Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take a moment to express how thankful I am to all of the wonderful people that have inspired and encouraged my work here at Sci-Fi Songs. It has been a great first five months. I have been overwhelmed by the intelligence and supportiveness of the sci-fi/fantasy community. I'm energized by the creativity and enthusiasm of everyone who has read the blog, downloaded the songs, left a comment, and wrote about my songs on their own blogs. Thank you!

Here are a few people that I'd like to thank personally:

1. Lou Anders at Pyr Publishing
2. John DeNardo at SF Signal
3. Kristen at the Fantasy Cafe
4. Paul at the Beam Me Up Podcast
5. David Tackett at Quasar Dragon
6. Kay Kenyon
7. Brandon Sanderson
8. Mulluane at Dragons, Heroes and Wizards
   
9. The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Club at Good Reads
10. All of the great remix artists at ccMixter

Over the course of the past month, I've composed a ton of new music that I am excited to record and post soon. Expect new songs based on the works of Gregory Frost, Bruce Sterling, and Steven Erikson. I also have a Sci-Fi Holiday song that I will be posting at some point in December.

Thanks for reading and listening,
John

Recent Songs Posted:

1. Sci-Fi Song #10: "Angels and Vampires" inspired by Anne Rice
   
2. Sci-Fi Song #11: "Lonesome October Night" inspired by Roger Zelazny
   
3. Sci-Fi Song #12: "The Diamond Age" inspired by Neal Stephenson
   
4. Genre Break Song #1: "San Luis Obispo"
   

Genre Break Song #1: San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo.mp3

A few years ago, before I got into the lucrative world of writing songs about science fiction and fantasy novels, I released a fairly straight ahead singer/songwriter CD (read more about that here). In the time between that CD release and the start of Sci-Fi Songs, I composed a number of songs that have never seen the light of day.

Just as it is healthy to read books outside of the sci-fi/fantasy niche, I thought that it would be interesting to feature a song that isn't based on a speculative fiction novel once in a while. I remain focused on the sci-fi songs though. In the coming weeks, I will be posting songs based on the novels of Gregory Frost, Bruce Sterling, and Steven Erikson.

While in my mid twenties, I spent a summer "finding myself" by driving up and down the coast of California. I had a great time residing in the youth hostels of San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. For a guy who had never left the confines of New Jersey, this was a life changing experience. Hands down, the best stop on my journey was San Luis Obispo (a small town located half way between L.A. and San Francisco).

Hope you enjoy it,

John

San Luis Obispo

by John Anealio

It was three years ago today

I spent the summer drifting up and down the coast

It was just a temporary stay

I needed time to run away from Torie's ghost

There's a seaside town where she can be found

I wish I was there today

I want to go where summer lasts forever

I want to go where everything is clear

I want to go where summer lasts forever

I want to go to San Luis Obispo

Kate worked on Higuera street

Waiting tables and sending pay home to her mom

She asked me what I'd like to eat

Then smiled and I asked if I'd be there for very long

Her green eyes glowed and her red hair flowed

I wish I was there today

Chorus

California seems so far away

and Katie moved back home to Santa Fe

and I'm happy in New Jersey anyway

Chorus

Here are some of the tools that I used to record the track:

1. Martin Acoustic Guitar in DADGAD tuning
2. G&L ASAT Telecaster for the electric guitar parts
3. Washburn Bass Guitar
4. Trinity College Irish Bouzouki/Octave Mandolin
5. Rode NT-3 microphone (to record the acoustic guitar and my vocals)
6. Apple Logic Pro 7 recording software
   1. The EXS24 Sampler for the drum sounds
   2. The ES2 software synth
   3. Logic's included compressor, delay, and reverb plug-ins
   4. The electric guitar parts were recorded through Logic's Guitar Amp Pro plug-in

Sci-Fi Song #12: The Diamond Age

The Diamond Age.mp3

Sci-Fi Song #12 is an electronic instrumental that was inspired by Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer . I tried to convey the novel's feeling of the "Victorian age of the future" by combining the sounds of traditonal orchestral string instruments (supplied by my software's sampler), with the more futuristic sounds of synthesizers and electronic percussion.

Here are some of the tools that I used to compose this piece of music:

1. Apple Logic Pro 7 recording software:
• The EXS24 Sampler for the orchestral string sounds
• The Sculpture software synth for the sustained pad sound that opens the piece.
• Ultrabeat for the electronic percussion
• The ES2 software synth for the bass and arpeggio parts
• Logic's included phaser and reverb plug-ins.

Hope you enjoy it,

John

Related Posts:

1. Sci-Fi Song #1: "Before the End of Time": another electonic instrumental inspired by the artwork of Janet Chui.
2. Sci-Fi Song #4: "The Return of Titus Quinn": a solo acoustic guitar instrumental inspired by Kay Kenyon's Bright of the Sky
3. Sci Fi Song #7: "Merithyn's Promise": another solo acoustic guitar piece inspired by Elizabeth Haydon's Requiem for the Sun

Remix #3: Summer Glau

Feel Fine (ft. John Anealio and Bex).mp3

Here is a great remix of "Summer Glau" entitled "Feel Fine". This remix was created by Charlie Bit Me, a 24 year old German remix artist who posts his material over at ccMixter. This is a really polished and professional sounding dance remix that takes the song into a completely different direction. Charlie Bit Me composed an entirely new bed of music and manipulated my vocal in a really interesting and musical way. I love it.

Check out more of Charlie Bit Me's music here.

Related Posts:

Summer Glau (original version)
Rachel Rosen Remixes

Hope you enjoy it,
John