Extra drowsy Formula

Possibly I should make sure to update this more regularly, rather than adding 3 songs in one day.

“Thanks to the Wishing Well” is my entry to a MetaFilter challenge to write a song with only two chords; this one uses D and G.

Instruments used, in order of appearance: Autoharp, marimba, marxophone, triangle, glockenspiel, and accordion.

I have a couple of other songs in different stages of completion that might only use two chords, but when I was messing around with one of them I accidentally wrote this one instead. Lyrics came about through one of my favorite methods, the “open your mouth and start making sounds” method; once I knew what the song was about I was able to figure out the rest of it.

Technical notes: There are actually two autoharp tracks. When figuring out the structure, I took single autoharp chords and cut and pasted and looped them; that track is still there, panned all the way to the left, and then there’s a straight-up ‘harp track dead center.

No electronic instruments, a rarity for me. Everything was recorded with the ShinyBox ribbon mic. Backup vox were recorded through the Electroharmonix Voice Box, and they’re doubled with a second, higher octave on top, but I can’t pick it out in the mix.

“I Gave You Lots of Presents (But You Left Me In the Past)” is a tale of love long lost. If you’re going to try and buy happiness, remember to keep the receipt. Autoharp, vocals, and a little bit of honky-tonk toy piano.

This arose from a songwriting exercise where you look around you and quickly write song titles based on whatever is lying around. For instance, I’m in the dining room right now, and I see a mug, a telephone, a piano, a ceiling light/fan, and a cat. Okay, so going as fast as I can and thinking as little as possible, I make up the song titles: “I Love Your Mug,” “1-800-THIS-SONG,” “88 Keys That Don’t Open Anything,” “Blow Out the Light,” and “Hey, That’s My Cat.” Obviously, most song titles you get this way will suck. But every now and then you’ll get a good one; one that never would have otherwise occurred to you.

It must have been around Christmas or someone’s birthday when I came up with this one.

Technical details: Let’s see. There’s Autoharp with a split signal panned, unevenly, L-R. Toy piano. Synth bass (Alesis Micron). Combination of real and fake drums (the snare is real; the kick is fake; the cymbals, I think, might be both). One lead vocal and a couple of backups; the backups were recorded bit by bit as I figured parts out. I think that’s it; it’s a pretty simple song.

More than anything else, I like making catchy bubblegum pop songs. “I’m Not So Sure It’s Not a Broken Heart” is one of those (high-quality versions are available here). Autoharp, marimba, and a whole lot of new wave synth.

I wanted that choppy rhythmic sound for the autoharp (the second sound you hear, right after the synth bass starts) but I didn’t know how to do it, so I asked on MetaFilter and it turns out that it’s done with a compressor and a ”sidechain.”  So, there’s something new.

Technical details: There are two autoharp tracks — one with flange or chorus or something and the other one overdriven and run through a sidechain noise gate (see above!). There’s also marimba, Alesis Micron, a tiny bit of piano, and four vocal tracks. The drums are the Boss Dr. Rhythm (except for a couple of actual cymbals); the handclaps are the Boss HC-2 clap pedal.

Finally, I can’t really tell if my own songs are actually catchy, so let me know if you find yourself humming this one tomorrow or the next day.