There is a method to my madness
here, folks. I always follow the same guiding principles
when creating an opus:
- Stick closely to the original lyrics, though you
have to "lounge" them up. Exception here may be
"Play That Funky Music, Mooseboy" where I kept the
meter and rhyme scheme of the original, but changed
the lyrics to be autobiographical.
- Get the lyrics down. While I stray some from the
original lyrical path, I work it all out in advance.
There's almost no improvisation to my vocal
performances.
- Play as little as possible. I play parts here and
there, but by and large I use software to generate
the basic tracks. I then edit, re-voice, and
generally mangle the heck out of them. I'll also
compose a part if needed. If I have to, then I'll
play a part.
- Include either an oboe, tuned percussion or both.
When my daughter was growing up and playing in band
at school, she played oboe or tuned percussion. So
every opus gets one, the other, or both.
- Sampling adds context. The samples are meant to
provide deeper meaning to the opus, therefore they
"fit" the song itself. For example, in Crazy Train,
during Lisa Simpson's speech, you can hear "The
Yellow Rose of Texas" in the background.
That's because Emily
Dickinson's poetry can all be read to the tune of
"Yellow Rose".
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