Ok, we have all been waiting so long...no you didn't!
It's almost a year now since the man left the planet.....so the right moment for me to put out that video for "Velvet Shoes" that I've promised. It's the last thing I do for my the album "I MImic Me", because I'm already on a whole other level in the process of creation: got some brand new songs coming up! Yes, it never stops (I'm glad), just can't sit still. Excited!
Busy
I have put a lot of work in this, mostly a drawing supporting video. It shows me (wishing it is me that is walking on the wild side) and some different familiar Lou's most of the time, all sequenced rhythmically in a lot of frames. That took ages, before I was really satisfied. For the singalong fan I've included lyrics to yell out.
Originaly I had some black & white drawings. Later on I "coloured" them in with a handy online photo editer called Picmonkey. You can see and read about them in my earlier posts if you like sketches.
!Viewers with photosensitive epilepsy, beware of visual intensity!
Enjoy and spread 'em!
LyricsVelvet Shoes
Now Andy Boy And Mary Lou
They Used To Wear Those VELVET SHOES
They Did The Walk On The Very Wild Side
In The White Heat And The White Light
Now Mary Lou She Used To Play
All Of Your Records On A Perfect Day
Until She Couldn't Listen No More
Now She's Walking Out Of The Door
You Want To Have a Good Time
You Want To Get It Out Of Your Mind
You Want A Change Of The Scene
You Can Blame It On The New York Dream
Well You're Wasting Time
Your Precious Time
Drinking Cheap Cheap Wine
All Of The Time
Now You're Out Of Your Mind
But You Have A Good Time
Down In Your Hole
Hey LOU This Is My Ode To You
Finally Learned To Talk Like
You're Supposed To Do
Maybe I Walk More On The Safer Side
Well This Ain't The Big Apple
But I Give It A Try
I Have Jolly Good Time
I Want To Get It Out Of My Mind
I Wanna Change Of The Scene
I Blame It On The New York Dream
I'm Wasting Time.....
Ok, now it's out of the bag...
As usual (am I boring, predictable?), once a year I invite the listeners to read about the "inside" story of a new album. How I vanish into my reclusive hole and come back with some new, fresh & above all: haha, brilliant music. But hey, there's no hidden message here!. For me, music has to be fun, joy, melodic, funky, over the top, ironic, colourful and full of character. I Mimic Me.
After my last album "The Ballooning Brouhaha" floated through digital spaces, I immediately sat down to the work. Ideas "always" come quick, emotions keep pouring out of my fingertips. But how to shape them in attractive little ditties?
I always start recording with a basic track (rhythm pattern) and the first instrument (piano, guitar) I've chosen to write on. I want to record as fast as possible to capture the energy and/or the emotion of that particular "high" moment of inspiration. Record as if in "performance". Forget "studio".
Choices, doubts, solutions, inspiration going back and forth. Well, mostly for me, I'm working around the more technical shortcommings I have as a recording-in the flesh- musician. So the last few years I've been watching some show-off sound engineer pros showing their flashy studio stuff on Youtube. There are a lot of choices you can make, details you can alter with your workstation (Pro Tools is mine), especially in the mixing process, which makes the whole process even more challenging to keep things as organic as possible.
As long as it helps me further. But it all starts with a tight rehearsed performance, so what you can't fix....
Listen carefully!
Now, press on your application of choice (sorry no vinyl), like Deezer, Spotify or iTunes or maybe your free download and let those little stories stir up your imagination.
01.Cowboy On The Moon
Build around a chord progression I luckely found on the piano almost a year ago(!). I wrote a few countermelodies (guitar and woodwinds) that brought more layered excitement arrangementwise that I wanted for the song. I had lot of fun with this one, never stopped developping ideas in that department. Took a long time to write about cowboys-no indians-but moons though...
O U T L A W
02.Velvet Shoes
This took 3 minutes to write, but the vision to work it out, took a lot longer....
You can guess this is about Lou Reed, my indirect connection with him, expressed in a an uplifting, I hope, tribute song. His death and his music got me closer again to the legend and his work (my fave is 1973's Berlin). Yes, I tried to use some of his typical pronounciation (but "I mimic me" right?) and a few of his familiar lines (wild side, white heat white light). Fun song!
Btw, great read: two biographies of Lou and the Velvet Underground by Victor Bockris.
N E W Y O R K
03.Buy (Bye Bye)
Topic: a pact with the devil/Faust: selling out in favor of becoming successful. Bye, buy...
I used this funkbeat for intensity, although I can never be that hypnotic like James Brown, but I can in a, uuh, funny JoosTVD kind of way.
F A U S T
04.Ballroom Blues
Overblown ballroom showstopper (took a lot of mindslapping working this out!) about windbags and other loudmouths. You know who you are. Now shut the f... up!
O V E R K I L L
05.Social Suicide
One of those fun songs that wrote itself and relatively quick both musically and lyrically. All 13 songs came quick, but mostly musically.The choice of intruments, how to colour the arrangements...they' re already there in my head when I wrote this song.
H A P P I N E S S
06.I Mimic Me
Here I go again! The same burst of creativity happened like song 5. Short and sweet. I really like that. Maybe the next time I can put out an album even quicker. Well.....these explosive moments are rare though. And I love what Jack Bruce did with Kip Hanrahan. (great album: Vertical Currency 1984)
M I R R O R
07.Different Kind Of Cool
Yeah, a fast, funpowerpop rocksong. Something (rock) I do not do often, but it gives the album a different- rockier- colour.
O U T C A S T
08.Intermission Of Love
Hey lunch hour! A little (one minute!) Tin Pan Alley love song. Yes, I really love the creativity of Irving berlin and Cole Porter. These chords say it all: melodic, romantic. Ahh, my soft side...
S I N P A N A L L E Y
09.Cats (Walk With A Swagger)
One of the first tunes I wrote for this album. It gave me purpose of direction. A lot of funny (real cat sounds) stuff happening, surprising breaks and stops in combination with melodies. (thanks to Arto Lindsay & the Ambitious Lovers)
D O G G Y C A T
10.Sin Pan Alleyman
Unexpectacly, former musical mate Wijnand Brant (WB) helped me out with his unstoppable fingers & guitars on this forgotten instrumental idea, one of many I've piled up on my harddisk.
(C O N) F U S I O N ? !
11.Lovesong For The Ghetto
Wrote this relatively quick on guitar, sang the title (and liked the melodic refrain a lot) and voila...it's a bit dark (ghetto), but eased, counterbalanced with some eerie female voices, which I found fitting with my own low male singing.
G H E T T O
12.Coffin Song
Also one of the first more uplifting (listen to the guitar chords, variations in D), funky song I wrote, musically that is. The theme is a little dark though: "put the sickness in the ground". No, no cofee needed. A coffin with a "n". Not a special message I have here, it's just dark humor, sardonic wordplay.
C O F F I N
13.I See You
To counterbalance the more energetic songs, there' s always some sort of melancholic ballad I come up with- developped on the piano- after much rehearsel, this was recorded live. I've tried to come up with something uplifting, melodic, not too self-important or dramatic.
P I A N O
14.Cowboy In Your Room
Reprising song nr.1 here, it has got a few nice breaks in it, so the idea for an instrumental promo (see video post) was born.
P R O M O
So glad with this. Some feedback! He (Nathan Nörgel) knows his way with words and you have to read carefully to fully understand the german symbolic meanings he gives of various songs. So I'll give you a "not so perfect" translation after. If you understand it, tell me! If you don't, well I can try to explain!
Original:
Auch auf seinem bislang zehnten (wie immer nur rein digital
veröffentlichten) Album, bleibt der niederländische Songwriter Joos TVD
alias The Vanished Dutchman vor alleim eines: unwahrscheinlich
unterhaltsam. Musikalisch erkundet er auf „I Mimic Me“ so ziemlich jedes
Territorium zwischen Rock, Fusion-Jazz, Pop und sogar Blues.
Mit Blues hat es der Multiinstrumentalist eigentlich nicht so. Umso
überraschter war ich, als ich auf der Tracklist des neuen Albums einen
Titel namens Ballroom Blues entdeckte. Doch wer jetzt auf die heiligen
zwölf Takte wartet, der kennt Joos TVD schlecht. Denn das Stück über
vergebliche Versuche, als jemand anderes wahrgenommen zu werden ist
anfangs Rock, zwischendurch bricht es kurz in swingende Jazzgefilde auf.
Und insgesamt ist das wieder ein melancholisch-humorvoller Song, wie
ihn heutzutage vielleicht auch Zappa hätte schreiben können. Der Anfang
von „I Mimic Me“ hatte mich da musikalisch schon mehr überrascht. Denn
Stücke wie „Cowboy On The Moon“ oder „Velvet Shoes“ perlen zunächst
elegant wie der jazzige Pop von Steely Dan.
Was mir besonders auffällt, ist die Melancholie der Lieder, die oft nur
wenig von der Musik verstellt wird. Hier - und damit sind wir beim
Titel des Albums - versucht der Künstler, sich selbst als Kind
nachzuahmen. Und natürlich ist das zum Scheitern verurteilt. Was
unwahrscheinlich schade ist. Denn als Erwachsener ist man bei aller
Anstrengung oft nicht mehr als ein „Cowboy On The Moon“, also völlig am
falschen Platz, man begeht unablässig sozialen Selbstmord, wenn man sich
um die Regeln nicht schert.
Selbst die Beziehungen drohen an solchen Banalitäten zu scheitern, dass
man selbst seine Katze liebt, während die Partnerin in ihren Hund
vernarrt ist und die beiden Tiere sich vertragen wie Schweine und
Frösche. Also wie sprichwörtlich Hund und Katze.
„I Mimic Me“ - ein tolles Album musikalisch und auch von den Texten
her. Und auch wenn hier die Musik ganz dem Thema entsprechend Stile der
letzten Jahrzehnte nachahmt, heißt dass noch längst nicht, dass die
Stücke von Joost van Dinther nicht äußerst orginell wären. (bandcamp)
English:
On
his tenth so far (as always purely digitally published) album, the
Dutch songwriter Joos TVD aka The Vanished Dutchman remains: unlikely entertaining. Musically, he explored on 'I Mimic Me'
pretty much every territory between rock, fusion jazz, pop and even
blues.
With blues, this multi-instrumentalist has actually not so. The more
surprised I was when I discovered a title called Ballroom Blues on the
tracklist of the new album. But who is now waiting for the holy twelve
bars knows Joos TVD bad. Because the piece on futile attempts to be
perceived as someone else's first rock, between it breaks up briefly in
swinging Jazzgefilde. And overall, this is again a melancholic and
humorous song, like him nowadays perhaps Zappa could have written. The
beginning of 'I Mimic Me' had me as musically surprised even more. For
songs like 'Cowboy On The Moon' or 'Velvet Shoes' pearls initially
elegant as the jazzy pop of Steely Dan.
What I notice is the melancholy of the songs that is often adjusted
only slightly from the music. Here - and brings us to the title of the
album - the artist tries to imitate himself as a child. And of course,
this is doomed to failure. What is unlikely shame. Because as an adult
you are with all the effort often no more than a 'Cowboy On The Moon',
so completely the wrong place, one commits suicide relentlessly social,
if you do not care about the rules.
Even the relationships threaten to fail in such banalities that even
he loves his cat, while the partner is fond of her dog and the two animals
get along like pigs and frogs. So like the proverbial dog and cat.
'I Mimic Me' - a great album musically and also from the lyrics
here. And even if mimicking the music here all the topic according to
the style of the last few decades, that is, by no means, that the pieces
of Joost van Dinther would not be extremely orginal. (Bandcamp)
Dutch:
Op
zijn tiende tot dusver (zoals altijd puur digitaal gepubliceerd) album,
de Nederlandse songwriter Joos TVD aka The Vanished Nederlander blijft
vooral: onwaarschijnlijk onderhoudend. Muzikaal verkende hij op
'Ik Mimic Me' vrijwel elk gebied tussen rock, fusion jazz, pop en zelfs
blues.
Met blues, heeft het multi-instrumentalist eigenlijk niet zo. Des te meer
verbaasde mij toen ik ontdekte een titel genaamd Ballroom Blues op de
tracklist van het nieuwe album. Maar wie zit nu te wachten op de heilige
twaalf bars dan kent die Joos TVD slecht. Omdat het stuk op vergeefse
pogingen worden gezien als iemand anders eerste rock, tussen het breekt
kort in swingende Jazzgefilde. En over het algemeen, dit is weer een
melancholisch en humoristische lied, zoals hij tegenwoordig misschien
Zappa had kunnen schrijven. Het begin van 'I Mimic Me' had mij als
muzikaal verrast zelfs meer. Voor nummers als 'Cowboy On The Moon' of
parels 'Velvet Shoes' aanvankelijk elegant als de jazzy pop van Steely
Dan.
Wat ik merk is de melancholie van de nummers die vaak slechts in
geringe mate wordt aangepast van de muziek. Hier - en brengt ons naar de
titel van het album - de kunstenaar probeert zichzelf te imiteren als
een kind. En natuurlijk, dit is gedoemd te mislukken. Wat is
onwaarschijnlijk schande. Omdat als een volwassene je bent met al de
moeite vaak niet meer dan een 'Cowboy On The Moon', zo helemaal de
verkeerde plaats, een zelfmoord pleegt meedogenloos sociale, als je niet
de zorg over de regels.
Zelfs de verhoudingen dreigen te mislukken in zulke banaliteiten dat
zelfs hij van zijn kat houdt, terwijl de partner is dol op haar hond en de twee
dieren opschieten zoals varkens en kikkers. Dus als de
spreekwoordelijke hond en kat.
'Ik Mimic Me' - een goed album muzikaal en ook uit de teksten hier.
En zelfs als het nabootsen van de muziek hier al het onderwerp volgens
de stijl van de laatste decennia, dat wil zeggen, geenszins, dat de
stukken van Joost van Dinther zou niet extreem orgineel zijn. (Bandcamp)
Well, good folks of mother earth, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that the new album arrived yesterday on Spotify. Next came iTunes. That's what I call fast delivery! Thanks to Routenote.
Update!
What time is it? Yes exactly time for a brand new TVD album!
Routenote has approved the album so distribution is on its way.
I'm so excited about the songs!
Now keep your/my fingers crossed..... Still 4 to 6 weeks to go though, but iTunes & Spotify are fast, so check them and tell me!
In the meantime, here are the covers:
Front
About the Title I Mimic Me
Narcistic as hell that title. It sounds fun to me. "I do Lou Reed better than anyone" Lou Reed confessed to a crowd once. Well in my case, when you reach a sudden age (?), you've come full circle. You learn to accept what you've become (pros & negs) on your own level.
So on the frontcover there's a little me, about 10 years old, in a rare state of relaxing, grinning shyly and there's the grown-up old farty me, trying more or less, but fail to mimic the younger me. Mmmm...
Back
As you can see, 13 songs (+ song 14 is the instrumental promo version of song 1) again, just like last time. Yes, I've got lots of more songs in the bag, but these are chosen as the best buy.
Btw, I also got a few funny vids in the making for ya, so...
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