"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

So, I know I said I was going to be offline after the last post, but as I was getting everything ready to be dropped back off, I was thinking about the hard rock stuff, and something occurred to me... I'll start with what we have so far, and then delve into the issues that may present. As is the case lately, I'm starting with a list, and going from there. - There are 3 completed demos that I feel really strongly about. - We have 2 other pieces of music essentially completed. One of those is something I was tinkering with last week, but it's basically done. - There are 2 other progressions that I've been working with that, hopefully, will turn into full songs. This brings us up to a total of 7. Then, - There are 3 other songs that are finished, but weren't necessarily deemed strong enough to make the record the last time B. and I were serious about the project. If those were included, that would make 10, which would be enough for a full album... even though I'...

Tonight's entry is probably going to take similar form to last nights. There are a few things I want to discuss. 1) The kind soul who has let me borrow her laptop for the last ten days or so requested that, as payment, I put some music on it for her. Tonight, I have done so. She asked for 3 things... Nirvana, Alkaline Trio, and Lucinda Williams. I'll probably find some other stuff to put on there too. 2) She needs the computer back this weekend, which means that I will again be offline for a (hopefully) brief period of time. My parents sent a bit of money, so I'll likely have a computer this weekend sometime, or by early next week at the latest. Will it be the Apple I keep wanting? No, but it'll keep me connected to the world.

Okay, so I know I missed a day in there. Extenuating circumstances caused a bit of havoc. I had promised the other day to report on the Grammy's, but considering how exhausted I am, I will say the following, and promise more later. 1) Yay to the Arcade Fire winning album of the year! 2) Mumford & Sons was amazing live! 3) I think it's sad how Dylan's voice is basically shot... but M&S and the Avett Brothers looked like they were having a blast playing behind him! 4) Having not heard much of "Need You Now" last year (I know, I know, I'm the only one who hasn't), that song is really catchy. Still, Lady Antebellum won too much. 5) The only way Cee Lo Green's performance could have been more fun would have been if Doctor Teeth & The Mayhem had actually played behind him... and did or did not Gwyneth Paltrow OWN that song? and of course... 6) What in the name of god was up with the dancing, drumming ninjas during the Usher/Bieber moment of doo...

Two major things today, only one of which I feel comfortable discussing in any detail at the moment. That said, tonight's entry may well be quite brief. Tomorrow's however, will likely be much longer. First, after all the work on the hard rock stuff this week, I finally sat down tonight and started compiling it all into a single notebook. It's nice to see everything (finished songs, partial progressions, instrumental tracks, thoughts on various songs, etc.) all in one place. Makes tracking my progress easier too. Didn't do much in the way of actual playing tonight, only because I went over to a friend's house for The Grammys. This would be the other major event of the day. The only reason I don't feel comfortable discussing them in detail right now is because I haven't seen the full list of winners yet. I know the stuff that was announced on the broadcast, but seeing as they go through so much more than just that, I shall hold my thoughts until tomorr...

Interesting day today. Bought a couple of new records, and uncovered another long hidden gem of hard rock goodness. First, the records. 1) Showroom Of Compassion - Cake 2) Tell Me - Jessica Lea Mayfield Haven't gotten all the way through either of them yet, although I listened to the first two tracks of the Cake record on the way home from work. They're pretty cool. This is the first record of theirs that I've owned, although I've heard some of their music in the past, and I've got to say, I dig it. I'll be picking up more of their stuff as time goes along. Also, I heard the single ("Sick Of You") on the radio the other day, and my oh my, what a groovy tune that is! As for the Jessica Lea Mayfield, I found her on NPR.org while trying to find information on something else for a customer, read their blurb in one of the few quiet moments I had at work today, and found myself intrigued. Later on, I checked to see if we had it (we did), listened to th...

So, I started today. Just a little exploratory work, mind you, but I started. I took one of the small progressions that I got the other day, and put a minute or so of that down on the recording gear. I had originally intended to just put that down and then try and figure out where to go from there, progression-wise. Once it was down on tape, however, I started hearing acoustic chords falling in behind it. Knowing that the original progression would be a bit tougher to play on the acoustic, I gladly employed my capo at (as it turned out) the 3rd fret, which made the progression quite simple on the acoustic. I spent a bit of time playing over it, making sure I had the chords right, then tossed that onto tape for the same minute. Nothing I feel comfortable posting here yet, but I will take notes on what I figured out tonight, just to be safe. Admittedly, it's not all that much, but it is a start. It was fantastic to get back into the studio as well, however briefly. I need to...

So, I'm fairly positive that I made mention of it back when I undertook the learning of "Stairway," but a few times in the last five years or so, I attempted to join in on National Novel Writing Month. Some of my successes were greater than others in that regard, but that's beside the point right now. What's relevant here is this: I was checking NPR's website in between helping customers at work today, and discovered something interesting. Apparently a small New Hampshire magazine called The Wire has started something called the RPM Challenge, which is essentially NaNoWriMo for musicians. Here's a link to the NPR article: http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/01/31/133328889/brave-and-procrastinating-musicians-wanted NPR is choosing to follow an artist called Son Lux as he records in February, whose clips I discovered at work and still need to check out fully. I really wish I had stumbled across this at the beginning of the month, so that I could...

Slow day today. Feels like a letdown after the expansive entry that was yesterday. Did a little bit of playing, though, and a LOT of listening. It was a Wilco sort of day... which wasn't all that surprising considering that I found out that Jeff Tweedy is going to be at the Capitol Theater in Madison on March 28th. That's a Monday, so hopefully I'll be off, because I have every intention of making that show. I know I've mentioned it before here, but I absolutely love that band. I tried to work through some of the progression from the other day, but it wasn't clicking today. That said, I ran some scales, played some blues riffs, and called it a day. As much listening as there was in my day, it still doesn't feel like there was enough music in the last 24 hours. I open in the morning, so hopefully that'll change tomorrow.

I can't even begin to say how glad I am to be able to commemorate 200 days, not only for the accomplishment involved, but also considering the computer issues that have wreaked havoc in the last ten days. I'm not sure if I can pull this off or not, but I'm going to try and make Day 200 a giant Top 5, focusing on all the stuff that's happened since my computer died. Or maybe a Top 3, we'll see. Here goes nothing... 1) I'll start it off with the new album that came out right before my computer died... Gregg Allman released his first solo album in 14 years on the 18th of January, and oh, what a record it is! True enough, all but one of the songs on the record is a cover, but it's classic blues at its best. The one original was co-written by Gregg and Warren Haynes. We got the record as an in-store play at work, and I kid you not, every time we play it, it leaves the store steadily. Pick it up, and be amazed. 2) February 3rd came and went while I was away....

All, I'm back, at least somewhat. Thanks to my brother for posting the update last week. It's true, the computer is officially dead. The only reason I'm on at all right now is because I managed to obtain a loaner computer from a dear, dear friend. Thanks be to R. for that. So many things have happened in the last week... things that need to be brought up here, and somehow, it just feels right to hold off on that until tomorrow, what with it being Day 200 and all. So that's what I'm going to do. Good Lord is it nice to be back... I've missed chronicling my musical shenanigans.