...consider the case of Al Capone, who played banjo during his time on the famed prison island of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay — a banjo that is said to be heard long after his deathWhen the Junto email arrived, I'd been working on a song responding to the 150th Naviar haiku. The chorus "round and round" had come from that image of the ceiling fan, and I'd already settled on the line about not understanding. Then the lyrics started to take shape as being a prisoner's perspective.
Of course, even before the email from Naviar, I'd wanted to record my new electric ukulele. I bought it from Sorebrain on Ebay. I love playing B7 chords, which is the first you can hear in the chorus, and A# was a great contrast for the verse. I added the E minor bit at the beginning mostly to set the key but I was inspired by the organ riff in The Presets 'Talk Like That'.
Thinking of Capone, I like the representation of him in Boardwalk Empire. Writers for HBO TV shows have a knack for rounding out their characters with domestic details and they did this with Capone by showing scenes with him at home with his deaf son. It seems an obvious heart-string to pull but I felt it.
P.S. Now remixed with 909 drums and Monark synth -- hear!