A Mostly Stellar Moment in 2018
I had a moment this past winter looking back on a solo record I put out on Kelp Records in 2003 and realized it had been 15 years since I released Decide To Stay And Swim.
The record only ever came out on CD (which I hope to change one day) so I popped a copy in a player and had a focused listen. I'd forgotten how much I liked the songs on this record and how much of an amazing sonic stamp Dave Draves put all over it.
During those past cold and dark months, I decided to revisit these songs and will release these new, acoustic, demo-like versions over the course of 2018.
So this will be part of an ongoing series.
Decide To Stay And Swim - Song #1: Mostly Stellar, Gunning Strong
The lead-off track starts with ambient studio sounds from Little Bullhorn, which gives the opener a raw and realistic feel. You can hear one of the isolation room doors closing and either Dave or myself walking and coughing around the live mics.
The odd title refers to a state of being cautiously optimistic, and was an attempt at a unique answer one might give to the ubiquitous and often rhetorical question "Hi, how's it going?" (Any Daniel Johnston fans out there?). Answer: "Mostly stellar, gunning strong" I know, no one ever replied that, ever, which was the point.
The 'her' in 'I've had these feelings about her all along' is a character that sometimes makes appearances in my songs (she's also in Slideshows, for instance). 'Jackie' is an actor and in this case, I'm part of a vignette in her scene observing the goings on with her publicist and immediate surroundings.
I remember liking the riff and the mini-story randomness to the song and thought it would be a nice album kick-off. I like the way Draves really used the room sounds of the guitar to help personalize the story as it unfolds and builds to a quick climax.
You can hear the original here on Bandcamp:
The new, acoustic version is here:
Find this on your fave streaming services like:
Lyrics:
Mostly stellar, gunning strong
I've had these feelings about her all along
And the wrath of her neighbour's son
Spilled out the back door and worried everyone
Jackie knew she could not call home
Her publicist had escaped to work the phones
Watched in envy, in the sun
It's undivided attention, modest one.