finding inspiration within sickness..

I have a theory,
that when one person is sick,
she/he is in fact eyes wide open,
senses better tuned to higher levels of the maslow's hierarchies of needs.

Even though our sense of smell is dulled,
taste becomes bland,
our consciousness is in fact paying attention to the more important things in life.

I sometimes think i'm not made to be a musician,
i don't have the patience nor the ability to make myself stay put in front of an instrument,
and PRACTICE.

I only have one voice,
so when this one voice is down,
i have nothing.
No regular gigs, no money, no audience to sing to, no opportunities to improve,
nothing.

Just a lonely soul at home trying my best to recuperate
so that i can wake up the next day and continue singing.

I had been so caught up with everyday emailing, business,
and i knowingly neglected the very thing i quit my job for - my EP.

So today,
after 4 days of loneliness at home due to a debilitating cough/flu,
i picked up my ipad (yes, not an instrument but an ipad),
and i wrote a song about passion,
with tissue paper strewn all around my tabletop no less.

I was inspired by this quote,

"I set myself on fire, and people come watch me burn."   

- Christian theologian, John Wesley. 

I know this quote is supposed to be religious in meaning,
as he was describing his passion for Christ.
I'm not a Christian, so my interpretation is slightly different.

I do believe that with passion,
it shows, and it shines to attract others',
be it like-minded people, or audience who appreciates what you have created.

I wanted to write a song about relationship with passion,
with lyrics that can also mean a passionate relationship with another person.

So here goes, my 2nd attempt at song-writing,
this time it was not as easy as my first eureka moment,
but i came up with a slightly better recording courtesy of my trusty ipad (:

Listen to my phelgm-filled croacky-voiced version here of "Burn in Fire" here http://soundcloud.com/taypipi/burn-in-fire-11jul

Burn in Fire 

Let us burn, burn in fire.

Let us dance around in flames, like children in summer.

We can pretend we're not, star-crossed lovers, 

melt into each other, unshield, un-covered. 

Disappear in smoke, like a fizzling candle. 

Let me burn, burn in fire.

Let me set myself ablaze, 

pull over, come watch me dazzle. 

I can pretend i'm still, entwined in your embrace, 

ignited, illuminated, brighter than yesterday, 

an amoured warrior, bleeding with pride, no shame. 

tbc.. 

My first song-writing epiphany..

I had my first song-writing epiphany a few weeks ago,
and that feeling was real bizarre.

It was the first time i ever experienced such jolts of inspiration
without having to expend much effort at thinking of lyrics,
struggling to find a catchy tune...
nothing like that!

It was a moment of flow.
[the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake 
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi] 
For 15mins of that time, i knew exactly what i wanted.
The words came out easily,
the tune was already in my head when i started writing,
and everything was just right.

Now this is totally new for an amateur song-writing like myself.

Just to share a little on how i usually work,
for the past few weeks i had been seeking the help of producer tat tong.
I would laze on the couch in his cozy studio,
first think of what kinda songs we want (e.g ballad, fast-tempo etc.),
then he would guide me with a chord structure while i hum whichever tune that comes to my mind.

I was a lone ranger in the lyrics department
and had to force myself to camp at a particular starbucks,
and bombard my head with 词解 (lyrics explanations),
new songs, interesting sentences...
Yes it was a struggle.

But this time it was different.

I was going about my usual stuff,
when i heard about the news of a friend's death.
He was my uni aquaintance,
a dude full of life, always enthusiastic,
and i had fond memories of him making pizza for me during my school days.
Then life took over, and we lost touch upon graduation.
He died while cycling when a sleeping truck driver knocked him down :(

This news came shortly after another secondary school friend's death.
He collapsed while playing soccer from a sudden epilepsy.

How can someone so young die?
The worst part about it is that their facebook walls quickly became death testimonial pages.
And yes i think this is bad,
because handling death cannot get any easier with a wall choke-full of heartbreaking testimonials,
speaking of love and condolences towards the deceased.

I was deeply saddened,
and went for a job around bishan park.
At the back of my head hung carpe diem thoughts about the fleeting nature of life
and when i reached home,
i immediately sat down in front of my laptop and started to write.

The funniest thing is,
it was a positive song.
Nothing about death nor seize the moment,
but more of being grateful for today and believing that
someday you'll be what you want to be.

Here's the soundclip i recorded with my iphone the moment i reached home. 

yes, it's of bad quality & it's incomplete,  

but hereby holds the essence of my songwriting epiphany, 

and my first no less. (: 

Someday You'll be Off-the-head draft

Verse 1

I wanna wake up, to the smell of the fresh morning dew

I wanna smile, let it resonate with my heartbeat tune

But I gotta be patient, I gotta keep my head on my shoulders now

Today I’m gonna count my blessings and set off unbound

Verse 2

I wanna run wild, bare-footed on the concrete ground

I wanna feel the earth move, feel the warmth of the sunrays fade

I’m ready for a change, I’m ready for a brand new start

Today I’m gonna give my all and make it count

Chorus:

Someday you’ll be

What you wanna be

Someday you’ll be

Free

From the battles raging, in your head

Someday you’ll be

Someday you’ll be

Looking back on this

Someday you’ll be

Free

From the troubles you’ve seen

Someday you’ll be 

Better than you’ve ever believed

Verse 1

Don’t ever give up, to being the best that you could be

Don't you dare to lose the grip for hope and faith, Or you’ll lose yourself

You gotta stear clear, from the caverns of negativity 

Just stop, and give yourself a chance to steady your feet

Chorus

Bridge

Even if today throws your feet under your

Even if the clouds shrouds in darkness over your head 

You gotta make a

Repeat Chorus (up key)

I can't wait to start with this song 

and share the complete version with you (: