Home Members Forums Music Podcasts Articles Music Blog Resource Library Beta  
Genre List
Related Products
Past 7 Days
Song Uploads: 177
Song Votes: 333
Song Comments: 3401
Forum Posts: 803
New Members: 89
Participation Points: 12024.90
Sally O'Brien (The Life of) by Tom Atwood [Email]
Genre: Acoustic

Get Flash to see this player.


Having playback trouble, try the Quicktime player:

Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

SONG STATS:
Hits: 2090
Comments: 31
Votes: 35
Plays: 302
Last Played: Apr 22, 2008 - 05:28:20 PM
Downloads: 98
Fans: 12
Uploaded: Sep 05, 2005 - 07:06:57 PM
Last Updated: Nov 30, 2005 - 08:52:31 PM



Description:
Just for fun. My wife Sally listened to this piece and said something about it, maybe the tempo, reminded her of her life. So, I named it after Sally O'Brien.

Artwork: "Greetings from Wyoming"
Yellowstone National Park, 2004
Photo by John Erickson

songs from the american plain
now available
the lost records™


Hardware:
Alvarez Guitar
Shure SM-57 mic
Casio Privia PX-300
G5

Software:
GB2
Jampack 4
You must be registered and logged-in to comment.

Yee Haw! &mdash 09/05/05 - 07:18:01 PM
Sounded to me kind of like if an Aaron Copeland peice had
been performed on "Hee Haw!" Lots of energy. Some fancy
pickin'. My fingers were tire after just listening to it. Fun!
Fun! Fun!

[ Reply to This ]
BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF YEE HAW! &mdash 09/05/05 - 07:58:21 PM
This is some other yee haw entirely!

This is the yee haw that other yee haws phone home
about...

It has the essential elements:

1) it sounds like fun
2) it honors your wife, and thus, by extension, love,
family, honor, affection, duty, fidelity...
and finally,
3) it sounds like fun

Can't wait for RETURN OF THE SON OF YEE HAW...

As long as there are Jam Packs out there, and you still
have a mic and a guitar, I think it's only a matter of time...

Ed


[ Reply to This ]
Snow's machine gun icon was shootin in time with your pickin:) &mdash 09/05/05 - 08:25:04 PM
Fun, like the country western Oklahoma feel with the strings
and fingerpickin.
Nice quick fingerpicking that go with the strings quite well.

Funny when I pulled up your page, I got snowsdragons cat
machine gun icon to the left and he was shootin in time with
your rhythm :)

[ Reply to This ]
Hurry-scurry! &mdash 09/05/05 - 08:33:07 PM
Sometimes the 'fun' songs, like this one, are the best kind!
Great playing on this, Tom (such speedy playing....baffling!)
and the added instrumentation nicely accents the frenetic
pace.
Kind of like a western hoedown....maybe with some chickens
running around a-squawkin'!

Lots of fun! So enjoyable to listen to. (And such talent!)
Thanks for posting this one :)


[ Reply to This ]
show off! &mdash 09/05/05 - 09:37:12 PM
Not only do you compose wonderful music, but you can
really play a mean geetar... this was great to listen to, the
rolling arpeggios and bouncy frenetic backing music were
playful and exciting together. Different from your other
pieces, and quite good, as usual.
ttfn,
Drakonis

[ Reply to This ]
Sounds hectic, but... &mdash 09/05/05 - 10:15:38 PM
...also sounds pleasant. It doesn't sound too
overwhelming. I could see scenes of everyday life
routine flashing quickly before my eyes, like a home
video in fast forward. I can relate...

[ Reply to This ]
Wow &mdash 09/05/05 - 10:37:09 PM
Instant favorite. Love that guitar playing, and the very american feel to the piece. Excellent arrangement and production. Great!!

[ Reply to This ]
Holy Hee haw! &mdash 09/06/05 - 12:04:30 AM
Way wow! on this one... Everytime I adjust to what I might get to hear from you, Tom, I get blown away from another side, of you. I have to go to places where there are no words to describe what you do, but when I get back, I'm surprised to know that I am mostly, speechless...I like that...

Cydniko



[ Reply to This ]
Surprize again! &mdash 09/06/05 - 01:10:29 AM
Every time you have a new post I just cant wait to listen ..
what's coming this time? Not only are your creations
almost always good and interesting music, but also are
you so often giving me a surprize! And here you have
done it again: Nice interesting music, at the same time
new and unexpected! The tune stands out not only from
your own previous posts, but from most music I've heard.
The strings to you bow seem to be endless, (you are
adding new ones all the time, arent you?)

I also admire you ability to make use of the jampack 4.
This is ingeniously done and the result is pleasant! The
orchestra goes together just so well with the guitar!


[ Reply to This ]
Giant in Wyoming &mdash 09/06/05 - 06:09:28 AM
No one still sees.
Giant in Wyoming.
Appearance!
The legend actually became it.
Run away! Do not fall down!

[ Reply to This ]
Another beauty... &mdash 09/06/05 - 06:42:19 AM
Fair tumbles along. I like the way that for all the pace
you've kept the lines clean and simple. Nice mix of
instruments too...



[ Reply to This ]
Full of spirit, gaiety, laughter... &mdash 09/06/05 - 09:47:17 AM
warmth. The song and your wife. I really enjoyed this.
The spontaneaity of your guitar playing is so alive
and brings a smile to my face. How you keep up
that pace throughout is something. And I like the
way you end the piece by slowing down and using
the pauses to accentuate the final notes and chords.
Another one for my collection of Tom's America.

Jack

[ Reply to This ]
energetic! &mdash 09/06/05 - 03:36:56 PM
This piece has a lot of vitality with the fast guitar picking
and insistently driving rhythm.

The guitar is right on the edge in certain spots, very
exciting playing -- your fingers almost get tangled up but
WHOA! you pull back into tempo just in time!

The rhythm is almost relentless, like a fast-moving train
through the West. It brought images of hobos scrambling
onto boxcars, hanging on for dear life. Shades of "Oh
Brother Where Art Thou?".....

The transition from straight eighth-note offbeats to triple
meter is wonderful; the strings, guitar and general
orchestration there and for the next few measures are
truly masterful. In fact, this particular section is among
the best orchestral writing I've heard to date on this site.

Except for a few minor timing issues throughout the
piece, and especially at the end, this tune was very well
executed.

This piece would be even more interesting if you could
somehow start at a slower tempo and then GRADUALLY
speed up as the piece progresses, until the very end when
a dramatic slow-down might be effective.

This subtle quickening of tempo would give this piece
additional "shape". It would also prove to be a great
challenge in GarageBand. Each section, slightly faster than
the last, would need to be in separate documents,
perhaps. Then put it all together in one document, mix
and serve!

Very nice composition, Tom!





[ Reply to This ]
such a lovely pieace &mdash 09/07/05 - 03:45:24 AM
sweet. very fun to listen. guitar and the strings are
matching very well in this song:) this is such a wonderful
pieace, as always Tom! thanks for sharing.

- Jem

p.s. the picture is also nice;)

[ Reply to This ]
Excellent &mdash 09/07/05 - 05:23:44 AM
This was exciting and fun; excellent integration of the guitar
and orchestral elements.

[ Reply to This ]
The interplay of the guitar and strings, &mdash 09/07/05 - 06:31:46 AM
as someone else said, is very Copeland-like, meaning grand
and wonderful. Surprising in its grandness.

[ Reply to This ]
I'm so far behind, it's not funny... &mdash 09/07/05 - 12:31:05 PM
And I mean that in a lot of ways, I guess.

First of all, in commenting on macjams songs, but that's a consequence of trying to have a normal "outside of MacJams" life, but also in terms of musical development. I have a feeling I'll never catch up with you, Tom, but that's okay, I'll just sit here and you can do the heavy lifting...:) This is pretty inspiring; thanks for the bit of fun!

[ Reply to This ]
what a life &mdash 09/07/05 - 01:34:05 PM
this is the soundtrack to that scene where all hell's bustin'
loose - in a deep south scary kind of way. Superb.

[ Reply to This ]
Lovely guitar work &mdash 09/07/05 - 05:45:51 PM
Wow, that is some amazing playing. And a very original
composition ... it goes in unexpected directions every now
and then and does some very clever things in the process.
Wonderful stuff.

[ Reply to This ]
Shucks! &mdash 09/07/05 - 09:01:56 PM
Well, dag nab it, this is darn good. I love that your wife
said it reminds her of her life. She must have a happy fun
life! That's so great! Great playing.

[ Reply to This ]
Thanks! &mdash 09/08/05 - 09:14:31 AM
Thanks everybody for listening and for your comments.
Sorry I got too busy to respond to each of you. But I
appreciate your kind words. This piece may re-emerge
with lyrics - but not about sally. She won't go for that...

[ Reply to This ]
Slabutory! &mdash 09/08/05 - 11:25:38 AM
Very nice geetar hoss! Sounds like Roy from Hee Haw! SLack jaw mcgraw! Love the strings too! Nice touch! Stop touching me!

[ Reply to This ]
Spice Sniffer &mdash 09/08/05 - 11:59:25 AM
That's it, Mr. Atwood; this is the final bit of evidence to
support my conclusion that you are actually a project and
not one man. Either that, or you live in a musical
pneumatic tube and eat food tablets while you
monastically produce brilliant music.

This one, as per usual, is terrific. The additional
instruments are really interesting choices, I love it that
you didn't go for the full yee-haw on this but took a more
Copelandian approach.

10's/DL/Faved. It's practically a given with your stuff. :)

[ Reply to This ]
cascade &mdash 09/09/05 - 09:30:31 AM
In post after post you've been putting up incredible pieces that inhabit widely differing musical landscapes, which suggests you have really hit your stride as a composer, while also having arrived at a pretty comfortable creative place, as the music (and comments) cascade out of you. This song sends off showers of creative sparks. It brims with fecund energy. You take us on a wild ride across a sonic countryside, and it's all we can do to hang on to keep from falling off. Thank goodness there are a couple of tiny timing issues - it tells us this was made by a human and not a god.

[ Reply to This ]
good &mdash 09/10/05 - 05:13:31 PM
tension and very bauty!!

[ Reply to This ]
very good &mdash 09/11/05 - 02:57:36 AM
gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ Reply to This ]
Original!!! &mdash 09/11/05 - 10:05:27 AM
Great work!! Its great!!!

[ Reply to This ]
hi &mdash 09/12/05 - 02:48:12 PM
love your guitar playing and a fantastiuc tone to boot.
the arrangement had me on the edge of my seat.
fantastic stuff

[ Reply to This ]
Like many pieces producted with JP4 &mdash 09/12/05 - 04:42:52 PM
it deserves a decent execution instead of some sampled
instrument...it delivers energy and good mood :)

OH! ...almost forgot...

Hee Haw!

(I pronounced that correct?)



[ Reply to This ]
very nice &mdash 09/20/05 - 02:09:10 AM
i like the mix of classical and bluegrass in here, and the
tempo is badass


[ Reply to This ]
nice playing &mdash 09/21/05 - 09:38:07 AM
Lots of fun! So nice to listen to and great guitarplaying. I
think iwe felt like this many times

[ Reply to This ]
My MacJams
Username:

Password:

Don't have an account yet? Sign up as a New User
Missing your password? [Click Here]
Support MacJams!
MacJams Chat
Friends
iLounge - All things iPod, iTunes and beyond

Dish Network - the dish network limited time bonus offers - get all three
Free Direct TV HD DVR
Dish Network Free DVR with HD