The creative process can be as entertaining and rewarding as anything in life.
In our biggest musical enterprise yet, we’ve finally finished the Magnificent Fantastic double cd titled “Sweet”. Although the project was quite tedious and time consuming, there were some memorable moments of laughter and creative fulfillment for all of us involved. Some of the songs can be heard at:
www.myspace.com/themagnificentfantastic
I believe there’s ten copies left if anyone is interested.
I was thinking yesterday about how these songs provide a dual purpose. Not only are they some measure of aural entertainment for children and adults alike but they also provide a snapshot into our experiences and observations as a parent, much like the goal of this blog.
This project has provided for some memorable moments. A few memories that come to mind:
- Parker still does not use the pronoun “she” when she’s referring to a third person of the female gender. Hence the lyrics in the song Seasquirt (her name is Seasquirt and her’s my best friend/her greets me in the morning, her’s with me at the day’s end). One day her’s going to grow out of it and I’m going to miss the way her misuses the word “her”. Grammatically it’s her-rendous.
- After not hearing the song “Sugar High” for several weeks, I was driving PJ home from preschool a few weeks back when out of the blue she belts out the line “so high you can touch the sky…kiss the ground goodbye”. I still chuckle thinking about that moment.
- Although she’s doing it herself now, Parker used to yell out the phrase “MOM/DAD CAN YOU WIPE MY BUTT?!!?” so incredibly loud with complete disregard of the personal aspect to it. Of course it’s coming from the bathroom which adds some reverb to it as well. She was “performing” about five to seven bowel movements a day so for Laura it was seemingly a continual exercise for her. That’s something I’m going to miss…well sorta. I will miss her declaration but not her defecation. Luckily we have a little song on the cd to commemorate the memory.
- Whenever I’m at the computer, Georgia walks up to me, taps me on the knee and chants “Da…Da…Da…Da” very enthusiastically which means she wants to dance. Whenever I play her one of my songs she looks at the computer screen, then looks at me and shakes her head meaning “no”. Then I put on “The Littlest Little in Littleland” and she goes nuts. She bee-lines to the ottoman, climbs on top of it and dances.
Notable songs from the cd include:
1) Sugar High - I love this song moreover I love annoying Jeff with my 8 minute song creations. Let it be known that this song, like many had input from other people. I had the initial idea and lyrics but Laura and Jeff helped out with the “when the sugar hits her brain” mantra as well as the lyrics in the Pink Floyd-ish breaks.
2) Potty Town – this song was written by Geoff Nicolle. He came to me with the idea in his head and the lyrics and it’s one of my top 3 songs of the cd by far. I love this song…especially the “freedom” part.
3) Seasquirt / Fuzzy for the Many – I can’t stop writing songs about Parker’s blanket. I don’t know why, it’s kinda weird. Fuzzy for the Many was written (Loren Barroca helped with the lyrics) based no something PJ said a long while back. She was telling me how she preferred the Fuzzy side of her blanket as compared to the shiny (silky) side. She mentioned that some people might like the shiny side more but most people like the fuzzy side of her blanket because it’s so cozy and cuddly.
4) Going On A Trip – the best song on the cd penned by Jeff, in my opinion. The lyrics are quite inventive and paint a very visual picture of a child using her imagination. What’s most impressive is the feel of the song. It paints a distinct picture that meshes so well with the lyrics which is a difficult task to achieve, believe me.
5) Spank Me – this song was fun to create (Laura, myself, and Jeff…and a couple wee drops of alcohol) in the music room. A couple things stand out; my father-in-law’s recitation of the clinical definition of the work “spank” and Jeff’s cathartic singing at the end “NO…MAMMA NO!”
6) The Littlest Little In Littleland - I have never ever heard the word "aperitif" used in a song, much less a children's song. Don't know if i can top that lyrically. Kudos to Jeff.
www.myspace.com/themagnificentfantastic
I believe there’s ten copies left if anyone is interested.
I was thinking yesterday about how these songs provide a dual purpose. Not only are they some measure of aural entertainment for children and adults alike but they also provide a snapshot into our experiences and observations as a parent, much like the goal of this blog.
This project has provided for some memorable moments. A few memories that come to mind:
- Parker still does not use the pronoun “she” when she’s referring to a third person of the female gender. Hence the lyrics in the song Seasquirt (her name is Seasquirt and her’s my best friend/her greets me in the morning, her’s with me at the day’s end). One day her’s going to grow out of it and I’m going to miss the way her misuses the word “her”. Grammatically it’s her-rendous.
- After not hearing the song “Sugar High” for several weeks, I was driving PJ home from preschool a few weeks back when out of the blue she belts out the line “so high you can touch the sky…kiss the ground goodbye”. I still chuckle thinking about that moment.
- Although she’s doing it herself now, Parker used to yell out the phrase “MOM/DAD CAN YOU WIPE MY BUTT?!!?” so incredibly loud with complete disregard of the personal aspect to it. Of course it’s coming from the bathroom which adds some reverb to it as well. She was “performing” about five to seven bowel movements a day so for Laura it was seemingly a continual exercise for her. That’s something I’m going to miss…well sorta. I will miss her declaration but not her defecation. Luckily we have a little song on the cd to commemorate the memory.
- Whenever I’m at the computer, Georgia walks up to me, taps me on the knee and chants “Da…Da…Da…Da” very enthusiastically which means she wants to dance. Whenever I play her one of my songs she looks at the computer screen, then looks at me and shakes her head meaning “no”. Then I put on “The Littlest Little in Littleland” and she goes nuts. She bee-lines to the ottoman, climbs on top of it and dances.
Notable songs from the cd include:
1) Sugar High - I love this song moreover I love annoying Jeff with my 8 minute song creations. Let it be known that this song, like many had input from other people. I had the initial idea and lyrics but Laura and Jeff helped out with the “when the sugar hits her brain” mantra as well as the lyrics in the Pink Floyd-ish breaks.
2) Potty Town – this song was written by Geoff Nicolle. He came to me with the idea in his head and the lyrics and it’s one of my top 3 songs of the cd by far. I love this song…especially the “freedom” part.
3) Seasquirt / Fuzzy for the Many – I can’t stop writing songs about Parker’s blanket. I don’t know why, it’s kinda weird. Fuzzy for the Many was written (Loren Barroca helped with the lyrics) based no something PJ said a long while back. She was telling me how she preferred the Fuzzy side of her blanket as compared to the shiny (silky) side. She mentioned that some people might like the shiny side more but most people like the fuzzy side of her blanket because it’s so cozy and cuddly.
4) Going On A Trip – the best song on the cd penned by Jeff, in my opinion. The lyrics are quite inventive and paint a very visual picture of a child using her imagination. What’s most impressive is the feel of the song. It paints a distinct picture that meshes so well with the lyrics which is a difficult task to achieve, believe me.
5) Spank Me – this song was fun to create (Laura, myself, and Jeff…and a couple wee drops of alcohol) in the music room. A couple things stand out; my father-in-law’s recitation of the clinical definition of the work “spank” and Jeff’s cathartic singing at the end “NO…MAMMA NO!”
6) The Littlest Little In Littleland - I have never ever heard the word "aperitif" used in a song, much less a children's song. Don't know if i can top that lyrically. Kudos to Jeff.
FEEDBACK...PLEASE. Although I think the sound quality is our best yet, I would thoroughly appreciate some feedback on the sound quality of the cd. How did the mixes sound? Are the vocals loud enough or are they buried too far in the mix? Too much bass in some of the tracks? How about the volume of some of the songs, we tried to keep it consistent but it’s more difficult than you think. Jeff and I suffered through numerous iterations of the songs all the while arguing over the type of equalization as well as mixes on each track. Again, I would love some feedback on anything that was wrong with the mixes. It’s amazing how the cd will sound different in each stereo it’s played from. I don’t know how the professionals do it.
This cd is intended to be our swan song to children’s music. I figured the well had run dry after this endeavor. I never would've imagined we be able to put together 48 songs. It originally was intended to be a songle cd but the hits kept on coming. Plus, I wasn't ready to be done after one cd and delaying the project meant that I could procrastinate the inevitable and unenviable task of writing music for adults.
Writing and recording children’s music is a great cover for us. The expectations are inherently lower in this format which is great for the songwriter. Also, you can be as silly and witless as you desire. It's songwriting with a warm, fuzzy and cuddly safety net.
In the movie "The Candidate", Robert Redford starts as a long-shot senatorial candidate in California. He spends the entire movie enduring the trials and tribulations of being an unknown candidate going through the rigorous campaign obstacle course otherwise known as California politics. Eventually he overcomes all the setbacks presented to him and wins the senate seat. In the final scene Redford walks into an elecetion night celebration party and looks back to his campaign manager and asks the poignant question..."Now what?"
So now that we are done I can finally get back to spending quality time with my wonderful wife sipping wine while sitting on the couch watching our favorite tv show “SO YOU THINK YOU CAN be THE BIGGEST LOSER on PROJECT RUNWAY before an INTERVENTION occurs by OPRAH and you continue to be in the running of becoming AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL yet would rather be spending your time DANCING WITH THE STARS”.
ahhhhhhh good times ahead…
I do want to say...
to everyone who listens to it and enjoys it. Although our fan base is approximately seven or eight people, it's nice to know that a few people are waiting with some level of anticipation for the cd. It motivated me to make this project sound as polished as possible.
P.S. - don’t give up on either cd after track 24.
P.P.S. - thanks Becky for the pictures
3 comments:
A couple standout memories for me are
- brainstorming with Will and Jeff on the lyrics for Sugar High..."Purple Guy in the Sky" and "Like the gorge at Ol' Duvai", had us practically peeing our pants. But we felt so brilliant when we came up with "you can't ignore the sign of sugar that's refined".
-Coming up with the lyrics for Spank Me... We had a lot of good lines that we chose not to use. I still think we should do an adult version of this song.
-Taking voice lessons so I could hit the high parts required in the vocals on the psychadelic Floyd part.
-Singing with My sister, Geoff, Jeff, Cathy and Will on the vocals of "Hey My Sweet" was a lot of fun.
i got to hear a bit of "katie style" the other day - i'll have to ask becky to make me a copy of that magnificent fantastic album! love it!!!
Well, BRAVO! doesn't even begin to cover it for me. I'm continually amazed at all the ideas, the music and the performance you guys come up with. I can't wait to hear Raquel singing her littlest little song (which, by the way, was one of the first things she smiled for) and I sincerely hope she (and Eva) will inspire you to album #3. Also, I would like to get involved this time!
I love "Georgia" and the waterpark song. Of course Littlest Little makes me giggle, but I'm biased. Lots of favorites for me. Most songs for me seem fine as far as the "mix" -- and believe me, I'm your average listener with very little knowledge of that sort of thing. So for the most part, no, I don't think the mix could be any better. But since you seem concerned, there are a few times when the vocals could be louder. The Sugar High song, when Laura goes high should be louder (right about minute 2) or the pink floyd riff should be a little bit quieter, I think. More later....
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