shua - field notes (the classics bonus track)
3omg congratulations you found the hidden track from "the classics"
soup, salad, and breadsticks first released in december of 2021, and during the following 9 months i released 5 additional songs. throughout that journey, i learned a lot about the creative process, writing, production, performing, and most importantly, more about who i was, which sounds silly to say when thinking about songs about crocs, rudolph, and olive garden. by the time "the untold story" released in august of 2022, all my previous songs began to feel like a demo, or even just a concept track, rather than a product i could be proud of.
in october 2022 i began working on the biggest project of my life, but as the one year anniversary of soup, salad, and breadsticks approached i kept thinking about how unhappy i was with the quality of my whole catalogue. so, i started the journey of re-recording the first six songs i made, which i started calling "the classics."
I hit the one-year anniversary and released the "new smell" version of soup, salad, and breadsticks on the day of the anniversary, but I actually intended to release all six remasters on that day. now, almost 2 years later, i guess i finally got there.
it doesn't seem like much, but when you put a name on a project it suddenly gains so much more weight, and that weight piles up. in all honesty, im relieved to have it taken off of me, and even more relieved that i am actually satisfied with the quality of the project. i've listened to these now 7 tracks hundreds upon hundreds of times in the last few years, scrutinizing every syllable, but somehow i'm finally satisfied.
im sure this satisfaction will wane in the future, even now im wishing i never hit publish so i can take more time to polish it up. i know it needs it. but still, i feel strongly enough about the quality that it's okay for it to be out in the world. ill be removing the original demos for now, but ill be throwing them in an unlisted playlist for anyone who wants to listen to them.
it sounds like my retrospective is about feeling mostly relieved its done rather than happy it's out, and that's because thhat's exactly how i feel. but, there is good news.
the good news is that i released four new songs between the "new smell" version of soup, salad, and breadsticks (which, ironically, was also remade in part for the final release of "the classics"). after "field notes," my released discography is set at 11 tracks.
the even better news is that I haven't been doing nothing when i wasn't working on "the classics." I've recorded six more songs, and have nine others entirely written. even more in a drafting phase.
the best news is that im staring at, for the first time, an official EP page on youtube music for "the classics." not just a youtube video with album art i pulled off google images with the lyrics plastered on it, but a produced, finalized product that is available on a storefront. I thought i was just feeling relief from the project being over, but now that im looking at this i know im also feeling an immense feeling of pride. even all of the songs are objectively trash, i still made this happen. i can't say i've ever done something like this before. it's unreal.
the next project i'm working on has been in the works since before i started the "the classics" remastering project, with pre-production dating all the way back to oct 2022. but, the reality is that its been in my head for what feels like hundreds of years. the first draft of this concept dates back to a short story i wrote in middle school, nearing 18 years back. in a way, it's about everything "me," and everything "not me," and I can't wait to be able to give it my full attention now that "the classics" is done. i've listened to these tracks thousands upon thousands of times in the last 2 years. i hope you get to hear them before i add another thousand.
if you unlocked this track, you're the best. if you've read all of this, you're better than the best.
thank you, from everything i am.
Joshua