Hello! You've reached my music page. It includes samples of songs I have
written recently and recorded on my home computer. One thing that I ask
is that you not judge these songs based on the recordings. I am not an
audio engineer, and these songs lack some sort of instrumentation in most
cases. These are considered "rough project mixes", so don't
complain about the quality! The idea is that people who know me can come
here from time to time and hear new songs that I am working on and give
feedback on them. Feel free to email me with comments! Lyrics are posted
for your perusal.
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Title
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Scott's Comments
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| The Purple Heart |
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This was written from a poem that kept working it's way into my
head as a song. I didn't initally like the melody at all - it may
indeed change still, but it has grown on me considerably. The lyric
is strong and hard for me to wrap my head around, and I'd consider
it to be one of the best things I've written in a long time - quite
by accident.
get lyrics
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| True Blue |
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This is my attempt at being Roy Orbison.
I literally thought to myself to try and write an Orbison Esque tune
but I think it ended up being more of a Ringo Starr song, which ain't
bad either. :o) get
lyrics |
| Words Fail |
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This is a song that is meant to be much
more rockin than it is in this current demo form. My voice was destroyed
from a cold, and the only way to salvage this session was to sing
anemically to keep things in tune. It gets the general point accross
but is not my favorite recording. get
lyrics |
| I Hate Everything |
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This is a song recorded at Tad's home studio.
It is hands down the best recording I've got. I need to do some more
work on it, it's a scratch demo - some wacky vocal phrasing etc. It
was done for fun but turned out really well. One of my favorite of
the truly 'McLain' songs. I think my voice sounds pretty decent in
this recording, and truth be told, I was really sick at the time,
and I could not sing very well. Somehow, I got a few good moments
out of this though. . get
lyrics |
| The
Window Song |
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Recorded at Silver Ant Studios in Minneapolis.
Just a demo. Lots of wrong notes but you get the idea. It's an interesting
interpretation of a song I thought was just going to be acoustic forevermore.
get lyric
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| Cliche |
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Well I felt like being a smart alec and
it somehow ended up a serious song. I guess my attempt was to try
and include cliche phrases, maybe way overused images etc. but along
the way it becaome something else about the same subject. Or something
like that. get lyrics |
| Snowing on the
Beach |
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Not a very good recording. There are some terrible guitar notes
in the end that got trapped by the lack of editing, but you'll get
the idea. This was written for an aunt who is in the hospital.
get lyrics
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| Still Awake |
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I was mixing this at 4am. 'Nuff said. get
lyrics
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| Little
Boy Blue |
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Once in awhile I get into full-on "Bob" mode and something
like this happens. Not sure if it's going to stay so folky. . If
you are an ardent fan of Bob and have heard Live in 1966
a hundred times, you'll recognize the styling in about .002 seconds.
:) Not totally happy with it, but it's got it's moments. get
lyrics
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| Lost Angeles |
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The city of Los Angeles is a dichotomy
in so many ways - a place where dreams are fufuilled and destroyed
in almost the same breath. When we stop to look at what's really here,
there are a lot of broken and lonely people. This is a little taste
of what I've seen so far. get
lyrics |
| Supposed
Former Vigilantie |
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This is a song about dreams, and the cost exacted by them. I know
a guy who is a great artist who has given a large chunk of his life
to pursuing the noble cause of great art only to find himself, in
the end, wondering why he bothered in the first place. Commercial
success is a vauge and elusive animal. The reference is not so hidden,
as I use the guys name straight away. This also makes the first
time I've recorded something that I think actually turned out pretty
decent, although I could sing that vocal a hundred times and not
get it right. Please visit www.billmallonee.net
This one's for you, Bill. get
lyrics
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| Just Once |
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A song about breakups and the realization
that no one involved in one is guilt free. We are all guilty of being
stupid. Capeesh? get
lyrics |
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If I had a Nickel V1
If I had a Nickel (final)
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Here is a perfect example of a song that has a promising start,
but will utltimately change. A bit of a rarity for me, actually,
as I usually stick with the first thing I write. This time, I find
it necessary to change it just a bit. I still like the way this
turned out in general. To give those of you who are non-musicians
a sense of the process, here will be a "before and after"
of this song. I wrote this at 5:30 am on Oct 21, 2003. get
lyrics
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| Cash |
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A song written for the late great Johnny
Cash. I wrote it after seeing Mark Romanek's brilliant video for the
NIN cover 'Hurt'. I intended orignally to do a tribute album for Johnny
before he passed away but I guess God had other plans. Bless you,
sir - we miss you on this side!
get lyrics
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| Finding
Nothing |
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Written on December 29, 2003. What it is
about I am not exactly sure, although it is becoming clearer and clearer
as time goes on. I think I have a gift for writing lyrics that are
oblique enough to be intepreted pretty much any way you'd like to
while still retaining some meaning. get
lyrics |
| Hearts
Are on the Run |
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Fall 2003. Not sure whats it's about, to
be perfectly honest. get
lyrics |
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Look Again
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This song was written with a lot of different
references and ideas in mind. Some autobiographical, some not. Certainly
everyone can relate to the concepts in the song. It's about confusion
in a relationship. get
lyrics |
| Empty Shoes |
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This is a new song written in the Fall of 2003. It's
about several girls that I know, but in particular one that I once
dated that ended up dying in a car accident. It was pretty traumatic
for me. It was years ago and it still haunts me a llittle. Still,
this tune is littered with current references as well. get
lyrics |
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| Jesus Wept |
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Instrumental done on slide guitar and atmospherics.
Probably inspired by Daniel Lanois' playing. |
| Olde
Skool |
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Here are a few songs I've written over
the years that I consider my "Old School" tunes. A couple
are almost 8-10 years old! I am surprized how they still make me feel.
I still love these songs despite the bad recordings and the passage
of time. Maybe someday I'll be able to record these properly! There
are many many more where these came from - this is just a sampling.
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| Alyssa |
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Well, the girl is real but the story is
not. This was recorded with a band at EMG studios in Minneapolis with
one Rob Solberg at the boards (and the drums I might add). This was
literally the first real song I ever wrote. You can blame this
song for me deciding to write songs at all. I wrote it and thought
"hmm.. maybe I can write songs!" I must say, even after
10 years, this was not a bad start. get
lyrics |
| The
Saint Scream |
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This is another band cut from the EMG and
Rob Solberg session. a one take wonder, I have never been thrilled
with this recording, but it goes out with a bang! Thanks to my good
friend, Kevin Distad for special VOX.
get lyrics |
| Self Titled |
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You will hear me refer to this as "Hi
Ho Silver" in the recording, but the actual name is "Self
Titled" I also performed this live at The Rock Barn Dance
my last year in Minnesota. get
lyrics |
| What
Do I Think I Need? |
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This was recorded on a four track in my
bedroom at my parents house on Christimas morning around 2 - 3 am
in 2001. Craziness. It has a very early Floyd thing going on in my
estimation. |
| Midnight
In China |
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Some have called this the definitive
Scott Mclain song. I once had a drummer physically refuse to
play along because of it's acoustic folk qualities. In any case, I
always get reaction out of this song. get
lyrics |
| Instrumental
#0 |
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This is an 8 minute instrumental done sometime
in the late 90's (I think) and it's one take , one guitar, and a solo
added to the end of it. It rambles along and doesn't seem too cohesive,
but it comes to quite the crecendo and I like it anyway! |
| The Truth About
a Late Night Dinner in August |
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This was recorded on a tape deck through
a sound board at a church in Dallas Texas sometime in 1998 or so.
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| Testimonials |
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| "Oh, this stuff is really good!
Scott's voice has come a long way, and his songs are developing depth
and richness. Lyrics are thought-provoking. Where can I get the album?"
- Foxx Review |
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| "Very nice" - The Brighter
Star |
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