FAWM

that is, February Album Writing Month. there's a website, www.fawm.org or something.

basically, you write an album, in a month. 14 songs. that's one song every two days.

it's the kind of bizzle that comes to Kwlies naturally, so i dunno if anyone else here would actually bother participating, but because i want to Up my Songwriting Chops, i'm gonna do it. it will be fun.

i'm gonna try and make it different to my normal songwriting, by actually recording them all, so they have to sound how i want them to without recourse to music in my head. and there will be know songs about relationships, cos all my songs are about relationships. and each song will be a different key, because most of my songs ever are in the same 2 or 3 keys. i just made these rules up, but i think i'll stick to them now.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

serious songs? i suck at serious songs, there isn't a chance i could write 14 in a month. thats a good idea though.

and a different key for every song mixes it up hardcore.

could i use ideas from outside of february but just use FAWM to develop them into songs?

_________________
the original fashion victim

it would be wicked if some goods bands took part.

_________________
the original fashion victim

you can use ideas outside of Feb. apparently, tyhe Fawmers guideline is if the song is less than 50% done before feb, it counts. i don't think it matters much, its just a fun way to get the writing going. i'm gonna try and do serious, cos i'm gonna do a concept album! just because that'll make writing the lyrics so much easier. it's about a man who goes to a cinema and watches a film of himself, and he hates the main character, then he realizes it's him, and is Gutted. then he makes his own version of the film. or something.

lyrics are the main differnetiator between serious and non-serious. you could do instrumental songs if you don't wanna take on serious lyrics.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

Question:

i can only do 4 tracks on my ickle Zoombox. i'd like to do many more. i just downloaded Audacity again. is there an easy way i can do many tracks somehow now? will it involve listening to stuff on audacity while recording on the Zoombox, and/or tricky aligning of tracks?

et cet.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

is there a metronome on your zoom box? if you're ok with playing along to a click in headphones then setting the same click time in audacity it will make lining it all up way easier. but then as you'll have to be listening to the click through headphones you wont be able to listen to the computer whilst recording, so you could just keep one basic guide track one one channel of the zoom then keep ferrying the other 3 tracks over to audacity as and when

_________________
MEGA
LOLZ
! ! !

i've started this now. two songs in... so it might turn out to be 14 songs in a week, or something. but i doubt it.

http://fawm.org/fawmers/benarol/

you can hear them there, but.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

how are you getting on ben?

_________________
the original fashion victim

done six songs. the last couple have been a bit frustrating, but i've had a couple of days off now, so it should be fun again. i'm really really bad at recording. this guy does a daily podcast, when he plays three or four FAWM songs, and he chose one of mine yesterday!

i made a mix CD of some of my favourite FAWM-songs, there's some incredibly talented people on there.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

skills on the podcast. big skills.

_________________
the original fashion victim

woot! just finished. though one of my songs was a collaboration, but that still counts, apparently. pretty much awesome fun. phil, you're getting a copy whether you like it or not. sorry. that's just the way it is.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

i'd love a copy, that is not bad news. well done man, you have some skills.

_________________
the original fashion victim

the tracks are:
1. The Merits Of Letting Him Sleep (podcasted song)
2. Voices, Adverts
3. He's A Filter
4. Ego Balloon (i hate this song, but it could have be so good. might re-record it one day)
5. Fickle Bricks (ben is losing his voice...)
6. Amnesia (...and will to live.)
7. Facts Are Only Facts
(ben gives up on concept album, without actually realising)
8. God's House (probably won't be on the cd.)
9. This Year
10. Why Do You Try So Hard To Break Your Own Heart? (ben takes up the One-Chord-For-Majority-Of-Song-Challenge)
11. I Don't Miss Anybody (ben running out of time, decides to completely improvise a one-take song.)
12. Almost, with Roxanne Barrett (ben running out of words, so sings somebody elses.)
13. Past The Constant Flicker
14! Dear Bunch Of Cells (falsetto happens.)

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

wicked. i like those song titles. you're becoming quite the singer/songwriter. is this something you could actually take up outside of fawm? i should get into writing a few simple songs for the sake of songwriting really.

_________________
the original fashion victim

yeah, i want to keep writing songies. there's a FAWM off-season thing called 50/90, in the summer, where you write 50 songs in 90 days. which sounds really hard, actually, but i might get involved. i'm starting to (occasionally) write songs that i'm happyish with, which is such a good feeling.

i'm gonna have a look at some pre-FAWM stuff in a bit, and see what i think of it now, maybe rewrite some of it.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

wow, 50/90 sounds hardcore. would be wicked to do though. i might see if i can get some skills by then and have a go, seeing as i have a massive summer.

_________________
the original fashion victim

do it do it do it do it pleeeeaaaassseee. i'd love that. i doubt i'd complete the 50 songs, unless i end up doing a whole bunch of norfcore at the end to stop myself going insane, but it'll be awesome anyway.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

and if you do do it, you should get really involved in the community, because that makes the whole thing the most fun, and you'll absolutely love it, regardless.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

i'm really looking forward to a month or so, when i've forgotten loads about all my FAWM songs, and i'll decide to give it a listen. and my face will go through every emoticon available on this forum in the space of however long the album is. *

fun times.

*edit: 38 minutes. dang.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.

i've just finished vaguely rewriting and recording all my pre-FAWM tunes, most of them quite old. under the general moniker A Salute To No Regrets.

1. Single Helix
2. Same Old You
3. Playthings
4. Those Wings
5. Old Wounds
6. You Know Me Better
7. The Seventh Day
8. Room For One
9. Something To Smile About
10. Son Of Issachar
11. A Salute To No Regrets

was a pretty fun experience. i was hoping it would improve my recording skills, but if anything it's done the opposite. it's definitely improved my re-write skills, though, so my skill count is unchanged.

_________________
i'm not detecting cheese. i'm detecting rad.