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Week 4: “At the Woodchopper’s Ball”
Week 4: “At the Woodchopper’s Ball”
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Listen to them, the children of the
night. What sweet music they make. - Count Dracula
Week 4
saw a sharp rise in the over-all quality of each cover. As I was becoming aware of the aesthetic beauty
in the impressions left up for criticism, I started paying closer attention to
tone and rhythm. I became acutely critical of my voice and listened to its
subtleties with as big a magnifying glass as I could muster.
Day #22: I had never heard this song until about a week before I recorded it. (One night, my modern gypsy roommate showed me the video for it on YouTube during one of those back and forth video dialogues). I decided to cover it. The performance was well liked. My roommate Lea, who supports my project tremendously, also seemed to enjoy it. It was my first successful request. Happy listening!
(If you don’t like it then you are a goat!)
Day #22: I had never heard this song until about a week before I recorded it. (One night, my modern gypsy roommate showed me the video for it on YouTube during one of those back and forth video dialogues). I decided to cover it. The performance was well liked. My roommate Lea, who supports my project tremendously, also seemed to enjoy it. It was my first successful request. Happy listening!
(If you don’t like it then you are a goat!)
I am surprised that I don't get more requests to be
honest. Although, I guess it works as it gives me more time to come up
with new zany ideas. I am currently developing my second request, which is
a doozy. Wait for it.....................
Day #23: This is my version of "Change of Time" by Josh Ritter, and is not my personal favorite. The performance is just lacking something.
Day #23: This is my version of "Change of Time" by Josh Ritter, and is not my personal favorite. The performance is just lacking something.
Day
#25: Here, as
promised, is the first of much more collaborations.
By the end of this project, I want to achieve 2 things more than anything else:
1) To take as many YouTube "firsts" as humanly possible
2) To blossom these performances into a kind of live-action "Muppet Show" via collaboration with other local artists and musicians.
(Man do I have some Muppets in store. Electric Mayhem?)
Nicole Ste Croix and I performing "Jockey Full of Bourbon" by Mr. Tom Waits. Enjoy!
By the end of this project, I want to achieve 2 things more than anything else:
1) To take as many YouTube "firsts" as humanly possible
2) To blossom these performances into a kind of live-action "Muppet Show" via collaboration with other local artists and musicians.
(Man do I have some Muppets in store. Electric Mayhem?)
Nicole Ste Croix and I performing "Jockey Full of Bourbon" by Mr. Tom Waits. Enjoy!
Day #26: The original version of this song is just perfect to me and
makes me cry all the time. This is why I cover it constantly despite my critics'
insistence that I shouldn't play it anymore. Supposedly, "its
length and density make it a self-indulgent choice." Ain't no goats going
to sink this boat! ;)
Although she claims her performances are vocally flawed, Nik's contributions seem to both subdue and intensify my pacing. "The Trapeze Swinger" by Iron and Wine.
(Iron and Wine is the first repeat band, which I originally intended never to do. Just consider a band or artist getting their songs on 2 or more days my official "Blue Ribbon." Sam Beam is the first winner, but there are others to come.)
Although she claims her performances are vocally flawed, Nik's contributions seem to both subdue and intensify my pacing. "The Trapeze Swinger" by Iron and Wine.
(Iron and Wine is the first repeat band, which I originally intended never to do. Just consider a band or artist getting their songs on 2 or more days my official "Blue Ribbon." Sam Beam is the first winner, but there are others to come.)
Now we come to the
"Halloween" set. Originally, I had planned 7 Halloween
songs, in which "Mad World" wasn't even included.
(Time constraints descended like The Curse of Michael Myers and 5 of them didn't make the final cut. The remaining one, which we can call "Frankenstein," is under my care. ;)
Day #27: Here is my performance of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears. (Also popularized by the Gary Jules cover from Donnie Darko.
I truly love the imagery as it screams New Hampshire to me.
(It also screams fire hazard, but I promise that no fires were harmed in the making of this video.)
(Time constraints descended like The Curse of Michael Myers and 5 of them didn't make the final cut. The remaining one, which we can call "Frankenstein," is under my care. ;)
Day #27: Here is my performance of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears. (Also popularized by the Gary Jules cover from Donnie Darko.
I truly love the imagery as it screams New Hampshire to me.
(It also screams fire hazard, but I promise that no fires were harmed in the making of this video.)
Day #28: I've loved The Blue Oyster Cult ever since an Evangelical
Anti-Rock n Roll documentary called Hells
Bells strongly suggested I shouldn't. It was comforting to
know that they were truly evil and not just deceiving me into thinking they
were evil for no good reason. "Don't Fear the Reaper."
Fun Fact: An acoustic version of this song ruined the ending of a film titled Scream for myself and for all who were nearby when I screamed it at the Showcase Cinema in Woburn, Massachusetts on the film's opening night.
Another Fun Fact: I once met the guitarist from the Blue Oyster Cult loitering near a mill building shortly before they played the Manchester, New Hampshire Fireworks. He was playing a Martin Backpacker guitar and we talked about jazz.
Fun Fact: An acoustic version of this song ruined the ending of a film titled Scream for myself and for all who were nearby when I screamed it at the Showcase Cinema in Woburn, Massachusetts on the film's opening night.
Another Fun Fact: I once met the guitarist from the Blue Oyster Cult loitering near a mill building shortly before they played the Manchester, New Hampshire Fireworks. He was playing a Martin Backpacker guitar and we talked about jazz.
Day
#29: Sufjan Stevens
is remarkably brilliant and "John Wayne Gacy Jr." was
the first song I ever heard by him. It is chilling and unforgettable.
Happy Hauntings!
Ian Ste Croix.
