Fame!

So, it’s been a while, but I guess now is the perfect time for a new entry. I’m guessing everyone reading this already knows, but I WAS A FEATURED VIDEO ON YOUTUBE! My YouTube story song, “Four Chords,” had a respectable 311 views before 10:45 yesterday morning, and, as of this entry, the total has risen to 161,586 views. HOLY CRAP.

This whole thing has been INSANE. I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me. I was looking forward to eventually reaching 500 subscribers and now I have 977. Furthermore, I never expected this particular song to go viral! It’s far from the best thing I’ve ever written–I wrote it in less than an hour.

Even more crazy than being featured is all of the comments. I’ve gotten everything from “You sing like an angle” (and, no, that’s not MY typo) to things that I am not comfortable repeating here. And, since there are so many comments, here are my responses to the most common one: I have no plans to not wear my glasses. I like my glasses. I hate my contacts. Deal with it.

Anyway, I’ll probably record something later today or tomorrow with a response to all of this craziness. This has certainly been the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. Okay, maybe not, but it runs a REALLY close second.

-Tally

A Kiss to Build a Dream On Part One

Howdy.

It’s been a few days, but I doubt anyone noticed. I’m on Spring Break, and, while I avoid applying for internships, I thought I’d take this chance to post about my songs. (Plus, I can’t watch Dexter right now, because someone else is using the BluRay.) So, this is entry is a breakdown of what the basic concepts for 6 of my February Album Writing Month songs (+ my Dollhouse song) were. It’s not going to be too in-depth, because I do plan to do song commentaries at some point, but here it goes.

Song 0: Tell Me Where to Sign (Dollhouse)
I’m calling this song zero, because it was supposed to be one of my FAWM songs, but the series ended a week or so before February, and I wanted to get it posted before the finale. The idea for this song was always about someone wanting to join the Dollhouse, as told in three parts: joining, being a doll, and leaving. It was one of the first FAWM song concepts I developed.

Song 1: Slushie Skeptic (Glee)
I knew what this one was going to be as soon as I started picking shows. I was a little bit nervous about writing a song about such a musical show, but I realized that it didn’t really matter. The idea was simple: I love Glee, but I’m beyond sick of people thinking that the show is perfect. It’s not perfect. It has a ton of flaws. Anytime I try and explain these flaws, I always sound nitpicky and people think I don’t like the show, which isn’t true. I thought a song would be a great way to prove that I love the show, while still being able to point out some of the issues.

Song 2: Red Shirt Dead Shirt (Star Trek)
I’ve had this idea since before I decided to do a TV theme for FAWM. I’m participating in a Star Trek musical on LiveJournal, and I thought it would be cool to have a song that was basically a list of the dead red shirts on Star Trek: The Original Series. It didn’t work out for the musical, so I decided that I had to do it for FAWM.

Song 3: Maybe Maeby (Arrested Development)
I’m not really sure where this idea came from, to be honest. I’m not even sure if it really has an idea. It’s mostly just a list of all the tongue-twisting names and puns on the show. I think I thought it would be a good way to tie all of those into a single song.

Song 4: A Daughter’s Lament (How I Met Your Mother)
Whenever I watch HIMYM, I am always struck by the fact that this whole thing is actually a story that Ted is telling his children. Those poor kids! I wanted it to be one of the kids moaning about having to hear this epically long story, and I also thought it was the perfect chance for me to finally write a song with a fast interlude kind of thing like “Getting Married Today” (from Company).

Song 5: Bazinga! (The Big Bang Theory)
This was another song I had pretty much planned out from the start. I knew I wanted to write a song about how Sheldon viewed the world, and that’s exactly what I did.

Song 6: That’s What She Said (The Office)
This idea kind of came from a conversation with my friend Jessica. We were talking about how unprofessional Dunder Mifflin: Scranton is, and she thought it would be cool if I wrote my song about that. That idea evolved into the concept of one, long That’s What She Said joke. And, I’m not going to lie, it was pretty hard.

Okay, that’s it for now. I’m going to go read fanfiction and wait impatiently until I can watch Dexter.

-Tally

The Way You Do The Things You Do

Howdy Readers!

It’s Tally again. Did you miss me? No. Okay, that’s life.

As promised, I am here with some inside information on how I film my videos. I don’t get asked about this a lot, but I do get the occasional question. Plus, this is the kind of stuff I find interesting; maybe I’m not the only one. So, here is the who what when where why how of my videos.

Who. Me. It’s all me. With the exception of my first ukulele video (which was filmed by my roommate), all of my videos were shot by me.

What. My videos. This is a weird question, but I wanted to stick with the 5Ws and an H style. Moving on…

When. It varies. I usually film in the afternoon. Often, I’ll film at about 4:30, so I can start the video upload before I go to dinner, but others I’ll film after dinner. It also depends on whether or not my roommate is in the room. I try to film when she’s at lacrosse practice. A couple videos have been filmed in the morning (Tell Me Where To Sign and Worst Road Trip Ever come to mind), and that’s usually because I didn’t quite finish the song the night before and/or my roommate was studying or watching a hockey game.

Where. My dorm room. Almost exclusively. The only exceptions are (This Song is Probly) So Rad Dude, Let The Games Begin, Maybe Maeby, and Running Man. All of those (except Let the Games Begin) were filmed in my room at home. I filmed Let the Games Begin in the practice rooms at my school, because I was there and my roommate was studying. I film the ones in my dorm room sitting on my bed. I put my Flip camera on an impromptu tri-pod of Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation and a jar of peanut butter. I usually have the lyrics just off to the side. Behind me are the posters, which will occasionally vary depending on the topic of the song, but the normal layout is (from bottom to top/left to right): The Blues Brothers, Scrubs, The Wizard of Oz : : Rocky Horror, Rent, The Rolling Stones : : House, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Nightmare before Christmas.

Why. Because I can.

How. With my Flip camera. It’s kind of awesome. I got one for graduation, which I passed along to my sister last year when I got one with the How I Met Your Mother logo on it (very long story). Like I mentioned earlier, I put it on a tri-pod made out of a book and a jar of peanut butter, which I put on my bookshelf, which is close to my bed. Depending on the time of day, I use different lighting. Usually, I move my floor lamp (which can occasionally be viewed behind my bed in older videos) so that it faces my bed (and, sometimes, I move my roommate’s lamp, too). I do all of my videos in one straight take (although, sometimes that takes up to 25 takes. Ruttin’ Reavers, Three Simple Rules,  and That i5 Why took FOREVER). I don’t edit them at all. I just plug my Flip directly into my USB drive and upload the videos straight to YouTube.

So, that’s about it for now. I’m not sure as to the topic of my next entry. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see! (Or not.)

-Tally

Scotty Doesn’t Know

Hello again! ‘Tis I, Tally with a new segment I like to call…”Did you know…?”

“Did you know…?” is where I answer some questions that I get from YouTube commenters that don’t exactly fit into the category of “FAQs” and more in the category of “nitpicks.” Be excited. I know I am.

Did you know...that Sheldon Cooper has two PhDs?
Yes. I did. I’ve gotten this comment a couple times on Bazinga! (my “how Sheldon sees the world” song). One line says “I have a PhD; I am not an average man.” However, Sheldon has two PhDs. But, while Sheldon does whatever the hell he wants, ignoring the rules of society, I still have to follow the rules of meter. Yes, I fudge meter occasionally for the sake of lyrics, but I try to avoid doing so whenever possible, because it makes it difficult for me to perform songs when I have to say a line in just the right way to get the meter to work.

Did you know…that the  students of McKinley High School could be buying their Slushies off-campus?
Yes. I did. This is one I got mostly on the LiveJournal entries I posted with Slushie Skeptic (my Glee song about how I can deal with all of the unrealistic things on the show except that the school hasn’t banned slushies). The thought did cross my mind as I was writing the song. However, coming from a high school that wouldn’t have even allowed slushies in the building, I have a hard time imagining that the school hasn’t done anything to stop the constant rain of slushies that pours down upon the misfits. This is also, of course, a song that is not meant to be taken seriously.

Did you know…that your ukulele sounds like a toy and that you should play the guitar?
No. I didn’t. Here I was going around thinking that my ukulele sounded like a ukulele. Thank you for enlightening me. I have a guitar; it’s not as much fun as the ukulele and I SUCK at it, but I shall now abandon the ukulele and play the guitar instead.

Did you know…that I wrote a song about [insert show/topic here], too?
No. I probably didn’t. However, since I obviously like [show/topic] enough to write a song about it, link me to yours! (I’m not being sarcastic here, honest.) I have some sound issues with my computer, so it might take a while, but I will listen to it eventually!

Did you know…[person related to the topic of your song] mentioned/watched/linked to it on their Twitter/website/other?
Maybe. If they @ replied me on Twitter, then I know. If they didn’t, thanks for telling me! YouTube stats aren’t very specific when it comes to Twitter, so there are times when I will get a TON of comments on a video in a very short amount of time and have no idea why. So, if you did get to my song via a website like EW.com, please let me know, if you don’t see any mention of it in the comments. I’d much rather be told twice than not told at all.

Did you know…the audio/visual quality of your videos leaves much to be desired?
Yes. I did. I record all of my videos with a Flip Mino, which I love, but it’s not HD in the least. (More on my recording process will be in a forthcoming entry!) However, as a poor college student, I don’t have the funds to invest in a new video camera/fancy recording equipment. I’d rather buy food and TV DVDs (TVDs).

Did you know…there is a grammar error in your song?
Yes. I did. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the first question, I am at the mercy of meter. Sometimes, I have to omit or include a word I’d rather not omit or include for the sake of rhythm. As an English major, it’s not something I enjoy doing, but sometimes I don’t have a choice, especially if I really like a particular thought or idea.

Okay, that’s it for this edition of “Did you know…?” As I mentioned, my next entry will be about exactly where and how I film my videos. I’m sure all of you non-existent readers are super excited about that!

-Tally

Question

For my first real post on this here blog, I thought I’d go ahead and answer some semi-FAQs that I get on my videos.

Q: What are the lyrics to [insert song title here]?
A: I am answering this, because people ask me ALL THE TIME. The lyrics are always in the sidebar on my videos. Always. Please look there. Clicking “more info” is much easier than taking the time to ask me. I promise.

Q: How old are you?
A: I am 19. My birthday is in June.

Q: Do you go to school? Where? What do you study?
A: Yes. I go to Agnes Scott College. It’s in Decatur, GA (near Atlanta). It is a women’s college. It is awesome. I am an English: Creative Writing major with a History minor.

Q: How long have you been playing the ukulele? How did you learn?
A: I have been playing the ukulele since July ’09. I got my first uke on a whim. I am self-taught. I just went on Ukulele Hunt and started picking out some songs I knew that looked easy. Eventually, I got semi-passable at playing. I am still at that level.

Q: How long have you been writing songs?
A: There are two answers to that question. The first is “since I could talk.” The second is “since October 29th, 2009.” The first ukulele song I wrote was the product of me messing around on the ukulele and moaning about how I wanted it to be February Album Writing Month. The song, “NaNoWriMo Will Eat Your Soul,” was, of course, about NaNoWriMo. After that, I was hooked.

Q: Will you ever write a song about [insert topic here]?
A: Maybe. It depends on the topic. Will I write another song about Firefly? Yes, because I love having an excuse to wear my Jayne hat in videos. Will I write a song about Desperate Housewives? No, because I have never seen Desperate Housewives. I write songs whenever I get the inspiration to write one. Writing a song with a general topic in mind never ends well for me, so I usually wait until I have an idea like, “Sheldon Cooper’s view of the world” instead of “a song about The Big Bang Theory.”

Q: Where can I download an MP3 of [insert song title here]?
A: Depending on the song, nowhere. I’m really behind in recording MP3s of my songs. I do, however, plan to record MP3s of many of them (including all of the ones I wrote in February) over the next couple of weeks. If there is an MP3, there will be a link to where you can download it in that ever-useful sidebar.

Q: Can I have the chords to [insert song title here]?
A: Of course! I’m still stunned whenever I get this question in a comment, but the answer is ALWAYS yes. Just ask, and I will be more than happy to oblige.

Q: Can I post this song/video on my site?
A: Yes! Just give me credit. (If you’re embedding the video, you don’t have to worry about this.)

Okay, that’s all for now. If you have any additional questions, please ask.♥

-Tally

The Name Game

Hello Internet,

I’m Tally. This is my blog. Welcome.

If you’re here, I’m guessing you’ve probably seen my videos on YouTube. If you haven’t, here’s a quick summary: they are of me, playing original ukulele songs about things like TV shows or unicorns.

I have two ukuleles. Echo Lee Kaywinnit (Kaylee) is a light blue Mahalo Soprano. Queen Penelope the Second (Penelope) is a Mitchell MU-70 concert ukulele. Kaylee is my first uke; I bought her in July ’09. Penelope is my second uke; I got her for Christmas ’09. Kaylee is named after Echo (the Dollhouse character) and Kaywinnit Lee (Kaylee) Frye (the Firefly character). Penelope is named after Penny (the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog character) and Penny (the Big Bang Theory character whose Age of Conan name is Queen Penelope).

I’ve decided that I need a blog, because there’s sometimes too much to say about a particular song, and the YouTube sidebar just doesn’t cut it. Also, I’m afraid that my LiveJournal friends are going to leave me if I keep posting entirely about my ukulele songs. Hence, this blog.

Things to anticipate: SONGS!, commentary on SONGS!, flailing about people who have heard my SONGS! (Are you sensing a pattern here?)

That’s all I have to say about that.

-Tally