Dear good listeners, long-distance friends, and sporadic readers of this blog…
Thanks for being here. I am almost as inconsistent with this blog as I am with my personal journal that I keep on my bedside table. And that’s usually because I’m too busy, and there is too much happening behind the scenes to keep up with, not the opposite. I’ve been designing my own artwork with a scanner and a pair of scissors and some Duane Reade scotch tape, approving my mixes and masters and giving in depth audio feedback on them, editing my music videos or working with remote editors on them, and all of the time working any job I can find so I can make each project BIGGER AND BETTER THAN THE LAST… and probably some other things. Attending and officiating some weddings and giving some best man speeches too.
I always want every release of mine to be the movie it is in my head. And that’s why I’ve been leaving so much time & space between each song on Take Care Of Yourself, to give people enough time to discover them and to give myself enough time to talk about them properly online. So let’s start now with PINS ON MY MAP.
I first posted a clip of this song on my instagram story and my twitter. I was playing the guitar riff on the keyboard I’ve used since my early high school days, and I was rapping the phrase “pins on my map” and rhyming with it. This song is about a dear and special relationship that I will always hold close.
film photo I took while hiking Kings Canyon National Park.
The phrase “Pins On My Map” symbolizes how many places this relationship took me across the united states and purposely ties to the song title “Landmarks” on my Keep Your Friends Close mixtape. A landmark is defined as: “a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation." And that’s exactly what this relationship was for me. Something that guided me home in more ways than one.
The lyrics begin with “thanks for the ride home…”
I’ve had a hell of a lot of adventures the last two years. It began with trying to find myself, once and for all, while living alone in the woods in upstate New York in a small cabin sort of house. As if it’s possible to just up & find yourself… I learned it isn’t that easy, but learned some awesome and valuable life lessons along the way. It led to me hiking the national parks of California and recording in a new studio in Los Angeles with a longtime close friend & new producer. That trip and those days are what these photos are from. I felt really far away from home for the first time in so long. But it felt good, though bittersweet, to tack up some new pins across my map.
somewhere along the legendary highway 1 in california. I think.
eyekonic singer vict molina. she contributed background vocals to The Glory Years Aren’t Over.
my dear friend & extremely talented artist laeland who will be featured in numerous places across the “take care of yourself” ep.
me and producer naebird in the studio in the fittingly named STUDIO CITY AREA OF LOS ANGELES.
a tarot card on the ground at a baseball field
Right after writing Holes In Our Stories, I felt pretty lost. I didn’t know where my life was headed, and it was a strange few years. The person from “Pins” stood by my side through it all and helped me get back home to the much happier person I am becoming now. So I almost think of this song like a thank you card I wish that I could send in real life. Here’s the link to listen. I hope you love it and hope it hits you: https://dylanowen.ffm.to/pinsonmymap
Celebrate the people who stick with you when it seems like nobody else does. They are the ones who bring you back home.
And so… that’s the story behind “Pins On My Map.” It will be on my new EP.
p.s. made this Pins On My Map music video during my journeys out of NY to California, to Colorado, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and to some other states too. On my last two trips I took a small handheld camcorder with me that I found in my mom's basement when we moved out of her house at 385 main. That handheld camcorder is what I filmed this entire music video on. $0 budget. But it's like an indie movie road trip. This song and footage and the people I've met on my travels mean a lot to me. Enjoy!!!
at naebird’s studio The Bird House recording from the carpeted floor
