52 song project » Podcast Feed

Thanks to Abe Hefter and producer Sarah Deshaies for having us on CJAD 800 AM in Montreal to talk about 52 song project. Here’s the audio of the interview, which took place the evening of December 30, 2011 right after they played our last song, It’s over, the end.

Friends, thanks for sticking with us throughout this journey. It’s been a long time since this stupid crazy thing began, and we’ve had a lot of fun. But all good things must come to an end, and this is the last 52 song project song. We hope you like it.

CHRIS: Steve and I had planned to get together this week and spend a few days working on an epic final recording to send this project out. Unfortunately, Steve got sick and wasn’t able to make it. The result is that I descended into my recording cave feeling a lot of pressure to create something special. We’d never planned the final song in advance, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.

I sat at my keyboard cycling through ideas. I started and rejected about five song attempts before settling on this one, then set to work on fleshing it out. This is the result.

I like that it clearly goes on too long at the end. The singer keeps saying “it’s over, it’s over” but refuses to let it finish. That’s kind of how we feel today. Happy and proud the project is finished, but sad, too. We’ll miss these songs, and this way of connecting with you every week.

Thanks again for listening and sharing. Maybe we’ll find ways to revisit these songs in 2012. Until then, here’s hoping you have a very happy New Year!

Itâ€s been a long time

Cuz I got what I need

Baby you look fine

Cuz I got what I need

Words and music: Chris Tindal

Well, it’s officially Christmas Eve Day, and I know I am late. I have battled with this song for the past 40 hours. I have complained before about technology, so I will bite my tongue now. The good news? I think I won this battle. I may even have won the war. Listen.

STEVE: This one started with tech battles, but I finally figured it out. By this afternoon I finally figured out how to connect my Digidesign 002 Rack with an evaluation copy of Reaper DAW. Yes, I know, first world problem.

But then, I had a lot of fun. While I am not necessarily going to miss the pressure of putting out a new song every week, I will miss the creative side and finally hearing a song as the finishing touches are put through. Apart from the songs that Chris and I have collaborated on, this one was my favourite to put together, though I am not sure why.

This observation begs the question: What shall 52 song project become in 2012?

On to the last one.

Wait, it’s only the moon on her face

Her eyes are exploding stars

Times change, oh well

I kiss your lips

It’s not too late

Wait, it’s far from the fears that you face

We’re here for only an instant

Times change, oh well

I kiss your lips

It’s not too late

Wait, take all of the time you will take

Words and Music: Steve Salt

Last week, Steve sang about Christmas. This week, Chris sings about advent. Sorry folks, there’s no escape. Also, in a 52 song project first, this week’s recording is taken from a live performance. We hope you enjoy it.

CHRIS: If you ever wonder how long we spend per song (or even if you don’t) I want to tell you that simply to open this file, edit the start and end points, save it and convert it into an mp3 took 30 minutes. This song project would have been a lot easier if I’d invested in a new computer.

Anyway, I can’t think of a worse way to mark the death of Christopher Hitchens than to share with you this song that I wrote at the request of my minister and performed in church last week. It’s based around Mark 1, which was the reading last week, and it was sandwiched between two short sermons. (You can listen to that full segment–the two sermons and the song–here.)

And, being late for work, that’s all I have to say about that.

Listen closely now

Listen closely now

Sheâ€s been calling in the wild

Listen closely now

Listen closely now

Sheâ€s been calling in the wild

Listen closely now

Words and Music: Chris Tindal

Tonight’s song started out with a talk with a good friend of mine. We talked about greed, love, the demise of humans… you know, the usual stuff. Being a spiritual man, my friend then proceeded to touch upon Christmas. I talked about life being a collection of human relations, and he reminded me of all the people who will go through Christmas, and many other days this year, alone. And so it was that Tom, a fictional and yet all too real character, appears in my head. This is the story of Tom’s Christmas.

STEVE: Listen, I am not trying to be a downer. I am just saying, let’s remember that Christmas is another day, that there are many around us that are alone, and that it is ok to reach out. Also, listen: it is just after 2 am on Friday morning, and I just enjoyed a wonderful festive dinner with my colleagues. I really want to make these last 4 songs really count, and I hope this one touches the heart, but forgive the amateur quality of the recording – my ProTools is still not up and running and, well sheesh, I am just zonked.

I am in agreement with you, Chris, let’s make the last couple count… I hope we can hang out soon to tackle the last couple of songs together! Crazy that this is almost over, another year is almost through. And I am really proud of our 52 songs. Something to hold on to!

Today’s song is simplistic and straight up. There is a percussion of beer bottles filled at various levels tuned to the required tones, there were two mics set up in the kitchen, and then we just went with it. The reverse audio is just hoopla in the hopes that you pay attention early on.

Off to bed… and be sure to say hello to Tom this year, whoever they are.

Tom’s Christmas was all alone

And his presence was his present and that’s all he had

So let’s not forget Tom, he’s no less or no more than us

Tom’s Christmas was all alone

Until tonight when you stopped and you asked how are you

So let’s all wish Tom a Merry Christmas and a good day

Words and music: Steve Salt

Sit down at your piano without any ideas. Start with Bennie and the Jets (or this Ben Folds song, doesn’t matter either way), then, casually glance at a tweet that places the hint of The Simpsons’ fake Michael Jackson “Lisa it’s your birthday” song in your head. Make up words that kinda hopefully sound cool and maybe mean something to someone. Finish writing and recording the whole thing before you notice any similarities in the melody to The Simpsons’ song. Finish with a polyphonic slow build to give the illusion of substance. Realize there are only four songs left and freak out.

CHRIS: In Cuba, apparently a “rum and coke” is called a Cuba Libre. The drink is also called that at a small Cuban restaurant in Toronto’s west end, where they cost $8 and go down quick. And then you get back from your friend’s birthday dinner all full of Cuban sovereignty juice and sit down to write and record a song and this is what you get.

I think “their words can’t hurt me anyway / at least that’s what they say” is a clever enough lyric. Not sure if there’s anything to the rest of it. But meh it’s fine.

Except seriously now, four songs left! Let’s make these the best four songs since Four Songs, amirite? (Steve, we need to find some time to get together and put some effort into this, yeah?)

God youâ€re back again

But their words canâ€t hurt me anyway

The messages we send

But their words canâ€t hurt me anyway

At least thatâ€s what they say

Wrapped up so tight we might break

Break my bones, break apart

Words and music: Chris Tindal

The last song that Steve wrote was very, very much out of the element of the 52sp. With little to no feedback on it, Steve has assumed that he should stick to the campfire songs. With a new recording rig, a new software setup and an urge to move to a warm country, here is song 47. Which, incidentally, means there are only 5 songs left. Oh, 6 if you count the infamous (and still absent) song 28. “Hello? Is anybody out there?”

STEVE: I can start speaking in first person after the intro paragraph, right? Right. Lately, I have been doing a lot of whining about not having a working recording setup. I have been traveling a fair amount to record at Chris’ house, but didn’t have time to this week. Thus, I knew I needed to come up with something lest Chris had to cover for me again.

Enter: my colleague Adam Bishop, who is an opera star and a gentleman. He has been recording his audition tapes using a neat little portable recording device, the Zoom H4n (yes, just one digit from being the notorious virus) and he lent me this. Plugged in a mic, a guitar, wrote a ditty about wanting (but not being able) to go somewhere different, and hit record.

I am hoping that the end of the project takes me into Chris’ locale so we can write one or two more songs together, and being a teacher with time off, this just might be the case. Here’s to song 47 – honestly can’t believe we are all still here.

Take me somewhere far

From streets all filled with blended noise

Somehow I’ve breathed 30 years

I know I’ve tried my best

Words and Music: Steve Salt

Imagine a big musical number. Now remove all of the instruments and professional singers, keeping only a piano and Chris. Now make sure that the piano playing is sloppy and that Chris has a sore throat, and that he started recording this with no idea where it was going, and was slightly drunk. Ok, go:

CHRIS: Yeah, I hated recording this song. First I did the piano part and finished it all off before I had any ideas for lyrics or even melody. And it was inflexible because of the tempo changes which I’d already programmed into the recording software and didn’t want to change.

Then I started in on the vocals but my computer was being a real jerk, so it would only let me record a phrase or two at a time. That’s pretty challenging with a song like this… you want to get into the mood and lose yourself in the vocal performance, but every few phrases you have to bend over and hit “record” again and start singing where you left off. And my throat was sore and my voice was getting weaker with every take. And I thought I’d be able to quantize the piano part but there were too many triplets so that wasn’t working either.

Anyway, given all that I thought I’d hate this but I end up liking it. I wish it had more voices and built with more instrumentation like strings and maybe some big booming drums. I like big booming drums. But that’s why they don’t call it 52 amazingly polished studio recordings project.

The difference is I love you

Would have played this different

But itâ€s too late to celebrate

Youâ€re calling out my weakness

You see through me, I plead “stay”

Itâ€s too late to celebrate

Iâ€d love to see you on your own you

But you had it and you lost it

You called out my weakness

Now I realize whatâ€s between us

Itâ€s too late to celebrate

Words and Music: Chris Tindal

For starters, we didn’t forget about the song, or release it late by accident. There is only one day, ever, that we can release a song at 11:11am on 11/11/11, and so I did it. Steve here. I am trying to make a new exclamation popular. If you are describing something very excitedly, say, “Sweet Doucet! That was something!”. And, in the case of this song, “Sweet Doucet! I have no idea what I just did!”. It is unlike anything else I have recorded. It is not a campfire song. In a recent e-mail, Chris Tindal called it “redicatastic”. I think that about sums it up.

STEVE: I went to Chris’ place to record this today, but unfortunately he wasn’t home. Work and all. I find when I am exposed to different resources for making music that different stuff comes out – this is certainly the case today. I started playing around with his keyboard and electric guitar, which I don’t have at home. The result is something I had no idea would come out.

I like the actual song and music better than the lyrics – I spent a whole lot of time on the music and even turned down the vocals at the end as I don’t think they are very strong (and I was starting to take too long recording). In our transcending “if we have time to record this again” theme, I hope Chris will record the vocals as I think this suits his voice better – which, have you noticed everyone, is getting awesome?!?

Anyway, it is off to bed for me! Getting late. Good night (morning!).

I’m not OK

All the problems

And while I won’t give up on you

Tonight! We party on Mars

Time to lay down

All the people

And while I won’t give up on you

Tonight! We party on Mars

Words and music: Steve Salt

This, our 9th last song (!!), is probably best described as a cross between Apples in Stereo and Foo Fighters (or maybe just Dave without the band). Let’s get to it.

CHRIS: Today, I will be brief with the text bits. Awhile back our friend Gordon requested a “Chris piano song,” and this is probably closest to what he had in mind. Over the course of this project I’ve noticed that I get the most positive feedback when I’m pushing the upper limits of my vocal range, so this song also attempts to do that. I had a hard time filling out the instrumentation… after I recorded the vocals and main piano part I wasn’t sure where to take it from there, and I”m not sure I did the best job at that, so it might not sound full enough. But it still turned out pretty ok, I think.

I could write you a love song

And I keep on thinking about

I die every time I see your disappointment

I could build you a new home

And I keep on thinking about

I die every time I see your disappointment

Words and music: Chris Tindal