about
When I first started trying to put together an album, I wanted it to be entirely these big improvised jams that would explore all these different musical traditions, & genres while throwing them all to the side at the same time. But that wasn't to be. I wanted an entire album of "Lemonquest" but I found out that doesn't make for the greatest album, and impersonating Lemonquest's success will never recreate it. So I had to give up on it, I had like three songs that I threw away. I also found it hard to do all improv, because I just couldn't get "writing" out of my system. I had songs with composed choruses that had improvised nonsense in between them. I tried to improvise stuff and then make a song out of it, but that just made for mediocre writing. But in all this trial and error, I made one song that impersonated Lemonquest in some ways, like vocal delivery, tone, and lyrical silliness, but also did a lot of this different, like being entirely composed, having lyrics that were easy to follow, and not being entirely out of tune. Though I did tune my A string a bit flat just to screw the song up a little bit. Needless to say, that was this song. For a while, the working title was "Frogquest", but I eventually decided that "Sometimes You Try Really Hard, & it Ends Up Being A Waste Of Time" was a better title.
lyrics
when I was back in Mississippi
where I was born and raised
I met a young tadpole
she'd been swimmin' upstream for days
she said "If you can find the secret
to gettin' me some legs
I'll go out on a date with you,
and maybe you'll get laid"
so I went on a quest
I went on a quest
for rewards of a carnal nature
when I got down to Alabama
where I was born and raised
I asked around the town
and everyone just ran away
they said "the secrets or the frogies,
secrets they will stay"
and they chased me out of town
and into the next state
I was still on a quest
I was still on a quest
for rewards of a carnal nature
when I got to Pennsylvania
where I was born and raised
I found an old frog
turned out he was an ancient sage
he said "I've deciphered the secrets
of gettin' tadpoles legs.
Turns out they will matutre
if they just wait a few more days"
so I finished my quest
I finished my quest
for rewards of a carnal nature
but when I got back to Mississippi
where I was born and raised
I'd been away too long
and her whole body had changed
and when I looked at all the frogs
I couldn't find her face
I figured out the secret
but I'm got gettin' laid
I failed my quest
and I never got
my rewards of a carnal nature
credits
from
Boring,
released January 2, 2016
All sounds were performed, recorded, produced, mixed, & mastered by Oddest Abe.
Inspiration: Captain Beefheart, Mothers of Invention, & Lightnin' Hopkins.
license
