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Let It Go
Version: Demo
Info: I wrote this song one weekend, and spent all night piecing it together. I made up the lyrics spontaneously, but they seem to be about forgetting the past, advice from one friend to another. Take what you want from it, as always, and enjoy the horn part. I know it's a little out of tune, but it was such a bitch to record! I had to use my toes to press the button because I had both hands occupied and---never mind. To be released far in the future, if at all. I borrowed a lot of this song's aestehtic [sic] for much better use in "Ghost Town by the Sea", so including this in addition would make the album seem redundant, something which I am VERY opposed to. Don't even get me started on the redundance of Dave Matthews.
Credits: Matthew on vocals, guitar, and out of tune horn, written by Daniel Marks. Copyright 2003 Attmay Records.
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Her Silver Chalice: Album Version or Basement EP Version
Version: As it says above, I've got both album and demo online.
Info: A cover of a Kid Icarus tune, to be found in its original form on his pretty good album Be My Echo (Summersteps Records). The Kid, real name Eric Schittler, was kind enough to give me the chords to this song when I asked him, and I recorded the demo the following day. My innovation over the original is that I added drums, harmonies, and a middle part that wasn't in the original, but that can't be called a bridge because it uses the same chords. Also, it's a bit faster. Both versions are included here to show just how much one song can change over two recordings. As for what the song's about---ask Icarus, because I have no blamin' idea. And I like it that way. Was included in 4-track version on the Basement EP, and the final version is on the album.
Credits: Matthew on Guitar, Vocals, Bass; Daniel on Drum machine, written by Eric Schlittler. Copyright 2001 Summersteps records.
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I Sit Alone
Version: Demo
Info: A cover of Jandek, from his album On the Way. It appears there as "I'll Sit Alone and Think a Lot About You", but that title is way too long. I figured out the chords myself. The original was a dragging eight minutes, so I cut the beast down to three. I added electric guitar, harmonies, and quiet drums to the song. The original is famous for being nearly impossible to hear, except for the arhythmic drums, which are very loud indeed. It's kind of sad, because most fans agree that this is one of Jandek's best songs. It's about a man who's broken up with a woman but can't stop thinking about her. This is a common theme in Jandek songs, and all songs, really. To be released on our debut LP, Introducing the Casual Fridays.
Credits: Matthew on guitar and vocals, Daniel on drum machine, written by Jandek. Copyright 1988 Corwood Industries.
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Dennis
Version: From the Basement EP
Info: This is a song about a kid I knew in second grade named Dennis. We were friends but he was kind of a nerd; the other kids made fun of him frequently. It occured to me that I wouldn't want to be seen hanging around with him for fear of a lowering of my own status, even though I thought he was a perfectly nice kid. So I tended to snub him from then on, and when he invited me to his birthday party, I made up an excuse so I wouldn't have to go. Soon after, I realised what a jerk I had been, and felt guilty about it for a long time. I never saw Dennis after second grade. We got sorted onto different teams. The irony is that I turned out to be the real nerd, much more than he ever was. My path as an outsider was established soon after fourth grade, Dennis being one of many social blunders I've made in the past. I had forgotten about him for a long time until one day a serious of non-sequitur thoughts brought me back to second grade, and the friend I lost. I wrote this song, in which Dennis represents the days of elementary school, when everyone was equal and generally happier. In a way my mistake with Dennis symbolises the eventual falling away from the world, into the cliques of middle school and the groups of high school. In the chorus I contrast second grade with high school, my world of "constant torment" in which I feel like I'm "trapped in a circus tent". Take what you want from the latter line. I worked hard on the bass line in this song, but it didn't quite fit to the guitar, which I recorded first. Expect longer and much improved versions of the tune on the Basment EP and Introducing the Casual Fridays.
Credits: Matthew on guitar, bass, vocals, Daniel on drum machine, written by Daniel Marks. Copyright 2003 Attmay Records.
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Version: Basement EP Version -----Brian T. Version
Info: The second song I wrote, and the only one so far to reach the second demo stage. I've been told it sounds like something Weezer did, but you'll have to decide for yourself. I wasn't really thinking of them at all when I wrote it. The lyrics were made up on-the-spot, but they ended up being about someone who's got someone else trapped in his house. The other person wants to get away, but he keeps telling her that she's got everything she wants right here (who doesn't like a nice telephone). It is insinuated that she's been kidnapped in the line about calling the cops, but they can;t help her, because she'd be "busted for downloading mp3s". I've heard a lot of songs that use the line "fly away"; I mock this oft-used phrase in the song. Appears on both the Basement EP and our debut in final versions. A fan favorite.
Credits: Matthew on guitar and vocal, Brian on actual drums, written by Daniel Marks. Copyright 2002 Attmay Records.
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Boredom
Version: Demo
Info: I wrote this song spontaneously, right on the four-track...It all just worked out well. It's about being sick of your life. In the end, the singer comes to the realisation that he has to appreciate what he has because it's all he has. Integrated into the song are two recordings, the first is of a certain local morning talk show, and the second is a tape of tips for salesmen. Decide for yourself how they work into the song. This is actually a pretty poor song, most likely to resurface as a mediocre b-side.
Credits: Matthew on Guitar and Vocals, Daniel on drum machine, written by Daniel Marks. Copyright 2003 Attmay Records.
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Bebop Bellhop
Version: Final (I wouldn't dare touch it!)
Info: I've wanted to do a hip-hop song for a long time, but lord knows I'm terrible at freestylin' (I try to channel Biggie n' Tupac, but it never works). Luckilly, I happen to have a rhyming dictionary. I flipped to random pages and created my rap from the words I found there. This is of course, is comedy rap, not meant to be taken seriously. This is also one of the rare occasions in which I used a programmed drum beat., as opposed to tapping it out.
Credits: MC No Name Yet on the mic, Matthew on Bass. Copyright 2003 Attmay Records.
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Basement
Version: Final EP Version
Info: The first song I wrote. It's about a man trapped in the basement. Is there any more to say? The original had an awful horn part, so I exhumed the corpse and came up with this version.
Credits: Matthew on Guitar, horn and vox, Dan on drum machine. Copyright 2002 Attmay Records.
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That's My Bag
Version: Final Album
Info: Here is a song that gives a little clue to my influences. See if you can spot the obvious one, and bonus points for the other couple obscure or surprising ones. It's a snappy and intentionally stupid garage-punk song that makes no sense whatsoever. Hunting for quarks is a favorite pastime of mine, however. They're tiny varmits. This I believe is the first garage-punk song ever to feature a clarinet. That, I think, is somewhat innovative. "That's My Bag" will appear on our upcoming self-titled DEBUT ALBUM, more on that in the album section.
Credits: Matthew on guitar, bass, and clarinet and drum machine. Copyright 2003 Attmay Records.