Another abbreviated tape, with barely a side B at all, but with at least two rescue-worthy tunes.
Both "Malls of America" and "Fat of the Land" were forgotten to have even existed, but I did, at some point, have enough sense to write the lyrics down. That made it much easier to identify them once the chords, melody and lyrics came tentatively through the headphones.
Each has a chorus that does a bit more than its share of the work, and I doubt they'll be among the first I tackle once this phase of the reclamation project has wrapped up, but I'm glad - very glad - to have them back.
2/25/2017
2/23/2017
Reclamation Tape #22: Pro Flirting Tips (Preyed-Upon Melodies)
As in the previous tape, we have no reclaimable scraps or lost favorites here, but there are a bunch of great songs ("Let Us Live," "Product Shot," and "Let it Ride" in particular) that have since come to their fruition, but alas, only in lamentably imperfect recordings.
There is also, if I'm not mistaken, exactly zero acoustic guitar on Pro Flirting Tips. This means that a fair amount of the tape ends up in meandering electric jamming, most of which is not worth discussing. An upside to all the finished ideas here is that there are few genuine song ideas that didn't get worked out to completion, which is a change from back when I couldn't be bothered to work a song beyond a verse and half of a chorus.
This would be a good place to pause, recollect the songs from the these past two or three tapes and get at least a simple acoustic/voice recording down, but the relentless momentum of the reclamation project compels me onward. We might only be a third of the way into the trove of worktapes, and as frustrating as it can be to sit through one half-idea after another, I still can't wait to hear what's ahead.
There is also, if I'm not mistaken, exactly zero acoustic guitar on Pro Flirting Tips. This means that a fair amount of the tape ends up in meandering electric jamming, most of which is not worth discussing. An upside to all the finished ideas here is that there are few genuine song ideas that didn't get worked out to completion, which is a change from back when I couldn't be bothered to work a song beyond a verse and half of a chorus.
This would be a good place to pause, recollect the songs from the these past two or three tapes and get at least a simple acoustic/voice recording down, but the relentless momentum of the reclamation project compels me onward. We might only be a third of the way into the trove of worktapes, and as frustrating as it can be to sit through one half-idea after another, I still can't wait to hear what's ahead.
Reclamation Tape #21: Mining The Finite (Stentorian Bent)
So this tape, and the next one (I'm lagging a bit in my posting), present a vexing choice for me. Though there were none of the lost songs I was looking to rediscover here, there were a number of previously recorded favorites, but almost all of which are preserved in fatally flawed versions.
These are songs ("The Wrong Girl," "The Other Shoe," "Race the Sun" and "It's Clear" to be specific) that I cherish, but tellingly, none are featured anywhere on our Bandcamp site (and have you visited oxfordboys.bandcamp.com? It's lovely.) - even though I've posted a fair amount of less-than-ideal material there.
That's because each song has, despite their often cringe-worthy flaws, some inimitable element that binds me to it. It might be a unique feature of the recording environment, like the squeal of brakes coming from the buses that stopped at the corner of Dauphin and Cedar, that then seeped into the recording and lent it an unpredictable uniqueness. It might be a featured instrument that I no longer own, like the clavinet patch on that Casio I foolishly left behind at the old house. Or maybe just some burst of improvisation that's impossible to recreate.
So do I now add these songs to the to-do list, straining an already ambitious schedule of recording? Probably, why not? Ok, maybe the choice isn't so vexed after all; I'll do them.
This dilemma of course can't help pique my long simmering fury at that dastardly 2006 hard-drive crash that forever ended the possibility of just re-mixing or tweaking these tracks. But I am yet very thankful at the bounty, the utter fecundity of the Oxford Boy catalog, which gives and gives and gives, asking so little in return.
These are songs ("The Wrong Girl," "The Other Shoe," "Race the Sun" and "It's Clear" to be specific) that I cherish, but tellingly, none are featured anywhere on our Bandcamp site (and have you visited oxfordboys.bandcamp.com? It's lovely.) - even though I've posted a fair amount of less-than-ideal material there.
That's because each song has, despite their often cringe-worthy flaws, some inimitable element that binds me to it. It might be a unique feature of the recording environment, like the squeal of brakes coming from the buses that stopped at the corner of Dauphin and Cedar, that then seeped into the recording and lent it an unpredictable uniqueness. It might be a featured instrument that I no longer own, like the clavinet patch on that Casio I foolishly left behind at the old house. Or maybe just some burst of improvisation that's impossible to recreate.
So do I now add these songs to the to-do list, straining an already ambitious schedule of recording? Probably, why not? Ok, maybe the choice isn't so vexed after all; I'll do them.
This dilemma of course can't help pique my long simmering fury at that dastardly 2006 hard-drive crash that forever ended the possibility of just re-mixing or tweaking these tracks. But I am yet very thankful at the bounty, the utter fecundity of the Oxford Boy catalog, which gives and gives and gives, asking so little in return.
2/18/2017
Reclamation Tape #20: Pumped Retiree (Proper Pop 'n Roll)
After starting off with a monstrous sneeze, Pumped Retiree settles into a comfortable groove of decent half-ideas and tentative versions of soon-to-be highlights of our live show (which has never happened).
If I were incapable of still producing top-shelf material, I'd be more tempted to revisit the stunted tunes that begin, but don't fully develop, here. But my gifts are undiminished; these very respectable tunes need attention that I just cannot spare now, and I anticipate having to work far too hard at raw survival during my golden years to spare the time and energy these ideas require.
Now, if we lived in Rhodesia...
Reclamation Tape #19: The Griot (Actual Crap)
This tape was recorded over a previously recorded WPRB broadcast, so if you hang around long enough, you get to hear some interesting shit from the Fall, as well as some other post-punk goodness that has little to do with the Oxford Boys brand of melody-minded geek pop.
Sadly, my own efforts here, while producing a few already-recorded favorites ("The Body Begins," "Pendulum"), don't offer up much worth pursuing for this project.
2/17/2017
Reclamation Tape #18: Score The Funk (Creampuffs & Qualifiers)
It's hard to believe that a tape that both begins and ends with versions of an enduring Chuck Zak/Oxford Boy staple ("Buyer's Remorse") could otherwise be so very shitty.
But the big question I had while dragging myself through Score The Funk is "what the fuck was going on in my life at this point that I was so uninspired?" It isn't until deep into side B that we at last stumble across "Far Away" and the previously - but very poorly - recorded "Too Easy." OK, those are worth waiting for, sure, but I have to admit, I was pretty despondent by that point, a condition made only more acute by the heartbreaking appearance of a mewling Ninny during one of these wholly unworthy-of-Ninny snippets.
Our lamented beagle Zola also makes a brief, somewhat startling appearance, but sadly not during the song written in her honor ("She's A Girl"), which also turns up in embryonic form on side B.
But the big question I had while dragging myself through Score The Funk is "what the fuck was going on in my life at this point that I was so uninspired?" It isn't until deep into side B that we at last stumble across "Far Away" and the previously - but very poorly - recorded "Too Easy." OK, those are worth waiting for, sure, but I have to admit, I was pretty despondent by that point, a condition made only more acute by the heartbreaking appearance of a mewling Ninny during one of these wholly unworthy-of-Ninny snippets.
Our lamented beagle Zola also makes a brief, somewhat startling appearance, but sadly not during the song written in her honor ("She's A Girl"), which also turns up in embryonic form on side B.
2/15/2017
Reclamation Tape #17: A Padded Affair (Repatriated Clydesdale)
This was a fun one. In addition to some decent throwaways, there was some interesting studio stuff - including the long lost "Prom Night Car Wreck." Turns out it's an ok song, not a great one, and the studio version is dodgy for sure, but it at least brought closure to a long search for this missing ditty.
We got a couple of could-be candidates out of this tape. "One Thousand Days," "Louis had my dream first," are both worth consideration, but the real winner of A Padded Affair is "On Your Mind," an innocuous title affixed to a super-fine tune.
We got a couple of could-be candidates out of this tape. "One Thousand Days," "Louis had my dream first," are both worth consideration, but the real winner of A Padded Affair is "On Your Mind," an innocuous title affixed to a super-fine tune.
2/12/2017
Reclamation Tape #15: Assuring Atomization (Misuse of Music)
Though the previous tape has undoubtedly been the peak of this project so far, we shouldn't be too quick to dismiss Assuring Atomization as "that tape Chuck listened to right after Demands For Allegiance."
There's no real knockout on a par with those from the last tape, but "Put the Call Through" gets a nice airing (though, to be fair, this first reappeared on Demands), and the very much forgotten "That's Life (in Sodom)" is found and found not wanting at all; it's pretty good with a good lyric.
Worth mentioning too is a studio version of something I'm calling "5/4 Riff" that incorporates microphone feedback in a fun way. Not what I was looking for, but this was something I definitely remembered existing and it was gratifying to unearth it. Plus, there's a fair bit of squeaky mewling from my lamented cat Ninny, who thankfully piped up long enough to be preserved for as long as these worktapes persist, which is likely to be a long time.
At this point, 15 or so tapes into the project (out of an estimated 60), with a bunch of the songs I'd been looking for now found, it might be time to pause and begin recording some of these. After all, the point of this whole thing is to get these forgotten songs recorded, not simply to re-find them.
Once that recording begins, I'm not going to begin with anything from Assuring Atomization, but it's a fair document of where I was at this time.
There's no real knockout on a par with those from the last tape, but "Put the Call Through" gets a nice airing (though, to be fair, this first reappeared on Demands), and the very much forgotten "That's Life (in Sodom)" is found and found not wanting at all; it's pretty good with a good lyric.
Worth mentioning too is a studio version of something I'm calling "5/4 Riff" that incorporates microphone feedback in a fun way. Not what I was looking for, but this was something I definitely remembered existing and it was gratifying to unearth it. Plus, there's a fair bit of squeaky mewling from my lamented cat Ninny, who thankfully piped up long enough to be preserved for as long as these worktapes persist, which is likely to be a long time.
At this point, 15 or so tapes into the project (out of an estimated 60), with a bunch of the songs I'd been looking for now found, it might be time to pause and begin recording some of these. After all, the point of this whole thing is to get these forgotten songs recorded, not simply to re-find them.
Once that recording begins, I'm not going to begin with anything from Assuring Atomization, but it's a fair document of where I was at this time.
Reclamation Tape #14: Demands For Allegiance (Odd Infinitum)
On a normal tape, the rediscovery of a song like "Wheels in Motion" would be enough to send the crowds outside my window into ecstatic frenzy. But if anything can be said to be better than normal, Demands For Allegiance is it.
The aforementioned song comes early, and though it struggles to find its footing throughout the tape, it has some obvious charms. But by the time we reach the end of side A, we have reintroduced to our world two more songs whose shadowy existence propelled this entire endeavor.
"Somehow, Dollar" is first, and it is everything I hoped it would be based on my half-remembering of its chords and melody. Soon after, "A Chord From Laura" emerges from the mysts of thyme and even those two composers directly or indirectly referenced within (Paddy McAloon and David Raskin) must be somewhere smiling, though they know not at what.
There's still more to recommend here, but I'll leave further reflections to wait for the eventual, mammoth box set to pen those.
The aforementioned song comes early, and though it struggles to find its footing throughout the tape, it has some obvious charms. But by the time we reach the end of side A, we have reintroduced to our world two more songs whose shadowy existence propelled this entire endeavor.
"Somehow, Dollar" is first, and it is everything I hoped it would be based on my half-remembering of its chords and melody. Soon after, "A Chord From Laura" emerges from the mysts of thyme and even those two composers directly or indirectly referenced within (Paddy McAloon and David Raskin) must be somewhere smiling, though they know not at what.
There's still more to recommend here, but I'll leave further reflections to wait for the eventual, mammoth box set to pen those.
Reclamation Tape #13: Chump Story (Preserved Heritage)
Though Chump Story, like some typically underperforming tapes, has only one song worthy of the coveted 'two checkmarks' - a song called "Cornered Animal" that I can not recall at this moment, distressingly enough - it does have a lot going on that distinguish it from more uninspired tapes.
There are more than a few vestigial classics here ("Rock 'n Roll Cake," "Pedaltone," and "The Fat Man's Ghost" among them) along with studio versions of songs not listed elsewhere in the O'boy catalog, and also some interesting keyboard jamming.
Of personal interest, there is a brief snippet from NPR that captures whoever that woman is that pronounces "poem" funny and a studio version of a song from a former bandmate.
Time will tell if "Cornered Animal" really deserves it's high ranking here, but regardless, Chump Story is a satisfying peek into the creative process that fuels the Oxford Boys to this day.
There are more than a few vestigial classics here ("Rock 'n Roll Cake," "Pedaltone," and "The Fat Man's Ghost" among them) along with studio versions of songs not listed elsewhere in the O'boy catalog, and also some interesting keyboard jamming.
Of personal interest, there is a brief snippet from NPR that captures whoever that woman is that pronounces "poem" funny and a studio version of a song from a former bandmate.
Time will tell if "Cornered Animal" really deserves it's high ranking here, but regardless, Chump Story is a satisfying peek into the creative process that fuels the Oxford Boys to this day.
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