"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

Well, I started unpacking CDs today.  I'm starting at the end of the alphabet this time around and working my way forward.  That said, I made it from Z all the way through S.  Might stay up late tonight and keep going, we'll see.  Either way, I'd like to have all of the music put away by the end of the day tomorrow. Let's see, what else happened today... I got the download code for both the audio and video of that Counting Crows show from DayTrotter.  It's 40 tracks, including stage banter, and it's amazing so far.  Haven't had a full three hours to listen to the whole thing, mind you, but I'll get there.  Hell, I was just happy that I found a pair of earbuds last night, so I can get back to carrying the music around with me.  SL commented the other day that she doesn't see me listen to music much.  I'm sure that will change some once we get married in October, but she's right.  I haven't done as much conscious listening of late. ...

So, um, I don't know how to say this, but somehow it feels important... the internet isn't working at the house again.  Yep, that's right, they cut off the wrong account yesterday when we called in to cancel the second one they were charging us for.  Grrrrrr.  Having it fixed tomorrow between 9:30 and 1:30, though, so that's good news. Okay, now that the requisite internet update is out of the way (and good lord, am I getting tired of those), on to the business of the day. This morning, when the internet was still functioning, SL & I found a full Counting Crows concert on DayTrotter.com.  Now, in order to get access to both the full audio and video of the show, you had to sign up to be a member of their website for a year.  Between the Crows show and the Brandi Carlile session I listened to later on, it's already well worth the $24 the membership cost me. I didn't even come close to messing about with the turntable today, but I did get the go...

I avoided dealing with the turntable at all costs today.  Maybe tomorrow I'll pick up the fight again, we shall see.  What's funny right now is that I swear I saw a 1/4" adapter in one of the boxes that's left in the house, told myself where it was, and then proceeded to forget about it entirely. I listened to about half of that Regina Spektor interview on NPR.com today.  I'll finish it up tomorrow during the day. Overheard SL's side of a conversation today with the mother of the girl I start teaching guitar to next week.  From what I could gather, she's really excited about lessons.  So am I.  It's been a long time since I've taught, but I think it'll go well.  Tomorrow I need to start focusing in on playing again, so I go into the first run of lessons in good shape.  The other thing I need to start doing is planning out how I'm going to structure the first couple of lessons.  I'm pretty sure that the first one is just going to be y...

Fought some more with the turntable today.  Was unsuccessful.  I feel like I'm missing either a cable of some sort, or a 1/4" adapter that I need in order to make everything work properly.  It's always so frustrating hooking up electronics in a new place, because it seems there's always something that goes wrong.  In the end, it's always something stupid, but still.  All I want to be able to do is listen to Bear Creek by Brandi Carlile on vinyl while sitting on my couch in the near dark at the end of the day.  Is that so wrong? Picked up 3 notebooks and folders tonight, in the hopes that I will have more than one student sometime soon, and will therefore be able to get them set up with a system for learning.  In a related story, SL gave someone she knows my email address and phone number after hearing them wonder out loud if anyone taught guitar in Cherokee.  Hmmm... this might just work yet. Started wading through this week's new releases ton...

Listened to the first single from Dylan's Tempest (due out on September 11th) today.  The song's called "Duquesne Whistle," and the first thing I noticed about it, aside from the old timey opening, is that Dylan's voice actually sounded in good shape.  The song is cool, too.  Not quite on the level of "Tombstone Blues" or "Lily, Rosemary, & The Jack of Hearts," but a fun story song just the same.  Hearing it gives me hope that his run of late period masterpieces will continue. Also of note, NPR has a 40 minute interview up with Regina Spektor right now.  Haven't listened to it yet, but will likely do so tomorrow.  Regina is definitely an interesting, quirky artist who makes amazing music, so an interview like that ought to be an incredible listen. Tested out the turntable tonight.  One of the connections must still be off, because I'm not getting anything in the way of volume.  What that says to me is that my connection issue h...

First time in bell choir today.  I know that's not guitar related, but nonetheless, it was a good feeling to be back among a group of people who play instruments in an ensemble setting.  We're off next week, so it'll be interesting to see how much of this morning's practice I retain when we meet next. Also of note today, I had my first guitar student say that they wanted to start lessons sometime in September!  Time to get back to thinking about how the lessons are going to be set up and organized.  Also, I'm not entirely sure whether I'll be teaching from the house, or whether I'll end up finding an alternative location.  At the moment, with the house not perfectly organized, I might teach out of the church.  SL has offered that as an option already, and honestly, that might make the most sense. Started watching a Netflix documentary on the making of Queen's A Night At The Opera today.  Didn't get all the way through it, but I'll work my way...

Somehow it feels fitting that, on the day that matches how old I am in the new year, I get to write the first blog post from the new house.  Yep, after all that waiting, and all that going round and round, the internet is finally live in Cherokee!  Even this is not without its odd coincidences, but more about that later. So, tomorrow morning is my first Sunday in Bell Choir.  I knew I'd get signed up/volunteered for stuff once I got here, I just had no idea that it would be happening quite this soon.  I might feel better about it if I had ever played bells before in my life, but hey, it'll be a brand new musical experience, right? Fell asleep on the couch tonight, so I'm writing this right up against the deadline for posting.  There's more to say about today, but I'm going to call it there, so as to ensure posting on time, and come back and edit at a later date.  Good day today, though!  Was great to catch up on some of the music news I had missed ...