Basement Tapes Volume 4

Simply click on a song name to play the song, or right mouse click and select “save target as” to save to your computer.

Nosferatu

[recorded 9-21-05]

This improvisation sounds like it started with Josh’s really tasty riff at the beginning of the track.  It takes its subject matter and title from the incredibly scary 1921 German expressionist silent film version of Dracula directed by F. W. Murnau. 


Boob-a-thon in Bangkok

[recorded 10-2-05]

This comes from way back in early October 2005 and represents the moment the soon-to-be-hit song Boob-a-thon in Bangkok was first made up.  Interestingly, as I write this, we are only two days away from this song’s planned world premiere public performance.  [Note: That world premiere performance occurred at the Black Forest on January 21, 2006.]


Alien Smoke - Hi Skool Serial Killer

[recorded 10-28-05]

Another sample of how our rehearsals often go—kind of lazy and improvised.  The Alien Smoke portion of this track was made up on the spot, and the chords Carl played therein seemed to suggest Hi Skool Serial Killer.


Replace
[recorded 11-9-05]

How this song has haunted me lately. . . another beautifully crafted song from the Master of Rock.


Doggities

[recorded 11-9-05]

We sing songs about rats, whales, toads, and horses. . . so why not dogs?  And such a catchy, upbeat little tune!

Sex With A Horse

[recorded 11-14-05]

One of the funny aspects of the wonderful house party we played at Sherri and James’s place December 10th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRI!) was that a “horse” theme emerged in the titles of the two sets we played that night.  Obviously, horses have been on the band’s mind for awhile, as this track, improvised in rehearsal on the night of November 14th, shows.  God knows if we’ll ever play this live, so enjoy this WORLD EXCLUSIVE presentation of Sex with a Horse.  The track is rather long because there’s lots of stopping and starting with talking and beer drinking interspersed between bursts of music.  [Note: thanks in part to the persistance of the Master of Rock, this song will probably see the light of stage in the near future!]

Little Wrongs
[recorded 11-14-05]

Okay, here’s the story of this song: I wrote the lyrics during a visit to Eugene in1992 or so when I was still in college and living in Los Angeles.  Once I finished college and moved back up to the Seattle area in 1993, I came up with the chord progression (picked out as root notes on my bass) and the melody—this would have been in 1993 or ‘94.  The band I was in at the time, called (I shit you not) Too Young To Know, developed and played the song.  However, I was not yet singing onstage then, so Little Wrongs was performed as a kind of duet between our then lead singer, Clint, and Emily, who was Too Young To Know’s drummer and harmony vocalist.  Once that band disintegrated in late 1995, the song lay dormant and unplayed. . . until now. . .

Exploded

[recorded 11-14-05] 

A really thought-provoking improvised piece that contains “alot of good, practical advice.”


Imagine That
[recorded 11-14-05]

Imagine That is a Telepathic Dumpster classic that we are here rehearsing in preparation for opening our Nov. 26, 2005 Downtown Lounge show with it.  This song will always have a specialness for me because it was one of the first of Carl’s songs I ever learned to play, and along with “Falling Wall” is one of the earliest and most quintessential songs I can remember all four of us playing together as Telepathic Dumpster.

On The Beach

[recorded 11-20-05]

An incredibly infectious song about people having sex with a beached whale carcass, apparently under some kind of extraterrestrial duress.  Delightful!  Plus, check out the really great guitar playing by Carl, which eventually precipitates an omen.


Admixture
[recorded 12-2-05]

A great rehearsal run of this song as we prepare to play it as our set opener at the Black Forest on December 17, 2005.

Rat Food

[recorded 12-2-05]

A possible companion piece to “The Rat Song”?


Ass Police

[recorded 12-4-05]

A rough version of a new instrumental with a funny name. Actually, the chord progression for this piece is lifted from an old Too Young To Know song called Ending.
Toad Attack
[recorded 12-4-05]

A recent live concert favorite in a solid rehearsal version.  I think that in general Carl is very good at inventing catchy lyrics, and he really outdoes himself here: the phrase “Lick it off a toad’s back” is one of my all-time favorite things to sing and think about.


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