Music from the Red Velvet Couch

In the Land of Egypt (mp3)

2008-03-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

When I was writing the songs for Jefferson Death Trip I started thinking about all the reasons someone might *stay* in a small town. The biggest reason is that you're already established, already wealthy, you own the town. Like Pharaoh owned Egypt.

Adding Odeo

2008-03-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

Odeo (odeo/7fecd7af856de2ca)

Dr. Zhivago

2008-03-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

Dr. Zhivago of course after the famous movie from the '50s. That's Jeff over on the coconut-sounding drums.

Dr. Zhivago (mp3)

Ranchers and Widows

2007-06-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ranchers and Widows (mp3)

I don't know how many descriptions of songs and how songs were written that I've read, from Neil Young talking about seeing some girl sunbathing on a nearby rooftop (Cinnamon Girl) to Joe and Mick hanging around some council flat talking about London's yellow lights (London's Burning). I've never really read one that describes the actual song. What does the song mean, what do I think of when I'm playing it, who are the "weepy singers"?

It's a country song, about divorce, and what comes before and afterward. From seeing your ex w/his blond girlfriend sitting in her mustang in the driveway, to the lonely ranch houses north of Boulder, Colo where the widows of the old IBM set live out the rest of their days drinking box wine while those old country singers sing their sad songs in the background. The lonesome songs, not like today's poppy New Country.

Stagger Lee

2007-05-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Stagger Lee (mp3)

This is a old song that has been covered by pretty much everyone. It's about...well, you can read all about it on Wikipedia's Stagger Lee Page. I first heard the song on Columbia's
"Story of the Blues" double album, which is a wildly uneven collection of old
blues from various eras. I fell in love w/the record when I was 17, especially the old, sweet sounding country blues from the early '20s. From Dockery Plantation to the lower Mississippi. Charlie Patton, Son House, R. Johnson, Missipppi John Hurt, whose version of Stagger Lee is the one I used to learn this song.

Hurt uses a finger-picking style instead of my pick-based strumming to give the song a bouncy, uplifting feel. Which is kinda strange for a song that deals with a pointless killing (over a $5 Stetson hat, as we learn). It wasn't the words that attracted me to the song, or even Hurt's classic "old bluesman" voice. It was that simple high strings melody line--it sounded so old, like a half-heard song from a long-gone era. The era of steam trains, little towns along the line, big houses with big families out in the countryside. The sound of early morning along the tracks with the sun just coming up. The sound of dew on the long grass and the smell of pine smoke from old stoves. It's that open E/B high strings that did it for me, just five simple notes, but I've heard it in my head for years.

Stagger Lee (mp3)

The Age of Steam no. 1

2007-05-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

You never really know when something's going to be a major work or just a handful of chords and some lyrics. It's 11pm and I'm recording some basic guide tracks for "the age of steam" which is going to be my new thing with a bunch of older songs from way back (like 1928) like "Stagger Lee" to the 70s "Midnight Rider" and of course my own songs, which you'll find below--"The Ravages of Time."

Someone said that we live in an age of wordy music, so there aren't many lyrics. Just a couple of lines. Don't like to crowd things recently. I mean, look at "I fought the law." Breaking rocks in the hot sun, I fought the law and the law won. That really says it all.

In the new tradition of singer/songwriters, there will be one new song each week. Here's the first one:

Ravages of Time (mp3)

Welcome to the Red Velvet Couch

2007-05-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Pictures forthcoming, as well as a long interconnected series of songs.

RstJ