Author: julien

Black on Baby Blue

I had to record this song again today, because yesterday I don’t feel like I was really myself. In fact, I was under the influence of someone else, a large man who I don’t know very well, but he was talking in my ear as I was singing, criticizing me, causing me to sing lower than I wanted to…

I guess art means different things to different people… to some it is about skill and refinement, to some it is about creativity and self-expression… For me, I think art is about self-knowledge- learning who you are by discovering which sounds and notes and color and words and shapes and sizes feel good to you and really resonate with your soul. I think the only way to measure beauty is to know what resonates with your soul and truly makes you happy.

Somethings, when we train ourselves to appreciate art and other “fine things,” I think we can train ourselves into idolizing things that our soul doesn’t even like.

Download MP3: Black on Baby Blue

Tags art appreciation, beauty, criticism, pretentiousness, self-knowledge

Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Music & Songs Nashville

Black on Baby Blue

A song I wrote in Nashville, about those horrible moments when you realize someone you love and depend on is a mass murderer. I was just reading an article about the wives of serial killers, and the author was saying “How could they not have known?” especially as the evidence started to pile up around them. But, as George Orwell said, “To see what is in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle.” For some reason, it is very hard to believe that someone you know well could be dangerous, or even that they could be deceiving you. Especially, when you feel powerless to change or escape the situation.

Download MP3: Black on Baby Blue

Tags betrayal, George Orwell, Nashville, serial killers, trust, wives

Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Los Angeles Music & Songs

If You Ain’t Mine

What I remember about this song is that right after I wrote it I found out my grandfather had just hung himself.

In terms of the song’s meaning, I do think we have a certain number of “chairs” in our life that are meant to be filled by certain people, and if these chairs are filled by “imposters”- people who have nothing to offer us, but just a desire to take- then we won’t have the open spaces to attract the people we really need.

Download MP3: If You Ain’t Mine

Tags antelopes, false friends, predators, relationships

Los Angeles Music & Songs Plants and the Emerald Kingdom

Ride You

Post author By julien
Post date January 19, 2014
1 Comment on Ride You

I wrote this song while living in L.A, soon after I started playing guitar and singing. While writing it, I was visualizing a pink triangle riding a green rectangle into outer space. Maybe it is a song about feeling intimidated moving through a sphere (the music scene) where everyone else had far more skill and experience than me, but where I still felt I had something to offer.

After performing this, a male friend of mine was driving me home and took off his shirt so I could “feel his arms. ” Gross. In real life, I have no urge to touch miscellaneous arms. In dreams though, nakedness symbolizes vulnerability and the exposure of one’s true self.

Sometimes skill is a form of clothing- with enough skill a person can seem very intelligent saying nothing.

Download MP3: Ride You

Tags arms, clothes, green rectangle, horses, nakedness, ride you, vulnerability

Los Angeles Music & Songs

Ain’t in the Mood

A song about a person who doesn’t want to donate blood to psychopathic sex predators while searching for true love.

I wrote it in L.A., when I still had a refreshing mist of anti-man, women’s studies sentiment clinging to me.

Download MP3: Ain’t in the Mood

Tags ain't in the mood, making love, sex predators, women's studies

Los Angeles Music & Songs Red, Soldiers, & Fire Uncategorized

Methodius’ Stand

I wrote this song while living in Los Angeles… I heard these tiny, little voices singing it in unison while I was sleeping, so I woke up & wrote it down, although it seemed like an odd little song, and not very rock n’ rolly.

Download MP3: Methodius’ Stand

Tags confederates, fairies, Los Angeles, tiny voices

Music & Songs Nashville Yellow, Gold, Kings, Fathers, and the Sun

Pink & Yellow Sky

Another song about the “gold time.” When I think of the color gold, I think of wisdom, benevolence, and justice. When the gold time comes, people will be seen for who they really are, good deeds will finally be rewarded, and nice guys will (maybe) finish first.

But, unfortunately, gold is omega of colors, the most stable in value but the slowest to accrue, so it will probably be a while before the gold time gets here. In fact, the gold time will probably be the very last period of time to exist. It may be a little like the Last Judgement- a period where the wheat gets separated from the chaff in preparation for eternity.

But that doesn’t mean a person needs to wait till the end of time to receive their just rewards- mini-gold times happen much more frequently. These are the times when the faith, hard work, and persistence of years finally pay off. Even these mini-gold times can take a little longer to arrive than we wish they would, but still, if you hang on long enough, you can be sure one will roll around eventually. And, since gold is the color of lasting value, the golden harvest you reap will stay with you forever.

Download MP3: Pink & Yellow Sky

Tags gold, Gold Time, good deeds, integrity, judgement day, persistence

Los Angeles Music & Songs Sky Blue, Ether, Flags, and Fairies

Never Be Alone

I remember writing this song while walking home from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Angeles. Obviously, L.A. is more than just a giant brothel, but for whatever reason, it does seem like relationships there take on more unsavory notes than they do in other places. Maybe due to Hollywood’s influence, maybe due to the fault lines, or maybe from the desert-like climate causing some of people’s emotions to evaporate. Personally, I think it is the latter, especially for white people who have less defense from the sun’s rays.

I think this is also the reason for L.A.’s greater interest in all things spiritual- the uplifting impact of the sun, which makes you feel that everything is wonderful and all things are possible- combined with water-loss from the dry air, which removes the heavy, sticky and complicated feelings that are the enemy of most religions.

Download MP3: Never Be Alone

Tags brothels, feelings, Los Angeles, spirituality, sun, Water

Los Angeles Music & Songs Red, Soldiers, & Fire

Fade Away

Hmmm… I don’t know what to say about this song. Generally, I write down a song exactly as I hear it, without questioning it’s meaning too much, because I have a lot of faith in the images that well up from our subconscious minds. In fact, I think the symbols of our minds are generally more literal than symbolic. They are our way of registering information we are not consciously aware of.

For example, we might say “He turned green with envy” and see that as a figure of speech, but what if the person did actually- on a subtle level- turn green due to envy? Or let’s say we have a dream in which a demon is chasing us; we may conclude that the demon symbolizes our horrible boss. But what if the boss is so horrible simply because he is possessed by a demon- the exact same demon we saw in our dream?

Download MP3: Fade Away

Tags demons, dreams, subconscious, symbols

Blue, Black, Silver, Water, Moons, Death & Ghosts Music & Songs Nashville The Odyssey

Telemachus’ Prelude

Another song from the Odyssey… one thing I love about the Odyssey is the theme of hope, and how long it is reasonable to keep hope alive. This book might suggest that people tend to give up hope prematurely, and are sometimes even encouraged to do so by those who would benefit from their defeat.

Download MP3: Telemachus’ Prelude

Tags hope, keep hope alive, Odyssey