[Jeffrey]

CGR Members' Literature posters with post counts under 2000 may find this self-indulgent, but I thought the regulars would enjoy this.

So, Sean and I are writing the follow-up to our last Skasmonauts e.p. We decided to write the thing as a concept album, in a more subtle vein. In other words, we're walking a fine line between Max Bemis (Say Anything) and Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria). Both have released amazing albums (in my opinion, I know Sean loves Say Anything because he was the first to play me "Say Anything is a real boy."), and both have released concept albums. Bemis' album is not one where you'd really know there's a concept album going on unless someone told you the basic framework before diving in. Sanchez on the other hand has lyrics that are very clearly tied together almost in a convoluted fashion. You know there's a story, but the person represented by the vocals can shift in the middle of a verse and the lyrics can switch from narrating the story outright to singing more universally.

Sean and I are toeing that line by having musical riffs that tie into each other and a specific structure - songs build into each other or revisit elements of others, lyrics tie into each other, so forth. But the songs don't get so intensely specific that they can't each (hopefully) stand on their own lyrically. This is more like Bemis, whereas Sanchez has some songs that lyrically depend on the listener being familiar with previous songs ("I'm spying on you, Newo." "Ambellina, the Prize wishes you...").

Anyway, the storyline is a rough adaptation of the Odyssey in that it features a young post-skacore band stranded in a small town. Depending on the kindness of strangers due to extreme financial instability, the lead singer begins to worry about his significant other back home, who may find herself tempted to begin a new relationship in his absence and the toll of the travelling band lifestyle. I think lyrically it's inventive, because it's not a whiner kvetching over a girl he's lost and he doesn't hate everyone around him. And Lee Modlin plays a record producer.

One of the songs is a pretty significant one for me, because it involves music I wrote a few years ago as a rocksteady cover of my favorite Smashing Pumpkins song, "1979." It evolved over the years, at one point being the centerpiece song for a short story, at another point hosting lyrics to a version of a hymn Aaron Adams and I wrote. It was a bit irreal to sit down and write final lyrics and commit this track to a project.

So, to cut the ramble short, that song is now called "Shallows, Seaside" and lyrically draws from many sources. There's an Aeneid reference (Book Four) in the first verse, and I almost think I've split the difference between Nick Traina (Link 80, Knowledge) and H.P. Lovecraft. The third verse starts off with a reference to the Beatles. But my original cover was an attempt to convey how "1979" made me feel the first time I heard it, so this song is also trying to claim that spirit.

Shallows, Seaside

by J. Shoup & S. Chandler

Broken, but you know I like breaking.
We've spoken, so I won't be mistaken.
There's a bonfire on which we all must fall,
one and all.

This smoke has never tasted good;
each ounce has cut me where I stood.
When it comes time for us to end the night,
we must reach for the light.

But in the dark, I can't tell you what is mine
I find the stairs, hit my knees, then I slowly start to climb
into the shadows, yes: these shallows of the hall,
and then I hear something call.

The deep end is where I lay my head.
The riptide swirls around my bed
(it's just a mattress on loan from the depths of the sea,
but it's the perfect gift for me).

And in the dark, I can't tell you up from down.
I watch the waves start to rise and crawl through this town.
Rounding corners, calling mourners:
"Come and consecrate the drowned,
who've found themselves with new lives
in the deepest blue surround."

So where I'm stranded is a city claimed by the sea
and then I hear you call for me.

[+Donny]

I like this a lot. Thanks. And the tiny-fonted ideas sound sweet; good luck with this.

[guitarczar]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

Rounding corners, calling mourners:
"Come and consecrate the drowned,

I think this is the best turn of phrase in the whole thing--very clever keeping the same rhyme scheme but switching letters--it's like that line doesn't allow you to take a breath (i.e. the rhythm is more urgent), but the second line has a calming affect.

Kick ass.

[SmileAndFollow]

Very nice. I also really enjoy the line above. That whole stanza is awesome. Well, technically the whole thing is awesome, but especially that part.