The Killer, I Ain't
Alone and So (Piano Mix)
My dear, fake friends,
I hope this letter finds you well.
I am marking myself safe in San Diego, where flash floods wrought so much havoc yesterday.
School was canceled here because of flooding and so my kids have stayed home today, which always throws a wrench in the cogs of getting this here newsletter written.
Further throwing a wrench in the cogs, I asked my daughter to listen to two mixes of today’s song, and she vehemently suggested that I could not release this song, as my singing was below par.
She immediately made a chart grading my “low” singing and “high” and “middle” singing— “You need to do all the vocals over!” she said.
I explained that part of the beauty (for me at least) of the “Mixed Up Files” series is that things DON’T need to be perfect.
It serves as a clearinghouse for ideas that have built up, so I can clear out stock and make room in my brain (which is finite, I’m afraid) for new things, like that new record of new songs I’m going to release in 2024 come hell or high water. (I shouldn’t speak of high water so casually!)
Anyway, she backed off for a bit and went to work on her own art while I went about getting the song ready to upload to my Bandcamp site.
And just as I was about to hit “Publish” and make the song go live, she sneaked up behind me and saw that I was going to “release” this imperfect piece over her objections.
She struck my hand and prevented me from hitting the “Publish” button.
A fairly serious physical struggle ensued; she got control of the mouse at one point and threatened to erase the song for good.
Eventually, I regained control and explained to her that perfection has little place in the “Mixed Up Files.”
She wasn’t totally satisfied with this, but she let me hit publish, and so here is today’s song addition to the “Mixed Up Files:”
In the player below is the other version she listened to, which has more bass happening but loses some of the vocals (which would be a good thing in her book).
I recorded this piano part back in Minneapolis before my kids were born, 2010ish.
My wife got a little piano from her aunt when we bought a house. Shortly after that, we sold the house and gave the piano to her uncle.
But in that small window, I was able to record this piano part in our living room in one take.1
This song originally appeared on the 2021 release “My First Foray Into Fireworks (and how I failed)” as a more electric-guitar-focused jamb.
Today’s version strips away the guitars and lets the piano lead, making more room for the vocals, which if you believe my daughter, are not very good.
Not too long ago, “Satisfaction (I can’t get no)” by the Rolling Stones came on the radio. My daughter made a face of disgust and said “They need to remaster this!”
I remain your humble servant,
OX&C,
Faux Jean
Here are the lyrics:
Alright
Alone
Alone and so
Alone and so
Shooby doobie doobie doobie doo wah
Come on come on come on come on
Shooby doobie doobie doobie doo wah
Doin' what you wanna do 'cause you're
Alone
And so
Alone
And so
I didn't have nowhere to go
So hopped
In my car
And I thought I'd drive very far
But I stopped into a shop for 3 shots see
There was a girl working there and she looked at me
She said
"Ice?"
Well I don't know
I like it hot
I like it cold
I don't know
I'm alone
And so
Alright
Alone and so
I said
"How is business?"
She said "slow"
"Why don't you close the shop
And come with me?"
She said "Where?"
I just said "We'll see
I got a quarter tank and some money for some food"
"That ain't half bad
In fact it sounds
Very good!"
Shooby doobie doobie doobie doo wah
But let's go!
You're not alone anymore
You're not alone and so
Up North memory:
I am not a piano player by any stretch, like the Killer mentioned in the title, so I am somewhat proud of the fact that I played the main body of this song on piano in a single take.