Wednesday
May232007
Let's make some music!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 05:11PM
Ok, I have an idea. I was talking with some friends the other night who were telling me that they think people seem to really like my solo acoustic stuff, like the Souvenirs and Postcards EP. They threw out the idea of releasing another EP like that since it will be a while until I have a new record out and the Caedmon's one is still a couple months away.
"That's a pretty good idea," I thought.
I have a pretty light Summer. A few records, a couple one-off shows, and some writing but that's about it. I want to take the next week or two and try to write and record some new songs. And after taking eight months to write and three months to record for Overdressed I want to do this one FAST.
I've learned over the past few years, as well, that I make better music in community than I do alone, so I want to try an experiment. As much as possible I want to make this record with you guys.
Here's what I'm thinking: I'm going to write and record the songs, that's my part. What I would love for you guys to do is to inspire me. Send me ideas for songs, whether they're stories you've heard, a word you think sounds cool, an idea you've wished somebody had written about. Send me paintings or drawings you've made, a photo you took that you can't stop looking at, whatever you think could inspire a song. I'm going to make my goal for this project to base every song off something from you guys.
I'd love to take any artwork that would come in and use it for a "virtual booklet", a PDF file you could download with the lyrics and credits. So, you know, don't send me anything you wouldn't want to be used in that way. Or that somebody else owns a copyright for.
I think this could be a really fun thing to try. I'm really excited for what could come of it. And I really do want to do it quickly, it seems like more fun that way (and I could use a bit of extra cash during this "light" season.)
So what do you think? Sound like something you'd like to be a part of? Feel free to leave ideas in the comments section or just send them to me at andrew(at)andrewosenga.com. Let's make some music!
"That's a pretty good idea," I thought.
I have a pretty light Summer. A few records, a couple one-off shows, and some writing but that's about it. I want to take the next week or two and try to write and record some new songs. And after taking eight months to write and three months to record for Overdressed I want to do this one FAST.
I've learned over the past few years, as well, that I make better music in community than I do alone, so I want to try an experiment. As much as possible I want to make this record with you guys.
Here's what I'm thinking: I'm going to write and record the songs, that's my part. What I would love for you guys to do is to inspire me. Send me ideas for songs, whether they're stories you've heard, a word you think sounds cool, an idea you've wished somebody had written about. Send me paintings or drawings you've made, a photo you took that you can't stop looking at, whatever you think could inspire a song. I'm going to make my goal for this project to base every song off something from you guys.
I'd love to take any artwork that would come in and use it for a "virtual booklet", a PDF file you could download with the lyrics and credits. So, you know, don't send me anything you wouldn't want to be used in that way. Or that somebody else owns a copyright for.
I think this could be a really fun thing to try. I'm really excited for what could come of it. And I really do want to do it quickly, it seems like more fun that way (and I could use a bit of extra cash during this "light" season.)
So what do you think? Sound like something you'd like to be a part of? Feel free to leave ideas in the comments section or just send them to me at andrew(at)andrewosenga.com. Let's make some music!
Reader Comments (51)
There was a dedication in a recent Alison Krauss record. It was for a child who had died that said something like "For (child's name), who is healed, giggling/smiling, and growing in the arms of Jesus." I just remember being moved by that statement. So, there's my two cents. Thanks for letting us be involved.
I've had these lyrics in my head for awhile see if you can use them:
"You're beautiful, you're beautiful...it's true"
don't know where I got it from...it's yours though!!
I thought of three things (both musical/lyrics)...
1) Jeremy Casella's new record (period)... but especially A) the song Darkest night, and B) the line "suspended in the distance between grace and gravity"
2) Over the Rhine, period, but especially the record "Ohio" and the songs A) "Long Lost Brother" ("More often than not, when it comes to you, you want whatever's not in front of you, and deep down I know this includes me too")
3) Elliott Smith's "Twilight" -- "Because your candle burns too bright, I almost forgot it was twilight" ... just rips my heart out (found it free on Amazon)
Really excited about the new project, and I'll chime back in if I can think of anything else!
Andy,
Every morning I stop at the same convenience store to get a diet pepsi (my current vice) on the way to my job. When you show up at the same time most every morning, you start recognizing people. Lots of people. There's the old guy who greets at Walmart and picks up a pack of smokes and a newspaper every day. There's the construction worker who gets a 24 oz coffee, but starts it out with ice so he can start drinking it right away.
But there's one in particular that has me thinking. He's about my age, and shows up every morning in his Pontiac with two small kids in the backseat. He always looks tired. His shirt says that he works for a tire store on the other side of town. I wonder what his story is. I wonder where the kids' mom is. I think about those kids starting every day at the crack of dawn (well, they hit the convenience store about 6:30) to go somewhere (daycare?) with their dad. I have no idea where that goes, but if it inspires you, go for it.
Chris
I love the idea! Count me in. In the next days I shall send you a little something by email.
And heck, if you really want to make a record with us, even with gas over $3/gallon, I'll drive down to Nashville to play bass or keys for your record any time... just name the day. :-)
CJH (not seriously expecting you to take me up on it, but I'd be silly to not offer)
1.) Spinal Tap
2.) An Ode to LOLCATS
3.) Forgiving your lawnmower for taking one of your toes
4.) (in line with #1) Some sort of Free Form Jazz Odyssey
5.) Clay Akin
6.) Your secret desire to compete in American Idol
7.) Song Title: "The Dude Abides"
I would also like to see "Reaching" and "The Longing" and "The Phoenix" find a home an a record of yours.
This is so fun - I love how you treat your fans like actual people.
I've been thinking a lot lately about people justifying their lame actions by what they call their own "needs". And these are the lines that keep coming to mind even if I try to think of different ones:
But desire's so strong
and purity so scarce
and if she'll follow him to church
she'll follow him upstairs
cause he needs what he needs
and she was standing right there
What a great idea!!
I have been intrigued lately by what an isolationist culture we can be. I was just at Sonic, and I watched three different cars drive up and make sure not to park in a spot that wasn't separated from another car by at least one spot. In movie theaters it's the same thing: people try to avoid sitting anywhere near other people. Why is this? And why don't I know any of my neighbors, except for the one who backed into my car? We need community, and yet so often we avoid even a hint of that very thing.
I am decidedly non-musical, but I was up praying one night and scribbled some things down that I will e-mail. The other thing that comes to mind is my sister has been pestering a friend of ours for over a year to write a song based on a famous prayer by Thomas Merton, which I will quote here, and I don't think he is ever going to get around to it, so I'll offer it to you for inspiration:
My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
and if you're unaware of the joy that is flickr.com for inspiration, I think it is right up your alley.
I also have to add I love this sort of interactive thing.
That's a great idea, Andy! I'll see if I can find some inspiring stuff to send you.
Brilliant.
I suggest allowing Hemingway to inspire you once again. “New Mexico,� “Priest,� “Marilyn�—you’ve started a trend, and it’s a good one.
Also, the image of faith as a left hook, particularly in evangelism.
Whatever you do, I’ll buy it. I love the acoustic songs.
How bout a song about Captain Kangaroo's balloon trip to Vietnam.
i got robbed today at my bank. The man held a gun to my chest and demanded my money. I could have died.
I'm so glad it was me and not my coworkers that have yet to accept Christ, and I'm glad the man didn't do anything more stupid like try to shoot.
pray for him, i don't know his name, but i know that he is in a lot of trouble.
i may write a song about that later, but if it helps you then more power to ya
^ Woah.
if you need some bass tracks cut, lemme know :P
How about http://web.archive.org/web/20030224053343/http://www.chasinghats.org/archives/imagination/spokane.php" rel="nofollow">this story about a guy driving from New Hampshire to Washinginton State. I always loved the line, "I may not have been afraid of the snow, but I was still happy to see clear roads and sunny skies the next day."
Also, adding a sad je ne sais quoi to the story, this guy became an atheist and was excommunicated from the church a year or two later.
I think this is a great idea =)
What a cool idea, you could always do like Terry Taylor did for [i]Zoom Daddy[/i] and have people come up with song titles and then write songs around them, he said it was a great challenge to write a song the "backwards" way... I'll have to send some stuff.
brilliant idea.
- The quote that has been in my head all year, one of my buddies said during a rough time.
"Life is messy. The beauty of it is that God lets us praise him in the mess." - Matt Welty
- The thing this past year that I read in the Bible that stuck out to me more than anything else was at the end of 1 Cor 13, a part I had never really thought about. It says "Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, just as I am fully known." The idea of being fully known yet fully loved blows my mind.
- Last thought for now... ever read the story behind To Write Love on Her Arms... that would be a cool idea for a song. If you havent checked it out, go to www.twloha.com
In the spirit of all truth being God's truth, French psychoanalyst/existentialist Jacques Lacan gives, for my money, the best definition for the notion of desire. Translated to English, he calls desire the "infinite lack". Kind of fits with how we experience life on so many levels- as Americans, as humans, as relational beings etc. I would love to see a song which deals with this idea . . .