okay but here we're gonna run into a road
block, because that second verse is totally
different.
*laughs* we really f*cked up!
You guys this isn't working!
Every episode we give a band the lyrics to
a song they've never heard before. And they
have just one hour to write and record their
own original version
This is Blind Covers
Oh, blah! I didn't see you there. I'm just
here with my friend Kailynn West of Tiny Stills!
How's it going?
It's good! how are you doing?
I'm sorry to hear that your distant uncle
recently passed, and his will dictated that
you had to do a haunted webseries for you
to inherit his vast fortune
I know, what a crazy thing
But welcome, and I hope you make it through
the episode... ALIVE! *thunder clap*
What's your favorite Halloween costume you've
ever worn?
When I was in seventh grade I was in the Halloween
parade and I was a lightning bug, and I had
a glow-up butt. My dad rigged up my butt to
glow with like, lights
whoa!
And I almost won best costume, but I got beat
out by a girl who took a cardboard cutout
and like, I think she was someone from the
Titanic, like she was pretending to be someone
from the Titanic and she was on, like, a movie
screen, and she beat me!
That's infuriating
I know
The judges always fall for a topical costume,
and-
It's bullshit
Yeah.
Also "my dad rigged up my butt to glow" sounds
like a fun folksy Southern aphorism for getting
spanked
Please don't quote that out of context in
your little snippets
What's the best memory you have of making
music?
I started playing music like in... I'm from
Pennsylvania and I just remember my first
band that I was ever in it was me and a drummer
and we used to go to his house and we would
just play in his like basement area but it
was attached to the rest of his house so his
mom and dad were very patient with us because
we would have like five hour-long band practices
and it was brutal. I mean we were like- we
didn't know what we were doing, you know?
That's a lot of practice for a high school
band in your house
yeah we were very committed for not having
shows and/or a fanbase.
I just remember we would get really sweaty
and tired after five hours and we would go
lay outside on his grass and look up and we
would talk about how awesome we were
*laughs*
that's the kind of confidence you need as
a high school musician
I know! We really had confidence built on
absolutely nothing
did you have your own band logo
No!
I feel like that's the first thing that comes
with like a confident high school musician
is "alright first we gotta get a logo, then
we gotta learn how to play our instruments..."
Listen, I have some news for you, and it's
that we didn't even have a band name
Whoa!
So... Totally unfounded confidence in every
aspect
You were some jerks just doing it because
you loved making music
I know! Fuck us!
Ugh!
My next question, and FINAL question: Are
you ready to find out what song you'll be
covering?
I am DYING to find out
alright, let's find out!
Okay...
If you recognize it you've got to tell me
I don't know this one
You don't?
Alright
alright
Okay!
Let's go
Oh my gosh!!
Okay
There you go
Ton' you got it?
TONY: Yeah. It's not gonna do anything for
me, but I got it
It's not gonna do anything for you?
I don't pay attention to words
I feel like the structure is this is the chorus
right here, the "hubcaps" and everytime it
ends in "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" that's the
chorus, because it goes like verse chorus
verse chorus, and then this is like a bridge
HARRY: ...bridge verse chorus, yeah. It's
a wordy song for not knowing how it goes
It's really wordy. So just as a vibe situation
it feels kind of summer-y to me. I think tempo
is gonna be one of our most important things
because it is so wordy.
*everyone's out here on the street* Like,
this is just like, I'm faking it
HARRY: yeah yeah yeah
*Somebody opened up a fire hydrant, cold water
rushing out in sheets,*
*da na na na na na na na take what I can get*
HARRY: Yeah, super short.
It's gotta have a cool riff after it, right?
So maybe we make the refrain a musical thing
then?
KAILYNN: Yeah, like how can we make it so
that part really pushes- AJ, you're like harmonic
guy, how can we make it so that part kind
of goes like-
HARRY: Like that! Let's just do that! That
was sick
KAILYNN: Ton', what do you think? Does that
sound like a place to start?
TONY: I don't have much to contribute until
I have a direction here, so...
Until you have an erection?
Yeah, I need a- I need to be REAL hard before
I can do anything
*laughs*
KAILYNN: Let's maybe keep it super simple
in those verses and see how we can make that
'hubcaps' part cool
TONY: Yeah I think that leading up to that
last line of that "verse" it should start
lifting there a bit
You know what? You know what you saying that
Tony makes me think like we have to get to
that D, the five-chord *'cause I feel like
Lovecraft in Brooklyn* You know? Like I feel
like it's gotta have that kind of resolve
in it
AJ: I think you should go back after the D,
'companionship is where you find it so I take
what I can get'
TONY: Yeah that's what I'm saying, go up there
instead of down
I like going *hubcaps on the cars like funhouse
mirrors*
Yeah that's cool
That kind of thing
AJ: And then "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" can be
its whole own thing, like we can just- that
whole thing can just be a chorus
*Stick to the shadows when I can*
AJ: Just keep holding it
*Lovecraft in Brooklyn*
What does that mean? Lovecraft- Like the author?
I don't know, I didn't write this song!
Well we should figure it out! Like Lovecraft?
Is that like the author?
I feel like they're talking about, like...
all the different ways they fall in love in
Brooklyn. They don't feel at home in Rhode
Island...
"Rhode Island drops into the ocean, no place
to call home anymore, Lovecraft in Brooklyn."
Like they're making the best out of what they
have in Brooklyn even though they don't feel
at home there
HARRY: It just feels like one of those songs
where someone is telling me a story that I
wasn't there for.
Yeah it does kinda feel that way
KAILYNN: Okay but here we're gonna run into
a road block, because that second verse is
totally different.
"When the sun goes down the armies of the
voiceless, several hundred thousand strong"
HARRY: This is a WORDY song
It's a lot of words
It's probably a slow song
*Kailynn laughs*
KAILYNN: We really fucked up! You guys this
isn't working!
Just kidding
You can do that other verse the way we were
doing it
I'll just squeeze it in
I think it can be done, I'm doing it in my
head I feel like and it works
We'll do some pickups
Let's just make that hook something cool,
but we'll make it kind of moody, like if you
go like:
But you have like:
Something like cool, like really kind of moody,
and we can keep it simple
KAILYNN: I think there's also a really cool
drum beat in there, I feel like... *DRUM NOISES*
HARRY: You got that?
KAILYNN: You got that?"
Doo doo doo doo ka doo goo goo doo goo ga?
Yeah
Could you write that out?
Can I fax it to you?
Yeah, you still have my fax number?
KAILYNN: I do
Then we kind of combine that idea of having
an instrumental hook and the song title, and
we kind of make that the cool thing *boo doo
ka* but it's gotta have some kind of cool
rhythmic thing that's different.
AJ: Because you're doing a lot of words, doing
a long like chorus like that, like *Loooooovecraft
in Broooooooklyn* or whatever you want it
to be
Yeah
that would be a cool chorus to do it twice
*Loooooovecraft in Broooooooklyn*
and then do it one more time
*Loooooovecraft in Broooooooklyn*
And then next verse
Yeah, I think that's it. I think that's cool
*head outside most everyday,*
*to try to keep the wolves away*
*imagine what nice things I might say*
*If company should come around*
That feels like a bridge, and then it goes
into a verse and then the chorus at the end
cool
What are the lyrics to the bridge?
"Head outside most everyday,
to try to keep the wolves away
imagine what nice things I might say
If company should come"
And how many chords do you see fitting over
this bridge?
I see like two chords
Okay
Just like super simple
*head outside most everyday,*
*to try to keep the wolves away*
I feel like we have to leave the space because
the verses are just so crammed with words
Arrangement idea
Hit me
It could be like *pause* "head outside most
every day" and maybe like we hit on the second
chord with like a half-time thing?
That could be cool. Half-time there?
Sure
"Head outside most every-" BLAKKA blooka crash
Can we also try one thing on the drums on
the 'hubcaps' part, the like *plays* can you
do like a surf beat just on one of those bars?
Oh yeah
Just on one of them maybe?
And then just go back to what you were doing
Yeah I'll try it
We can just try it, I just think that would
be cool
I'm not gonna play anything because I've gotta
work on these words
San Diego over here
Surf rock man!
Alright, are you guys ready?
Okay, hey everybody! We're Tiny Stills and
we think this song is called 'Lovecraft in
Brooklyn'
We think.
*It's gonna be too hot to breathe today *
*But everybody is out here on the streets*
*Somebody's opened up the fire hydrant *
*Cold water rushing out in sheets*
*Some kid in a Marcus Allen jersey *
*asks me for a cigarette*
*Companionship is where you find it *
*so I take what I can get*
*Hubcaps on the car like fun house mirrors*
*Stick to the shadows when I can*
*Lovecraft in Brooklyn*
*When the sun goes down the armies of the
voiceless*
*Several hundred-thousand strong*
*Come out without their bandages*
*Their voices raised in song*
*When the street lights sputter out*
*They make this awful sizzling sound*
*I cast my gaze towards the pavement*
*Too many blood stains on the ground*
*Rhode Island drops into the ocean*
*No place to call home anymore*
*Lovecraft in Brooklyn*
*Head outside most everyday *
*to try to keep the wolves away*
*Imagine nice things I might say *
*If company should come*
*Woke up afraid of my own shadow*
*Like, genuinely afraid*
*Headed for the pawnshop*
*To buy myself a switchblade*
*Someday something's coming*
*From way out beyond the stars*
*To kill us while we stand here*
*It'll store our brains in mason jars*
*And then the girl behind the counter*
*She asks me how I feel today*
*I feel like Lovecraft in Brooklyn*
So how did that feel?
Scary
Spooky!
Altogether, ooky.
*snap snap*
So when you first read through the lyrics,
what was your initial reaction to them?
I think a couple of us immediately saw the
Marcus Allen line and for some reason immediately
went to hip-hop
I think my brain just thought Marcus Allen
-> Raiders -> NWA
But clearly that's not what it is
Yeah I went folk song
Very different!
Very different. I went the opposite direction.
What did you guys think?
Because there were so many lyrics in the verses
I feel like it's a much slower song. Maybe
like a singer-songwriter, like piano ballad.
Let's take a listen!
Okay, I'm excited
What!?
You guys we NAILED it
This actually sounds vaguely familiar to me...
Oh this is-
oh, oh oh
The Mountain Goats?
yeah it's The Mountain Goats!
I was kind of right with my guess of the genre!
You were!
Also makes sense for how all of these weird
words got fit into a song
Totally
It's very Mountain Goats
Dude it's not unlike what we did!
It's not THAT different!
it's not that different!
...while also being VERY different
Yeah, I think in retrospect I HAVE heard this
song
I just, my thing is I don't pay attention
to lyrics
It makes sense that it's a band that does
that kind of, like, spoken... like, there's
a melody to it but it's very-
It's very Talking Heads
yeah Talking Heads, or Cake, or a band like
that
Well THAT'S a very cool bridge!
Whoa!
yeah
Dude! We kinda did something similar like
that!
I'm jealous of that bridge
Yeah that was a cool bridge
It's cool and it's not something we couldn't
have written
If we had an hour and FIVE minutes!
Yeah!
I like the way he fit the words in the verses
much better than the way I did
It's almost like he wrote it or something.
It's almost like he had a plan
I'd like to see him play a Tiny Stills song
he hadn't heard!
That's right motherfucker
It'd probably be cool!
Yeah it probably would be cooler than mine
too
(Extremely John Darnielle voice)
*It's been 15-17 months!!*
That's crazy! They're GREAT!
You handled the task of having hyper-specific
lyrics thrown at you-
Very specific
You handled it great
I'm curious if anyone else is having this
happen right now: Do you remember what ours
sounds like?
I don't remember how ours goes!
Right!? Out of my head.
*everyone gasps*
KAILYNN: The Lights!
Hey what happened to Mitch?
Mitch hasn't been 'round these parts nigh
on fifteen years!
*Everyone screams*
Hey everyone! Thanks for watching Blind Covers.
Be sure to like, subscribe and click the bell
icon below
I know it's a cliché, but it helps us a lot
and it only takes a second
Also if you want to help us pick the songs
that get covered on the show, AND get downloads
of the covers each month, consider backing
us on Patreon!
Every dollar helps and it's the only way we
can keep making the show
Also next month we're gonna be at The RINO
in North Kansas City doing a session with
Matt Pryor from The Get Up Kids! Holy crap!
It's gonna rule, and we hope to see you there.
Bye! I love you!
