Holy cheeseballs, this counts as officially the hardest I have worked on a RECord-of-the-day, but it's worth it because it is all one giant valentine for my darling Sarah. (The metaphorest one - there are a lot of Sarahs floating around.)

Sarah has been ten billion times more amazing to me than I even remotely deserve. My very first big RECord she hearted and left an encouraging comment immediately, she puts up with all my insecurities and 4 AM e-mails (OH MY GOD SARAH, WHAT AM I DOING, I THINK I'M DOING EVERYTHING WRONG, I'M NOT REALLY A CREATIVE PERSON AT ALL, I SHOULD JUST SHUT OFF MY INTERNET FOR THE GOOD OF EVERYONE, WHY DOES NO ONE LOVE ME) and points me in the directions I should go. I'd been e-mailing her some ideas for lyrics, hoping to coax a tune out of her, when I realized, hey, she put up the Hibernate, Hermit guitar, I like that tune, why don't I co-opt it? And Sarah, because she is magnificent, not only gave me her blessing, but lent me her lovely voice for the harmonies at the end.

I'm not terribly thrilled with the quality of my vocals, here, but I did the best I could with my voice (which was in a bad mood today) and my recording system (which is crappy regardless of what day I use it).

New lyrics are below. And I love you, Sarahpants. <3

Sometimes I feel rough
Like I’m nothing someone would want
Sometimes I feel lost
Like I’ve called and no one’s come
Where’s that love I’m told I’ll find?
Cause you’re always on my mind

There are things I should tell you, some things you should know
Before you take me on
There’s a reason just you and nobody else
Wanted me before

I’m messy, argumentative, and weak
I don’t think before I speak
I wish I was more wonderful for you
You deserve more than me, you do

You don’t need to be perfect, just be you - that’s fine
Crooked man of mine
So where are you, lover,
Where have you gone?
These years have been long

I’ve got flaws and you’ve got cracks
But I’ll always love you back
So just take me, I’ll take you
Us together, imperfect two

Sometimes I feel rough
Like I’m nothing someone would want
Sometimes I feel lost
Like I’ve called and  no one’s come
Where’s that love I’m told I’ll find?
Cause you’re always on my mind

Hoorah, continuing my resolution to record something every day! I am unsure how long this will last, but the fact that it lasted three days is already two days longer than I thought it would, so there you go.

I took piano for ten years as a kid. I was never particularly skilled or unskilled, it was just a fun hobby. But that still makes me lightyears better than I am on any other instrument. I realized, as I was going through my old piano music a couple of weekends ago, that while I may be utterly unabe to write music, I can still play stuff.  And what's more, most of what I learned to play is super-duper old, which makes it public domain. Or at least, it is as far as my google-fu tells me.

So this is Autumn by Samuel Maykapar. Enjoy, remix, do your thing, let me know if you like this, because I've got about eight other pieces I put sticky notes next to for future recording.

Actually, let's be honest, even if no one says anything, I'll probably just put them up here eventually anyway.

And hey, while we're at it, the tune I came up with while I was writing the short story that doesn't really go with the words!

Okay, fair warning - I have never thought up a tune to anything in my life, and there is always the chance I stole it from somewhere I can't remember. For which I apologize. Also, the tune is the same for all of the verses. I think it could be made interesting/less repetitive with some instruments in the background, but my instrumental ability is pretty nil.

For this take I just recorded Joe's verses from the original - I'd be happy to record any other verses that decide to get added or re-record over a backing track or what have you, this is just a rough draft.

...and now I'm going to post this before I chicken out.

I got an idea in my head for a melody based on the words Joe put up last night. It's pretty simple, and I have some ideas to jazz it up (and a .zip file of resources to do so) here. Think of this as just an appetizer.

The second I heard amferraro's new song, I was like oh my god I have to sing this right now. And then I spent an hour writing response lyrics. amferraro was kind enough to upload just the guitar parts, so here is my (probably not as good) alternate take.

Also, I should just tell you, my microphone can't handle high notes. It's a really crappy microphone. Let's pretend it's not a bug, you guys. It's a feature. Adds, uh, atmosphere. Or something.

New Lyrics:

I keep you close to me when we walk
'Cause you love my voice, darling, when I talk
Between our hands there's no ticking clock
And no secrets that we keep

Remember when we were bold and young?
How when we kissed, oh the stars they sung
A promise on the tip of my tongue
But I was too choked up to speak

But oh, darling I'd never go if you weren't there to long for
My darling, I'd never fly if you weren't there to call for

I need time, but I'll return one day
And still love you more than words can say
You know me, I do things my way
I've got a stubborn disposition

Before I go, let's lay in bed
Watch the lights dance around your head
We don't talk, you just hum instead
You know I've always liked musicians

Oh, darling I'd never go if you weren't there to long for
And my darling, I'd never fly if you weren't there to call for

Oh, darling I'd never go if you weren't there to long for
And my darling, I'd never fly if you weren't there to call for

I tried so, so hard to resist. For twenty-four hours, I kept my hands off amferraro's newest song. I resisted. But like all of his songs, its siren-like powers compelled me to nose on in there, which probably in no way improved it at all. At some point in time, amferraro will have a creative restraining order taken out against me, and I do not blame him one bit.

Another old public domain song from the good old days when I used to play piano. I thought it sounded nice and lullabye-ish and therefore perfect for all the new hitRECord babies coming.

Whew, my first-ever lyrics written entirely from scratch - as in, I didn't even have a melody. It was... a challenge. I'm still not sure I did so well, but there's a first time for everything. This could not have been done without the estimable KittyPimms, who took my rather crude melody line and helped me figure out how to make it more. <3

Lyrics:

If I listen close I can hear a prayer
In your rolling laugh, in your untamed hair
For what is there of human grace
But two bodies in a hidden space?

I could search forever to find somewhere like where we are
Watch your face in the fading headlights of passing cars
The quiet of your breathing in the dark
Between us, sacred red and yellow sparks

Let's build a fort under blankets white
We'll come undone and you'll hold me tight
The world could end and all I'd hear
Confessions from your heart against my ear

I could search forever to find somewhere like where we are
Watch your face in the fading headlights of passing cars
The quiet of your breathing in the dark
Between us, sacred red and yellow sparks

As I have mentioned before, all the tools I have to record audio are utter crap, which means I really shouldn't be butchering any songs in the first place by getting my fingers in them, but when I first heard this amferraro song all I could think was "I really, really, really have to do a piano cover of this" and no matter how many times I tried to tell myself that was a horrible idea, I couldn't quite manage it. So, with my sincerest apologies, here it is. I'll upload the .zip shortly in case anyone who knows what they're doing, mixing-wise, can fix this. I mean, I'm not heavily betting on that being possible, but hey, rougher things have been put up here with amazing remixed results, so I guess I'm just an eternal optimist.

Fun fact - did you know gerbils talk? Normally they don't that much, but one of my gerbils (Gus) is the absolute chattiest gerbil I have ever encountered. Some days you just pick him up and start petting him and he launches into a very nuanced and chirped soliloquy. I'm not sure what he's trying to tell me, though, as I don't speak gerbil.

The point is, I recorded this mostly for fun about a week ago just to share with friends who I'd been telling about these chirps for ages. And then when I played it for Dusty and Kitty, they both pointed out this was potentially a useful sound effect, since he sounds so much like a bird. So here you go! Feel free to remix my talkative little friend to your heart's content. I'm sure if he had a brain larger than a pea, he'd be very flattered.

I am ridiculously and disproportionately proud of this. Like, way more than is warranted by the actual quality of the product. But I love this song and it was on my "one day I should record this" list when Rainey sang it, so I decided to make my first foray into harmonies. It took me about five hours of poring over a billion different arrangements I could find online and noodling at my piano, but I got it done! This to me doesn't sound anywhere close to finished, more like I added a layer to a cake and someone needs to add another few layers and/or frost it, but it's a start. And have I mentioned I'm ridiculously proud of myself?

Also, if anyone's interested in hearing the just me isolated version of this song so they can remix it so they levels aren't so whacky, let me know and I'll upload it. I'm only refraining because it's been so chopped and edited to line up with Rainey's vocals it sounds hella weird on its lonesome.

Because aquatic-themed spirituals seem to be en vogue lately, I decided to record this, which I'd been meaning to get around to for a while. I kept it intentionally free of any frills - harmonies, percussion, doo-wopping  - so you guys could play with it. I can also change the key up if needed, I just really enjoy having occasion to use my deep, manly voice.

As Suzy requested, same thing, except this time I actually manage to sing in unison.

Edit: Okay, there's something wrong with this, like a stem went missing. If you're editing, use this for the unison parts, use the other version for the not-unison parts.

The second I heard Sarah's version of this, I knew I had to make it into a duet. It really seems to me to be meant for duet-ing (is that a word? It is now). So here is my contribution.

As a sidebar, it's amazing how much better I sound now that I've learned to use Audacity/my microphone properly.

The second I heard this song I was like "oh damn, I know exactly what harmonies this needs". It's pretty rare for me to be able to think in terms of backing vocals, so I decided to go ahead and do them, even though no one seems to like my audio. You know what, I have fun singing. Which is what counts.

As far as I'm concerned, the only thing this song really needs to finish it off is some clappy/snappy percussion, but when I tried to record that on my mic, it sounded weird. So someone with the capacity to make a clap sound like a clap should get on that.

Added some verses to RJ's great blues version of Make Space for Me In Your Coffin, which I'm about 99% happy with. Ideally I'd have liked to cut the intro down and make it so it was a me verse-him verse-me verse thing, but my skills in Audacity don't extend that far. I just figured out how to add a little reverb so my voice sounds more like my voice. If anyone wants to mess with this further, I'll put up just my vocals (and the additional lyrics) in a moment.

And hey, I just crossed something off my hitRECord to do list. Productivity!

Just me singing, for any remixers. And the lyrics, for the curious (with a huge thank you to Sarah, who looked them over for me and assured me that yes, they fit very well with the original ones):

Verse 1:
Oh all of us are dying
With each breath we take
So go find someone who will love you
And take your breath away for living's sake

Tell me what's the point of living
Without a partner for the ride
And then what's the point of dying
Without someone by your side

Verse 2:
If love's a deal with the devil
Then you are what I'll win
You save me from damnation,
Then tempt me back to hell again

Without you I am nothing
Besides a sack of bones
I'm leaving this world with you
Instead of staying here all alone

Heard the song, had to sing to it, even though I am getting over a cold and my voice is not at the top of its game. A billion thank yous to Metaphorest for doing the final mix, because I can't mix for love or money.

Lyrics:
I'm alone and that's how I like it
Cause when you're alone no one leaves you crying
I've spent all my life running from boys like you
'Cause I'm afraid of the things that you could make my heart do

Don't say those words, I don't think you'd mean them
If you knew the promise implied between them
I've been broken with words coming from boys like you
And I'm afraid of the things that you could make my heart do
Things you make my heart do

Be careless, be thoughtless, be callous, be reckless, be cruel
I can take anything but sweetness from a boy like you
My heart is a delicate creature I've built walls around
I try to resist but you're Jericho's horn and my walls
They come crashing down
My walls come crashing down

As requested for remix purposes.

This has been one of my favorite songs since I was very, very little. I had sheet music of this and would sing along with it. Which also makes it the only piece of piano music I've been able to sing and play at the same time. I mean, I can't do it anymore, but at one point, I had skills.

Anyway, my playing was never as nice as the backing Krrr put up, so I decide to have a go. Big, big thanks to Metaphorest for doing the mixing, since I can never figure that stuff out.

For remixers.

This poem has gotten popular. So I read it.