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Discography - PRE-SUMMER 1995

Although I sang songs into a Fisher Price tape deck when I was about 5, I began to really write songs when I was 13. Over the course of the next 10 years, the songs I wrote started to resemble music.

Before 1995, I wrote plenty of rock, pop, and experimental music, and I studied jazz and classical. Someday, I may comb through the wreckage looking for something worth resurrecting, but for now, I consider everything before 1995 as lost. A few recordings have survived, but they are almost all Yamaha cassette based 4 track recordings. A rare hacked together collection of the most listenable early 4 track recordings is owned by a few people as Classic Dave (on side 2 of the Silent Bob cassette). I'm not even sure if I have a copy of this, and I don't remember what was on it.

Discography - LATE COLLEGE

The second half of college was an incredibly fruitful time musically. Although most of the recordings from this period are far from professional quality, many songs stand up well.

SILENT BOB

From around 1993-1995, I was in musical limbo, recovering from my experiences at Berklee College of music. I spent a long time trying to write whacked out musical theater works, but I never finished any of them.

Then, in the summer of 1995, I was asked to play bass in a pseudo-punk band with guitarist Dan Goldstein and drummer Christian Kisala. Although punk was never really my thing, I joined up and the band eventually settled on the name Silent Bob, after a character in several Kevin Smith movies. We released one album with songs mostly written by Dan and I, and we played three gigs: a pig roast, a friend's party, and a CBGB's audition.

The album is a bit on the heavy side with a few punk influenced songs, something rare in my repertoire. I credit this band and album, for returning me to my roots, and accepting once again that complexity isn't a mark of quality.

Tracks

  1. Leisure
  2. Gold Beneath the Dust
  3. December
  4. December Queen
  5. Only Every Now and Then
  6. Hungry Like the Wolf
  7. Mirror Song
  8. Babylon
  9. pUNK aS fUCK

1,3,7- written by Dan Goldstein © 1995 all rights reserved
2,4,5,8,9- written by David W. Jacobsen © 1995 all rights reserved
6- written by Duran Duran

Silent Bob were:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar, Vocals
David W. Jacobsen- Bass, Vocals
Christian Kisala- Drums

1-6 Engineered and recorded by Chuck Scott at Knee Deep Studios
7-9 Engineered and recorded by Brian Wilson of NJ in Dan's basement

BEFORE

The experience of playing in Silent Bob helped me finally realize that I was a songwriter and not a composer. This realization resulted in an incredibly prolific summer. In addition to 5 Silent Bob songs, I wrote the songs that would appear on two other albums: Before and Beneath the Dust. However, I wouldn't actually record Beneath the Dust until 1997.

Before was hacked together on a borrowed cassette based 4 track in about 2 weeks. It is an acoustic record with melancholy piano songs like "In the Midst," bitter guitar ballads like "Beth," and powerful, percussion heavy, odd meter songs like "Crippled." If I ever have a lot of time, I'd like to re-record this record, but until then, it only exists in its current poorly recorded cassette form.

Tracks

  1. Ship of Schools
  2. Clueless
  3. Shadows into Life
  4. Imaginary Queen
  5. Closer to the Man
  6. Object Permanence
  7. Never Tell a Soul
  8. No Word
  9. In the Midst
  10. Too Much
  11. Beth
  12. Atrophy of the Mind
  13. I Waited
  14. I'm Going To Go Back There Someday
  15. Crippled
  16. Secrets

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen during the summer of 1995
© 1995 all rights reserved
Except 14 by Paul Williams (from the Muppet Movie)

Additional Musicians:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 3,13
Christian Kisala- Drums on 2,5,11,15

Recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zboth
Except for 2,5,11,14 recorded by Brian Wilson of NJ

MANCHESTER

In 1995/1996, I spent a year studying at the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. I brought my guitar along and wrote about 40 songs, most of which appear on two albums I recorded when I returned to America: Manchester and Oxford Road.

Manchester contains 18 of those songs and was recorded at Chuck Scott's Knee Deep 24 track studio. Styles range from synth pop like "Better than that," folk ballads like "Sunset," and straight ahead rock songs like "Numb." Some of the songs have an intentionally British feel to them. "Someplace I've Never Been" is reminiscent of the Cure and "Better than that" sounds a bit like Depeche Mode.

This album was only released on cassette, but I hope to put out a CD version at some point in the near future.

Tracks

  1. Someplace I've Never Been
  2. Error of Judgment
  3. The Younger One
  4. You Never Sheltered Me
  5. Thanks for Being a Friend
  6. Heather
  7. The Road Where Honor Leads is not the Road to Glory
  8. Illuminate
  9. I Got Lucky
  10. Numb
  11. Numb
  12. Fragile
  13. Journey
  14. Summer of '91
  15. Better Than That
  16. Enough
  17. Invite the Statue for Dinner
  18. Fourth of July

Outtake: Lebanon
Outtake: Jerusalem

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen from September 1995 - June 1996 in the U.K.
© 1996 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Chuck Scott- Electric Guitar on 2,5,10,14; Guitar Solo on 2,14; Drums on 17
Christian Kisala- Drums and Percussion on 1-2,5-14,16; Vibraharp on 9,10

Recorded and Engineered by Chuck Scott at Knee Deep Studio/Conspiracy Theater from July to September of 1996

MANCHESTER DEMO

For promotional purposes, I released a four song version of Manchester.

Tracks

  1. Someplace I've Never Been
  2. Error of Judgment
  3. The Younger One
  4. You Never Sheltered Me

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen from September 1995 - June 1996 in the U.K.
© 1996 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Chuck Scott- Electric Guitar on 2
Christian Kisala- Drums and Percussion on 1-2

Recorded and Engineered by Chuck Scott at Knee Deep Studio/Conspiracy Theater from July to September of 1996

BENEATH THE DUST (unreleased)

After recording Manchester, I realized that I wrote too many songs to record in someone else's studio, so I began to learn more about recording music myself. Beneath the Dust is my first attempt at recording my own music on anything more ambitious than a four track, but a few of the songs don't sound like it. To teach myself about audio recording, I dug out some songs from 1995 that I wasn't afraid of ruining and produced a surprisingly listenable record. I also included an old 4 track alternate Silent Bob take of the song "Gold Beneath the Dust."

Although this album has never been released on its own, half of the tracks were released with Oxford Road.

Tracks

  1. World View/Miracles
  2. You'll See Decay
  3. Hindsight
  4. Flowers for Algernon
  5. Great Expectations
  6. Trapped Going Around
  7. On the Verge
  8. Gold Beneath the Dust (4 track version)
  9. Comedy/Tragedy

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen during the summer of 1995.
© 1995 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians: (Silent Bob)
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 8
Christian Kisala- Drums on 8

Recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth
Except for 9 which was recorded by Brian Wilson in 1995 on a 4-track in Dan's basement

OXFORD ROAD

After Beneath the Dust, I finally moved into the digital world and my recording skills began to improve. For Oxford Road, I dusted off 10 unrecorded songs that I wrote in England at the same time as Manchester, and finally got them to tape in 1997. The album is a neat collection of songs ranging from the wacky "Conversation Optional," to the Pink Floyd like "Captive Queen." It also contains some beautiful piano/vocal pieces like "Cobwebs and Decay," as well as "Vital Signs," which sounds disturbingly techno.

When the album was done, CD-Rs were finally cheap enough to produce at home. Since I could fit 74 minutes of music on the CD, I added the better half of Beneath the Dust.

Tracks

  1. Conversation Optional
  2. Towers Bend
  3. Cobwebs and Decay
  4. Vital Signs
  5. Captive Queen
  6. Alexander's Last Dream
  7. Fearless Queen
  8. Your Expectations
  9. Vital News
  10. X-Mass Song

    (from Beneath the Dust)
  11. Hindsight
  12. World View/Miracles
  13. You'll See Decay
  14. Trapped Going Around
  15. Gold Beneath the Dust (4 track version)

Outtake: Zimri and Zepora

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen 1995 - 1996.
© 1996 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 4, 5, and 15
Christian Kisala- Drums on 15

Recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth
Except for 15 which was recorded by Brian Wilson of NJ in 1995 on a 4-track in Dan's basement

AFTERMATH

After Oxford Road, I recorded Aftermath, a dark synth pop song cycle written in 1996. The songs are linked by melodies that pop up through out the cycle in different songs. There are some very strong melodies and wonderfully moody tracks hidden on this gem. Although some of the arrangements sound a little dated, the underlying songs are strong.

"Clarity" begs for forgiveness as it recounts tragedies, "... and the Band Played On" sounds a bit like New Order as it talks of AIDS, and "Parasite" has a wonderfully catchy melancholy feel.

Tracks

  1. Aftermath
  2. Clarity
  3. Afterview
  4. Homecoming
  5. ... And the Band Played On
  6. Parasite
  7. Parade
  8. Rythms
  9. Julie
  10. Midlife Crisis
  11. Rock
  12. Aftermath (reprise)
  13. Moment of Truth
  14. In the Park

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen 1997
© 1998 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 1-5, 11, and 12

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

IN-BETWEEN

I finished up my college material with, In-Between. Written mostly in 1997 and finished in 1998, it is a somewhat upbeat and almost pop collection of songs.

Although some of my early work displayed a sense of humor, In-Between contained more obvious attempts at humor with "Life is Good" and "Where Does All My Money Go?" Where Aftermath was clearly a dark moody record, In-Between wasn't afraid to try pop music with tracks like "Something More" and "Someone Else's Life."

Tracks

  1. Something More
  2. Where Does All My Money Go?
  3. Life is Good
  4. Someone Else's Life
  5. Catherine
  6. The Price
  7. In-Between
  8. Ballad of Stacey and Danger
  9. Sarah
  10. Morning After
  11. The Queen is in Your Head
  12. When the Guns Grew Silent
  13. Julie (acoustic version)

Outtake: Smiling Away

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen 1997
© 1998 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 2 and 7

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

GOLD BENEATH THE DUST (compilation)

After I graduated college, I looked back at all my material and decided to make a greatest hits collection ... unfortunately, I hadn't had any hits. Nevertheless, I put together a compilation called Gold Beneath the Dust containing songs from Silent Bob, Before, Manchester, Beneath the Dust, and Oxford Road. I also re-recorded a few tracks from Before and included the unreleased "Zimri and Zepora."

If you knew me in 1999, chances are pretty good that I gave you a copy of this album. I used to carry copies around and just give them out to people I met. If you're not using an AOL CD as a coaster, check and see if it's one of my albums.

This album was formerly available from mp3.com. Lyrics are still available online.

Tracks

  1. Only Every Now and Then (shorter version)
  2. Conversation Optional
  3. Numb
  4. Fragile
  5. Towers Bend
  6. Worldview/Miracles
  7. Better Than That
  8. You Never Sheltered Me
  9. Thanks for Being a Friend
  10. The Younger One
  11. Zimri and Zepora
  12. Cobwebs and Decay
  13. Numb
  14. Beth
  15. Crippled
  16. Enough

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen 1995-1997
© 1998 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 1
Chuck Scott- Guitar on 3 and 9
Christian Kisala- Drums on 1, 3, 4, 9, 13, and 16; Vibraharp on 3

Tracks 1, 3, 4, 7-10, 13, and 16 recorded by Chuch Scott at Knee Deep Studios
All other tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

SILVER DUST (compilation)

Gold Beneath the Dust left out a few classics and didn't have any songs from Aftermath or In-Between. Therefore, I released a second compilation containing more tracks from my college years.

There aren't as many copies of Silver Dust as Gold Beneath the Dust out there, but a lucky handful have this compilation as part of their David W. Jacobsen collection.

Tracks

  1. Catherine
  2. Rhythms
  3. Someone Else's Life
  4. December Queen
  5. Life is Good
  6. Where Does all my Money Go?
  7. Midlife Crisis
  8. Parasite
  9. ...and the Band Played On...
  10. Illuminate
  11. Clarity
  12. Journey
  13. Julie
  14. Something More
  15. pUNK aS fUCK

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen 1995-1997
© 1999 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Dan Goldstein- Guitar on 4, 6, 9, and 15
Christian Kisala- Drums on 4, 10, 12, and 15

Tracks 4, 10, and 12 recorded by Chuch Scott at Knee Deep Studios
Track 15 recorded by Brian Wilson of NJ
All other tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

Discography - POST COLLEGE

After college, my albums finally started to sound professional and the songs matured. I started performing live more often and effectively gave up on having a band. At this point, my songs started heading in the folk direction and I officially became an acoustic guitarist. Up until this point, I considered myself primarily a bass player.

FAIRMOUNT STONES

Fairmount Stones grew out of my first year of post-college life disillusionment. It has some fantastic songs on it, but be warned, it's a real razor-fest. This is the most depressing album I have released so far.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I see now that a lot of these songs have to do with the inability to accept change. "Oxford Street" laments a friend who ruins his life, "Hope You Like the Flowers" takes place while watching an ex-girlfriend get married, and "Cubicle" is part one of a cycle of songs I would explore further on a later album.

This album is available at live shows.

Tracks

  1. Fairmount
  2. Oxford Street
  3. Hope You Like the Flowers
  4. Ferme La Bouche
  5. Cubicle
  6. Wasted Life
  7. Portrait
  8. Ridgedale Days
  9. Fairmount
  10. Graduation Day
  11. You'll Burn More Than You'll Save
  12. Fairmount Stones
  13. Juxtaposition
  14. Fairmount
  15. Run
  16. Fairmount
  17. Fairmount
  18. Providence
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2000 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Wuba- Drums on 2-5

Voices:
Evan Robb performs the service on 3
Quentin Twine and Mary Tiritilli play the parts of Michael and Jane on 3

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth
Except drums on 2-5 recorded by Wuba

THE CHASM

The Chasm contains an eclectic mix of styles and moods about loneliness and disconnection. It is about the gap between people who are trying to connect. This album is one of my strongest and has an excellent balance of humor and pathos making it neither novelty nor suicide inducing. "Dry Spell" and "Vaseline" are funny crowd pleasers, "New Years Eve" and "Jacqueline" are wonderful pop, and "Jersey Summer" perfectly captures the melancholy of a summer's end.

The Chasm was the first album that I had professionally packaged and it received some very positive press. I still promote it, and it can be purchased at cdbaby.com and iTunes.

Tracks

  1. The Moment
  2. 10,000 Feet
  3. Dry Spell
  4. Always a Friend
  5. Jacqueline
  6. New Years Eve
  7. Vaseline
  8. Hard to Forgive
  9. Torn
  10. Julia
  11. Obvious
  12. Dalton Ames
  13. These Things Happen
  14. One More Beer
  15. I'd Feel a Lot Better
  16. Come to Me
  17. Sneaking
  18. No Lies
  19. Summer Time
  20. Jersey Summer
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2001 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Wuba- Drums on 2, 3, 4, 8, and 10

Voices:
Elizabeth Zeldin performs the part of Julia on 10

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth
Except drums on 2, 3, 4, 8, and 10 recorded by Wuba

CUBICLE WONDERLAND

Cubicle Wonderland actually contains two connected song cycles that both reflect a desire for a different life. The first part, "Cubicle in the Sky" (tracks 1-8), contains funny, yet poignant songs about office life. It is kind of like a musical combination of the movies Office Space and Startup.com with elements of Dilbert. The second part, "Wonderland Fades" (tracks 9-23), contains more serious songs about longing, restlessness, jealousy, and loss. For anyone yearning for a life beyond their reach (or seeking success in the arts), this may be cathartic... or it may make you slit your wrists.

Although very different albums, the Chasm and Cubicle Wonderland were mostly written at the same time.

Cubicle Wonderland is available for purchase at cdbaby.com and iTunes.

Tracks

Cubicle in the Sky

  1. Another Day, Another Dollar (Cubicle part 3)
  2. Reorganization Time (Cubicle part 4)
  3. Sales Meeting (Cubicle part 5)
  4. Cubicle Cowboy (Cubicle part 10)
  5. Proper Work Ethic (Cubicle part 2)
  6. An Honest and Sincere Assessment... (Cubicle part 9)
  7. Question (Cubicle part 6)
  8. Great Cubicle in the Sky

Wonderland Fades

  1. Watching the Sunrise When You Haven't Slept
  2. Every Suburb, Every Strip Mall
  3. Wonderland
  4. Burst
  5. Moving Faster
  6. View
  7. Blinded by the Flight
  8. Each Day Still Brings Another Day
  9. I.N.A.S.A.I.L.
  10. Allison
  11. All Stops to Dover
  12. No Plans
  13. Burst (Reprise)
  14. Closure
  15. Happy Birthday (Epilogue)

Hidden: I Quit
Outtake: The Act
Outtake: House Guest From Hell

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2002 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Wuba- Drums on 1, 2, 4, 10, 13, and 18

Voices:
Wuba- HR Representative on 2

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth with help from John Zollo
Except drums on 1, 2, 4, 10, 13, and 18 recorded by Wuba with help from Christian Schaaf

FOOTPRINTS

Footprints picks up where both the Chasm and Cubicle Wonderland leave off and deals with obsession and mortality. The Chasm dealt with not being able to tell someone how you feel about them. In Footprints, you tell them and they shoot you down. Cubicle Wonderland asked if there is more to life than toiling away at some job until you die. Footprints copes with the possibility that there isn't. However, most of the album isn't really depressing and it approaches these themes with novel and humorous perspectives.

Footprints is available for purchase at CD Baby and iTunes.

Tracks

  1. Horizon
  2. Welcome
  3. Batteries
  4. Sorry
  5. Footprints
  6. Cordelia
  7. Sleepwalking
  8. Destiny
  9. Meaning Of Life
  10. To Your Door
  11. Park Slope
  12. Postcard
  13. You Only Want in from the Outside
  14. Fragments
  15. Epilogue
  16. Immune
  17. Christmas In Jersey City
  18. Dance
  19. Portland
  20. Forgotten Songs
  21. Famous
  22. The Tide
  23. Know Good Things

Outtake: The Split
Outtake: Sunday Night Blues
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2005 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Wuba- Drums on 2 and 5
Brian Wilson of NJ- Percussion 3 and 10

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth.

Cover art by Kevin Colden

DUST (outtakes collection)

Dust collects unfinished and previously unreleased material from 1998 through 2005. It has three sections:

  • Footprints Addendum (tracks 1-5) contains songs mostly written for the Footprints album that were not recorded with the rest of Footprints. After Footprints, I went back and recorded these songs for a limited edition EP. Rather than an independent EP release, I decided to combine the tracks with other outtakes and unreleased material as Dust.

  • Snow in New York City (tracks 6-14) is a depressing semi-political song cycle written from 1998 through early 2001. Many of the songs were written the summer that I was in a car accident, fired, evicted, and sued. I was finally finishing up the recording when I was in another car accident in March 2001. I shelved the album because I felt it had too much negativity, even for me. In late 2005, I cleaned up the mixes a little and removed a few tracks.

  • Outtakes (tracks 15-21) contains songs that were originally recorded for Footprints (tracks 16,17), Wonderland Fades (tracks 15,18-20) , or Fairmount Stones (track 21), but didn't make the final cut. They are included as is.

Dust is available for purchase on CD Baby and iTunes.

Tracks


Footprints Addendum

  1. Gethsemane
  2. Come Calling
  3. Abdicate
  4. Trust
  5. Moving Song

Snow In NYC (excerpts)

  1. America
  2. The Stain
  3. Trenton
  4. Life And Death On The NJTP
  5. News
  6. The Children Are Our Future
  7. American Loser
  8. The Spirit Of Christmas
  9. Main Street

Outtakes

  1. The Act
  2. Sunday Night Blues
  3. The Chasm
  4. Go Away 1
  5. Houseguest
  6. Go Away 2
  7. In This Town

Outtake: the Split (not included for personal reasons)
Outtakes: Hole in the Sky (Originally released as a downloadable mp3 file in October 2001)

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2005 rights reserved
All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

POSTCARDS

Postcards is a compilation of humorous and serious songs from the Chasm, Cubicle Wonderland, Footprints, and Dust.

Tracks

  1. Postcard
  2. Christmas in Jersey City
  3. Cordelia
  4. Batteries
  5. Wonderland
  6. Another Day Another Dollar
  7. Sales Meeting
  8. Cubicle Cowboy
  9. 10,000 Feet
  10. Jacqueline
  11. Dry Spell
  12. New Years Eve
  13. Come Calling
  14. Jersey Summer

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
This compilation © 2011
Tracks 1-4, 13 © 2005
Tracks 5-8 © 2002
Tracks 9-12, 14 © 2001
Zbokth Productions, BMI
Cover photo by Mike Stahl
Percussion on 6, 8, 9, 11 by Wuba
Percussion on 4 by Brian Wilson

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

Discography - End of the CD Era

Most of the songs in this period have some connection to the time I lived in Jersey City or the few years after when I moved back in to NYC. This is the period of my life before I had a kid and most of it was written before I was married. CDs were still prevalent when this period started, but by the end were becoming rarer. It includes one synth-pop record and three singer/songwriter albums.

SEPTEMBER'S SHADOW - HOBSON'S JOURNEY

Hobson's Journey was released under the band name September's Shadow because it is rather different from my recent work. It features less acoustic and more electronic sounds, there are numerous instrumental pieces, and almost half the vocal tracks are sung by vocalists KT Wills and Stefanie Seskin.

It contains two unconnected song cycles. "Hobson's Choice" (tracks 1-9) contains catchy, melancholy synth pop music with somber lyrics. "The Journey Home from Rexel 4" (tracks 10-18) contains instrumental works, several of which were original written for a video game.

The album is available for purchase at CD Baby and iTunes. You can listen to some songs on MySpace, and the band had a separate Web site at septembersshadow.com .

Tracks


Hobson's Choice

  1. I Sent the Letter
  2. Reprises
  3. Is There a Doctor in the house?
  4. Never Felt Like Home
  5. Familiar
  6. The Cut
  7. Hobson's Choice
  8. If Only
  9. Fading

The Journey Home from Rexel 4

  1. A Bad Omen
  2. The Homeward Journey Begins
  3. Moving Slightly Off Course
  4. Turbulence
  5. Lost in a Hostile Place
  6. Everything Falls To pieces
  7. Thoughts of ...
  8. The Stillness Before ...
  9. A Turbulent End
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2007 all rights reserved

Vocals on 1 and 2 by KT Wills
Vocals on 2 and 6 by Stefanie Seskin

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

WALKING AWAY FROM WONDERLAND

 Walking Away From Wonderland album cover.

Walking Away From Wonderland is the follow up to Footprints. Many of the songs deal with losing touch as the years go by either with friends or former lovers. Some of the loss is humorously described in the form of break up songs where the narrator is happy the other person is gone. Others express longing for people, places, and times that are forever out of reach. However, not all of the songs adhere to this central theme and the album's content and mood vary considerably.

The album is available for purchase at CD Baby and iTunes, you can listen to some songs on MySpace.

Tracks

  1. Easier Said Than Done
  2. Best Thing You Ever Did
  3. Hello Sarah
  4. Have I Told You Lately
  5. Sandcastles
  6. Abbi
  7. Keys
  8. Retrieve
  9. Clapping on One and Three
  10. ... By Sunday
  11. Jealousy
  12. Independence Day
  13. Might Have Been
  14. Return to Oxford Street
  15. Broken
  16. The Captain is Drunk
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2008 all rights reserved

Stefanie Seskin lead vocals on 8, backing vocals on 4 and 5
KT Wills backing vocals on 6 and 14
Brian J Wilson percussion on 3, 12, and 16
Luis Manuel percussion on 1,2, and 8
Tom Taggart cover art.

NOT WHAT I MEANT

 Not What I Meant album cover.

Not What I Meant contains a mix of humorous and reflective songs many of which have the reoccurring theme of people failing to communicate. Lyrics play on miscommunications where one party and the other are on different pages and at least one of the two is unaware of this discrepancy. It deals with misunderstandings and their lighthearted or heartbreaking repercussions. Musically it continues in the singer/songwriter style with additional mandolin usage.

Tracks

  1. How Much Time
  2. In a Strange Way
  3. Suzanne
  4. Parallel
  5. Emily
  6. I Know Where to Find You
  7. Christmas Break
  8. A Cubicle Christmas
  9. New Year's With a Girl From Ohio
  10. Everyday Things
  11. Let's Pretend That We Are Strangers
  12. Walk a Mile
  13. Gravity
  14. New York Called
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2007 - 2012 all rights reserved

Chrissy Roberts lead vocals on 6, backing vocals on 4, 5, and 14
Neil Fein & David Spatola percussion on 1, 3, 4, and 11
Tom Taggart cover art
Mark Dann Mastering

BEGIN THE CHAGRIN

 Begin the Chagrin cover.

Begin the Chagrin presents a range of noble, relatable, pitiable, and revolting characters dealing with disappointment or causing it for someone else. Its frustrated or frustrating protagonists include those failing at art, love, or life in general. Characters yearn to be someone they are not. Starting in the acoustic singer/songwriter genre, its progressions and melodies are catchy without being predicable. Moods range from satirical to somber, sometimes within the same song.

Tracks

  1. Settle
  2. Free Bird
  3. Guitar Guy
  4. In The Schoolyard
  5. Your Sister
  6. Binoculars
  7. Rosalind
  8. Do You Want Fries With That?
  9. Dan Danielle
  10. Thanksgiving In West Paterson
  11. Christmas In East Paterson
  12. First Christmas
  13. No More Together
  14. You Win
  15. Road We Left Behind
  16. The Saddest Thing
  17. Gambler's Prayer
  18. Just The Way You Are
  19. Your Mystique
  20. Roads Again
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2010 - 2016 all rights reserved

Additional Musicians:
Stefanie Seskin: Vocals on 8 and 11; Flute on 7 10, and 15; Sax on 8
Chrissy Roberts: Vocals on 6, 7, and 13
Ralph Capasso: Drums on 1, 5, 8, and 12
Dennis Reulbach: Bass on 8
Mark Dann Mastering
Miss Lasko-Gross cover art

Discography - Current - Post CDs

With CDs more or less a thing of the past and less time to record, I concluded it made more sense to release shorter digital-only collections.

YOU'RE FIRED AND FURY

 You're Fired and Fury

You're Fired and Fury is a short topical EP mostly regarding the 45th President of the USA and his ardent supporters. Without acoustic guitars, it is a more in your face record than most of my recent catalog, influenced by politically themed music from Phil Ochs through the Clash. It is my sincere hope that this becomes dated as soon as possible.

This is available for digital download and streams at major sites such as YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes.

Tracks

  1. WWJD (Who Would Jesus Deport)?
  2. Angel's a Deplorable
  3. Two Scoops
  4. Profit and Fun
  5. Bought a Senator
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2018 all rights reserved

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

RELEASE

 Release

Release is an electric guitar centric collection of songs mixing styles and moods. It includes a song about your ex's birthday ("Today's Your Birthday"), a Trump Christmas song ("Christmas from Washington DC"), a joke metal song about a gangster lawyer ("Litigious"), an earnest reflective number ("Release"), a funny obnoxious dating song ("Honest"), and a pop song partially in 7 ("What You're Looking For").
This is available for digital download and streams at major sites such as YouTube, Spotify, and CD Baby.

Tracks

  1. Today's Your Birthday
  2. Christmas from Washington, DC
  3. Litigious
  4. Release
  5. Honest
  6. What You're Looking For
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2019 all rights reserved
Cover art by Ross Owen Jacobsen

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

POTUS

 potus

POTUS is a whimsical collection of historically-oriented songs about overlooked, obscure, or awful U.S. Presidents. Most lyrics are first-person fictional narratives of lesser known or monstrous occupants of the country's highest office. The music ranges from folk to rock to disco depending on the mood of the lyric and period. The album mixes history with storytelling, providing a humanized view of men who have guided America for better or worse (more often worse). Eleven presidents from Adams through Ford are highlighted in this collection, none of whom served a full eight years.
This is available for digital download and streams at major sites such as YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Tracks

  1. 1799
  2. Old Man Eloquent
  3. Leave My Bones In The Ground
  4. Nothing Left To Do
  5. Swing Around The Circle
  6. Samuel Tilden's Lament
  7. Never Asked
  8. Crying At Your Grave
  9. Shanties
  10. Effective At Noon Tomorrow
  11. The Unforgiven
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2020 all rights reserved
Cover art by Neil Fein

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS

 dif1

Expecting Different Results is about doing the same things over and over again, like releasing music every year and promoting it the same way … It contains acoustic-based songs that address disappointment or surprise with sardonic humor, while pondering whether rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic is actually a perfectly good use of time if you really like chair symmetry. Whether anyone notices your perfect, beautiful chair arrangements is no longer the point. Some songs hew more to the literal meaning of things not turning out as you expect, and some songs convey a general jadedness.

This is available for digital download and streams at major sites such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and other streaming servics.

Tracks

  1. Expecting a Different Result
  2. One Life
  3. If I Could Speak
  4. The Ledge
  5. Princes in the Tower
  6. One More Day (Open Office)
  7. Failure is not an Option
  8. Indifference
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2021 all rights reserved

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

IMPRINT

 imprint

Imprint is a short singer/songwriter album about memories that haunt, whether you realize it or not. The past that you cannot bury and recollections that linger, sometimes just out of mind, are always with you somewhere. Whether it is something you regret doing or someone you regret knowing, whether you think about it all the time or hardly at all, those experiences are part of who you are today.

This is available for digital download and streams at major sites such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and other streaming servics.

Tracks

  1. Things I've Said (Big Mouth Strikes Again)
  2. Maple Street
  3. The Same
  4. No One Like You
  5. About Last Night
  6. Filler
  7. Nine Days
  8. One Day at a Time
  9. Not Waving but Drowning
  10. New Year's Day
Lyrics

Vocals on "Nine Days" by Chrissy Roberts.
All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2022 all rights reserved

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth

MUSIC FOR THE MASSES

 masses

Music for the Masses is a singer-songwriter album with contradictory elements of folk, post-punk, and prog-rock. It sardonically mocks earnest, erudite reflection while containing earnest, erudite reflection. The opening track scoffs at writing a song about the French Revolution and then the album later contains a 12-minute prog-rock song about the French Revolution Calendar. It contains a non-Mariah Carey "All I Want for Christmas" novelty number and the NSFW "It's My Fault."

This is available for digital download and streams at major sites such as YouTube, Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, Apple, and other streaming servics.

Tracks

  1. Music for the Masses
  2. All I Want for Christmas
  3. It's My Fault
  4. Sorta Maybe
  5. Calendrier Révolutionnaire Français
  6. Deck Chairs
  7. For Anyone Who Cares to Listen
Lyrics

All songs written by David W. Jacobsen
© 2023 all rights reserved

All tracks recorded by David W. Jacobsen at Zbokth