Ten mini-songs with a loose theme of gossip. I tried to use a lot of different instruments. Thanks to the Tuesday Night Music Club for some thematic suggestions.
1. Secondhand Intelligence - fake string quartet
2. Ink-Stained Hands - electric guitar & Ashbory bass
3. Eggplant Emoji - stylophone, soprano uke, lap dulcimer
4, Flushed - piano
5. Chicken Coop - ukulele bass, cigar box guitar
6. Inanimate - a capella
7. Demise? Surprise! - piano, alto recorder
8. Ecosystem - Kaossilator
9. Currency - electric piano
10. Instrumental outro - synth pads
First impressions are so deceiving
Reputational heavy breathing
Secondhand intelligence gets ahead of us
The bluster and the luster on the lust goes bust
Look at your hands
Your ink stained hands
Poison pen
Poison fruit
Low-hanging fruit of the grapevine
Eggplant emoji, don’t know what it means
Think I’ll make moussaka
Eggplant emoji, don’t know what it means
Think I’ll make parmigiana
Nobody in this town talks to each other
They use bathroom walls to write telephone numbers
People these days don’t call each other up
So when I heard your ringtone I was flushed
Everybody knows what you were doing in that chicken coop
And you sure as hell weren’t picking up the chicken poop
I’m upset at inanimate objects, I’m upset at inanimate things
(It’s a drag at work, I don’t want to be seen as a jerk
So I’ll just be passive-aggressive as hell)
You thought we were planning your demise
We were planning your birthday party
Gossip is an ecosystem
Lose your mystery
Spend your currency
For the illusion of intimacy
10 (instrumental: synth pads)
@deadhead Mar 2022
Oh my, I got hooked and couldn't stop laughing right from the first of the ten!!
I like the different takes on the theme. The different sides of gossip are well contrasted and the different instrumentation on each compliments that very well. And the lyrics really build nice imagery,
A couple standouts. I really like how 6 has multiple lyrics going on at once. I love that technique and I wish more songs would use it! I like the melody in 1, the instruments in 3. But still great all around!
#listeningskirmish
@vivalarayna Feb 2022
Lol, this turned out great, Nancy! Really love how you incorporated the chicken coop (it's a true story, folks!)
@majordanby Feb 2022
A mini opera overture. Such a great idea.
@elainedimasi Feb 2022
omg #2 sounds like a lost demo from Rickie Lee Jones!
and I adore Demise? Surprise!
@auditasum Feb 2022
I always love listening to people's take on this challenge. Ten tasty treats. "Think I’ll make moussaka" XD
@timfatchen Feb 2022
"luster on the lust go bust"...indeed...I'm at that age too. The eggplant is downright disturbing aurally. Love the 30s feel to nobody in this town. Clever stuff right through. Lose your mystery deserves development into a fullsize song, And a happy ending. Good stuff, oh Grand Mistress of the square piano!
@pooka Feb 2022
This could easily be ten different tracks! I like how you interpreted the theme(s).
@mikeskliar Feb 2022
wow wow and wow (times ten!) That first one of the ten (the string quartet thing) has a latter day elvis costello vibe, as do a few of the others, then it goes into tom waits territory, and all really creative and such fun! so many great lines, too...eggplants, mousaka, writing numbers on bathroom walls, chicken coops, ha! . quite the ten by ten!
@kayepeanyc Feb 2022
Wow. I loved the range of instruments and sounds and the intelligent lyrics, You've inspired me to do a 10x10 and experiment.
@cindyrella Feb 2022
This is interesting and great! Great mix of all the right stuff!
@dasbinky Feb 2022
Wow, this goes everywhere and I love it! Quick hits of fun melodies and sounds. Very very cool.
@henika Feb 2022
I love how creative and diverse this is. I am now inspired to try something like this myself. 10 mini songs!
@gubna Feb 2022
I like this. Had me laughing for a few of them. And the instrumental at the end reminds me of something. I also like how you listed the instrumentation separate from the lyrics. Great job!
@misterdemp Feb 2022
oooh the Eggplant one got me chuckling...the collection and genre switching overall keeps me going. Chicken coop one is hilarious! Love the instrumental gentle exit from the surreal ride.
@valeriecox Feb 2022
Fun, fun, fun! All the different instruments are wonderful. You really went all out on this. I love that eggplant one, the chicken coop one and gossip is an ecosytem.
@owl Feb 2022
This is great! Excellent variety of styles, super fun and it made me laugh a lot. My favorite parts are that twangy CBG in the chicken coop part, the eggplant emoji lyrics which made me giggle, the “passive-aggressive” line which was another unexpected laugh as I was listening, and the birthday party plot that I feel could be expanded into another while song. Excellent 10x10!
@kahlo2013 Feb 2022
Fantastic Nancy!!!! I love the quirkiness of the lyrics and the wide variety of instruments and styles! Your fun commentaries are slivers of insights sparkle with intrigue with music. Love them all but 1and 9 and the chicken coop one shout out to me!
@darcistrutt Feb 2022
This was a mix of humor and beauty. At times I laughed and other times I thought “wow”. Doing 10 related but different short pieces is a challenge to be sure!
@carleybaer Feb 2022
These are so great! Eggplant Emoji cracked me up. Chicken Coop was great, I found Inanimate to be extremely relatable, and Demise? Surprise! is just so cute and clever. This is inspiring me to finally tackle my own 10x10. Nice work!