Baby Motel
Feb 4, 2024
Ben
Meteor Shower at the Motel
Leave it in! Leave it in. Boy, does life imitate art.
I love hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts. I like the cheap ones where you drive your car right up to the stairs, which often for some reason have the ice machines located in the stairwell landing (Why do travelers need so much ice?). They remind me of childhood road trips in Colorado, Maine, Western MA, California, and others. I also love a fancy hotel, which I stay in when I’m on work trips. These fancy hotels are fresh on my mind because I’m going on one of those work trips in a week.
I like hotels, no matter the type, because everyone there always seems little weird and crazy: Coworkers, bellhops, strangers who look like they’re at the end of their ropes, people in the parking lot, people in the workout room, people in the pool at night (I always hit up the pool), tired people at breakfast, families who seem unhappy, a guy in flip flops getting ice at a weird time. I also just like the beds. Maybe it’s just because a night or two away from my bed is a nice change of pace for my back.
Even though they’re way smaller than my house, I feel weirdly liberated at hotels. I can blast the TV (I love watching TV at hotels. I dunno why), I can take showers and track water wherever I want and leave my towel on the floor, theres a WIDE open empty closet for all my clothes. I even like using the iron at hotels. Again, I dont know why.
Maybe I like hotels so much because, as you’ll soon hear in this song, I’m extremely lucky in that I almost never have to be alone. AND SO EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE I ENJOY BEING ALONE. And so when I’m in a city by myself gives me some alone time to walk around, listen to music, say “table for one please,” rent a Lime scooter, stay up late, and sleep in.
This was a fun, oddly specific assignment and I’m glad NCBC is back again. I wrote 5 songs at varying levels of completion before starting again and writing this one. The Logic file is named “motel_6.”
Total solitude is important and amazing, and I’m lucky I only experience it maybe once a year. The joys of solitude, suddenly brought back to earth by the joys of nonsolitude.
Speaking of solitude, and of the assignment, I’d had a nice little moment almost every single night for the past couple years letting Roo out before bed. It’s the last thing I do every night, and no matter the temp, I make sure that I stand with her outside while she (and I) pee. Pitch black, often completely silent, and serene. Sometimes I see shooting stars.
Never got that road trip
From the swamp into the Bay
I blame it all on covid
Although the trip was couple months before that day
Every single city now,
has got a river walk. They call it “urban renewal”
Maybe I’m just old fashioned
I like hotels that are run by Robert Rioul
I also like the ones that look like
something’s going on,
People hiding away
Or living lives that sound like Dylan songs
You can close the door and feel enforted
More than, even the door to my home base
In my tiny temporary, kind of scary space
Drivin out of Baton Rouge
Dying for some highway blues
Driving out of Baton Rouge
Tryna find some driving tunes
yayayayaya
I’m making the most of it
I’m heading east on a moped
I might pick up smoking though
The crickets are croaking now
Life is easy in a sleazy little suite or bnb room
It’s kind of like a meditation
There’s weirdos at the waffle station
in between the transportation
Good and creepy isolation
Drivin out of Baton Rouge
Looking for that highway cruise
Pullin out of Baton Rouge
Looking for the highway blues
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Bad and boujee?
Baton Rouge
DAADAA
Looking for feedback on
I made up the word “enforted” for this song. Makes sense though, right? Also, does the song-within-a-song that i'm driving to work?
Discussion
Caleb February 25, 2024 6:46pm
just so much fun, i was smiling the whole time. that bass and guitar jam that kicked off right around 3:16 had me BOPPING, and then we get the creme de la creme of the piece with the baby interruption. Such a good moment, a happy little accident turned into a really poignant moment for me. I’m ready for the piece to take off, and boom — we are thrust back to earth, by that thing that grounds us the most, almost like when we travel to hotels and always at last come back (sometimes too soon). Awesome jam, and enforted 100% works for me.
EliasSZ February 14, 2024 10:53am
Absolutely loved the sound of the vocals in this straight from the get-go. Also the guitar solo is absolute killer, but those vocals underneath it at the top reallllllly worked for me.
In terms of your question, I don’t think I totally processed it as a song-within-a-song, but I loved the radio sweep for what its worth ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Guess in my mind it was more to me that a song about travel/road trip/driving wanted to make you feel like you were in the car alongside you also?
alechutson February 9, 2024 3:44pm
So light and fun, well done! Summer road trip vibes. Great lil guitar solo, and stellar instrumental parts all the way through. Great ending too 😉
I’m with Ryan – I find the lyrics to be more of a compliment to the music because there is so much to pay attention to there, so I find myself reading through them afterwards. That’s not a criticism though, because you write very thoughtfully and in your own voice. I can almost imagine you dropping in one of those lines into a conversation.
Ryan February 6, 2024 10:14pm (edited)
Dude—so, so fun haha.
“Robert Rioul” into “OOOwhoa” is such a fantastic section change—melodically, lyrically, harmonically. Super into it. I feel very strongly that there should be a crescendoing pad throughout that entire section. Something with a little movement to it that pushes us along to the next section. When you get to the reprise of that section around the 2:00 mark, I’m down for it to dry up as it does.
Git solo is sick. Git it, if you will.
Honestly, your lyrics are always a little hard for me to follow because the music that accompanies them is so interesting that I end up following that more. Your lyrics stick with me more on the 5th or 6th listen. So I guess what I’m saying is, I’ll get back to you.
Ben February 7, 2024 10:30am
thanks man! curious if the git solo came off as satirical or ernest. in fact, i’m curious how you interpreted that whole little section (1:40-1:56). What do people think that section is all about? Was it clear?
Also, that makes so much sense about my lyrics vs instrumentals. As a listener, I gravitate toward instruments the first dozen listens, then lyrics eventually after that. And clearly that same part of my brain is active when making my own songs.
nurphgun February 6, 2024 10:07pm
I love the lyrics so much, they have a playfulness, lightheartedness, and hilarity that is very you; it makes me smile. The whole composition screams “road trip” to me – the desire to feel the joy and freedom is palpable yet there is no whiff of anything hackneyed about “the open road” or “getting outta town” or “escaping.” It’s clear that you consider the road trip to be one of life’s pleasures, but not life’s only pleasure – if that makes sense (And i’m glad because i’d be sad otherwise lol)
@@nick‘s comment on my song was about seeing where you can remove sentence structure from a lyric to let the most important words shine. That’s fresh on my mind, and so I’m feeling like there are a couple places where the sentence structure drags things down a little – like “although the trip was couple months before that day” and “I also like the ones that look like something’s going on.” Maybe it’s not even the words but how they are placed that need to change.
I always want songs to be on the short side, but this one is just the right length (after you cut out Sam’s outro.) The radio interlude and guitar solos are just right.
Sam’s cute
Ben February 6, 2024 10:49pm
Oops its actually spelled “Rioual” with an a btw.
nurphgun February 6, 2024 10:54pm
oops just found him on linkedin
nick February 5, 2024 4:01pm
well that’s just too cute, hey? consider “enforted” enshrined in the english language. yeah really dig the ri-OUL ride sections. sweet and starry. and a big kudos to you for all the live instruments. interruptions and all. Really nice lyric writing too. funny and concise. good about doing on. below is my favorite section. well done, dude!
I’m making the most of it / I’m heading east on a moped / I might pick up smoking though /The crickets are croaking now / Life is easy in a sleazy little suite or bnb room
nick February 5, 2024 4:01pm
sam’s “hi hat” is fantastic
nurphgun February 6, 2024 10:08pm
hiyat
Ben February 5, 2024 1:48pm
I dig the structure of this one—cool chord changes and melody! I thinking bringing the rhythm guitar a little louder would help integrate the ingredients somewhat—when there’s kind of a key change at 0:39, we’re mostly hearing that change in the vocals, and if the guitar were a little louder it might lock that change in in with a little more oomph.
nick February 5, 2024 4:01pm
i agree!
nurphgun February 6, 2024 9:47pm
0:39 is such a great moment in this song
Ben February 7, 2024 10:33am
yeah, good suggestion. in fact, there isnt even the chunking rhythm guitar during the first verse and chorus. maybe i just bring up the main guitar track then. or just add some keys.