So for
the first time, I hear Fiona Apple's
"Extraordinary Machine" that came out last
year and I'm just enamored. It's
quintessential Fiona, but with a whimsical
production that balances her dark lyrics
and dischordant chord structures and
melodies. It's also quite a difficult
piece to both sing and play as off-notes
are all over the place and you really
to know the piece to attempt
it.
I
tried it on piano...it was OK, but didn't
feel right. Tried it a capella, and
I just couldn't pull off the bass
presence with my voice. Then it hit me -
let's show off Keith. I knew he could play
the hell out of it and has that
perfectionist streak in him to get
everything as intricate as possible. What
I didn't realize was just how weird
it is to play on bass. With a piano,
you're used to transposing all sorts of
songs that aren't piano
songs...
...but bass
doesn't usually fall into that category. As well, bass
usually acompanies other instruments, so to try and
fill the musical landscape without anyone else is
quite a challenge. Luckily, Keith and I both like
challenges. :-)
So last night
Keith and I worked it out for about 4 hours,
doing as best we could pull off in 24 hours. I was
completely exhausted as it's one of the more athletic
songs I've ever sung. So we taped it tonight, live,
and the result is pretty fun. Keith and I could
probably put together some cool songs if we put our
heads together. We're very similar in how we approach
what we do. There was very little ego involved as we
tried to piece together the song on the bass. We were
just trying to get it as good as we could on a
deadline and also do the song justice. I think
musicians will appreciate this more than anything
because it's just so strange. Keith could sit there
and do bass riffs that would make your jaw drop, but
any solid bass player can do that. Pulling off this
however, is a challenge unlike any
other...
....as
was singing it. Finding a place to breath
is one thing. Finding a place to put your
testicles when trying to hit the high G an
octave above middle C in your head voice?
That's challenging. What a fun song. I hit
it, but I gotta tell you - I can
hit that like 6 times in a day, and then I
guess my body misses its manhood 'cause my
voice just won't go there. 4 octave range
for an old man is pretty good.
Not
sure what will become of this. I'll upload
it to the normal sites and see if anyone
thinks it's cool. Would be great if Fiona
heard it. Gotta be flattering to her, and
I doubt she'd think of it being
covered like that. Oh and to get back to
reality - her version is gorgeous. Her
voice is so effortless as it dances around
the melody. It's obviously a bit more work
for me.
So there you have
it! Merry Christmas to all! Expect a Christmas entry
up tomorrow catching you up on some loose ends. That
tends to happen when you're this damn
busy...
