Leon

Leon was a character in the film “Blade Runner” – this instrumental is a reflection of his state of mind at the end of its shelf-life. I wrote it and played all the instruments, except drums (John Orem) and cello (Josh Aerie).

I Really Didn’t Mean It!

SONG – When I wrote “I Really Didn’t Mean It!”, I was thinking of a ‘Buck Owens meets the Rolling Stones in 1965 with the drummer from Blondie’ kind-of-thing. This song was performed by one of my bands, The Revellaires – words + music (c) John Carmody

Goodbye My Baby

ORIGINAL SONG: People of a certain fortunate generation grew up idolizing the guitar riff and guitar solo. This song is a reflection of that. A power-pop rocker, “Goodbye My Baby”  is performed here by one of my bands, The Revellaires. (words/music © John Carmody, Washington, DC).

Arbor Day

I was listening to The Jam and The Buzzcocks quite a bit when I wrote this one…

…it’s hard to get a song in under 2 minutes, I came close, but…

recorded by The Revellaires.

(© music by John Carmody, words by John Carmody & Kevin Johnson)

The Lady Vanishes

“The Lady Vanishes” combines dynamic sampling and a high-octane performance engineered & mixed with a fierce attitude. This instrumental was influenced a lot by the Stone Temple Pilots, Soul Coughing & Cheap Trick. Here it’s performed by one of my bands, Down With Meyers. This version is a live take – play it loud.

Olde Town Crier

This song was influenced a lot by Supergrass, ELO & later-career Beatles. The cello section (for 3 parts) was composed and arranged by me. “Olde Town Crier” is performed here by one of my bands, Down With Meyers.

A Real Moral Let-Down

When I wrote “A Real Moral Let-Down”, I was listening to a lot of Louis Jordan, the La’s and Social Distortion. It’s performed here by one of my bands, Casey’s Brain, and features a couple of smoking guitar solos backed with a tight rhythm section and a girl singer.

Mailbox

A pretty waltz I came up with in a moment of bleakness. I wrote the words & music and composed & arranged the string quartet. “Mailbox” is performed here by one of my bands, Casey’s Brain.

Mary What’s Her Name

A pretty song written by me for Mother’s Day. It’s in 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4, and was influenced by the Beatles, Grant-Lee Philips and Simon & Garfunkel. I played all the instruments except the drums (John Orem.)

Kid From Kansas

This song combines elements of surf, pop & psychedelia in a lamentation about commuting to work and wishing you were in an idealized place instead. Influenced by XTC, The Who, The Beatles, Crowded House, REM and Dick Dale, it is performed here by Casey’s Brain (audio only.)

Half-Carved Heart

A brooding, pretty piece about being a kid during World War II, and then going back to your 50th grade school reunion. Influenced by Crowded House, Simon & Garfunkel & REM, this song was performed by Casey’s Brain (audio only)

Your Polite Applause

A song about not getting what you need when you could’ve used it, “Your Polite Applause” was influenced by the Everley Brothers, the Cars, the Osbourne Brothers, The Who, the Byrds and Simon & Garfunkel. Recorded by Casey’s Brain.
(audio only)