I wrote this song in 2003 after seeing the movie, Adaptation (directed by Spike Jonze, screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, with Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, and others) and seeing some potential in doing a live musical performance of a song that is being written during the performance itself (an idea inspired by the movie). So the video of my song, Adaptation, is a re-creation of my actual performance of the song for the first time at the ABC Cafe open mic in Ithaca, NY on August 19, 2003. The ABC Cafe recently closed; I made the video by screen-capturing an image from a YouTube video of Evan D Williams performing at the ABC Cafe in 2007, carefully extracting Evan and his band from the image (no one was hurt in the process), and then adding in my performance — shot at home with my low-resolution Flip Camcorder based on a recording I made using GarageBand (both the recording and video made in March 2010). I also filmed myself as the “audience” for the song, again inspired by Nicolas Cage playing both Charlie and brother Donald Kaufman in the movie.
You can also download or listen to an MP3 version of the song, and view lyrics and technical notes.
Filed under Music and Video. |
After All was one of the first songs I wrote, in 1978, consisting of 2 verses with an instrumental break. In 2003, I added a bridge and a third verse. The song was recorded on GarageBand software; a YouTube video was shot using the built-in camera on my iMac. Also available is a downloadable MP3 and lyrics.
Filed under Music and Video. |
I finally got around to making a YouTube video for Squints on a Triple, a song I wrote and recorded in 2008 based on a true story concerning a game of Scrabble played with daughter Jennie.
At the same time, I just discovered that my recording of Squints was the winner of the 2008 BoardGameGeek.com contest for real songs that reference actual boardgames in their titles or lyrics.
Filed under Music and Video. |
I wrote This Isn’t Hollywood in 1981, recorded it in 2008, and just made a new video. In the video, which includes animated faces of Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and James Stewart, the final “celebrity” image is of a young Billy Joel, who wrote Say Goodbye to Hollywood five years earlier, in 1976. For the record, all the moving lips are my own.
Filed under Music and Video. |
Here’s a new video for an old song (Just Another), actually the first song I recorded using garageBand software more than two years ago. The song itself was written in 1980. The old mp3/lyric page is here.
Filed under Music and Video. |
I wrote Long Distance Love Affair in 1978 and it is, as far as I remember, the first real song I wrote. Although it was written on piano, This version is recorded using acoustic guitar. My Flip camcorder was set up on its tripod, so here’s the live video with guitar, vocals, and a single mic (and some imaginary musicians joining me for the final verse). Check out the downloadable mp3 (and lyrics).
Filed under Music and Video. |
As of October 2009, Rollo’s digital sales have entered six-figure territory, thanks to iTunes downloads, as well as internet streaming through sites like Napster and Lala. The six “figures” can be broken down as follows:
1. “Secret Lover” streamed though Lala: payment = $0.005
2. “She Wasn’t One” streamed though Napster: payment = $0.023
3. “Secret Lover” streamed twice though Napster: payment = $0.045
4. “Last Night” streamed though Napster: payment = $0.010
5. “Love Without Pain” downloaded through iTunes-Canada: payment = $0.58
6. “Your Love” streamed though Lala: payment = $0.005
The total of these six figures is $0.669, which, according to accountants for the band, rounds up to $0.67.
“Digital sales have been a real bonanza for the band,” says keyboardist Jon Ochshorn. “While still not as significant as sales of Rollo CDs, they are becoming an increasingly important component of the band’s financial portfolio.”
Filed under Uncategorized. |
I wrote this song (Maybe) last year, and posted the mp3 here at that time. This is a new video for the tune, shot in one take with my Flip camcorder, and edited with Final Cut Express.
Filed under Music and Video. |
This new song, like Shrinkwrap, is a commentary on art. By coincidence, I was able to incorporate images of the architecture Pritzker Prize Laureates, on display in Sibley Hall at Cornell, in the YouTube video for the song, but the lyrics are not directed toward them in particular (having been written before the exhibition was mounted). Lyrics, production notes, and a downloadable mp3 version of Prisoner of Art are also available.
Filed under Music and Video. |
While Milstein Hall construction has begun, Rand Hall (which will be connected to Milstein Hall, and which will contain mechanical equipment for Milstein Hall) is suffering from neglect. Storm water from two recent rains has backed up in the roof drain pipes and discharged through an eye wash fixture on the second floor, as can be seen in this short video. The water has worked its way down from the second floor into first floor offices (including my own). How is this possible? Somehow, someone has connected the waste pipes from a second-floor water fountain and eye wash fixture directly to the roof drain pipe, instead of connecting them to a sanitary sewer waste line with a proper vent.
Filed under Milstein Hall and Video. |
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