Me Again

The oddest thing- this was uploaded to You Tube and ended up fading to black there about a third of the way through the video. I put it up again and it seems fine, though there are some that would think it was better without having to look at me. Some might think its better without sound as well.

Brave New World

This is what I just sent out to my band mates. Composition by Public Discourse. The whole world can watch, but its highly unlikely they will. They sat in my living room and rewrote the very first song I wrote and all of the changes were great. Until you get to the level of genius, it is a collaborative game. The people with you make this happen. I'm almost 59. Who the hell cares if somebody steals my words. The music is an expression of your personality, it will take on and be yours no matter what anyone does to it. I can and have for a long time been able to listen to a song and tell you who wrote it, if I've familiar with the songwriter at all. It's same with paintings or prose.  

Hi,

Here are the words and chords for the four songs I'm written. I edited the two longer ones to shorten them. I've recorded these four and put them up to You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/danmcnay#p/a/u/0/Y7xueJrhPNc

http://www.youtube.com/user/danmcnay#p/a/u/1/auablkpSw4Q

http://www.youtube.com/user/danmcnay#p/a/u/2/EnVVhMcRgp0

http://www.youtube.com/user/danmcnay#p/u/3/Jo4RytpdQJI

I'll put up the one we rewrote the music for "Little Sister" but I need to practice the Am and C chords we added. I put the C chords into the Chorus on "For My Lost Daughter" that Marla suggested. Have at these.

I may resist some things, but what you guys came up with for Little Sister was great. I've changed the byline of that one to Words by Dan McNay, Music by Rhubarb Meringue Pie.

I could in theory write words to somebody else's music. Or we could write music to somebody else's words. (Hint, hint: Renata)

This is all great fun! If you want to send me any suggestions before next month, please do.

Dan

Off Down South

Off to Newport Dunes tomorrow morning at 8:00. 50 miles with about 20 Boy Scouts. Gonna camp overnight on a beach on a lagoon.

 

Where I'm sleeping.

Where I been:

We met up at Ye Ole King's Head Inn in Santa Monica on Wednesday to organize a folk song thingie. The organizer wants all these Irish folk songs. A chance to learn some the songs I've been listening to forever. Man, did it feel like a real pub. (There were only two of us drinking- and I was the only one drinking real beer.) 

After Yesterday

After posting that list here yesterday, I realized that each of the items were told to me by a woman, except the one "That I'm not ready" I've never had much of a mother figure issue. I had a couple of good mothers- as far as mothers under fire go. My grandmother lived next door. She was overindulgent and neurotic, and was married to an alcoholic. My mother stayed home and ran a grocery store in the front part of house and was abused and ravaged by my father who was pretty crazy. That we all survived is a testament to the natural forces of life. So I never had the face in the sky telling me anything. I never felt I needed approval- I already had in some kind of way.

Of course, when I pass judgment on people, I seldom express it directly to them. It shouldn't be done. None of us are experts. I guess that's the problem I've had with judgmental people and shrinks and doctors and "experts" and bosses that think they are "experts" and girl friends/wives that know better.

Criticism is for fools to spout, really. I might make suggestions to folks about how they might write better, but that really is my only true vice. I'm very aware when I have lapsed- once with one of the bears artwork (which I will regret until I die) and once with the other bear's writing.    

I just love

being told that I'm wrong.

1. That I should wear a helmet when I ride my bike.
2. That I should play banjo with my pinky firmly planted on the skin below the strings.
3. That I should use a capo
4. That I should publish my book with a real publisher
5. That I should write in a cast of thousands into my little low budget theater play. (I didn't have enough policemen on stage for it to be realistic.)
6. That I write about child molestors
7. That I should kiss ass
8. That I don't really believe in god (I don't- )
9. That Republicans are stupid people
10. That I don't do what the doctor ordered
11. That I cut up photos of women to create colleges because I hate women
12. That men who want to express feminine behavior hate women
13. That because your wife has joined a cult, you are the oppressor
14. That I've written a book that tells you the end at the beginning
15. That I've written a book that's hard to read
16. That I'm not ready yet
17. That I'm too big

That's probably enough for now.

Found Art

Spent all day Saturday working on a Boy Scout Eagle Project at a church in Westchester. We pulled up an old fence and dug trenches and worked like dogs. We had this pile of the old fence and the junk that had been with it.

I suggested to the father of the scout that we carry it over to Venice Circle in Venice:

 And put a plaque on it -given in appreciation to the residents of Venice California- and entitle it "Trash" and leave it.

 This was the scuplture that was added there recently- its by the late Robert Graham, who was a resident of Venice with his wife Angelica Houston. Before his addition, it looked like the above for years. Seems like there had been another sculpture there, but I can'trecall what it was.

I don't think they were going to do it.

Used to Whistle

In my twenties when I was hitch-hiking about, there were songs that I would sing to myself on the shoulder of the road to entertain myself as I waiting for a ride. This song I had first heard on a Michael Parks album spin-off from the "Then Came Bronson" TV show that was one for a year while I was still in high school. I started whistling it. And got pretty good at it I think. Anyway there were several Leonard Cohen songs and "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor and a Kingston Trio song "Bout This Time Of Day I Get To Feeling Low" -all good theme songs for hitch-hiking. Later in Northern California, they translated well to songs that could be sung on a motorcycle. I've been practicing whistling to this song today. I could do a whistle solo in the next jam me thinks.

Aside, when we took the littlest bear back to Great Barrington to check out the college for her, we heard the stories about James Taylor being in the mental hospital in Stockbridge, and one story was that he wrote the song on a bus as they were transferring him to a hospital in Boston. I was greatly offended by that story. How dare they take my hitch-hiking song away.

Singing on the highway is a lot like singing in the shower. The acoustics was wonderful.