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The English Assassin

@theenglishassassin
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Songs

11

Joined

2023

WOW! FAWM really does ROCK!

You are the most supportive and wonderful group of people, and I've had an absolute blast writing song after song. I have not been this creative since forever, and I can quite honestly say I've never produced this number of songs that I'm happy with in such a short time.

Now I need to try to avoid the urge to just keep going, because I actually want to polish and release these songs (plus have a life, do work, etc.), BUT I will be back next year.

A quick list of my FAWM songs and what to expect:

Is There Enough of Me? - Moody electronic song with vocals. Needs work, but I'm very happy with the outline.

There's a Hole in My Heart - More of a groove going on with this one. Good lyrical concept and quite catchy.

One Hit Wonder - Fun, dancey track.

Hi, A.I. - Total electro-pop. But with some darkness hidden in the lyrics.

Happy Clappy Song - Soooooo not really happy clappy, but it was fun to play with this idea.

This Is Now - Great groove going on and very catchy, but currently more of a song idea, than an actual song. Was a skirmish and ran out of time.

Genocide - Not for the faint-hearted. Song with a message. Stark.

We're All Gonna - Taking you back to the 70s with a disco track that should manage to surprise and delight.

You're Not the Customer - My least favourite, as it's really just a song that Monty Python should have done. Acoustic guitar and vocals.

This Bloody Love - Very happy with this dark and painful love song. Electronic, slow build.

Love is a Small Word - Written and recorded Feb 1, so I was thrilled to be off to a good start with this electro-pop number with a kinda Kraftwerk thing going on.

Songs

Soundboard

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I've really enjoyed discovering your music this year. Look forward to more next year and maybe at the 5090 (three months long, so a lot more space for collaborating) I'm so glad you liked My Pontiac is wrecked. I had a few of those rhyme pairs in a notebook somewhere and didn't really think I'd ever manage to use them in a song, then somehow in the skirmish they all just tumbled into place.
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@kiffa
Long overdue, but thank you very much for your comment on "Easter Sunday" in the Most Meaningful Song thread!
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Thanks for stepping "off-FAWM" to listen to "There Goes Life." It means a lot to me. I've been thinking about Rob and his family so much. I'm glad I could write and share it before he died.
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@brisk
No problem, I enjoyed your songs. Thanks for your encouraging comments too. I like FAWM a lot. Will you be around for 50/90? I plan on it.
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@gb9
Thank you for your kind comments, appreciation and thoughts on 'Begin Again' and 'Complicate It'
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Hey Phil, I definitely share your anger/horror/frustration/etc. regarding the history on this continent. Down here in the USA we have the same stain of genocide against First Nations plus the atrocity of the kidnapping and enslavement of another entire group of people! What my country's ancestors did sickens and disgusts me. I could almost let that go as an historical horror but unfortunately both groups continue to suffer today due to this. And the hypocrisy of some of my flag-waving fellow citizens infuriates me especially when they boast about how great we are and how we built this country with our hard work and pioneering spirit when the truth is we stole the land and enslaved blacks to drive the southern economy, Chinese to build the railroads, and on and on! I've said many times that we should consider ourselves very lucky that the people we have wronged seek only equality and not revenge!
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@rowanb
Thank you for your kind and positive comment on limbo land. That is much appreciated!
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Thank you for your comment on Friend in Fire! I appreciate the feedback - a friend suggested a cajon drum and I very nearly bought one just to use on this track šŸ˜†
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I watched your video...Selfish Pain. Wow! What a potent message, well-delivered via the intriguing faces that morph into others and the well-orchestrated music. It's a very effective call to action, most importantly, but also for people to recognize the good fortune that many of us currently experience that in many cases were built on the misfortunes of others. It brings to mind John Gorda's "Ignorance and Privilege" song (his is not as historically focused but still connects for me). Anyway, excellent job! I see why you highlighted this one in the forum.
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@johns
Thanks, very kind
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Nice fawming. šŸ‘ I've enjoyed listening to your catalogue. Thanks.
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@nadine
Thanks for your kind words on "Fit Right In". It's been one of the songs I wrote from deep within.
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Thanks for your kind comment on "When the World leaves you Behind" Maybe I'll try another meaningful song next FAWM
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@nadine
I must admit that I am shocked that these schools existed to the mid 90s. And that they found mass graves recently. That's hard... I'm speechless.
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Thanks for visiting a sampling of my songs. I appreciate having you drop by. I see you are a fellow Canuck. Where do you hang your hat?
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Thanks for the kind words on Afterglow and Monkey Brains. I'm glad you had a productive and inspirational first FAWM. Sounds like you knocked it out of the park! I describe it to my friends as a kind of creative triathalon (composing, lyric writing, producing). It can be a bit of an emotional crash after MALM finally winds down.
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Thanks so much for your kind and thoughtful words about "Twenty Years." This really is a special place that I'm so glad I discovered this year and could contribute to in some way. I'm glad you found it too!
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@nadine
Thanks for stopping by! Cool to read you enjoy FAWM. My first time has been a blast and now I cannot imagine my February without!

I'm glad you enjoyed my songs and checked two completely different songs and roles. I'm still pondering I'd I shall rerecord "My and my guitar" for real, cause I like the lyrics but yeah, 1.5 years of playing against 20 years of production is... ehm... hard. Super glad you also checked "Magnetic Rose". It's been one of my highlights to do a full production on a great great band!
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Thank you very much for your comments on "It Don’t Land Easy" and "I Remember Dying" -- I appreciate your lyrical sensibilities, so it was special that you noted some of my lines you liked.
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I'm glad you took it as a compliment! It was meant to be. Not everyone welcomes comparisons, but I really felt similarities there with Blackstar especially (which in my mind is a work of absolute genius).
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That's Red Ink updated at last, feast your ears!
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hey thanks for the comment! now that you mention it, ā€œScorecardā€ does make a great closer. I may not make it to 14 songs by the 28th, so perhaps it will be that :-) (then again, I’m old enough to think that 14 songs is actually pushing close to a double album, so there’s that).
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Hey, glad you liked the song, and that your local bird population is safe from Maisie. Az is 100% an indoor boy though. He sometimes sits on the window sill and chats to the pigeons, but that's his limit.
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It absolutely works! It's amazing how, once the creativity starts flowing, it all comes together.
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@owling
Thank you for the review on "the world is wider in a bookshelf". I also think there are so many things to learn in fiction. Especially the experiences from other people. I always think it might help me not to make the same mistakes (but often i get desappointed by myself ahah)
About what you said about the difficulty to write on the natives nation history, i don't really have answers because i am part of this world priviledged people but : i read an article by a black author. Basically he was saying : white people can obviously write about racism. But they should not write from a black person point of view. They need to step aside to let the people who experienced racism speak about it. But he also said there is so much to say from a white point of view, our place in the domination and how we question it for example.
I guess what he told about racism can apply to your song even if it's not exactly the same topic. And so, i think your song is fine. :)
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@owling
Hello! Thank you for the encouraging comment and the welcome :)
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@brisk
Hello, thanks for listening to I'm Not Gay - I agree, I don't think that we really live in a culture like that any more - where people act out like that out of fear of their own sexuality. Maybe they do, I don't know, I lead a sheltered life. Listening back this morning though it sounds like something out of a time capsule from a different age. I wonder if there's a more interesting lyric I could have done - invert the situation somehow; not sure.
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@gslade
freakonomics..of course..they all blend together after a while don't they?
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80s electro is a whole strand of my musical DNA (see also jazz standards, 70s singer songwriters, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal), and I really enjoy how you've been playing with and updating those sounds. Might see if I can try something in that line over the course of the last week too. No promises, mind.
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Thanks for the lovely ideas, mate! I do think there’s room for expansion in the track, but had to rush to catch up because my song count is way behind haha!
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Thanks for the comment! Yeah, this one isn’t an homage, and definitely not an homage to the Damned. Not that there’s anything wrong with an homage to The Damned, mind.
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Big Joe Jackson fan. There's always one song every FAWM that invokes him. šŸ˜€
I have title for the album, but it's not about cleaning.
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Hey. Thanks for sharing The Cleaner. Means a great deal to know it's connecting.
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@brisk
Thanks for listening to Special Someone, and saying nice things. I sometimes find it difficult to put a song down when its just a barebones thing - if I had been less inclined to post this because it was FAWM I would probably have had a string section and orchestral percussion, possibly a massed choir in the background, before I even stopped to ask myself whether that was a good idea...
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Thanks for the comments and happy FAWMing!
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Me too. Last year was my first year and I could not believe this place existed. Like stumbling through some portal. Glad you’re here.
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Ah cheers for checking out the back catalogue, fella. Really grateful for that when there's sooooo much music to listen to right now. I think you can expet more spare arrangements this year. šŸ˜€
Looking forward to hearing more of yours!
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@oddbod
Hi, I'm glad you're enjoying FAWM. Thanks for your comments.
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Ah you're welcome, it was cracking song and I'm looking forward to more of the same.

As for my stuff, there's no hurry. I've started slow this year. Might actually get round to recording something (anything) tonight, but who knows!?
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Thanks for the comment on railforest. I’m indeed considering sending that one into clubland rather than leaving it as is. We’ll see how far I get with it this month I guess.
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Thanks, Mr Assassin!
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Thanks for the comments and follows! We have some common musical interests, it seems.šŸ˜€
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Hey, thank you for your feedback. I appreciate your hanging in with the listening. Yeah, I could probably use another verse. Cheers!
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*wink*
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Thanks for your nice comment on my song and good to meet you here in FAWMland!
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good job. You're on a perfect trajectory for 14. If that's important... if not ... it's a great first deposit.
If you want to generate more interest. Hit some of the ZONGs on the new song list (because they're in the house right this moment) and look at the FAWMERS link and choose fawmlings to grow with... the rest is the magic of FAWM....
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Thanks so much. Looking forward to your first drop, my friend. Hugs.
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@brisk
Thanks for saying something nice about Clissold Park - not really sure where that came from, onwards and upwards....
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So, on day 1, song #1 is written (Yaaaaaaaay). Now I just need to cobble together a demo. Hoping to post later today. We'll see.
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Thanks, man! Glad you found them useful. Looking forward to checking out your stuff.
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Hey, great to connect with you. Feb should be interesting!
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Ask me anything. Don't be shy. It's a great place and I'm happy if I can help you find your legs quicker.
Hugs.
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gotcha! Thanks. Wishing you a happy FAWM.
(oh, pro tip, replying on your soundboard doesn't send a notification to the intended recipient even this an @ . best way is to follow them to their board and reply, thank, etc there. Same with songs after posting. If you want to say thanks best way is to go to their profile, but the bestest way is to repay their listen with a comment on one of theres. FAWM gonna like you. You good. Hugs.
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Thanks, @fuzzy @mikeb and @sailingmagpie
Tomorrow's the big day!
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@fuzzy
Welcome to FAWM!
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@mikeb
Welcome, Happy FAWM 2023!
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Thanks so much for having a listen. Hope you have a great FAWM!
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Thank you, @debs
Excited!!!
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@debs
Welcome! šŸ˜€
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Thanks for listening!! Welcome to FAWM - I hope you love it. This place is the best. :)
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Welcome to FAWM! Hope you have a great month, and get to enjoy the community.
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Excited to find out just how many songs I can write in February, and whether any of them will be good ;)
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