Happy December, folks! It’s Advent season. That means…I’m sharing Christmas music! But more on that later. O Lord the Valley WeepsLast week, I released “O Lord the Valley Weeps,” a rootsy gospel tune with some “celtification” going on. It’s actually an old tune, circa 2012 or so, but I never did a proper release due to the quality of the original recording — the acoustic guitar and voice were recorded with one microphone, and the guitar was too loud, overpowering the vocal and making the lyrics hard to make out. But with the recent advent of A.I. stem separation, I was able to separate the vocal from the guitar and mix them separately, creating a great mix. Technology is crazy. The song itself is about how the Lord lifts up the lowly, bringing joy to those who weep, and promises good to the downtrodden. It’s inspired by the “Sermon on the Mount” — which is to say, it is preachy insofar as Jesus taught that the way to receiving these blessings was to follow Him in His lowliness, weeping, downtroddenness, etc. I have a fond memory of recording this at my old loft in Brooklyn, and showing it to my roommate Benjamin Lazar Davis (a fine songwriter himself — I vividly remember hearing him and Bridget Kearney writing Lake Street Dive’s “Rabid Animal” in our living room while I was trying to take a nap, lol) who described the tune as “triumphant". Most triumphant! Lyrics: O Lord the valley weeps, but he shall be Your mountain O lonesome widows cry for your tears are of His fountain Broken-hearted, paranoid, anger-laden, so annoyed Panic-hearted, so afraid, weak-minded, flesh-betrayed O Lord the valley weeps, but he shall be Your mountain O flesh don’t be aroused, but by the Spirit live O hands don’t close and take, but openly receive and give Hunger pains, hunger pains, lost and cold in the cold and rain Faint of heart, hard of hearing, Fading away and disappearing O flesh don’t be aroused, but by the Spirit live O Jesus from the other side I hear Your voice a-calling O Jesus, from Your heavenly throne, I hear Your voice a-calling “Everyone, everywhere, come to Me now, don’t be scared! “My Father’s house has many homes! “Walk this earth as a saint who roams!” O Jesus from the other side I hear Your voice a-calling O brothers, see that open door? A blinding light is shining O sisters can’t you see that door? A blinding light is shining Shine on me, shine on you, shine on forever — shine on through! That open door has a narrow gate Come on, now brothers don’t you be afraid! O brothers, see that open door? A blinding light is shining O Lord the valley weeps, but he shall be Your mountain O lonesome widows cry for your tears are of His fountain Broken-hearted, paranoid, anger-laden, so annoyed Panic-hearted, so afraid, weak-minded, flesh-betrayed O Lord the valley weeps, but he shall be Your mountain  You’re StupidOne of my favorite DJ’s at the Vineyard’s own WMVY, Alison Hammond, once posted about how anyone who would make fun of special needs children is “Stupid, but not in your mind — in your heart.” The song wrote itself. It ended up being about cutting off toxic relationships, that sort of thing. The second psychedelic section with the unintelligible lyrics arose spontaneously as I was tracking the demo, and I thought it very trippy and Beatles-esque so I kept it, and layered it with all sorts of synthy psych-rock fun. Lyrics: Picking up where we left off, picking off scabs we pick apart Picking up pieces of a puzzle that’s a picture of my broken heart I’ve picked my brain, and picked my side So snap a pic of this piece of my mind You’re stupid, but not in your mind, you’re stupid in your heart You’re stupid, you’re stupid Holding off from holding on, no I ain’t holding out I’m giving up on you, but I ain’t giving you ground So I take your picture off my shelf, but I’m shelving you I can’t put up with this so I’ve gotta put you down I can’t let this go on, so I gotta let it go, so let’s go now If you can’t keep up, you can’t keep me The Lord I pray my soul to keep You’re stupid, but not in your mind, you’re stupid in your heart You’re stupid, you’re stupid  Lofi Beats for Study, Dishwashing, and DanceThe story behind this 28-song release is sort of funny. I was having some issues getting my Friday tunes out on time, and I was racking my brain as to how to make it up to y’all for these late single drops. Well, wouldn’t you know it — I produce a lot of beats, and usually listen to them while I wash dishes (Santa, can I have a dishwasher machine please?). As I listened to some of my beats one night dishwashing, it occurred to me to start releasing my beats! Why not just compensate for the late singles with a 28 SONG FREAKIN’ ALBUM! The story behind the album name: I usually listen to my beats when I’m doing Bible study, dishwashing, or when we’re doing a family dance party. My daughters love these beats. I’m sure you will too! BTW there’s several more unreleased so look out for Volume 2 sometime in the future… (I’ve linked what I think should be a playlist of the whole album below, hopefully it plays through all the tunes for you)  Coming Soon: Christmas MusicStay tuned! In the coming Adventtide , I’ll be releasing Christmas music! Some classic “chestnuts” (hint hint) as well as some of my own Christmas originals. God bless and thanks for your support! Sean You're currently a free subscriber to Sean McMahon. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Monday, December 2, 2024
New Music Roundup
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