Meanwhile, Maile and Anais have been working on our display: a Grease-themed pair of skeletons named Bone Travolta and Tibia Newton-John. Around them will be a bunch of tombstones reading things like “R.I.P Sandra Dee” and “You’re the One That I Haunt” (a play on the song “You’re the One That I Want”). We’re putting the finishing touches on our costumes and still need to carve the pumpkins.

But I did find time to write a short Halloween song. Here it is.

Whatcha Gonna Be For Halloween?

Glowing from bushes across the street
A pair of red eyes starin’ out at me
An alien spacecraft hovers by the house
and it’s pickin’ up a cow in its tractor-beam

Two skeletons are standing on the lawn
Bone Travolta and Tibia Newton-John
On a tombstone at their feet
It reads, “You’re the one that I haunt”

Whatcha gonna be? Whatcha gonna be?
Gotta dress up if you wanna get the candy
Whatcha gonna be? Make it really scary
Just a few days ’til Halloween

I was gonna be a robot but now I’m thinkin’
I’m gonna be a Zombie Abraham Lincoln
I got the right hat but I need the jacket
Gotta hit the Goodwill to see if I can snag it

We still gotta spray paint another tombstone
We got three pumpkins that we still need to carve
Don’t forget to get a big bag of candy
And put up the lights to decorate the yard

Whatcha gonna be? Whatcha gonna be?
Gotta dress up if you wanna get the candy
Whatcha gonna be? Make it really scary
Just a few days ’til Halloween

Whatcha gonna be? Whatcha gonna be?
Gotta dress up if you wanna get the candy
Whatcha gonna be? Make it really scary
Just a few days ’til Halloween
Just a few days ’til Halloween

I wrote this song in the late 1990s in a band called Z is for Zillah with Doug Snyder and Wayne Wilburn (though I believe Alex Sarabia played bass on this recording).

Doug and Wayne have been working on some new songs of Doug’s and Wayne remembered liking this one. We’re discussing re-recording it, so I found this old version and figured out how to play it again!

Here are the lyrics and the guitar tab I posted to Ultimate-Guitar. Stay tuned for a new recording in the new year!

p.s. We named the band after the final entry in The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey:

Lyrics

Cashed

You're at class, I'm home on the couch with a bowl I just cached
The day's gray, there's a lot of hiss on the tape
my back aches from a series of days so full of mistakes
my jaw's tight from grinding my teeth in my sleep all night

It came time to take care of business, I was too nice and shy
I got fined everytime 'cause the print was too fine
Now I swear I can't leave the house for fear of fucking something else up
And this time I'll be lucky just to lose more money and more pride

I don't know what I was expecting, sure as hell ain't this
Someone put something in my milkshake, I guess that's what I get
For being such a little baby

Yes I'm fine, said I'm fine, don't ask all the time
Everytime my reflection goes by all's I see's warning signs
Why can't I stop rolling my eyes at my self-pitied cries
Cause I'm fine even if I'm preoccupied with revenge fantasy suicide

I don't know what I was expecting, it sure as hell ain't this
How'd we end up at this clambake?
I guess that's what I get
Every morning it's the same thing, fresh and dumb
Every night I'm resigned

So while You're at class, I'm home on the couch with a bowl I just cached
The day's gray, there's a lot of hiss on the tape
my back aches from a series of days so full of mistakes
my jaw's tight from grinding my teeth in my sleep all night

I don't know what I was expecting, sure as hell ain't this
You're one fucked up crabcake, but I love you yet
And you'll always be my baby

Guitar Tab

Tempo ~ 168 BPM

Tab from Ultimate-Guitar.

Cashed

G5            B5         C3
    You're at class, I'm home on the couch with a bowl I just cached
G5            B5              C3
    The day's gray, there's a lot of hiss on the tape
G5            D5           G5                B5
      My back aches from a series of days so full of mistakes
         C         B         F
my jaw's tight          from grinding my teeth in my sleep all night
 
G5            B5         C3
      It came time to    take care of business, I was too nice and shy
G5            B5          C3
        I got fined every time 'cause the print was too fine
G5            D5            G5                                 B5
        Now I swear  that I can't leave the house for fear of fucking something else up
         C         B         F
And this time        I'll be lucky just to lose more money and more pride
 
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb             Ebmaj7
                  I don't know what I was expecting
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb        Ebmaj7
                  Sure as hell ain't this
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb         Ebmaj7
                  Someone put something in my milkshake
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb
                  I guess that's what I get
Ebmaj7 Emaj7 F7                           G
		  For being such a little baby
 
G5            B5             C3
      Yes I'm fine, said I'm fine, don't ask all the time
G5            B5        C3
        Every time my reflection goes by all's I see's warning signs
G5            D5           G5                    B5
    Why can't I stop       rolling my eyes at my self-pitied cries
          C5         B         F
Cause I'm fine         even if I'm preoccupied with revenge fantasy suicide
 
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb             Ebmaj7
                  I don't know what I was expecting
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb        Ebmaj7
                  Sure as hell ain't this
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb         Ebmaj7
                  How'd we end up at this clambake?
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb
                  I guess that's what I get
 
Ebmaj7       F7               A#
       Every morning it's the same thing, fresh and dumb
 
Ebmaj7       F7          A#
       Every night I'm resigned
 
Ebmaj7 Emaj7 F7 (X3) G5
 
G5                  B5         C3
  So while you're at class, I'm home on the couch with a bowl I just cached
G5            B5              C3
    The day's gray, there's a lot of hiss on the tape
G5            D5           G5                B5
      My back aches from a series of days so full of mistakes
         C         B         F
my jaw's tight          from grinding my teeth in my sleep all night
 
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb    Ebmaj7
                  I don't know what I was expecting
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb    Ebmaj7
                  Sure as hell ain't this
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb    Ebmaj7
                  You're one fucked up crabcake
Bbmaj7    Bb    Eb    Ebmaj7
                  but I love you yet
Ebmaj7 Emaj7 F7                           G
		  And you'll always be my baby

My daughter just graduated from middle school. Congratulations, Anais! Congratulations to all the students and families who made it through another school year together.

One of the highlights of middle school for me happened last summer when Anais asked about playing the guitar. We learned to play more than a dozen Taylor Swift songs together. I taught her the chords, and she taught me the intricacies of the song and the Swiftie universe.

I grew in appreciation of Anais, and Taylor. When we all went to see The Eras Tour movie in October, I was able to sing along to a few of the songs and hang with the Swifties for a second.

As we approached the end of this school year, Maile gave me my favorite type of assignment: write a song for the occasion. (She and Anais had written and performed a customized version of Swift’s Cornelia Street about my history for my last birthday.) I knew immediately what to do: Write my own version of Taylor’s Lavender Haze about middle school. Middle School Haze!

I’ve always liked the feel of the song, so I tried to capture my nostalgia for the middle school days that had just slipped away in a blur. I updated Taylor’s chorus to “I just wanna stay in that lavender haze middle school haze.”

For the verses, I searched my memory of all the conversations at the end of the school day. I had learned along the way that questions about teachers, classes and subjects would only get me so far into the heart of the experience.

What happened on the bus, at lunch, or after school at a sleepover was closer to the core. So here is my tribute to Anais and her friends, to middle school, and to Taylor Swift, who are all bound together in my hazy memory.

After recording the version above with loops of vocals, percussion and ambient sounds, I stripped it down to just me and guitar and moved the capo up a step. Which do you prefer?

Middle School Haze

Meet me at 8 AM
Walkin’ to the bus with you
Oh, you don’t ever say too much
Unless you’re tryin to guess who
Might be my new crush

Do we have a quiz in History?
Algebra is killing me
STEM will be the end of me

I feel those high school days are creepin’ up on me
Fiorella says “Real!”
I’m damned if I do give a damn what teachers say
No deal, all the homework that they’ll want from me
I just wanna stay in that middle school haze

All they keep askin’ me
Is if I’m gonna spill the tea
The only kind of girl they see
Is a gossip or a drama queen

Who is gonna sit with me?
Share their food and bitch with me?
You better never snitch on me!

I feel those high school days are creepin’ up on me
Fiorella says “Real!”
I’m damned if I do give a damn what teachers say
No deal, all the homework that they’ll want from me
I just wanna stay in that middle school haze
Those neighborhood days

Talkin’ on the bus and textin’ later
Who can host a sleepover?
Bring some gummy worms
We’ll watch some horror films

Talkin’ on the bus and textin later
How can we get a get-together?
Bring your bathing suit
Girl, we’re all looking cute!

I feel those high school days are creepin’ up on me
Fiorella says “Real!”
I’m damned if I do give a damn what teachers say
No deal, all the homework that they’ll want from me
I just wanna stay in that middle school haze

Here in Austin – in the path of totality – it was a big thing for some people.  Folks from all over have been arriving for days. Unfortunately, it’s a cloudy day here.

But we caught a few glimpses of the eclipse, and the crowds here on UT’s campus roared each time a window through the clouds passed above us, revealing a bright crescent for a few moments.

Regardless of how much eclipse fever you have, I offer this humble hymn to our cosmos as a lullaby of wonder and a prayer for protection. I hope this helps you feel held in our Milky Way’s starry arms tonight.

Watch on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.

Oh, Great Universe

Oh, great universe
cold, empty universe
Goodnight, sweet universe
old, plentiful universe

Warm me with your fiery glow
Reach me with your radiant rays
Sail me into solar space
As the magic hour fades away

Oh, great universe
churning, burning universe
Goodnight, sweet universe
roiling, boiling universe

Hold me in your starry arms
brush my hair with your windy fingers
let me rest my weary eyes
as I expire tonight let my soul take flight

Oh, great universe
endlessly intricate universe
Goodnight, sweet universe
pensively animate universe

Knit me up into these sheets
tuck me into cosmic scenes
sing me a secret lullaby
before my dreams unwind my mind, goodnight

As part of a song game, I was given the title That’s When It All Changed. I immediately knew what changed my life and the story I wanted to tell: How I met Maile at the grocery store, how we started going out, and how, years later, I proposed there in the store.

That’s When It All Changed

On a day in the Summer in 1998
I went to get some groceries guided by the hands of fate
and I got in your line ’cause you were looking so fine
started a conversation, got your name and told mine
I’d think about you all week, find excuses to go to the store
I’d make sure we got to speak, told you I wanted more
Asked you out, but you had a boyfriend,
you wouldn’t get a beer so I asked you again
What about lunch? You finally said Yes, that’s the first moment I’ll never forget

‘Cause that’s when it all changed
That’s when it all changed for the better
That’s when we caught flame
When I met you our love was new

We had a picnic by the pond and I walked you back to class
I remember when we parted thinking this could really last
Then we hung out at my place, took a walk around lake at night
Got coffee at Magnolia Cafe and everything was going right
Went to see a dollar movie, kissing in the parking lot
The power of those kisses is something I never forgot because

That’s when it all changed
That’s when it all changed for the better
As if it were pre-arranged
When I met you and our love was new

All the girls before when I just wan’t ready
All of the games I didn’t know how to play
All of the sudden everything is poetry
Only together could find our way

On a day in the Summer of 2003,
shortly after you got back from teaching overseas
We went to get some groceries at the HEB of Destiny
I knelt at the gumball machine and asked you to marry me
The magic was still working, you immediately said Yes
That’s another moment that I’ll never forget

Cause that’s when it all changed
That’s when it all changed for the better
The day we got engaged
Committed to each other as partners and lovers

That’s when it all changed
That’s when it all changed for the better
Got it all ordained
Goes to show you never know what you might pick up at the store

Anais and I learned to play it on guitar together and she played it in the recording below while they both sang it for me in my studio. Thank you both for this beautiful gift!!!

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Sunset Lane (Cornelia Street For Dad’s BDay 2023)

by Maile and Anais Molin
(to the tune of Cornelia Street by Taylor Swift)

He was born in Arlington, Virginia, in the year of ’72
Tiny little clenched Fists,
Cute Face
Your mom and dad truly loved you
Going to Mrs Elwel’s, curly hair
Then Al Seeber comes along
Away for the weekend, flooding the
basement while you were gone

And we hope we never lose you, hope it never ends
We’d never lose the Flippy Flyer again
That’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend
We’d never lose the Flippy Flyer again
And baby, I get mystified by all the pretty songs you write
And baby, I’m so goddamn glad that I’ve got you in my life
We’d never lose the Flippy Flyer again
We’d never lose the Flippy Flyer again

Working in the bike shop, The
Great Molinis doing tricks on the weekend Busking in the village, talkin ’bout philosophy with Manfred Moving down to Texas in KK’S House
Buying his own on Sunset Lane
Making Friends with Doug and Americo
Workin the band right into place

Going to class on your bike
Dye your hair blonde, writing songs for an open mic

And we hope we never lose you, hope it never ends
We’d never go to Tarka ever again
That’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend
We’d never go to Tarka ever again
And baby, I get mystified by all the pretty songs you write And baby, I’m so goddamn glad that I have got you in my life We’d never go to Tarka ever again
We’d never go to Tarka ever again

98, HEB
Meet the checkout girl in her lane On one knee with a ring
From a toy machine
Tiny new beginnings
Crawling in the kitchen Kicking, laughing, spinning, singing And we hope we never lose you
We’d never do the Crabula again
Oh, never again

And baby, I’m so mystified by all the pretty songs you write
And baby, I’m so goddamn, glad that I’ve got you in my life
We’d never do the Crabula again
We’d never do the Crabula again never ends
We don’t wanna lose you, hope we you went
We don’t wanna lose you, yeah

We love you so much Hope you have a happy 51st birthday!

I’m just beginning to understand everything these things can do and utilize them for new arrangements of my songs, but it’s already sounding good to me and I’m having a lot of fun making a bigger sound as a one-man band.

Here’s a recent demo of a new song I wrote for the song game called Blue Moonlight. I did not use Logic to record all these parts separately in multi-track recording software, as I would usually do to create all these parts.

Instead, I recorded each part as a separate loop and performed the song in one take, triggering different sections with the loop pedal. It’s rough, but I’m really happy with where this is going and the possibilities for making a fuller sound as a solo musician.

Blue Moonlight

I feel alive
I think I’ll sing tonight
My crystals are charging in the blue moonlight
But I can’t swim with the howlers tomorrow night
At the springs ’cause I’m sick but I might

I see my likeness
In every scene, in every screen
While my clothes dry in the moonlight on Sunset Ln
I can’t stay up for the meteor shower
I need my seven hours
or I run out of power the next day

I’m out for strides
I’m alone under the trees along the riverside
Moonlight is my only friend
Down the middle of the street
and through the trees along Blunn Creek

I lie and lie
And call it poetry and songwriting
Whipin’ up an alternate persona
That sings about anything that he wants to die
Just to get it out, at least for a while

The formula is thin, I’ll have to admit it
The camera frames a limited-edition life
So we can hear what makes us cry

My boundary detector is acting up today
I can’t get a good reading off anything you say
I thought that when you smiled it meant that we were cool
But now I’m gettin signals I broke some sort of rule

I need you to help me take some readings
help me calibrate this thing before I hurt some feelings
I need you to help me read the scene
before I do more damage and say something I don’t mean

boundaries, boundaries
surrounding me, confounding me endlessly

My boundary detector is setting off alarms
Calling for security and locking up my heart
It promised to protect us, keep us safe and sound,
But when the lines got blurred it tried to turn you down

I need you to help take some readings
help me calibrate this thing before I hurt your feelings
I need you to help me read the scene
before I do more damage and say something I might mean

boundaries, boundaries
surrounding me, confounding me endlessly

My boundary detector is learning all the signs
The tones that are closed, the invite in your eyes
Wait for me up ahead, I’m slow but I’m true
I tunin my instruments to make my way to you

I need you to help me let you in
help me understand where I end and you begin
I need you to help me disappear
let go of myself so    I can let go of my fear

boundaries, boundaries
surrounding me, confounding me endlessly

I took the photo above of street art in Lisbon in the summer of 2022. I snapped several of this artist’s continuous line graffiti faces. The street art was wonderful and this artist was one of my favorites.

Song Game Rules

1. song and next prompt due every Mon. 8 am.
2. everyone comments on every song.
3. 8 weeks on, 4 weeks off

Basically, you have to write and record a song every week. We added the break every 8 weeks because you need breaks. It’s a tough pace for me to keep.

We also added the requirement that everyone give some nice feedback because it’s a drag when no one comments on your favorite new creation.

We’re three weeks in and I couldn’t be happier. Why?

Because it’s so cool to trade songs with such badass players and interesting creators. We’re all trying new stuff all the time and it’s entertaining, poignant, fresh, raw, and inspiring.

Writing for my musician friends motivates me to keep up, make cool music, and get to hear theirs. Accountability and feedback are built in. We learn a lot from and about each other.

And there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than working on a new song. Nothing distracts me or motivates me like making music. And it’s a great way for me to balance the stress of work with immersive play.

As sure as I am that music brings me joy and I want to share it I am often unsure of what I’m supposed to be doing. But writing new songs is always at the top of the list and it brings a sense of focus, hope and confidence.

I will be posting new song demos again. May I play the song game forever.

I took the photo above of Beck and band at Moody Center, Aug. 2023.

This Pool Is Your Pool

This pool is your pool, this pool is my pool
From East Live Oak street to Travis Heights Elementary School
From East Side Drive to Alameda
This pool was made for you and me

As I went swimming with my mermaid daughter
We played for hours in the cooling water
Thank god we’ve got it as the summer gets hotter
This pool was made for you and me

In 1930 they built the first one
And then the Works Projects Administration
Made it bigger in ’37
This pool was made for you and me

This pool is your pool, this pool is my pool
From East Live Oak street to Travis Heights Elementary School
From East Side Drive to Alameda
This pool was made for you and me

Thanks to the city for keeping it open
Thanks to the lifeguards for keeping it going
Thanks to the water for keeping it flowing
This pool is maintained for you and me

This pool is your pool, this pool is my pool
From East Live Oak street to Travis Heights Elementary School
From East Side Drive to Alameda
This pool was made for you and me