One, two, three, shoot

So, we talked about this one beforehand. Drew had the chord changes and melody first, and the idea that it should be a crime story. Then we decided that it should be that the story and the song each tell a piece of what went down, so that if you listen to both, you get a clearer sense of what happened than you would otherwise. Then Drew wrote the song and sent a copy of it to me, and I was a little intimidated. So I sat down and wrote the story, trying hard not to remember too much about the song in the process. The result is pleasing to us; we like the happy accident that the female member of the crime team ends up being sort of peripheral but also kind of important. Like the song and the story could have been written about her. Or, really, any of them. Except that only one of them could be named Mickey Mullet.

Anyway, hope you like this one.

—Brian

Click here for Return of the Mullet

My friend, media maven Elizabeth Terry, suggested “Elevator, Barcelona” back in May. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? So Brian wrote a story. After our close collaboration on “I Woke Up In Utica,” I wanted a more tenuous connection between song and story this time. So I read it once, probably while hanging drywall and listening to Fishbone to kept it from sinking in too far. Then I waited a few weeks for good measure.

Three months later I sent the recording to Brian. I left an instrumental verse in there so he could record a fiddle solo, because I think every song should have a fiddle solo. Brian sometimes disagrees, and in this case he suggested we ask our friend Brian Wecht to add an organ solo instead. In addition to being an outstanding keyboard player, this other Brian is a postdoc-collecting theoretical physicist and one half of Ninja Sex Party, a fantastic video/music/pan-tainment duo that must be experienced. Thanks, Ninja Brian!

Keep those title suggestions coming, and stay tuned for our next collaboration, “Return of the Mullet.” With baited breath. Get it?

—Drew

Click here for Elevator, Barcelona

This one took a while, but it was worth it.

Click here for I Woke Up In Utica

The title “Hyenas Are Born Fighting,” from an acquaintance of Drew’s, was irresistible, and apparently, something about the title resulted in both of us getting as verbose as we’re probably going to get in this project. The idea of listening to the song, reading the story at the same time, and comprehending anything is pretty laughable. Drew was also of the opinion that the song and the story diverged thematically more than the last ones did. I’m not so sure—certainly the song and story seem to have the same energy level, and there’s something to be said for that. What do you think?

—Brian

Click here for Hyenas Are Born Fighting

This title comes from an Episcopal priest in Connecticut.  If he/she wants credit for it, he/she knows where to find me.  Till then, I’ll work on the assumption that said priest doesn’t necessarily want everything she/he says to be available to 6.7 billion people.

—Drew

Click here for Strategic Oblivion

This all started because I made a joke about copyediting on Facebook. I said, “‘Bernanke Forecasts Long Period of Low Interest Rates’ is … kind of like saying ‘God Forecasts Tornadoes.’” Ha, said some. But then Amy Smith Muise said, “‘God Forecasts Tornadoes’ would be a good title in just about any genre.” And I said, without thinking all that much about it, “The song would be epic. Let’s get Drew on that pronto.”

But then I thought more about it, and realized just how right Amy Smith Muise was. So I emailed Drew and asked if he’d write a song called “God Forecasts Tornadoes,” and I’d write a story with the same title. Then, we’d put them side by side and see what it was like to listen to the song and read the story at the same time.

Drew finished a draft of the song first, just him playing piano and singing. The song was good enough, though, that I realized I needed to actually write a decent story. So I tried. This is the result.

Don’t read too fast.

—Brian

Click here for God Forecasts Tornadoes