[Wax Tadpole]

NEWS

I apologise for the fact that this web site is so hopelessly out-of-date.

As I've done more songs, the site format has become unwieldy and difficult to update. I am currently working on a complete re-design, but in the mean time, you can still find my latest music at the sites listed below.

Music Sites

Buy my music from iTunes
Buy my music from CD Baby
Buy/Download my songs from BandCamp (multiple formats)
Play/Download my other songs on SoundCloud
Watch my videos on YouTube

Go to: Latest Song (4-Feb-2015) | Collaborations | Original Songs | Theme Music Parodies & Mash-ups | Theme Music Covers | Kirsten Ireland's "Mirrors" | Original 4-track Compositions (1986) | Morning-X Jingle Contest (1998) | Some Weird Songs | Other Parody Songs


Collaborations

I've been fortunate enough to work with some great collaborators:

Kirsten Ireland
Kai Stewart
brandi ediss
Erik Ostrom, Larry Cox, Deral F. Fenderson and Maryanne Window
Kyle Richards (with brandi ediss, Brian Bland and Lee Wiggins)
Tim King
Zoenda McIntosh
Erik Ostrom, Andrea Kremer, Tim King and Isaac King
Nevin Murtha
Ingrid Oliansky
Stacy McClendon
Matt Brown and the Vermonty Men's Choir
Cliff Mansfield and Jeff Jensen

Leave the Girls Alone (Laisse Tomber les Filles)

Vocals: Kirsten Ireland

This song was originally released in 1964 by France Gall (in French). In 1995, April March released an English version ("Chick Habit"), which I also like, but her lyrics were very different in meaning from the original. The only English versions I could find were all covers of "Chick Habit", so I decided to write my own, as close to the spirit of the original French lyrics as I could get.

Buy "Leave the Girls Alone"
Buy "Leave the Girls Alone (Laisse Tomber les Filles)" [5-track EP]
Watch "Leave the Girls Alone (Laisse Tomber les Filles)" video
Watch "Leave the Girls Alone (remix)" video
Display the lyrics for "Leave the Girls Alone (Laisse Tomber les Filles)"
Display the track listing for "Leave the Girls Alone (Laisse Tomber les Filles)"
Check out Kirsten's other music on her web site

Spacetime Oddity

Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Mixing, and more: Erik Ostrom
Guitars, Synths and Drums: Larry Cox
Vocal Stax: Deral F. Fenderson
Moral Support: Maryanne Window

For the "Random Collabs: Birth Year Mash" theme, we were randomly assigned to a group and our objective was the mash-up two (or more) songs from our birth years. We decided to adapt the lyrics to David Bowie's Space Oddity to the the music of Pink Floyd's Time.

Play/Download "Spacetime Oddity - David Bowie / Pink Floyd mash-up"
Watch "Spacetime Oddity" mash-up video
Buy David Bowie's original version of "Space Oddity"
Buy Pink Floyd's original version of "Time"
Display the lyrics for "Spacetime Oddity"

A Funny Thing Happened (On the Way to Hating You)

Co-Written & Performed by Tim King

Last year I gave Tim King some lyrics and chords and he turned it into an actual song.

Watch "A Funny Thing Happened (On the Way to Hating You)" video
Check out Tim's YouTube channel

The Ballad of Barry Allen

Vocals: Kai Stewart
Play/Download "The Ballad of Barry Allen - Jim's Big Ego cover"
Watch "The Ballad of Barry Allen - Jim's Big Ego cover" video
Buy Jim's Big Ego's version of "The Ballad of Barry Allen"
Check out Kai's art and music

The Bed Song

Vocals: Kirsten Ireland
Adan Hancock gave me permission to use his very cool video for this song.
Play/Download "The Bed Song - Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra cover"
Watch "The Bed Song - Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra cover" video
Buy Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra's version of "The Bed Song"
Check out Kirsten's other music on her web site

Up to the Mountain

Vocals: Kirsten Ireland

After kindly singing vocals for me twice, Kirsten asked me to do the piano on this song for her. I wasn't completely happy with what I came up with, but once she added the vocals, it was completely transformed into the truly lovely song you hear here.

Watch "Up to the Mountain" cover video
Download "Up to the Mountain" cover
Buy Patty Griffin's original version of "Up to the Mountain (The MLK Song)"
Check out Kirsten's other music on her web site

Just One Person

brandi ediss

Brandi asked me participate in this massive collaboration that she did with 25 other themesters (see video description on YouTube for details).

Watch "Just One Person" cover video
Check out brandi's other music on Bandcamp

Mr. E.'s Beautiful Blues

Guitar, Bass, Vocals: Kyle Richards
Vocals: Brandi Ediss
Guitar: Brian Bland
Drums: Lee Wiggins

Kyle asked me to play synth on this collaboration.

Watch "Mr. E.'s Beautiful Blues" cover video
Buy Eels' original version of "Mr. E.'s Beautiful Blues"
Check out Kyle's YouTube Channel
Check out brandi's YouTube Channel
Check out Lee's YouTube Channel

Vermonty Man

Matt invited me to lend my voice to the Vermonty Men's Choir for this song.

Watch "Vermonty Man" video
Check out Matt's YouTube Channel

California Love

First Verse and Backing Vocals: GrandMaster Nestle Q (aka Cliff Mansfield)
Second Verse: MC Rage-Inducing Scratch and Sniff (aka Jeff Jensen)
All Music: DJ CSD (aka me)

Cliff asked me to do the music for this rap collaboration.

Watch "California Love" cover video
Buy 2Pac and Dr. Dre's original version of "California Love"
Check out Cliff's YouTube Channel
Check out Jeff's YouTube Channel

Your Truly, 2095

Voiceover: Stacy McClendon
Play/Download "Yours Truly, 2095 (ELO cover)"
Watch "Yours Truly, 2095 (ELO cover)" video
Buy ELO's original version of "Yours Truly, 2095"

Only You

Vocals: Ingrid Oliansky
Play/Download "Only You - Yazoo cover"
Watch "Only You - Yazoo cover" video
Buy Yazoo's version of "Only You"

I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)

Sample Vocals: Zoenda McIntosh
Play/Download "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden) - Kon Kan cover"
Watch "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden) - Kon Kan cover" video
Buy Kon Kan's version of "I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)"
Check out Zoenda's YouTube Channel

Romeo & Juliet

Guitar: Nevin Murtha

In the Dark Ages before Theme Music, I only ever sang where other people could hear me once, and it was this song. Back in 2006, I wrote about it here.

Play/Download "Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits cover"
Watch "Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits cover" video
Buy Dire Straits' version of "Romeo & Juliet"

Eye in the Sky

Vocals: Erik Ostrom
Backing Vocals: Andrea Kremer
Guitars: Tim King
Drums: Isaac King

This was my first attempt at doing a large, multi-person collaboration (rather than contributing to someone else's).

Play/Download "Eye in the Sky - The Alan Parsons Project cover"
Watch "Eye in the Sky" cover video
Buy The Alan Parsons Project's original version of "Eye in the Sky"
Check out Erik's YouTube Channel
Check out Andrea's YouTube Channel
Check out Tim's YouTube Channel
Check out Isaac's Facebook Page

Twenty-Three

Chorus: Kirsten Ireland

This song was written by MC Lars, in memory of his friend, Patrick Wood.

Play/Download "Twenty-Three - MC Lars cover"
Watch "Twenty-Three - MC Lars cover" video
Buy MC Lars's version of "Twenty-Three"
Check out Kirsten's other music on her web site

If you are in crisis, or know someone who is, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Original Songs

I usually do covers for the Theme Music group, but I have done a few original songs.

Take the A Train to Funkytown

This was one of the fake titles for the "Abecedarian" theme (songs with single letters in the title).

Download "Take the A Train to Funkytown" (multiple formats)
Watch "Take the A Train to Funkytown" video

I also created a backing track (with no vocals or melody line), in case someone more talented wants to record a version:

Download "Take the A Train to Funkytown (backing track)" [multiple formats]
Download "Take the A Train to Funkytown" (Xewton Music Studio file)
Download "Take the A Train to Funkytown" (midi file)
Display the lyrics for "Take the A Train to Funkytown"

Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak

This was one of the fake titles for the "Danceathon!" theme (remove the audio from a video of people dancing and write a new song for it), so I found this video of people dancing in a graveyard and wrote this song based on it.

The Alternate Version of the video was "oldified" to make it look/sound older.
Download "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak" (multiple formats)
Watch "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak" video
Watch "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak (Alternate Version)" video

I also created a backing track (with no vocals or melody line), in case someone more talented wants to record a version:

I recorded this song using the Roland Music Box instrument (created by Maarten Goeman), which I've included with the xms file download.
Download "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak (backing track)" [multiple formats]
Download "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak" (zip file containing Xewton Music Studio file and Music Box instrument)
Download "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak" (midi file)
Display the lyrics and chords for "Dance on My Grave, You Sexy Freak"

Make Song

For the 1-yr anniversary of the Theme Music group, the theme was songs that reflect how you feel about the group. So I decided to write this original song.

One small word of explanation: "Make Song" is something that group members often say to encourage each other to try to just play their music without stressing out about it.
Download "Make Song" (multiple formats)
Watch "Make Song" video

I also created a backing track (with no vocals or melody line), in case someone more talented wants to record a version:

Download "Make Song (backing track)" [multiple formats]
Download "Make Song" (Xewton Music Studio file)
Download "Make Song" (midi file)
Display the lyrics and chords for "Make Song" (original key)
Display the lyrics and chords for "Make Song" (as recorded)
Download sheet music for "Make Song" (original key)
Download sheet music for "Make Song" (as recorded)

I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri

Mark Davis created the very cool video
Download "I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri" (multiple formats)
Watch "I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri" video

I also created a backing track (with no vocals or melody line), in case someone more talented wants to record a version:

Note: There are sections of silence at the beginning and end of the .xms and .mid files, where sound effects were inserted. The audio version of the backing track (on BandCamp) includes the sound effects.
Download "I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri (backing track)" [multiple formats]
Download "I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri" (Xewton Music Studio file)
Download "I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri" (midi file)
Display the lyrics and chords for "I'm in Love with a Girl from Alpha Centauri"

I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me)

Every week, Matt Brown posts several fake titles as examples for that week's theme. When I saw this title, I couldn't resist writing and recording it as an actual song.

Buy "I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me)"
Watch "I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me)" video

I also created a backing track (with no vocals or melody line), in case someone more talented wants to record a version:

Download "I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me) [no vocals]" (multiple formats)
Download "I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me)" (Xewton Music Studio file)
Download "I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me)" (midi file)
Display the lyrics and chords for "I Will Hit You with a Rock (and You Will Thank Me)"

Theme Music Parodies & Mash-ups

Sometimes for Theme Music, instead of a doing a cover or an original song, I will write new lyrics or mash-up two songs together. These are the parodies and mash-ups that I've done, other than the collaborations (which are listed above).

Theme Music Rocks

Lyrics by C. Scott Davis
Music by Michael Kamen

For this song about the Theme Music group, I wrote my own new lyrics for the Tim Curry song "I Do the Rock"

Watch "Theme Music Rocks" video
Stream Tim Curry's original version on his official web site
Display the lyrics for "Theme Music Rocks"

I also created a backing track (with no vocals or melody line), which can be used to record your own version of my song or to do a cover of the original:

Download "I Do the Rock (backing track)" (mp3)
Download "I Do the Rock (backing track)" (Xewton Music Studio file)
Download "I Do the Rock (backing track)" (midi file)

Spider-Man Superstar

Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Music arranged and lyrics adapted by C. Scott Davis

This mash-up is the lyrics of the 1967 "Spider-Man" cartoon theme adapted for the music from "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Watch "Spider-Man Superstar" video
Buy the Spider-Man theme
Buy Jesus Christ Superstar

Theme Music Covers

Every week, the Theme Music group posts a new theme, and members record and sing songs based on that theme. These are the covers that I've done, other than the collaborations (which are listed above).

The Logical Song

The short-sighted asshats at Evergreen Social Media filed a copyright strike against my cover of Supertramp's "The Logical Song" and had it taken down (instead of, as all of the other artists/publishers have done, doing the logical thing and attaching adverts and purchase links. So, if you want to see/hear it, you'll have to download it here.

Download Youtube-blocked version of "The Logical Song (Supertramp cover)" video
Buy original Supertramp version of "The Logical Song"

Other Covers

Watch "MST3k Theme (KTMA version)" video
Purchase MST3k episodes
Watch "You May Be Right (Billy Joel cover)" video
Buy Billy Joel's original version of "You May Be Right"
Play/Download "Are 'Friends' Electric? (Tubeway Army cover)"
Watch "Are 'Friends' Electric? (Tubeway Army cover)" video
Download Youtube-blocked version of "Are 'Friends' Electric? (Tubeway Army cover)" video
Buy original Gary Numan & Tubeway Army version of "Are 'Friends' Electric?"
Play/Download "Computer World - Kraftwerk cover"
Watch "Computer World - Kraftwerk cover" video
Buy Kraftwerk's original version of "Computer World"
Play/Download "Spooky - S.P.O.C.K cover"
Watch "Spooky - S.P.O.C.K cover" video
Buy S.P.O.C.K's original version of "Spooky"
Watch "Where I Want to Be (from the musical Chess) cover" video
Buy the original version of "Where I Want to Be (from the musical Chess)"
Play/Download "This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home - Murray Gold cover"
Watch "This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home - Murray Gold cover" video
Buy Murray Gold's original version of "This is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home"
Watch "Hideaway - erasure cover" video
Buy erasure's original version of "Hideaway"
Play/Download "Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants cover"
Watch "Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants cover" video
Buy They Might Be Giants' original version of "Birdhouse in Your Soul"
Get your own Blue Canary Night Light
Watch "I'll Keep You Warm" video
Watch brandi ediss' original version of "I'll Keep You Warm" video
Check out brandi ediss' YouTube channel
Watch "Dumb Ways to Die - Tangerine Kitty cover" video
Buy Tangerine Kitty's original version of "Dumb Ways to Die"
Play/Download "Only the Moment - Marc Almond cover"
Watch "Only the Moment - Marc Almond cover" video
Buy Marc Almond's original version of "Only the Moment"
Play/Download "The Incredible Hulk (end theme)" cover
Watch "The Incredible Hulk (end theme)" cover video
Buy Joe Harnell's original theme ("The Lonely Man")
Play/Download "UFO Theme" cover
Watch "UFO Theme" cover video
Buy Barry Gray's theme to "UFO"
Play/Download "Game of Thrones (You Win or You Die) - instrumental version"
Watch "Game of Thrones (You Win or You Die) - instrumental version" video
Watch "Game of Thrones (You Win or You Die) - vocal version" video
Play/Download "You Win or You Die" performed by Karliene (Game of Thrones)
Buy Ramin Djawadi's original instrumental version of the "Game of Thrones" theme
Check out Karliene's other music and videos on her web site
Follow Karliene on Facebook
Watch "Upside Down - Diana Ross cover" video
Buy Diana Ross' original version of "Upside Down"
Play/Download "Life During Wartime - Talking Heads cover"
Watch "Life During Wartime - Talking Heads cover" video
Buy Talking Heads' original version of "Life During Wartime"
Play/Download "Mad World - Gary Jules / Tears for Fears cover"
Watch "Mad World - Gary Jules / Tears for Fears cover" video
Buy Gary Jules' version of "Mad World"
Buy Tears for Fears' original version of "Mad World"
Play/Download "Five Nights in Charleston - Kirsten Ireland cover"
Watch "Five Nights in Charleston - Kirsten Ireland cover" video
Buy Kirsten Ireland's original version of "Five Nights in Charleston"
Check out Kirsten Ireland's other music on her web site
Follow Kirsten Ireland Music on Facebook
Play/Download "You Can't Do That - Beatles cover"
Watch "You Can't Do That - Beatles cover" video
Buy The Beatles' original version of "You Can't Do That"
Play/Download "(I'm the One That's) Cool - The Guild cover"
Watch "(I'm the One That's) Cool - The Guild cover" video
Buy The Guild's original version of "(I'm the One That's) Cool"
Play/Download "Metal (Gary Numan cover)"
Watch "Metal (Gary Numan cover)" video
Buy Gary Numan's original version of "Metal"
Play/Download "Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney cover)"
Watch "Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney cover)" video
Buy Paul McCartney's original version of "Wonderful Christmastime"
Play/Download "Hearts in Her Eyes (The Records cover)"
Watch "Hearts in Her Eyes (The Records cover)" video
Buy The Records' original version of "Hearts in Her Eyes"

Kirsten Ireland's "Mirrors"

I had originally planned to do a cover of this song for the Theme Music group's "One-Word Titles: M" theme, but I wasn't able to finish it by the deadline, so I took what I had and turned it into this short instrumental intro.

I highly recommend Kirsten's original (vastly superior) full version.

Play/Download "Mirrors (cover of intro to Kirsten Ireland's song)"
Watch "Mirrors (cover of intro to Kirsten Ireland's song)" video
Buy Kirsten Ireland's original full version of "Mirrors"
Check out Kirsten Ireland's other music on her web site
Follow Kirsten Ireland Music on Facebook

Original 4-track Compositions (1986)

The following files were originally composed as 4-track .mod files, but I've converted them to MP3 format here.

"Quantaris" and "Chronosphere" are both original compositions (such as they are), and "Quantaris (remix 1)" is a version of my "Quantaris", remixed (and vastly improved) by my friend Eric Smith.

Play/Download "Quantaris"
Play/Download "Quantaris (remix 1)"
Watch "Quantaris" video
Play/Download "Chronosphere"
Watch "Chronosphere" video

Morning-X Jingle Contest (1998)

In 1998, local Atlanta radio station WNNX held a jingle contest for their morning show (The Morning X), which I entered and, to my surprise, won.

For my entry, I wrote new lyrics to the song "Video Killed the Radio Star", and then recorded the song on my computer and burned it to an audio CD. The music was done with midi, and the voice, sadly, is mine.

For many years, they played my jingle from time to time, but unfortunately "The Morning X" is no more. When Steve Barnes left to persue his acting career, it was replaced by the lamentable "Don Miller Morning Show".

The "radio edit" is the actual contest entry, which had to be cut down to about 1:30 to meet the time requirements.

Play/Download "MorningX Jingle"
Play/Download "MorningX Jingle (radio edit)"
Watch "MorningX Jingle" video
Display the lyrics for "MorningX Jingle"

Some Weird Songs

These songs are just weird... or weirder than my other songs anyway.

Mr. Fancy Pants

Includes a couple of in-jokes that Jonathan Coulton uses in some of his live performances of the song.

Watch "Mr. Fancy Pants - Jonathan Coulton cover" video
Buy Jonathan Coulton's version of "Mr. Fancy Pants"

Want You Gone

Vocals: The Computer That Secretly Controls the World

The Portal 2 song sung by The Computer That Secretly Controls the World

Play/Download "Want You Gone - Jonathan Coulton cover"
Watch "Want You Gone - Jonathan Coulton cover" video
Buy Jonathan Coulton's version of "Want You Gone"

Sprummertime on Gronton

Finally! The Truth will be revealed!

Watch "Sprummertime on Gronton (an Ode to its Even-Numbered Moons)" video

That Weird Clown Song

There is a story behind this song...

You know how over time some stories grow until they're barely recognisable? That's what happened here.

Many years ago, I dated someone who worked for a clown. For some reason, one of my friends found that amusing and loved to joke about it. As the years went by though, the jokes turned into stories and they became increasingly exaggerated.

Before long, the story became that I had dated an actual clown, and eventually exaggeration gave way to complete fiction.

In 2002, I wrote these lyrics as a rebuttal to the outlandish tales that had sprung up about me and the clown... not that it made any difference.

Play/Download "There Was No Clown"
Watch "There Was No Clown" video
Display the lyrics for "There Was No Clown"

Other Parody Songs

Download "All I Seem to Find is Green" performed by Jethal Silverwing (EverQuest Parody)
Display the lyrics for "All I Seem to Find is Green" (EverQuest Parody)
Babylon 5 Song Parody Lyrics
Song Parody Lyrics on Pirkles & Pogos
Display the lyrics for "Clarity Guy" (EverQuest Parody)

 


Copyright ©1986-2016 C. Scott Davis
All original songs, compositions and lyrics are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.
All cover versions, songs/music used in fan videos and video clips are copyright of their respective owners.
The music for the English-language cover of "Laisse Tomber les Filles" is licensed from EMI Music Publishing (Licence #31941029).
"All I Seem to Find is Green" performed by Jethal Silverwing
Album Art created by Mark Davis

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