Today I present the first of twelve new songs, with backing vocals by the talented Helen Austin. I’ll probably make some tweaks for the album, but since I’m already a day behind my “song a week” schedule, I’m going to set it aside and move on.

907Britt was so taken with the song that she covered it before even hearing it, based solely on the instrumental “Hoover Slam” snippet and lyrics. As you might expect, she took it in a very different direction. She even made a video, which you can see here:

The Rock Band Network Store has launched on the Xbox 360! “If Not Now When” is one of 105 songs currently available. It’s only a buck (80 points), but you can demo it for free. If you purchase the song, you’ll be given the chance to rate it. The store sorts by rating, so your support raises my visibility!

If you’re interested in learning about the authoring process, check out my two articles the subject here and here.

Here’s my first full draft of the lyrics for “Touch” (based on the Hoover Slam snippet), along with a player so you can hear the vocal melody through the first refrain. The rest of the lyrics fit the same melodic patterns, so you should be able to sing along with the entire song. It’s all one note per syllable, except the last syllable of the second and fifth lines of the verses, plus the word “side” at the end of the refrain, which are sung across two notes. The first “back” in stanza four is sung on an extra pickup note.

Thoughts? I’m wide open to your suggestions, but before you suggest a word-for-word substitution, try singing it to be sure it’s a good fit. I’m often forced to abandon a “perfect” line because it’s awkward to sing. Poets must have it easy.

Touch
©2010 Brian Hazard (ASCAP)

It’s only natural to demand
That I should free your captive hand
When we’re not seeing eye to eye
And when that thinly veiled contempt
Descends to open discontent
It’s positively justified

Casual facts, inaccurate claims
Apologies that won’t take the blame
When compromise is conquered by pride
All it takes is one touch and I’m back on your side

When sleeping with the enemy
There’s no “excuse me,” “thanks,” or “please”
It doesn’t pay to be polite
And in a twist of irony
Love is a liability
We must control our appetites

Back to back we’ve drawn our line in the sand
A house divided taking a stand
Emotionless like part of us died
All it takes is one touch and I’m back on your side

Forgiveness is a powerful word
To speak is not always to be heard
When talking leaves us unsatisfied
All it takes is one touch and I’m back on your side.

Three months ago, I started working on a new album. As of today, I’ve got thirty song snippets and a dozen lyric brainstorms to show for it. My next step is to flesh out these raw materials into finished songs – one per week for twelve weeks. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ve only got 120 days left to FedEx my completed master to Disc Makers, or else I forfeit the replication package I won as a prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Here are all thirty snippets, starting with the ones that I’m most likely to develop into songs. While a handful may survive nearly intact, I’ll be picking and choosing elements from most of them. Crushed Rose is at the bottom because I already used it as the basis for my a-ha cover, Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale.

Are any of your favorites low on the list? Let me know! I really could go either way on most of them, so your input has the potential to shape the album to a large degree.

I’m eager and excited, but mostly relieved, to present the final three snippets ahead of schedule. Two more lyric brainstorm sessions and I’ll start knocking out songs.

Retro Alto refers to La Roux, who I was listening to when I sat down to create this. I don’t want to venture too deeply into 80’s synthpop, but the crisp drum samples pull it into the present, to my ears at least.

Little Richie could be my final attempt at swing feel. If I can’t piece a song together between this and Swing Vampires (from the last batch), it wasn’t meant to be. I think I like this one a little better, despite the Harold Faltermeyer vibe.

Glowing thumps. Looking back over the lot, not too many of these snippets do. It seemed appropriate to close with a simple stomper that could go in many different directions.

In the next couple of days, I’ll post a single player with all thirty snippets, and a list of the song titles as they currently stand.

I managed to maintain my snippet per day pace for three days. Only three more to go before I start shaping a half hour’s worth of raw materials into actual songs!

Swing Vampires is a rare dalliance in swing time. “Vampires” just popped into my head, like most of the names of these snippets (which aren’t meant to be actual song titles, btw). This one is both dark and uptempo, two qualities which usually negate each other.

White Mantra is one of my favorites. I’ve already got a soaring vocal melody in mind, and I’ve no doubt that at least that and the main piano vamp will make it into a song. 3/4 isn’t exactly an odd time signature, but it will provide a nice contrast to the rest of the album.

Grey Squares is shaping up to be one of those dark quirky tracks that I tend to gravitate to, and others tend to dislike (see “Sagittarius” and “Monochrome”). It’s got a snappy groove though – you’ve got to give it that much! That high lead that starts in the middle sounds exactly like a part in Martin L. Gore’s Counterfeit EP, though I can’t remember which song it’s from.

p.s. For those of you who subscribed to site updates via email, you’ll need to visit colortheory.com to actually hear these snippets.

Sometimes lightning really does strike twice. Color Theory was nominated for Best Electronic in the OC Music Awards for the second year in a row. Last year’s winner isn’t on the list, so maybe I’ve got a shot. Win or lose, lots of good stuff came out of it last time, and I expect the same this time around. I’ve already submitted “We’re Not Getting Any Younger” for an online compilation that should draw some attention.

I considered undertaking a massive get out the vote effort for the People’s Choice Award, but decided to spare you the onslaught of email reminders. When I ask for your vote in the next internet popularity contest, please remember that I at least pick my battles.

The awards ceremony takes place on March 6. If I somehow come out on top, I’ll let you know! If not, this is the last you’ll hear of it.

128 days left to finish my new album. To stay on schedule, I need to complete 6 more snippets and 7 more lyric brainvomits by the end of the month. That boils down to one of each per day, which is pretty ambitious considering my pace so far. Here are the three latest snippets:

Sliding Into Obscurity wins the award for most notes in a single snippet. Rest assured the vocals won’t be so frantic. I’m envisioning a series of sustained notes against a moving backdrop. I’ll probably reinforce the higher line with another synth or two joining in at key accent points.

Hoover Slam is my take on the mid-tempo R&B ballad, with double-time vocals over a slow groove. Needless to say, it won’t sound like R&B when I’m done with it! I’m thinking of going into the bass “slam” at the end of the chorus, rather than the beginning.

Calamity is in 5/4. I keep telling myself I need to write in odd time signatures, but I’m never happy with what comes out. Note to the musically illiterate: most pop music has four beats per measure (count “1, 2, 3, 4″). This snippet has five, which makes for a 25% improvement from a purely mathematical perspective.

I just launched a new Color Theory music store at music.colortheory.com

Just because it’s a store doesn’t mean you have to buy anything. You can listen through all ten of my releases in their entirety, including two you won’t find anywhere else. Hear a live coffeehouse performance on the reissue of Sketches in Grey, or 26 song-a-week piano/vocal demos on Like Clockwork, or if you’re up for a good laugh, my cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” on Covers & Rarities. Then restore your opinion of me with my latest album or EP. It’s all there – every song, every album, every lyric.

If you do choose to buy something, you’ll be able to download it immediately in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, Apple Lossless, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. Enter promo code “launch” to get 20% off through the end of February.

I’ve only got 137 days left to finish my album, and only 21 short song snippets to show for it. You would therefore be justified in wondering how I’m able to present a list of 13 song titles to you today, in no particular order:

The Timekeeper
Pretend Extroverts
It Must Be Halloween
Plan B
If Anything Happened
Backseat
Song Named After a Girl
Fifth of July
Close
Like Kings
Storm Before the Calm
Crawlspace
Two

After seeing this list, you would be justified in concluding that I’ve finished a song or two. You’d be wrong. I’ve got a chorus for Crawlspace, and vocals recorded for Two, which I originally wrote for a collaboration that stalled out. That’s it.

It’s unconventional, but I like to start my songs from a title. This list represents the most promising nuggets from my song ideas text file. Next I’ll brainstorm a pile of prose for each title, and dump the ones that the gods of inspiration frown upon.

By the end of the month, I’ll have a dozen fleshed out song ideas and thirty song snippets. I’ll marry off the lyrics to the snippets that match best, and the real songwriting will begin.