Kerouac
07-22-2009, 07:43 PM
So I've been writing an album for three years now. :facepalm: I've got over 50 songs demoed (to varying degrees of completeness) and really want to move on to a final recording/mixing/releasing phase by the end of the year. The big problem for me is that very little of it sounds like it could be a cohesive album, and rather they're just a collection of songs, and to complicate matters further I have songs that I really love spread across a multitude of genres. If I was going to release an album of songs that I liked best and have gotten great feedback on from people it would sound like a watered down Tom Waits album, because I just don't feel like I can carry that sort of concept to it's potential.
Lately I've been thinking more and more of doing what Iron and Wine does, which is focus on releasing several EPs more frequently and full-scale albums less often. I've been trying to do some re-writing and trying to peg new songs a little better so I'll have a better idea of exactly what album I should release, but I keep flipping back and forth. I figure I really need to just man the fuck up, get things done and release it, lest I become this forum's version of Chinese Democracy, but it just feels wrong to not approach this with more thought and care. I've narrowed it down to three options:
Acoustic based singer-songwriter. God knows there are enough of those out there already who all think they're unique and original, but a lot of those songs are the ones I feel closest to because I've been working on them for so long. More expansive instrumentation with lots of strings and piano and acoustic guitar and have a much darker tone and feel, the majority of them were written when I was in some pretty bad places.
Acoustic driven rock/alt.country. This is a lot of what I've been doing in the last year or so. A little bit more experimental and layered and while it's a bit more fun to play I have to be careful not to go overboard and pay more attention to the song itself. These are a little more story driven over-all and is a little more emotionally even. This one's a challenge because it's bit outside my comfort zone but I really enjoy pushing myself.
Indie-pop. I have the fewest number of these songs and I think that while they might be the most commercially viable, the best thing I could do with these is to go ahead and record them and tweak them, but eventually hire a really great vocalist to sing them and then try to plug them to other artists or try to have therm placed in TV or film. I just don't think my voice and image is right for this kind of album, but I still like the songs a lot.
Sorry for the long post, but since I've got 11 days of vacation coming up, I need to start making some decisions and get to work.
Lately I've been thinking more and more of doing what Iron and Wine does, which is focus on releasing several EPs more frequently and full-scale albums less often. I've been trying to do some re-writing and trying to peg new songs a little better so I'll have a better idea of exactly what album I should release, but I keep flipping back and forth. I figure I really need to just man the fuck up, get things done and release it, lest I become this forum's version of Chinese Democracy, but it just feels wrong to not approach this with more thought and care. I've narrowed it down to three options:
Acoustic based singer-songwriter. God knows there are enough of those out there already who all think they're unique and original, but a lot of those songs are the ones I feel closest to because I've been working on them for so long. More expansive instrumentation with lots of strings and piano and acoustic guitar and have a much darker tone and feel, the majority of them were written when I was in some pretty bad places.
Acoustic driven rock/alt.country. This is a lot of what I've been doing in the last year or so. A little bit more experimental and layered and while it's a bit more fun to play I have to be careful not to go overboard and pay more attention to the song itself. These are a little more story driven over-all and is a little more emotionally even. This one's a challenge because it's bit outside my comfort zone but I really enjoy pushing myself.
Indie-pop. I have the fewest number of these songs and I think that while they might be the most commercially viable, the best thing I could do with these is to go ahead and record them and tweak them, but eventually hire a really great vocalist to sing them and then try to plug them to other artists or try to have therm placed in TV or film. I just don't think my voice and image is right for this kind of album, but I still like the songs a lot.
Sorry for the long post, but since I've got 11 days of vacation coming up, I need to start making some decisions and get to work.