The sybilline

From the geographic center of heartbreak [2400 e. Dauphin, apt. c] comes the Sybilline.

The song is admittedly unworthy of the subject, but it's a start...

twofer!


[i reserve the right to edit this post whenever i want]

The genie

Let the Genie bring your summer to a close with an appeal for a happier future, and a cautionary tale. The appeal is rendered in chords and keyboard arrangements uncomfortably similar to the song "Visions of Joy" from electronica duo The Beauty Room, but it's certainly not actionable, similar more in mood than melody I guess. "Melt the guns" is the message.

It's also the song that ushers us into a new era, forced upon us by the painful crash of a hard drive that took oodles of precious data with it when it passed. And yes, I reformatted, so it's really gone. "Back up your data" is the lesson learned.

On the clock

When it comes to searching for new and uncharted pop hooks, the Oxford Boys are always On the Clock, which is coincidentally the name of this month's song.

Chuck Zak & the Oxford Boys's Music Forte Page - Independent Music Promotion

Quasar's Revenge is nigh.

As an American, I support the idea of oversized portions, whether it be in the form of a loaf of bread with an entire pizza inside it, or a pop song. Dark Places is just the latest battle in the war against less-is-more, one with it's share of weaknesses (the keyboards in particular needed some re-recording), but one worthy of the Oxford Boy imprimatur regardless.

I squander an allusion to Joeseph Conrad, but do manage to reference the 60's one-minor-hit-wonder Every Mother's Son and their tune "Come on Down to My Boat." I thought I might've ripped a riff off from them, but it turns out not, though I'm not saying some small theft did not occur.

Young Sumerians is my response to Bowie's "Young Americans" - and I'll be awaiting his rebuttal.

This is another two chord song built on a tiny little loop from another song. More fake bass, too. It's just easier than dealing with the latency and that horrible bass guitar that buzzes like mad. There are plenty of backwards guitar solos (makes those missed notes sound much better), poorly mixed, so they're a bit loud. I may or may not be fixing that.

This month's song may be where your tolerance for me and my tolerance for me part company.

In Spite of the Fire is a wobbly edifice of melody, one that I initially felt had good "flow" even if it was a bit rushed. Now I'm thinking it's just a mess. There's an intro, an outro, two bridges, two verses and two choruses in just over three minutes. Vocal tracks are distorted, the lyrics make very little sense and the bass is computerized - there's a lot wrong with it.

However, it gets the nod from the committee, so up it goes.

Here's the shaky tale of Orion and the Lion, our haphazard song for February.

I'm continually bedeviled by latency issues, and I fear this has caused some to call the Oxford Boys' sense of "groove" into question. Though corrective action has been taken, there clearly have been breakdowns in the pocket caused by this. Hopefully more memory will solve the problem, as driver updates have thus far failed to do. Latency is a serious issue and I'm not ashamed to talk about it.

It may or may not be related to the wobbliness in this month's song, I can't say for sure. It's still good.

So far in Oxford Boy history, you've met 'the Man,' 'the Fat Man's Ghost,' and 'the Ombudsman,' (not to mention 'Kid Concern') now I'd like to introduce you to the Hippy.

This was written with my friend Jason, AKA K-Bart, so don't forget to thank him.