A quick, awkward, VERY ROUGH recording made especially to try to win a songWRITING challenge …. and maybe some money!
ABOUT THE VIDEO
It’s me, Wanda Pecker, trying to play piano and sing at the same time (OMG that is hard!) while also trying to read the lyrics I finished writing just the day before and have not practiced playing at all. Partly because the vision for the song doesn’t even have piano in it, and should sound waaaaay better.
I repeat: I shared this video NOT to try to win a singing contest, NOT to try to win a piano-playing contest … but hoping for a cash prize for telling a story via song. Chances were better for catching judges’ eyes and standing out by submitting a video in addition to the words.
I should have worked on this sooner to allow time to practice and actually memorize the lyrics. I hope my unpolished amateur barebones “performance” gives an idea of the song’s potential; it’s the song I wanted to showcase. I only used my own voice and piano as a stand-in; they were all I had at hand until I learn to use Ableton and record a real polished multi-track production with the arrangement and instrumentation I hear in my head. Still … no matter how halting, minimal, unprofessional, or riddled with mistakes, playing and singing a song with your real unpolished voice will always do a better job of conveying what a song sounds like than plain flat black words on a white background.
ABOUT THE SONG
Key of G major
In the neighborhood of / somewhere between 63 and 73 beats per minute
verse 1
Flesh tones: that’s how you got me
Stopping traffic after church on Sunday
Strong legs like strange beige candy
How I want your limbs wrapped around me
/// transitional dreamy B chord riff
CHORUS
FLESH TONE … pantyhose
Pink nails peeking through your open-toes
FLESH tones …
verse 2
Modest dress, flutter sleeves, Easter basket
Dirty knees kneeling on (the) green grasses
Pastor says he shouldn’t take so many chances
(Your) thighs wasted on a man who won’t smash it.
/// transitional dreamy B chord riff
CHORUS
FLESH TONE … straps and bows
Garter belt holding up your silk hose
FLESH tones …
verse 3
Monday comes, heading back to the office
Paint a snag with nail polish from your pocket
Trench coat hanging from your frame lightly
Suntan clinging to your legs tightly.
/// transitional dreamy B chord riff
CHORUS
FLESH TONE … pantyhose
Shiny mesh legs veiled in honeycomb
FLESH tones …
“Flesh Tones” is a song I’ve been working on since 2021. The first verse, chorus, and composition has been playing like a reverberating dream in my head ever since.
A couple months ago, I finally finished writing most of the lyrics the day before the cutoff deadline for submitting to the aforementioned songwriting competition.
“Flesh Tones” is a companion piece to “The Bruise”, with a third song to come and create a half hour or so of unbroken music that segues seamlessly from one song to the next. This trilogy of songs is part of a vision we have of creating long-playing songs and music that maintain vibes for significant stretches of time, like a recurring dream that can last all through moody, seductive, ambient, non-nude and softcore fetish videos. In the case of “Flesh Tones”, one that involves a lot of nylon legwear/hosiery and pretty dresses.
Movie music, country-western, and radio ballads of the 1940s and 1950s are big influences on me, along with alt movie and music stars of Generation X like David Lynch, Chris Isaak, and Cowboy Junkies. I love words and music full of solitary longing that evoke the sounds of colors, cars, motion, and texture. The way I hear “Flesh Tones” in my head there are reverberating vibes, swishy brushes on snare, dreamy retro Chordettes-style backup vocals, and a thrown-back-to-the-fifties-ish but also less-hetero Lana Del Rey mood.
While the title / refrain of “Flesh Tones” is an overt reference to and fascination with skin-colored legwear and lingerie, it also serves as a nod to Silvertone: the classic Sears brand of guitars, amps, and other instruments that made making music affordable and accessible to consumers across America from 1916 to 1972. Silvertone is also the name of a 1985 Chris Isaak album: a cassette I loved listening to loudly while driving as a teenager.
To me, “Silvertone” is also a kind of challenge to make music using tools that have a classic retro cool, but pros might consider substandard, cheap, or amateurish. Pantyhose are another such cheap retro tool that continue to create magic. I hope “Flesh Tones” conveys some of that magic-charm hypnotic quality of old familiar fabrics, colors, and sounds. What can YOU make with a Silvertone and cheap sheer nylon fabric?
I’m grateful for the contest giving me the push to get “Flesh Tones” closer to completion, and enjoy the story-shaping process I love so much about writing songs. Working on this song and forcing myself to sing and play it on camera helped me feel a few steps closer to bringing our musical visions to reality, and confident in there being a purpose to continuing to work on becoming proficient with Ableton and other music production tools we have that I need to learn and practice using more.