celebrity gerbil.  She’s had many views.  She’s got more fans than me …

Random Gerbil would be an AWESOME band name …