FUCK new demo tapes published on YouTube

[Chris B]

The three non-"Western Edition" songs are actually Everclear, but they aren't demos. They're in-studio performances on the BBC GLR Sessions from March of 1996. I sped up the recording and mashed the crap out of the EQ to make it sound extra dodgy. (I'll try and post clean versions of those performances next week for you all.)

The "Western Edition" here is actually something I wrote a couple of years ago called "April's Fool". I joked to Eric that I could write an Everclear song about cheese in 90 minutes. I didn't write it about cheese, but I did write this in 90 minutes.

I actually talked about it in this thread back then. I was minutely worried that someone might remember me mentioning it.

I knew the Art voice didn't work. I gave it a second shot this week. The recent "new" material seemed like a perfect opportunity to use the song again. By the time I got through with it, it didn't seem that important that it didn't work. I copied the mix to an old cassette, copied it back to my computer, then EQ'ed it to death (same as the others).

Btw - the real majordomoenteract was not involved in any way. Note the 3 in the username of the YouTube videos.

Here's a clean version of the song with me singing it in my regular voice (download link on the right):


http://www.soundcloud.com/chrisblackburn/aprils-fool

If anyone really wants a clean copy of the fake Art version, I can upload that, too. But my fake Art voice makes me cringe.

[Chris B]

Not that anyone wants them, but here are the real lyrics. (I actually didn't have these in front of me when I recorded the Art version, so they vary slightly.)


I saw her talking on the phone
Standing in the blowing cold
With a whisper in her eye
As the years took flight
And the world went blind

I was just another angry man
That no one there could understand
But April listened to the fight
Strapped it all down tight
And let the fears unwind

No one could ever know
Cause the wounds don't show
And there was nowhere to go

In the middle of a fantasy
Watching as the cars go by
Inside alone
For only just one moment
Make believe

She's not what she would seem to be
She's not what she would seem
In the middle of a fantasy

April felt a humor in her soul
Dark smiles under clouds alone
She always laughed about the time
That the elevator died
With us trapped inside

I always found her sleeping facing north
She heard stories of an astral form
Where she could step outside her mind
Just slip into the night
And leave the world behind

All the stories that we told
And the miles we rolled
But there was nowhere to go
And nothing left to save

As the time went by
I counted all the chances I'd received

Answers left
Inside the only mission in deceit

One more time
Just waiting for the moment to believe

She was going to save me
She was going to save me
She was gonna save

(Backing vox:)
April, I was nothing but a fool for you

[Frasbul]

Aaah you got me.
Anyway, I really like the melody etc,
can you give me the chords?

[ekeown]

The one thing that Eric and I forgot to talk about was the reveal.

Whoops, sorry Chris.

[yourstupidgame]

Great joke! I was fooled, even though I noticed these things:

It was April 1st
The 3 known Everclear songs were live recordings (no overdubs)
Santa Monica was the full version (not like the early 1995 live version from HOB)
Western Edition was more full sounding with overdubs

I was still tricked! I must be really easy to fool, because (I'm a choir teacher) as I was walking into the classroom yesterday, I wondered to myself I wonder what April Fools jokes they'll try to play on me. As I was thinking this a student came up to me saying that her schedule had been changed and she needed to report to band. I was like, "what!!!???" April Fools! Even as I was thinking it's April Fools, I still get fooled.

Good Everclear song, Chris!

Alex

[SlowMotionTimmah]

H&H April Fools joke were funny when there were 50 people posting, not the 5 there are today. Now it's just sad and cruel.

[Chris B]

Whoops, sorry Chris.

Oh - no problem at all! Actually, what you did was perfect. I was just chuckling to myself because I sat there for a half-hour debating whether to say something or to just let it go until morning.

H&H April Fools joke were funny when there were 50 people posting, not the 5 there are today. Now it's just sad and cruel.

Wow, you're a delight.

If it was cruel, I'll take the heat for it.

Honestly, I think I was in favor of this because I was really psyched with how the song turned out. The song itself was not a joke. If I'd written it about cheese, then it would have been a joke. But, as I got into it, I realized that it really worked as a real song, not just as a style parody. I wasn't faking anything.

I was actually thinking about this today - I hope people don't think that I was in any way making fun via those lyrics. I was honestly really surprised by how quickly they came out, as I'm not usually a fast lyric writer. I especially liked the astral form bit - it's something I read about when I was a kid, but it had never crossed my mind as a lyric until this song. Even if the song was used as a "joke", I'm really, really proud of how it turned out.

If there was any issue with this year's "prank", it was that it wasn't immediately a ha-ha joke as many of the H&H April Fools have been in the past.

Aaah you got me.
Anyway, I really like the melody etc,
can you give me the chords?

I'm terrible with tabs, but it's basically this:

Verse: G D Em C D
Pre-chorus: Am G D Am D
Chorus: G D Am C D, G D Am C Em Am, C Em Am, D
Bridge: Bm C G (x3) Bm C D

All power chords, except the bridge. The verse isn't exactly those chords - high E string is open the whole time, and the B string is playing the D note throughout. The D chord there is really just that plus the F on the low E string, with everything else open.

[Copper]

If anyone really wants a clean copy of the fake Art version, I can upload that, too. But my fake Art voice makes me cringe.

Yes sir I'll take that mp3 iffen you don't mind.

[clifornia_king]

very nice....

[cien_bolas]

For a moment i thought there wouldn't be any April Fools joke this year, due to the lack of news the last years, so the fact that actually you two took the time to prepare this joke makes me happy =) even though i didn't notice it on the right time.

Good song btw.

attE: cien_bolas

[ndfan1993]

I am in Houston for the Final 4 and was browsing the internet and saw this and was like wow - then just by chance I glanced down at the date and realized it was 4/1 and knew you guys had something up your sleeve. Good stuff!

[SlowMotionTimmah]

I am a delight! I didn't mean anything negative about your song, Chris. It's cool.

[grantprobst]

Hahaha... I hate you guys!!

Came here on April 7th!! I was SO excited for a second!

Ah, well... "Fool me once, shame on... shame on... you. ...You fool me, can't get fooled again!"

[grantprobst]

Nice song by the way, chris... I does love me some good acoustic music. Great voice, to boot!

[ndfan1993]

No April Fools joke this year?