I returned to the Cortland Coffeehouse Plus on Feb. 22, 2025, playing two sets of mostly original songs* in the basement of the historic Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland, New York. Unlike the Sept. 2024 performance, which was guitar-oriented, all the songs in this performance were played with my Yamaha digital piano. Here are two iPhone videos recorded at the performance (with the audio also taken directly from our iPhones).
* The full set list, with links to “studio” versions of the songs, can be found here.
And, of course, you can find links to all my original songs and covers on my music homepage.
I started writing “We Only Had a Few Good Years” in July 2024, and completed it a half year later. Three months after starting the lyrics, I came across Elizabeth Kolbert’s New Yorker piece, and incorporated some quotations from the article into the song’s “long digression” — a rather unusual bridge between the second and third verses that I always thought of as being the pop-song equivalent of Melville’s Moby Dick (which also famously contains some rather incongruous digressions).
1. Much has happened to us Hominins since we’ve been around We started in the trees and now we’re on the ground But with the water rising we’re more likely to be drowned As we watch while the coastline disappears Looks like we blew it cause we only had a few good years
2. Everyone wants a scapegoat — someone they can blame But time is running out in this idiotic game They’ll tell you they can fix it as they stand up and explain All the while throwing sand in the gears We definitely screwed it up big time cause we only had a few good years
BRIDGE:
To avoid misunderstanding I provide this long digression My point is — we’ve always lived with constant warfare and aggression So when I say we’ve had a few good years I’m just talking ’bout the weather We’ve had 12,000 years in the Holocene to get our act together (let me explain)
Hominins emerged in a long ice age, the Quaternary Glaciation Within which was an interglacial period called the the Holocene formation When global temperatures began to warm and glacial ice receded Giving human civilization the conditions that it needed
But instead of production based on science and cooperation we build fences at our border Eat or be eaten, beat or be beaten — nothing’s changed in this new world order The Holocene gave us opportunities we’ve consistently been squandering All those wasted years, blood sweat and tears — that’s the subject I’ve been pondering
Now Elizabeth Kolbert* wrote in the New Yorker that it really is no mystery Why (and I quote) “this is the period that includes all of recorded history A coincidence that, presumably, is no coincidence,” she writes, since in that span (and I quote again) “Temperatures settled down and a time of relative climate tranquillity began.” (end quote)
Instrumental verse
3. Our economists adore property and competition And so we live with war, poverty, and superstition Always under threat from more bombs and ammunition Designed by our brightest engineers People we blew it cause we only had a few good years3.
Outro
Production notes:
Music arranged and produced by Jonathan Ochshorn Recorded with Logic Pro X software Vocals: Jonathan Ochshorn Background vocals: Jonathan Ochshorn Real instruments: Jonathan Ochshorn’s leg-slapping intro drums Software instruments played live on midi keyboard: Jonathan Ochshorn (drums, bass, piano, organ, electric clav) Recorded at home in Ithaca, NY, February 2025.
I made the video using Final Cut Pro, with my lip-synced simulations recorded on my iPhone, placed on a tripod in front of my portable green screen (except that the final “outro” video was recorded live; hence the headphones and mic). The underlying video background is a live screen-recording of the Logic Pro X interface (with the Logic Pro transcription of the electric clav solo superimposed).
Links to all my songs and music videos can be found here.
Find my original music video of Ran Through My Mind from March 2008 here. And, of course, all my original songs and covers are linked from my music homepage.
I’ve been stopping by one of two gyms at Cornell on my daily walks, after discovering that my emeritus status gives me access to basketballs, lockers, uniforms, towels, etc. Most importantly, my retired status gives me lots of discretionary free time — I only saw one other person shooting hoops at Barton Hall today (the other gym is in Helen Newman Hall) during what I thought would be prime time for pick-up games (noon).
While I’ve been working on a new (original) song, I’ve also been listening to Taylor Swift’s “Tortured Poets Department” album, and learning one of the songs, loml, on guitar — Swift’s sings her version accompanied by piano. I’ve transposed it up a few semitones — from the key of C to the key of E. Yesterday, I decided to just set up two mics and record the song live, using Logic Pro. I did add just a bit of Login Pro software instrumentation (cello and piano) at the end of the song, played live on my midi keyboard. And I balanced my iPhone on the bookshelf over my computer to create the live video (edited in Final Cut Pro).
Last night, I stumbled upon this rectangle of light on the Cornell Arts Quad and wondered if it was an art installation or just the random result of an open window with a projector running in Goldwin Smith Hall.
Update (Nov. 26, 2024): The Cornell Council for the Arts confirmed today that “what you captured was an unplanned, serendipitous art happening as far as CCA is aware. But we think it’s very cool!”
I was the inaugural performer for the opening of the Cortland Coffeehouse Plus, playing two sets of original songs in the basement of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland, New York, also known as “The Old Cobblestone Church.” According to the Church website: “The building was placed on the State and National Register of Historic Buildings in 1993. The ‘Old Cobblestone Church’ is now the oldest building in Cortland County and is one of only two such cobblestone buildings in the country.” Here are two videos recorded at the performance.
Links to my original songs, covers, and videos can be found here.
A number of years ago, I began recording covers of pop songs that were influential in my musical development (or that I just liked). My self-imposed rules were (1) to pick only one song for each year; and (2) to never repeat any artist or group. Well, I started with Surfer Girl from 1963, and I’ve just made it all the way to 1984 with Cyndi Lauper’s hit single, Time After Time.
Some fun facts about the production: I’m playing the keyboard live in the video; I added the vocal, backup vocal, acoustic guitar, harmonica, bass, and drums later. All in Login Pro X. The video was shot in two parts: first the live piano (in my house); second, the background in the Trader Joe’s parking lot in Ithaca, NY, while I was waiting for Susan to finish shopping there. This was assembled in Final Cut Pro. Everything shot with my iPhone.
I presented my latest book, OMA’s Milstein Hall, at Cornell AAP’s joint book launch event, called Launchpad, on April 17, 2024, at 5:30 PM. Details here. Because I was in Madrid for the 2024 ASHRAE International Building Decarbonization Conference, my presentation consisted of a 7-minute music video. I was thinking of adding something like, “Be there. Will be wild!,” but will resist the temptation. Bad taste.
The video was released on YouTube at the same time as the book launch event. Why not subscribe to my YouTube channel to get notices of such things!
In preparation for my upcoming “Greatest Hits Vol 4” album, I remixed my 2021 song, “Puzzle of the Heart,” by adding drums, bass, organ, and a touch of back-up vocals — starting at the second verse of the song.
This entailed straightening up the free-form, and somewhat uneven, tempo of the live performance, not only for the new Logic Pro X audio, but also for the new Final Cut Pro video. Having made those subtle modifications, I was able to re-use most elements of the 2021 live video for this 2024 version (with the new 2024 soundtrack).
