Acoustic indie-folk pop with a wanna-be rocker twist sprinkled with humor and wit at the intersection of Tom Petty and Raffi.

13 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk-Rock, POP: Beatles-pop

Details:
Mike Goodson has been doodling around with the guitar since the early 1980s. His musical influences are widely diverse, but boil down into two main camps - UK Glam (Bowie, Queen, and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band) and Southern LA Country Rock (Eagles, CSN&Y, and Jackson Browne).

A few years back he began to record some of the songs he had written in his home studio. Before long the CD "Eventually Blue" was completed. Only a few friends and members of his family ever saw or heard this CD.

"Long Lost Stories" is his second attempt to preserve for posterity the music playing in his head. Some of the songs are much more personal than anything he's ever done before.

At the risk of too much disclosure, here are his notes on the songs of "Long Lost Stories" --

1) Taylorâs Loop Grove. The first song I recorded for this disc. Simple loops put together in a simple way. I had the idea that the first guitarist to show up and lay down some kind of lead work on top of the loops would get the thing named for him (or her). Taylor McCarrey (the brother of my good friend Neibaur McCarrey) was the first to step up and his work on this tune is a preview of the great contribution he made to a number of songs here.

2) Gotta Write A Song. I found this old gem in the notes I keep in my music room. Back in Brooklyn I got hold of a cheap mic and recorded some stuff just for fun. My eldest daughter, Marguerite (big sister âChanâ) has co-writing credit on this one. Name checked my dear Uncle Jim.

3) Your Kind. This song started out with a different title and entirely different vibe. Then it split into two songs â this one and another one called âPathetic Adolescent Romanceâ which I hope will appear on my next project. I have no idea why someone my age tries to write songs about teenage angst. Freud would probably have a field day with this (if he were still alive, that is). I think a lot of young people have felt this way at times.

4) Pangolin. As a kid in Billings Montana, I would often visit a small corner store called âNoyes.â In addition to the usual sundries corner stores were famous for back then, Noyes sold lots of candy â including a sucker called âSugar Daddy.â One year this candy included little cardboard animal cards inside each sucker and being a collector at heart, I wanted them all. The most elusive card was that of the pangolin, otherwise known as a spiny anteater. I can still remember the elation I felt when I tore off the wrapper and found the final missing card from my set â the pangolin! No idea why I wrote a song about this critter⦠Maybe I was having a bad dayâ¦

5) Keep Walking. A song about walking in the desert. A song about not quitting when faced with big challenges. Some songs have happen endingsâ¦

6) This Ainât The Life I Ordered. Not every song I write is about me. One of my secrets to song writing is to find or think up words and phrases that sound like song titles. Sometimes the song will just write itself if the title is good enough.

7) Love I Am. Sometimes the words just jump to the page by themselves. Sometimes the meanings of the words are hard to nail down. What do you think this one means?

8) Grandpa Ran. An epic story worthy of a Greek tragedy about my motherâs father. Even now, my grandfatherâs story is a topic of discussion and debate in my family circle (what was his real first name, for example). In the end, it is an amazingly sad love tale. My grandmother loved him to the end and would have quickly forgiven him and had him back if he would have come back. He never did.

9) When Springtime Comes. A song about a dancer who was a fighter. Springtime always comes. The cold and dark of winter eventually are replaced by the light and warmth of the new season. Then we can all again dance together.

10) Long Black Coat. I often fantasize how much better my music would sound if played by competent musicians =) Taylor was a maniac recording this song. It was inspiring to see him crank out so many notes with such passion and precision. The song is about a high school buddy who was one of the smartest guys around. He's an economics professor now.

11) Long Night. I heard the words âhard city lookâ in a nearby conversation on the train coming home from NYC one night (itâs not really ease dropping if theyâre speaking loudly, right?). It sounded like a song lyric to me. Ever had a bad date? This song is for you.

12) Hot Chocolate and Popcorn. In 2003 my family put together small Christmas baskets containing homemade hot chocolate mix and popcorn and delivered them to some of our friends in the neighborhood. Along with the goodies, we included a little poem I wrote called âHot Chocolate and Popcorn.â In December of 2007 I found some chords for the words and turned it into this âsong.â Merry Christmas!


Published Jan 2008

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