Drift and Stray

Drift and Stray
Written and Recorded 2007

I have to say, this song is a little difficult for me listen to. I keep yelling at myself, "Nathan!!! This song isn't in your range!!! Change the freaking key!!!" So it's taken me a while to get past that part of this and share it with you. "Drift and Stray" is another one that was recorded in the Spring Break session of recording at my friend Zach's apartment. I wrote the song a month or so before and specifically waited to record a full version until then. It was supposed to be a pseudo romantic song, but it definitely comes off as creepy... really listening to the lyrics, this may be a song about murder. OH WELL!

• I have to say it again, CHANGE THE KEY!!! As you can tell in the first few lines, this song is well out of my range in the lower register. Maybe I wrote it in the morning? Who knows. But I still hadn't discovered the magic of changing keys to better fit my voice. The chorus fits nicely, but those verses...that's rough. Sorry folks.
• I enjoy the chord progressions on this song. They are simple and leave a lot of room for some interesting things with the melody. Did I do those interesting things? No, I did not.
• For the most part, the melody is just outlining the triads of the chords. This could work for some parts, but it happens for the verse AND the chorus...in the same rhythm. This was written at a time when I was learning a lot of music theory and started analyzing songs that I liked. I remember particularly seeing a pattern in a lot of Muse songs, where solos and melody parts would simply be outlining the notes in the chords. I thought I had unlocked the musical key to catchy lines. I am proud to say I was incorrect, but it was an interesting observation and I learned from it.
• The first guitar solo was my attempt at a Pink Floyd solo. Zach did the second one. It is not the worst part of the song.
• I tried to make the verses interesting with backing vocals that would start a line and hold a note/word. It's a cool effect that I haven't used since and would consider trying again. 
• Like I said, this is a rough one, but it happened. And as you can see, it taught me quite a lot. In this case, I learned what NOT to do.
• Side note: Hooray for drum loops!