Have and Hold

Twang! Ring! Pluck the string
And sing those blues in time
Slap! Crack! Now pass it back
You're so pretty it's a crime

C: And I want to travel south this year
Cuz girl, you know it gets so cold up here
But as long as we got each other
To have and to hold, we'll be alright
We'll be alright

Look at that bling! Now here's the thing
Those pearls sure do look nice
You don't need jewels to turn me the fool
Your love's my sweet, sweet spice

C2: And I want to get out west this year
Cuz there's just too many people here
But as long as we got each other
To have and to hold, we'll be alright

Music time!

So, I haven't posted in a while...partly because I haven't had much to talk about, and partly because I haven't had internet at my house for over a week. Now the internet is back, though, and there are things to talk about, so let's get to it.

First, Christmas was weird. It's the first Christmas that I've actually had a real job during, so I didn't have a "Christmas break." Definitely weird, but also very good. I got to spend time with both sides of my family, which was really great. Realizing that this may be my last Christmas in Michigan, not including visiting in the future, was another strange moment.

Second, I got a chance to hang out with my roommate Justin in Grand Rapids last night. While I was there, I met one of his friends who has a small recording studio in the basement of his house. When I saw each side of my family, both sides told me they want me to record an album before I go to Colorado. After meeting this guy in GR, I actually have a place to start. My goal is to record three albums, actually. One will be a farewell album for my family and friends in Michigan with some of my personal favorite songs and some goodbye-type songs. The second one will be a more fun album specifically for my Center Lake Bible Camp friends. It will have a bunch of parodies on it, and will be the only album of the three with any totally original songs on it...maybe up to three or four, depending on who I can get to collaborate with me on it. The third album will be a metal-to-acoustic one with a number of metal songs I've covered on the acoustic guitar. Several of the musical arrangements on this album will be my own, but none of the lyrics will be changed from the original songs.

I'm pretty stoked for this. The metal and camp albums are the most complete as things stand right now (other than actually recording them, of course). I still don't quite know what songs are going to be on the goodbye album, though. There are some ideas floating around my brain, but I need to develop a solid list and start practicing.

Several of my family members and the friends who are most closely associated with the songs on the albums will probably get these for free, but I think for the most part I'm going to sell them for cheap to try to partially fund my move to Colorado this summer (for which I may now have one or two travel companions...). This is what I'm thinking regarding prices:

$3 per album
$5 per album with all the lyrics and some song explanations
$7 for all that plus the chord charts for the songs
$10 for all that plus a personal message (and maybe some original artwork).

Yeah, we're gettin' deluxed in here.

Any thoughts, questions, comments, suggestions, requests, etc.? Comment below or send me an e-mail. If you don't already have it, my e-mail address is: butlerc777@gmail.com

Peace.

Soundtracks to my life

So, I don't do things like this very often, but some of these songs have stuck with me for a very long time, and I would like to get them out. They're songs that I've connected with very deeply, songs that have practically spoken the desires of my heart, and songs that tell a bit about who I am.

This song was one of the first to really get me, and it still does, even though it's been about seven years since I first heard it. Couldn't find a YouTube video of it at all. Sad.

"Scarecrow" ~Montgomery Gentry
http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=309099&ac=now

I guess these songs are too obscure (sigh, now I'm a hipster...especially since I have this on cassette), because I couldn't find a good video of the original, but this is a really good cover.

"Rainy Day People" ~Gordon Lightfoot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A78iB4Vq83E

This song puts into music and lyrics something that I can hardly describe...maybe you'll understand when you watch the video...maybe not.

"The Islander" ~Nightwish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzkX9DQjQVc&ob=av2n

Similar to the last one in a way...it's the video/music combination that gets me on this one. That grand journey, a feeling of upcoming destiny at the end, incapable of being stopped from reaching the end...yeah. I'm usually crying a little by the end of the video.

"Little Talks" ~Of Monsters and Men
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I&ob=av3e

Newer song, but still hit me when I heard it. Kind of describes how I feel right now in life.

"Gone" ~Third Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7EPLEgbDhI

This is one song I chose from a whole album which I could easily place in this list...lyrically and musically each song is just as good as the others. A friend bought the album for me in high school, and it's been my favorite album of all time since then. This is also the heavier side of this list...so it's going to be dramatically different from the last one, haha. I also posted the lyrics with it.

"Solace" ~Project 86
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtHHd0nioCc
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/project86/solace.html

While the last one is from my favorite album, this song is from my favorite band. God's used this song (and the band) to get me through some hard times. Love it, love them.

"Thorns" ~Demon Hunter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svuz2uLfULs

Finally, since I'm getting into favorites, I'll end with my favorite song of all time. I don't think it will need much of an explanation.

"Bittersweet Symphony" ~The Verve
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbvQ9g1bCYs

Peace.