Chopped Liver Productions

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Chopped Liver Productions Chopped Liver Productions presents original songs, videos, commentary, satire and parody. We're here to save the world because it really, really needs it.

Music, satire, videos, interactive political games

He has surely moved on in his heart, but I trip over reminders of him every day.I want to move on, too --- but these rem...
01/09/2024

He has surely moved on in his heart, but I trip over reminders of him every day.

I want to move on, too --- but these reminders get in my way.

He has surely moved on in his heart, but I trip over reminders of him every day. I want to move on, too -- but these reminders get in my way ...(This is actu...

"A" is for August (my favorite month!) AND for "AMEN" (my new song for a new month!).In this instance, "A" is also for A...
01/08/2024

"A" is for August (my favorite month!) AND for "AMEN" (my new song for a new month!).

In this instance, "A" is also for Atheism. Amen!

Do your best and let it out into the world. (No god required) Amen.

13/07/2024

A reminder to my pals in Portland and Astoria -- I will be performing at the Ten Fifteen Theater (1015 Commercial Street downtown) tomorrow, Saturday, at 3. I'll also be singing with the North Coast Chorale there at 2:00. Portland folks, come on out! After my set you'll have plenty of time to get some takeout and head out to the beach and still be back in your lovely, sweltering home by bedtime!!

It's a fundraiser for the small but mighty Ten Fifteen Theater!

Time for a new song, this time about Uncle Buster.I have 28 teeth. I'm pretty good with the English language. I have ind...
01/07/2024

Time for a new song, this time about Uncle Buster.

I have 28 teeth. I'm pretty good with the English language. I have indoor plumbing. None of these attributes would describe my great uncle Buster, but I reminded my mother of him anyway. That's what this song is about.

about the song July 2024 - Grandma's twin brother didn't share her refinement or her literacy. I remember Uncle Buster as a rough, wrinkled, sun-darkened, toothless old goat whose company I enjoyed immensely. He'd pick me up in his beat-up truck every Sunday morning, and we'd ride to the nearest cou...

A new month, another new song! What is it like to love someone who is full of compliments but otherwise not trustworthy?...
01/06/2024

A new month, another new song! What is it like to love someone who is full of compliments but otherwise not trustworthy? I don't know, but I took a stab at an answer. This song is the result.

Reflections on an inconstant lover, whose pretty words belie hurtful actions. Love the words, hate the actions -- but at least, we have learned.

The song-a-month challenge continues! Our song for May is one I wrote a few years back, at age 24, when I was News Direc...
01/05/2024

The song-a-month challenge continues! Our song for May is one I wrote a few years back, at age 24, when I was News Director for a local AM radio station in a sleepy little seagoing town in Oregon. I spent a lot of time at the county courthouse, and I couldn't helping thinking about -- and singing about -- some of the characters I met in that building. Everything in this song is true, right down to what I was eating or drinking while chatting with these memorable folks.

I hope you like it.

writing the song May 2024 - A few lifetimes ago I graduated from college in Los Angeles and set about searching for a job in radio. I sent out introduction letters, resumes, audition tapes up and down the west coast. I got many responses of interest, and pursued every one. The oddest coincidence occ...

The Chopped Liver Productions song of the month for April is "Only When the Wind Blows," which I also think of as "Intro...
01/04/2024

The Chopped Liver Productions song of the month for April is "Only When the Wind Blows," which I also think of as "Introvert's Lullaby." I am fond of most of my songs, but I really love this one. When I'm thinking about sitting down at the piano, this is often the one I want to do first. I feel like it defines me in a weird way, and I think the video came out pretty good too.

So check it out!

Introverts have to leave our caves and deal with other people once in a while. Have mercy on us. It's a trial.

Hold on to your butts, people!It's a new month, thus time for a new song from Chopped Liver Productions. This one is a s...
01/03/2024

Hold on to your butts, people!

It's a new month, thus time for a new song from Chopped Liver Productions. This one is a song of frustration, the kind of thing that happens when a co-worker you've worked with peacefully and respectfully for years unexpectedly turns on you and starts treating you like crap. Maybe I should have yelled at him or told him to grow up, but all I did was think quietly to myself, "Do what you gotta do, cowboy."

This became my mantra every morning when I walked into the office, and eventually it had to be a song. Finally I retired, and didn't have to endure his childish behavior any more. Thus, this song is the only thing I have to remember him by, and it's more than enough.

We ride the same range We both know this world is strange Nights around the campfire we spoke about these things And now suddenly, you've turned your back on me Go ahead and be like that, and see what it brings

Well, fellow babies, it's finally February, the month of love, and thus our song of the month is the sappiest thing I've...
01/02/2024

Well, fellow babies, it's finally February, the month of love, and thus our song of the month is the sappiest thing I've ever managed to come up with. It's sung from the vantage point of an old lady who's sick of going to work every day and wants to tell her long-suffering hubby she's going to be around the house a lot more in the near future -- obviously, it's totally fictional 🤪.

I apologize for the corniness of this whole thing, and please forgive all the personal pics, but it seemed appropriate in context. I hope you enjoy it anyway: https://choppedliverproductions.com/songs/ThereWillBeLove.html

P.S.: This song sickeningly sings the praises of LERV, but fear not -- the song for March is the complete opposite. So strap in for that one!

There's so much you and I have been through now and you're asking me what are we to do now I only want to spend my time with you now What will we do together? Been workin' hard for so many years now Let's bite the bullet and swallow our fears now There ain't no reason to shed any tears now We'll mak...

I was thinking of posting this very fun video already, and it turns out I first posted it eight years ago today, so here...
12/01/2024

I was thinking of posting this very fun video already, and it turns out I first posted it eight years ago today, so here we go!

Am I waiting for you? I'm always waiting for something Yes, and maybe you'll do something is better than nothing, but tell me: Are you an opportunity? Are you a trap? I'm out here in the wilderness without a map. I keep on looking for someone to name me, someone to claim me, someone to train me, som...

Happy New Year! My gift to you is a fervent wish for a wonderful year, and a new song!This is such a simple little song,...
01/01/2024

Happy New Year! My gift to you is a fervent wish for a wonderful year, and a new song!

This is such a simple little song, but I thought it was good to start a new year off on a somewhat hopeful note. It started as a poem I scratched out while riding the train to work one morning in 2014. It's about our innate longing to improve the world in which we live, and it's dedicated with a full heart to someone many of my FB friends know. The video was ten years in the making because technology often changes at inconvenient times.

Read more and see the video:

The grafitti glows through the fog It says: "This is not a perfect world." Oil is flowing down the river. This is not a perfect world.

Tomorrow my first new song comes out! It is dedicated to someone a lot of my Facebook friends already know, and that's a...
31/12/2023

Tomorrow my first new song comes out! It is dedicated to someone a lot of my Facebook friends already know, and that's all I'm going to say about that till tomorrow.

When I did this challenge ten years ago, it opened my eyes to many sources of inspiration. The oldie I'm highlighting today was my final thesis upon completing the challenge in 2014. It fully documents my songwriting process. I had a lot of fun (maybe a little too much!) throwing in special video effects, but I stand by the outcome.

If you are a songwriter yourself, you will probably be able to identify with this one:

unsung Here's my report back on the song-a-month challenge, and what I have learned in this experimental year. My determination to create a song every month alerted me to the soundtrack that is constantly playing in my mind, and that's a fairly profound realization.

Another original song from ten years ago, this one about the joy and futility of creation.I was wrapping up my original ...
30/12/2023

Another original song from ten years ago, this one about the joy and futility of creation.

I was wrapping up my original song-a-month challenge in 2014. A friend happened to be staying with us, and he is a wonderful composer with many fine works to his name, someone who has always lived hand-to-mouth as a result of devoting his life to his art. His dream is to establish "Gonzo Opera" (link in comments) as a viable art form. He said he's sent letters to opera companies everywhere, hoping that one, just one, will see the brilliance of his concept and take on his works. "I just keep sending out a message in a bottle," he said.

That was it, that was the inspiration; it even became part of the lyrics. I was feeling the futility myself by this point, and the next thing I knew, this song and video were born. The video is pretty clunky, but I like it anyway. I actually think it's kinda profound.

writing the song Usually the words come first, but this one started with a tune in three-four time. It wouldn't leave my brain so I thought, "What words fit this melody?" and quickly the answer was, "If you build it, will anyone come?"

Leading up to our song-a-month challenge (it starts Monday!), here's a little song from the last time we did this. It's ...
29/12/2023

Leading up to our song-a-month challenge (it starts Monday!), here's a little song from the last time we did this. It's called "The Wind."

Now look: I know my videos are pretty primitive. I'm proud of my songs, but the videos are just a reason to be able to post them on YouTube. This one was originally created in Flash, which no longer exists. I wrote and recorded the song and made the silly video, all in a few days in February 2014. I had the calendar chasing me through the whole process. The video protagonist is a little bird, and my big sister, a very maternal person, felt bad for that silly little birdie.

At the time, I really felt like this song explained my personality pretty well. I was highly amused that YouTube decided on their own initiative that it was a children's video, and put it in their "For Kids" category.

Read the story and watch the video here:

I really like this song and I think it works better as a standalone song than as a video, but I'm determined to provide a video for all our new songs in 2014. That's part of the challenge -- in fact, that really is THE challenge. I don't think I realized that when I came up with this harebrained ide...

Our song-a-month challenge begins Monday, Monday, Monday!Each day until then, I'll post a video from our previous song-a...
29/12/2023

Our song-a-month challenge begins Monday, Monday, Monday!

Each day until then, I'll post a video from our previous song-a-month challenge ten years ago. I figure that most people haven't heard these, and they're not too bad (she said, humbly). We're starting today with "Fighting A War," a tribute to Jeff Paterson, a friend and hero of mine. It came out in August 2014. If you know Jeff, you'll want to see this video. If you DON'T know Jeff, you SHOULD watch it. The song tells the story of why he's my hero.

So, how did he become my friend? Because I insisted. That whole story is detailed on the Chopped Liver Productions website, and it's quite a tale.

Click here to read the story and see the video:

Last winter I learned some really slick boogie-woogie riffs on the piano and I made a mental note that I should write a song that incorporated my cool new moves. So a few weeks ago I started thinking about a swing beat and it seemed obvious that the words should start with, "I wanna tell you all a s...

A few barely-known facts about the Chopped Liver Productions web page ...It has been around since 1997!One of our videos...
27/12/2023

A few barely-known facts about the Chopped Liver Productions web page ...

It has been around since 1997!

One of our videos is banned in China! Before it was banned, "China My China" (a timeline of the massacre at Tienanmen Square in 1989) went viral in China. We got well over a half million hits in one month.

It started out as a commentary website, but now we concentrate more on videos of original music.

For a while, Chopped Liver Productions came up first in a google search for "impeach Bush."

We did a song-a-month challenge in 2014, creating a new original song and video every month.

We're doing a whole new song-a-month challenge in 2024. Follow this page to stay tuned!

December 2022 - Come with us to where the second-longest river in the US meets the biggest ocean on Earth. The mouth of the Columbia River is wide and wild, and as the tides come and go, the river is always changing direction. Let's do a little sight-seeing in Astoria, Oregon.

1975: A bunch of us were working for days to plan out a women's program for KPFK Los Angeles. We didn't have a name for ...
11/07/2022

1975: A bunch of us were working for days to plan out a women's program for KPFK Los Angeles. We didn't have a name for the program yet. We all liked KPFA Berkeley's "Unlearning to Not Speak," but we couldn't steal that fine title. We were just throwing out thoughts to inspire each other, and someone mentioned Mao's quote that "women hold up half the sky."
Our mentor, News Director Carol Breshears, blurted out, "Hell, we're 51% of the population, we hold up MORE than half the sky!" We all laughed and generally agreed that we had found a title for our program.
But what would we do for a theme song? We couldn't think of an existing song that covered the concept, and there was no Internet to search. I said, "I'll bet we could find a local songwriter who could write something for us." They looked at me like I was nuts.
But it was lunchtime, so we broke for an hour. People went to various restaurants in the area, but I stayed at the radio station.
The thing about KPFK, y'see, is that they have this monstrous grand piano in Studio A. It's so big, they built the studio around the piano. It's for recording live music for radio broadcast, but it goes unused quite a bit. So while everyone else was having a sandwich, I sat down at that fabulous keyboard and I wrote this song, which I played for them when they got back. And we had our theme song.
I'm sure the show has been off the air for many years now, and we all went on to other places and things. Only recent events have caused me to think about this song again -- so here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAR7sCOfzSQ

This song originated as the theme song for a women's program on KPFK Los Angeles. We were talking about the Mao quote that "women hold up half the sky," when...

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