SonicMonkey

Song-a-Week #26 - Chunk

Michael Hacker — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:29:36 +0000

This week’s sketch is called “Chunk” because I literally just threw the word up. Brain vomit, if you will. I’m afraid it’s a bit Nirvana-sounding for my tastes, but I’ll live with that. I may revisit this one later… add lyrics, re-record it. Who knows? Related posts:Song-a-Week #23 - Foot SoldierSong-a-Week #10 [...] Related posts:

Song-a-Week #25 - C is for Cookie

Michael Hacker — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:20:34 +0000

I know, I know… another cop-out. Jeremie and I did this for my other show, so I figured it counts. Granted, it isn’t something I wrote, but it does reflect my “growing” remixing skills. I need to remind myself that this project is more about purely learning and doing, not so much about what I’m learning or doing.

Song-a-Week #24 - Wind

Michael Hacker — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:23:24 +0000

I was working on a completely different song with a completely different vibe, but this riff kept coming out of my fingers. Well, who am I to argue with inspiration? So, I saved the other project and started this one.

The guitar tone sounded vaguely reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’ tone on “The Wind Cries Mary,” so I decided that “Wind” might be a good name for it. (Wind as in “blows” rather than wind as in “me up.”) Normally, I wouldn’t do a guitar solo at all, let alone like the one I did on this piece, but for some reason, it seemed to fit.

I think there are some lyrics floating around out in the ether for this one… just haven’t managed to grab them yet.

Song-a-Week #23 - Foot Soldier

Michael Hacker — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:54:54 +0000

Don’t ask me why this sketch is called “Foot Soldier.” That was just literally the first two words (in that order) that popped into my head when I asked myself, “Hey… self… what the hell are you going to call this thing?” That oughtta learn me not to ask me any more stupid questions.

Song-a-Week #22 - spleeeeejg

Michael Hacker — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:14:41 +0000

This is your brain. This is your brain on Iowa. Funktastic. Related posts:Song-a-Week #15 - Final HoedownSong-a-Week #21 - Wha? Related posts:

Song-a-Week #21 - Wha?

Michael Hacker — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:55:28 +0000

Last week was an all-week training thingie at my dojo. I had 6 houseguests and am exhausted. Not only that, but I managed to dislocate a few ribs. Oh, and I leave for Iowa soon, too. So… yeah. All you get is a chord progression. Deal with it. :-p

Song-a-Week #20 - Genius, Baby

Michael Hacker — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:06:31 +0000

This is a song parody I put together for my show, Evil Genius Radio. If you’re familiar with it, you’ll see it there, too. Er… hear it. Unless you’re synesthetic or something. If that’s the case, you might even end up smelling it. If so, I apologize in advance. Should you be unfamiliar with the show, you probably won’t get about 99.999% of the jokes. Just sayin’.

Song-a-Week #13 - PTB

Song-a-Week #19 - Van Diemen’s Land

Michael Hacker — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:41:27 +0000

This is a cover of my favorite U2 song. I had intended to attempt singing it, but my voice is not cooperating today. So sorry. Related posts:Song-a-Week #16 - Don’t Say (Demo) Related posts:

Song-a-Week #16 - Don’t Say (Demo)

Song-a-Week #18 - Am Thing

Michael Hacker — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:24:03 +0000

I’m noticing a disturbing trend of naming songs after the key (I think) they’re in. Hmmm. I might have to do something about that. Anyhoo, this week’s itty bitty ditty is a chord progression I’ve been playing with while teaching myself to play piano. It’s quite simple, but my fingers are still more accustomed to keyboards than fretboards, so simple is good. I even experimented a bit to try and spice things up with an Em -> Emaj chord change in there, and I rather like how it sounds. I’m working on some more involved stuff that I couldn’t get finished this week; I hope to have it all done for next time.

Song-a-Week #17 - B#

Michael Hacker — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:03:32 +0000

Get it? B#? B sharp? No? OK. See… B# is really C. But the song isn’t even IN the key of C. It’s in Bb (B flat). Or maybe it’s G-something. Possibly C-ish. I really have no idea. Still no? Nothing? Oh well. Enjoy anyway. No related posts. No related posts.

Song-a-Week #16 - Don’t Say (Demo)

Michael Hacker — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:05:18 +0000

This song was originally written for piano by my friend Karen Waxler. We tried to record her playing and singing it while she was visiting last week but, unfortunately, it didn’t work out (we had better things to do). Someday soon, I hope to finish it with her and release it to the world. This is my humble interpretation on guitar. I really hope she likes it.

Song-a-Week #15 - Final Hoedown

Michael Hacker — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:36:39 +0000

This is your brain. This is your brain on MIDI and Hair Metal… Related posts:Song-a-Week #22 - spleeeeejg Related posts:

Song-a-Week #22 - spleeeeejg

Song-a-Week #14 - SlumDog

Michael Hacker — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:30:33 +0000

So, I finally watched “Slumdog Millionaire” and was inspired to see if I could put together something Indian-y. This is what I get for watching movies. No related posts. No related posts.

Song-a-Week #13 - PTB

Michael Hacker — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:58:56 +0000

Speak and Spell is evil. That’s all I’m going to say. Related posts:Song-a-Week #20 - Genius, Baby Related posts:

Song-a-Week #20 - Genius, Baby

Song-a-Week #12 - Plop

Michael Hacker — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:34:55 +0000

I worked on this one in Sea-Tac airport in Seattle on my MacBook while waiting for my flight back to Phoenix after a very tiring, very cold, very rainy, very overcast weekend. Read into that what you will. Oh, and would you like to hear all about the 16 year old girl who sat next to me on the flight who plays guitar in a “screamo” band and who was being sent away by her parents to live with her grandparents in Colorado for doing drugs, skipping school, and starting fights? It’s quit fascinating, I assure you. I even took notes. Perhaps they’ll end up a song.

Elvis Train

Song-a-Week #11 - You’re Not The Bossa Me

Michael Hacker — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:47:36 +0000

Well, Tanager Audioworks has FINALLY released SongFrame for MacOS X. Needless to say, I’m going to be playing with it a lot, as I have promised Big Al I’d give him a software review for PSN. I just got Pro Tools 8, which is (so far) pretty amazing. This week, I’m experimenting with software more than anything. (Digidesign’s new AIR virtual instrument “Mini Grand” is veddy nice.) Anyhoo, this is my attempt at a Bossa Nova. Nothing is quite right, but then, that’s what makes it one of my songs, isn’t it? I’m off to Seattle next weekend, so next week’s song is either going to be a little early, a little late, or right on time. Not sure which yet. Enjoy!

Song-a-Week #18 - Am Thing

Song-a-Week #10 - Thursday

Michael Hacker — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:06:28 +0000

This is another thing I wrote years ago, but I didn’t quite know what to do with it. Guess what? I still don’t know what to do with it. Other than record and upload it, that is. Which, as you can see/hear, I have done. There may be room for lyrics in there somewhere, but it would likely require a bit of a rearrangement. If anyone has ideas for lyrics or even just a feeling, let me know! BTW, the name “Thursday” comes from the fact that today is Thursday. That’s some high-caliber songwritin’ for ya!

Song-a-Week #26 - Chunk

Song-a-Week #9 - Cognitive Dissidents

Michael Hacker — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:53:16 +0000

Just a sketch again this time. This project is proving to be more and more difficult with each passing week. Life, and other projects, just keep getting in the way. If I don’t start using a more systematic (if not downright mechanical) process to accomplish this more methodically, I may fail. Another thing I’m learning is that I need to keep the imagined grandiosity of my song concepts in check. The important thing isn’t so much what I’m doing, but that I’m doing.

Song-a-Week #25 - C is for Cookie

Song-a-Week #8 - Winter Song

Michael Hacker — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:18:53 +0000

Sorry to disappoint my throngs of fans, but I’m phoning this one in. This week was busy as hell, the weekend was jam-packed, I’m exhausted, very sore, and I have a headache. (Waaa, waaa, waaa.) But, since the “show” must go on, I’ve uploaded a quick snippet of something that has been stewing around in my head for several months. I’m not sure where to take it, but I wanted to make sure I got something up.

Song-a-Week #7 - President

Michael Hacker — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:19:06 +0000

I wrote this one years ago. Since I just got a new Ibanez Exotic Wood EW20ZW Zebra Wood Acoustic Guitar [cough... sponsor... cough], I thought it was time to record it to test out how the new geetar sounded recorded. I have to do a bit of EQ tweaking, but otherwise, it’s pretty nice. I also stereo mic’d the acoustic (at the sound hole) with an EV Cobalt. Some of you were asking to hear me sing. Well… you asked for it. I did all the vocals into a Shure SM57, believe it or not.

Song-a-Week #23 - Foot Soldier

Song-a-Week #6 - First

Michael Hacker — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:38:13 +0000

This is just a sketch I made while playing around with a new songwriting tool called SongFrame by Tanager Audioworks. So far, it’s pretty flexible and very interesting, but there are a LOT of bugs in the MacOS version. Once the full (hopefully bug-free) version comes out, I plan to do a product review. (This was also a lesson in just how shitty Pro Tools 7.4 is for working with MIDI. I wonder if an upgrade to PT 8 might be a good idea…)

Song-a-Week #11 - You’re Not The Bossa Me

Song-a-Week #5 - Stalking in the Rain

Michael Hacker — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:04:27 +0000

This is officially my first drug-inspired song ever. I “wrote” it late last night between 4 and 6am while on under the influence of percocet. I put the finishing touches on it by laying down some guitar this morning. Hope you like it. Related posts:Song-a-Week #16 - Don’t Say (Demo)Song-a-Week #7 - PresidentSong-a-Week [...] Related posts:

Song-a-Week #4 - bawk

Michael Hacker — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:25:46 +0000

This one’s for you, Triner. No related posts. No related posts.

Song-a-Week #3 - Montalban

Michael Hacker — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:31:07 +0000

As you probably know, Ricardo Montalban passed away this past week. Famous for his roles as Khan on Star Trek and Mr. Rourke on Fantasy Island, he was a staple of my youth, as he likely was for all Americans of my generation. This “tribute,” if you will just sorta came to me.

virgin podcast!

Song-a-Week #2 - Blue Minor

Michael Hacker — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:47:11 +0000

This is a piece I’ve been toying around with for years. Until the other day, there was something missing. Then… out of nowhere… my fingers just found the right chord to start off the next section. It still isn’t complete… there might be room for a bridge and lyrics… but it’s pretty close.

Song-a-Week #1 - Kung Fu Fighting

Michael Hacker — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:27:28 +0000

So, I’ve done it… I’ve made a New Year’s Resolution to produce 1 song a week for the entire year. I’m looking at this as more of a sketchbook than a real attempt to make anything good. I’m using it to motivate myself, get back in the practice of writing, recording, and playing, and to work on both my musical and recording chops.

That said, I found myself wondering… what would it sound like if Tom Waits had written “Kung Fu Fighting?” The following humble submission is what my brain and fingers came up with. It was recorded in GarageBand and Pro Tools with my trusty ProjectMix I/O, Vetta II, and Variax 700.

Song-a-Week #16 - Don’t Say (Demo)

Sketch 08.23.08

Michael Hacker — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:02:32 +0000

Another quick sketch of a different idea. Related posts:Sketch 07.23.08 Related posts:

Sketch 07.23.08

Sketch 07.23.08

Michael Hacker — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:26:08 +0000

Just a quick sketch so I didn’t forget an idea. More to come. Related posts:Sketch 08.23.08 Related posts:

Sketch 08.23.08

Elvis Train

Michael Hacker — Thu, 10 May 2007 04:13:48 +0000

OK, OK… I know I haven’t done anything with this since… oh, August of last year. Here’s the scoop. Right after I posted the first test podcast, I quit my job and started back to school. It hasn’t been so much of an issue of time, but rather motivation and material. Well, I’m going to try to fix that, despite still being in school and working to get into a graduate program (that, alas, has nothing to do with music). Wish me luck.

This is a song that my old band “wrote” and recorded way back in the olden days before the terrorists won. I think it reflects a more innocent time, don’t you.

Note that at no time were alcoholic beverages of any kind imbibed. (No, really.)

Me: guitar / background vocals
Nico: background vocals / squeals
Shannon: drums
Ben: bass / unfortunate lead vocals

Song-a-Week #7 - President

virgin podcast!

Michael Hacker — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:39:57 +0000

Welcome to the SonicMonkey Music Podcast!

In the coming weeks, we’ll be bringing you guitar lessons, gear reviews, tricks and tips, and interviews with musicians, famous and not-yet-famous, on a variety of topics relevent to the independent musician.

No related posts.