Monday, March 28, 2011

So many songs

It's no secret that The Big City Nights Band have lots and lots of songs. Some have said to me that I don't self edit enough, but I don't really think that's true. For our first record, I recorded at least 30 songs over a year and a half, and only 17 made it to the final tracklist. For A Steamroller Named Desire, again, I had over 30 songs and only 14 made it. On our third record I made a bit of a mistake and put absolutely everything on there, 26 tracks, which resulted in our sloppiest record by far. For the next one we swung back completely the other way and put 12 songs on Carry Me Ontario, which is our leanest record yet. I judiciously edited each record except for Complete Lung Champions and Gimme Gardens, for better or worse. My least favourite of our record is without a doubt Under The Overpass. It was done far too quickly (but not in the usual good way) and I was really fucked up at the time. I really like the first four songs a lot, but everything else is just EP material. I like the new one a lot, but I'm sure over time it'll fade a bit too.
It's definitely not as exciting as it used to be, although, paradoxically, I feel way more compelled to write songs now then I did in 2007. With that first record I used to toss and turn all night considering different tracklistings and guitar tones and lyrics. When it was finally finished I listened to it everyday for months. I loved it. The same goes for the second record. I was (and still am) immensely proud of that thing. These days the thrill doesn't last as long. I guess that's because we make new music so frequently.
Annnyway I'm just thinking out loud. I do think we'll do another record this summer, the breezy Dancing Days, but I think I'm running out of decent song ideas, or retreading old ground with less enthusiasm. I'm like a jaded washed-up rock star without the money or fans.
I've been thinking more and more about ending the band lately, either as a way of getting on with things and maybe starting a band that really makes a go of it, or as a dramatic way of getting people to shell out cash for a Best Of, which I've already been thinking about. I'd arrange it chronologically because I always liked compilations better that way; you can hear the growth or decay. Because I'm putting off writing an essay, here's the tracklisting as it would stand today:

 01 Bicycle Man
 02 Wedding Day
 03 Mathematics
 04 Let's Go To Hell
 05 Horseshoes
 06 Night Needles
 07 Champs
 08 Reena
 09 Skeleton Man
 10 That Evil Beat
 11 Happy Man
 12 Memory Motel
 13 If Cold Is Coming, Football!
 14 Vegetable Bros
 15 Rainy River, ON
 16 Beach Music
 17 Lump In My Throat
 18 Like A Song
 19 As Near As Now
 20 Under The Overpass
 21 Lasagna Sunrise
 22 Ever Say Ever
 23 Come Back 2 Me
 24 Keyboard Nights (Me On The Way)
 25 Hey Thirsty!

No comments:

Post a Comment