…and – if you are – you don’t get our social media updates, the band I’m in with my friend Katy is reasonably active at the mo. We’re rehearsing for some shows in the summer and should be recording album #2 around the same time.
Anyway, all the “how-to” manuals tell us to keep putting stuff out and interacting with our audience, so we’ve decided to start doing little regular video captures of songs in rehearsal. Here’s the first one, from last night. It includes a new song.
As you were.
–>
That’s very cool!!
Thanks! 🙂
That reminds me… I bought your albums (dowloads) last year, but then my computer crashed shortly after (no connection implied!)
As I hadn’t burned copies or signed up I’ll have to buy them again, so could you please post a handy link again?
Hi Locust – that’s a kind thought but actually our whole back catalogue is temporarily free in the run up to album 2 in any case. Knock yourself out!
http://disappointmentchoir.bandcamp.com
Hooray!
I’d no idea how good you were on keys, Bob! Dare I ask, are you channelling a bit of ‘The Kids Are Alright’ in the third song?
Oh thanks, but I’m not much on the ivories really, Colin! Technically very basic but I know my harmony theory well enough to be able to do what I need to do!
As for TKAA – I don’t think consciously, but that song’s main impetus came from Katy, so I’ll ask her!
Well, I’d say you certainly do know your harmonies – very deft piano + voice progressions if I may say so! The vocal blend reminded me just a little of Gregson & Collister in places, but I guess you’re going more for an Aztec Camera/indie sort of thing?
It was the refrain in the last track, it brought to mind the ascending bit in TKAA – from 0.16 here:
I know what you mean now I hear it! Thanks v much for the kind words, old chap 🙂
Hey, there’s only so many notes in the world! I can STILL recall the melody to ‘Pretty Good Christmas’ having only heard it three or four times whenever you first posted it – that’s got to be a good sign, mate!
This material is crying out for a blues-wailin’ harmonica solo.
And a Beano Album style string bendin’ killer blues guitar solo.
Those things feature on all three songs but we accidentally shut the connecting doors between us and where the harp and guitar players were standing. The five heavy felt-lined steel doors.
That reminds me of Stan Freberg’s spoof version of Banana Boat.
I come tru da window.
I’m a fan. I’ll watch this properly later.
I hope to get to one of the shows this year.
🙂
Top stuff, all sounding great.
Now all you need is a dubbed death metal version for ver kids and you’ll be good to go.
Ha! It’s in the works 😉
Top stuff, guys! I’d also picked up on the TKAA thing, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about 🙂
Really great to see some new stuff, as well as a couple of favourite “oldies”!
Thanks Mini! If Elastica can steal No More Heroes in its entirety for Waking Up (which I still love), I don’t mind us nicking a bar or two of orrible oo. 😉
Elastica’s ‘Connection’ owed so much to Wire, that they settled out of court.
Beautiful. I really enjoyed that. Nice one 🙂
Om Shanti.
Thanks Rob! 🙂
If you can push the Transit van to Cambridgeshire on a Saturday, there might be a gig going. I’ve just been told by Andrew the booking man that we’ve got Shield Patterns coming and he’s booking more dates into the diary.
We could certainly do that! disappointmentchoir at the old Gmail if you fancy pinging me some contact details! Thanks Steve!
Well, we’ve all seen the clip and have duly expressed our appreciation, but I’m sure what Bob is fishing for here is – too damn polite to come right out and say it – what does this music need? What’s it lacking? Suggestions have already been posted for a blueswailin’ harmonica/and/or/guitar solo, but we’re all experienced music lovers here and I’m sure there are many other ways we can help Bob save these songs from the backwaters of the bonus disc in the box set!
I’ll start this ball rolling with the following:
1 More cowbell!
I don’t think Bob’s a guy for what one might say is ‘instrumental content’. One has to respect that – though I do feel there is room for it, it would let the lyrical content breathe a little more.
But I don’t believe there are any amongst us – nay, not even Conchmeister, Junior or HP – who could convince Bob that a blueswailing harmonica break is the way to go. Now, if FauxGeordie were here…
My thoughts as to what’s needed:
1. Repeated and seemingly random use of the “Ah yeah” vocal sample perhaps best exemplified by Timmy Mallett and Bombalurina’s 1990 megahit “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”.
2. Autotune all over the vocals. In fact, the vocals could also do with a bit of freshening up in general. I’d suggest borrowing the classic Britney Spears hiccup, and maybe melding it with some of the weird noises Michael Jackson used to make in between words. But all autotuned.
3. Two words: Vuvuzela solo. I can’t be the only one thinking it.
4. Guest rap verse by deramdaze, with loads of scatting.
5. Mumfords-style hoedown in the middle of at least one of the songs.
6. A song called “They Hate You And They Want To Destroy You”, with lyrics by FauxGeordie.
You’ll be saying next that Bob needs to track down that guy in the Fugees to lugubriously intone ‘one time… two time…’ over everything, for no good reason.
Ah, Jean Wyclef. Everyone’s favourite Cornish rapping detective.
Very good!
I would pay all of the monies to hear deramdaze rapping…
He would have to scrupulously avoid words coined after 1968, or thereabouts.
Keytar solo
At least one song should have a “Slight Return” version
Stylofone workout.
A few more suggestions:
Jools giving it some boogie woogie
Ginger Baker drum solo
PJ and Bjork for backing singers
More seriously, the band should do an Ian Stewart and sack the speccy bloke on keyboards or, at least, hide him behind the amps.
Hi.
Just to say, I’ve moved this post from the main blog to the noticeboard.
Cheers, Hx
Nice work, Team Disappointment!
I’ve said it before, but there’s a touch of the Magnetic Fields about your work. In a good way.