I just finished what I consider to be my best song in a long time, and I’d like you to have it – no strings attached. Please feel free to share it with anybody and everybody. You can download it here (you may have to right-click the link and select “Save As”) or by clicking the downward-facing arrow on the player below.

Too Close
©2010 Brian Hazard (ASCAP)

We don’t dream about each other anymore
Spilled our souls and now we’re too close
Close your eyes, accept a simple kiss goodnight
From the one who loves you the most

Distant lovers and fictional heroes
All our fantasies, longings, and hopes
Fill our dreams as we lie here together
Too close, too close

I broke out in laughter when you told me that
Being with me is like being alone
But I knew you meant it as a compliment
This is what it means to be home

Don’t allow yourself a single guilty thought
Novelty has infinite charms
You’ll exchange illusion for reality
When you wake up here in my arms

I see you when I look in the mirror
But in sleep we see through telescopes
Looking out over light years not inches
Too close, too close.

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Writing this lyric, based on the Sliding Into Obscurity snippet, was like solving a crossword puzzle! Not only is the rhyme scheme tricky in the chorus, but the first three syllables in each line of the verse are blasted out like machine gun fire. Many “perfect” lines were rejected because they were too difficult to sing that fast. You’ll hear what I’m talking about via the player below, which has the basic melodies for the third verse and long chorus that follows.

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Anything confusing or contradictory? What’s the weakest part? The strongest? Before you suggest a word-for-word substitution, try singing it to make sure it fits. Good luck with that.

By the way, Thomas Hanewinkel has been updating colortheory.de with a full index of song lyrics, plus German translations of the new lyrics.

Release the Hounds
©2010 Brian Hazard (ASCAP)

Bought myself a one-way ticket
To a place you’ll never visit
Setting off for romance and adventure today
Letting go of all my burdens
Don’t go calling missing persons
Cause you’ve got no right to claim me
Pretty sure they wouldn’t blame me

If I thought that it was worthwhile
To erase my online profiles
Wiping out all traces of my identity
No address to forward mail to
What good would a paper trail do?
Even changed my cell phone number
Why would I do that you wonder?

Try to catch me, I don’t care
It’s over, I swear
Racing to nowhere
In leaps and bounds
So release the hounds

I was lost when I was with you
Wondering what I’d gotten into
In a pointless fight you told me to go away
Now a distant sun is rising
As I face a bright horizon
So I showed you quite directly
I can do some things correctly

Try to catch me, I don’t care
It’s over, I swear
Racing to nowhere
Minutes turn into seconds
Liberty beckons
Eyes to the heavens
Nose to the ground
So release the hounds

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Q1 sales are the lowest yet, totaling $555. They’ve been gradually creeping down for years, though by any other metric, my music is more popular than ever. I have a Google Alert set up for “Color Theory” and “The Thought Chapter” that shows my latest album on a new torrent site every day. While I might be losing a few sales, I’m gaining new fans, so I guess it’s a wash.

For the first time, digital sales are significantly higher than physical, comprising 70% of the total. I suppose that’s good news considering my next album will be my last physical release.

55% of sales were for my latest album, The Thought Chapter, which finally broke even! That’s right folks – I now have $13 to show for five years of focused effort culminating in my best release to date, plus a year and a half of heavy promotion. Clearly, I’m in this for the money.

That brings the total of physical CDs I’ve sold or otherwise parted with to 5,987, for a total of $54,952 in sales (over 16 years!). For more details, see my running tally of profit/loss figures for each album.

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I literally just finished these lyrics, based on the Prozac snippet (in fact, I’ve already made a couple revisions after copying and pasting here). I’m not even going to bother creating an audio snippet with the vocal melodies, because it’ll be too confusing with all the subtle variations in meter.

While word-for-word suggestions are welcome, what I most need to know from you is: Does the story make sense? Can you visualize the scene? Does any particular phrase throw you off?  What could I do to make it more clear?

A Safe Distance
©2010 Brian Hazard (ASCAP)

I recall the first time you caught me dining alone
At a restaurant on the third floor
You sat down across from me with a bottle of wine
Shook my hand and started to pour
Then opened the window to the music below
A theater under the stars
We shared our life stories and a view of the stage
Falling in love from afar

Though it feels like they’ve played out the same act a million times
A routine struggling just to keep from falling asleep reciting their lines
You say this is the way we’re meant to enjoy the opera
At a safe distance

We’ve met at this table now ten years in a row
To see the same opera performed
Recreating the scene down to the slightest detail
The night our tradition was born
Attendance is low but still the show must go on
The participants gossip offstage
The waiter assures us that the wine is the same
I guess it gets bitter with age

Though it feels like we’ve played out the same act a million times
A routine struggling just to keep from falling asleep reciting our lines
Still it makes me happy
I love you at a safe distance
I’ll always love you at a safe distance

{ 12 comments }

My friend Mason Taylor of a’tris was kind enough to introduce me to their fans on their website. He talks a bit about how we met, the Lennon contest, “It Must Be Halloween,” and how I’m enlisting fans’ help with the new album. He even has a video of a voice mail I left him, erratically transcribed by Google Voice.

Recently I had the pleasure of checking out a work-in-progress version of their song “Automatic Doors” in Rock Band. It’s sure to be a big hit in the RBN Store! You can check out the video for the song right here. I’m not going to even attempt to describe their sound, but it’s safe to say I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit it big.

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Thomas Hanewinkel completely redesigned the German fansite colortheory.de from the ground up. It features news, a playable discography, an exclusive free downloadable EP, and a detailed biography of yours truly. If you don’t read German, translate.google.com does a decent job, with some unintentional humor thrown in for good measure. If you use the latest beta of Google’s Chrome browser, the option to translate the page comes up automatically.

The highlight of colortheory.de is the lyrics translation. One microsite for each album is planned, stylized to match to CD artwork. So far, only The Thought Chapter is complete. I’ve been told by more than a few fans that the German translations are spot on.

Thomas welcomes you to leave a comment or feedback for any reason (design, greeting, best Color Theory song or whatever) at colortheory.de/wordpress. Thanks as always for everything you do Thomas!

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The debut album of Alaskan folk singer/songwriter Britt Arnesen a.k.a. 907Britt is scheduled for release on April 8. It represents 11 years of songwriting for Britt, and 8 months of mixing and mastering for me. Working with Britt was a real treat! She granted me unprecedented freedom in my approach, which ranged from simple mixing to adding my own elements to the arrangement. We ended up using my piano, bass, and percussion on “Cinderella,” piano and backing vocals on “Continental Divide” (my current favorite), and backing vocals on “Maybe You.” You can preview the entire album using the player above, and pick it up here (or just click on “download” in the player). Even though the release date is a week off, all purchases include immediate download in the format of your choice.

In support of the release, Britt has five appearances lined up for next week (listed on the banner at the top of 907Britt.com), three of which will be streamed on the web at KTOO.org. Monday, April 5th she’ll be interviewed at 3:30 on KTOO, then the mainstage of the Alaska Folk Festival at 8:15pm Alaska time. Tuesday April 6th from 5-7 she’ll be interviewed on Rain Country Radio KRNN (still accessed from KTOO.org) and play a few songs live.

Somehow Britt even found time to start working on her follow-up release! You can keep up with busy tour schedule on Facebook and see her latest videos on her YouTube channel. Speaking of YouTube, be sure to check out Britt’s covers of my songs “If It’s My Time to Go” and “Touch.”

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This one, based on the White Mantra snippet, was written in the air between Atlanta and Orange County. You can check out the basic verse and chorus melodies via the player below.

The last stanza is the second half of an extended chorus. I’m appreciating that form more and more because it allows me to add fresh material near the end of the song. Nobody writes bridges anymore, arguably because listeners don’t have the attention span for them. It’s all about the chorus, chorus, chorus! I see the extended chorus as a compromise – same melody, new lyrics.

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Anything confusing or contradictory? What’s the weakest part? The strongest? Before you suggest a word-for-word substitution, try singing it to make sure it fits.

We don’t dream about each other anymore
Spilled our souls and now we’re too close
Close your eyes, accept a simple kiss goodnight
From the one who loves you the most

Distant lovers and fictional heroes
All our fantasies, longings, and hopes
Fill our dreams as we lie here together
Too close, too close

I broke out in laughter when you told me that
Being with me is like being alone
But I knew you meant it as a compliment
This is what it means to be home

Don’t allow yourself a single guilty thought
Novelty has infinite charms
You’ll exchange illusion for reality
When you wake up here in my arms

I see you when I look in the mirror
But in sleep we see through telescopes
Looking out over light years not inches
Too close, too close.

{ 4 comments }

I’d love to hear your thoughts on a new lyric I wrote this weekend in a Miami hotel room. This one is based on the Grey Squares snippet. You can hear the basic verse and chorus melodies over the chords using the player below (start your mental lyric playback at the second stanza). Obviously the chorus arrangement isn’t fleshed out yet. As always, I’m wide open to your suggestions. Anything confusing or contradictory? What’s the weakest part? The strongest? Before you suggest a word-for-word substitution, try singing it to make sure it fits.

I hear you think about me now and then
To fantasize about what might have been
I’ve always been the one who got away
The careless bullet tends to ricochet

There’s virtue in the straight and narrow path
And while you can’t afford the aftermath
The rear-view mirror tends to draw the eye
So sneak a peek now baby, don’t be shy

But you say you’re happy
So maybe it’s for the better
But you say you’re happy
To chauffeur these doubts forever
Keep me in the backseat of your mind

You’re driving under my influence
Drunk on the thrill and deaf to consequence
You know that I could make your life a mess
And yet you chose to wear your tightest dress.

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