Due to the lateness of getting this done, I did the vocals quickly. And then I realized that I’m using a really cheap vocal microphone, so this isn’t going to get much better, other than me hitting the rhythm better and not missing as many notes, until I get a new mic. But still, it’s painful for me to listen to myself from the moment I open my mouth. But I’m practicing not being a perfectionist, so this is what you get.

I worked really hard on the melody and lyrics for this one, though. I’m actually pretty happy with those, save a line or two.

Josh Mock - Room For Joy

There was some major inspiration from Bright Eyes and Once/Glen Hansard/The Frames, in case that isn’t blatantly obvious. I’ve been listening to both a lot over the past few weeks.

Oh, and if you ever wonder why people drown stuff in reverb like I did there, it’s to cover up the mistakes. That’s the same reason why bad guitarists love distortion. Audio effects are lifesavers and yet far too often a crutch.

As always, the comments are there for you to criticize my work. That’s a big part of why I’m doing this. I can’t get better if I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

A fun comic that I identify all too well with. (Update: Err… looks like you’ll have to click it to see the whole thing. Hooray for inflexible Blogger profiles.)

CS3 does not a good designer make. Ask anyone that actually does it for a living.

The next song is in progress. I’m actually halfway enjoying how this one is turning out. We’ll see if the end product lives up to what I’m imagining in my head.

I get to be the funny one in this one. Weeee. Also, Amy said she didn’t want to wear a smock any more, and she wanted… uh… more evident lady parts.

(Click image for full size)

Other than the fact that I accidentally gave her black lipstick in the second frame and that I seemed to have trouble drawing myself consistently, I think it turned out decent enough.

Yes, I really am posting at 1:23 am. I was just so excited to bring you my third song of the year, hot off the presses or whatever it is you create music entities with! As I had mentioned, my lack of hearing in one ear makes it a bit tough to sing, so this week I bring you the very first remix I’ve ever made! (Okay, so maybe the reason I’m up late is that I’m using the demo version of Ableton Live which wouldn’t let me save my work, so I had to do this all in one shot and hope my computer didn’t die.)

Anyway, I bring you an original Josh Mock remix of Interpol’s Pioneer to the Falls. Mmm Interpol.

I actually started out working with the instrumental track from M.I.A.’s Paper Planes, but then when deciding what to mash it up with, I realized it was better for samples anyway. So I sampled out some of the beats and gunshot sounds and MIDIed my way to a decent beat. Then I added some glitchy sounds to the Interpol track, and there you have it.

I know it doesn’t seem like much, but you would be surprised how long that took me. If it sounds awesome (riiiight) you can only imagine what a full version of Ableton, some accompanying hardware and a little practice could do for me. Guys! I have potential to be a remix master! Sponsor me or something!

I’m going to bed.

I miss Ze Frank’s daily videos. He recently reposted this video about Valentine’s Day on his blog and I reminisced about The Show and how he seemed to make sense of things and articulate — with humor, no less — better than anyone I’d ever seen:

Having a holiday where you’re supposed to feel loved, though, is kinda tough, you know? It’s hard to do under pressure. It’s like “Have a great idea” day, or uh… “Pee! Right now!” day.

If you think about it, saying “I love you” on Valentine’s Day means less than it does on pretty much any other day of the year. It’s like there’s inflation on the currency of romance or something. If you say “I love you” on February 14th it’s kind of like walking into a doctor’s office and when he asks what’s wrong saying “I’m sick” and then handing him a balloon that says “He’s sick!” He’s gonna ask for symptoms. “Do you feel nauseous? Are you having trouble sleeping?” And if you don’t have any symptoms you probably shouldn’t be in the doctor’s office.

Maybe that’s what’s missing from Valentine’s Day: a choice. It could be like the relationship apocalypse, a once-a-year judgment day where couples could decide whether they want to stay or leave without any hard feelings. For months in advance people would be giving each other massages and chocolates and flowers, all in anticipation of getting that little card back with a check mark next to “yes” or “no.”

Happy (early) Valentine’s Day. Do something nice for someone whether you have a “someone” or not.

I’m probably apologizing to myself more than anything, but I hate that it’s taking me so long to get my songs written. Too much going on, and now I’ve got this ear infection that I’ve been using to excuse myself from getting things done for almost a week now. It’s a valid excuse because I really am having a hard time focusing on things, especially in the musical realm.

I have nothing on my calendar for the evening, so I will try to hunker down and get something done. It probably won’t be anything like the last two singer/songwriter type things I’ve done since singing and playing guitar are questionable activities for me at the moment. (although watching Once twice this weekend was very inspiring in that regard). You may end up with some random electronic tweak-out that consists of me trying to figure out how to sound like Radiohead, Burial, Daft Punk or Massive Attack without any equipment other than my laptop.

In other news, with all the downtime I had last week, I was able to get back into Six Feet Under. Consequently, I started to wonder why it was I enjoy the show so much. The pilot was compelling enough to draw me in, but the show as a whole isn’t quite what that first episode made it out to be, and yet I still like it, albeit for different reasons than the pilot.

I realized that it was that the cast is made up of highly (sometimes excessively) rational people, much like myself, so I identify well with all of them. Then these well-developed characters are written into story arcs that have, not even two seasons in, addressed nearly every kind of life situation imaginable: death (obviously), sickness, failed relationships, successful relationships, affairs, parenting, drugs, homosexuality, sexuality in general, faith, money, broken family, business… the list goes on. I don’t know how they’ve managed to elegantly pack in so much in so few episodes, but they have.

So, apparently I am most satisfied with stories that take a cast of deep thinkers and throw everything possible at them, and they come out the other side stronger and wiser for the wear. It seems so simple a realization, but I’m finally starting to understand myself in that regard to the extent that I don’t just get it, but I feel it.

This one is late for good reason. I’ve been sick all week and am just now beginning to see the end. Not only have I been busy resting, watching the entire Freaks & Geeks series, as well as several episodes of Six Feet Under, but the doc I went to looked at my ear, which is highly prone to infection after colds, and said I had a major tear halfway across my ear drum. Closer inspection indicated that wasn’t the case (whew) but neither of the doctors could figure out what was going on. “Cool ear,” one of them told me on his way out. Uhh… thanks?

Anyway, on to the music (which will be slightly garbled to me until I finish this course of double-strength antibiotics). Last month I finally started catching on to This Will Destroy You’s new one, I continued to fall in love with The Snake The Cross The Crown, I saw Ryan Adams live for the first time (yay, bootlegs!) and discovered Modeselektor thanks to Radiohead guest-DJing some BBC radio show I’d never heard of. Enjoy some tunes.

1. This Will Destroy You - “They Move On Tracks of Never-Ending Light” (This Will Destroy You)
2. The Snake The Cross The Crown - “Gypsy Melodies” (Cotton Teeth)
3. M.I.A. - “Hussel” (Kala)
4. The Snake The Cross The Crown - “Maps” (Cotton Teeth)
5. Michael Cera & Ellen Page - “Anyone Else But You” (Juno soundtrack)
6. Sigur Rós - “Hafsól” (Hvarf/Heim)
7. The Magnetic Fields - “California Girls” (Distortion)
8. M.I.A. - “20 Dollar” (Kala)
9. Circa Survive - “In The Morning And Amazing…” (On Letting Go)
10. Ryan Adams - “Shakedown On 9th Street” (Heartbreaker)
11. Collections Of Colonies Of Bees - “Flocks III” (Collections Of Colonies Of Bees)
12. Modeselektor - “The Dark Side Of The Sun (feat. Puppetmastaz)” (Happy Birthday!)
13. Modeselektor - “The White Flash (feat. Thom Yorke)” (Happy Birthday!)
14. Burial - “Prayer” (Burial)
15. Vampire Weekend - “Walcott” (Vampire Weekend)
16. Vampire Weekend - “Oxford Comma” (Vampire Weekend)

I’m on a roll. Once again, this was an actual conversation, barely edited so it would fit into comic form, and clearly not censored whatsoever. That’s how I like it. And I’m posting it without running it by Amy first because she’s gone all weekend. Whoops.

(Click for full size)

I tried drawing it bigger this time, which meant it took two pages to get it done. It made the job easier, but this whole scanning, cropping, cutting, pasting thing isn’t very fun. Other than screwing up the proportions of Amy’s head on the third frame, I think I did a decent job. I’m finally starting to get comfortable drawing the characters, which helps a lot.

My second song is only a week late. I’ll just blame my dad for showing up last weekend for that one. I can’t be mad at the guy, though. He’s a pretty cool guy.

So here’s the song, mentally prepared, just like the last one, to be ripped to shreds.

Josh Mock - The Idea

The vocals are a little better this time around (not including the part where the volume peaked when pronouncing a “p”) and this one even includes a wonderful half-assed guitar solo if you can make it to the end. Pretty awesome.

As far as the lyrics go, I was basing them off a quote, trying to relate it to my own life. And it turned out kind of emo. I swear that wasn’t the point, but I was running out of time so I wasn’t going to sweat it. Anyway, here’s the quote:

Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.

Thanks to Miguel de Unamuno (by way of Madeleine L’Engle) for that wonderful quote.

Now it’s back to work because I’m supposed to have a drawing done by today too. Criticize the song in the comments, please.