113 - 17 Minutes 43 Seconds

Session built around three different beats all at 113 beats per minute - love the "Teenage Poetry" voice from the Triton Extreme[audio:1132.5.mp3| titles=113 |artists=music2work2]

I like to have this on and just dream, come up with new stuff - if I'm tackling a particular problem this helps me work through it.

Problem solving is one of the things that fascinates me - the idea of how do you do something if you have never done it before. The idea that as kids we are taught basic tools and techniques and then we string those together, build on them, to develop even more complex techniques which we can apply to new situations etc. What I get excited about is true innovation - that moment when you make a little leap into the unknown and come up with something truly new and unique - that is what this music is for.

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Lord, I'm Discouraged - The Hold Steady

I have fallen horribly in love with this song - it happens - the last time was with Handlebars by Flobots and yes I can ride my bike without them – thank you Ms. Balchen! There’s so much to love about this track – the presence of the initial guitar tone, the arrival of the keys but I guess most of all – it’s the Lyric.

[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaynekaye/3201389499/[/flickr] From Shayne Kaye on Flickr.

Kelli and I used to comment that a good song needs great music but a great song needs great lyric too. It was a roundabout way of saying that not everybody is a musician – not everybody thinks in melody or can manipulate sound to create a platform - but pretty much everyone can speak, can write, and can string words together. Everyone’s a songwriter and if you ain't got something to say - then best not say anything at all.

It is typically the music of a song that grabs my attention, but it is the lyric that allows me to fall in love. And it’s not necessarily the semantic – the meaning of the lyric – it’s how the whole thing fits together. Listen to Rihanna’s Dream written Umbrella – it won’t win a Nobel for literature but that whole “Ella, Ella” lick just feels so damn good in the track.

Finally there is the guitar solo – and it’s perfect - I suspect that God always had the electric guitar in mind when he was developing anguish.

You can:

Listen to Lord I'm Discouraged on youtube

Visit The Hold Steady's Website

Buy The Album - Stay Positive Other recommended cuts: Magazines and One For The Cutters – good stories all!