The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “Memories, they can't be boughten” is from the song "Souvenirs”, by John Prine. Written by John Prine, it is Track 3 on the January 1972 album “Diamonds In The Rough”. Produced by Arif Mardin.
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
News from around the “biz”:
From ASCAP:
Royalties - Your PRO (Performing Rights Organization) collects royalties for your songs that are played “publicly” - that could mean other musicians playing your song(s) live in a bar or at a festival or something, or it could mean your recording or a cover of your own song played as “muzak” at a grocery store or as background music somewhere. (Ed. I knew we had crossed into an alternate timeline when I heard “And She Was” coming from the grocery store ceiling speakers…)
From Music Business Worldwide:
Tik Tok Getting Out Of The Music Business - Not the Spotify “killer” they thought it would be?
From Disc Makers:
What Are Royalties? - Some of this is a little confusing - for example a copyright for a “sound recording” is what it’s called - rather than a “master” - it’s the sound recording itself, not the media it’s on…Dunno, maybe that’s what the author meant in terms of the concept of “royalties” vs “copyright”, but that’s not well explained, still conveys enough to be a more or less reasonable guide.
Some Stuff
Today it’s a rant. I like Apple products. I’m switching between two Apple products writing this, an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. My rant today is not with the hardware, it works. My rant is with the OS software updates that screw up stuff that used to work really well, but now work much less effectively than before the update. For instance, the camera software has gotten much better over time, but is undercut by the (IMHO) absolutely stupid “upgrades” to the “Photos” app. I use an app called “Photo Studio” by a developer (Ed. individual or company? I dunno) called “Luni”. I use it because it works so much better than Apple’s Photos. Before the upgrade, I used Photos for the quick edit, cropping, adjusting some parameters, basic stuff - and did more advanced stuff in Photo Studio. No longer. Apple’s upgrade to Photos made simple, routine stuff harder to find (they moved shit around) and less intuitive - why? Because it looks like they essentially copied parts of Photo Studio and sort of jammed them into Photos. Maybe they bought Photo Studio and castrated it, then butchered and ate it. I dunno. The words, “less intuitive” would have been a horrible insult for an Apple software product just months ago. Now I use someone else’s original software that’s much more intuitive for stuff Apple can’t seem to get right. Do better, Apple.
Thank you for indulging me, thus endeth the rant….
Some Links For Today:
Today it’s Stuff About Playing!
Some from Carvin Audio:
Protect Your Hearing - Yeah, this is good advice!
Are Tube Amps Worth It - Well, are they? (Hint: Carvin will sell you as many as you want….)
Effective Rehearsals - How to make them go smoothly… or smoothlier?
Turn Down Your Amp? Heresy!! The sound guy might be right…just this once….
One from Disc Makers:
Pro Studio Recording - Things to think about before recording in a pro studio
ED. None of these result in compensation to me in any way, and I’m not endorsing any of them, but some of my readers may find them as interesting as I did…
For Today:
The last few week’s posts have been a bit more rock/pop -ish than I normally write that much about (though I’ll leave that to the better angels of your natures to validate…), so I felt like I needed to come home to the roots this week, and no one is more comfortable as “root and stock” (my, aren’t I full of literary references this week?) to me than Mr. John Prine, so his song is today’s…
…A Song To Play…
4/4 (common time), pretty fast 158 BPM (doesn’t feel like it plays that fast, and you don’t have to…just sayin’), Key of GMaj (mine and Mr. Prine’s favorite to write in, I think….). John Prine and Steve Goodman on guitars, John Prine vocals and Steve Goodman harmony vocals. (Ed. Steve Goodman is an interesting guy, passed in 1984 [leukemia] and was the writer of many famous songs. Link >Steve Goodman - Wikipedia< )
It’s a “three chord wonder”, using only the I (GMaj), the IV (CMaj ) and the V (DMaj), and the extended V chord, D[dominant]7. To me at least, this song demonstrates that a combination of simple chords; profound, heartfelt lyrics that allude to a commonly felt emotion like nostalgia; and an authentic, if somewhat gravelly, voice can add so much more to a great song than one that is overly orchestrated and has lyrics that are too repetitious. Just sayin’…
That first partial measure - a dotted half note, so it’s 3 beats - is probably technically a “pickup”, more formally known as an “anacrusis”. That assumes however (and it’s a BIG assumption!) that Chordify heard it correctly - sometimes it does….
In this chart, though, I don’t think it did - it may still be a pickup, but instead of one note held for 3 beats like the chart below indicates, I hear 3 quick beats - I would say eighth notes, but since this is a 4/4 song at a very fast tempo, writing them as quarter notes would work - listen at the very beginning of the intro and see if you hear it that way. In the end it’s the limitations of using Chordify as an actual chart. I could probably find one on Ultimate Guitar that’s correct, but this works as an example that may need some attention to ensure better results find their way into a more usable chart.
It’s a great song to play or practice using alternate bass fingerpicking, but if you’re just not into that, try flatpicking this one. Or do whatever you want (since you will anyway), although strumming or playing with your toes (not recommended) are about the only viable options you have left. Whatever, have fun!
A “pickup” is usually just one or two notes that serve the purpose of kinda “setting the stage” as a lead-in to the rest of the song. I’m not entirely sure that’s what Mr. Prine had in mind, but the 3 quick notes would serve the purpose of a pickup/anacrusis well.
Link: >“Anacrusis”< explained - it’s more formally known as an element of poetry, and sort of “borrowed” by musical notation. The link is a Wikipedia explanation of the term which is kinda interesting.
Chordify Link: >Souvenirs<
Lyrics
(From Genius) Link>Souvenirs<
[Verse 1]
All the snow has turned to water
Christmas days have come and gone
Broken toys and faded colors
Are all that's left to linger on
I hate graveyards and old pawn shops
For they always bring me tears
I can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my childhood souvenirs
[Chorus]
Memories, they can't be boughten
They can't be won at carnivals for free
Well it took me years to get those souvenirs
And I don't know how they slipped away from me
[Verse 2]
Broken hearts and dirty windows
Make life difficult to see
That's why last night and this mornin'
Always look the same to me
I hate reading old love letters
For they always bring me tears
I can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my sweetheart's souvenirs
[Chorus]
Memories, they can't be boughten
They can't be won at carnivals for free
Well it took me years to get those souvenirs
And I don't know how they slipped away from me
The “ME!” Section…..
What I’m Listening2: Link: >Souvenirs Of Future Past<
Summer’s end…
Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “>Long Road Back<”click on this link for streaming options, then scroll down for links (or just click on these links) to Amazon, Apple, Pandora, iTunes and even Spotify
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Disclaimer Section
This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI for any of the text that’s found here, things I link to (such as some images) might…
-Michael Acoustic
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It’s been a pretty great year so far!!!
This Week’s Conversation With Mika:
Me: “🎶 …Draw me like one of your French cats….🎶”
Mika: “Why are you singing that? It’s not even a song…”
Me: “Oh, no reason…”
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”