Held My Tongue (2009 Demos) – 6/30

This is post 6 of 30 featuring live, single-take demos of each of the 30 songs I’m considering for my upcoming studio album. Each potential album tune is accompanied by a B-Side, to make each post a virtual 45 single (remember those?).

This was definitely the hardest pair I’ve yet to tackle, but for different reasons – I know exactly what one of them should sound like, but I don’t have a clue about the other.

Song #228: Tattooed (live demo)
Never previously recorded

Last summer I found myself watching a very young, vaguely Christian rock band cover Death Cab For Cutie’s “Soul Meets Body.” I was fascinated by the lead singer – I felt like he was a flamboyant ambisexual rocker hiding beneath a godly image and a wedding ring. That’s where the chorus came from (hopefully not verbatim enough that Ben Gibbard needs to sue me). The rest of it came a little later, about having an affair with the love of your life.

Song #120: Colorblind (live demo)
Last recorded for Trio in November of 2001

You should get at least three songs out of every breakup. In 2001 I got nine. Does that mean the breakup was three times as severe as the norm? This song almost got discarded for having one too many metaphors, but Rabi’s continued attention has kept it around (and lead to this major update of the arrangement).

If you dig one (or both) of these songs, please leave a comment – your feedback will have a big effect on the songs I ultimately choose for the album.