God Help The Girl's blog on imeem

God Help The Girl - an introduction

God Help The Girl — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:26:17 -0000

Come Monday Night - the first God Help The Girl single

God Help The Girl — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:34:12 -0000

For those who have followed the progress of 'God Help The Girl' since the call for singers on iMeem in 2007 - here is some information about the first release from the record:

‘Come Monday Night,’ an orchestrated pop song from the pen of Stuart Murdoch, is the first single release from the ‘God Help The Girl’ album, to be released on 22nd June 2009.

‘God Help The Girl’ is a story set to music, which Murdoch has been working on intermittently for the last five years and his first new music since Belle and Sebastian’s seventh album, ‘The Life Pursuit’ in 2006.

"I was out for a run and I got this tune in my head,” says Stuart of the album. “It occurred to me that it wasn't a Belle & Sebastian song. I could hear female voices and strings, I could hear the whole thing, but I just couldn’t envisage myself singing it with the group.”

Both of these elements feature on what is one of the standout tracks on the album. The singer is Catherine Ireton, a native of Limerick who now lives in Edinburgh, discovered via a friend of a friend, and who has also previously appeared on Belle and Sebastian record sleeves.

After auditioning early in the process, she ended up taking the majority of lead vocals on the album. In Catherine, Stuart has found a rare talent - her clear, lilting vocals bringing to life the characters in Stuart’s head and making for an ambitious and engrossing musical journey.

‘Come Monday Night’ also features an orchestra conducted by Rick Wentworth as well as Stuart, Stevie, Bob and Richard from Belle and Sebastian. The b-side is the sublimely titled ‘Howard Jones Is My Mozart.’

The Single Sock Alliance

God Help The Girl — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:23:38 -0000

So this morning I reached as far as I am going to reach in my attempt to become organised. The ‘free world’ has a new leader, and I have a new sock drawer.

My socks haven’t been paired for about 6 years. Consequently, I just keep buying socks, making the problem worse. This is my last task on the road to domestication, so I go at it blindly, almost drunkenly.

I invent a mythology for myself to makes things go easier. A sock mythology. As I try to pair, and I find many socks bereft of a partner, I come up with a union which I call The Single Sock Alliance. They plead for socks fallen on hard times, and try to save them from destruction as a single sock. One of the lines I hear used in a sock’s defense is

“He’s basically a Good Sock!”

It’s when I hear this line in my head, I realise that domestication isn’t everything. I have to get out. Lewis and Tolkein got a lot of mileage from anthropomorphic trees and animals, but socks ain’t gonna do it.

How about I get back to records and stuff.

Records and Stuff

Matthew
Question
god help the girl. an update of progress please stuart?

Ok, Matthew, glad you asked. The record’s going to come out in late spring. That’s the LP God Help The Girl. 12 Songs, unless I get annoyed with one of them and boot them off. Very late spring, shall we say?

Before that I think we’ll have a single or two. No queing up in Woolie’s anymore! No, you’ll have to look even harder!.. To your local independent stockist (at least for the vinyl). Or you could just download with the flick of a digit.

I think the first single is going to called Come Monday Night. It’s sung by Eve with a bit of Cass. It’s basically a lullaby for an overworked boy. My notes for the relevent scene say

Cass and Eve annoy James at work. They borrow his keys, and promise to have a song written by the time he’s finished work. When he gets home, they have rifled his stuff and are watching a porn vid.

James retreats to the pub. Eve and Cass drink James’s booze and talk about lactating and laundry. When James comes home the worse for drink, they sit him down and surprise him with their song, “Come Monday Night”. He is quietly enraptured.

I need to make a video for this track. I’m looking for an attic bedsit in Glasgow to film it in, preferably one with a sink and slopey ceilings. Bad carpets, a lumpy bed, and an alcove with cuttings depicting your favourite recording star. Serious, if you’ve got a place, or if you know of a place, get in touch and we’ll come and have a look. It’ll save us decorating. (The alcove is optional..)

Listen..

Right now I’m listening to The Woodentops, to Sandy Posey and to Jimmy Cliff ‘The Harder They Come’. I know because I just checked my ‘recently played’. But I also been digging some new stuff. I got a copy of the upcoming Butcher Boy long player, ‘React or Die’, and it’s a great listen, a real classy record from start to finish. I’ve been listening also to my two favourite tracks from last year. They are ‘Brand New Start’ by Little Joy, and ‘Hitten’ by Those Dancing Days. In fact, the Dancing Days one is a bootleg from their concert; it starts real slow and then winds up to hit single speed. Very nice.

Marisa and I went to see Dancing Days when they played in Glasgow at the end of last year. I had arranged to meet the group because I had a track that I thought they might want to record.

As you might imagine it was a bit akward at first, believe me. I’ve been there, I’ve been in the group when some music biz type comes in with a proposition... If it was Belle and Sebastian, we’d be sitting there in our little gang, waiting to be impressed, but ready to dismiss..

So there they were, gathered round a cosy bar table. I was one box of chalk short of feeling like a school teacher. Marisa and I had anticipated the awkwardness. We decided that the best way to combat awkwardness was to make it more awkward. I don’t know how we figured that one out.

The idea was, that if my words were met with stony silence, then I was to awkwardly mention an ‘achievement’ of mine, then Marisa would respond with a chorus of ‘Hercules! Hercules!’

For example
Me: “I have a Brit Award, you know.”
Marisa: “Hercules! Hercules!”

Me: “I’ve met Prince Charles, you know.”
Marisa: “Hercules! Hercules!”

We were sitting in a bar called The Captain’s Rest. There was an ugly statue of an old sea captain above our heads. Another facet to our plan was that any time I mentioned the name of the bar, Marisa would stand up, salute, and shout

“Aye Aye Sir!”

It’s almost a pity that we never got to try that one out.. The girls were very nice and accommodating. Our conversation was quite constructive; we decided we would get together sometime in the New Year to try something out.

About time too . . .

God Help The Girl — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:38:09 -0000

Hi folks

Are you still there? I feel kind of funny, because I don’t think I’ve ever really awarded a prize before, at least one that was anticipated. I remember getting butterflies waiting to see how I did at music festivals and the like when I was young, and it’s strange to think that I’m on the other side this time. I apologise if the wait has been on the long side!

Boys, at this moment we are going to postpone your result until the New Year. We need to devote ourselves to the ladies at present. We will have a better idea where the males fit in, in the New Year.

As I’ve said before, the competition was of a very high standard. Crucially, there was also a wide range of interpretations of the songs. Now, we didn’t know exactly what we wanted before the competition started (hence the competition!) but I think we came closer to knowing at the listening stage, and the decision was influenced by that.

Just to clarify our intentions; we are going to have two singers over to Glasgow for five days or so. They will practice with the group, and go on to record demos of some the film songs in our studio. This is part of the ongoing process to prepare the songs for final recording.

In the meantime, we will have a great chance to see what the singers are made of, and judge their abilities and talents, with a view to further participation.

Like I said before, I think the way the ‘God Help The Girl’ Forum took off was terrific. I hope the involvement doesn’t end here. By putting your voice and your personality up on line, you’ve become a pool that we will look to during this long process. I just wished you lived around the corner! That would be easier.

Already I’ve been in touch with a few of you to do some ‘reading’. It’s possible at a later stage that we might have a few more people over to Glasgow to follow up on that as the drama aspect of the project comes to light.

But at the minute, there is the music! With around 240 female entries (including video), if you were invited to sing again by myself or John, you were very close to being picked. The two singers that were picked were chosen for pitch and tone, for their flexibility, for the style they displayed, for the strength of the voice and for the potential we saw in them.

They are Brittany Stallings and Dina Bankole.

thanks
stuart

hello hello

God Help The Girl — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:33:53 -0000

hey kiddos

just hanging out here in glasgow. it's overcast and autumnal. i'm listening to status quo and jackson browne and the beat, but just as a short break from listening to you.

i'm feeling you, I'm feeling your online presence. we're not deliberately taking a long time, but we are deliberating. the consultation process made it's way south of the river this afternoon, when I was in the presence of Judge Jackson and QC Bob Kildea.

I’m sorry if I have left the guys rather on their own over this one. I’ve been concentrating on the ladies. Your due time is creeping up, fellahs! (and the numbers of you who are entering.)

I’m still going to need a bit of time, I hope you don’t mind. I may have to do a ‘tiny’ bit more setting of tasks, but not much.

In the meantime, hope you are feeling good, whoever you are, wherever you are...

stuart

thank you . . .

God Help The Girl — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:21:37 -0000

hi folks, specifically the ladies

today is the last day for entries to the singing competition. we will retire for a while and consider all you have done.

i must say that I've come to enjoy the process, and the spirit in which it has taken place has been very homely. to me it felt like the beginning of the book 'charlie and the chocolate factory', with people checking in from all round the world. if i'd been any good i would have had a huge map of the world with little flags to show where you all posted from.

we will have a good think, and further listens, and we may ask some of you to sing the song you didn't already sing, so that we may hear more of your range and style. (this may take a little while, before we get some of you over to Glasgow!)

A couple of other things...

Be assured that we have been listening to the entries sent by email, even though correspondence may not have been entered into.

Also, that those in faraway time zones were allowed to post during October 1st, their time!

Also, please note, that although the 'media' record for the 'God Help The Girl' group might show that our listening habits were sporadic, we were in fact scouring the entries through a series of pseudonyms! Nothing was missed...

If we contact you it will only be from 'God Help The Girl' though, or a 'banchory.net' email address.

In the meantime, thank you for taking part, and thank you for reading!

stuart

Stuart's update / Guys also needed (20 September)

God Help The Girl — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:53:41 -0000

Hi folks,

Just in case you thought we had abandoned you, we are still pouring over your efforts keenly! The standard has reached quite a shocking level - consistently high! I am amazed and surprised. I can only guess at how hard this is to do, coming cold to a track, having no say in the pitch or arrangement or tempo. But you really are doing a great job.

We are enjoying the videos also. It may have taken extra balls to get on camera, but it does help us pick up on your personalities, so the extra effort is worth it. It’s a friendly little move!

Don’t be perturbed if you think your track doesn’t reach ‘hi-fi’ quality. We can pretty much tell what kind of job you’re doing whatever you are recording on, though it’s been pleasant listening to the array of ‘smooth production jobs’ that have been presented so far. It is flattering that you have gone to the trouble of making such a nice noise!

There have been some technical, and otherwise, questions asked. In the forum, John will go through some of the most common ones - but may I answer one first?

Ok fellahs, we’re hearing you. We were going to leave this till later, but your interest has inspired us. We have a work in progress version of one of the songs, called ‘Perfection as a Hipster’. Gary Olson, from Brooklyn’s Ladybug Transistor is this week’s guest professional.

Gary has very kindly laid down a vocal on the track, along with our own Catherine Ireton. Have a listen on the audio player, and if you’re up for it, download the instrumental here and plug yourself in. The lyrics can be found here.

I know you’re only getting one track to work at, but somehow I think you’ll manage o.k..

If you’re wondering about your motivation for singing (and hey, this is musical drama after all!) you are the custodian of a a charity clothes shop. You are leaning on the counter on a sleepy Tuesday when in walks Girl 1.

A little unkempt, but still obviously something pretty special, you watch her move round the isles of clothing in a catlike way. Not only do you get to dress her up in the best things your boutique can offer, but you have to scrape her off the ground and revive her when she passes out in the changing room; the hero momentarily; her adventures that morning must have proved too much.

She recovers, leaving as quickly as she arrived, though better dressed. She’s off down the street, while you desperately try to negotiate the morning off with your old-lady co-workers. They just don’t understand your hurry!

You have until October 12th, men. Good luck.

Stuart's update - 7 September 2007

God Help The Girl — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:17:40 -0000

I've been enjoying your little 'auditions' tremendously. It's fun seeing where you are all coming from. We've had entries from some faraway places - South Korea, Beirut, Russia, Quebec and a lot from the States. The standard has been really good, and I'm not just saying that. It has been a genuine pleasure to listen to your interpretations.

I must admit at having a giggle at the last note of "The Psychiatrist Is In." It is rather low. But I think it will accompany a rather humorous moment in the film, so don't worry if you can't quite nail it, or if you fall over! It's all part of the fun. And I like to hear your personalities coming through sometimes.

We've been reading your comments too and we'll try to address some of them individually, especially if you are having trouble uploading, or any other part of the process.

We've also had a lot of mail from fellahs asking when their turn will be. Well, sometime, I'd say. I think we'll give you your own song to sing and a separate deadline, so don't think that you are missing out, because you're not at the moment.

I'll be in touch soon to tell you how rehearsals and everything else are going. You never know, we might get in touch with you sooner rather than later just to give you a try out in the rehearsal room. If you can handle that. We're a very relaxed bunch . . .

God Help The Girl

God Help The Girl — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:35:04 -0000

Stuart Murdoch from Belle and Sebastian is looking for performers /singers to participate in a project called 'God Help The Girl' which he is currently developing.

He is making an album of songs based around different voices, which will subsequently be put together to form the backbone of a musical film which he is writing. Go here to read Stuart's full introduction to the project.

At present, he is looking for female singers to record the songs. They will represent the main characters in the film, but he is also looking for other singers to sing in supporting roles.

Members of Belle and Sebastian will be involved as the studio band for some of the recording, which will hopefully take place later this year.

By following the links around this site - you will be able to listen to and record your own version of one of two songs which have been recorded so far. Have a look around and go here for full instructions on how to put yourself forward for one of the parts. Thanks for your interest & Good luck!

Casting Call for imeem users!!!

God Help The Girl — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:28:14 -0000

Here’s what you have to do to help Stuart find the voices he requires for the record.

- Sign up to iMeem and create an account profile for yourself here

- Listen to the original versions of “Funny Little Frog” and “The Psychiatrist Is In” in the media player before you start recording your entry.

- Download the instrumentals and the lyrics for the songs using the links below.

- Then you can record one of the songs (audio or video of yourself singing the songs using the assets that are provided. You can record the song anyway you like - it is only to give an idea of your voice and your feel for the songs.

- For the instrumental version of “Funny Little Frog”, Click here

- For the instrumental version of “The Psychiatrist is in”, Click here

- For the lyrics for these songs, Click here

- All of your submissions must be uploaded to the God Help the Girl Group page, located here

To upload an audio submission, Click here and reply to the thread

To upload a video submission, Click here and reply to the thread

To upload a photograph, Click here and reply to the thread

Don’t forget you can also listen to, rate, and comment on all of the other submissions!

The contest will run from August 27th, until October 1st.

Stuart will review all of these entries and any suitable entrants will be offered the chance to audition for a part in the film. All expenses for the trip will be paid, and if you end up being cast in the movie, you will be paid for that as well!!

We’re very excited to see and hear all of your entries. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Please contact us here if you have any queries about submitting material, or if you would prefer not to post your entry on the forum.

Good luck!

Funny Little Frog - lyrics

God Help The Girl — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:35:04 -0000

Here are the lyrics for 'Funny Little Frog':

Honey lovin you is the greatest thing
I get to be myself and I get to sing
I get to play at being irresponsible
I come home late at night and I love your soul
I never forget you in my prayers
I never have a bad thing to report

You're my picture on the wall, you're my vision in the hall
You're the one I'm talking to, when I get in from my work
You're my guy and you don't even know it
You're the funny little frog in my throat

My eyesight's fading, mjy hearing's dim
I can't get insured for the state I'm in
I'm a danger to myself I've been starting fights
At the party at the club on a Saturday night
But I don't get disapproving from my boy
He gets all the highlights wrapped in joy

You're my picture on the wall, you're my vision in the hall
You're the one I'm talking to, when I get in from my work
You're my guy and you don't even know it
I am livin out the life of a poet
I am the jester in the ancient court
You're the funny little frog in my throat

I had a conversation with you at night
It's a little one sided but that's all right
I tell you in the kitchen about my day
You sit on the bed in the dark changing places
With the ghost that was there before you came
You've come to save my life again

I don't dare to touch your hand
I don't dare to think of you in a physical way
And i don't know how you smell
You're the cover of my magazine
You're a fashion tip, a living museum

I'd pay to visit you on rainy Sundays
I'll maybe tell you all about it someday

The Psychiatrist Is In - lyrics

God Help The Girl — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:37:44 -0000

Here are the lyrics for 'The Psychiatrist Is In':

grow up, you’re nearly 31
what happened when you were a child
do you require an analyst?
or will a friendly smile suffice?

find your space are you breathing well
do you feel o.k.
are you calm are you comfortable
is your heartbeat racing
is this your soul your facing?

lay down my couch is over there
I think you’ll find its way more comfortable
take off your glasses don’t be scared
for thirty pounds I’ll listen to your
stories dear, shut the window there
we should keep the session intimate don’t you agree?

I have experience in matters similar
I can’t juggle I can’t knit a pinafore
but I’ll listen to your tale and give you some advice

I was an ace when I was young
I learned to dance, I didn’t have to learn
I was a case when I grew up
A case of hope, crashing to the ground

I learned, I hit the skids and I
woke up me myself and I was a different person
if I take you on will you be pliable
as a confidante I’m quite reliable
dreamer though you are
it is you that’ my signpost so far

An introduction by stuart

God Help The Girl — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:13:59 -0000

So I should really tell you what I’ve been up to the last while. Well I just ate this brownie that was so thick and buttery, with the ground up coffee beans, that my heart is having to beat quite hard to deal with it all. So I might as well use the extra beats to tell you what I was thinking.

It’s been a fantastically cold summer in Glasgow so far. There has been no real delineation between the spring and the summer except for the leaves creeping out sheepishly. I don’t mind so much. I’ve been staying in and doing jigsaws a lot. Every now and again I reach over to the arm on the record player and put it back to the beginning of Sealed With A Kiss by Brian Hyland. “It’s going to be a cool lonely summer”, he sings. As long as Brian’s around to chum me I don’t mind it so much.

I don’t mind so much because I’m trying to piece together the story of a better summer, or at least a summer when something happened. It happened to a boy and a girl and a girl, in a city roughly the same size and population of Glasgow. Perhaps the canals were a bit grimier, the high-rise buildings taller. The streets emptier when you needed them to be, and the beat clubs busier than the ones around here. But on the whole the city was this one.

That’s what I wanted to tell you about. They had such a nice summer one year. It was quite unexpected, the way that nice things quite often are. Girl 1 arrived in town. She looked around for a while, and played in a ladies football league. She ran into The Boy as he was closing up the local swimming pool.

So she ended up getting the bedsit next door to him. And they met Girl 2 when Girl 1 decided that the Boy wasn’t getting out enough. The Boy was kind of flexible on account of the fact that nobody had shown much interest in him for a while. For quite a few years actually. So he went along, prepared to teach Girl 2 all he knew about the steel strung acoustic guitar that he cradled. Girl 2 wanted to learn, but more than that she wanted to sing to somebody, and tell somebody about what was happening. So she attached herself to Girl 1 and the Boy, and there you have it.

As I mentioned, they were a musical bunch, though none had ever been told that, and none would ever proclaim it. But that summer had a way of chipping the music out of them. They rubbed against each other in such a way that songs would come. They would come at quiet times of the night when they were on their own, and they would arrive suddenly when the other two were around. It was just that kind of a summer.

So it presents me with a problem. I’ve got the city. I can see it from here, and it’s free.

I’ve got the city, but I’m looking for the people. I’m looking for the girl, the other girl and the boy. In fact, I’m looking for all the various characters that pepper the scene. (They come along and say what they have to say in an unusually musical way, and then move on.) I’m looking for them too.

So that’s where I thought you might be able to help me. You’ve read this far. Somehow you’ve found your way to this place, so I figure that makes you about a thousand times more qualified to help me than the average person in the street. Maybe ten thousand. You could probably help me, or perhaps you know someone who could help.

If you were interested in getting involved, or if you knew someone who might be good for it, all you or they would have to do is to go here, and try your luck at singing. We’ve tried to make it easy for you. We’ve put in a Belle and Sebastian tune, albeit played in a different way, or you could listen to a new tune, called The Psychiatrist Is In, which is sung by Catherine, and which will be sung by Girl 1 in the finished recorded version….

…because we’re making a record of all the songs the kids wrote that summer, and we’re looking for people to sing them. Right this minute we’re looking for the girls, but the boys may follow.

We’re making a record, because that’s what we do. But when the time and the mood are right, the record will become a film. A MOVIE!

So we’d like you to send a picture of yourself with your recording, and perhaps a little bit of information about yourself. If you’ve done this kind of thing before, for instance, or if you can tango, or play the banjo. (and if you haven’t, just as good! we just want people who can sing nice!)