Operation 365... Blog 185

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 191 Justin Mills "There's Beauty" 4-16-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDQBtdsTHlo

Here is one my my favorite songwriters on the planet, Justin Mills, playing his song "There's Beauty," at my birthday show on April 16, 2009. He was joined here by The Soul Man on guiro and myself on the cute little Ashbory bass. You gotta see it. Adorable. Justin is bad-ass. He doesn't really play music out these days so you are left to this clips for the time being as the exclusive method of enjoying his music. I strongly suggest that you do.

I backed Justin up for awhile on that cute little bass, but only until he headed into another one of his patented extended hiatuses (wouldn't that be hiatii?) from playing music in public. I hope to get the chance to play music with im again some day, or at least here him play some jams, but until then, this will have to do. And it's not so bad, really.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 191 "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4MY6h5ijTM

I'm not sure there's anyway to say I don't like this song without it sounding like sour grapes. Obviously most of the rest of the world feels differently. Mr. Mraz came out of this same little San Diego acoustic scene that I did. I never met him, miraculously, but huge congratulations to him on his ascent to larger-than-life, multi-platinum, Grammy-style status. Lots of people love this song, so my opinion shouldn't matter much.

I tried to make it my own, but mustering genuine enthusiasm was a trick I couldn't pull off. The fact that I don't even know the song that well could also not be concealed. Maybe my version is funny. I tried singing it differently, with mixed results. Congrats Mr. A-Z, on all your hard-earned and much deserved, success and fame. One must develop quite a thick skin climbing as high as you have on the charts, figuratively and literally. If I were only cute enough to seriously sing the lyrics, "Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it. I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted," and not creep out every breathing human for a hundred miles. I even creep myself out thinking about it.

Tomorrow, I'll be playing "Rock n' Roll" by Velvet Underground to balance the world a little bit. This week I played Air Supply, Manilow, Neil Diamond and this tune, to me, makes 'em all sound like Slayer.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 191 "Take Time To Find Your Way Back Home"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSR_lGhFpis

This is a little theoretical Western ditty, I composed right here on the spot. I was feeling a need to represent manliness for some reason, to conjure the plains and a simpler time and this is what came out. "Take Time To Find Your Way Back Home" is a two chord number. The solemness and the solitude of the Western life is a very romantic setting for art. I have been feeling it some lately. I'm not sure where it came from or what it means, but this is not for me to discern. It just is.