Useless Clatter...First Cuts/Demos- Tennis, Cults, The Brian Jonestown Massacre

      Like a writer's rough draft, a song goes through countless edits and re-edits as demos before the finished product finds itself on an album.  Sometimes big changes are made once a band is settled into the recording studio and begin to play. The Rolling Stones originally wanted "Start Me Up" to have a more reggae feel to it, until four years in the recording studio turned it into the song we know and love today.  In most cases though, it's just a tweak or two that comes by way of the producer or sound engineer meant to "clean up" a song and give it a crisp finish.  These demo tracks, or first cuts as they are sometimes called, often get tossed out and forgotten once the band discovers the perfect sound, records it and calls it a day.  

      In some cases, bands save their demos and first cuts to be released as promotional material for a forthcoming album.  The songs are let free into the realms of the internet and find their way onto various music blogs, tabloids and websites taken as evidence for what to expect next from the band.  We sit and listen to these first cuts as the band heads back to the studio to work the final nooks and crannies for another, better release.

[Personally I enjoy the Tennis demo versions better than the actual album tracks]

TENNIS
demo/first Cut                                                                          released on CAPE DORY  [2011]

demo/first Cut                                                                           released on CAPE DORY  [2011]

                                

CULTS
demo/first Cut                                                                         released on CULTS  [2011]

                               

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE
released on TAKE IT FROM THE MAN  [1996]                         re-released on STRUNG OUT IN HEAVEN  [1998]
                               

Hear This...Streaming Tennis' new album 'Young and Old'

+streaming courtesy of Soundcloud.com

Audiovisuals...Official Video for Tennis' "Deep in the Woods"

      In anticipation of their upcoming release, I thought of it to post an official video for Tennis’ new single “Deep in the Woods.” Their sophomore LP Old & Young comes out February 14th.  For the record, the duo that makes up Tennis has quite an adorable story behind them. They met while taking a philosophy course together in college and in no time, Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley got married. Shortly after, the two dropped everything for a nine month sailing expedition out around the Eastern Atlantic Seaboard. And then of course, they formed the band, named themselves Tennis and began writing cute songs about the sun and the ocean and love.

      But the music video for "Deep in the Woods" shows nothing of the sort. Their light hearted, sea-filled lyrics were replaced by thoughts of violence and destruction- “I’ll bring down this house...”- that’s not like them. The worst part of course was listening to these twisted thoughts being projected from the sweet and sincere voice of Alaina Moore. Sounding not so bad anymore, “Deep in the Woods” is one of those songs that if you're intently listening to the lyrics, which in this case are about burning houses and burying loved one, you won’t mind it at all.  In your head, the song just passes off as adorable.
      With that being said, we can observe this wonderfully cheery video of two people in love with some new light and not discard the large amount of blood that’s seen amidst the smiling faces. On the topic of blood, the final shot of the video shows one of the female character’s faces as she sits behind the fire. Such evil symbolism arises with that single shot. Its recalls a shot used in the 2007 film There Will Be Blood to frame the main character/antagonist Daniel Plainview. I thought it was pretty clever and could only find it suiting.

+ I posted the video for “Deep in the Woods” below and below that you will find the shot from There Will Be Blood, which looks quite like the music video’s final shot.
+Also, get the lyrics in this link