2024 NaSoAlMo Day 8/30

Same old same old. I added another song. Full song form with MIDI bass and drums.

I am now up to seven songs. All seven are in 7/8 time. I had this thought early on about taking a bunch of unrelated songs and gluing them together into a big medley. How about this… seven songs in 7/8 time and call the medley, “Sevens.”

That sounds groovy, doesn’t it?

Guitars today… if it kills me.

Jealous

Jen and I just watched a TV show were a bunch of terrible people took a trip to the beach in San Diego. I went through a bunch of photos from our honeymoon that I took at the same beach. At least I thought it was the same beach but on further review it might not have been.

Anyway, we were both super jealous and wanted to go back to San Diego but we can’t. Our next two trips are already planned and they are both to Florida. San Diego is going to have to wait years. Bummer.

Though, our Florida trips are still pretty good. I mean, other than the state being a breeding ground for nazis and all.

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Haiku for You #216

Just in case you were wondering if I am still constantly thinking about Tuesday’s total disaster or not…

I feel so bad for
My step daughter and my wife
Our country fails them

There’s a line in a Jefferson Airplane song that I always thought was absolutely brutal. It referred to the war so it doesn’t exactly relate to our current situation:

War’s good business so give your son
And I’d rather have my country die for me

(from Rejoice, written by Grace Slick)

That second line… for the first time in my life I sort of get it. I think I would say I’d rather have my country die for them then for me, but you get the idea. I’m paraphrasing here.

2024 NaSoAlMo Day 7/30

Forward progress has been made. A little bit. One, long, slow, dirge of a new song. Like all of them so far, it’s just MIDI bass and drums, but it’s something. It’s more than yesterday’s nothing.

Here’s hoping we (meaning I) start tracking some guitars tomorrow.

Too Warm

Yesterday the temperature outside hit 80 degrees. Right now it is 63. It is November 7th. It should not be this warm.

I am taking advantage by opening some windows and letting the cats go wild. It’s too warm for this time of year though. It’s getting to the point where it’s alarming.

68/365

Tough Day Ahead

Today is going to be long and difficult. It’s 9:28am and I am already exhausted. Yippee, right?

I got home at about 12:20am this morning. I had a glass of water and went to sleep a little before 1:00. I woke up about 5:30. Yeah, I’m tired.

The show was fun. I think for the first time I may have seen Iron Maiden showing its age a little. We know the drummer had a minor stroke not long ago, and he’s let it be known that there are things that he used to be able to do that he is no longer physically able to do. Was that why the set was somewhat lacking in classics? Maybe. Was that why the band was… and I mean this in the most respectful way possible… somewhat less than tight? Probably not. I mean, as great as a live band as they are let us be frank with ourselves and admit that they were never really that tight. They always had their moments where things would lock in and the results would be spectacular, but over all? Yeah, they could be sloppy. Rhythmically, mostly. Tempos were always a little weird. Guitar leads and vocals would slide in and out of time here and there. These aren’t criticisms at all. Not at all. It’s just how they play. Always has been. It’s just that last night those moments seemed maybe a little more frequent and maybe a little more obvious. Vocally there were some struggles. Timing wise for the most part, but pitch wise too. Bruce is 66 years old. Over all he was amazing, as usual… he just wasn’t quite as perfect as he used to be.

Again, these are not complaints at all. Not even a little bit. They are just observations from a picky music school nerd who clearly loved every second of the show… and I clearly loved every second of the show. It was great.

The highlight for me was Fear of the Dark. I used to think I was the only one around who really dug that song, but the crowd went berserk when they played it. We were in the back row of the middle level and couldn’t see the stage at all if we stood up. Still, when Fear of the Dark started half of the people in front of us stood up and went nuts. I guess I’m not the only one who loves that particular song.

They only hit the first record (still my favorite) once. They played Iron Maiden… the song from the album of the same name from the band of the same name. It was one of those moments where the tempo was alarmingly slow, and Bruce let the crowd sing a lot of it. Totally understandable, but the second that Dave Murray started playing it, your humble narrator here was on cloud nine.

Now if he can also just get through the work day so he can get himself a little more sleep. Hang in there, tired people!