All the people who hit crazy eargasm-inducing mercy notes, and write great lyrics: Janis Joplin, Feist, Butch Walker, Grandaddy, Andrew Tinker, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, John Denver, Aretha Franklin, Coldplay, Fleetwood Mac & Stevie Nicks, Bright Eyes, The Strokes, some Beatles, Radiohead, Simon & Garfunkel(I got all the news I need from the weather report, the only living boy in New York), Oasis, The Shins, Sia,The Band, Kate Nash , the Goo Goo Dolls, Elton John, The Weepies, Snow Patrol, AC/DC, The Wallflowers, Amy Winehouse (what kinda fuckery are we?), The Carpenters, Johnny Cash, Avril Lavigne, Cary Brothers, Benny Benassi, Dashboard Confessional (is there anything worth looking for? worth loving for? worth lying for?), Jim Morrison & The Doors, Regina Spektor, Chiodos, Sarah McLachlan, ZZ Top, Garbage,Stevie Ray Vaughan, Shiny Toy Guns, The Flaming Lips, Steve Miller Band, Linda Ronstadt, Van Halen, The Veronicas, Joan Jett, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, The Used, Tim Locke, Nirvana, Pat Benetar, Heart, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Taking Back Sunday, Anna Nalick, and the list ends here because I know I'd be bored reading off a bunch of names and random lyrics like that. :)
"Mercy Note" [mur-see noht], -noun
A musical note hit in a way that can cause chills in one who hears it.
That’s a fake definition, but I thought it did the phrase justice.
Oh yeah, I’m Alex Ruuska. My music can only be described as that. It’s pretty simple; music crafted by strings, a voice, a thought, and a feeling. Sound in its purest form. (Eh, well, you know what I mean.) Anyway, I guess techincally the genre is Acoustic/Indie/Folk, but my songs are developed without hesitation and without thought, so any influences I have only affect my sound subconciously. In the end, they just happen to turn out the way I sang at the moment of writing. I like it better that way. It guarentees that it meant something, and I didn’t have to sit there and force myself to come up with specific melodies and notes. The music I personally enjoy only has one requirement: substance. If I can tell it’s been created by a group, then shipped off to another group, shifted, pressed, changed, broken, scrapped up, and thrown back together into a perfect mess, there’s no way I’ll appreciate it as music. But when you listen to a song and you can tell that whoever wrote it meant something - - whether they knew what is was or not - - that’s a real song. When you hear distinct mercy notes - - when you can almost feel your toes curling in a satisfying eargasm simply from hearing the recorded voice of a stranger - - that is real music. And I hope my music can affect you the way that the music of others has affected me. I love performing, so if you have a gig in mind for me, feel free to message me! Or even if you just want to say what’s up. Anyway, hope you enjoy the sounds.
oh hey sorry. i was at my dad's all weekend and didnt get on myspace. had to go to this carnival thing and yeah, long story. i cant come friday, have plans, but tell me how it goes?
I saw your topic and tried my best to give good replies to it; I think your music is pretty developed for your age. You have a wicked good list of influences and artists you like, too. Keep it up, I hope you like my music too. Thanks alot! :D
hey your music is great. I check it out when iwas looking at promisorrynote's profile and i though i'd give it a look and i found your music real interesting and its great. So yea its great. Check out our stuff too if you want to thank you
Hey, thanks alot for you advice.... i'm still a little shy for singing, but my drummer is helping me along. I know this is a big favor, but once i get a original song with lyrics up, could you tell me how i did??
Oh thanks! Man, my computer speakers are broken.... but ill get on sister's and listen to your stuff. Me and my drummer are both good singers, but writing lyrics is hard.... Did you figure out how to get five songs??
Wow these songs are pretty impressive! Really nice job.
I think my favorites are Benjamin and Some Other Girl. The little harmonies in Some Other Girl's intro remind me a little bit of the Cranberries. You should listen to some of their songs, they are not bad.
Benjamin is very nice too. The lyrics actually remind me a bit of Jack Johnson. They're just clever, in using people's names and kind of introducing them/telling their story. Really nice stuff.
The only thing I'd work on in your songs is some of the falsetto harmonies. They would sound perfect but sometimes the second track just slacks a little behind the other. You could try muting the first and recording the second, that way you're in key with the music on both tracks instead of trying to keep the vocal line aligned.
Keep at it, I could picture some of these songs being pretty popular... Especially cause you write, sing, and play all of them. Good job! :)
(sorry for the long comment by the way, I knew you'd like a crit back from UG, and I just get carried away some(all the)times)
