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Newer Songs?

If you look at the song list on the right, you’ll notice that Divider is no longer at the top. I posted it (finally and officially) more than a year ago, and so it must step down. So what new songs are supposed to replace it?

The whole demo strategy for the next album has kind of sapped my ability to add new “official” recordings to my catalog. And of course, I haven’t been churning out all that many demos. My goal is to demo 20 candidates before I start the proper recording of the new album (which, incidentally, I call “Rockets” when I talk to myself about it). So let’s do some math. I have these songs demoed so far: Spread the Word (which needs a full-length demo), Won’t Stop Sinking, Dead Planet, Holding Back the Flood, Headaches & Dreams, and Poison in the Water. Hmmm… that’s 6 demos from 2005.

At this rate, It’ll be 2 more years before I record the real album, which is not really acceptable. So we’ll see. The original ambition for this project was to demo every decent song idea, but in reality, there are countless ideas that hung around for a bit and then never went anywhere. And also, the demos I’m making are higher-quality than I had imagined when I started.

So what I think this means: Either I’m going to loosen up and start recording more and rougher (and occasionally crappy) demos, or I’m going to do 5 or so more and skip to the final stage.

But wait, there’s one more wrinkle: I’m not even working on Rockets right now. Instead, (prompted somewhat by Divider’s anniversary) I started working on a modest, stop-gap project. And with any luck, you’ll see that within a month.

Ok, that’s what’s up with me.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2006 at 12:54 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Newer Songs?”

  1. prayformojo Says:
    January 30th, 2006 at 9:08 pm

    “Rockets” will be your Chinese Democracy.

  2. jeff Says:
    January 31st, 2006 at 12:53 pm

    Yeah, but if you read back a bit, you’d think that Divider was going to be my CD. I’m gonna try not to whine about this one as much.

  3. Tim Says:
    January 31st, 2006 at 2:56 pm

    So.. I read that little I AM article on your blog.

    I’m just wondering why Popeye didn’t catch that flak a long time ago..

  4. roymond Says:
    February 21st, 2006 at 1:34 pm

    Aren’t we in the age of singles now? The album is only getting in the way of new releases, so let’s just release singles. Unless it’s truly a concept album or something, but I don’t recall any mention…

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Music

The Weak Moment

1. I Know My Rights
2. I’m Having Trouble Concentrating
3. One Less
4. We Have the Technology
5. I’m Going Away for a While
6. Chance
7. Method of Delivery
8. Boundaries

[Artwork]

Started as a “mini-album,” I started it in Feb.2006, finished recording in July, and posted the final songs in December. The gimmick here is that I recorded myself playing the songs in order and in one session, and those tracks (lead vocal/rhythm guitar) became the basis for the final versions. I wrote the songs in order as well. They’re all from Song Fight titles. So I’d play through a song I’d written, and when it was over, I’d pick a new title to go with and see what kind of song should come next.

Divider Why Are You Doing This?

1. You’re a True Believer
2. It’s Always Something
3. Let It All Burn
4. It Won’t Last
5. Flagwavers
THE ECHO CHAMBER
7. Don’t Be Afraid
8. Uniter
9. Divider
10. Open Your Eyes

[Artwork]

You can buy Divider at CD Baby.

Started in 2003. Intended to be done in 2003. Instead, I finally tore myself away from the last mix in October 2004. I had to post it on the web just to keep myself from messing with it into infinity. Delays continued, and I finally received my box of CDs for selling in late January 2005, about a week after the inauguration of the original Divider.

It’s a semi-political album… but hopefully more to me than to anybody else. Personally political. I wouldn’t really want it to be specific about that stuff lest the life get sucked out of the music once the national tide turns.

The CD has the video for “Let It All Burn” on it as well as some extra mp3s:
Cold Sweat
Complaining
Don’t Be Afraid (acoustic)
Don’t Let the Waiting Wear You Out
It Comes and It Goes
It Won’t Last (alternate)
Sad Saints
They Will Sing
Voices Constantly
Your God Is an Idol
Your God Is an Idol (Acoustic)

Add Covers Achtung Baby

1. Zoo Station
2. Even Better Than the Real Thing
3. One
4. Until the End of the World
5. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
6. So Cruel
7. The Fly
8. Mysterious Ways
9. Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World
10. Ultraviolet
11. Acrobat
12. Love is Blindness

Songs written by U2
Produced/performed by Jeff Fal

I needed to work, and I needed to work fast. So I ditched the burden of writing songs. We were listening to this album on a roadtrip to and from California. It was speaking to me.

[Artwork]

Please Let Your Faith and Patience Be Mine

1. Scared to Death
2. Locked Box
3. Towering Inferno
4. What’s Happening to Me?
5. Shades of Black
6. New York
7. Good Morning!
8. Coming Dear
9. Red
10. When Have I Been Wrong?
11. Air Traffic
12. Maybe So

Songs made by Jeff Fal

Made in late 2002 and early 2003, this was an unrealistic project undertaken by me and some of my Song Fight friends. We came up with 12 titles by secret ritual and then attempted to each write and record songs for all 12 titles within a month. We gave up that deadline in favor of making more polished work, which I think is for the better. The companion albums for this are Frankie Big Face’s Smile If You Absolutely Have To and John Benjamin’s Feel Things Deeply.

You can order it here.

Dirty Water

1. Back Like This
2. A Reason to Stay
3. Choose My Battles
4. Dirty Water
5. Alone
6. Carrying On
7. Exactly the Same
8. I Know Better
9. Wears on Me
10. Let It Go
11. I Feel Bad
12. The Smile on Your Face
13. I Know Better

Songs made by Jeff Fal

This album took me all of 2002 to make. Ok, That’s not completely true. Probably 80% of the work got done in the summer. There are a couple of songs from before then, and I did a lot of mixing and remixing afterwards. But all in all, I’d say it’s a summer document. Something about summers… They just get me working.

[Artwork]

Songfight Songs: Feb 2001-Feb 2002

1. Midnight Rendezvous
2. Don’t Dance
3. Shipwreck
4. On a Line
5. Black Hole
6. Dad, I’m Changing
7. Listen Close
8. It’s Invisible
9. Been to China
10. A Thousand Swords
11. I Can See You
12. Do It for Captain
13. Red Robot
14. Birds of Our Own
15. Firecrackers
16. Acid Mouth
17. Experimental Fashion
18. Secrets
19. Hotel

Bad Guy

1. I Won’t Be There
2. Hard Enough
3. Fall Apart
4. Five o’Clock
5. Guess You’re on a Plane
6. I Know This Won’t Solve My Problems
7. Maddie
8. Bad Guy
9. Quit Breaking My Heart
10. Tell You Today

Songs made by Jeff Fal

This is an album I recorded in the summer of 2001. It’s actually the third or fourth album I made, but this was the first one after people other than me and my brother began to listen to my music. Which is fine, because those others weren’t great, and Bad Guy was really the first time I succeeded at recording an album of songs that all belonged together that were also all good songs. Of course, to accomplish that, I had to set myself the modest goal of 25 minutes. Actually, my goal was 30 minutes, but you take what you can get.

[Artwork]