"Nothing Old, Nothing New" (alternate mix) MP3 and commentary

June marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of my album Recital. Hard to believe that a decade ago this month I played a CD release show at Gunther Murphy's Bar in Chicago, opening for Dolly Varden!

In honor of this anniversary, I'm excited to offer up a never-before heard alternate mix of "Nothing Old, Nothing New"...a song that appeared on the Recital album.

A quick history of the song:
It was written back in the Spring of 1996 at my apartment in Eugene, OR. The entire song sprung from a composition exercise where I forced myself to create guitar chord positions that existed only within one fret. The main riff of "Nothing Old..." is a F#m7, followed by a Bm7, resolving to an A, all played only within the 2nd fret.

The lyrics are about the neighborhood in Ishpeming, MI, where I spent my teenage years. The locals call it Westwood Circle, and indeed that is what it is. As I entered my 4th year of marriage, it struck me that the comfort level I was feeling in my relationship with Dawn reminded me of that similar "home" connection I had to my hometown neighborhood. I always felt the lyrics were sweet and romantic, but apparently they come off a bit more chilly, as evidenced by this review at the All Music Guide.

Here's a photo of me and drummer Lowell Michelson in the studio in Iowa as we worked on this recording. I was thrilled with all the musician's performances on this song, and the sounds you hear in this new mix are the original tracks from 1996-1997. Lowell rigged up a floor tom as if it was a kick drum, and replaced the snare with an African hand drum. Dave de-tuned his bass to get that lovely low note at the end of the bridge, and Richard nailed an incredible acoustic guitar lead throughout the song.

The original mix of this song from the Recital album is pretty good, but when I began to assemble my Best of the 20th Century album, I wanted to try to maximize this already-fine recording. In the Fall of 2006, audio wizard Matt Patrick dug into the original tracks of this song and created this mix before you now, with the introductory percussion groove effected into a drum-loopy atmospheric crunch. I loved what Matt brought to the mix in general, but I missed the natural sound of the pedal-tom and African hand drum, so for the final Best Of album version Matt restored the percussion tracks to their un-effected state. Matt's non-album alternate mix is available HERE as a free download...click below:

"Nothing Old, Nothing New" (alternate mix 2006)

Here are the song's credits:

Words and Music: Jonathan Rundman
Jonathan Rundman: vocals, acoustic guitar, melodica
Lowell Michelson: djembe, pedal tom, hi-hats, splash cymbals, triangle
David Casimir: bass
Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan: lead acoustic guitar
Joel Setterholm: organ
Matt Patrick: acoustic guitar
Recorded by: Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan at This Here Studio, Milford, IA, December 1996-January 1997.
Mixed by: Matt Patrick at Yellowbelly Studio, Crystal, MN, Fall 2006.

And here are the lyrics:

NOTHING OLD, NOTHING NEW

all of this was some field back in ’71
before they built this subdivision
now we got landscaped circles, courts, and lanes
twenty-odd split levels
looking pretty much the same
I guess that’s like the way it is with you
nothing old, nothing new

I don’t mind familiarity
I like it when I’ve got some history
it’s good to have a place to call your own
I know every street that takes me home
I guess that’s like the way it is with you
nothing old, nothing new

you can bet that when I’m a senior citizen
all these houses will be standing
you can be that I’ll still have
some time and energy just for you
nothing old, nothing new

not so long ago we build these frames
and put out mailboxes with our names
yeah, we’ve been taking care of things
just like we should
no one can deny we’ve got it good
I guess that’s like the way it is with you
nothing old, nothing new

cp1997 Salt Lady Music (ASCAP)