Monday, June 22, 2009

13* Songs With The Calculus Affair

If you are a just-slightly-fanatical follower of the band The Long Winters (which I am) you will know that their next record is currently mired in creative limbo as John Roderick attempts to, well, write the songs. It's "Chinese Democracy-ed", if you will. This slog through the creative mire is being documented by a videographer on YouTube in an ongoing work titled "13 Songs with John Roderick."

If you are follower of The Calculus Affair, you may be dimly aware that I promised the release of an album in "Spring of '09." Yesterday I officially missed that deadline, so now this record too resides (if far less notably) in the annals of AWOL rock and roll. Now, in fairness to me, during the "Spring of '09" I also "became" a "parent." This tends to put a strain on ones free time. On the other hand, I probably worked more on the album (during nap times**) in the last month and a half than I had in the previous six, so there was progress. There was also, I dunno, something like regress as I listened to what I'd done and thought, "Hmm...not quite."

I would like, when he is older and can read, for my son to continue speaking to me. So while he is occupying a lot of my brain and I have many revelations about parenting and such, I'm not going to publish any of them for the sake of our future relationship. Ergo, The Odds Are One will now commence documenting the only other thing which I can think of to write about, which is the ongoing progress, or lack thereof, on the record tentatively titled The Fellows are Opening for Jon and Ken***. Stay tuned.


*actual number of songs subject to change.
**the child's, not mine.
***mtg does not like this album title. She thinks it does not stick in the mind, so to speak. I've lately been flirting with Everyone Will Dance instead. Thoughts?

4 comments:

fronesis said...

I cannot judge the album title objectively, because I know well the song in which it is a line. And TMWUTHCFB is one of my top 5 Calculus Affair songs. And therefore I LOVE it as the title of the album precisely because it invokes that song for me. For folks who don't know the song - well, they should - but I have no idea how they'd hear the title

Transient Gadfly said...

"Everyone will dance" is actually from the same song, it's part of the line right before. I happen to prefer "The Fellows..." myself, but I could see where it's, like, not meaningful to anyone who didn't grow up in Bellingham in the late 80s.

fronesis said...

OK, I'm more committed tot the title now.

You (and I, and mtg) might know that "everyone will dance" is from that song, but as a title it doesn't point to that song, or that moment, in any way. It's just a phrase.

I think "The Fellows..." isn't quite as narrow a reference as you think. I did NOT grow up in Bellingham in the late 80s, and I don't think I've ever heard the music of the Young Fresh Fellows, but I DO know the Posies well, as do a LOT of other people my age. And I listened to the Posies long before I met you. So there's a decent swath of people out there who will can get the reference, especially if they then listen to your music.

But aside from the particulars, I like that it is a title that is also a setting. That is a PLACE that you were in, but that's less important than the fact that it's a place from which your music comes.

Transient Gadfly said...

Hmm. I am strongly compelled by the "place" argument. I will ponder that one for a bit.