Lillian

Lillian

standup's picture

Tags: 

Demo: 

Liner Notes: 

Lillian Mountweazel was a fictitious entry in the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia. Fake entries like this are "copyright traps" intended to show who is stealing and re-publishing the info in the book.

"Mountweazel, Lillian Virginia, 1942-1973, American photographer, b. Bangs, Ohio. Turning from fountain design to photography in 1963, Mountweazel produced her celebrated portraits of the South Sierra Miwok in 1964. She was awarded government grants to make a series of photo-essays of unusual subject matter, including New York City buses, the cemeteries of Paris and rural American mailboxes. The last group was exhibited extensively abroad and published as Flags Up! (1972) Mountweazel died at 31 in an explosion while on assignment for Combustibles magazine."

I thought she deserved a song.

I also used a trick recording the vocal harmonies, shared by Headfirstonly. You use "Varispeed" to slow the track down in pitch, then you can sing a higher part than you normally could. I then used a plugin called "Little Alter Boy" to change the "formant" and get rid (mostly) of the Chipmunks voice effect you hear when changing speed like that.

Lyrics: 

Bangs OH was her home town
Not far from the river
Kokosing
She had plans she didn’t
Hang around
Grabbed her camera
Started wandering

CHORUS
Lillian
Our eyes forever
An empty mailbox
A lonesome road
Every answer
Arriving never
An empty mailbox
A lonesome road

Her eye, her hand, her shots, her lens
Memories and details
From our great land
A book, Flags Up for coffee tables
Always gonna be in demand

She was 31 when she got the assignment
Shooting Viet nam bombs
For a magazine
Working with fools
A chain-smoking client
There were no survivors
That June 13



Please keep your comments respectful, honest, and constructive. Please focus on the song and not the demo.

Comments

mike skliar's picture

wow, what a great idea for a song, and you did an amazing job. The sound and production are really fantastic, and that narrative of the whole fake facts thing is a pleasure to hear unfold in the song- really poetic and fun, as is the music. Great work all around! love those twin lead guitars, kind of reminding me a bit of buffalo-springfield era neil young/steven stills a bit?

improvyssey's picture

This is a really fun idea. Lilian definitely deserves her own song. I'm pretty sure this is going to be running through my head for at least a day. Nicely done.

ductapeguy's picture

This is a great song. I love the interplay of the guitars. The harmonies are wonderful.

coolparadiso's picture

So this is why you skipped school, well it was worthwhile this is a very fine song. So much to like here even from the backstory! Excellent mate.

Jibbidy34's picture

This is a stand out chorus. Very Tom Petty in style, I think you have a keeper here! Lots of juicy guitar stabs to support it. Seriously though, that chorus in a winner! Great story lyrics and a sad ending for Lillian!

billwhite51's picture

you give living substance to a fictional character in this relentlessly melodic tribute to someone who should have been here but wasnt until you put her in a song and now she lives in my head along with a couple other lillians.

richaaaay's picture

Bravo! Comments above are all on track. Great idea for a song and well executed. Killer chorus...

ElaineDiMasi's picture

This is a great song! Great inspiration and anthemic vocal melodies. Love the chord progression too. Just the right amount of wistfulness and dirt. "There were no survivors." Really really good.

Purple Catfish Bro's picture

those riffs panned left/right... really cool. main lead guitar is spanking. very well-written and performed piece

Chip Withrow's picture

Great idea, and it turned into a fully-realized and awesome song. Guitar interplay weaves together so well and yes, those harmonies are a delight. Wow!