"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

Today was one of those days that had entirely too many twists and turns in it.  As a result, I didn't get into the studio until relatively late in the evening (which was a shame for a day off).  That said, I still took at least a few minutes to sit down with music and lyrics tonight and try to put something together for the songs from the power pop project.  The best part of this whole thing is that, the bits of lyric that I do have are sparking melody lines in my head as I sing along.  So I'm clinging to that and hoping that, as a bit more time arises during the week, I'll be better able to capitalize on some of that. Entirely unrelated to that, I found a book on The Replacements today in the course of one of the twists and turns the day took.  Picked that up in a heartbeat. In truth, what today feels like it needs is another two or three hours of usable time, but there just isn't any available.  Don't get me wrong, I got a lot done today, it's just that

Well, I got the rest of my song titles for the power pop record today.  This way I get to spend my time tomorrow trying to piece together lyrics in order to have a more complete picture of the record as a whole.  I haven't done any recording for this project yet, which is weird for me, but I figure that if the songs are complete, then getting them recorded will be easier than it would have been if I had tried to fit it in as the month went along. Tomorrow gets to be the day where all of the work and all of the pieces (hopefully) click together. That's really all I've got today, but tomorrow will have a lot more to it. 

Today was a short day in the studio, but a productive one for sure. The last bit of music started to fall in line tonight.  Having worried about it over the last 24-36 hours, I was happy to feel the pieces start to lock in place on that.  After I got that taken care of, I started paging through the notebook I have that's got lyric ideas in it.  I'm pretty sure that I found the opening line of the first song on the record tonight in so doing.  I've also got at least 5 of the song titles ready to go, with a few more possibilities as I head into the last two days of the month.  I can't even begin to tell you how crucial that extra 24 hours has been for me in this whole process.  The extra freedom of "At least I have Monday" has become a rallying cry the last week or so. Picked up a few new music mags as well today. All things considered, I'd say it was a solid day for the FAWM project.

Made a little bit of progress today where the lyrics/album title, etc. are concerned. I am almost positive about the album title, and was able to spend a little bit of time working on the rest of it. There's still a lot of work to be done by the end of the day on Monday, but considering the fact that we had plans for tonight after work, I'm okay with what I was able to get to tonight. I'll be back at it again tomorrow.

Today was an absolute blast in the studio. After figuring out another song last night, I came into today needing music for just a final song in order to have my 14 songs at least there on the musical side of things.  I got that idea fleshed out tonight during my time in the studio, and it happened pretty quickly. Mind you, there are a few minor issues, mostly with transitions between verses and choruses, that I'll need to work out this weekend, but I'd say that the music is somewhere between 95 and 98% completed.  If I get nothing else done this weekend, I need to finish off the music, and then manage to find titles for all 14 of these songs.  I've got a few ideas kicking around in that regard, but nothing definitively nailed down. The weekend should be an adventure, but I'm feeling like I'm in a pretty good place right now for being able to finish the music, if not all of the lyrics, by the end of the month.

The flicker of light at the end of the tunnel got a little bit brighter tonight. When I hit the studio, I was expecting to work on the song idea I had pulled out right at the end of last night's session.  As has been the case all month long, however, my fingers led me in another direction.  Not to be outdone, I found a song idea there, too, which brought me up to 13.  The last two of them aren't complete quite yet, but polishing those off and finding one more in the next five days should be doable.  Lyrics aside, I'm sitting in a pretty decent spot right now, I think. I also finally got back to the book on the history of grunge, and put away another chapter in that. Got to be up super early for work tomorrow, so it's time to try and get at least a little bit of sleep.

Today was a great day.  It was the answer (I hope) to some of the issues that came up in yesterday's post, and it definitely makes things interesting in the next six days. I finished off the music for the two songs that have really been giving me trouble all month.  That takes me up to 11 finished, music-wise.  I also stumbled across the germ of the idea for the 12th song.  I need 14.  That leaves me only 2 to go, plus titles (which is all I technically need for the FAWM rules), and then lyrics.  I'm pretty certain that lyrics won't be fully completed by the end of the month, but I'm also pretty certain that music enough for 2 more songs shouldn't be a problem.  Also, if I can get anything at all in the way of lyrics, the song titles should be easy from there.  Long story short, I'm feeling like there might just be a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

Today was either a good day, or a day that let me see how this month is going to wrap up, I'm not sure. Here's the lowdown: I made good progress today, finishing off the music for two more songs, but I'm starting to realize that I may have approached this from the wrong angle.  Instead of starting with one idea, finishing it, and moving on to the next, I have worked in fits and starts on different songs, depending on which one felt right in the moment.  That has left me with progress on everything, but nothing really finished as I head into the last week of the month.  The way I see it, there are 3 options for how this could come out: 1.  I'm in big trouble with the whole thing. 2.  I find a way to get the music done, but have nothing much to show in the way of lyrics. 3.  I find a way to get both the music and the lyrics finished in the next 7 days. Regardless of what shakes down in the next week, I've made progress this month, and for that I need to be hap

Today might well have been the most maddening day of the whole FAWM project for me this far.  A few factors played into that, but that's where I ended the day. First off, I didn't get nearly as much time in the studio today as I was expecting to, and when I was able to sneak in there, it was way later than I was planning on. Second, when I finally got my time, I was able to get really close on a few different things, but never was quite able to make that jump today where the puzzle pieces really started to lock in place.  As I sit here writing this, I'm really feeling up against the pressure for the first time this month.  What I really know is that tomorrow needs to be a huge day if I'm going to have much of a legitimate shot at finishing these songs by the end of the month.

So, the Mrs. and I took a road trip today, just getting on Highway 20 and heading west for a day of exploring. In the process, we ended up stopping at the Barnes and Noble in Waterloo, where I had a moment of realization about how far behind Dubuque is when it comes to things like magazines. The other day, I had picked up the new issue of Guitar Techniques at the bookstore, but when we were at the B&N today, they already had the next issue of it on their newsstand. I also picked up a couple of records by Twenty One Pilots, and the new Lucinda Williams disc. We were gone for most of the day, so I didn't have a whole lot of time for the power pop project today. I will make up for that tomorrow, though.

I started work on the missing chorus for the song from last night.  Made some good progress, but didn't quite get it all sorted out before my energy ran out and sent me here, to blog before sleeping so that I can get up tomorrow and have another go at it.  I like what I have so far, though.  I can definitely hear the potential (and a bit of the melody) in it. There are so many other things I'd like to work on this weekend where the music is concerned, but I think it's going to be one of those whre most of my focus is on the FAWM project.  We'll see. I made it through another chapter in the book on the history of grunge, though, so that was a happy distraction from the power pop record.

I went on a emotional roller coaster concerning the power pop record today.  On one hand, I got off of work a bit early, which I thought might give me more time to work on things.  All that ended up getting me was the newest issue of Guitar Techniques , which is going to be good fun, but wasn't the progress on the record I was hoping for. I ended up getting into the studio later in the day than I had hoped to, but came out of my time in there with a solid verse and bridge for one of the songs I've been struggling with.  All that is missing now is a really strong chorus progression, and I might be a little bit of the way through that, so we shall see what the next few days hold. Still some work to be done, but I can see the progress, even if it has come slower than I would have liked it to.  That slow build is there, for sure, and the next 11 days should be interesting.

Good progress on the songs tonight.  I sorted out a couple of the remaining issues with the last 2 out of the original 10 song ideas.  They will need a bit more time for fleshing out, but the bones are there to work off of now, so that's good.  That leaves me 3 (I think?) songs to find music for, and about a week and a half to sort out something with lyrics, which isn't too bad, all things considered.  I'm off a couple of hours early tomorrow, which will help me a little bit, if I can stay focused and get in the studio right away tomorrow afternoon. Made it through another chapter in the book on grunge as well.  Feeling really good about what I got done today.

Another day, another small bit of progress on the power pop record. Not a whole lot of time to work tonight, but I fit in a small studio session at the end of the day, and managed to eek out at least a start on one of the remaining songs that needs to be finished up.  It's a verse outline, really, or a part of one, bu tit is a step farther than I was yesterday, and while I know I'm slowly running out of days, I'll take any progress I can get right now. Made it through another chapter in the book on the history of grunge, too, so that's good.

Today was... interesting.  It was a day where I didn't get into the studio as early as I wanted to.  It was then, by default, a day where I didn't spend as much time in the studio as I know I should have.  In truth, it was headed down the path of being a wasted day, which was the last thing I could afford.  In the end, it was that twinge of fear that got me moving, got me into the studio, and got me oh, so close to the 10 that I had hoped to have.  When all was said and done, I ended up having 9 of the 10 on solid ground, with one remaining that is tormenting me.  I'm getting close to the point where I really need to sit down and start thinking about lyrics. Other things from today included another chapter in the book on grunge, and a really cheesy music movie that I figured I would turn off right away, but somehow watched all of. Nothing else to report, really.  Today ended up being better than I thought it was going to be a few hours ago, and for that I am very gratef

Today was quieter than I had hoped it would be when I got up this morning.  Not as much time in the studio as there should have been today, and yet I still got in there long enough to make a small bit of progress on the power pop project.  Again, it came in the form of something for one of the songs not yet written, which I suppose I can't really complain about, even though I would have rather gotten something a bit more concrete for the ideas that are already in process.  That just leaves me a lot of work to do in the studio tomorrow if I want to meet my goal of having the initial 10 song ideas mapped out by the end of the weekend. Made a bit of progress in the current music read as well, finished off another chapter. Really looking forward to tomorrow.

A few things to touch on today... 1.  I started uncovering one of the missing 4 songs for the FAWM project, completely by accident.  I was playing acoustic tonight, trying to work on a different song, when out of nowhere, there came this cool descending chord pattern that wasn't tied to anything I have already been working on.  Wrote that down just as quickly as it came to me, and filed it away for work later on. 2.  Made a bit more progress in the book on the history of grunge.  It's finally starting to feel like I've taken at least a small bite out of that book. 3.  Downloaded/Bought from iTunes, the new J.R. Richards album, Stripped , which is comprised of acoustic renditions of songs that cover his entire catalog from when he was the lead singer of Dishwalla.  That should prove to be a pretty cool listen. That's really it for today.  Tomorrow needs to have a lot more FAWM in it than today did.

Okay, so here's the update on the power pop project as I head into the holiday weekend. I have 5 songs that I can make a case for the music being finished on, 5 songs that are in need of some work before the music can be considered done, and 4 songs that are yet to be written. I'm feeling like I need to have the music finished for the 10 ideas that I started with by the end of the weekend in order to ensure myself a reasonable shot at finishing this up by the 29th. What I need the most is to be up and moving at an early enough time tomorrow that I can make some good progress on things and not leave it all for Sunday or Monday. Should be a great weekend.

So, I'mnot sure if it was having last night be something of a musical bust, or what, but I had very limited time to spend in the studio tonight, and I made more progress during the time I was in there this evening than I have the last few days. I got some good work in on a couple of different songs this evening, had a few ideas that I am hoping are the breakthroughs I needed, and am very happy with where I sit heading into the weekend. There's still an awful lot of work to be done in the next few weeks, but right now I am feeling that, if I can manage to get some lyrics written, I will be able to pull this off. Really good day today.

Today was, to some extent, a lost day.  I spent time in the studio, but lacked the focus necessary to get anything real serious accomplished.  What I'm hoping is that a day spent (mostly) away from the FAWM project will allow me to look at it tomorrow (and over the weekend) with a set of eyes that are somewhat fresh, and therefore easier able to see the easiest way forward. Didn't even get through any of the current music book I'm reading today either.  Definitely a lost day.

Tonight was frustrating in the studio.  I had really wanted to get a lot done with my night, and I got in the studio and worked on the songs for the month, I just wasn't able to  have things fall together tonight the way that they had started to yesterday.  That part of things was frustrating for me, but I'm still confident that the pieces are there, they just need a bit of work to fall together.  About the only constructive thing I did figure out tonight was that I'm fairly certain one of the songs is in the wrong key.  I'm fairly certain that I know the key change I need to make as well, but by the time I got to that point, I knew I needed to get up early for work in the morning, so I elected to put it off until tomorrow. Made a bit of progress in the latest music read as well, so that was cool. It's only Tuesday, and I'm already looking forward to the weekend, when I'm hoping to have a lot of time to work on the songs.

I did okay today, although not as well as I would have liked to. My intention was to spend a good chunk of the day in the studio, trying to make some headway on the FAWM project.  I slept in later than I intended to, but still got to spend a decent amount of the afternoon in the studio, as well as a bit of time tonight.  All told, I think I've got the music done for 2 of the 14 songs, which doesn't seem like enough, considering we're eight days into the month, but hey I'll take what I can get.  It's better than I started out the day with, anyway, and I haven't even tried to work up a classic three chord song yet, so there's room for hope. Made a bit more progress in Everybody Loves Our Town by Mark Yarm today, too, but I don't feel like I'm as far into that as I'd like to be. All told, today was an okay day that could have been a bit better.

Well, as I had expected, with family in town for the day, there wasn't much time to get into the studio and play today. That puts a lot of pressure on me for tomorrow, but that's okay with me. About the only thing that is worth noting doesn't even have anything to do with the playing side of things. I got started reading a history of the grunge era called Everybody Loves Our Town. The book is written by Mark Yarm, and even though I am only twenty pages into it so far, it seems like it will be pretty cool.

Today was supposed to be a day of great leaps forward for the FAWM project.  All of the pieces were in place for that to happen... my early work was done, people weren't getting here for the Super Bowl until tomorrow, things were all set. And then people showed up early.  That severely limited my time today, which means I didn't get much of anything done where the power pop record is concerned.  That means that a stolen moment here and there tomorrow, and my day off for the week on Monday will need to be big for me. Got out and picked up new issues of Guitar World and Acoustic Guitar today, and also finished off the Jerry Lee Lewis biography. I got a few minutes in the studio at the end of the day, too, it just wasn't the amount of time I was hoping for today.

We had stuff going on tonight after I got done with work, which didn't allow for a whole lot of time for the studio. That limited my work on the FAWM project to thinking rather than working, but I was able to get a bit of that done. I talked about the project with the people that we were hanging out with, too, which helps me to stay motivated. Some of them are musicians, too, and if I get to a point where I am in need of their talents, they will be getting a phone call from me. Finally got all the way through the Jerry Lee Lewis biography tonight as well. I'vegot big plans and high hopes for tomorrow as I sit here tonight, so hopefully I can get everything done that I am hoping to. Bring on the weekend!

Well, the one goal I had set for myself last night... to finish off my note taking and general prep for the FAWM got finished up.  I'm not feeling behind yet in terms of posting songs, because I know that I've spent almost as much time as I possibly could working on it in the last few days.  I'm really looking forward to the weekend, though, as a time when I can dig in a bit and really start to see the progress unfold. Made a bit more progress in the Jerry Lee Lewis biography tonight as well.  That ought to be finished by the end of the day tomorrow.  Next on my music reading list is either: The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten or A book on Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone." We shall see. Looking forward to a great weekend.

Today was an odd mixture of getting a big early step out of the way for FAWM, and also feeling like there was more I should have done. I (mostly) finished taking all of my notes about what the little riff or small chord progression I recorded was.  I say mostly because the only ones I didn't completely finish taking notes for are the ones that are the farthest along in the writing process.  The ones where there won't be much (if any) hunting and pecking to figure out what I did.  That felt like a big step, knowing what key 6 of the 10 are in, knowing the rough progression I played along with the idea, and having the other 4 be in better shape.  I know I should have stayed up late enough to finish off my notes, but I go in really early tomorrow, and I need to get some sleep.  The way it sits, tomorrow night's work will finish off the notes for the ideas that are already out there, and perhaps give me some indication of what is still missing song-wise for the other 4 song

I got some work done on the FAWM project today, but not quite as much as I was hoping to. I'm working through the ideas one by one, just relearning what I did, and figuring out keys and a basic chord progression that might go underneath it.  I'm three songs into that process, out of which I hope to flesh out the ideas into something a lot more complete than I have at the moment.  Feeling okay with all of that, but I know I could have done better today. I made a bit of progress in the Jerry Lee Lewis bio today as well.  Getting closer to the end of that.  Less than 100 pages to go. Tomorrow, I really need to make it through the basic chord progressions for the rest of the song ideas for FAWM, and I very much need to get back to some other music stuff, just as a way to not be solely focused on the writing side of things.  My GT lessons and solo work will feel like a real breath of fresh air.

First day of FAWM.  Nothing officially recorded today, but I did get into the studio for long enough to play through the ideas that have been percolating.  I like what I've got for the upbeat, electric sounding songs, at least in their most small form.  What I feel like I'm missing are the acoustic numbers that even things out in your typical album experience.  Those, it seems to be, ought to be the focus of the four "missing" songs.  Granted, it's only the first day of the month, but I really wanted to go in with some sort of plan. Fortunately for me, I've got tomorrow off.  If I'm smart about how I use my time, it's possible that I could come out of tomorrow with a decent chunk of work done on this thing.  We shall see. Aside from that, not much else to report.  We had stuff going after I got done with work, so there was less time tonight than there usually is in the evenings.  Something tells me that tomorrow will be a big day.