I’ve picked a hard one to talk about here… but I love putting this song in my ears so that is OK. I will do my best.
“Renegade Road” by Bucket of Honey | inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns
Inspired by a man who is on his last legs, this tune is so beautifully written. Bucket of Honey put so much emotion into it.
This week’s Bushwick song of the week is…. (drum roll)
“Fade to White” by Mozo | inspired by Dan Savage’s The Commitment
This song is inspired by Dan Savage’s The Commitment, and was performed and written for our benefit for Music for Marriage Equality. For this night, there were so many ideas floating around about marriage and love.
Are you ready for another Song of the Week? I hope so because here it comes.
“Animal Not Important” by Karen Lindenberg | inspired by Ellen Forney’s Lust
All right, everyone. It is time to go for a ride through the world of… ummm… Animal Costume Sex! For this event, we asked the musicians to pick their favorite illustration from Ellen Forney’s book Lust, a book inspired by the online personal ads of The Strangers Lust Lab, and then use it as inspiration to write a song. Double inspiration!I know it seems a little weird to start off a blog talking about songwriting this way, but the truth is Karen Lindenberg really nailed the curiosity of how one could not care about which animal they would want their lover/complete stranger to dress up as. It is quite curious indeed and maybe even a little confusing.
Don’t look now, but here comes another “Song of the Week”.
And this week’s song is…
“We Found our Place” by Levi Fuller | inspired by Stephen King’s The Shining
For a limited time you can download this track for FREE on the Bushwick bandcamp page.
What a book to give inspiration! Stephen King is a “wordy” son of a gun, and he just gives the reader so much to grab. I think that Levi Fuller really found himself a place to launch into a wonderfully written tune.
First, his guitar line to start the tune really puts the listener in a pleasant place. It has that scrappy guitar sound that makes you think of playing by a fire pit, or at a sing-along with your friends. I often, but not always, prefer that sound to the super clean tone. The chords have that Major 3rd that puts that smile on your face. It also feels like the strumming pattern and grace notes are always tumbling away from us, so we just need to follow it wherever it may takes us. The descending line helps with that. Read more
Here we are with yet another Song of the Week! In these posts, I talk about some of my favorite tunes inspired by books. We can all agree that music inspired by books is awesome and I’m going to tell you why I think just that.
And this week’s song of the week is…
The Lord, The Devil and The Boy by Vince Martinez
inspired by C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
The Lord, The Devil and The Boy| Download
The first thing I want to say about this tune is that I just love Vince Martinez’s songwriting. He pretty much nails it every time he takes on a book. The quality of his singing makes his voice a wonderfully unique instrument. I always wonder how singers find their voice; whether it is a specific choice, or whether it’s just what comes out when they sing. (I think I’ll ask Vince about this one.) Read more
It’s time for another “Song of the Week”. In these articles I talk about some of my favorite tunes inspired by Books. We can all agree that music inspired by books is awesome and I’m gonna tell you why.
“A Little Less Each Day” by Anna Coogan | inspired by Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity
photo by Wade Trenbeath
Every time I hear this song I find myself closing my eyes in an attempt to listen to it harder than I did the previous time. I love a simple opening guitar line, especially when I know what is coming next.
Anna was out on tour during the time she had to read Nick Hornbys’ High Fidelity and write the song. I believe she was in somewhere in Europe with her band. I could really feel her inspiration coming from believing in love, and what long distance can do to being in love. This is something I can relate to from my life’s experience, even if my feelings weren’t exactly the same as the way the tune came out for her. Read more
So here’s the new weekly article that will be coming from me, Geoff Larson, the Program Director of The Bushwick Book Club Seattle. I have been part of and/or planned every single Seattle Bushwick show. It has been quite a journey over these past few years.
Now I want to present my “Song of the Week” where I will write about a song from one of our Bushwick artists and talk about what I think about the tune. Hopefully I can keep these pretty short, but you never know.
So here is this week’s song of the week:
“So it Goes” by Sam Ford | inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five
The first thing I’d like to say about this tune is, I love the name! “So it goes” is a phrase I frequently use in my life. For me, it means the same thing as “such is life” or “shit happens.” Mostly it means that it’s time to move on to the next thing, no matter what just happened. Vonnegut used it in a somewhat similar way, but who knows what that guy is thinking.
So it Goes… Now to the music. Read more
