A rare and wicked skill to change the light or weather no room was spared. No mood shown her mercy. I was a tireless fool. I thought I could do better. I left in flames, a paper shade hanging from a light. And when it came to the wrecking ball she swung effortlessly like it had no weight at all. And when it came to her victories, the genus names of all the flowers that were feeding off her amazing glow. I changed my master plan. I changed my friends and city. I go to sleep, I still wake up screaming. I dream so full and real, you'd think I would know better. I try to stave off a new day from rising. And when it came to the wrecking ball she swung effortlessly like it had no weight at all. And when it came to her victories, the genus names of all the flowers that were feeding off her amazing glow....
How much of a donation would I have to make in order to get the guitar chords for “Son of a Bitch” so I can play it stoned and alone in my basement? Name your price, Pernice!
Those “studio in a box” units were all the rage back then. I still have a Zoom model that a friend used to record with as recently as last year. It burns CDs!
As a fellow MV88 user, that is an impressive piece of gear, eh? I got the MV88+ because it has video gear (tripod, phone clip, cords for Apple and Android) but I’m using it the same way you are here, for great-sounding single-mic performance capture. Highly recommended for the other songwriters here if you want an upgrade over your phone mic and voice memos.
Now, If the nice people at Shure can just figure out a way to make me write, sing and play as well as Joe Pernice I am willing to pay and have the money set aside…
Hey Joe, I noticed "Subject Drop" is missing from the tracklist for the new vinyl edition (which I'm really looking forward to). Any particular reason? I always loved that tune.
I’m so late to commenting but this is probably my fave song of yours - and I watched that show the first time ever because you were going to be on it - to date the only episode I’ve ever seen.
Finally catching up on reading and listening to all of these posts, and the Gilmore Girls part of the essay had me cackling like a madman. Ama big fan of the show and loved the episode with all the troubadors piggybacking on Grant Lee Phillips' coattails. Thank you for this, Joe.
This is probably my favorite Pernice Brosthers song - the lyrics are outstanding. I'm particularly fond of "I changed my master plan, I changed my friends and city. I go to sleep, I still wake up screaming." Definitely a path I've been down...
A beautiful version of a beautiful tune, thanks for posting. You mentioned the key change for this recording, but didn't elaborate. Just curious here... why the change?
On this recording I played the song in C in standard tuning, which is a step down from the album version. On the latter I used a capo. The reason I skipped the capo here is because I played & sang live, and the higher key would have required me to sing louder to hit the notes. I tried it and was pinning the mic.
Last week you mentioned Joyce. This week you mention Ric Menck. You are surrounded by all of my favorite people. You should appreciate that fact. I'm not sure why, but you should.
I love these posts so much. I love "Amazing Glow" so much and I love that you were inspired by the tone of the guitar in "Golden Brown."
Shawn mentions The Beach Boys and, while I don't immediately hear the connection, I have connected you with them otherwise. I mentioned the song that I wrote that was my way of trying to write a Pernice Brothers song, and everyone close to me heard it, and the falsetto that I hit in the chorus and assumed I was either ripping from The Beach Boys (I don't hide my obsession with Brian Wilson very well) or Radiohead when all the while, it was you.
The main thing in common, though, to me at least, is that you have such a deep sense of melody in everything you sing, which always melts my heart the way that "Surf's Up" does. Maybe it's because you grew up on 70s AM radio pop like I did. That sense of melody permeated me when I was 5 and watching the Monkees and it never left. It's what I connected with immediately when I first heard Pernice Brothers.
I have a very distinct memory of seeing you at the Middle East downstairs several years ago. It was actually the only time I got to see you live and I was blown away to hear your voice through that always-too-loud PA system and to realize that the distinct quality to your voice that I loved and always assumed was studio trickery (breathy doubletracking? super expensive vintage German microphone? an aural exciter? magic fairy dust?) was actually just your voice. Plain and simple. It's all there on an SM58. Take that as a compliment.
Thank you for posting these stories and videos. I am really enjoying them.
Menck helped explain the Matthew Sweet reference in a previous post. Menck was always my favorite Sweet drummer, and it compelled me to find my old Velvet Crush CD, Teenage Symphonies To God, the title of which references The Beach Boys. The whole thing felt like a Jim Garrison connect-the-dots fever dream.
Great comment Rodgre. My Beach Boys comment was more about the vocal rounds at the outro of Amazing Glow and God Only Knows, it's not something you hear often and when done well, as in these two songs, it's a pretty neat trick. I definitely agree though that melody is the through line from Joe's songwriting to The Beach Boys. The other connection being Barry Manilow, who Joe covered with his wonderful album "Could It Be Magic", and one of Barry's biggest hits being "I Write The Songs" which was about Brian Wilson and written by Bruce Johnston who joined The Beach Boys not long before they recorded Pet Sounds and can be heard harmonizing with Brian at the end of "God Only Knows", and now it's all come full circle!
Lovely version of maybe my favorite Pernice Brothers song. I especially love the vocal rounds at the outro, those kill me. Wonder if you had "God Only Knows" in mind when you were working on that arrangement in the studio?
36 better!!
As opposed to the Gimmel 100, which is 20 better than the Gimmel 80, but which we are not allowed to discuss due to pending lawsuits.
How much of a donation would I have to make in order to get the guitar chords for “Son of a Bitch” so I can play it stoned and alone in my basement? Name your price, Pernice!
Another great song. Dig the Triple J sticker on the guitar case!
Those “studio in a box” units were all the rage back then. I still have a Zoom model that a friend used to record with as recently as last year. It burns CDs!
As a fellow MV88 user, that is an impressive piece of gear, eh? I got the MV88+ because it has video gear (tripod, phone clip, cords for Apple and Android) but I’m using it the same way you are here, for great-sounding single-mic performance capture. Highly recommended for the other songwriters here if you want an upgrade over your phone mic and voice memos.
Now, If the nice people at Shure can just figure out a way to make me write, sing and play as well as Joe Pernice I am willing to pay and have the money set aside…
Hey Joe, I noticed "Subject Drop" is missing from the tracklist for the new vinyl edition (which I'm really looking forward to). Any particular reason? I always loved that tune.
I’m so late to commenting but this is probably my fave song of yours - and I watched that show the first time ever because you were going to be on it - to date the only episode I’ve ever seen.
Finally catching up on reading and listening to all of these posts, and the Gilmore Girls part of the essay had me cackling like a madman. Ama big fan of the show and loved the episode with all the troubadors piggybacking on Grant Lee Phillips' coattails. Thank you for this, Joe.
This is probably my favorite Pernice Brosthers song - the lyrics are outstanding. I'm particularly fond of "I changed my master plan, I changed my friends and city. I go to sleep, I still wake up screaming." Definitely a path I've been down...
A beautiful version of a beautiful tune, thanks for posting. You mentioned the key change for this recording, but didn't elaborate. Just curious here... why the change?
Hey, thanks.
On this recording I played the song in C in standard tuning, which is a step down from the album version. On the latter I used a capo. The reason I skipped the capo here is because I played & sang live, and the higher key would have required me to sing louder to hit the notes. I tried it and was pinning the mic.
In C I coukd sing/play more quietly.
Got it and I appreciate the insight, thanks!
Last week you mentioned Joyce. This week you mention Ric Menck. You are surrounded by all of my favorite people. You should appreciate that fact. I'm not sure why, but you should.
I love these posts so much. I love "Amazing Glow" so much and I love that you were inspired by the tone of the guitar in "Golden Brown."
Shawn mentions The Beach Boys and, while I don't immediately hear the connection, I have connected you with them otherwise. I mentioned the song that I wrote that was my way of trying to write a Pernice Brothers song, and everyone close to me heard it, and the falsetto that I hit in the chorus and assumed I was either ripping from The Beach Boys (I don't hide my obsession with Brian Wilson very well) or Radiohead when all the while, it was you.
The main thing in common, though, to me at least, is that you have such a deep sense of melody in everything you sing, which always melts my heart the way that "Surf's Up" does. Maybe it's because you grew up on 70s AM radio pop like I did. That sense of melody permeated me when I was 5 and watching the Monkees and it never left. It's what I connected with immediately when I first heard Pernice Brothers.
I have a very distinct memory of seeing you at the Middle East downstairs several years ago. It was actually the only time I got to see you live and I was blown away to hear your voice through that always-too-loud PA system and to realize that the distinct quality to your voice that I loved and always assumed was studio trickery (breathy doubletracking? super expensive vintage German microphone? an aural exciter? magic fairy dust?) was actually just your voice. Plain and simple. It's all there on an SM58. Take that as a compliment.
Thank you for posting these stories and videos. I am really enjoying them.
Menck helped explain the Matthew Sweet reference in a previous post. Menck was always my favorite Sweet drummer, and it compelled me to find my old Velvet Crush CD, Teenage Symphonies To God, the title of which references The Beach Boys. The whole thing felt like a Jim Garrison connect-the-dots fever dream.
Great comment Rodgre. My Beach Boys comment was more about the vocal rounds at the outro of Amazing Glow and God Only Knows, it's not something you hear often and when done well, as in these two songs, it's a pretty neat trick. I definitely agree though that melody is the through line from Joe's songwriting to The Beach Boys. The other connection being Barry Manilow, who Joe covered with his wonderful album "Could It Be Magic", and one of Barry's biggest hits being "I Write The Songs" which was about Brian Wilson and written by Bruce Johnston who joined The Beach Boys not long before they recorded Pet Sounds and can be heard harmonizing with Brian at the end of "God Only Knows", and now it's all come full circle!
Lovely version of maybe my favorite Pernice Brothers song. I especially love the vocal rounds at the outro, those kill me. Wonder if you had "God Only Knows" in mind when you were working on that arrangement in the studio?
Thanks, Shawn.
Can’t say Beach Boys were in the front of my mind then. They sure were a few years earlier.
Monahan sang the higher cascading vox line on the outro. It’s pretty beautiful. He has a great voice and knows where to put it.