Paul S. Chun 🐻

@troutgirl@hachyderm.io Cross-slit on one end and pan-fried so the cut ends flare up and the entire sausage resembles an octopus. I'm over eight years old, I swear.

@spiralganglion@merveilles.town My relationship with lyrics as a listener is that I tune in and out, and I'll make snap judgments based on these random samples. This is not at all how I judge my own work, which I expect to be solid from start to finish. The list of songs that I think also fit that bill is pretty short but if I can choose one: Tracy Chapman - Fast Car Narrator wants something and her pursuit of it goes awry (basis of great storytelling). And that something is meaning (universally relatable)

@spiralganglion@merveilles.town Related: Santana and Michelle Branch's "Game of Love" was originally sung by Tina Turner. She sounds like her vibrant self on the track, but the bubble gum lyrics definitely don't reflect on what I think of when I think of her. The Michelle Branch version won a Grammy, so there's at least some social proof that changing the singer was probably a good idea Link: https://youtu.be/sha6m8subl8?si=BAu51SZIKlSChCmZ So maybe I need to think more about who I am as an artist if my lyrics are gonna suck less

@spiralganglion@merveilles.town In a band setting, especially when the instrumentals are a joy, I've accepted the lyrics below my threshold of acceptability for social harmony. I never felt good about it once (which is why I'm also poring through answers to this great thread)

@spiralganglion@merveilles.town a. My most successful algorithm was: (a) make a melody first and then (b) write lyrics that sound about right, and iterate a ton. I won't say I'm beaming with pride from what I made, but this was furthest from shameful that I came up with. b. From a creator's perspective, not liking the lyrics makes liking the entire song impossible, even if you love the instrumental.

@kickingvegas@sfba.social @jbaty@social.lol Aha, there it is - menu was the missing link in my brain

@jbaty@social.lol I gotta ask @kickingvegas@sfba.social why it's called anju/안주 I like to think I'm pretty good at finding metaphorical connections but I'm drawing a blank here

@spiralganglion@merveilles.town c. Great question! I think I'm realizing lyrics need to reflect what I think of the performer. "New kids on the block had a bunch of hits. Chinese food makes me sick." These would be garbage ass lyrics for most, but because the performers don't take themselves very seriously, it works! "My sixteen's free y'all, I'm hip hop's Abe Lincoln." This works because the performer is someone that likes to test listeners.

@spiralganglion@merveilles.town I've got nothing live! My most recent band had a venue in mind and recorded enough for an EP but since my second kid was born, making time seems impossible. How about yourself? Do you make music solo or are you in a social setting (or both)?

@kickingvegas@sfba.social @jbaty@social.lol Is there a connection to emacs and mice or did it just happen to be your muse when the project needed a name? Nothing in my mind fits the SAT analogy pattern of: emacs is to drinking as mice is to (your favorite anju) I'm secretly hoping for a mind-blower for this very low-stakes question