Song of the Week: Burnin'

My Myspace page has 4 new songs from my upcoming solo release, Here's To The Lions.

More acoustic performances at Youtube.

Buy Atomsmasher downloads at Amazon. Or Atomsmasher downloads at iTunes.

Gone - Fall 1993. A dark little number featuring Brett on keys and me on everything else. Shaky but intriguing.

Number Three - Summer 2001. This demo was recorded on Protools Free. It features acoustic guitar, vocals and pencil & desk drums by me. This song was eventually re-recorded for All Around The World by Atomsmasher. This version is from the collection Hard Soup.

Save Me - Summer 1990. This is the Flat Stanley version, not the demo. This might have been the first song recorded for that album. Part of it refers to a neighbor I had at school who would constantly ask me to borrow five dollars. Every day, he'd ring the bell and ask for the money and every day I'd say no. I felt bad, but I'm not crazy. I lived in a building called Mark Twain Towers That was oddly loveable despite that it was a terrible dump. This version features the entire original lineup of Flat Stanley: Me on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Brett on keys, Drums by Ron, Dave Vernick on lead guitar, Jeff Werner on Bass and backups by Pam Reisfeld. From Bulldozer by Flat Stanley.

I Won't - Spring 1990. This original version is all me with backing vocals from Pam Reisfeld (who later became my wife). This song was frequently played in the early Tennessee Bird days, and was re-demoed prior to recording the first eponymous album, but did not make it to the actual CD. From the collection Shama-lama Ding-Dang.

Turn Out The Lights - Fall 1989. Very Julian Cope-like. So much so that when we would play it live, it would segue into a cover of his Crazy Farm Animal, one of my personal favorites. Dave Vernick contributed the lead guitar, and I played everything else. From the collection My Guilt.

B.F.C. - Fall 1991. Later recorded as a fast rock song with Atomsmasher, the original demo is slow and clunky, like a big fat cow would be. Features keyboards by Brett and some extra guitar stabs from Dave. From the collection Sugar.

Cartoon Violence - This full-on assault extols the virtues of a good ass-whupin'. No really, it does. This appeared on the now unavailable Tennessee Bird CD and is one of the noisiest things we've ever done. Always a big favorite live.

Flying - An acoustic, nonsensical love song from the deep, dark nineties. This originally appeared on the second, cassette-only Tennessee Bird release, Buckout Road. It features my second recorded instance of playing harmonica, later taken over by Brett live. I also play my trusty fretless bass on this track.

Dishonor - Another really old song that the band has always played for fun, but rarely done live and never on album. This version was recorded live to 8-track in my house a few years ago. Its resignation to being screwed over seems like it must have been written by another person at this point, as I am much more selfish and quick to place the blame on others now. Admirable traits indeed.

Tonight - This is a demo from 2000 that did not make it onto AATW. The finished song is slightly marred by silly mastering tricks, but I still kinda like it.

Whyler's Not Home - One of my personal favorites. A song that evolved instrumentally over a few years, originating in a rip-off of Whip in My Valise by Adam and the Ants. The lyrics are a string of ominous sounding non-sequiturs that get interrupted live by some very loud yard work going on next door while I was writing it. This is a solo acoustic version recorded in 1999. A new fully-realized version of this song is on Here's To The Lions.

Home - Yet another unused AATW demo. Known to the band as "The Mor-eye," it has a nice smooth sound for a demo. It's about dropping pretensions and getting back to the basics. A little too precious to actually release on CD; but here? What the hell!

All songs © 2008 Ed Erenberg