Both my keyboard and my computer are broken, and I don’t have the money to fix either of them. So I won’t be going back to the studio this summer and I won’t be releasing miss america as a single this fall. The digital EP no salvation, which was painfully close to completion, has also been put on hiatus. As Emil Cioran once wrote, “There is no limit-disappointment.”
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted anything here, so I decided to give you all a short update on what I’ve been up to.
- I’ve been working hard on arranging cover versions of 11 or so of my all-time favorite songs. None of the original versions have piano in them, so the transcription has been a major challenge. This project was born of a terrible case of writer’s block (I hadn’t completed any new songs in more than a year), as a way for me to keep my fingers on the piano keys without slowly driving myself insane. It has since taken on a much more positive character, and I am surprised with how affected I have been with the results thus far. I hope that I will eventually be able to share some of these covers with you.
- I’ve also been polishing a number of instrumentals that I wrote last winter. They are extremely different from anything that made it onto dreaming big will only give you nightmares – my goal while I was composing them was to construct the most soul-crushing listening experience possible. I am currently compiling them into a digital EP called no salvation, and as soon as I have a firm release date, I’ll let you know.
- Lastly, I’m in the process of putting together a digital single of miss america, a song whose conspicuous absence from dreaming big… doubtless puzzled many of the old-school (some) assembly required fans out there. miss america was actually going to be one of the singles off of dreaming big…, but technical problems prevented it from being included in the final version of the album. Which is really too bad, because I spent (literally) dozens of hours working on it. I’ll be returning to the studio this summer to put the finishing touches on it, as well as record an alternate version that puts a surprising twist on the original arrangement. If all goes as planned (which it never does with this song), I’ll release both versions as a single this fall.
In closing I’d like to thank everyone that took the time to buy a CD or two from me. I really appreciate the support, and even more importantly, I’m profoundly touched that you found something worth listening to in my music.
My first full-length album, dreaming big will only give you nightmares, comes out today! You can order it from my shop. It is also available from Amazon.com and iTunes. The wait is finally over… so get your own copy today!
Crippling self-loathing, suffocating loneliness, mind-numbing depression, puerile spitefulness, and existential dread never sounded so sweet! Witness me imagine what it’s like to die from asphyxiation or blood loss, hear me recount my incredible ability to alienate my friends, or listen as I long for an imaginary, idealized past life in which I still believed in romantic love. All this, and more, awaits you within the 37 minutes of piano-based pop-rock I have compiled for this album.
A review of dreaming big will only give you nightmares was published on AbsolutePunk.net this morning. Staff writer Susan Frances writes,
Piano rock is the fulcrum that binds the pieces of emo, melodic-pop, and chamber-tinted keys in Some Assembly Required’s forthcoming [album]. The one-man band solely made up of singer/ songwriter/ pianist Samuel Brown streaks progressive rock trimmings with squirts of traditional chamber music… Some Assembly Required’s self-titled release displays Brown’s strengths as a pop composer and a musician whose attachment to emo-rock is tenably tight… [he] shows flexibility in his songwriting, and a vision that does not imprison him in any singular clique.
You can read the full review here.
Originally, I did not plan on making this song available for downloading, but I’ve decided that I want as many people to hear it as possible… and I don’t want to depend on the meager selling-power of my album for its dissemination.
This song is definitely, out of everything I’ve written, my favorite. It captures perfectly, and completely, my purpose in writing music. While the short narrative it contains extends no further than a single instant, illuminated by a camera’s flash, its lyrics nevertheless describe the fundamental tension that has defined my every experience:
when nothing seems to make any sense at all, why can’t we just breathe?
For all of you who are still listening, thanks for waiting! I know that this album has been a long time coming, and I do appreciate your patience. Only one month left!
At long last, my CDs arrived in the mail today – all 11 boxes of them. It’s a strange feeling to finally see the actual, physical manifestation of all the work I’ve devoted to this album over the last few years. I feel relieved, and also a little bit sad, but I’m nevertheless very excited to finally share my music with whomever wants to listen.
Once I’ve set a release date, I’ll post it here and on my other sites. For now, know that I am hard at work making distribution arrangements.
As promised, here is another song off of my forthcoming album. This is by far the oldest song in the track-list, but it has nevertheless remained a favorite of mine. This is probably because:
- it allows me to bang away at the piano keys even harder than I usually do, and
- as much as I don’t want to admit it, the history behind this song often repeats itself.
So, basically, screaming in my sleep is a guilty pleasure for me in every possible way – from the key-slamming block chords, to the lyrical content, to the ridiculous drum fill at the end. (Those of you who are old-school (some) assembly required fans should recognize this song from way back in the day; I hope that you enjoy indulging in this newer version as much as I do.)
The release of dreaming big will only give you nightmares looms ever closer! This afternoon I mailed the master CD and album artwork to the pressing plant, and it looks like I’ll be (barely) able to afford to have the CD’s duplicated. (The artwork includes a full-color, 8-panel insert that is putting a strain on my bank account, ha-ha). Once I’ve got the duplicated CD’s in my possession, working out distribution details will be all that’s left to do, and then I’ll be able to finally set a firm release date.
It’s been a long time since I last posted an update here, or signed on to the MySpace or purevolume pages for the “band.” This is because I’ve spent the last few weeks moving to a new home that is very far from Londonderry. (Those of you who have closely read the lyrics to hometown will realize that this is a very good thing for me.) This move, and the following period of adjustment, have been a huge drain on my time and energy, and have prevented me from doing anything related to (some) assembly required… but now I’m back! And I have 2 important updates:
- In response to popular demand, I have made all of my currently released songs available for download directly from my MySpace and purevolume pages. These were originally only available for download from here. Enjoy!
- Duplication of my album was delayed, then temporarily stalled, but I am once again making progress towards that end. I still can’t say for sure when it will be released, but I promise that as soon as I know when that is, I will pass the information on to you. So keep listening!
That’s all for now – I’m still really busy adjusting to my new home. I’ll try to get some more songs up online within the next few weeks, but I won’t make any promises.
My second single, which is also limited to 50 hand-numbered copies, is now for sale in the shop. Each is pressed onto a double-sided black CD-R, and comes packaged in a clear vinyl sleeve and black cardboard slipcase, with hand-stenciled artwork.
This is the B-side for my second single. I wrote it with the intention of capturing how I felt four summers ago, while I was in the midst of sifting through the meaning behind a significant failure in my life.
I find it odd how I feel most alive, and most self-aware, when I am confronted with the loss of something so close to my heart that I can barely conceive of myself without it.
This is my second single, and it’s about how I have no friends, or at least how I’m shocked whenever I realize that everyone doesn’t hate me (years of crippling self-loathing will do that to you). I suppose it’s about a few other things, too, like lying to myself, contemplating suicide and making out… yes, all this crammed into 3 minutes of teen-angst-ridden pop-rock. The kids are really going to love me, now!
I will release the next single – so much for summer – a week from today, on Tuesday, August 5th. My apologies for the delay. For those of you who are too impatient for the physical release, you can now stream both of its tracks on my facebook, MySpace, and/or purevolume page(s).
I still don’t have a firm release date for the full-length album.
The good news is that I finally received a master CD of my album in the mail today, and it sounds really great (this is the CD that I will mail to the pressing plant when the time comes to have my album duplicated). The bad news is that making arrangements for duplication and distribution is going to take me much longer than I had anticipated. So it looks like, despite my best efforts, my album won’t be released before the end of August. I know that that totally sucks for those of you out there who are eagerly awaiting its release, but I will do everything I can to ensure that dreaming big will only give you nightmares is available for public consumption as soon as possible.
The struggle goes on…