I know that the subject of the Lord comes up in a context like this and can make people feel uncomfortable. But I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I personally don't really believe that the Bible is a literal book of history, but I also believe that we don't know anything about how the universe works or who or why or what we are. Sometimes I'll think of a prayer or a hymn and put it in the context of my own philosophy. I find when I do this, especially with some of the older hymns, it really opens a door for me to find comfort in the world. I feel it the strongest with the Elvis gospel song "Known only to Him." The song is message to the Christian who is asking the reason for their suffering. The reply is that we will never know the reasons for God's action but never the less he is a constant and in control. I believe it is the same with the universe, I may never know the great hidden secrets of the universe but I know that it is bigger than me and I know that it will go on long after I'm gone. When I listen to the original recording I am really moved by the thought of a church choir singing this message, dealing with one of the oldest human dilemmas of being alive and not really being sure why. I think the great thing about this song is that it is open enough to put your own philosophy and your own story into it and hopefully find your own comfort in the words.

known only to him

It Won't Be Easy

It's been six months since my last post and a lot has changed. We toured the whole country twice and now I'm back down in Southern California. I've got a lot of new songs to put up for you guys and I'm working on some new releases as well. This song originally arranged with synths and drums with kind of an eighties vibe, but for the west coast leg of our last tour we did an acoustic version which we recorded and added some horns. Anyways we only used one mic so it's not the best quality but I am excited to share it with you.

the pact

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William Roberts's location@10:45am,11/15
1501 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130, New Orleans, LA
http://m.google.com/u/m/xNVTlv

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"I have you I can sing to"

So you just had a good day, a really really good day, you can't even say why really, you just felt super good and it was tight. Now you're trying to tell your friend about your really good day and how good it made you feel and how tight it was and you're friend is not interested, they're not even really listening to you. But the day was so good that you keep trying to tell them about it, and the more you go into it the less they care and the more unimportant it seems. You don't really get mad because you're still feeling good from your really good day, but now your excitement can't get out, you want it to but because no one cares, it can't and it turns back in on itself. Sometimes it dies right there, but sometimes, some really special times, it keeps growing inward and resonates and you keep it in a special place, and you realize that it is important, that it actually is the most important thing there is because it's yours.

blueberry hill

"somebody whispers"

I spent the bulk of this past February working trying to save up enough money to leave Long Beach. I was planning to take a two month long desert trip and then to meet up with my friends at the Brave house in Portland. I love Long Beach and I always have, but everyone at some point I feel, has to move on, has to move away. For me it wasn't so much that there is a lot of the world to see and I wanted to see it, it was that there was a lot more in myself that needed to be explored against a different backdrop. And the excitement of leaving was only rivaled by the sadness of it. I started taking longer drives and longer drives to and from work, and most of the time I found myself parked at the beach, listening to the sight below and letting my mind wander. One day in particular I remember sitting in my car and watching these giant-ass black-ass storm clouds coming from the west and looking at the cityscape turning all grey and sad, in a way it was nice almost, like something or someone else was pushing me away too. I remember Mike talking to me about making a movie about moving away as a metaphor for dying. The preparation, the things you wanted to get done and didn't, and uncertainty of your destination. In a way that's what I wanted to come through in this song, at the end of my life, knowing that it's almost over and that the world won't miss a beat in my passing. Understanding that I have to leave and still part of me not wanting to.

L.B.C

"I can hear you through the whine"

My uncle is one of the few people left in the the world without access to the internet, and so when he wanted to make a mix for a lady friend of his he asked me to help/do it for him. He gave me a list of about thirty or forty songs, most of them were either classic rock or some kind of crazy love ballad. I didn't really enjoy making it, except that I got to hear Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell. It's one of the few songs I remember my dad singing and hearing it now the line "I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time" really stuck out to me. Thinking of my dad singing it to whatever mystery woman was enchanting him at the time made me really happy. So I decided to sample the opening orchestral part. I think you'll agree it has kind of a Jens Lekman vibe. I thought since I was starting this blog that I would try to do some new things with the songs as excercises and share them with you. On this one I wanted to work on the vocal phrasing, not just repeating the same melody throughout the verses, but trying to make it a little more dynamic. Also I wanted to try and mixing the song a little differently, most of the time when I mix something everything is doubled left and right and that's why it sounds like shit. For the lyrics of this song, I wanted to write a love song without it being a straight up love song. It's not to one person in particular, it's to everyone. Just to say, I'd be totally fucked without you.

don't let me go

"You think I'd leave your side baby? I wouldn't do that."

So tonight is a beautiful night and the unbearable heat of the summer has died long enough for me to actually get some things done. I decided that I wanted to start a blog for a couple of reasons, one is that there aren't too many right now and the other is that I wanted a spot that I could put up songs and videos and photos and shit so people could check out. We've got six weeks until tour and everyday is a scramble to get everything done. This first song is something that I was working on a little while ago when I had the idea to do a ballet. Hopefully someday it will still happen but for right now all I have is this test. Enjoy!

my wife loved that song