I'm recording demos for an upcoming album, one of which, Redwing,
I will be releasing today. Here are some thoughts about the "demonstration tape."
Record Destroyer
The Top 40, towering electromagnetic beasts, surround us. Our eyes are not nearly big enough to see them, but we have other detection devices. A combination amplifier/demodulator, commonly known as a radio, lets us know they are there and how powerful they have become. Occasionally, the tuner of the radio may stumble upon an unfamiliar transmission—something horrid and unfamiliar in its realness. Initially, the signal is weak, but you can follow it until it strengthens. The source is a 10,000 Watt transmitter—a 20-mile radial pollution of the lowest budget recordings imaginable.
The western neural network has come to prefer an absurdly specific blend of 18th-century European rules concerning harmony, and 21st-century pro-studio craftsmanship, with final decisions being made by teams of marketing experts. Amazingly, this system has not been a complete disaster, and the soul of a song can somehow survive and sometimes even thrive in this context.
The recording studio, at its worst, performs heart surgery on a track - its tools: quantization, pitch correction, performance comping, drum replacement, and compression. The result can be clinical, dressed up in the lab coats of engineers past. What remains of inspiration after such a procedure? A knotted mass of struggling muscle interspersed with pig valves and PVC tubing.
I do not seek to condemn professional recordings; Aja would not have the same effect without its pristine top coating. Imagine that Fagen and Becker said to hell with the nearly 40 session musicians and played everything themselves. Drink your big black cow and get out of here. As previously stated, many things thrive in this realm.
Songs are not born this way, of course, and the demo recording is the first recorded history of their progression. The demo often exists closest to the moment of revelation and ecstasy, capturing something far more ethereal than the official release. This moment can come at any point in a song's life, but having the first moments of a song's life on tape is like holding the ectoplasm following a spiritualistic trance.
Teen Spirit. Adult Flesh.
It is well known that Nirvana was not happy with the sound of Nevermind. If Bleach was a harsh, industrial cleaner, Nevermind was more like Oxy-Clean. Butch Vig's production got the job done, in any case. Bleach was never going to launch the band into the mainstream. In Utero was a return to form. Steve Albini is an engineer, not a producer, and the raw chaos contained in the record is what Nirvana really sounds like. It sold about half as many copies as Nevermind (in other words, a shit-ton), but many of those purchases were piggyback rides. Imagine what Scentless Apprentice would sound like if it had been on Nevermind. The rehearsal demo for Smells Like Teen Spirit is what it would sound like if it had been on In Utero.
Two Boys Wait on The Man
Last year, under the direction of Laurie Anderson, an album of demos was released from its resting place behind some of Lou Reed's art books. These are the first known recordings of Reed and his new creative partner John Cale. They sound like little boys that have just started a spell; two young Warlocks. Soon the magic would become an inevitable explosion; the ground would open up, and a Velvet Underworld would consume them. This recording takes place somewhere around 1965. Two years later, the version of I'm Waiting For The Man that appears on their Velvet Underground and Nico album would be released. What the fuck happened in those two years?
A Suicide in Nebraska
On occasion, what was intended as a demo becomes the actual release. The album Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen is one such example. The echo-laden shouts against the simplest of guitar riffs are an homage to one of the Boss's favorite groups: Suicide. The E Street Band are the perfect travelers for Thunder Road, but they have no place on this particular stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike. The Electric Nebraska sessions do exist, and many of those songs would later make it onto Born in The USA, but the kitchen demo versions outperformed the remainder. Perhaps they could have made the remainder work if Clarence Clemons had consulted with Angelo Badalamenti.
The remainder of the playlist is what I could gather in the corners of Spotify. There is a lot less available than you would think.Almost all are demos of some sort. Fleetwood Mac's Dreams is an early studio take, and Beck's It's All In Your Mind is from his K Records album One Foot in The Grave. I included it here because it would later appear on his Sea Change, having undergone its own transformation.
Youtube is a better place to find demos, however. You can find almost anything there. Just search "Your Favorite Artist + Demo," I don't think you will be disappointed. I will continue to add to these playlists.
Spotify Tracklist (Thus Far):
Smells Like Teen Spirit Rehearsal Demo - Nirvana
I'm Waiting For the Man May 1965 Demo - Lou Reed (and John Cale)
State Trooper (from Nebraska) - Bruce Springsteen
My Generation (Version 3 Demo) - The Who *there is an even earlier Townshend version on Youtube, as well as his early versions of just about any song by The Who.
It's a Beautiful Day (Original Spontaneous Idea April 1980) - Queen
I Wanna Be Adored Demo -The Stone Roses
Just Like Honey Demo - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Satellite of Love Demo - The Velvet Underground
Wave of Mutilation Demo 2 - The Pixies
1979 (Sadlands Demo) - The Smashing Pumpkins
Your Song Demo- Elton John
Strawberry Fields Forever Demo Sequence - The Beatles
The Chain Demo - Fleetwood Mac
Waltz #1 Demo - Elliot Smith
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend Demo - The Ramones
Tusk 1/15/79 Demo - Fleetwood Mac
Let's Get It On Demo- Marvin Gaye
Wildflowers Home Recording- Tom Petty
Bad Day Athens Demo - R.E.M.
Staring At The Sun Demo - TV on The Radio
Maps Early 4 Track Demo- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
My Best Friend's Girl Demo - The Cars
Our House Demo - Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell
Do You Realize (1st Chords Wayne Demo)- The Flaming Lips
In the Dark Places Demo- PJ Harvey
Redondo Beach Demo- Patti Smith
It's All in Your Mind (from One Foot in The Grave) - Beck
Quicksand Demo- David Bowie
Downs Demo- Big Star
Purple Rain (Piano and a Microphone 1983)- Prince
Dreams (Take 2) - Fleetwood Mac
Surfs Up: Piano Demo- The Beach Boys
Walking With Jesus Demo - Spacemen 3
Take on Me Demo- a ha
Once I had A Love (AKA The Disco Song) - Blondie
Scentless Apprentice (Studio Demo) - Nirvana
Falling into Love Theme (Demo Version) - Angelo Badalamenti
Demos 1977- Suicide ( 31 minute Playlist)
Optimistic Demo- Radiohead
Soldier Demos- Iggy Pop (Hour long Playlist)
Mutilated Lips from the Mollusk Sessions- Ween
Changes (1971 Demo)- David Bowie
I'll Come Running (Demo)- Brian Eno
I Walk The Line (Early Demo Version, 1955) - Johnny Cash
Nobody Demo - The Replacements
First Demo - Fugazi (35 minute Playlist)
A couple posts back I wrote about autobiographical playlists. Here is a new one I'm working on.
What's Wrong- Elliot Fullam
I was at the infamous Record Connection in Ephrata, Pennsylvania last week. This was playing while I looked through the bins. It's simple, sweet, and sounds a lot like early Elliot Smith. Fullam is only 17 years old and yet he's been running the Little Punk People site for nine years. He interviews musicians from Ice-T and Ernie C of Body Count to Tom Araya of Slayer. Not to mention that he is an actor currently starring in the sequel to the cult horror film Terrifier. I hope he continues to make more records because this is better than most indie rock out there right now.
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