everything you do is different and original - a true inquiring mind. Great spacey string break - and overall the production and unexpected harmonics are pure Smokey. By the end it sounds a little like you crossed the Tallahatchie Bridge on the way to Phoenix.

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wow, thanks for the kind words.

initially i recorded the vocals at 70 BPM, but it turned out to be too slow, so i sped it up. the automatic speed up in Garage Band retains the pitch: it just speeds up the tempo, which is nice, but it also added a funky phasing/chorus sound to the vocals. a nice side effect!

thanks

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also, this mix is completely dry - i turned off the echo and reverb on the master track while mixing and never turned em back on. i kinda like the starkness.

but i couldn't stay away from a few effects here and there.

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All the way thru it haunts your right ear the voice that say yes we will get to phoenix soon only to end up in a car crash and spend 5 months in a hospital. Just kidding but I did work with a guy who moved there and got into a crash.. All in all I was absolutly mesmerized

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5 months in the hospital sounds pretty serious...

no crash here, at least not explicitly. but it's not really about driving to Phoenix anyway!

thanks for listening

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'74 &75 very smokey. I hardly remember it. It use to play eight tracks and in the middle of click your favorite jam or click solo well you know.

I remember being stuck on the NY thruway in the snow and i pushed the little bug right over the crest of a hill and down she went, popped the clutch and off she flew...never to land again all the way to the CIA...thats the Culinary Intitute of America.

enough about me... this is a very cool tune.
Nice

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n o s t a l g i a !

8-tracks were strange in retrospect, but at the time they were great - you could play tunes in your car, and you could even record your own.

the old VW beetles were great too - they could float, although i never tried that.

thanks

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It was on a floating cloud.
Tim

---
"Sooner or latter it all gets real...Walk On"

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Definitely an "Other" :)
Clever mix of vocals. Fun listen. Thanks for sharing.

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yeah, i had no idea what genre to choose on this one.

thanks for dropping by and commenting

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Bill, you are such a word artist! You paint each stage of life so succinctly, in a way that is innocent and eerie at the same time. Creative is an understatement- like how you used the driver and car's description to say where the driver is at, in terms of time as well as attitude. This is what I got out of it, forgive me if I'm reading too much into it-ie: beat up- the impetuousness of youth, not enough sleep,drink too much with your buddies etc. Then stolen: You guys get sucked into the vortex of that big, corporate job which gives you luxury items like the fancy car, but robs your soul of peace. Your lover becomes your soul mate, then she's gone, but you're still driving that car inexorably toward the end, which, for all of us, gets closer every day. You want to believe there is a God and you want to love for eternity, but the preachers on the radio are mostly hype. Yeah, you're right- but God is not a liar just 'cause He's horrible misrepresented. We will get to Phoenix, and hopefully God will be driving our cars.
Asusualy, impeccable arranging and mixing- when are you starting classes? I love how you create understated yet fraught with meaning songs.

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Roxylee - nice analysis!

since i wrote the lyrics, i'm not qualified to analyze it: "what does he know? he's only the author!"

but seriously, yes, you found several of the elements, although there are more hidden there. i'm not sure there is one "answer" to its meaning, but i like your interpretation.

my wife actually likes this song - she called it allegorical. wow.

thanks

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I really like this song.
It's very good mixed nice and clean fit my ears like a breeze in the air.


Best Regards
---
Kenta

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i guess it might be because i used no reverb or echo on this mix. it seemed rather stark to me - but i wanted that effect i guess.

thanks!

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a breezy drive through the sands and don't run out of gas, also liked that middle eastern bridge. a trippy tune just keep the hands on the wheel. excellent work!

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i'm glad you liked it. but really, it's not about driving at all.

i was surprised myself on how that middle eastern thing worked out - it was exactly what i wanted - in retrospect. it's just me and my shadow strolling...

thanks!!!

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I like the way youre not qualified to analyze the lyrics but insist its not about driving at all.Paradoxical.For me it would make a great soundtrack to a film like fear & loathing.Love the disonant chords and the starkness of everything.Those violins sweeping in are really majestic.Great overall structure - very cool song!

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thanks for listening!

about that paradox...

i like this theory: try to assemble just the right elements in your work so that when people bring their own experiences to it, it clicks for them. then the work takes on larger proportions than the work actually contains. it's sort of like what a magician does: they fool their audience into seeing things that aren't really there... i don't mean that art is an illusion and therefore it's all bogus. far from it. art is all about perception.

i think this applies to all art, music included.

maybe this quote about writing explains it better.

ripped from http://www.deathwalker.co.uk/GCJonShannow2.htm

There was no doubt in my mind about what happened to Jon Shannow when he rode into the mountains, wounded and alone. He was dying. And Jerusalem beckoned.

Yet once the novel was published, reader reaction was immediate. How long to the next Shannow story? The answer was simple: Thank you for your letter, and I'm glad you enjoyed Jon Shannow's tale, but he is dead. There will be no more adventures.

I sent just such a response to a fan in Liverpool. He knew better and wrote back immediately. "No he's not! No way!"

It was a real shock- as if he knew something I didn't. I showed the letter to one of my test readers. Her amused response was, "Hey, maybe he's right. you don't know everything David: You're only the author."

From that moment I started wondering about Shannow. Could there have been some miracle on the mountain?


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I think I understand.Some friends of mine asked me if I'd seen the animation Salad Fingers by David Firth - I watched it and really didn't like it at all.When I found out there were subsequent episodes I for some reason found myself watching them all,yet didn't really know why.Its like trying to work out what makes someone tick - e.g the artist.The curiousity of trying to guess is probably more appealing to human nature than simply being told all the facts.Sustain the mystery!

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You used to call me... 'fluffy pup'

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yes, that's it precisely!

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weird but wonderful. A thought provoking word play on one's trip through life. Terrific marriage of lyric and tune. I really enjoyed taking your trip across the desert. Kudos.

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thanks j2!

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I must confess, in my minds ear, I hear you reading this at a slam and just taking the whole room on a trip. (That's just me, I like your spoken voice tremendously). The song is great though, it has a sort of B52's feel to the vocal/piano mix; nice hook in the piano playing. I particularly like the way the Babylon line sits out there on its own; like something unwanted in the mirror. When the strings come in, they are quite effective for that line; just nice. Still want to write like you.

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LOL - a poetry slam! i never would have pictured doing that, but now you've got me to thinking...

that piano hook is a lot of fun to play too. it all just sort of twists around itself.

thanks for the detailed comments.

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One of the most marketable tunes. It reminds me of the first road trips we took as teenagers on our own, that at a later time turned into nostalgic trips home to show our past to our loves. I'd like to hear the impetus behind the lyrics! There must be some interesting stories behind these lyrics!

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this was actually entirely abstract in nature. i never drove to Phoenix (not yet, anyway, but who knows? sounds like a plan!)

but, like i say, it's not about driving to Phoenix anyway.

thanks for dropping by

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i love this. great lyrics and music, with a super cool arrangement. i would hope that Nillson would be making music like this if he were still putting out music. great track.

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wow, thanks. Harry Nilsson wrote some good stuff.

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i might try and re-do this one for the macjam cover song thing if that is ok...but i will have to wait until i get back to Phoenix in a couple of weeks...

this would have fitted nicely on the beach boys love you album from 1977 (one of their very best)

b

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On relistening, it is also very reminiscent of John Cale (who himself is a big fan of the beachboys/brian wilson)

So...it would also fit in very nicely with some of Cale's later stuff

I really like this song

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i'd love to hear your cover of this song!

thanks

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