Here's the Story for December:

...guy walks into a bar...

That's all I got.

Hey, November, what's up? Somehow last month's song failed to bring the flood of riches and adulation I had so clearly insisted upon, so I'm forced to toil away in the internet's dungeon for another cycle. No matter, it gives me a chance to offer an honorific to a wonderful person I've had the pleasure of knowing, which will make the inevitable success of Lucky Sons & Daughters all the sweeter.

I've long been mixing these songs on headphones, which is a major no-no in the professional musician circles I wish I coud travel in, but it's unavoidable. If the balances are off, feel free to let me know. If not, feel free to sing the chorus into your cubicle partner's ear while spilling Fanta all over his/her keyboard. In other words, enjoy it and I'll see you in December.

Just posted a new song,Serendipity Is the Fifth Beatle, and I'm assuming this will be the one to push us over the top.

Many thanks to the mighty Tako Chang for the generous use of his effects pedals, they were a welcome addition to the impoverished variety of tones I usually have to work with.

The song is a bit messy, but I like the chorus and therefore repeat it thrice. That little riff in the chorus is a little sudden, but it too will remain unless popular demand forces its' removal.

Although I posted the Trolley last month, I posted it as a bonus track and in case you've forgotten, I reserve the right to use any bonus song as the primary song for the following month - but not beyond that. I'm exercising that right, right now.

The bass and drum track on this is from that oft-sampled breakdown in "Good Times" by Chic. It's sped up, cut up and rearranged and I wish I could say I was playing that bass, 'cause it's tite.

Nile Rodgers, if you're reading this, contact me with any threats or offers of partnership. Thanks.

Enjoy your Getaway Day, and you're welcome.

It's mixed kinda loud, so forgive the distorted vocals and such. No keyboards were used, nor any acoustic guitars, so I guess this qualifies as rock of some sort.

Happy summer, everyone. This month's song is atypical Oxford Boy fare in a number of ways. It's long (4:15), it's extremely slow (49 bpm or so), it doesn't have a chorus to speak of, it fades out, and - for all that - it has the least number of chords in any song yet recorded (3). It's entitled the Fat Man's Ghost, and it's about David Crosby.

Though David may now be chiefly thought of as that creepy, walrus-faced former cocaine vacuum who impregnates lesbians, his career began when he helped form the Byrds back in the mid-sixties. He wrote some fantastic songs during his time with them, regardless of whether or not he was a petulant egomaniac.

According to the liner notes in one of those old Byrds records, Crosby was at one time known as "the cute one", and apparantly liked to shake his ass at girls while on stage. Gag. Well, whatever, he was a great songwriter, and congrats to him for being sober and still performing new music, though I'm not too smitten with his latest venture.

This one's for you, Dave.

Th Oxford Boys invite you to Hurdle the Dead on your way to another blissful pop music experience.

Lyrically this song was inspired by a number of t-shirts I've spotted around work, macho slogans displayed prominently. I believe the title phrase may have more to do with rugby than union carpentry but who cares? These slogans obviously summed up a lot of what my co-workers were feeling, god forbid anyone thought they might hesitate to trample the weak or something.

Anyway, my disgust compelled me to write this song, I hope you like it.

May has not been an especially productive month for the Oxford Boys, nevertheless we've managed to squeeze out a little number entitled She's a Girl for you to savage and berate. Relying so heavily on acoustic guitars always creates a problem, and this song was no different. There's some resonance problems and a couple of clicks where I strike the body of the guitar instead of a string, but it's our job to turn shit into gold and this is as close as we can come.

The song was inspired by my delightful beagle, and was recorded without a finished lyric, so don't expect the thing to make perfect sense. Last months' tune is still the one to beat for '06, this one just fills the gap, but I hope it finds a loving home anyway. Thanks, and see you in June.

Continue to support the Oxford Boys by listening to Her Word over and over again. After much tweaking, the song has achieved its final form, which is to say I'm sick of messing with it.

The balance of six guitar tracks and numerous backing vocals is precarious, but it holds together. And like most of my songs, I think it gets better as it goes along.

Exactly how ridiculous is my voice? Let me know.

Twofer! Spring comes early on Oxford Street this year resulting in a boomlet of activity, the spoils of which are linked to here for your enjoyment.

First off, I'd like to welcome you to the Woods of Saxony, a pleasant settlement on suburbia's frontier where the toxic social commentary is accompanied by a melodious rainbow of massed acoustic guitars. We'll tackle other zoning related issues in future songs, I'm sure, but for now this represents our more pastoral take on the subject of urban planning and sustainable growth.

The gravy on this month's already ample biscuit is Kid Concern, a song that turned out better than expected, making me wish I had spent more time on the lyric. I stand by it, however.

Remember to use BugMeNot to get around any annoying signup requirements, if the need should arise. See you in April.

So this is what I got for February. Play Dead started life as a three chord riff written around a drum pattern. It ended up a bit of a mess. Instrumentally it's fine, though some of the changes are weak, but the melody and lyric were tacked on at the end and it shows. Absolute nonsense and a hackneyed verse. If I could do it all over again, I'd do it better. I have no intention of doing it all over again. We're stuck with it until March.

Though the shame of missing December's deadline for posting a song has hung heavy over us since the new year arrived, we've managed to poke our heads from 'neath our darkened veils long enough to pose a musical question. Namely, How Can You Hate a Song?

It's a dangerous query for a band to put forth, esecially since some Oxford tunes have been known to get under people's skin. Or would, if anyone ever heard them. But we will not wilt in the face of controversy, and insist on pondering this question, one that occured while shopping at Lowe's as one of our least favorite George Harrison songs played overhead. Thanks, George (lousy hippy).

I don't feel like discussing any of the technical details of this song, but I will say that I definitely need to vary the types of guitar tone I'm using. Four guitars all using the same settings can start to get a little muddy. Enjoy the air raid siren solo courtesy of AirRaidSirens.com. In fact, enjoy the whole thing, and we'll see you in February.

Clearly, I will not make my December deadline, sorry