BLOG OF ALL THINGS

a hot sweaty july day
fireseed stays inside in the shade
a productive day of music-making
in the l-shaped box room of a quiet empty house
painstaking work on melancholia
despite the usual technical glitches
(misfiring monitor speakers
interference on the microphone)
and the technical shortcomings of the artiste
(fumbling guitar technique
inability to sing in tune
failure to reach the high notes)
the song and arrangement take shape
(courtesy of countless takes and overdubs)
a ghostly synth fades in
sweeping across the stereo
a calm sad voice gently begins to sing
accompanied by a lone finger-picked acoustic guitar
playing a dear prudence-style descending pattern
falling from d to bee flat
some wistful strings casually float in
then tail off
for the second chorus
a second voice joins the first
now angelic three-part harmonies
are announcing the middle eight
(ya can't beat those harmonies)
along with more wistful strings
in the shortened final verse
the harmonies rise higher
until the last chorus sounds like a bunch of children
then suddenly it's the coda
an ironic cyclic chord progression repeats and fades
this recording is typical of the way i work these days
akin to painting oils on a canvas
or writing on a word processor
i start with a rough arrangement in my head
some but not necessarily all of the lyrics
put down some kind of rhythm track
like sketching an outline in pencil
and then start layering on sound
adding flesh to the bones
applying paint to the canvas with a palate knife
working it in with brush strokes
until i'm satisfied
hopefully it'll be on mice space pretty soon
for your pleasure...

this evening
after the sun has varnished behind the house
i get down to an awesome yoga and meditation session
in the back garden
among the flowers and bees and butterflies
insects crawl on my mat
and i have to be careful not to accidentally crush them
some of them are eager for a piece of me
but i maintain my serenity
ah! the poses feel really good tonight
i even try a few unusual ones
not attempted since the classes in korea
doggy position
one leg stretched straight out backwards from the knee
opposite arm stretched out forwards from the elbow
strange insects buzz by
plump wood pigeons swoop through the sky
heavy-legged bumble bees alight on flowers
it's one of those days
when i suddenly realise i've made a quantum leap forward
how far i've come since the dark days of mid-winter
when i felt so stiff and old
when my weight had ballooned to thirteen stone plus
from eleven and a half in korea
(now it's back down to a healthy twelve and a bit)
one of the wonderful things about yoga
is that the competition is against yourself
i.e. there is no competition
no winning
no losing
no limit to how far one can go or improve
another wonderful thing is the self-control it develops
the mindfulness
i think i'm finally beginning to feel the results of this now
still far from being in control of my emotions
but the mindfulness is starting to act as a check
beginning to intervene in stressful situations
tapping me on the shoulder
and saying 'take it easy old son
and take it easy on him/her too...'

right
that's all folks
tomorrow we're on the subject of perfect pop
until then
nighty night!
f
x