Notes on Mischief 5: Ravens in the Library
Ravens in the Library
Words & music by S. J. Tucker
Guitar, bass, vocals, raven-talk: S. J. Tucker
Cello: Betsy Tinney
Tracked & mixed by Ginger Doss, Eagle Audio USA
I wrote "Ravens in the Library" in Redmond, WA, in the winter of 2007, in January-the same month that Tricky Pixie got together for our very first
rehearsal weekend.
When the song arrived in my brain, I had just finished a performance with Betsy at SoulFood Books, which is both down the street from her house and one of our favorite places to play. A good friend came up to tell me that there was something in the library where she worked and studied that she really wanted me to see: an art exhibit which included the phrase Raven Brings Light to This House of Stories and a large group of raven sculptures hanging from the ceiling, all of them painted differently, many of them holding letters, symbols, and kanji in
their beaks. I was enchanted, and immediately found the line "my friend bids me come and see the ravens in the library, setting quiet pages free" floating around in my head. Two strong concepts came to me with that line. The first was the idea of a post-apocalyptic library, still standing, being invaded by a small family of ravens who then discover the books and begin teaching themselves to read. Ravens are amazingly intelligent birds who will learn to speak, and who practice reason and strategy every day--the thought of them learning to read books doesn't seem that much of a stretch to me, certainly not for a song. The second concept that came to me was more the spirit of Raven as trickster, appearing repeatedly in the library stacks in present times, just in the corner of the eye, spooking scholars and students just for the hell of it.
A few days later, curled up in Betsy's living room between sections of glorious rehearsal and jamming with Betsy and Alec, I wrote the rest of the song. I remember that Alec was amused to see me in the grips of a songwriting fit. "Just wind her up and let her go," he said.
It took me another year and a half before I actually got to that library and saw those ravens in their exhibit. They're wonderful. You can still go and see them, I'm reasonably sure. They're hanging out (ha) at the Allen Library at the U of Washington in Seattle.
About the recording:
Ginger, Betsy and I started tracking "Ravens in the Library" at the same session we started tracking "Neptune" and several tracks for the Tricky Pixie album ("Tam Lin", "Ballad of the Boy Cat", and "Tough Titty Cupcakes" at least). This was when Ginger still kept a house in Austin--she and Bekah are currently on the road full time, just like Kevin and me. We tracked vocals in the bedroom closet, I tracked the bass part direct in Ginger's control room, and we tracked guitars and cello in the guest bedroom. The timing worked out perfectly for having Betsy track her cello parts- she had flown in to join us for a festival gig that week, and she was able to stay for a few extra days.
The wing noises at the beginning of the song were actually made by feathers. Ginger lent me a ritual feather fan from her altar, and it
made the perfect wing-flap sound. More happy studio accidents. :D
The squawks and caws that you hear at the beginning and end of the song are all me, getting my corvid on. I have a really fun job.
Interesting facts:
There are several different counterpoint vocal parts in "Ravens in the Library". Ravens do a lot of talking, and if they're taking over a library and reading all of the books there, I thought it appropriate to include a little bit of scholarly cacophony. I incorporated both the folkloric crow-counting games that I know of and a tiny bit of Shakespeare, as well as some original lyrics of my own.
Underneath the second verse, two demented little sets of counterpoint vocals sing the following, one right after the other:
one for sorrow, two for joy, three for girls and four for boys, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never told.
one crow sorrow, two crows mirth, three a wedding, four a birth, five crows silver, six crows gold, seven ravens curious and bold!
In the second and last choruses, I reference Macbeth with the following counterpoint lines:
Knitting up the 'raveled sleeve of care, pages flying everywhere
and
Knitting up the sleeve of care, pages flying everywhere
Most of you who are reading this know that this song has an anthology of short stories, lyrics, poems, and illustrations named after it, and that the Ravens in the Library anthology was put together by authors, illustrators, and two herculean editors on my behalf, when I fell ill and had to have surgery sans insurance in early 2009. It's pretty safe to say that Mischief wouldn't have happened at all without the immense wave of attention and aid that the anthology and the saveours00j community here on LJ brought my way when I was in need. If you guys hadn't come together and offered me your support, your ears, and your loyalty, I'd still be paying hospital bills.
It would be an entirely different album, if I found the money to fund it at all.
This song's for you.
I released an earlier mix of "Ravens in the Library" early on to the contributors of the anthology and to a few other special people as a way to say thanks. Ginger and I completed the final mix, what you will hear on the album, of "Ravens in the Library" in Florida at the end of 2009, the same week that we completed the final mixes of "Cheshire Kitten", "Witchka", and "Neptune".
Special thanks to Torrey for planting this in my brain in the first place.
CAW, baby!
BONUS: Over at my Dreamwidth, I've posted two Youtube videos: my favorite recent vid of the song (stealthcello and me at CONfusion back in January) and my favorite older vid (from a house concert at lrstrobel and fiannaharpar 's lovely home a couple years ago, filmed by blackpaladin ) You can also find Vixy & Tony covering "Ravens in the Library" on Youtube, and all of us performing it together.
Words & music by S. J. Tucker
Guitar, bass, vocals, raven-talk: S. J. Tucker
Cello: Betsy Tinney
Tracked & mixed by Ginger Doss, Eagle Audio USA
I wrote "Ravens in the Library" in Redmond, WA, in the winter of 2007, in January-the same month that Tricky Pixie got together for our very first
rehearsal weekend.
When the song arrived in my brain, I had just finished a performance with Betsy at SoulFood Books, which is both down the street from her house and one of our favorite places to play. A good friend came up to tell me that there was something in the library where she worked and studied that she really wanted me to see: an art exhibit which included the phrase Raven Brings Light to This House of Stories and a large group of raven sculptures hanging from the ceiling, all of them painted differently, many of them holding letters, symbols, and kanji in
their beaks. I was enchanted, and immediately found the line "my friend bids me come and see the ravens in the library, setting quiet pages free" floating around in my head. Two strong concepts came to me with that line. The first was the idea of a post-apocalyptic library, still standing, being invaded by a small family of ravens who then discover the books and begin teaching themselves to read. Ravens are amazingly intelligent birds who will learn to speak, and who practice reason and strategy every day--the thought of them learning to read books doesn't seem that much of a stretch to me, certainly not for a song. The second concept that came to me was more the spirit of Raven as trickster, appearing repeatedly in the library stacks in present times, just in the corner of the eye, spooking scholars and students just for the hell of it.
A few days later, curled up in Betsy's living room between sections of glorious rehearsal and jamming with Betsy and Alec, I wrote the rest of the song. I remember that Alec was amused to see me in the grips of a songwriting fit. "Just wind her up and let her go," he said.
It took me another year and a half before I actually got to that library and saw those ravens in their exhibit. They're wonderful. You can still go and see them, I'm reasonably sure. They're hanging out (ha) at the Allen Library at the U of Washington in Seattle.
About the recording:
Ginger, Betsy and I started tracking "Ravens in the Library" at the same session we started tracking "Neptune" and several tracks for the Tricky Pixie album ("Tam Lin", "Ballad of the Boy Cat", and "Tough Titty Cupcakes" at least). This was when Ginger still kept a house in Austin--she and Bekah are currently on the road full time, just like Kevin and me. We tracked vocals in the bedroom closet, I tracked the bass part direct in Ginger's control room, and we tracked guitars and cello in the guest bedroom. The timing worked out perfectly for having Betsy track her cello parts- she had flown in to join us for a festival gig that week, and she was able to stay for a few extra days.
The wing noises at the beginning of the song were actually made by feathers. Ginger lent me a ritual feather fan from her altar, and it
made the perfect wing-flap sound. More happy studio accidents. :D
The squawks and caws that you hear at the beginning and end of the song are all me, getting my corvid on. I have a really fun job.
Interesting facts:
There are several different counterpoint vocal parts in "Ravens in the Library". Ravens do a lot of talking, and if they're taking over a library and reading all of the books there, I thought it appropriate to include a little bit of scholarly cacophony. I incorporated both the folkloric crow-counting games that I know of and a tiny bit of Shakespeare, as well as some original lyrics of my own.
Underneath the second verse, two demented little sets of counterpoint vocals sing the following, one right after the other:
one for sorrow, two for joy, three for girls and four for boys, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never told.
one crow sorrow, two crows mirth, three a wedding, four a birth, five crows silver, six crows gold, seven ravens curious and bold!
In the second and last choruses, I reference Macbeth with the following counterpoint lines:
Knitting up the 'raveled sleeve of care, pages flying everywhere
and
Knitting up the sleeve of care, pages flying everywhere
Most of you who are reading this know that this song has an anthology of short stories, lyrics, poems, and illustrations named after it, and that the Ravens in the Library anthology was put together by authors, illustrators, and two herculean editors on my behalf, when I fell ill and had to have surgery sans insurance in early 2009. It's pretty safe to say that Mischief wouldn't have happened at all without the immense wave of attention and aid that the anthology and the saveours00j community here on LJ brought my way when I was in need. If you guys hadn't come together and offered me your support, your ears, and your loyalty, I'd still be paying hospital bills.
It would be an entirely different album, if I found the money to fund it at all.
This song's for you.
I released an earlier mix of "Ravens in the Library" early on to the contributors of the anthology and to a few other special people as a way to say thanks. Ginger and I completed the final mix, what you will hear on the album, of "Ravens in the Library" in Florida at the end of 2009, the same week that we completed the final mixes of "Cheshire Kitten", "Witchka", and "Neptune".
Special thanks to Torrey for planting this in my brain in the first place.
CAW, baby!
BONUS: Over at my Dreamwidth, I've posted two Youtube videos: my favorite recent vid of the song (stealthcello and me at CONfusion back in January) and my favorite older vid (from a house concert at lrstrobel and fiannaharpar 's lovely home a couple years ago, filmed by blackpaladin ) You can also find Vixy & Tony covering "Ravens in the Library" on Youtube, and all of us performing it together.