Recently finished Mark Lesseraux's Low Cool, which was recorded mainly on an Iphone. I tend to be attracted to things or situations similar to my own. I'm digging Low Cool because it has a lot of overdubbing, which is the main method of recording for me (I do one instrumental part at a time), and it was recorded not in a studio, but on an Iphone. If I were to film a movie, I'd try to look for movies that were filmed on handycams because I would use a handycam. I'm drawn to inspirations that are in the same battlefield as me, so to speak. I'm afraid of entering into untouched territory alone. It's guaranteed that someone has already ventured there at one point in history, but I need to have a reference that I can look back on at all times.

On another note, I love how specific Ellen's posts are. They're like Luke's posts about his paintings, which are very step-by-step. They seem less like a daily report, but more of a broken down walkthrough of the process to preserve each step. I like how Ellen is putting up rough demos of her songs, which is the proper thing to do. I should do the same, but I like the idea of presenting everything in one package. I don't want to spoil anything, but I know writing my thoughts down will help me through this project.

I've decided to break down my album.

The first song is, for now, called Grow Up. It's mainly about childhood, and I have two ideas of what the song should sound like. The first is something like Sunday Morning, with a distinct xylophone or celeste riff, which is similar to the music box sounds of kids' toys. It's a simple song, but I have a more acoustic style in mind, too. Something like Norwegian Wood or this song, Thinking About You by Radiohead. I like the idea of doing two takes of the acoustic guitar and doubletracking it, so it sounds like a duo of guitar players.

The second song is Satellite, which I've already recorded. I'm changing the chorus a bit because it was lacking and I'll move some parts around, too.

The third song is called Tony & Jen. At first, I had in mind something like Jeff Buckley's version of Lilac Wine, with a nice spanish-sounding nylon guitar intro, like the beginning of The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill. This was the last song written out of the six, and I'm sick of writing a standard song, which has its distinct structure of verse and chorus and melodies. This song'll be something between Venus In Furs, the Black Angel's Death Song, and Run Run Run, which are all by the VU. I'm thinking of not singing the verses, but speaking them. That's the way it'll begin. I want the song to grow more chaotic lyrically and sound-wise as the song progresses, but that's just an idea. I want to use Ellen's tambra on this one as well.

The fourth song is called My Silver Knight. It's about alien abduction, so I want this song to have a creepy vibe. I'm thinking electric guitars only on this one, and no acoustic. This one I don't have any direct influences or stuff that I'm stealing from. The chorus is quite nice on this, I think.

The fifth song is called Blue. It's my version of Bones by Radiohead. A lot of my songs are conceived while I'm listening to a particular song. Then, I'll write my own version with the tune of the song in mind. This time, it was Bones. I really wanted a solid drum track on this. I'll look through my loops on the drum machine, but the riff has a weird syncopatedness, so I think the drum machine is out the window. I might record an actual beat live, or just stick to tambourines and tom-toms. A lot of the parts in this song were stolen from different songs from the Bends, a Radiohead album.

The sixth and last song is called Good Morning Vietnam, which was the song I wrote on my way to getting a haircut. The inspiration for this one is Happiness Is A Warm Gun by the Beatles. This one was the first written out of the sixth, so I haven't been thinking about it for a while. I'll be referring back to Happiness for instrumental parts and such.