Episodes

  • S2E6: A Feral Yeehaw
    Jul 29 2024

    On Episode 6 we get tripped up on cantrips before Joshua David MG gives us a songwriting prompt that'll make you ask: Did they just write the songs of the summer??? If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us!

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Challenge: "Did I just write the song of the summer???"

    -----------------

    BUG'S SONG

    Title: Loud and Clear

    Lyrics:

    You're playin' DJ on our road trip and my ears are going numb

    It's taking every bit of patience not to mute it with my thumb

    maybe pretend that it malfunctioned and I'll fix it when we stop

    but then you say "this one's my favorite" and you crank the volume knob


    Why do you like this stuff, I haven't got a clue

    what made a middle class big city girl like only country tunes

    you don't square dance in your Daisy Dukes or line up in your boots

    and you you ain't ever seen the inside of a country town saloon


    I've tried to give it all a chance, I promise you I did

    but I can't tell when one song ends and when the next hit song begins

    twenty minutes in... lets just call it what it is

    every hit song of the summer sounds a little bit like this:


    a big bar crowd sing-a-long

    a four-chord kinda country song

    where the chorus always mentions beer

    and the title, the title hits loud and clear


    Its always so repetitive, they've got nothing to say

    every aspect is generic, every lyric feels cliché

    I respect the men and women and the instruments they play

    but the hacks that they are backing have put all their skills to waste


    cause the stars are all so similar, so handsome, could it be

    another well-connected white boy up and moved to Tennessee

    Has a network out in Nashville, plays a chord or two or three

    add a fourth and ride a horse and you can end up on TV singin'

    But did you ever think...


    [See website for remaining lyrics!]


    -----------------

    MATT'S SONG

    Title: Comparing Yourself to a Sillhouette

    Lyrics:

    Amelia was born on a saturday night

    in the heat of july in the heart of america

    and while the city slept, her mother showed her the sky

    and speckles of starlight settled on her eyes and little Amelia Earhart knew one day she would fly

    No that's not what happened

    Can someone tell me why we obsessively mythologise real people, real lives like this

    Like no one truly exists unless they live between the lines

    of a fairy story someone writes?

    Is it not enough for someone just to have lived, you know?

    And to have lived extraordinarily?


    Amelia 'melia, please

    Come back to earth some time

    I'm dangling here by a wire

    And it doesn't feel like flying.


    Do you think jesus understood that it wasn't enough to be a good man?

    To be wise and patient and kind?

    Do you think he knew that in order for his message to outlive him he would have to be canonised, and to be canonised he would have to die before his time?

    Or was that narrative thrust upon him

    Against his will

    By a disciple who loved the message more than the man

    And who knew that humans don't trust humans

    We trust gods

    And so this all too human friend of his would have to

    Whether he wanted to or not

    Become a god

    Or be forgotten


    And here I am, trying to be the best version of me that I can

    Comparing myself to these silhouettes who

    In the way they're presented at least

    Didn't exist

    Thinking that because I don't have a narrative

    Because you couldn't project my story on the screen

    That somehow makes me less real

    And the thing is

    I don't think I'm accepting that

    I think i'm trying to turn myself into a story

    To see myself as I see them

    As only a silhouette

    Show more Show less
    38 mins
  • S2E5: Get Ranked, Bozos
    Jul 15 2024

    On Episode 5, we record an episode in the same room for the FIRST TIME EVER. Come listen to us reminisce about the tour with PapaBug and rank all our favorite moments (Bug even reveals his favorite fan!!). Oh, and we write some songs, too!

    Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (The Narcissist Cookbook) and Bug (Bug Hunter) where we are challenged to write a song demo from scratch every episode. If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us! Our Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Narcissist Cookbook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bug Hunter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE BELOW --

    -----------------

    Challenge: "Get Ranked"

    -----------------

    BUG'S SONG

    Title: First and Second

    Lyrics:

    I wanna tell all my friends about you

    to tell my mom, who will tell my dad

    to find the best damn parts about this

    and celebrate the things I have... but I can't


    When I was kid at the dinner table

    my parents would make us make a thankful list

    the top 3 things about our day

    and I was always just the worst at this


    Some days it was simple but most days it was difficult

    my disposition leaned a bit more pessimist than typical


    its hard to get excited, like if life finds out I like it

    I will lose it, yeah its stupid and its superstitious


    So when you ask me the top 3 things

    I love about this, I still freeze up

    I probably look like a well-fed snake

    as I choke so hard on that softball toss


    I should just say "hell with it", maybe just embellish it

    "your laugh, your eyes, your smile" but I know I'm barely sellin it


    its hard to get excited, if life finds out I like it

    I will lose it, yeah its stupid, I just wanna


    tell all my friends about you

    to tell my mom, who will tell my dad

    to find the best damn parts about this

    and celebrate the things I have... but I can't


    Why am I like this?

    Why can't I admit everything's going well

    Why do I hide it?

    Hide all my joy in this bone-colored shell

    So I thought and I thought of my top 3 but its something I just couldn't do

    so here's my top 2...


    I'm tellin all my friends about you

    I told my mom (who told my dad)

    So here's the top 2 parts about this love

    they're the first and second half


    I'm tellin all my friends about you

    you told your mom I'm not thar bad

    So here's the top 2 parts about this love

    they're the first and second half


    the top 2 parts about this love

    is the first and second, the first and second half

    -----------------

    MATT'S SONG

    Title: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

    Lyrics:

    I listed all my flaws in order
    Starting from the least of them
    The ones you might not even notice
    Bedbugs scattering for cover when
    the light goes on i just react,
    it isn't evidence of sentience or anything like that

    miseryguts
    shut up inside my castle
    overweight and
    undersentimental
    manic phases, chronic depression
    what a shame that no one will ever...

    I listed all my flaws in order
    So you'd know what to expect
    The ones that chafe your soul
    Until the day your perfect patience starts to crack
    i am a rock
    i am an island
    i'm the great pacific garbage patch

    forget about
    forgetting your birthday
    i won't remember your first name
    constantly expecting the worst
    so i can say that i saw it coming

    miseryguts
    shut up inside my castle
    overweight and
    undersentimental
    manic phases, chronic depression
    what a shame that no one will miss him

    Show more Show less
    43 mins
  • S2E4: Sticky Mitts
    Jul 1 2024
    On Episode 4, we get some Bug lore and catchup with our friend Spence Hood. This award-revoking episode covers the full spectrum -- from cowboy to vampire Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (The Narcissist Cookbook) and Bug (Bug Hunter) where we are challenged to write a song demo from scratch every episode. If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us! Our Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Narcissist Cookbook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bug Hunter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠⁠ -- SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE BELOW -- ----------------- Challenge: "Your Nobel Prize has been revoked because..." ----------------- BUG'S SONG Title: Dynamite Lyrics: There's gold in them there hills, get your shovels and dig! we're sittin on a jackpot that'll make us all rich if we just stick to our lot and never give up our spot we can give our kids lives not a one of us got Pack it once, check it twice, pack it in, pack it tight light the fuse, time to move, hit the BOOM... dynamite But boys we got company... they only come out at night leave no trace on the dead but a couple of bites there's no telling where they came from, or got here or why and now they're swarming the hills but they were never invited and our mines are getting drained while we sleep in our tents if we send out a scout we never see 'em again they won't duel us at noon or try to fight us like men but they don't like the sun, so we'll bring it to them [Chorus] Ah, well I'll be damned, looks like we found a weak spot, guys I guess their fangs don't work when their brains get fried I might've guessed that fact, now they're the ones surprised as we scatter the bats before the sun can rise But they ain't dead yet, I guess technically they're undead yes but you get what I'm settin: there's a few left yet and our side is still dwindlin', we've too lost friends some of the best damn cowboys you'd ever met I've got one last stick that I've yet to light i gotta bait the rest out, hit the timing just right cause our guns don't work, devil knows we've tried here they come, here's my shot here's your nobel prize ----------------- MATT'S SONG Title: Peek at the Ending Lyrics: so listen we've been talking this machine that you've been building's got a problem that we couldn't foresee i guess we all sometimes get blinded by the miracles of science, but we should have looked before we leaped we're not saying you're not gifted, or that you didn't deserve it, this award that's sitting on your desk but it's bad for the brand to be attached to man who found a way to predict everyone's death what do you mean i'll hydroplane on the highway skid and careen into a toyota camry why would you say that when i'm trying to help you that's pretty fucked up man i don't know what to tell you would you wanna know how you're gonna goooooo if you like to peek at the ending way before time let me recommend my machine it's still in beta and the patent is pending check the whiteboard, cause i've been workshopping a name DEATH THING you know what, no wrong answers hello sir are you the creator of the thingamabob that everybody's talking about you know the whatchamacallit, the thing that fits in your pocket, THE DEATHALISER why are you writing that down it seems like the readings that it's reeling out are really not quite as accurate as you make them sound everyone in the city got the same exact reading and now everybody's trying to leave town what do you mean evaporate in a bomb blast become a shadow and a pile of pure are why would it say that, i'm trying to help you that's pretty fucked up man i don't know what to tell you would you wanna know how you're gonna goooooo [Chorus] DOOM KNOWER DEMISE DEVICE THE FATE MATRIX listen i'd love to hire a marketing team to do this but i've lost like all my funding recently
    Show more Show less
    36 mins
  • S2E3: What's Your Jam, Amoeba?
    Jun 17 2024

    It's Episode Three! We chat food (and pizza knives) with Jesse Gallaway and write two not-in-a-lifetime song demos!


    Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (The Narcissist Cookbook) and Bug (Bug Hunter) where we are challenged to write a song demo from scratch every episode. If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us! Our Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Narcissist Cookbook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bug Hunter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠ and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, etc! Please share the show (and our music) with friends! -- SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE BELOW -- -----------------

    Challenge: Not in this lifetime

    ----------------- BUG'S SONG Title: Crickets and Silence Lyrics:

    I'm just a little guy, a little wooden guy a little puppet I know you know, you know how this story goes I was a little guy, a little wooden guy but I'm a real boy now and I am finding out that nothing could prepare me. I'm like Peter Parker's Pediatrician (in over my head and I admit it) with human flesh and skin and all the mess that comes with it I was young and dumb and now I'm stuck Dad, can you come pick me up?? I'm just a little guy, a little human guy applying bandages to manage, so damn easy to damage it that little wooden guy, that tough skinned kid could take a hit and keep running, this fragile man I'm becoming misses his 80-grit blanklet and the ocean right outside of my bedroom and making choices just to see where they led to but now adventures are a threat to every moment I get I look around for guidance, our bravest days behind us we'll never be so bold again, with mortal bones and fragile skin no I didn't expect to find this, it's like Willy Wonka's Wine Cellar yeah, I guess I should've known better should've known that growing up is forever but we can't go back I look around for guidance, our bravest days behind us we'll never be so bold again, with mortal bones and fragile skin I look around for guidance, but all I hear is crickets and silence

    ----------------- MATT'S SONG Title: The Nature of Forms Lyrics:

    When the space between the spaces starts to strain When the puzzle pieces bend and don't quite fit in the same way When the molecules that make us lose their charge and break apart under the weight When the North star doesn't point north anymore When the constellations drift and leave us stranded on the shore When the suns have all gone supernova, freeze and then retreat into their cores If there is an after that comes after the before If after all of everything there's just a little something more And after all our time together we're both still on board What if plato had a point about ideals If the nature of a form is born in an elysian field And the parts of us that we call i could maybe one day recollide somewhere Then I will find you where ananke wound the spool At the source of all the rivers, at the end of all the worlds In the wreckage of the species, I will question every beast residing there If there is an after that comes after the before If there's some truth to all the stories I have mocked and sneered and scorned And after all our time together on this earth we're both still on board

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    39 mins
  • S2E2: Smooth E-Boy
    Jun 3 2024
    On Episode Two, we catch up with Bug Hunter's drummer Kyle Hodgkinson to talk about college hijinks -- and get a couple of song prompts! Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (The Narcissist Cookbook) and Bug (Bug Hunter) where we are challenged to write a song demo from scratch every episode. If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us! Our Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Narcissist Cookbook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bug Hunter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, etc! Please share the show (and our music) with friends! -- SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE BELOW -- ----------------- Challenge: Change one letter of one of the other's song ----------------- BUG'S SONG Title: Both Lyrics: Dear captain Stanley I hope this note finds me well I hope you're reading this tomorrow from inside my empty cell the bars won't budge at all and all the guards they watch me well oh Captain Stanley I just really have to say after I dodged you in dubai and cleared your checkpoint in LA I began to thing that you just liked to watch me get away which you'll be doing... Soon as I get this door unlocked well as soon as I get this bar removed or as soon as I bribe this guard outside I'm finally screwed! My Game to lose I was the best there ever was at what I did (but so were you) I'm finally screwed! I have no chance I am the fattest, slowest rat in a castle full of cats It came down to freedom or to gold I got caught 'cause I tried to choose both Oh captain Stanley I think you have proved your point this staring contest through the bars won't serve a purpose in this joint and the sniper pointed at me, well, is certainly a choice but Captain Stnaley you seem to forget There's a reason there's 100 million bounty on my head all the governments have sought me but no one has claimed me yet so as soon as I (pow!) well maybe if I (ping!) uh... oh... noooooo I'm finally screwed! Here comes the noose I was the best there ever was at what I did (but so were you) I'm finally screwed! I had my chance Now I'm the fattest, slowest rat in a castle full of cats A final fatal path forked in my road I got caught 'cause I tried to choose both ------------ MATT'S SONG Title: Piano Beacher Lyrics: driftwood body and razorclam keys sea glass pedals and mica dust shimmer and shine come sing with me i want to break you open like a scallopshell figure out what makes you sound so beautiful all i know are the simplest chords triads fifths and rootnotes, but you make them more come sing with me i want to peer inside you with a microscope you washed up here from god only knows where in perfect tune and i can't bear to not understand things so here i go once again you think i'd have learned it by now man some things shouldn't be figured out and by peeking behind every curtain you find sometimes you see what you shouldn't some remedies don't need a hammer some mysteries don't have an answer but when all you have is a scalpel then everything looks like a cadaver driftwood body and razorclam keys beach piano, all covered in seaweed and salt come sing with me i want to crack you open just to see your pearl i want to learn what makes you sound so beautiful you washed up here from god only knows where in perfect tune and i can't bear to not understand things so here i go once again you think i'd have thought to correct it you can't keep the frog and dissect it by cutting the guts out of everything all you get is blood on the carpet some remedies don't need a hammer some mysteries don't have an answer but when all you have is a scalpel then everything looks like a cadaver
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    37 mins
  • S2E1: The Jam McCabin
    May 20 2024
    And. We. Are. Back! Jam Mechanics returns for season 2 with our first guest prompter (Our longtime collaborator and artist, DeepBlueInk!). In our first episode back we reveal the fate of Jam Mechanics Mansion (Castle?) and reflect on the ocean that separates our two co-hosts Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (The Narcissist Cookbook) and Bug (Bug Hunter) where we are challenged to write a song demo from scratch every episode. If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us! Our Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Narcissist Cookbook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bug Hunter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠ and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, etc! Please share the show (and our music) with friends! -- SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE BELOW -- ----------------- Challenge: Transatlanticism ----------------- BUG'S SONG Title: Agamemnon Lyrics: I am aboard the Agamemnon, we are laying down a line It's gonna cross the ocean floor, the greatest project of our time A telegraph from Newfoundland will reach the Irish Shores but by by the time this note arrives you will not love me anymore I am aboard the Agamemnon, laying cables in the sea For the purpose of the president to parley with the queen As for me, I've got this letter that I'll send you in the morn but by the time this note arrives you will not love me anymore You will not love me by the time you read this note You told me you would wait if I had to go I keep your photo in a locket to remind me of my home but while aboard the Agamemnon I have so much time to dream of a world where I can reach you with no middle-man between And maybe when we're done I'll get my turn, as a reward but I never got that chance, now you don't love me anymore When I made it to Niagara, you didn't love me anymore You will not love me by the time you read this note You told me you would wait if I had to go I think of you so often with no way to let you know This is only the beginning, this simple cable in the sea Soon we'll have radios and satellites and waves we cannot see No one'll know the pain of loving one they cannot reach I'd commandeer the Agamemnon and I'd sail it back to shore it's just a faster way to learn that you don't love me anymore so I'll keep laying this cable for the lovers not yet born so that they may never hear "No, I don't love you anymore" ---------- MATT'S SONG Title: The Tollbooth Lyrics: When Britain's national health service was launched in 1948 it set sail in the wake of the second world war when the country's citizens the upper and lower classes both the rich and the desperately poor had served together, side by side and the ones who survived the horrors came home demanding to no surprise more we did not fight, they said in our millions just for things to return to the way they were we didn't die they said in our hundreds of thousands just to save a country where the leading cause of death is poverty and perhaps for the first time in british history the aristocrats and the working class agreed on something largely that arming the nation and teaching them how to fight and die for what they believe in makes their demands somewhat more convincing and so barely three years after the soldiers had come home on july 5th, 1948 the british health system was torn out by the follicles and rebuilt in a new vision that it would be free at point of service, that no one, NO ONE, would be turned away or trapped into debt by lack of personal means that it would be available to everyone who walked through the doors of a hospital or a GP's office and that the well off wouldn't be able to skip the queue this was radical beyond comprehension a truly universal healthcare system doctors across the nation barred their doors and hired personal security ... [Out of room! For full lyrics, visit www.jammechanics.com]
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    44 mins
  • Jam Mechanics S2 Update & Announcements!
    May 3 2024

    The Bug Hunter & The Narcissist Cookbook US tour kicks off in June 2024! You can find all the ticket dates and links right here: ⁠https://bughunterbug.com/collections/bug-hunter-and-the-narcissist-cookbook-2024-tour

    We'll be back for SEASON 2 shortly -- Put May 20, 2024 on your calendar! The Jam Mechanics are coming back!


    If you missed our theme song drop, Art is for Amateurs is on Spotify!


    Make sure to follow us on Spotify, Instagram, Youtube, and hit our website to get downloads of all of our songs so far!

    Show more Show less
    6 mins
  • S1: Retrospective
    Mar 11 2024

    SEASON ONE IS DONE! Let's Celebrate by discussing YOUR favorites (and least favorites), taking audience questions, and showing off some old demos to put Jam Mechanics demos into perspective!


    Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (The Narcissist Cookbook) and Bug (Bug Hunter) where we challenge each other to write a song demo from scratch every episode. If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us! Our Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Narcissist Cookbook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bug Hunter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠and our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠⁠

    and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, etc! Please share the show (and our music) with friends!


    Show more Show less
    55 mins