Well, it’s that time again… for another Original Wednesday Laptop Session! For today’s installment, I decided to break out a slower song that’s never been released before. I wrote it this summer when my girlfriend and two best friends were out of the country (her in England and them in Italy). They were off on adventures in other countries, and I was still at home, going through everyday life as usual.
Except I was alone most of the time.
For the most part, it was relaxing, as I had just finished my student teaching. But, it was also lonely, and I thought about them often, especially Nicole. Thus, this song kind of came to me as I was practicing another song. It really expresses the feeling of figuring something out about a relationship, but being too distant to share it. Yet.
On a side note, Jim, Jeff, and I played two live shows around this time — the SCSU Open Mic Night and our first-ever live appearance together at Testa’s Restaurant in Southington, CT.
I hope you enjoy this video and please comment or rate it!
As is our way around here at the Laptop Sessions, I’ve decided to celebrate the release of a new track with an acoustic cover song music video.
Big surprise given the title of our blog, eh?
Well, tonight I bring you my performance of Steven Page’s forthcoming single “Indecision” off his first solo album proper: Page One (pun intended, I’m sure!), due out September 28th. He just announced the title and track listing yesterday, and I was able to find a live performance on YouTube that sounded like classic Steven Page. It was somewhat difficult to hear the intricacies of the vocals and guitars over the drum sound — due to the quality of the recording — but I have a feeling that the actual studio recording is going to be great.
And I only have to wait a day to find out!
That’s right; I hurried to record this version of the song as a means of honoring and advertising the new release. I’m hoping you’ll like my take on the song enough to click over to iTunes tomorrow and download this track. I’ll be there. Probably at midnight just in case it’s up immediately…
One of the main reasons I took the time today to figure out the chords and lyrics is that I can think of no better way, as a musician and singer/songwriter myself, of enjoying a great new song than learning the words and chords to be able to play along with it.
So, without further ado, I give you my take on this new Steven Page track. I hope this is incentive enough for you to check out the real deal tomorrow, and the full album in a couple months…
Hello and welcome to another edition of Original Wednesday here at the Laptop Sessions!
Tonight, I’m happy to present the second installment of my summer preview series of my forthcoming album The 2010 Project. I began recording demos a few months ago, as I mentioned in a previous post, and now I’ve officially hacked out a track listing. There will be thirteen tracks, all of which are fully composed now and have been recorded in demo form — a few of the demos are more fully produced, but minimally.
Now, I’m at the phase where I’m putting together the tools I need to record. With the help of a friend, I’ve recently picked up a set of seriously great headphones, which will be a necessary component of the mixing process. He also helped me pick out a USB microphone that I’ve been experimenting with this week. There is a line in and external mic plug that I may use if I’d like to refine the sound quality as I begin to record the tracks in a couple weeks. Finally, I had to replace my guitar pedal, which I had to throw away a few months ago when I pulled it out of storage and found the batteries had leaked. I tried to clean it out, but it was too far gone. So, I just got the latest Zoom pedal, which I can’t wait to try out!
Which brings me to the track I’m unveiling today. Previously, this has only been played for two people: my girlfriend and one of my dearest friends of all time. Both encouraged me that the new music I’ve been writing is among my best, so I’m hoping to make them proud by the time I’ve finished recording this new album.
And it’s about time — this marks four years since Love Out of Fashion!
“I Would Prefer Not To” will be the second track on the album, following “No Lights, No Sound.” Those of you English majors out there will pick up on the allusion to the Herman Melville short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.” The verses are as simple as they come, only two chords: D and A. When I record the studio version, I hope to flesh out the riff I have in my mind and make that more catchy. The chorus is more interesting and, as in my favorite songs by artists like Bob Dylan, Mike Fusco, and others, the lyrics change slightly each time around. The song deals with the conflicts that arise from not wanting to disappoint others, but also needing to follow your impulses and passions. It’s a very personal song, critical at times — though it’s meant to be more confident than scathing — and I think there is a universal quality to it, regardless of its personal nature.
Without further ado, I give you my acoustic performance of “I Would Prefer Not To.” I hope you like it, and that you’ll continue to check back for more Original Wednesdays in the near future.
Gm C
I’ve always been a creature of habit,
Am D Gm
But another way I’m addicted to you.
I’m predisposed to have it,
Happiest when I don’t know what to do.
I wanna settle down like my father;
I wanna run away like my mother ought to.
G F C D
Be prepared for indecision; it might make me disappear.
Then again, my addiction to indecision keeps me here.
Riff (x4)
I was born between the tracks.
I left home, I turned around and came back.
One day you and I will be intertwined,
If I can only make up my mind.
Be prepared for indecision; it might make me disappear.
Then again, my addiction to indecision keeps me here.
Riff (x2)
Eb F G
Leave decisions up to fate
Eb F D
Nothing comes to those who wait
Come see the view from on top of the fence.
We’ll watch the world unfold its events.
Some days when I am nearly awake,
I can almost hear the decisions I’ll make.
Be prepared for indecision; it might make me disappear.
Then again, my addiction to indecision keeps me here.
Be prepared for indecision; it might make me disappear.
Then again, my addiction to indecision keeps me here.
Riff (x2)
End on G
** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **
