| MUSIC
Technology you can dance to
The quintessential
German Cars vs. American Homes album is the only one yet to be released
to the public: One in a Million. It will be availiable for purchase
very soon from one of those services like CD Baby, so just hold your horses.
In the meantime, you can visit here
to purchase the album. Here’s two tracks so you can decide for yourself
if this music is too far out for you, or just right:
Waste of Time
|| Tag Along
Click on the links
below to here some music by James Call and his little friends:
MUSIC FOR YOUNG ADULTS ||
POWER || HUBRIS TO GO ||
RECENT TRACKS || MAIDEN AMERICA
|| RAPT INSIDE || IT’S DA SPOOJ
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At last, Music for Young Adults
, the latest release by the Real James
and the Missing Teens, is on its way. Below find crude mixes of songs
both recent and forlorn, including some that date back to James'
original dropping-out-of-college period! With samples by DJ Pu Yi and
vocals tracked lovingly by Alex Beck and Roko Djokovic, these songs
are easily the most neurotic and funkiest to date in the repetoire.
Enjoy these rough mixes and stay tuned for the "real deal"!
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Drive Uphill
Holy crep! This song is finally starting to sound like a song! With
drums by Darren Jones, bass by Dave Tirolo, samples by DJ Pu Y'i, and
even a clav line originally by Tore Ingersoll-Thorp, this song is truly
a collaborative effort. This is probably "the hit". Please check it out.
If anyone has a sample of the classic "Battleship" commercial from our
childhoods, I'd appreciate it.
Rise to the Bait
Ha! This song is finally sounding good! With drums by Darren "Just Get Me Drunk
And I'll Track An Entire Album For You" Jones, guitar by Spencer The Musical
Dispenser Chakedis, and bass by Dave Tirolo. And mucho gracias to Alex Beck for
helping me finally cut some clear vocals. Well, I did pay him, so I guess I
don't actually owe him any thanks. Nevermind. Check check check it!
My Old Lifestyle
This song is co-written with Adam Reiter. Note the use of just ONE
instance of Sculpture to achieve so much. Guitar by Spencer Chakedis
and the original German Cars vs. American Homes guitarist, Jared
"Fluffycombs" Rock. Also with the drums of Darren Jones and bass of Dave
Tirolo.
Fernando and Louise
Hello, and welcome to the best song I've ever written. Basically,
this is my attempt at combining "Children's Song" with "Haitian
Divorce". Heavily influenced by the samples of DJ Pu Yi. It took
me about 2 years to finally record decent vocals to this tune. I
could have slowed it down to 135 bpm from 150, but where would be
the hardcoreness in that? Revised guitar should be coming soon.
Mucho gracias to Alex Beck for putting up with me as I recut the
vocals time and time again, and to Roko Djokovic for providing the
beautiful guitar tracks.
Round of Applause
This is one of those tunes that I just couldn't recreate using Logic's
many internal synths... I had to revert to the good old QSR and JV-880
for this one. Still use them to this day. Oh, it brings a tear to my
bleary eye. This song is now sounding bad-ass and much credit has to go
to Darren Jones for that. His drums added a new layer of rock to this
tune. And I hardly needed to edit them!
Wash Up
Run to the back of the room... God is coming, and he's bringing a broom.
Features bass by Steve Kerr and guitar by Hekiro Matsuoka, and Spencer
Chakedis.
Female Version of Myself
In case you're wondering, the B-section is indeed taken from Koji
Kondo's Super Mario Bros 2 soundtrack - specifically, when you enter
the doors and go into the nega-realm or whatever the hell it was. A
fine game; indeed, the best in the series. As before, guitar and drums
by Chakedis/Jones.
Chinatown
Here's a little song for a crush I had when I went to NYU. This song
is almost 10 years old! Hideously (but rockingly) detuned guitar by
Spencer Chakedis. Drums lovingly played by Dashing Darrence Darby Jones.
Circle of Fifths
This song is more or less about after I got dumped by the Great Blonde
Hope referenced in the lyrics. I spent a year getting my shit
together, applying to school, etc. Much a bunch of new-age Christians
at this time. I still don't get out much, incidentally.
Carpe Diem
Ok, I know the snare is a little loud, but this tune is starting to
sound like a song you can have nice aggressive sex to. And if nothing
else, that's quite an asset. I'm beginning to understand how to add
balls to that kick drum from the Beyer M88. However, getting that bass
out of mudville and into Daft Punk land is still difficult. Any of you
audio geeks out there want to give me some EQ and compression tips, just
shoot me an e-mail... I'll be in your debt.
Carpe Diem (Bassline Doubled)
Here's a mix with the bassline doubled by a synth. Frankly, I don't really
like the approach, but I really can't figure out how to make the original
bass sound clear. Tell me what you think, kids. Some people might prefer this
version of the song. Snam!
Andy and Miranda
About a recent ex of mine. Once again, I'm trying to rip off "Haitian
Divorce," but this time I'm trying to meld it with "Tea In The Sahara".
Those Mandolins come to you courtesy of Spencer Chakedis and Jared Rock,
together at last, just like Paul McCartney and Paul Simon, or something.
Waiting On The Internet
I wrote this song recently for a woman who's marriage
I was hoping to destroy. Actually, all that happened was that I
destroyed myself. But it's still a nice song, isn't it? She's
no one you know, by the way.
The Great Depression
I could never figure out if I should try to sing this one "honestly"
or as a parody of various influential rappers. I think I sound a bit
like Randy "Macho Man" Savage on this track, which is good enough for
now. This one is definitely very much a work in progress.
Laundromat
The sequel to "Vacuum"? The verdict is still out, but the kids are
screaming yes.
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Power.
is a cult hit amongst many weirdos. Some individuals even prefer it’s
hard-quantized sound to the live sound of GCVAH. Though outdated today
compared to modern core-core, Power is still considered one
of the finest core-core albums ever produced, and well worth a listen.
The entire album is availible for purchase at http://www.crapcore.com/merchandise.htm.
Here’s a few tracks for free to pique your interest: |
On and On
This is a smash
hit that will have you puking with ecstasy. Move over, St. Thomas of Aquinas,
it’s time to kick out the jam!!!
Vacuum
This is it, the
hit single. The original version. Perfect in its complete sterility.
There’s
a lot of problems with “Tick”: the vocal performance isn’t very “wet,”
the lyrics aren’t totally appropriate, and most of all, it wasn’t
performed by a band with 2 drummers and a 5-piece horn section. This is
one of angriest songs the real James ever wrote, and is a favorite amongst
Americans who hate America. It’s included here because it’s
one of the few tracks GCVAH didn’t really do better from Power.
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Hubris
to Go was the 9-track follow up to Power, also produced by the fabulous
Beebe brothers, in the confines of Alex Call’s small houseboat
in Sausalito. This album is definitely a step up songwriting-wise
and contains several tracks that went on to be big numbers for GCVAH,
including “Waste of Time” and “Dance of the Skeletons”.
It also includes one of my personal favorites of my whole songwriting
career, “Serve Cold”. The album can be purchased, along with
remixes and outtakes, at http://www.crapcore.com/merchandise.htm.
Here’s a handful of tracks for your listening enjoyment. |
Waste of Time
This is the original
version. The GCVAH version is totally rocking; the original is much more
laid back, and almost a completetly different song. Al the sounds on here
come from the JV-880 and the DR-660 drum machine, a drum machine which sadly
is currently on it’s deathbed. This track is hereby commemorated to the
DR-660. It served me well for many years. I will miss it sorely, especially
the Vrb+Dly kit.
This is the End of Your World
GCVAH did a much
better version, but it never got recorded. Too bad. This is a charming love
ballad and it’s depressing as shit. Irony fans will appreciate this one,
though not “post-modern” irony fans, who are too busy listening to the White
Stripes to download this track.
When the First Presidents Concieved of Spaceflight
Even more of a
cult hit than “Vacuum”. This is considered by many core-core conneisseurs
to epitomize the genre.
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There’s
been a long interlude between Hubris to Go and the modern era when
I just haven’t released any solo material. After all, the
original GCVAH was together during this time, and sequenced-based
recording had to take a back seat. Slowly but surely, I’m
getting around to recording those tracks, especially the ones I’m
not likely to do with the new band, and releasing them. Some of
them, like “Fernando and Louise” and “Harem of Women,” are the best
songs I’ve ever written, but they’re in no state to
be released to the public yet. |
In the meantime,
here’s a bunch of tracks I’ve recorded mostly up the SAC with
co-writer/producer Alex Beck, and also at home with Greg Travis, Sanford
Kent, and others. I may put some of their solo stuff up here too if I
get permission. We crank out these songs all the time so check back in
for new material every few weeks or so.
Logic Problems
The audio portion
of some performance art I did for the Catch series, run by Andrew Dinwiddie
and Jeff Larson. Inspired by the original questions of DJ Pu Yi. Special
thanks to Duke's restaurant, from which I stole many a trivial pursuit card,
and to "the Gipper," for making our country proud and scary again.
Close To You
The clasic Carpenters
song, recorded entirely using a Serge Modular Synthesizer with only 2 oscillators.
This song took us about 10 hours to record and mix. The sultry vocals and
blissful ring-modulated sine waves are sure to remind you of the good old
days, when life was sweet.
The Scat Song
Kids these days
don’t appreciate real music. Here’s another tribute to the good old days,
when we used to go down to the speakeasy and hear the scat man play that
horn and sing that jive. They don’t write songs like this anymore.
Fabulous Frankie
This is just a
rough mix. Unfortunately, a real mix is not coming at any point soon. The
files were lost in the great server crash of ’04. This is a solo song about
a girl with a partying problem who turns to Christianity and loses her mind
in doing so.
MIDI Message of Love
Alex and I just
can’t get enough of the ladies. In the Sonic Arts Center program with us,
there are only 2 ladies. 1 of them, Elizabeth, dropped out of the program.
The others are Denny and Ania; I’m pretty sure they’re both married. Here
we send a little lite-rock tribute out to them, with chimes and everything.
The Tsar of All Musicians
What would you
do if you were the Tsar of all musicians? This is the question that the
beautiful Alexsandra Vrebalov asked me one day at a school concert. I thought
about it for a while and wrote this song. Enjoy.
Chillin’
Alex and I were
very excited to work with the talented Shonen on a remix of his track, “Chillin’”.
We added a few samples to smooth things out and came up with a phat beat
to go underneath Shonen’s slick and gentle vocals. What we have here will
put R. Kelly to shame.
Dickly
This is an EXTREMELY
rough mix of a tune that Sanford Kent, Greg Travis 2, and I kicked out one
night at a party at my apartment where most of the guests didn’t want us
to turn on the gear. Sometimes it’s good to ignore all the guests at a party
where you’re the host. How else could you concieve of this rock gem that
features slammin’ drums, solid piano and bass and two Andean pan flute samples?
A higher-quality mix is coming at some point, but probably not soon.
Rubber Bullets
This track is
a little loud, so be careful. A collaboration with Neill Sanford Kent Livingston.
Cokehead
The title says
it all. An instrumental track co-written with Barbara King. At the time,
we were living together, and one night we had a little blow but no parties
to go to, and not a lot of money. So instead, we just hung out in our apartment,
smiled way too manically, and wrote this song. But this track is for all
you cokeheads out there.
Only An Accident
A very rough mix
of a very good song that will be done, oh yes it will, with the new GCVAH,
even if it kills me, and the other band members. Very poorly mixed, with
several instances of clipping, but still worth listening to over and over
again. Features the guest voice of Skinny D Kalish.
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About
a year ago, I co-wrote the music (along with Greg Travis 1) for a
full-length dance piece written and choreographed by Barbara P. King.
This was the first time I ever did anything like this, basically,
and I think it came off pretty damn well. Mixing this thing was a
real bitch, as I was trying to do it on a PC with a Celeron processor,
which I thought at the time was supposed to be great, but actually
turns out to be really lousy for audio. I had to record individual
tracks in real-time, in chunks no longer than 30 seconds, or the whole
computer would crash, and then mix them down and export the audio.
Cubase VST: NOT ideal for audio mixing. Lesson to be learned.
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This whole album
will be availible to purchase someday. You can contact me if you are a
choreographer or filmmaker and want the whole thing. Or if you’re just
a fan, I’d be happy to sell it to you for only the price of shipping and
handling. Unfortunately, it’s not yet for sale via internet.
Here’s the highlights:
Circus
This was my personal
favorite from the soundtrack. A truly collaborative work, too. I wrote the
chord progression, as well as piano, bass, and string lines. Greg provided
the awesome “percussion” samples that come in in the second half. And Barbara
mixed up the end, using Cubase’s matrix editor. This is a song that I think
can be listened to over and over again and is totally enjoyable even without
the context of the dance piece.
Rhythm Machine With China
This track is
actually largely not mine at all. It’s basically a collaboration between
Greg’s awesome samples, and Barbara’s playing around with the
“scale correction” function in Cubase. I mixed the thing and
did a little arrangement. It’s included here as a sample of the more
rhythmic material found in Maiden America.
Hi, Society!
This track is
perhaps excessively bright, and a little busy, but then again, I am a big
Steely Dan and King Crimson fan. Once again, great use of the scale correction
tool. I didn’t even know there WAS a Hungarian 1 mode!
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The follow
up to Maiden America, that also appeared in the Fringe Festival.
Probably a better sounding soundtrack than MA, but similar in terms
of style and compositional choices. We really had to crank this
one out in a couple of weeks, but I used Logic up at the SAC for
this project, and didn’t experience the massive Cubase VST
problems I did with MA. Also, I had access to the Space Designer
reverb, which I dream about at night. |
This soundtrack
was pretty much written entirely by me with a little help from Barbara
and NO HELP from Greg. Bad, Greg! You are a BAD PERSON.
Once again, you
can get the whole album if you contact me. Here’s a few highlights:
Fight 2-Pool of Tears
Is this a hip
hop song, or an experimental dance tune, or what? I wasn’t able to get the
clean, visible bass tones I really wanted out of these tunes, but still,
overall, I think the track is pretty slammin.
Intro
Pre-So Peter Gabriel,
eat my dick!!! Listen to what a hardcore sample & hold LFO can do to an
otherwise uninteresting synth lead sound.
Mid-Life Crisis
The name says
it all. The mix on this is pretty loud and pretty clean. The arrangment
could be re-done, but uh, I’m sure some lunatic will eventually re-mix
it and make it more interesting as that seems to happen to me a lot for
some reason.
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There’s
no artist I’ve been more pleased to work with than post-modern
hip hop troupe Da Spooj. Sometimes Da Foot Docta and Tha Man Who
Wud Be King get a little feisty and difficult to work with. They
nearly shot up my whole studio fighting over a 40 of Snapple one
day. Still, I knew, when I discovered these guys freestyling outside
of Beasty Feast (on Bleeker St. in Manhattan), that they were on
to something BIG and that if I could get on board it might be big
for me, too. |
I landed the job
producing their debut CD, Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb. The only song we can release
to the public yet is a rough mix of Bucket of Sno. It’s about a magical
bucket of snow. The other tracks are going to include Beasty Feast and
Balloon Masta.
Da Spooj is based
out of Frisco so it’s hard for us to get together to wrap everything up.
They also refuse to perform anywhere, period, until the LP is done. But
when it is, watch out R&B world, because things are gonna change big time.
Bucket of Sno (rough mix)
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