fourteen28

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I present to you: fourteen28 - an album of 14 songs written and recorded in the past 28 days of February 2014.

I'm immensely proud to have seen this through. It's the kind of idea I often have and end up spending lots of time thinking about but never actually doing. It's been hard work, not to mention time-consuming (just ask my girlfriend) but it's taught me so much about songwriting and creativity in general. Whilst none of these songs are in any way perfect, I'm pleased with them given how quickly they were turned around. Please do share your feedback!

So, without further ado, here it is: all 47 minutes and 33 seconds of it, presented in the order it was recorded.

Three big lessons I took from this process:

1. If you want to make something, make the time for it. Everything else will follow. Just becuase you don't feel like doing it, doesn't mean you can't do it just as well as when you're in the mood.
2. You can write a song about anything, or at least try to - setting some arbitrary constraints and a deadline can actually help creativity.
3. Song-writing is an iterative process. I can only imagine how many potentially good songs I've binned over the years because I gave up when it got difficult. I didn't abandon a single song that I started this month.

Song 14: fourteen28 (Day 28)

Here it is, song number 14! I did it; fourteen entirely new songs in 28 days. Trying to make some connections at the end of this whole thing, I though about how I'm also 28 years old and how it would be nice to write a song to my 14 year old self. For an additional constraint, I made it 140 seconds long. Here it is:


fourteen28

Your best friend's gone away,
No one's got your back.
Seeing red in this world of grey,
Your mind black.
But know this now, you're on the cusp,
Your light's about to shine.
You'll get high on this and get drunk with lust,
Just bide your time.

Hey, it's OK.
Trust me, you don't have long to wait.
Play, seize the day,
You're fourteen now but you'll soon be twenty-eight,
So get out there.

Don't wish your life away,
Don't let your dreams escape,
The best it yet to come.
Don't let your heart grow cold,
Don't let your grow old,
Now go have some fun.

Take some care of that head of hair,
And learn to love those curls.
If the girls don't speak to you,
Go speak to the girls.
Don't be scared to make mistakes,
They're the only way you'll learn.
Trust me, you've got what it takes,
But self respect is earned.

Song 13: Purgatory (Day 27)

The penultimate song number 13. Lucky for some? I chose to hedge my bets by writing a song about purgatory: the other other place. All I know is that it's a halfway house between heaven and hell. Being none the wiser, I took this opportunity to make the rest of it up.




Purgatory

I'm not a saint, I'm not a sinner,
I'm not a loser, but I'm not much of a winner.
A bit of shame, a little pride,
Sometimes pain, sometimes glory.
Mostly honest, with the occasional lie,
Mostly modest, but when I die,
I've got no one else to blame,
When I end up in Purgatory.

I'm going to Purgatory,
Good enough for how much I care.
It won't be decked in gold, but it won't be hot or cold,
Probably going to see you there.
I'm going to Purgatory,
Good enough for how much I care
Purgatory,
I'll see you there.

Too good for hell, too bad for heaven,
On most ratings out of ten, I score about a seven.
I don't need crowns or angel choirs,
I don't need brimstone and I don't need fire.
I don't commit all of the seven deadly sins,
But then I can only name about five,
And I don't often go to mass but then,
At least I've been baptized.

I'm going to Purgatory,
But I'm not quite sure where to find it.
If heaven is up and hell is down,
I guess Purgatory's the side bit.
Purgatory,
Though I'm not quite sure who's in charge there.
If God's running heaven and Satan's in hell,
I guess Purgatory's more laissez-faire.

Purgatory,
Good enough for how much I care.
Purgatory,
I think we might already be there.

Song 12: Glorious Leader (Day 23)

Shit just got weird.

At the end of January, I wrote a list of song ideas to keep me going. Today it came in handy. Some of those ideas include:

"A Humble Tribute to Our Glorious Leader"
"Paranoia-induced dystopian future song"
"Insane in the Ukraine"
"Protest/rebel song"
"Surrealist song"
"Sleazy 80s synth pop"

I can only describe this song as a combination of a bit of each of these. Enjoy!

Glorious Leader

Bring us together, make us one.
We stand united, we cannot be undone.
Speak for your people, a nation's voice,
We will submit to you our will and choice.

Glorious Leader,
Bring the strength that we require.
Glorious Leader,
Give us answers we desire.

Lead us forward, make us great,
We toil together for the nation we create.
Bring us progress, plans of high precision,
Help us to build the world that you envision.

Glorious Leader,
We're hungry and we're tired.
Glorious Leader,
Where is the future we desired?

We are the people, we are as one.
We stand united, we cannot be undone.
You're not our leader, it's time for change.
We rise against you and cast away our chains.

Revolution,
Bring the strength that we require.
Revolution,
Give us answers we desire.

Revolution! Revolution! Revolution!

Song 11: Die Another Day (Day 22)

Madonna has written some truly iconic pop songs. Her theme song to the 2002 Bond movie, Die Another Day, was sadly not one of them. It was a crime against Bond themes and the legacy of John Barry.

My long list of song ideas had "Bond theme" on it, so, I decided I would write an alternative theme for this great movie, using the film's plot to shape the lyrics. Here is (another) Die Another Day!

(Also, I'm back on schedule: 11 songs in 22 days. Three to go...



Die Another Day

A diamond that's paid for with blood,
Can buy you a sword.
But you're making a deal with the devil,
That you can't afford.

A spy for a spy,
The whole world goes blind,
As Icarus flies,
Into the sun's rays.
Fire from the sky,
Can't cut through these lines,
You live to die another day.

A palace that's built out of ice,
Will soon melt away.
A virtue that's built on a vice,
Will soon be betrayed.

A man who thinks all is lost,
Has nothing to lose,
You can run, you can hide from the past,
But you can't hide the truth.

A fight to the death,
With a familiar stranger,
No time to rest,
You're in grave danger.

Song 10: Make it up (Day 22)

Bosh, three in a day! This song is a weird sort of collaboration: FAWMers are given a list of chords and some lyrics, and have to record a song with them. Here's my effort:





Just to demonstrate the fun of this challenge, here are three other versions done my fellow February Album Writers:

@complexissimple


@bska13

@taracraig



Chords: 

Set 1: Am C Dm F C Em F F
Set 2: A E Bm Dm A E F G A

Lyrics:

You’re gonna be suspended 
Starting when you’re tempted to be
Tuning out the sirens
Siding with the tyrants
Tired of deflation
Tired of frustration

Make it up, make it up, make it all up

Running out of lucky strikes
Firing on appetite
Craving another bite
Bedbugs kiss goodnight
Underneath the bedsheet
Ready to concede defeat

Make it up, make it up, make it all up

Visions of paradise
Swollen with parasites
Swimming in your bloodstream
Nothing but a dry dream
Curing in the sunlight
You would rather switch than fight

Make it up, make it up, make it all up
Make it up, make it up, make it all up

Song 9: When I grow up (Day 22)

Whoa there! Two in a day? That's right - time for a serious Saturday song-writing session. So I'd written most of this one already but rather than spend half a day on a demo, I bashed out a little acoustic number. This was in response to a song-writing challenge to write about childhood. So I wrote about my lofty childhood ambitions. Strangely, working for a bank didn't make the list...



When I grow up

I'm gonna be a deep-sea diver,
That's my burning wish.
Diving for treasure, deep beneath the weather,
With a big purple octopus and fish.

I'm gonna be a bicycle courier,
With a mo-hawk and a beard.
Zipping through the traffic with another secret package,
With scars instead of fears.

When I grow up,
I'll be able to do everything.
When I grow up,
I'll be free to do anything.
When I grow up,
When I grow up.

I'm gonna be an airline pilot,
Soaring through the sky.
I'll switch in the seat-belt light and dim the cabin lights at night,
Every time I fly.

I'm gonna be the captain of a great big ship,
And sail the ocean blue.
I'll be a salty dog and I'll write things in my log,
But only if they're true.