New Christmas Song Finished & Released

I find it mildly amusing that I had forecasted the completion of my new Christmas song within a few days of the end of November. I did not finish the final mix and mastering until December 11. And by the way, I'm still not thrilled with the final mix. I would have kept remixing and remixing until I got it just the way I wanted--were that possible considering it's an unattainable goal--but it's already so late to be releasing a Christmas song that I did the best I could under the circumstances. The good news is that it is now both at CD Baby and Bandcamp and also at iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and everywhere else. I just hope it gets to those places well before Christmas.

I started this new song well before Thanksgiving. Mind you the intention was just to create some background music for videos. But as I really liked how it was turning out I thought it would be a waste to just leave it as background music, though it could still well serve that purpose. However, once again the vocal part is what created such a delay. Not getting everything sounding up to par. And unfortunately the released version is still not perfect vocal-wise but it's the best I can do under the circumstances.

I must admit--I seriously considered giving up vocal music during my many takes for this song. It became so frustrating to record the same lines over and over and not get them just right or even just good enough. I honestly cannot understand how some people can sing and hit the right notes every time. I started thinking along the way of doing instrumental music exclusively. I would definitely get more music produced more frequently if I were to only do instrumentals. But I also enjoy writing lyrics even though it's hard for me to sing them. And I cannot ask anyone to sing for me due to legal reasons. Whatever I create musically has to be 100% mine. The last thing I want to deal with is legal issues.

Anyway, here is the newly finished song found on my Bandcamp page:

You Know It's Christmas Time

Hope you like it. It's radically different from any Christmas song I've made before. But again, it wasn't initially planned to be such. The good thing is that not only is it a Christmas song but it also fulfilled the initial desire of being background music if I only remove the vocal.

Regarding the youtube issue--I tried to appeal the deconstruction of my Exit World channel but youtube only responded by saying that I need to get the Fred Rogers Company (FRC) to rescind their copyright strikes. Like that is going to happen. So as someone suggested I could move to Vimeo and carry on there, or I could just create a new email through Google and start my new youtube channel that way. (Actually I just found out I can create a new channel with my existing Google account).

I nearly forgot--this has also put a damper on my plans to release my old lo-fi recordings from many years ago. This makes me angry the more I think about it. I was not a multiple violator of their policies. I uploaded material that was not banned immediately. It was all up for quite some time before this happened. Had they taken all the FRC videos down initially I would not have uploaded more. All I received were copyright claim notices. Those are not bad. They serve to inform that someone has claimed the right to the video in question. But they gave me no chance. It was 1-2-3 and I was done. I blame both the FRC and youtube for this. I did not continue to upload claimed content after receiving any of the strikes. That's the part that is not fair. They make it seem as though I continued to upload videos after receiving the first 2 strikes. Why didn't they just take down all the Rogers' videos with the first strike? Why did they need 3 strikes to do it?

Anyway, I sent the FRC a few more emails with the final one giving them a piece of my mind. I stated that they handled this situation in a very unprofessional manner. I said a few more things as well. Surprisingly, I did get a response with an offer from them to talk to youtube about my Exit World channel. As I relayed this to youtube they refused to accept it and kept giving me the runaround. Like a broken record all they keep saying to me is that I need to resolve the copyright strikes on my Exit World channel when I don't have any on that one. Their reason for shutting it down was that it was linked to the channel with the strikes (JustGoodStuff). So I wrote them a not-so-pleasant email as well and I haven't heard from them anymore.

As far as I'm concerned that matter is done and I'm not going to hear from either party any further. So I'll just come up with another channel for my own personal music (which I will probably call "Millions of Me" as this is a possible new recording artist name for me). The other one I already made is called "AllTheBest". The only problem I'm having with the AllTheBest channel is that I cannot upload videos longer than 15 minutes since I'm not verified. My 2 most popular videos were just over 15 minutes each. Under 16 but over 15! I left the computer on all night long to upload one of them just to get a message that said it couldn't be processed since it was over 15 minutes. Couldn't they warn me ahead of time? So frustrating! And I'm hesitant to verify my account since that may lead to getting the new channel(s) shut down as well. I don't know what's involved in 'verifying' so I can't take any chances right now. I may just have to create a third channel with a brand new email.

Most importantly though is that I released a new Christmas song in 2019 and much earlier than in previous years. Also it's on my Exit World - Topic channel created by CD Baby.

In my next post I will discuss some goals for 2020, as is in keeping with tradition. If it weren't for "You Know It's Christmas Time" I would not have had a new song in 2019. I had a few background music recordings I made and I guess those should count especially if I am seriously considering working exclusively on instrumental music.

This post took way too long to write. It's pretty much after the fact now since it's been sitting here since mid-December.

Bandcamp Page Fully Up & Goals for 2015

Well, my Bandcamp page is finally up and running! My new album release is completely there along with the 3 Christmas songs I have recorded. Basically everything that I intended to be officially out there is now available for legit purchase and download. Of course, I have other tunes out there on YouTube and soundcloud that are not really available for official download. Many of those will eventually be released on future albums. Some will never be other than in bootleg capacity.

I had a thought about recording an instrumental album.I already have several instrumental songs that are noteworthy for inclusion in such a project. And some other tracks which I thought about rewriting lyrics to may end up becoming instrumental songs altogether. It's just a thought. Again, I don't wish to spend too much time revisiting old material. Also if I should release an album of instrumental works, ideally it will be as an addendum to an album of singer/songwriter type material.

All that sounds a bit ambitious however. I am going to start recording a new song very soon and fiddle around a bit with one or two older ones. I will try much harder to make 2015 a more productive year relative to the past years. As I look back on 2014, I started and completed only 3 songs. I updated several songs from past years for release this year. And I began a new recording which I did not finish. Overall I feel that I accomplished more than in past years--especially considering the album release--yet still a rather unproductive year.

I read about a guy who participated in a projected where he wrote and recorded one song per week. Imagine that! Fifty-two songs in a year! That's definitely too ambitious for me but I do think that one song per month is quite reasonable. The keys to accomplishing that is to spend more time writing new songs, finish up writing some of my other songs and keep the production values not overly complicated. Will I actually release my 2nd album this year? It's possible if I work hard enough at it. I've always admired recording artists who released an album per year, not to mention those who released more than one in any year. The Beatles put out at least one album each year from 1963-1970. America did so from 1971-77. The Moody Blues from 1967-72. Creedence Clearwater Revival from 1968-72 with at least 7 albums. The Doors from 1967-71 with 6. Bread from 1969-72 with 5. R.E.M. from 1983-88.

But it seems to be art lost on today's artists. Nowadays the album release rate is about 1 every 2 or 3 years. And that's not counting the more established artist, such as U2, who are never in a hurry to release new albums. Albums are a bit longer now than they were in 1969. Many reach the 50 or even 60 minute mark. Thus artists feel less an obligation to release new music on an annual basis. Personally I prefer the one album per year schedule and if all I had to do in life was make music I would most assuredly abide by that pattern.

It's quite a bit late as I write this so I just want to close with a link to my Bandcamp page. I first signed up on Bandcamp in 2010 but only now is it complete and will be one of my official music pages.

Exit World on Bandcamp

To Create or Not Create...That is the Question!

My last post here was over 3 months ago. Sadly I don't have any news regarding music. First of all because where I do my musical work is very hot during summer and not really conducive to spending hours being creative. Not safe either. And second because of general discouragement, disillusionment and disappointment.

Yes, making music is fun and great and rewarding if that is what one is passionate about, as I am. But I think one of the necessary elements of art is sharing it with others. Letting it be seen or heard. What's the point in painting portraits but keeping them all in your room and never allowing anyone else to see them? Or learning how to dance all the different dances there are but never performing them but to yourself in front of a mirror? Or creating music that no one else ever gets to hear, either because you don't share it or your options for sharing it prove futile? (And it does not even have to apply just to art. How about science? If you found a cure for something what is the point if you don't share it?)

Which brings me to YouTube. I am tempted to upload more of my songs on this website but I look at the number of video views and I say, "What's the point?" The numbers are pathetic. It seems people are more interested in watching other people's reactions to viral videos and video games. What is this? We have gone from doing things ourselves to watching other people do things to watching other people react to other people doing things. I don't understand this. Why would anyone want to watch anyone else's reactions while playing a video game? Where is the entertainment value in that? Why not just play the game yourself? God forbid I recommend that though seeing as how I believe video games in general are a curse upon young people (not to mention those not-so-young who still indulge).

But there is no way to compete with all the mindlessness out there. I can upload a new song today and it will have a negligible amount of views for most of its life. Every time I upload a new video I tell myself that this will be the one that does well. It's all bogus. No one's interested. Everyone is looking for something that is controversial, has shock value or is celebrity-related. Reverbnation, Bandcamp, soundcloud and other websites are really no different. I seriously don't believe anyone fans you on those websites for any reason other than wanting you to fan them back and increase their audience, or worse yet, trying to sell you a product or service. The only websites that have brought my music any exposure is this very blog where I write (discovered by The Basement Tapes) and also Podshow Music Network. Some of my songs have been picked up as a result of these 2 websites and have been played in various areas, including as far away as Germany.

I wish I had better news or a more optimistic outlook. If anything I still intend to release my full length album this year--this fall actually. It's still a major goal and I'll consider it a milestone for me when it does happen. And it will allow me to have my songs on Spotify and other music streaming websites, even if they're not played ever. But just knowing that they are there gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Before I sign off I do want to say that I have been fiddling around with my Christmas song a little. Just trying to improve it in time for the holidays. I have been trying to add a second snare drum track from my Yamaha S90 synth over my original one to make it stronger and more modern sounding. I'm not a huge fan of using 'fake' drums on my recordings but until I can figure out how to get a great recorded snare sound in my studio space I must use whatever resources I have at hand to make the best recordings I can. Also I had an idea for a tubular bells track to replace the original horns track but that has not gone very well.

In closing, I want to share this quote from an episode of "Night Gallery" which struck me from the first time I heard it and has come to signify reality more and more each time I hear it. Just to put this quote in context, it was uttered inside a funeral home in regards to the outside world:

"Out there is the graveyard! Out there--the slaughterhouse where they kill and bury dreams. A whole world full of lonely pallbearers."

 Yes, I see this manifesting itself on a daily basis.