Two More Lyric Videos

I'm two steps further along on my quest to have a music video (of some sort) for every song on my recent album, UP. Some are better than others. Here's my cute dog, Lola, acting out the agony of insomnia in "Tired, Not Sleepy". For the record, she has no trouble sleeping; she's simply acting!

I had great ambitions for this lyric video, but it didn't turn out quite like I imagined. But for the sake of transparency -- and since it took so long to make -- here it is anyways: "History, Making It":

UP is available on many online services, including:

• Bandcamp
• Apple/iTunes
• YouTube Music
• Tidal
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Pandora

Billy's Books 64: Valiant Ambition

Nathaniel Philbrick wrote our latest Revolutionary War history book: Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution. The basic lesson is a familiar theme in history: treat your soldiers well, or they just might turn on you. The first half of this book is pretty sympathetic to Gen. Arnold: an ambitious, aggressive, kick-ass soldier. Unfortunately, due to various cicumstances explained in the book, he gets treated poorly frequently enough to feel under-appreciated -- and under-compensated. Careful there, (Continental) Congress.



As usual, thanks to the Saint Louis Public Library for lending me the book. Support your public library!

Lullabye (Park Video)

Here's another simple, contemplative music video for another UP track, this one being "Lullabye". You can make it a lyrics video by turning on the Closed Captions option (CC button). I wrote this back in the '90s when my niece, Emily, was born. I re-recorded it with my friend, David Helling, playing guitar.
When I make these simple videos, the image is meant to be interesting enough to get your attention, but boring enough so that you might just use your ears more than your eyes. One can hope. Video killed the radio star.

LULLABYE
Words & Music by Billy Dechand

All day we play in the yard
Sun shines all day 'til it falls
Then at night we sleep

All night we sleep in our beds
The moon shines all night 'til it falls
Then at dawn we wake

All day we play with our friends
The sun shines all day 'til it falls
Then at night we sleep

UP is available on many online services, including:

• Bandcamp
• Apple/iTunes
• YouTube Music
• Tidal
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Pandora

Billy's Books 63: Leia, Princess of Alderaan

Yes, it's another Star Wars book review. But today we have Kate as a guest, cuz she read it too! This one is Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Grey.

Vague But True (Video)

Here's another video for a track off the Up album. "Vague But True" is a little soundscape meant to evoke what sleeping sounds like.

Up is available on many online services, including:

• Bandcamp
• Apple/iTunes
• YouTube Music
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Pandora

Billy's Books 62: The Song of Achilles

I loved Madeline Miller's Circe novel so much, I went back to her earlier book, The Song of Achilles. As you may guess, it's based on Homer's Iliad, focusing on specific events before and during the seige of Troy.
I hope you enjoy my off-hand butchering of classical Greek facts and pronunciations.



Thanks to the Saint Louis Public Library. Support your public library!