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This song was inspired by the movie, Adaptation (screenplay by Charlie Kaufman; starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and others). Lyrics are below. I wrote the song after seeing the movie and first performed it live at the ABC Cafe open mic in Ithaca, NY on August 19, 2003. The video is a re-creation of the open mic performance, using a GarageBand recording I made in 2010. The video itself is made by superimposing videos of the performers (shot at home, March 2010) on a screen-captured image of the ABC cafe (now closed) taken from an Evan D Williams Band YouTube video — with Evan and his band carefully removed through the magic of PhotoShop.
Adaptation
Words and music © 2003 J. Ochshorn
1. Sitting here singing at the open mic ABC cafe
Making up the words as I go along trying to find another chord to play
Marco's fiddling with the peavey amp a little more treble on the guitar
A bit more reverb on the voice please make us all sound much better than we really are
Like the warning on the radio
Interrupting all those songs played by request
This isn't real it's just a test
2. Convention has it that we go straight to verse 2 need a hook for the chorus that's coming next
I guess that this is just another ironic meditation on the song's own subtext
Like the screenplay written by the actor
Who's playing the writer writing how the film proceeds
I'm wondering what this song needs
[chorus] Here I am, here we are, how're you doing, what's it like out there
Will this sucker sink or float
Making love, come again, come inside, going down once again
Yyou hit the money note
Yeah you hit it, so hit it again
[instrumental verse, chorus]
3. Don't think I need a bridge this time get through verse 3 and go straight to the chorus
A clever rhyme wouldn't hurt about now though find something so the wait won't bore us
Almost there not a whole lot to say now
These movie crocodiles may come and go yeah but
I'm still waiting for the blood to flow
I'm still waiting for the blood to flow [chorus]
Production notes:
Song was arranged, produced, and recorded on Garageband software by J. Ochshorn. All instruments and vocals by J. Ochshorn (except "Blowing in the Wind" intro by Jennie). Instruments include some software instruments (e.g., drums and bass) played live on a midi keyboard by J. Ochshorn.
Recorded at home in Ithaca, NY, March 2010.
Remixed 2018 in Logic Pro X.
First posted 31 August 2014. Last updated: 18 August 2019