Upcoming Performance and The First Song of the Year
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Upcoming Performance and The First Song of the Year
Why did it take so long to write my first song of 2023
It isn’t writer’s block. I’ll clarify below. First, I’m playing music next Saturday.
Saturday, June 3, 2023 @ 5:00pm
Barclay’s Coffee, Northridge, CA
View the Facebook event here
Event poster (and photo) by Deb.
Untitled: The First Song of 2023
The first two stanza below and a short video of those stanzas.
That one night, was it late December Cold moonlight and baby, I remember Shivers running down my spine The fates foretold, the stars align That hallowed ground, our sacred place Heard angels sing amazing grace Two hearts, one love, the trinity The future, past, eternity Your fingertips, they brush my face Your kisses chase my fear away Dawn arrives to my soul’s peace I find you laying here with me I catch my breath, I bite my tongue Don’t break this spell that we’ve begun Holding you, a liturgy Softly sigh soliloquies
Thoughts on the Writing
I’ve written another two stanzas but I’m changing at least two of the lines, so I’m not publishing them here. There is no chorus - just a musical bridge to separate the stanzas and a short musical break between the last lines above and the two stanzas I’ve not included.
I have a couple song titles in mind but until I have the final stanzas completed and am certain that I am NOT adding a chorus, it remains untitled.
I like it! Musically and otherwise, it is sweet and evocative. That’s my self-assessment. You can, of course, let me know what you think.
Why the 6 Month Dry Spell
It’s a bit deceiving to say I’ve had a 6 month dry spell. I’ve written lyrical ideas with no attached music and recorded a few musical ideas without any lyrics. These are stored in a Google Drive folder for later review.
Truth is, I rarely return to those ideas but I probably should.
Additionally, I have lyric ideas scattered throughout my current and a past songwriting journal. Some of those have been moved to a Google Doc but the rest are hidden between fully-written songs and scribbled in margins.
Truth is, I rarely return to those ideas but I probably should.
Songs in the Wings
The real reason for not writing songs is that I have two-hundred songs that have not received the attention I feel they deserve. At this point, if I wrote no new songs and I recorded two 10 songs albums a year, I wouldn’t complete those projects until 2033.
Given that reality, I guess I need to record two 50 song albums a year. Or sell a few of these songs to younger, more attractive, performers. Hmmm….
As discussed in my prior post, But I Can Do Something, we (Deb and I) are in a busy and highly distracted season of life. Some changes occurred this past weekend. In about 10 days, a few more changes are likely to provide a little bit more time and mental space to move a few projects forward.
We talked about the Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign - the crowdfunding of a 5 song EP. We already have an outline and a script ready to go. We think we can film it next weekend.
We also have consulting and software development work to attend to. I continue to shift my professional focus to three central technologies: Airtable, Google Apps Script, and PowerApps/PowerAutomate. For the nerds among you, check out my website or my LInkedIn profile.
Those projects and Deb’s photography, are the only primary activities we can attend to. Every primary activity or project has any number of secondary and tertiary projects and tasks. And, of course, day-to-day maintenance, fitness, friendships, etc. all pull at our available time.
This is the common and unavoidable state of being a human.
More Contentment
A brief update on what I discussed in my prior article:
I’ve found more contentment the past few weeks. I’ll define contentment as one part awareness and a large helping of perspective. Deb and I both had cancer scares this year and, after a normal period of near panic and anxiety, we both received a clean bill of health.
We know others who are far less fortunate - including my friend Jackie, who is in the middle of chemotherapy and radiation for her cancer. I created a GoFundMe to help her with some financial concerns.
No pressure or obligation but if you want to help, you can do that here. Footnote
In addition to the above perspective, add a combination of mindfulness, a few conversations with friends and mentors, and Deb and I discussing how we manage the responsibilities we cannot avoid and the projects we need to complete in order to move our life closer to our desired vision.
I also received a lot of public an private feedback on my prior piece. Good advice and gentle nudging. It’s all appreciated.
That’s all I have to say right now.
Take care and thank you again for joining my journey.
Matthew Moran
May 30, 2023
Website | YouTube | Facebook
Eventually, I’m going to ask you to help me with my crowdfunding campaign. However, as I’ve stated before, everyone must make hard decisions on where their dollars go. If I compel or convince you to give to a single cause or project, give to Jackie’s. This is NOT false kindness, just a matter of pragmatics and where the greater need exist.
My goal, of course, will be to compel/convince you to give to two causes or projects. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it.
Upcoming Performance and The First Song of the Year
Having a plethora of creative energy is a good thing. Having to edit all the results - more of a chore :-) Most of us mortals have to revise our stuff numerous times to improve the results. Keep up the good work!
I like these lyrics.
As you have pointed out, I can be a sarcastic son of a bitich as I don't suffer fools gladly. So many lyrics make me ill because the words sound like cliches, the rhymes are cheap and rinky dink, and all the good of the words can be absorbed in 5 seconds as there is nothing to chew on or ponder or adore. For example, I fucking love the Beatles, but even their lyrics are all too often simplistic sugary shit. I love them for their music; not their verbal acumen.
First, I love your lyrics because the words SOUND GOOD. I don't like poems or lyrics in which the words are clunky, awkward things that throw the rhythm off like a messed up track de-railing a locomotive. Your lyrics go down smoothly.
Second, I like these lyrics because I need to think about them. They are a little bit perplexing.
So congrats on a job well done