Want 5 (Free) New Songs Every Week?

Maybe you’ve run into the concept before, or may not. Jonathan Coulton was the most famous with his “Thing a Week” (now ended), but many people appear to have taken on the challenge: write one brand new song each and every week and give it away to whoever is interested. Why would anyone take up this challenge? The usual reasons seem to be fairly consistent:

1. To get wider exposure for your music.
2. To hone your songwriting skills.
3. To be able to sell “best of” compilations on a periodic basis.
4. Because it seemed a good idea at the time.

In the case of Coulton’s effort, it seems to have been highly succesful. His Thing a Week ran for the scheduled year, producing 4 albums and several internet hit songs — notably Code Monkey and Re: Your Brains — and vastly increasing his name recognition. (Of course, the recent write-up in the New York Times isn’t going to hurt him either.)

I knew that several other people were attempting the same experiment, but had no idea how to find all of them. Given that there was no organized list, I figured it was time for me to try to fill in the gap. These are the people (or groups) that I could find who are making a current effort to put out brand new songs on a weekly (or near weekly) basis for public consumption. I believe that they all allow free downloads, although they may encourage you to voluntarily support their ongoing efforts, or buy the final albums. (I too encourage you to support them if you like their stuff. If more independent musicians can make a living, we may start to escape the stranglehold of the major labels.)

• Various: The FuMP: The FuMP is”The Funny Music Project” — a collective of 7 primary artists, 6 supporting artists, and assorted hangers-on who produce what is best described as “Dementoid Music”. This means that the style might be folk, rock, rap, or metal, but it’s always designed to make you laugh. (Given the wide range of styles, you are probably going to find that you hate at least some of it, but I’m not going to try to guess which songs you’ll like and which you won’t. Your mileage will vary, but on the average you’ll still come out ahead.) Given the number of artists contributing, these folks seem to have little trouble keeping to their schedule of two songs a week, and have just released their second semi-monthly album. For some classic examples, check out Don’t Shoot and 99 Words for Boobs.
• Tom Smith: iTom — Tom specializes in tremendously funny music, though he’ll sometimes surprise you with a sad or scary song that will tear out your heart or your spleen. He’s been keeping to a weekly schedule since August 2006, and has just finished his 3rd compilation. Each album in the set explores a different theme: “And So It Begins“, “Transitions“, “True Love Waits“. For highly contrasting examples from his first album, check out Lars Needs Women and The Here and Now.
• Various: Song Fight!: Song Fight isn’t quite the same deal as the other offerings. Instead its a (roughly) weekly challenge. Somebody proposes a title (and album art) and folks are encouraged to submit songs to match the title. Thus, you’re likely to get one song title and 24 instantiations of that title as actual songs. The quality will be highly variable, but the gimmick is hard to resist, and there can be some very pleasant gems hidden away amongst the hunks of gravel.
• Tom Flannery and Lorne Clarke: SongaWeek: Flannery and Clarke have been providing at least one folk song a week since early 2003. Their subject matter is almost exclusively political, and will likely offend you if you don’t agree with their politics. However, whether you agree or not, you must admire their dedication to chronicling the news of the week. For examples of what you might expect, check out two comments of the same event, 9 months apart: Katrina and Re-Electing Nagin.

5 Great Albums from the Science Fiction Community

Creativity seldom follows just one path, so it’s hardly surprising that science fiction fans should develop a thriving sub-culture of accomplished musicians and songwriters. This includes many published authors, starting with old school masters like Poul Anderson, Gordy Dickson, and Peter Beagle, and continuing through Steven Brust, Emma Bull, Neil Gaiman, and Mercedes Lackey.

Some of the music you’ll find in the community falls into the peculiar folk music sub-genre known as “filk“, or variants such as “filk-rock”, while other examples are just plain good music that happens to be performed by genre devotees. In any case, if you tune in, you’ll find that “the literature of ideas” tends to spin off some very inventive music.

Divine Intervention — Julia Ecklar

This is perhaps the most ambitious filk music album ever created. The arrangements are highly orchestrated — rumor held that they hired a substantial fraction of the Pittsburgh Symphony — and the sound is incredibly rich. Combine this with Julia’s incredible voice and an excellent assortment of songs and you have an album like no other. The songs are inspired largely by literature such as The Book of the New Sun and The Silver Metal Lover and movies such as Ladyhawk and Karate Kid (as well as unwritten novels by soon-to-be John Campbell award winner Ecklar herself). They also include songs by top filkers such as Cynthia McQuillin and T.J. Burnside-Clapp.

 

Keepers of the Flame — Phoenyx

This album, from 1990, combined the fantastic writing and performing skills of Heather Alexander with a talented crew of San Francisco musicians, producing a synergistic mix that has never quite been duplicated in her later work. Featuring two electric violins, along with guitars, drums and a full complement of vocalists, Phoenyx produced hardcore filk-rock at a level of energy that could not be matched. Unfortunately, they broke up soon after the album was recorded, and the album has long since become a collector’s item.

The songs concerned themselves with fantastic peoples and beasts, from the folk of Elfland to Moorcock’s Stormbringer to various unnamed creatures that you certainly wouldn’t want to meet on a dark and stormy night. This was Celtic music and Celtic myth brought through the fannish tradition into the modern era with a healthy infusion of driving rock.

Luckily, many of the album’s best tracks have been released on newer albums, and if they don’t have quite the energy of the older recording, they are still worth having in your collection. Creature of the Wood and Stormbringer may be found on Life’s Flame, and Yo Ho!, Black Unicorn, and Up in the Loft can be found on Enchantment, by her new band “Uffington Horse”.

 

The Last Hero on Earth — Tom Smith

Every year, the 24 Hour Comics Day asks cartoonists to create complete comic books in just 24 hours. Since Tom Smith is a songwriter, he doesn’t bother drawing — he just produces comical songs. However, in 2005 he decided to create a complete musical comic book — a comic opera — in 24 hours. He handicapped himself in every way possible, by getting other folks to propose the names of the characters (“The Waffle”, “Sir Wilfred P. Huffelbaggins III”) and the titles of the songs (“With Great Power Come Great Power Bills”, “Warning! Wimbledon!”, “Hey, Didn’t You Die?”), and still managed to come up with a coherent plotline; complete lyrics; singable tunes; and a happy ending. All of this, in 24 hours. Not only is it a marvel of high-speed craftsmanship — it’s just plain fine craftsmanship in general. If you are a fan of super-hero comics, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try.

 

Less Than Art — Ookla the Mok

I’ve reviewed Ookla’s latest album elsewhere, but Less Than Art is actually their first studio album, released about 10 years ago. It’s out of print at the moment, but I have it on good authority that it’ll be re-released “real soon now”. It shows more of a fannish bent then their latest album, with two songs based on Star Trek; one on Aquaman; and one on classic horror movies. There’s also nostalgia, TV, romance and just plain great rock music.

I love where Ookla have gone with their music in the last 10 years, but I’ll always have a soft spot for this first album, and it should have a place in everyone’s collection. (Heck, this is the album that should have gotten them discovered and enshrined next to They Might be Giants and Barenaked Ladies. Fannish or not, I think the songs are that good.)

 

To Touch the Stars — Various

Science fiction fans have been writing fictional and non-fictional songs about the space program for longer than there has been a space program. Many fans were inspired by a classic filk music tape entitled Minus Ten and Counting, which is now long out of print. But Prometheus Music has come to the rescue and produced To Touch the Stars, a new album with some of the classic songs that inspired many of us, including Hope Eyrie, Fire in the Sky, and Witness’s Waltz; along with newer songs that reflect a new generation of dreamers, such as The Pioneers of Mars and Dog on the Moon. It also includes a truly excellent track by Christine Lavin — If We Had No Moon — that is a must for every science geek.

 

Legal Update: It is my belief that my inclusion of album art, whether by deep linking to the sites of the album retailers or via hosted thumbnails is appropriate fair use in promotion of albums. Certainly no harm is intended. If either the hosts or the copyright holders have any cause for complaint, I ask them to please contact me and I will promptly act to satisfy your requests.

Album review: oh okay LA

If you’ve never heard of the band “Ookla the Mok“, then you are missing a unique experience.  If you must have a comparision, it’s easiest to point to The Barenaked Ladies or They Might Be Giants.  You’ll find the same incredibly tight, highly zany lyrics, but I’d actually place Ookla a notch or two above either of the better-known bands.  (Millions of outraged fans have a perfect right to disagree with me on this, of course.  My taste is my own, and I speak only for myself.  However, I know what I like.)

On their previous albums, Rand Bellavia and Adam English have written about anything and everything, from nostalgia to super heroes to “close encounters of the fourth kind“, but their albums have always retained a degree of thematic unity.  On “oh okay LA“, they continue this trend.  Beyond any pun you might (or might not) observe, the album title clues you in to the fact that this album concentrates on mass media and “Hollywood culture”.  It also establishes a pattern for the titles of the tracks, in which single letters, short words, and abbreviations dominate.  Does this sound a wee bit odd, and perhaps overwhelming?  Welcome to the wonderful world of Ookla the Mok.  (Note, in addition to CD Baby, this album may also be found at eMusic and Amazon.  I get no comission from any of these links.)

Now let’s examine the individual tracks:

1. W.W.S.D.? — This track gets the album off to a rocking start with a tribute to everyone’s favorite Hanna-Barbera character.  In long form, this track asks “What would Scooby Doo do?”  Not only are the lyrics incredibly catchy (“If your mind’s in a fog / Don’t think too much — put your trust in dog”), but you can’t help but dance to the bouncy tune.
2. F. People — If you tune in to the Dr. Demento show, you may have heard this song, which spent several weeks on the Funny 5.  This tribute to Michael Jackson and other out-of-control celebrities (“famous people are weird”) was written before the famous trial took over the airwaves, but proved amazingly prescient.  Perhaps they’ll add another verse in honor of Mel Gibson.  Downbeat, and a bit funky, its another one that’ll stick with you long after the disc stops spinning.
3. P.M. Prima Donna — The very obscure title hides one of the nastiest puns on the album, and you’re going to have to actually hunt down a copy to find out what, ’cause I’m not going to give this one away.  The song is a tribute to (and amazingly accurate biography of) one of the great divas of pop-rock, Cher.  As the song says, “Cher’s the rare beyond compare Millionaire hair care heir”, and you won’t be able to stop humming along.  Like the first two songs, this one pulls you along in an unstoppable wave.
4. A.M. Suicide — This tribute to (or perhaps lament for) Gary Coleman is a complete change of pace.  The melody literally takes to form of a dirge, and the tone is pure ’80s angst.  Frankly, you might love this song, or you might hate it.  The folks I’ve talked to have been split, and I’m afraid that I fall on the side of dislike.  It certainly does serve to show that Ookla is willing to embrace a variety of styles, and who knows: you might be in the 50% who likes it.
5. LA (la land) – This song explicitly addresses the theme of the album.  On the surface a classic tribute to the American dream — wander out to LA; be discovered; and become the next big star.  However, it quickly becomes a bittersweet reflection on the brilliance of dreams and the dull tarnish of reality:  “Your mom and dad would be so  proud / So proud if you hadn’t changed your name”.  Beware: this one might make you think.
6. STS-107 — This is perhaps the most obscure title on the album.  The song is, on the surface, about Columbus and his expedition to sail around the world to India.  However, it becomes an anthem to the pioneering spirit and, when you realize the title is a reference to a particular ill-fated shuttle mission, and exhortation to maintain that spirit in spite of the costs.  (We remember the fallen, and then we shoulder their burdens and carry on their legacy.  This is the pioneer spirit that carried us from Europe to America, and from the Eastern colonies across the continent.)  This could have been a dirge, but it is instead a nicely uplifting song of inspiration.
7. Go On — Most albums contain at least one lesser work.  Sad to say, this song qualifies in my book.  It’s a perfectly acceptable bit of workmanship, telling the tale of a relationship’s end in a quite unexceptional manner.  It wouldn’t be out of place on any top 40 album, but it wouldn’t be the breakout hit on any of them.
8. Ex — Ookla has an unabashed fascination with science fiction themes, and the next two songs give free rein to this fascination.  “Ex” is a tribute to the X-Files as told from the point of Fox Mulder (“the truth is I just want to believe“) singing to Dana Scully.  It’s a loving tribute, and jolly fun.
9. Mr. W — This tribute to Star Fleet’s most famous half-klingon security officer is a must-listen for any fan of Star Trek.  It shows a deft handling of all of the Next Gen characters, with cameo mentions of everyone from Nurse Ogawa to Data’s cat Spot.  The high point of the song is the great Mr. W himself performing a Klingon rap.  Jimmy T. say’s “Check it out”.
10. O Sting — This is nought but a 90-second pun, with a decent instrumental hook and some clever wordplay in the build-up.  I won’t give away the punchline.
11. Buffalo, CA — It may surprise my more geographically challenged readers, but the snowy city on Lake Erie is not actually in the state of California.  The band indulges in a bit of wishful thinking, all to a driving beat, some up-beat accordion, and a few nice beach-band chords.  I wish they all could be BuffaloNY bands.
12. Hollywood’s Ending — Finally, the thematic closing.  The album is over; the movie is over; and we sing about endings.  In some respects this is a reprise of “LA (la land)”, looking beyond the Hollywood dream to the people dreaming those dreams.  While they’re at it the authors tie everything together with references to three or four other songs and leave us with one final word:  “goodbye”.

Taken in total, you have an album that will grab you on the first listen with an immediate hook and some incredibly catchy lyrics, and keep you wanting to listen all the way through.  On future listens, you’ll just come to appreciate the clever lyrics more, and see the depth in the slower more thoughtful songs.  I’ve had this album for some years now — I’m not very fast about reviewing things — and I’m still finding new insights and new things to like about it.  Why don’t you stop on by one of the merchant sites above and listen to a few samples to see what I mean.  It’ll be worth your time.

Never set the mouse on fire

Okay, this isn’t my normal subject matter, but sometimes it seems that the whole "karma" thing works.  If you are going to be cruel enough to set a live mouse on fire, don’t be surprised when it runs into your house and burns it down.

And as for the post title — Frank Hayes told it to us years ago in song, only his advice was to Never Set the Cat on Fire.

PS: Kudos to bariau at livejournal for posting the link.