Category: Songs for Beginners

  • Finest girl in the world

    My partner in Cheese and Tequila, Bill DeRouchey, has been busy putting us up all over the interwebs, so as a followup to that vimeo embed from yesterday of Bill singing the punk classic Anarchy in the UK, here’s a youtube video of the second song from our Ukepalooza set, Big Star’s “I’m in Love…

  • My life, cheeses and tequila

    Samantha Soma, the lovely the talented bride of my partner in ukulele crime, Bill DeRouchey, shot some footage of our Ukepalooza act at WebVisions, where we debuted our duo act known as Cheeses and Tequila. Bill has now chopped it up into four video segments (one for each song) and posted them to Vimeo, so…

  • Play that funky music, white boy

    I gave my love a Cherry. It had no bone.

  • Down into the easy chair

    Ooh, whee! Ride me high. Tomorrow’s the day my bride’s a-gonna come, yeah. Ooh, whee! And ain’t we gonna fly? …

  • Uncle John's, second arrangement

    I’ve been working out the intro and basic melody part on the baritone uke and guitar, so in my usual spirit of laying down tracks before I’ve even got my new parts rehearsed, here’s a funky-stoopit little instrumental take with melody part (mostly drowned out after the intro – you’ll thank me) on the bari…

  • What good is sitting alone in your room?

    It’s time for a (dance) holiday!

  • Falling rain jig (electric rawk)

    headphones on? falling rain, electric rawk remix.

  • Falling rain jig (old timey)

    From English hymn to African-American spiritual to Fahey acoustic guitar blues to christmas carol to jazz piano to cabaret to falling rain version, another improvised arrangement on a theme.

  • G clef piano part arranged for ukulele and voice

    Might also post this without my voice, because though the strums and plucks can be labored, there’s a reasonably successful set of parts, lead, counterpoint, bass, and chords all overdubbed by machines of loving grace.

  • Oh say, can you struggle?

    Not sure who I’m channeling on this stumbled-upon patriotic standard, but I’m sure who I’m not.

  • No East or West (classic-rock uke take)

    Add to my vocal take and Cecil’s sepulchral midi piano take (the “15-foot Christian” one) this reasonably crisp run-through of the melody on ukulele, processed to sound like electric guitar. Note the hymn originally had a right-boring Anglican melody called St. Peter and this version is set to an African-American spiritual, hence its lovely pentatonic…

  • Effervescing Elephant (take 7)

    By Jove, I do believe I’m getting a real feel for this song, Effervescing Elephant, by Syd Barret, played and sung by me, xian. Needs keybs… Cecil? Help me dethickenize the mix! (Update: Compare with the much more straight-ahead if rushed and frightened sounding take six of this same tune. Need general category.)

  • Double-filtered uke

    Adding my secret special Jerry-shimmeree effect and that basic little uke feel track gets positively cosmic, man!

  • Fire on the Mountain, take 2, basic uke feel track

    There’s a lot you can do with a simple rhythm and some time. Here’s just a basic feel track on the ukulele. Tomorrow I’ll post a processed version of it, but the plain track is out there for anyone who wants to mess with it or loop it back in any way, etc.: Fire on…

  • Kidney Shaped Pool

    Been real busy writing and little time for recording lately but I did manage to capture myself singing along to Cake’s “Meanwhile Rick James” (without really knowing the words), so I mixed it up together with some string effects on some ridiculous single-note keyboard-mousing, yielding this whimsy, Kidney Shaped Pool (about 2 meg).

  • Goodnight, Irene (raw mix)

    Sometimes I live in the country Soometimes I live in the town Sometimes I live inside a bass amp And run Cecil’s organ through a classic rock guitar filter for that sludgy hard rawk sound. Laramie gave me the chord changes. I wrote ’em for Cecil. He played ’em on his electric pianer thing and…

  • Let's get Meta-phiz-sick-ill

    metaphizickillin’ great tase less filling when i’m chill’n dissing bob dylan* while my radiator’s illin’ *see remix nightmare (land of toil and bluff mix), see also Metaphysical home[sic] Blooz Nos. 12 and 35 if only because of the stoopit name. And plus that’s what this post is about to, almost forgot.

  • Effervescing Elephant (Take 6)

    Another reference track, a uke-and-voice take of EE. (Separate rhythm and vocal tracks available for anyone who wants to mess with them.)

  • The Yeah Yeah Song (Take 3)

    I’m starting to work out a bridge and even some finger-picking ideas for the verses of this song. I’m refining the lyrics and haev some thoughts for lyrics for the bridge as well. This take starts off as a straight rhythm-uke reading of the first verse and a clumsy finger-picked take of the second, before…

  • Postcartesian Metaphysical Home[sic] Blues

    Not knowing the real words to the Wesley-esque hymn transmitted to me through John Fahey’s Skip James-loving hands, I’ve made up some postcartesian lyrics of my own. Here’s a reference vocal take of all the verses.

  • No Outside

    Cecil found the chords underlying my vocal, and has developed them in a new direction. I am having trouble matching his time (swing, swing) but it’s fun trying on this take of No Outside.