Happy New Year! I'm sure there's a Larry David rule about how many days it's permissible to greet people in this way, but I'll stick with it nonetheless.
Every year, I make the same New Year's resolutions: to improve my Spanish and write and release more songs. However, 11 months ago today, I became a father for the first time, so during the past twelve months, these endeavours have been more difficult than in previous years.
But, in the spirit of keeping at least one of these resolutions, I am, perhaps foolishly, going to attempt to write, record, and release one song every week throughout 2025.
These recordings are essentially going to be sketches of songs that I may or may not record more fully at a later date.
A few days ago, I signed up for Brian Eno's School of Song course. Getting songwriting tips and musical insights from the man who's worked on many of my favourite albums seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.
At the start of the course, Eno asked all the songwriters (there must have been hundreds, maybe thousands of us) to write a song from start to finish in twenty minutes. One of the school's founders, Blue, showed us two videos of landscapes from a moving train window. During the clips, Eno asked everyone to free-associate words into the chat feature of the SoS platform. Some songwriters wrote descriptive passages, some full lyrics, and others asked technical questions about the SoS site.
As the clock started ticking, my mind was blank, and I considered not attempting to complete the assignment. But then, I became interested in the chat, where a number of people were having meltdowns about the site's functionality, the speed at which the chat was rushing past, or whether we had to share our songs afterwards (I was having some of the same thoughts).
Three minutes before the timer ran out, I hurriedly wrote and recorded this fragmentary song, which I entitled 'Blue'1, using verbatim lyrics from the chat feature.
This seems impossible
Doc not available
How many people are here?
Blue
How much time is left?
Blue
How much time is left?
Blue
How much time is left?
Blue
Blue
Blue
Blue.
I'm currently in northeast Brazil, staying with my wife's family during the festive season. We were spending a few days in the mountains when I recorded this song, and the eerie high-pitched calls of the cicadas (so different from their European cousins) can be heard in the background of my phone recording. It's summer here. 32 degrees Celsius (90F) in the shade.
Anyway, this song is about as basic as it gets: just a nylon-stringed guitar, my voice, and the cicadas on backing vocals.
It was a fun exercise (thanks, Mr. Eno), and sharing 'Blue' in all its imperfection—first with the other SoS songwriters and now with you guys—is a great way to beat the usual demoitis that rears its head whenever I make a recording. I've written two and a half new songs since New Year's Day, so I am managing to keep one of my resolutions (so far).
Future songs will likely be longer and more complex, but let's start with something short and simple—after all, it's one week into what already looks like a rollercoaster of a year…
Speaking of which, keep an eye out for a new Orange Peel song called 'Idiot Son', which is coming out soon.
Until then, I hope the new year brings you health and happiness. Oh, and a happy 11-month anniversary to little Maia.
James xx.
Joni Mitchell’s 1970 song 'Blue' is superior in every way. I mean, these opening lines, come on!
Blue
Songs are like tattoos
You know I've been to sea before
Crown and anchor me
Or let me sail away
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