Quirky Works Music Blog

I have recently finished mastering all of these songs to CD. It took 3 CDs to fit all 49 songs! If you are interested in purchasing any or all of them, please email me at the above address. Individual CDs $10, Complete 3CD set for $25 (all prices include shipping). Thanks for listening, Brandon

February 19, 2004 | Comments (0)

Week 49 Year In Review

As this is the last song of the year, it is a musical "thank you" note to all of my listeners. Here is wishing you the best in 2004! I will leave it up to the imagination if the photo on the left is my friend Robert in a gorilla suit or if it is, in fact, Little Joe the escped gorilla preparing a PowerPoint presentation on the best ways to sneak past a zoo keeper. LYRICS

December 28, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 48 Cutting Room Floor

In the course of writing all of these songs, there were some along the way that didn't make it into full-fledged blog songs. Either I couldn't think up the right lyrics or I didn't know where to go with them musically. So here are snippets from seven of these that I stapled together and am trying to pass off as a song. Think of it as the "deleted scenes" bonus section. LYRICS

December 21, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 47 I Might Be TMBG

For those who know me, I am a long-time fan of They Might Be Giants. Recently, my friend Courtney won tickets to a live on-air performance on one of the local radio stations here in Chicago (we had to get up at 5am for it!). This song chronicles my fandom from chasing them through downtown Sacramento to my most recent experience watching their kid's concert from the basment of the Old Town School where all of their flight cases were stowed (photo at left). LYRICS

December 14, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 46
Albert The Fake Christmas Tree

Well, as it is December, I would be remiss without doing a holiday song. This is a musical adaptation of my new all time favorite Christmas story. Written by Cheryl Lowry, it is a tale of hope as Albert, who happens to be a fake christmas tree, struggles with a particularly difficult christmas. Instead of my usual lyrics page, this link will take you to Cheryl's site so you can read along and see the pictures of Albert and his family. LYRICS

December 7, 2003 | Comments (2)

Week 45
After I've Called You Sweetheart

I have been taking roadtrips with my grandfather for the last 3 years. One thing I have learned about him on these trips is that he likes to sing. I pieced his voice together from a recording I made so I could help him find a version of this song (by Johnny Marvin). My grandpa sang it when he was 14 or 15 and won an amatueur contest at the Madison Avenue Opera House in LaPorte, IN (which has since burned down). I hope to get him to record it again now that I have the music.

November 30, 2003 | Comments (2)

Week 44 Carnivale

It isn't often that I watch a TV show during the season that it actually airs, but I got caught up in Carnivale which combines a traveling carnival with the super natural (As does one of my favorite books, Geek Love). It also borrows a bit of style and pacing from Twin Peaks and the X-Files, but definitely takes on a style of its own. So I decided to make a little song about the characters on the show. LYRICS

November 23, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 43 Words (Cover)

Another of my favorite bands is Low from Duluth, Minnesota. They formed in 1993 and have been making brilliant slowcore indie music with beutiful melodies. This is an electronic rendition of one of their early works, "Words". LYRICS

November 16, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 42 Fade To Black

I was on my way to California when my friend Cheryl called me to tell me the news that Elliott Smith had killed himself. I have been a fan of his music and was very sad to think that he would never write another song. This song falls in between a tribute and admonishment against him taking his own life. If you haven't heard any of Elliott Smith's music, I strongly reccomend you take a listen. I think my favorite album is Either/Or. LYRICS

November 9, 2003 | Comments (3)

Week 41 Over-Thinking

A surreal and seemingly hallucination inspired song written while entirely sober (even caffeine-free). For the record, this song is done in the style of electronica and I have never taken Percodan. LYRICS

November 2, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 40 Random Memorandum

This week's song features rhymes sent in by listeners. Due to the wide range of rhymes, the song is quite the wild ride. It was quite the challenge to weave them all into a single song. On the lyrics page I noted who sent in what rhyme. Thanks for all those who submitted. I couln't have made this one without you. LYRICS

October 26, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 39 All Children Break Things

Thought is was time for an instrumental song (honest, it has nothing with the fact that writing lyrics is the hardest part of the the songwriting process - o.k. maybe a little). If you listen closely, near the end you can hear Adam Garcia and Adam Hervey of the band Timonium playing miscellaneous percussion. They stopped by on their 6 week tour fo the U.S.. The title is a quote from the movie Flirting with Disaster which we watched and all love.

October 19, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 38 Get The Words Right

This week's song is a long distance collaboration with Jesse Reklaw in Berkeley, CA. We record together under the name Superstring and this song coincides with a CD we are releasing this week titled "Artificial Stupidity". We have set up a website if you want to learn more about Superstring and listen to clips from the CD. In very recent news, Supertring was one of the featured artists on the KLAX radio show, The Next Big Thing. LYRICS

October 12, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 37 Marathon Woman

I have a friend who will be running her second marathon this coming Sunday. I can't even fathom what it feels like to run for almost 5 whole hours (more time than it took to write and record this song). As I will be out of town this time, I wanted to do something to show my support. So here is a theme song to cheer her on. "Go Courtney!!!!"

October 6, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 36 Little Joe

For those who don't know, Little Joe is a gorilla that managed to escape from the Boston Zoo on two different occasions. Sadly, he was captured and returned both times. But his adventures did inspire this song (though it was originally started out as a hip hop-erific cover of "Three Blind Mice"). The influence for the style of this song ought to be fairly obvious (I'll give you a hint, at one point, he had a symbol for a name). Think of Little Joe as you listen to this song. LYRICS

September 30, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 35 The Sky Is Falling

Loosely based on "The Sky Is Falling" with Chicken Little and Henny Penny, I can't quite be sure where the lyrics to this song came from. It is as if the fell right out of the sky and hit me on the head. LYRICS

September 21, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 34 Raining Blood

This week I set out to write the ultimate rocker ballad. It is a story of girl in a mental institution and a runaway boy from the wrong side of the tracks. I tried to include as many rock ballad clichés as I could (and cracked myself up in the process). So raise your lighter and imagine yourself swaying along with other fans in a huge arena as you listen to this. LYRICS

September 14, 2003 | Comments (5)

Week 33 USB Key

As always, striving to bring you original and cutting edge songs, I would like to present you with the first ever song about (as well as from the point of view of) a USB key. I think you will find that they are in fact quite happy to transfer and store files for you. LYRICS

September 7, 2003 | Comments (2)

Week 32 Black Hole In B Flat

Recently, scientists have discovered a black hole that emits and ultra low frequency note (B flat 57 octaves below middle C). While that is well and good, I want to know what they are doing to protect us from them! If we're out roaming space, what is to prevent us from falling in to a black hole? We need to raise awareness of this issue now! We need to lobby for a black hole safety month. I have written this children's song to warn them in hopes that they heed the warning before it's too late. LYRICS

August 31, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 31
The Little Rave That Went To Eleven

I received a request from Cheryl to make a rave song using the famous "goes to eleven" clip from Spinal Tap. What resulted is a pop culture puree from Airplane to the Zimpsons with a few stops along the way. So turn this one up to twelve and rave the night away.

August 24, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 30 Burma

I recently watched the movie Beyond Rangoon which depicts some of the horror when the military cracked down on protesters in 1988. Thousands of innocent people were gunned down by the regime. In 1990 the military allowed an election and Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition, was elected by over 80% of the voters. She was then placed under house arrest and is currently still being held by the military even though she is the rightful elected leader of the country. LYRICS

August 17, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 29 Tele Slug

That's right, I am a former banana slug from UCSC (pictured on left in my school uniform - No grades thank you!) This week's song comes from an old recording I found of the Tele-Slug telephone enrollment system that they started using my last year there. I love the way really old phone tree voices would say numbers and days of the week. I am sure this is all done online now.

August 10, 2003 | Comments (2)

Week 28 The Water Is Wide (Cover)

This is a cover of an old folk song. I really don't even know the origin of it other than the fact that it came out of the Old Town School songbook. I think it might be medieval or something. If anyone out there knows more about it, send me an email or post a comment.

August 3, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 27 L a z i n e s s

A song for those days when you lack the energy to overcome the couch's gravitational pull. I could say more, but am feeling too lethargic. The picture really has nothing to do with the song, but I like it and I am too lazy to think up a better photo. LYRICS

July 27, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 26 Purple Polar Bear

In case you missed it, there was recently a story about a purple polar bear in Argentina. Pretty cool, hunh?

I was recently in California and this week's song is a collaboration with famed photographer from the San Franciso Bay Area, Kevin Berne. His main instrument is the didgeridoo, but if you listen closely, you can also hear him playing two golf balls on a cement floor.

July 20, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 25 Flux Capacitor

This week I was rewiring some things in my studio and accidentally spilled a beer on the flux capacitor sending me back in time to the year 1989. I ran into my former self and we decided to write a song together. He was amazed I could play guitar and I suffered through his painfully 80’s keyboard playing. It is just like me to waste the opportunity recording a song rather than giving myself stock tips or advice on which relationships to avoid in the future. LYRICS

July 13, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 24 Spam

I decided it was time to tackle the subject of junk email. The situation is getting out of control! They are taking over our inboxes! Soon we will have to wade through a thousand messages just to get the forwarded joke email from a coworker! I have been on a crusade setting up all kinds of filters on my inbox, but those pesky bulk mailers are always just a few steps ahead of me. So send this song to as many spammers as possible. It is time for us to fight back and clog their inboxes with junk! LYRICS

July 6, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 23 Unleashed!

Inspired by actual events. The names haven't been changed. Tasha, my dog (featured on the very first blog song on this site) and I were stopped by the Chicago police and issued a $75 ticket for walking off a leash (Yes, me, not her). As I was writing the song, it started to remind me of the song Cop Show Jam which was a song from the band I used to be in, Pissant, with Jesse Reklaw and Adrian Tomine. LYRICS

June 29, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 22 Paper Plates and Cabernet

Having reached the summer solstice, I wanted to do a mellow, summery song. Most of the lyrics just kind of happened while I was singing along. I then refined them slightly. Parts are definitely about a party at Jen and Sarah's place. LYRICS

©2003 Brandon MacInnis and Quirky Works. All Rights Reserved
Photo Courtesy of NASA

June 22, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 21 Straight Outta Sacto, CA

New York, Chicago and San Francisco have countless songs written about them. But I figured other cites need theme songs too. So here is one for Sacramento, CA where I grew up. It is very "rock" which is very Sacramento. Here is a picture of me from when I used to live there. Don't I look like a rock star? LYRICS

June 15, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 20 Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)

For those who entered the contest, thank you! The winners (drawn at random) were Courtney for song "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" and Raven for genre "Soul Coughing-esque". This song nearly killed me. I am still gasping for breath. To hear the original click here. To hear a Soul Coughing song, click here. And if you want to see a list of songs that could have been, click here. This turned out to be an interesting exerceise and I will have to try it again. LYRICS

June 8, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 19 Brandon's Week (#19)

Trying to compress all the fun and excitement of one week into a 3 minute song. It wasn't easy, but here it is... You might be able to spot influences (or perhaps direct rip offs) of Bob Dylan. And in case you can't tell, that is me as a lego figure. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

June 1, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 18 Watermelon Pig

My friend Cheryl has been in Tokyo and we have been IMing back and forth. She read me a quote from a coffee vending machine (the first lines of the song) and then pointed me to this site which has pictures of various English phrases that appear in Japanese advertisements and products. Similar to our use of foreign letters and words as design elements, these English words are more for "looks" than content. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

©2003 Brandon MacInnis and Quirky Works. All Rights Reserved
Photo from www.engrish.com

May 25, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 17 Headed Down The Road

This week I wanted to do something with a 'classic rock' feel to it. Seems like there were a lot of break-up and moving down the road songs in that genre though i can't think of a single one at the moment to make my point. I took the picture of the Camero with my first camera when I was a kid growing up in Sacramento. It seems to fits the timeframe and mood of the song. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

May 18, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 16 Here To Stay

While visiting my friend Cheryl in Seattle, I had the opportunity to do some gardening. In the process of pulling weeds, planting plants, and relaxing in the backyard, I was struck by the tenacity of life. As I have mentioned, I have been studying up on the origin(s) of life. Regardless of how it started, it certainly has taken hold on this giant rock revolving around the sun and does not seem to have any plans of letting go any time soon. This instrumental song is dedicated to all life everywhere.

May 11, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 15 Secretly Harboring Bitterness

This week I had two unwitting collaborators: Miranda and Courtney. The words for this song were pulled directly from their postings at Mirandala.org. Admittedly these bits of text are taken out of context, but I think they stand on their own as poetry. Hopefully soon I will have them both over to the studio to record Miranda's drinking song she has written. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

May 4, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 14 Life In Hell

Despite the name, this does not have to do with Matt Groening's cartoon. It is in fact about Bacillus Infernus which is a microbe that can live miles below the Earth's surface. Organisms living in conditions we consider generally inhospitable are called Extremophiles. This may be the first of several songs related to microbes as I am currently working on a movie project with Raven Hanna called "OoL - Origin(s) of Life" which deals with the possible ways that life first took hold on this planet. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

April 27, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 13 Number Thirteen

Thirteen short songs about the number thirteen. The song has several influences: 1) Went with some friends to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 plays in 60 minues) - neo futuristic 2) They Might Be Giants song "Fingertips" which is a medley of short songs (from the CD Apollo 18). Don't forget to sign-up for the Quirky Works Mailing List to be notified when new songs are available to download for your listening pleasure. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

April 20, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 12 Helium

Named after Helius, the Greek god of the sun, Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. In addition to having two stable isotopes, it is also the current subject of this week's blog song. If you listen closely, you might notice that this song features a real drum kit... JUST ADDED: LYRICS

April 13, 2003 | Comments (2)

Week 11 America's Pastime

This week we have a guest writer and performer here at the Quirky Works studio. Courtney Gray has written a song about two of America's favorite pastimes (baseball and war) which have some eerie similarities. In addition to singing, she is also featured on the guitar, tambourine and bass drum. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

April 6, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 10 Baker Street (Cover)

I know there is a war going on, but spring is in the air and this song reminds me of mellower times growing up in California (even though the song itself is about London and Gerry Rafferty's legal dispute with his record label). JUST ADDED: LYRICS

March 30, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 9 Ice-Cream Melts in the Sand

This week's tune is a bit more experimental. Inspired by the madness of King George II and his war in Iraq. Hopefully the Bush regime and its weapons of mass destruction will not hold power in this country very long. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

March 23, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 8 Theme From BLOG

I decided it was time to create a theme song for my blog. I was going for a modern sitcom feel a la Friends or Malcolm In The Middle (though the end gets a little weird). This song went over my self allotted budget (8 hours to write/make). Other recommended Blogs: tiny-dog (blogging before blogging was cool); wugglyump (check out the cool photo blog); mirandala (the first person I ever heard use the word blog); slowwave (though not called a "blog," it is a weekly comic site) JUST ADDED: LYRICS

March 16, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 7 State of the Union

This started as a satirical "rap" song about the arrest of a man wearing a "Give Peace a Chance" t-shirt at a mall in New York. But after listening to Bush's speech on Thursday night, I noticed he was using the word "peace" a lot as he tried to make his case for war. I decided to record the rest and put snippets into the song. Here's a song hoping for a peaceful de-escalation of current global tensions. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

March 9, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 6 Watership Down (revised 3/4)

Desperate for lyrics to accompany this somber tune, I turned to my bookshelf for inspiration. I picked up my copy of Watership Down by Richard Adams, picked a page at random (p.136) and began singing. It took a bit of massaging, but I think I finally got it to fit. For another story about a rabbit, check out tiny-dog. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

March 2, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 5 All the World

Probably not the last stream of conscious tune to be posted here. Though I did try to reign it in to a repeating phrase rather than complete rambling for four minutes. As I was looking for a picture of a stage, I ran across this site titled "Red Stuff We Have Seen". I wish I had seen the site first because the song would have been about red things I have seen in my life. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

February 23, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 4 Goodbye Dolly

With all that is going on in the world right now, perhaps some have missed the passing of the first cloned mammal, Dolly. I have always had a fascination with cloning and was sorry to hear that she had been put to sleep. I borrowed a bit from Louis Armstrong on this one. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

February 16, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 3 The 70's Are Calling Me

Remember rotary dial telephones? Then this song is for you. Play this one on speakerphone or download to use as a custom ringtone on your cell phone. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

February 9, 2003 | Comments (0)

Week 2 Work Sucks

This is an original song inspired by actual events (namely work sucking). It is dedicated to anyone with a job who wishes they didn't have one. JUST ADDED: LYRICS

NEW - a sing-along version created by Scott Baldridge

February 2, 2003 | Comments (1)

Week 1 Kid Fears (Cover)

A cover of an Indigo Girls song. Features some solo singing by Tasha (my dog). JUST ADDED: LYRICS

January 26, 2003 | Comments (4)

	*QUIRKY WORKS / MUSIC* */ BLOG*
	A weekly music diary of original tunes and the occasional cover. To download, right click on the links to save them to your computer (they are MP3 files). Sign-up for the QW Mailing List to be notified when new songs are posted. Comments? drop me a line - brandon@quirkyworks.com CDs Now available! See below for ordering info..