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Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial
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Keywords:
stealing (2), water (48), sinking (2), ship (4), moth (1), flame (7), port (1), anchor (1), city (22), sky (30)
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Description:
This song was recorded on a Yamaha 4-track tape recorder in 1992 in a loft in Brooklyn, NY. The artists are myself, Philip VanDusen aka racerat: guitar, Andrew VanDusen: bass and drum machine button pushing, and Matt M, aka Sonny Jim on vocals. It was recorded in a single take. 4-Tracks straight-in and straight up. No overdubbing or any of that modern mumbo jumbo I busy myself with now.
It comes from a story we read in the Times about a freighter outside NY harbor that had been stuck there for nine months with customs trouble and was now found to be slowly sinking. It struck us as sad, and we thought it had the makings for a song. This is the result. In 30 years of recording, it is still one of my favorites.
It is an entry for the Analogapalooza Vintage Music Festival.
Lyrics:
Stealing Water
©1992 Matt M & Philip VanDusen
Slowly sinking ships at anchor
Eight miles out from the bay
Slowly sinking, taking water
Nine months, as of today
Stealing water from the city
Stealing water from the sky
Never know how long they’d be there
Throwing anchor in a foreign town
Not too far from port, but far ‘round the world
Stealing water from the city
Stealing water from the sky
Slowly fading, slowly sinking
Taking water, nine months from today
Stealing water from the city
Stealing water from the sky
Hardware:
Yamaha 4-Track
Memorex cassette tape
SM58 mic
newspaper
Duct tape
Software:
heart
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Pretty tasty stuff from a group of &mdash 08/07/07 - 09:50:21 PM
Brooklyn punks. Nice arrangement and playing - excellent vocals. A tight and complete package - the beauty of 4 track at it's best. Cool entry to the VMF. [ Reply to This ]
Great Vocal &mdash 08/08/07 - 12:23:20 AM
Did Sonny Jim go on to be a world famous singer? Should have done, sounds a bit like Neil Finn, perhaps. There's a bit of Crowded House in this whole thing in fact. Neat guitar as well Philip.
Who needs 47 GarageBand tracks anyway:-))
(me, me, me, me, me, me........)
Phil [ Reply to This ]
the Jim &mdash 08/08/07 - 01:00:07 PM
Yup, Sonny Jim went on to become a big-ass famous singer right here on MacJams. He's a genius, collab-ing with the best and brightest:
http://www.macjams.com/artist/sonny%20jim
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! &mdash 08/08/07 - 08:25:42 PM
Great pop song &mdash 08/08/07 - 12:25:18 AM
wow Phil, this is great ... i love the simplicity of the drum machine (in my youth, i went through a phase of only listening to bands that used drum m/cs' - Sisters, Cocteaus etc), and the track doesnt need overdubs - the message is really clear, really lovely vocals, crisp guitar playing. Wonderful lyrics on this ... I really hope you're gonna post some more.
Steve [ Reply to This ]
more &mdash 08/08/07 - 01:03:32 PM
Steve,
You can bet I have about a million of these, but all certainly not of this quality. So for the most part I am trying to spare my loyal listeners the pain of my musical growth spurts.
But, as always, there is more to come!~~
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
Stealing Water &mdash 08/08/07 - 12:11:47 PM
nice ...I respect a song that came out for
a real story and a real reason ..nice feelings
here ... sure singin is very good here ..!!
tasty guitars as well !! [ Reply to This ]
the story &mdash 08/08/07 - 01:08:08 PM
Thanks. I like it when there is a real anchor or inspirational point that launches a song. I think the connotations of the lyrics actually transcend the actual story in this case. The feeling that comes across is one of poetic longing, sadness and loneliness, more like a lost love. I am so happy when that happens.
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
These people who can sing... &mdash 08/08/07 - 08:43:13 PM
...it ain't fair, I tell ya...
Great melody... reminds me of Neil Finn meets early Fairport Convention in some bizarre way...
You really put the essence of the song across on this... Nice recording of a neat song... Must be that Memorex tape... or maybe the duct tape...
Ed [ Reply to This ]
Finn &mdash 08/12/07 - 07:39:49 PM
Thanks! Neil Finn has always been a massive fav of mine. That guy has pipes of gold. Not as familiar with Fairport Convention, I'll have to check them out.
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
what a cool little nugget.... &mdash 08/09/07 - 06:40:34 PM
great chord progression, and a decent recording considering the medium... nicely done.. what can one say about the shure sm series? they are the best, hands down.. all the fancy gyroscopic shock mounted anti feedback, pop reducing, preamped gold coated studio mics in the world cannot hold a candle to a shure on a stand with a panty-hose pop filter duct taped to the stand on a wire hanger!!!! YEAH!! rock and roll!!! great tune, great band, great vocals, guitars, fake drums, everything!!!! [ Reply to This ]
S&M &mdash 08/12/07 - 07:44:27 PM
Hey R.A.D,
Those Shures (58&59) carried me on for years and years. But then one day, when I had more money I sprung for a Rode NT2000 and my life has never been the same. I never I never knew what I had been missing. But those days of Memorex and duct tape are my badge of courage, honor and have paid my dues for the decades to come.
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
But ooo- the voice- &mdash 08/14/07 - 06:33:46 PM
I like this a lot. Great for a vintage recording. But, wow, i could really just sit and listen to Sonny Jim all day. Love the voice, the balance, the guitar, the bass - everything. [ Reply to This ]
Kristyjo &mdash 08/17/07 - 11:52:03 AM
That was a really lovely comment; thank you.
Now, I'm going to your page to vote ALL your songs up to 10 ;-D
[ Reply to This ]
Hey! &mdash 08/30/07 - 10:44:23 PM
Thanks KristyJo!
I know, I could listen to Sonny Jim all day, too. ...and sometimes I do!~
Cheers!
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
Great ! &mdash 09/09/07 - 10:19:17 AM
Philip this is GREAT song, the guitars sounds wonderful, the vocal here sounds really warm and fit the style !
Wonderful beats and bass sound, Wonderful piece ! Much enjoyed !
Take Care
==============
Yeman Auf Al-Rawi [ Reply to This ]
Awesome take! &mdash 09/09/07 - 06:18:51 PM
I really enjoyed the guitar and bass one this one. They made me feel as if I were in the ocean waters as well. I agree with you about the drums being the anchor of the sound. Great sound and it was a great moody set for my Sunday afternoon.
[ Reply to This ]
studiophile &mdash 09/13/07 - 01:06:43 AM
We wrote it in about 5 minutes. We'd write and record 4 or 5 songs in an afternoon in those days. I sometimes miss the limits of 4 tracks....all this looping and comping makes me crazy sometimes. I miss the spontaneity.
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
Freaking outstanding &mdash 09/14/07 - 05:52:07 AM
For a 4-track recording, this is outstanding. SJ good singing! All around a very good song guys.
LL [ Reply to This ]
Yep &mdash 09/24/07 - 12:31:30 AM
Great Song! &mdash 09/25/07 - 05:50:27 PM
What a great piece! You guy's should revisit this one.
I'm impressed. Hat's off!!!
THANK YOU for the download. [ Reply to This ]
thx &mdash 09/26/07 - 12:27:00 AM
Thanks PickQuick,
An oldie but one of my fav's. Ah for those old 4-track days. Things were so simple then....
Cheers....
like your new icon!
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-Philip [ Reply to This ]
Stealing Water &mdash 03/08/08 - 01:05:12 AM
This is a really cool song. Isn't music great? We can express our feelings on any subject matter at all that we feel is important to us. I just dig you.
Stacey [ Reply to This ]
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