I found this tape at a thrift store several years ago. It appears to be have been made in 1988 by a high school student (or maybe college- do they even have "world religions" courses in high school?) for a friend of his (a possible romantic prospect?). In any event, Jimmy seems to have some decent skillz with the synthesizers and drum machines, but I'm guessing by his lyrics and vocals that he was probably Barnes & Barnes' number one fan. I wonder what Shannah's response was to these songs? And I wonder if Karen and/or Lori were previous conquests that didn't work out? I mean, what other reason would a guy set Sylvia Plath's "Mad Girl's Love Song" to music, at the request of some chick, other than for a potential hook-up? We'll probably never know for sure. It would seem, though, that Jimmy probably handed out a fair amount of these tapes, as this one is recorded over an old Outfield cassette (notice the tissue paper still crammed in the record protect holes). Classy move, Jimmy!! I mean, those keyboards couldn't have been cheap. You'd think he could afford a decent blank tape! At least he managed to scrounge a j-card from a TDK SA-X 90. I bet Shannah would rather have had the tape as-is, without Jimmy's goofy songs recorded over it!
In case you can't make out the scrawlings on the j-card:
MP3:
"For Shannah! Songs I Made (c) 1988 by Jimmy"
1. Chant (spooky!) (3:20)
2. Mad Girl's Love Song (some poem Karen asked me to make a song out of. Natalie sang it.) (3:19)
3. Let's Be Happy! (I made this for Lori when she was sad) (4:26)
4. In Shadows Lurk Dead Guys (Matt and me made the words for this in World Religions class) (7:00)
5. Fred O' Fred (my first song- dumb!) (8:07)
6. You Suck Like An Abalone (NO, NOT YOU! another dumb song) (4:02)
7. Max Headroom For The Deaf (don't ask!) (4:50)
"I hope you like my songs!! Tell me what you think. [heart] Jimmy"
- Contributed by: Quentin Watson
Images: Cover Front, Cover Back, Cassette Side A, Cassette Side B
Media: Cassette
Album: For Shannah - Songs I Made - by Jimmy
Credits: Jimmy, with Natalie and Hans guesting on vocals
Date: 1988
this is so cool! i appreciate the inclusion of pictures, backstory, and transcription of jimmy's notes.
Posted by: PdC | April 01, 2007 at 09:55 AM
The Eastern sounding synth parts remind me of Bruce Haack.
Posted by: Pinball King | April 01, 2007 at 10:35 AM
"Chant" is actually really neat. This kid had some talent. I wonder where he (and Shannah) are now.
Posted by: Joe | April 02, 2007 at 12:34 PM
this is really fun!
strange stuff ;-) - thanks!
Posted by: marcus | April 03, 2007 at 03:31 PM
What do I think ? ZOMG amazing ! What a shame this dude never got the attention he should have got. Only now, almost 20 years on, does he get the recognition he deserves. Awesome ! I demand that this album be flung to the furthest reaches of the internet in the slimmest of hopes that Jimmy may come forth from the shadows into the limelight... erm, when I say "demand", i mean "propose".
Posted by: slartibartfast | April 13, 2007 at 07:38 AM
i found a tape sort of like this once, not sure where it is right now. the songs weren't nearly as weird as this, otherwise i'd try to find it to submit to 365. i don't remember who the artist was, but i do remember that it was addressed to a girl named april. well anyway, in my opinion, shannah would have to have been a fool not to fall for jimmy after receiving this tape!!
Posted by: pea hix | April 15, 2007 at 01:52 AM
APRIL FOOL'S.
This is all Pea Hix's doing. I thought the premise sounded a bit silly and remembered Pea's Poor Music Project (which I stumbled upon while looking for info on the Optigan), but I didn't bother to check the site until today.
Then, of course, I found this. Note three of the same song titles.
Thing is, he's absolutely right. The appeal of a lot of the 365 stuff is its context. If this same post was introduced as "stuff by Pea's old band Fossil," it probably wouldn't be as appealing, but now it has a "story" behind it.
Excellent work, Pea. Keep 'em guessing.
Posted by: plasket | April 26, 2007 at 08:27 AM
well, i should mention that the basic context of my story here actually IS accurate. i recorded these songs mostly in my senior year of high school, 1988-89, for the amusement of my friends. i churned out lots of tapes like this, and the kind of girls i hung out with in school seemed to be impressed, or so i thought. though i cringe mightily whenever i review this material now, it's fun to use this stuff as raw material for art re-purposing experiments.
btw, i grunged up these mixes a bit for credibility purposes, so if anyone wants higher quality mp3's of these tunes (i've got lots more like 'em) just lemmeno.
oh, and here's the inevitable fossil myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/fossill
Posted by: pea hix | April 26, 2007 at 02:22 PM
yay !
Posted by: slartibartfast | May 11, 2007 at 07:46 AM
HOW DO YOU COME TO OR SCHOOL PLEASE COME TO OR SCHOOL IT IS CALLED NEWFIEKD SCHOOL PLEASE COME TO OR SCHOOL AND IT IS IN THE
UNITED STATES PLEASE COME WITH PRIZEIES AND TELL US ALL ABOUT YOU AND IF YOU SEE ME THERE PLEASE GIVE ME A PRIZE AND IF PEOPLE WERE LISTENING AND TELL THEM WANT YOU SAID AND IF THEY GET IT RIGHT YOU GIVE THEM A PRIZE CALL ME MY PONE NUMBER IS 355-9635 I AM ONLINE CALL ME ON MONDAY 5/28/07 BYE I HOPE YOU COME PLEASE
Posted by: MARVIN | May 24, 2007 at 07:32 AM
Aw, come on, Pea. This is like Borges' essay on Don Quixote. Of course it's all about context, and you're taking all the fun out of it.
Posted by: Shii | August 04, 2007 at 05:29 PM