Is it vain to write about a song you wrote?
Probably, but who gets up on a stage who isn't at least a little bit of an attention whore.
This article is about The Bigfellas’ song, "Stuff On The Moon."
It’s one of those songs that started as a simple, slightly absurd idea and ended up as a simple, slightly absurd idea.
The Inspiration
For years, I've been wondering how much space junk mankind has left on the moon, considering our 22 trips to the moon (as of today's writing).
6 of those instances were manned missions where astronauts planted flags, drove cars, pissed into some bags, and hit golf balls.
I always wanted to write a magazine feature about this subject-a piece I'd love to read myself.
Unfortunately, I had no leads or inroads to magazines to get this printed.
Yes, this idea occurred to me so long ago that there was still prestige in magazines at the time.
With nowhere to put the idea for a while, once I started writing original songs in earnest for The Bigfellas, I dusted off the idea.
Writing and selling a well-researched article about our space junk would take an incredible amount of man-hours over the years.
Instead, it sure seemed a whole lot easier to write four short verses of rhymes about it over the course of a couple of sit-downs.
The Words
There's nothing really oblique or feelings-based about these lyrics.
Unless those feelings are that I never totally trust mankind's advancements or accomplishments.
Verse three is my favorite.
I absolutely love making music out of a simple list.
Someday, I'm going to finish my song that basically just is a list of 1980s NFL player names.
For some reason whenever I play this live, I botch a lyric or move verses around.
The beauty of playing originals at gigs and not having radio hits is that if I fuck up a lyric, as long as I keep singing SOMETHING, who's gonna know if it's not right?
The Music
The chords here are pretty simple.
Almost all of the 6 minutes are just playing a D, a quick C, then back to D.
The chorus is one chord.
And then the bridge is a much-needed four-chord change of pace.
At least there's a melody in the little chorus, cause there isn't much of one in the verses.
All four verses are glorified talking over a four-note range.
The Recording
For me, this song is production-dependent.
The wide open feel helps, and it is a little spacey.
Every song doesn't need to be a 10-chord opus.
But the simple ones really rely on the musician’s performances in the studio.
Shay's drumming is really cool; so much happens on the snare - on the snare rims in the verses and snare smack kicks the chorus in.
And the thing that really knocks me out is in the chorus, Jeff plays kind of an upside-down progression walking down in almost a country way in the middle of what could be a poor-man’s Beck song.
But the part that makes me happy is the 2 minutes of space junk sound effects at the end.
Not sure which easter egg brings me the most joy: the wall of electric guitars, the "game over" video game sound, Neil Armstrong, or the Dolby THX sound effect.
A great two minutes for being high and listening with noise-canceling headphones.
What Reviews Said
Funny, I think there were about just 20 reviews of the Chubbed Up record and only a couple actually said much about "Stuff On The Moon."
Note to self: people pay less attention to song #13 on a record than songs #1 or #2.
Here's a couple.
San Diego Troubadour
The satisfying saga of Chubbed Up wraps up on two wondrous notes: "Stuff on the Moon" and the not so mysterious "Hidden Track" (not so mysterious only because it's listed on the CD track list, so you know it’s coming). "Stuff on the Moon" is spruce in the use of sparsity, with spaced-out electric strums dolled up with the perfect dose of delay and poignant but slight percussion. Add in a short sound bite from Mr. Armstrong, and you're feeling like you're walking on the moon yourself.
ChatGPT pulled this one up
"Stuff On The Moon" closes Chubbed Up with understated confidence, trading punchlines for atmosphere without losing The Bigfellas' trademark wit. Piano-driven and relaxed, the song lets the album exhale rather than go out with a bang.
The title hints at humor, but the track leans more curious than comedic, pairing clever lyrics with a melody that rewards repeat listens. It's playful without trying too hard, thoughtful without getting heavy.
Critics have pointed to it as part of the album's strong closing stretch, and it works perfectly as a final note-leaving listeners with a smile, a thought, and a reason to hit play again.
Lyrics, Personnel, Notes - Scroll Section
Video
From a recent but now dead solo residency at Goodbar in San Diego.
