This is an instrumental built off of a loop from a song by Broadcast called ‘Bit 35′ from their Tender Buttons album. It’s very long, so here’s some (incredibly NSFW) eye candy to make the listening process worth your while:
Or give it a boob-and-pube free listen via Soundcloud:
On Tuesday, my friend Katherine played the song for me via a YouTube clip and suggested I cover it. The next day, I got started. After immediately realizing that my voice would not cut it for this song (mainly due to a key change at the last chorus that led to voice cracks a-plenty), my friend Christy came over Friday night to record the vocals. On Saturday, I finished the mix. Here it is, on Sunday. Now I rest.
By the way, this is not a Christmas song. If it were, I wouldn’t have bothered.
The particulars:
Me – electric and nylon string guitar, keys, melodica, tambourine, egg, & a barely-audible ‘ooooh’ during the choruses
Christy Anderson – vocals
Christy’s vocals can also be heard in the song “YUL” from my Canada 1 EP. Listen to it here.
Enjoy.
Paris Street – Hard Candy Christmas (Dolly Parton Cover)
Paris Street – Hard Candy Christmas (Dolly Parton Cover) by Paris Street
Hey look, it’s Canada 2 – the exciting follow-up to Canada 1. As with it’s predecessor, it features two songs that were inspired by my various trips to Canada at the beginning of the last decade. Unlike it’s predecessor, none of the song titles involve airport codes. Yay, eh?
“Remembrance Day” is about my trip to Churchill, Manitoba to see polar bears. Along the way, I also saw the Northern Lights, discovered the saddest town in the whole wide world (Thompson, Manitoba), learned the meaning of Remembrance Day at a Wendy’s in Winnipeg, and had a wet dream on a train. That last part was cut from the song. You’re welcome.
“Sensing Endings” is a somber waltz inspired by an evening in Vancouver. It’s the second-saddest song I’ve ever written.
You should give it a listen, like RIGHT NOW! Click on the Bandcamp thingy below to start enjoying the Canada-y goodness. Then go to the EP’s Bandcamp page and download it. It’s free, yo!
And hey, if you download the EP through Bandcamp, you get a bonus track! More free stuff! AND if you send me an email (carl@honeybrownblues) inquiring about the saddest song I’ve ever written, I will send it to you. All the bonus material ends up being longer than the EP itself – THAT’S how goddamn nice I am!
Enjoy. And, as always, thank you for listening.
So, ya know, give it a listen.
Homeless Songs by Paris Street
Head over to Bandcamp to get more info on each song, including lyrics and more pictures.
Ten years ago, I got a job with Air Canada, working as a reservations agent for their U.S. call center in Tampa. For the three years that I was under their employ, I hated every second of working in that office; answering phone calls all day just wasn’t my thing. So why did I stick around for so long?
Because of the benefits, of course. I love to travel. And – due to having kick-ass parents who liked taking family vacations north of the border – I’ve always had a fondness for Canada. With my job, I could go to any of the eastern provinces for 20 bucks. Flights to the central and western provinces would cost $30. And if I could find someone to cover my shifts (never a difficulty), I could go whenever I wanted to.
So I went. And went again. And went again. If I had no plans for the weekend, I’d hop a plane to Toronto. If one of my favorite bands – who never, ever made their way to Florida – happened to be touring in Canada, I’d head off to see them (The Divine Comedy in Vancouver, Tindersticks in Toronto, Broadcast in Toronto and Montreal). It was a lovely time, even though it eventually drove me to bankruptcy (the flights were practically free, but the hotel, poutine, and various entertainments definitely were not).
On all those trips, I brought my notebook with me. Whenever I’d get back home, I gather my notes together and pick up my guitar.
Canada 1 is the first of two (at the least) short EP’s gathering the songs that were inspired by my jaunts around the country. The first song – “Y.O.W.”, but you can call it “Ottawa” if you prefer – is about using my airline perks to run away from my problems, which is rarely a successful way to handle things. The second song – “Y.U.L.”, or “Montreal” – is about two people realizing that they’ve carved out a boring life for each other in one of the world’s most exciting cities.
“Y.O.W.” features a wonderful rhythm section comprised of J. Avery Vaughn on bass and Darrin Revell on drums. “Y.U.L.” features backing vocals by the lovely Christy Anderson. All of their efforts are greatly appreciated – this release wouldn’t be possible without their contributions.
You can stream the EP via the Soundcloud widget below. It’s free, don’t ya know – so feel free to hit that “download” button as you listen. If you prefer, you can listen to it over at the Bandcamp page as well. However you choose to listen to it, I thank you greatly for giving it some of your time.
Canada 2 will be released at the end of summer. The songs will take place in Vancouver and a large swath of Manitoba. I promise that neither will be named after airport codes.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for listening.
