Paris Street

Just found these again – thought I had lost them. These two songs were written by my friend Leslie – she gave me the words and asked me to come up with music for them. The intention was to give her my demos and then have her come by to replace my vocals with hers. Even though we never got around to recording her vocals, Leslie was still quite happy with the way these came out. Hope you enjoy them.

The first song is a bit of a downer, but it’ll grow on you if you give it a couple listens. The second one is just awesome.

Paris Street – Leslie Song 1

Paris Street – Leslie Song 2

A couple weeks ago, I decided to give myself a further creative distraction by starting work on a 5-song EP to accompany the album I’m currently working on. The working title for this EP is A Short Album About Falling Apart (so original, I know). True to its title, the songs revolve around anxiety, stress, complacency, and lack of motivation.  This batch of songs – combined with the as-yet-untitled album’s central theme of disappointment – would probably lead you to think that I’m quite miserable and on the verge of a massive nervous breakdown.  I’m not, though – have actually been in pretty great spirits lately – it’s just funner for me to try to make catchy songs about total bummers.

Anyway, this is a song that probably won’t make it on the EP, even though it fits fairly well thematically.  It’s a sweet little number about two people with unrelated anxiety issues.  They don’t necessarily help each other out, but – just by being there – serve as a calming presence for the other.

The drums are sampled from a song called “To Be Gone” by Anna Ternheim. Please don’t tell her I did that.  All other instruments are played by me.

Fun fact: it’s not actually called “Patio Song”. Sometimes, you gotta keep some things to yourself.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Patio Song

Words:

Stressing out on your patio
Fighting off the mosquitoes
Makes me wish that I still smoked
It would keep those buggers away

Cobwebs on the windowsill
You were counting out some pills
Not sure if you still
Had one more dose to take

Nothing special really going on
Drinking coffee ’til the coffee’s gone
A boy, a girl, and the coming dawn
You know there’s no place I’d rather be

Early stages of a courtship show
Silent agreement to take things slow
That hasn’t worked before, but you know
That’s still perfectly fine with me

And while the flowers in your backyard bloomed
And the dew formed on the petals
A sudden panic swept all over you
You swore ’cause you were sure
That you could taste metal

Look at us, we are quite the mess
You’re paranoid and I’m overstressed
The mosquitoes are far from impressed
If they could, they would roll their eyes

Another evening of stories shared
A couple kisses here and there
We’ll never be know as a perfect pair
But that’s the last worry on our mind

The tale of a couple hours spent at this bar in Portland, Oregon. I drank beer and watched the people around me while my friend used her laptop to post things on eBay in order to pay for our road trip. It’s long and wordy and messy and lovely. Enjoy.

Paris Street – XV

Words:

I almost walked into a mirror
Didn’t notice my reflection getting nearer
We were looking for a place where you could work online
An hour or two would be just fine
An hour, maybe two, would be just fine

Downtown seemed like a good place to start
A coffee shop would be cool but we preferred a bar
It was a long day of driving and exploring
Developing the context of a greater story
We could both use one hell of a good story

Someone pointed us towards a bar whose sign
Was too inconspicuous to notice the first time we walked by
So lost again in an unknown downtown
It was too cold to be fucking around
We asked someone else and got turned back around

There was nothing but darkness and faint red neon
Not my type of place but their signal was strong
The music drowned out the waitress as she listed
All the beers they had on tap, so instead
I just ordered two of the last thing she said

While you were doing your work, I stared at a clique
Of alpha males attempting to win over some chicks
Sociologically speaking, it was an interesting glimpse
Though, really, I was sickened that these people exist
We’d be better off if they ceased to exist

There weren’t enough girls for all of them, so they were resorting
To every trick they could think that could aid in their courting
Buying them drinks and trying to make them laugh
Staking a claim with a hand on an ass
Some would succeed, some would not have a chance

The mirror thing happened on my first bathroom trip
It wasn’t any better the second time in
I had to turn my head and hold my breath
Someone had thrown up all over the urinal on the left
I was hoping that you didn’t have much work left

Closing time came – it was a relief
You hadn’t finished your work but enough was complete
We paid our tab and headed outside
Left those fools and their conquests behind
We were ready to put an end to this night

Uh . . . so yeah. Here you go:

Paris Street – The Little Baby Hefner’s Xmas Song For Holland

Paris Street – A Marshmallow World

Paris Street – Candy Cane Withdrawal

These were all recorded in December of 2007.  The first one is (obviously) a Hefner cover.  The second has been done by a bunch of people, but we’ll just call it a Dean Martin cover.  The third is an original.  I came up with the idea for it when I was 14 years old, which should prep you for how stupid it is.

Darrin did some keys on “Marshmallow” and did the drums and bass on “Candy Cane”.  This whole thing was his idea – I merely acquiesced.

Happy Xmas.

As promised!

It’s a mess of a long song – featuring a metallic-sounding guitar that comes and goes throughout – but I really dig it. Hope you dig it, too.

Paris Street – December 1

Words:

Bundle up, Patricia, a cold front swept through town today
I haven’t seen the flurries yet but I heard they’re on the way
All the Nashville natives tell me it used to snow here all the time
Now we’re lucky if the flurries stick beyond the sun rise

I don’t know – maybe I am just naive
But an ice storm would be cool to see
We’d be stuck inside the house for days
Keeping warm in creative ways
That doesn’t sound so bad to me

Did you have fun at the concert? I know I said that I would go
But I started drinking early, I passed out before the show
A victim of a football game and an all-day two-for-one
At the only Eastside bar that serves Molson Canadian

I don’t know – I guess I’m just naive
To think my tolerance is what it used to be
But the price I pay remains the same
A hangover that lasts all day
And a headache that just won’t leave

I dreamt that you were wearing tight jeans on your mom’s settee
Reciting one of Lorca’s poems while making eyes at me
In the haze of early morning, I still can not shake that look
Can you infer any meaning? You’re the one with all those books

I don’t know – maybe I’m just naive
Or perhaps too grounded in reality
But if you were to look me in the eye
The way I dreamt you did last night
Maybe then I might just believe

I heard Venus and Jupiter would be shining bright tonight
Around a slender, waxing crescent moon – it should be quite a sight
But the cloud cover that lingers from the cold front that swept through
Will no-doubt hinder our chances of getting a clear view

I don’t know – I guess I sound naive
But a sky without stars will not bother me
Cause even though it’s a cliche
I’ll proudly say it anyway:
You’re the only star I need to see

Here’s a song. I recorded it many months ago. Then I moved and kinda forgot about it. Then my computer started fucking up and I ended up losing most of the tracks. And now I’m working on a much-different set of songs, so it’s unlikely that I’ll be re-recording those lost tracks anytime soon.

But I like the song a lot. So here’s a warts-and-all rough mix made prior to my computer going screwy. Any criticism would be warmly welcomed.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Aimless Song (Rough Mix)