Song of the Day #48: "Sexy"

Go here for gigs and music.
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For once, a song about liking yourself.

Please Do Not Climb on the Tree

Go here for gigs and music.
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Working in an office, I'm very familiar with websites like The Customer Is Not Always Right and PassiveAggressiveNotes.com. I saw this gem on the latter, and as the poster suggested it, obviously I needed to write this song.

I then sent it to PassiveAggressiveNotes.com, and they happily put it under the original post. Thank god.

Song of the Day #47: "Wasted"

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Was not actually wasted. Am not actually this sad.

Easter Is for Covers!

Go here for gigs and music.
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Of awesome songs that remind me of spring, of course.

Modest Mouse:


The Shins:


Magnetic Fields:


Iron & Wine:


Poe:

Song of the Day #46: Carey

Go here for gigs and music.
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Another one.



Lyrics:
My world is round on the outside
But your world is round on the inside
And my world has trains and buildings and people
And your world has blood worms and glass

I go to parties and concerts
And restaurants and bars and the ocean
And earn myself money and learn things but you
Don't go to work and you don't go to class

Carey, I can't tell if you like me

Song of the Day #45: Bullshit

Go here for gigs and music.
::

Hey guys. Hey. Hey. I think this is gonna start happening again, starting today.



Lyrics:
You're not the first to do me once
Then only wanna be my friend
And every time, I feel like crap
And have to start from scratch again
So then I try to problem-solve
And find and fix what's wrong with me
There's awful lots that I can see
It might be every part of me

So next I try pretending to
Be into doing people who
I wouldn't want to talk much to
And don't like the same things I do
But I'd be lying if I said
That bullshit doesn't make me sad
It doesn't matter who I do 'cause
In the end I'll end up feeling bad

Non-Live Videos: NSFW

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And here are some more videos. Careful, these are NOT safe for work--especially #2.

Live Videos!

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Hi guys, sorry sorry sorry sorry, I stepped out for some fresh air and got abducted and went on this three-month adventure, and it's a long story. Anyway, here are some videos!

Song of the Day #44: "Sickie"

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Today was my third day with this horrendous cold, so I stayed home from work and caught up on sleep lost being unable to breathe, and once I was able to get out of bed I wrote a new song, and then made a ton of videos.

44. Sickie
RIGHT CLICK SAVE AS

Lyrics
When I stay home sick
With a cold I
Drink soup like my
Mother told me
To and even
Though I'm older
Now I put a
Record on and
Lie pretending
I am in the
Sky and that my
Bed is like a
Cloud and when I
Play pretend I'm
Louder than I
Ought to be 'cause
Now I'm all grown
Up you see and
Also have a cold


The Sneaky Mister: "Sickie"


The Sneaky Mister: "Sleep"


The Sneaky Mister: "Pavilion"


The Sneaky Mister: "Dog"


The Sneaky Mister: "Friend"

Covers Week!

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I love doing pop covers. Don't judge. (The Pinback one isn't a pop cover, anyway; they're, like, some kind of awesome indie rock band.)


"Umbrella" by Rihanna


"Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga


"Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga


"June" by Pinback

These were videotaped in my living room. The background tiger's name is Ethan Berry, after one of my old professors.

Song of the Day #43: "Mom"

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My mom is awesome. I'm one of the few people I know who really enjoyed living with my parents after graduation. Now that's all over, and I'm back in Beverly where I belong, and I'm not ashamed to say I miss my mom.

43. Mom
RIGHT CLICK SAVE AS

Lyrics
Mom, I owe you so much money
And you still like me, that's so funny
Other mothers get so angry
But you understand me better than anybody

Song of the Day #42: "Time"

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Here is a video of a song called "Time." It's about 3 or 4 different people, some of whom are girls. Pronouns are stupid.

42. Time
RIGHT CLICK SAVE AS

Lyrics
My friend sings to me
When it's wake-up time
And I sing to him
When we make up time, time

How many songs do we
Sing so desperately
Trying hard to mend our friendship
He and I are loathe to end it

...And Video of "Plain" with Casio Beat

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Lo.

Video of "Friend" with Casio beat

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La!

Videos of "Rule," Both Versions

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Hey, so there are actually two versions of "Rule": the ukulele version, which is in a minor; and the piano version, which is in a-flat minor and has a huge modulation to c minor in the chorus. The chords throughout are somewhat different as well.

Since I got the Casio I've been practicing it mostly on ukulele with the Casio rock beat in the background--a 4/4 beat, and then the 3/4 ukulele part over it (there'll be video of that too, soon).





P.S. I just re-inherited a Fender practice amp I bought with Forest, which makes the solo live arrangement complete for larger spaces. And in under an hour I'm practicing for the two shows next weekend with an awesome group of old buddies: Chris Caputo on drums, Noah Davis on guitar, and a crazy combination of Bo Riley and Kris Oprisch on bass (actually, they're just each playing one of the shows, not that interesting). Bo also may be sitting in with baritone ukulele on "Plain," which will be an adventure.

ALSO, for those of you who live in the New York area, I'm playing solo at Goodbye Blue Monday in Brooklyn on May 15th with Liana Stillman, Land of Dreams (Ben Richter), and Deborah Says Play from the Netherlands. Check it outz0r.

Big Changes

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Hi everybody who don't read this, sorry, for awhile The Sneaky Mister got kinda hijacked by the band The Alphabet, which recently dissolved. Now thankfully Tha Mister is back in business, re-bequeathed with all its original songs, about to do its first live performances and release its first album, Is This a Thing? by June (hopefully; it's practically all recorded, but you should SEE my to-do list; it's in outline format, with sub-lists and everything).

"Song-a-Day" shall recommence beginning tomorrow. It's almost 1 a.m. and I can't play the pianee when everybody is a-sleeping.

If you're in the Columbus, Ohio area at the beginning of March, check me out on the 5th at Circus on High Street with Couch Forts (you can't not love a band called Couch Forts) for $5, and on the 6th with Jonathan Hape at Carabar for free.

Meanwhile here is a video I made:

The Alphabet -- "Prosthetic Face"

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Aaand here it is...



I like directing. Maybe I'll do it more often.

The Alphabet -- Upcoming Music Video

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So my band, recently renamed The Alphabet (from Pretty Balanced), is almost finished with our first-ever official music video and because it's an absolutely gorgeous day, I thought I'd share some stills.

Friend v1 Video

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This was made with a couple videos I had lying around from over the summer. With a new version of the song will come a new, cleaner, more professional video, in which I'll be megaphoning in my buddy's ear some.