January 2009
10 posts
If I Was Wrong
In the late winter/early spring of 2002, I decided I wanted to write a group of really nasty rock n’ roll songs. Almost before I began to write any, I came up with an album title and an album design: “When You Were Ugly & I Was Brave.” (The album cover was going to be a photo of me sitting on a bench wearing a three-piece suit next to a french prostitute, with an old bulldog...
“If I Was Wrong” written by Ryan J....
Metrocard
A lot of the songs I’ve written over the years exist only in my head. I didn’t write lots of them down, and while Darrell recorded lots of them onto tapes through a boombox so he could practice to them, I don’t know if he still has these tapes and what songs would be on them if he did. I wrote “Metrocard” on the way home from a trip to NYC, about two people I had seen...
“Metrocard” written by Ryan J. Tressel...
Latter Days and Saints
I really like reading about the creative process—Roseanne Cash did a column for the NYT last year that outlined how she went about creating songs—and today’s song is good for talking about how sometimes things don’t work out. I had the piano melody sketched out shortly after breakfast, and sang nonsense words over it, and then wrote lyrics based on the nonsense. The...
“Latter Days and Saints” written &...
The Ice Is Everywhere
I wrote and recorded this one between 9:15-10:30 this morning. I wrote my first song over 15 years ago, and so far I’ve avoided writing the “winter sucks” song. The streak had to come to an end eventually.
“The Ice is Everywhere” written &...
Can't Imagine
Having just finished a lengthy writing project, I thought I’d clear my palate by writing a few songs. I started writing this one at 12:30, and then finished recording the demo at 2:40. All the noises are made by me, although you might be able to hear Beto scratching at the door and meowing around the 2:10 mark.
“Can’t Imagine” written &...