2024 Arrives with a SNAP! & The Joy of Sad Songs
Of broken legs and broken hearts... and open tunings
I’m going to embed a song, Marie, later in this article. I’d love for you to listen to it.
Similar to Love Has Flown, it involves the end of a relationship.
First, I want to give you an update about our strange transition into 2024 and have a brief discussion about sad songs.
First, Happy New Year! I’m hoping for peace (hoping but sadly, not that hopeful). Personally, I will attempt to do my part to help those I meet experience more peace or contentment to whatever degree I am able.
Ending the Year with a bang… or a snap
A couple days before the new year, I received a message from my oldest who was on a solo motorcycle excursion in Baja California (Mexico). He informed me that he was okay but (those big butts) he crashed his motorcycle, broke his leg, and was on his way to the hospital. He said he was going to need surgery.
Here is the brief summary
He was on the final few days of his trip - heading back up toward the US border after riding down to Cabo.
On a desert road, off the main highway, he crashed and broke his leg. It was a doozy. He spent a few hours there, no cell service, wondering if he should try to light a fire. He was isolated and thinking, “This could be a survival situation.”
Note: The above photo was taken a day before his accident. He was stopped in a small town and a black cat jumped up on his bike. We’re not superstitious but a black cat on your motorcycle is still a black cat on your motorcycle.
An Italian family happened to be driving that same road. As fate would have it, the father was a former motorcycle racer. My oldest rides an Italian bike - a Ducati.
Serendipity‽ (‽ is an interrobang - question mark + exclamation mark)
They loaded him into their car and while the father rode the bike, they drove him to a small town, Guerrero Negro, where they confirmed the break and his need for surgery.
They splinted and wrapped his leg and after some logistics with a nurse at the hospital and his motorcycle insurance company, he hobbled onto a bus for a 10+ hour ride to the US/Mexico border.
I drove down to the border at 4am the next morning, picked him up and drove him back to our local hospital. He had surgery and was released on New Year’s Eve, in time to come home for some lasagna and salad. The Italian nature of lasagna fit the theme but was unintentional.
And ball drop!
Happy New Year‽ (twice with the interrobang)
For the time being I’ve moved back upstairs to the loft as he will be rehabbing with us for a bit. We are thankful he is safe and on that note, New Year’s was good!
Notes to Myself
I jotted down a few notes to myself on January 1st - some things to consider moving into 2024. Nothing earth-shattering. Here are a couple of them, specific to music.
Don't over complicate things
Decide faster
Mix faster
Improve mix to mix, don't beat one song to death seeking perfection... you won't get it anyway.
Broadly, the first two could apply to life in general. But I wrote them with music in mind. Simple enough, eh?
Sad Songs
A few years ago, a woman I went to school with told me, “You need to write more happy love songs.”
She made this comment after hearing me play a string of heartache songs, culminating with my song, Everyday Lies.
... I drove by your house today Unintentional, I lost my way I shouldn’t be surprised to see his car He always told me you were wrong for me You’re just right for him, it seems Guess that explains missing last night’s show ...
I’m not embedding it here but you can hear a version of the song on YouTube by following this link. It’s going to be re-mixed. So many things to fix.
The night after she said that, I wrote a song titled, “Diana” and sent it to her.
... Whoa Diana, you’re still sleeping girl I’ve got sweet reflections on my mind It’s more than the moments in the night we share Our hearts and souls surely combine I thought I’d been in love before But it was only passing time I only see, Diana and me Side by side, her hand in mine And that’s so fine ...
Another YouTube link. I proved my point, I can write happy love songs.
But, as Elton John pointed out, “Sad songs say so much”.
In reviewing my songs I’ve gone through periods where I write a spate of sad love songs. Other times, I write happy love songs. They are not always tied to the emotion of the moment.
But I am drawn to writing about darker emotions and darker elements of the human condition.
It’s not my personality but Breaking Bad was a great series because it reveals and speaks to an intriguing draw that most of us have. I get to live vicariously through my songs in a way I have no interest in living in my real life.
When I went through my first divorce, I was sad… depressed even. I never took up drinking or drugs or revenge sex or… anything much more than being sad and writing some songs. But I wrote songs that explored all those darker themes.
Marie - an experiment in Open tunings
While I’ve been a fan of open tunings on guitar, I had never used an open tuning in any of my songs until I wrote, Marie, the song I’m sharing with you below.
Open Tuning: Tuning your guitar to a specific chord so that if you play all the strings at once, it will play the chord in question.
So, one day in 2017, I tuned my guitar to Open D.
With traditional (standard) tuning, you tune you guitar, from low to high, to the following notes:
E A D G B E
With Open D, you tune the strings, from the low to high, to the following notes:
D A D F# A D
The D chord is formed with the notes: D F# A
Open tuning creates some pleasing drone sounds - a constant ringing of D throughout, depending upon how you finger your chords.
I started playing a simple descending bass line. My lyrics came very quickly.
Note: Love Has Flown, which I shared last year (and need to finalize), uses a similar tuning. I tune to Open D but put a capo on the 2nd fret, changing the song to an Open E tuning.
With that explanation, let’s get to Marie.
Marie Lyrics
... verse You left me alone but I don't really blame you, I don't You thought I would hate you, don't worry, I can't and I won't But there are questions unanswered though the answers I don't want to hear I'm no good at this distance but damn sure no good when you're near My friends, they keep telling me, "Man, you sure handle it well." Conveniently they overlook when I slip into my hell Close the world out and don't return their calls for days Emerge baptized in memories and exorcized of my rage (chorus) chorus Oh Marie, this is one thing you can't take away My pain is a labor love, it's what's left of me verse If forgiveness is freedom then you'll find me shackled and chained And I know love is the answer but to questions I don't understand Like the who and the when, the what and the where and the why And how did I miss all the signs of your unspoken goodbye (chorus) ...
A Recording
As of this morning (1/4/2024)
Production Notes:
Guitars:
I recorded two matching finger-picked guitar tracks (doubled), one panned left, one panned right.Bass Guitar
A simple ascending (with some variation) counter-point to the descending guitar line.Cajon & Shaker
I recorded a cajon (hand drum) and a shaker that comes in after the first stanza. I’m still working on how I want the cajon to sound, so I have it pretty quiet in the mix.Vocals:
I have some backing vocals and doubled chorus recorded but I’ve excluded them from this mix. For now, it is a single vocal take.
Vocally, I’m working on a couple spots where I shift into my head-voice/falsetto but overall, I’m happy with the emotional weight of my delivery.
Let’s wrap it up
Of all the goals for 2024, more music is at the heart of it.
By spring I plan to announce some live gigs. Until then, it is practicing, recording, and mixing.
Thanks again for joining me on this journey. Also, let me know if you have any interesting or fun plans for 2024.
Take care!
With love and gratitude!
Matthew Moran
January 4, 2024
FIRST, the broken leg: I am very glad you got him back to your locale in California. I don't want to sound too chauvinistic, but I trust American hospitals more than Mexican Hospitals. I've heard quite a few horror stories re Americans who got care in Latin America. It has come to my attention that medical mapractce law is decidedly unfavorable to Plaintiffs in Latin America with the result that "doctors" south of the border can maim with impunity. That was a really rough situation: Many people, upon seeing an injured person, could not care less. Thank G-d the Italian motorist came to his aid
SECOND: I really like the lyrics you wrote in a comment to my post of December 26:
"We've got good will when we need it
Holiday cheer, if it's convenient
Peace on Earth as the bombs drop
Blessed be the poor til the sales stop
There's a baby, there's a mother
There's the freeway they're living under
Carries the same day package delivery
For all of that, "I've been good, what will it get me?"
You should set that to music and record it
THIRD:
I am sure you won't be surprised when I say that I always go for sad songs. Give me the midnight and melancholy and pitch black night of sad songs.
FOURTH:
Your song reminds me of Pushkin's most famous Russian poem, a sad story about his undying hope and love for a woman who had left him. I could never write with charity for someone who had rejected me. The agony is too hard for me to take.
Nice song Matthew. Sad or angry songs tend to engage listeners more imho. I feel that people aren't madly in love for most of their lives. But they spend a lot of their (our) lives wondering wistfully about what they had and lost, especially as we get older. Sad songs tug on heartstrings and when people can come to you and say that they felt you were singing about them, to or for them, when you can evoke a tear or a growl, you are not just entertaining, you are helping them with their catharses. IMHO, when you reach their hearts with a sad, angry or funny story, they remember you. When you sing a happy song, not so much.
As to tunings, I have a few spider capos. You can pick individual strings which open up more opportunities to come up with novel accompaniment. One you might like for D is just tuning the top E string to D on the 10th fret. It's a bit like the high toned string on a banjo. The finger capo is a great way to come up with new ideas without having to retune your guitar. There are countless configurations you can try.