I made this video for one of my “band’s” songs. The video features public domain clips from the Preminger Archives, as well as footage I shot using a Nikon Coolpix. The video was edited in Windows Movie Maker.
Archive for the 'The Pluto Tapes' Category
17
Feb
09
Music and Audio (Feb. 09)
THE PLUTO TAPESThe Pluto Tapes is my one man indie-pop “band.” I play all the instruments, write all the parts, and record all the songs. Below are some of the songs I’m particularly proud of, in MP3 format.
(All songs recorded with Steinberg Cubase. )
“Guernica”
The most traditionally pop song here – it’s very U2/Cure ish. Instantly catchy. ”Vinyliser” plug-in used to give the lead-in a strange, “old Paris” feel.
“Fireflies”
A newer song, probably the one that sounds most like a full band is playing. It’s my attempt at a “When The Levee Breaks”/”Pure Morning” esque drone-stomp. Compressed industrial sounding drums (SSL compressor plug-in), layered vocal parts… it’s very, very cool.
The Pluto Tapes – Fireflies.mp3
“Henry Spencer X”
Another relatively new tune – it’s heavily influenced by bands like Reverend Glasseye and his Wooden Legs and Firewater. The lyrics are an homage to Eraserhead. Drum track and horn riff recorded with Propellerhead Reason.
OTHER
“Esme The Powerful”
This is my attempt at writing theme music. Esme is a cartoon character my girlfriend and I came up with – she’s a slightly misanthropic seven year old witch who hasn’t quite figured out how to control her powers yet. I wrote this instrumental piece using Propellerhead Reason.
The Post-Meridian Radio Players is a Somerville, MA based troupe that performs live radio drama. Every year, at Halloween, they perform a show called Tomes Of Terror, which is… well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Three Halloween themed radio shows, each creepier than the last. It’s a lot of work, and it’s a lot of fun.
My friend Neil Marsh, the founder and director of the group, commissioned me to compose a soundtrack for one of last year’s pieces, an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. The performance honored the passing of its author, Len Peterson, the producer of the Canadian radio series Nightfall. Mr. Peterson would frequently use slightly anachronistic music in his plays, so Neil wanted something that was at once creepy, catchy, modern, and old-sounding.
This is what I came up with: it’s called “Blue Eye”, and there are two versions.
Version One (as heard during the performance) is an instrumental piece – it’s atmospheric, and full of Irish drums (gotta get that heartbeat/”watch wrapped in cotton” effect). You can hear it here.
Blue Eye (Post-Meridian Mix) 1.mp3
Version Two is the “rock” mix – it has lyrics, and it’s more of a standard modern-rock song (think Nine Inch Nails meets Foo Fighters). You can hear that one here.
