:: anne in the attic ::

Create Your Own Countdown

:: Sunday, December 31, 2006 ::

Beautiful sounds to everyone in the new year!

:: Anne 2:31 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

This is so hilarious that I just had to reprint it in part here, without permission (but perhaps forgiveness?) from CDBaby.com, from whom I just received this confirmation email:

"Your CDs have been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with
sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CDs and polished them to make
sure they were in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over
the crowd as he put your CDs into the finest gold-lined box that
money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party
marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of
Portland waved 'Bon Voyage!' to your package, on its way to you, in
our private CD Baby jet on this day, Sunday, December 31st.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby.  We sure did.
Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year".  We're all
exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you once again,

Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby
the little CD store with the best new independent music
phone: 1-800-448-6369  email: cdbaby@cdbaby.com
http://cdbaby.com"

:: Anne 2:18 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

Meet the kids....

:: Anne 1:56 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

:: TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2006, according to “anne in the attic” ::

Let me just preface this by saying that I think it has been a phenomenal year for music, and limiting my choices to ten was as difficult as it gets. Close cutoffs include widely known bands like The Raconteurs and virtual unknowns like Aidan Hawken, Eric Lichter and William Fitzsimmons (all worth a listen or ten), but this is, after all, a top TEN list. So, without further adieu, here they are in kinda-sorta relative order, with apologies if your sensibilities don’t quite match mine. The song links are via a Hype Machine search, which will allow readers both to listen to tracks and to track them down to their mp3 download sources.


1. Ray LaMontagne :: Till The Sun Turns Black
[Track 3: "Barfly"]
Ray LaMontagne is magic. He lures, he paints, and once he draws you in with his intimate vocals and tasty mellow guitar licks and classic-rock-with-a-touch-of-gospel feel, you get the sense that this old-schooler really does care and nothing goes down easier than that. He’s new to me, and hands down the richest musical discovery for me this year. It was really hard to choose only one track to list above, because it’s truly amazing all the way through. This is one of those albums that I believe will be on everybody’s all-time lists some day, and deserves the title of album of the year, in my book.

2. Joshua Radin :: We Were Here
[Track 2: "Star Mile"]
Having already gotten a little air time via Zach Braff’s “Scrubs” television show and a film or two, Joshua Radin turns out a clever and beautiful debut album here. Lots of textures—acoustic bass, cello and some light harmonies by Shuyler Fisk—create a delicate and complex pop album with a real acoustic feel. Also check out “Winter.”

3. Old Crow Medicine Show :: Big Iron World
[Track 5: "James River Blues"]
The second album by OCMS (and a more developed & mature one at that) is a great deal of fun. Self categorized as “bluegrass” and “folk,” extremely vast descriptors, they have a more modern feel to them, from their lyrics and references to their youthful tone. Their skills, however, are as old as the hills and are deeply rooted in the Americana style. Other great tracks include “Down Home Girl” & “Don’t Ride That Horse.”

4. Magnus Tingsek :: World Of Its Own
[Track 4: "I Love You (Part 1)"]
I confess that, until about two weeks ago, I didn’t even know this guy existed. I stumbled across this album, his second, through another musician. Magnus Tingsek hails from Sweden, but you can’t tell from his contemporary style. This album kind of feels like Chicago-circa-1974 meets Ben Harper, sort of (apologies for referencing another artist in this review, but it’s true). From the percussion organ to the horns, here’s another album with a lot of layers, but the most captivating element right off the bat is Tingsek’s soulful, often counter-rhythmic vocals. Very tasty, indeed.

5. Ben Harper :: Both Sides of the Gun
[Disc 2, Track 1: "Better Way"]
This 2-CD album has a mellower disc and a more upbeat disc, and they’re both vintage Ben Harper. When he gets mellow, he evokes that feeling of summer in California like nobody else. He is sweetness and love poured over a classic tube amp cranked up to 11. He’s rock with a solidly pop element that doesn’t overly diffuse the no-nonsense classic electric style of singer and guitar. He’s one of those musicians who keeps the real rock fire burning.

6. Sufjan Stevens :: Avalanche
[Track 5: "Chicago (acoustic version)"]
Even though this album is comprised of outtakes, etc. from the “Illinoise” album, it feels like something completely other—in fact, it IS another whole album. Sufjan Stevens is such an incredible lyricist that to have two different incarnations of “Chicago,” in addition to the version on “Illinoise” just doesn’t seem to matter. That a song can be recorded any number of different ways is something every musician knows, and that the decision to choose can be very difficult is presented to us here with transparency that allows us in to his process. Sufjan Stevens doesn’t hide that; rather he offers it without fig leaf, the intimate questions and musings of our lives, naked and gorgeous as they are.

7. Indigo Girls :: Despite Our Differences
[Track 3: "I Believe in Love"]
Any band that’s been around for twenty years and can still pull out an album with this quality deserves recognition. These women are so consistently excellent that their best albums are already unequivocal classics, and their worst are still heads above everyone else. This album is right in the middle for them, but not without newness and growth, something they seem to transpire on every album they make. Emily’s turn to the keyboard and Amy’s love of the electric make this album less homogenous, more varied, in addition to the usual style for which we continue to seek them out.

8. Beck :: The Information
[Track 4: "Strange Apparition"]
This is a great album, with Beck doing what he does best—experimenting with different rhythms, sounds and styles. Sometimes that works out better for him, and this is one of those albums. It moves, it grooves, and it shows off Beck’s incredible skills as an all-around musician willing to take risks. That makes him more of an artsy (can I say that without mocking cliché?) musician, and a pioneer, if you will. His rhythmic ability, especially in the intuitive sense of the conversational-slash-communication, gives him a cutting-edge connection to his listeners on a par with the social and political commentators of our time.

9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club :: Howl
[Track 6: "Fault Line"]
If people are tired of the reference to Peter Hayes being an ex-Brian Jonestown Massacre member, then let me just say this: I mention it for comparison’s sake. He has come into his own here. The post-psychedelic era ushered in by the BJM now gives way to a more alt-country (I think of Wilco) performance, all blues-ed up and recovering from a whiskey hangover, but also with some residual sixties-analog-production touches like a Jefferson Airplane-era reverb here, the twang and bend of a guitar string there, a lament or an observation dropped in at will. Everything fits, and it feels good, even when it feels bad.

10. Cat Power :: The Greatest
[Track 1: "The Greatest"]
It’s about time for a female balladeer with the close-up-and-personal feel of Cat Power. Most of the album is stark and beautiful, Charlyn "Chan" Marshall’s throaty alto vocals over a piano or a guitar, with some drums and bass at times. Though she’s not new to the scene, “The Greatest” is her strongest album to date, and the title track is rife with ethereal textures (violins akin to a lick in “Moon River”?) and back-up harmonies. The album is mesmerizing, kind of like (and please excuse the reference) a female Damien Rice, soothing but with a Southern rock flavor, complete with lightly rolling snare. It’s one of those albums that leaves you with its slow melodies haunting your head and is hard to follow with anything else.

Happy Christmas Eve, everybody.
Anne

:: Anne 3:00 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

I never intended to record a Christmas tune, especially since I have so much other shit to do, but yesterday it just kinda happened, so I rolled with it. As it turns out, I slipped in some acoustic bass to break in the new instrument and have some fun. Anyone who is so inclined can get a free copy of it in mp3 format through the holidays, HERE.

The best way, for the computerly-challenged, is to right-click on the word "download" below the song ("O Christmas Tree") in the music player, and when the dialog window pops up, select "Open in new window," then choose "Save to Disk."

:: Anne 11:08 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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In my dreams, and in my studio, I play with Joshua Radin. Specifically, "Winter." If only.

:: Anne 10:04 AM [smartass remarks] ::
...

P.S. For anyone who wants them, I've made two of my songs available in mp3 format for free download on MySpace for the weekend, here. For the more technically-challenged, just right-click on the word "download" next to the song you want in the music player, and choose "Open in new window" from the menu, and when the download window pops up, choose "Save to Disk."

:: Anne 4:39 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

All, right, so Happy Holidays, everyone! At the tail-end of what has been a very productive vacation for me, I kicked off the season with a "cookie social" last night and had a few people over to make a mess and decorate some scrumptiously sweet (and occasionally naughty) sugar cookies. It was great, and though I had originally invited more people than actually attended, space was pretty tight-- I wish I had more space. I'd love to have a nice, big oval table that seated 12 or 14 comfortably, but I just don't have the room, so that limits my sit-down social gathering numbers.

So the rest of this weekend was planned around my brother's birthday (party tonight, mom in town for a bit tomorrow), and then I'm back to work Monday morning. This week has been a flurry of takin'-care-of-business and getting some things done that have been hanging over my head for many months. I also did M-A-J-O-R cleaning (i.e. dust removal) and overhauls in areas long overdue. And I must admit that the little studio looks pretty good now... I'm all set to have a long weekend next week (Fri-Sat-Sun) and play in it sans interruption.















Studio left & studio center-right, respectively.

:: Anne 11:59 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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There it is, the wah-pedal I bought yesterday. And last night was a rush of fun and new discovery. This morning, I've already spent an intoxicating hour with it. Sometimes it is good to roam unsupervised in the guitar superstore....

I actually went there looking for an Odyssey rack on wheels for the studio-- to mount some of these components together in a mobile unit. I ended up buying the store's actual demo model (usually listed for over $400), a beefy road model with much room for expansion, for about $80. Pretty stoked about that. So yesterday I began cleaning and reorganizing the studio, which spawned the trip to the guitar store in the first place. The pedal had been in the back of my mind as a possible adjunct to my little Digitech effects processor (pictured at right), and as it happens, I had an extra 9V adaptor that fit it perfectly. This is a highly affordable combo (about $130 for the both of them right now) and I recommend it for hours of entertainment and broadening recording horizons.

So, I'm into my last week of vacation for the year, and it's really nice to get all of this stuff done. I've been reorganzing different parts of the house and clearing space, getting rid of things I don't really use. The bedroom looks great, and the loft, and the small storage room off the loft have all been done. I will be making a trip to Goodwill later today.

And next week, I will be choosing my 4 vacation weeks for 2007. Although I miss not having choir this year (at least a little...), it will be nice to choose any vacation weeks I want, instead of booking 2 or 3 of them all in a clump in May & June for choir-related events, and then having to go many months without a break afterward. This next year, I am planning to go to a music camp in Mendocino in August, and the rest I'll have to think about. It's nice having one the first or second week in December, but the rest maybe earlier in the year-- like another one in January or February! YES!

:: Anne 11:44 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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Aw, yea. Got the day off tomorrow and, though the to-do list is full, it's all stuff I want to do.

Tonight, though, I've been taking a few moments to compile some seasonal music, as well as doing some random spelunking online. Later, I'll cook up some hot soup to stave off the cold, cold weather. And sourdough toast-- mmmmm.

“As the world is ending, I’m always glad to be entertained for a few moments. The best way to do that is with music."
~Kurt Vonnegut.

:: Anne 6:19 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Snow fell this evening, hushing the usual city sounds under the streetlights to a murmur. Everything seemed to stop while the heavy flakes blanketed our streets and yards. I wonder if it will stick. It seems early to be so thick-- we usually don't get a fall like this until January or February, and it usually lasts a week or two at the most. I don't relish slogging around in it tomorrow on the job, but it's nice to put a damper on everything, slow it down, make people more aware of their surroundings.

'Tis the season. For mass commercial/consumer-ism. The rushing, the impatience, the grumpiness-- I can do without that. The tons of shit bought and wasted-- I can do without that, too. But I do love the lights. Yes, it's a waste of energy, I know. But after recanting my xmas tree lust in guilt of having to kill them in order to enjoy them, the next best thing is the lights. Then there's the fudge-- creamy vanilla walnut fudge from the Holiday Market (Winter's incarnation of our Saturday Market scene), and of course I love sipping Irish Cream by the wood stove at my mother's, the smell of roasting turkey and potatoes with garlic filling the house. I love making delectable cookies and giving them all away (after tasting some, of course).

So in answer to the mostly familial question, "What do you want for Christmas?" I'll abstain from the usual but ever-so-noble inclination toward the ethereal "world peace" and "time with friends and family." One is an idealistic chant that should be a daily goal, and the other is a tangible reality, within reach, that... well,... should also be a daily goal. The short of it is I believe the answer to all of the hmm-ing and guessing is that everyone should have an Amazon.com wish list. It solves a lot, really. I would be happy with anything from my list.

I would also be just as happy with nothing from it. This is just for those who've asked. Thanks for asking. What's on your list?

:: Anne 10:22 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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It had to happen. In fact, I felt it coming for nearly a week before it finally overtook me. Last Saturday (just in time for the Veterans' Day holiday, which meant a rare two-day weekend for me), the plague took me down, as it has been so many others in the area lately. I stayed home Monday and Tuesday, but worked the rest of the week in a kind of sickly haze that only began to clear last night. My first cold of winter and it wasn't so bad, really. The really bad one usually comes some time after the new year, usually February. No amount of garlic and echinacea can keep that wolf from my door, so it's best to succumb completely and let the body heal by allowing it rest, fluids, and yes-- (ahem) expectoration.

During this time, the things that have been gelling in my head are as follows.

The documentary structure is slowly taking shape, though I have not moved as forward as I would like on some of the physical work. There are some things I need to come to peace with as well, and some things I need to let go of.

The EP seems trivial if I think too hard about it, but because there are those who are convinced that I need to put out a physical manifestation of my work (and because I may not ever get around to en entire CD, at least not for a couple of years), it is still on the agenda.

Family dynamics seem to have shifted some.

Friends dynamics have definitely shifted. In addition, I'm well into a pattern of winter isolation. It's not easy for me to see people right now.

There are some physical changes that I want to make to my immediate environment that involve more organization and creating a little more free space.

And then there are a couple of projects that have been in the works so long that I simply need to dive in for as long as it takes, roll up my sleeves, and finish them up already.

The past couple of days, as I have emerged from ill-health, I've managed to focus outdoors and do some clearing in the yard. It felt really good, a long time coming. I also managed, in my lying-around-recovering state, to catch a couple of films I liked ("Hacking Democracy" and "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire"), read an entire book ("The Tipping Point"), cook some hearty food (soups and things involving sourdough bread), and plink around in a more carefree and experimental than usual way (because I knew I was in no condition to record anything, so no pressure) on the guitars. And I have had some truly quality time with the cats. All of this makes me feel pretty balanced, considering I'm still dealing with the tail-end of this cold. But sometimes it really does take an illness to slow me down enough to really appreciate some of the things I've been forgetting, caught up in the daily grind.

This Thursday I'll be spending Thanksgiving in a way I haven't done for years-- with a large group of Corvallis friends and my mother. I'm looking forward to getting back to that. I was told to bring a dessert, a couple bottles of Sheaf stout, and my guitar. Sounds good to me, something to be thankful for.

:: Anne 10:37 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

Well, after yesterday, you'd think I'd be done. But, no: as many an A/V nerd knows, one electronics toy begets another, and they just put the firepod I've been wanting on sale. It's like M-audio, but with 8 separate audio inputs which translate via firewire to 8 separate tracks (not just your average stereo left & right, like out of a mixing board, which I'm using now). Add monitor outs, a SPDIF keyboard input, and phantom power, and it's a great deal. I love the little schematic that gives a great visual example of its use:

Meantime, I'm headed out to the Rad Shack to score a digital-to-analog coaxial converter so that new DVD player can speak to the old 20" monitor.

The overtime is nice, but the weather has just been beating down on us this past week. I'm still healthy (been taking my vitamins, haven't caught the inevitable chill), but I'm tired, and the plague has already begun to take down my comrades, so I know it's only a matter of time.

:: Anne 5:22 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

Oye.

I spent a lot of money today. That's what comes of being unsupervised in the electronics superstore. Actually, the things I got were things I'd already been mulling over for weeks-- no, months! So I guess I wasn't running rampant in the Cirque du City impulsively purchasing major toys. Or was I?

Okay, the first thing I did was online-- ordered a buttload (yeah, they have those quantities at this website) of mini DV tapes and a large rack to hold my growing collection of documentary footage.

Next, I visited aforementioned Cirque and scored a 250GB external hard drive (pictured) to back up my giant RAID drive in the studio. Would be a shame to lose all of that diligent video editing work. And the original music recordings too, I guess.

While I was there, I scored a 5-DVD carousel changer for the living room stereo system. Not only can I now play DVD audio discs, but I can load up 5 DVD's (not CD's, mind you), each with over 4GB (that's GIGAbytes, not megabytes) of mp3's. Do you know how many days' worth of constant music that is without having to touch the controls? Well, if you know that a 700MB CD holds about 8-10 albums in mp3 format, and you figure each album averages an hour, then put 700MB into 4.7 GB (1GB = 1000MB), which gives you over 6-1/2-- multiply that by 9hrs... is about 50 hours of mp3's per DVD. Now the thing holds 5 DVD's, so that's over 250 hours of continuous music. That's a 10-day straight music fest-- yeeeeeee HAW!


Actually, the DVD changer also has another intended use. For me, having people over for movies is a cramped occasion. My loft will fit 3 comfortably, 4 if we're close friends, and 5 if there's indiscriminate touching. Still, is it worth the trouble for a crowd, even for some serious 36" widescreen HDTV? Better to wheel out the ol' 20-inch, port it into the living room stereo system, and viola! A smaller screen, yes-- but still with the awesome sound system, and now many more can comfortably hang out. I'm not into having television be the main attraction, which is why I don't have the high-def set up there in the first place. I like the idea of bringing in a smaller one when needed, and whisking it back to a peripheral existence once it's done.

Wow, guess I needed a few paragraphs to justify my extravagences this evening. Hmm.... I'm exhausted.

:: Anne 10:43 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

Between working like a dog and trying not to be a total hermit, I'm making things in the studio. When I get sick of my own head, I get out of it by embarking on music discoveries. Early Summer and Fall (pre-holiday) are good times for that, as the market floods with new releases. I've been delving back into King Black Acid, and in the process, stumbled upon Espers and Vetiver. The new Beck and the new Indigo Girls are also quite good. There's never time enough in a day to listen to everything I want to hear....

:: Anne 9:09 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Something went awry with the server that had my MySpace background image, so in the interest of brevity, I'm simply posting it here so I can link to it and be done with it. For those who care, it's a close-up of the sound hole of my Gibson J-45, shaded to sepia and with the contrast and color balance settings tweaked.

:: Anne 5:21 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Strange how it happens and I don't always get the link between cause and effect, but sometimes the things people do and say make me feel insignificant, like I have no business making music or trying to make a film because everybody else is better than I am... at everything.

I can only try. And damn it, it never fails-- just when I'm starting to feel like I might be doing something worth keeping, something that other people might actually want to hear or see, something or someone always creeps in to show me that nobody really gives a shit about me or what I'm doing, that I'm just wasting my time and theirs. It's not that nobody is supportive-- there are people who are, and it's appreciated, but it seems they're the minority. What I most often see instead is a competitiveness that makes people want to put me down or supercede me somehow. Minimize my work, or ignore it completely, like I just don't exist. Is that what artists do to each other?

So that brings the query to mind: maybe I am hanging out with the wrong people? I crave the company of people who do what I do (it seems they're few and far between in my life right now), and so am willing to endure a lot for the repoire of someone who is able to "go there" with me, so to speak. But maybe the people I see as the most talented are not the best people for my psyche. We should be good for each other, and good TO each other. And there are quite a few folks/friends(?) whom I admire a lot for their abilities and their accomplishments. But maybe these particular people, accomplished though they may be, aren't particularly supportive of others or perhaps they're a bit Narcissistic in their focus. I know this isn't a nice thing to write, and I'm not pointing fingers, but it has been on my mind lately. There are people in my life who, when I was focussing on them and helping them, they were cool with me, and would accept all praise and acknowledgement I would offer them. But turn the tables and, well, it just doesn't happen-- they don't help me with my projects; nor do they acknowledge my efforts-- in fact, some of them have even publicly insulted my work (is it that bad, really?) and tried to sabotage projects. Why is that? I might expect that in the corporate world, but not from people who call themselves my friends and have had my support in their lives.

I guess ego and competitiveness are nasty things in friendship, and I'm sure have destroyed many. So that's one option: ego and competitiveness. The other is that really my work is shit and I have no business trying to create anything musically or otherwise and most people just put up with my Philistine efforts... barely. Either way, it makes me not want to share my work with a great many people.

:: Anne 11:37 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

Where Sam likes to sit when I'm recording...

So, I finally set up to record in the living room again. Last Saturday night I meant to begin work on a song I've been wanting to record for a few months now, but lo and behold! Once I set up and began the sound check, I kinda sorta wrote a DIFFERENT song and recorded THAT instead. Well, that's how it happens, I guess. (The song I did then is called "Underneath" and is posted as "Underneath My Breath" on the MySpace music page. It's a reprise in a different form with different lyrics and a slightly different structure.)

Today I had an unexpected day off, so I began working on the one I've been wanting to record, called "Lighter Than Air." And it's a pain in the ass. There are things I want to do that I don't know how to do, and I know what I want to hear, but don't quite know the path from A to B yet, so it's trial-by-fire. As always, I guess. But I know how to get good acoustic sound. I've worked that out. I can whip out a decent acoustic mix all right. But add that midi piano and I can dump it into an audio track and tweak 'til I'm blue, but I just can't seem to get that genuine-piano-in-the-room sound. I guess that's 'cause I really just need a genuine piano in the room. Midi piano, as perfect as it is, sounds so canned sometimes. Mine is a Yamaha DJ mixing keyboard, and it's great, but I think I need to do the Korg thing.

This EP is going to take a lot of reworking if I don't want it to sound like I just threw together some shitty demos. I do, actually, have a theme and a structure, and have even designed the jewel case covers. Haven't decided about liner notes yet-- on an EP? Hm. But anyway, I have these goals, paralleling other goals in my life, and well, we'll just see, won't we?

:: Anne 10:57 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Looks like I still have time to eke out a birthday blog. Thanks to everybody who did or said the things that made this one a good one. Funny, last year was the big 4-0, and this one got more recognition [not that I'm big on recognition]....

Among all of the things and the sentiments, I find that it has been the time spent with people that has mattered most. Special thanks to mom for the "perspective."

And of course, after a year of talking about it, I finally went balls-out and ordered that acoustic bass guitar from Lark in the Morning. And it got here today-- perfect timing. I absolutely love it. It just feels so good in my arms. Sounds great, too.

Apologies for the brevity, but I'm tired from this being the third evening in a row of going out and having to work the next morning. One last kudos worth mentioning goes to Sheaf Stout, very close to edging Black Butte Porter out of my number one spot. Somehow, Sheaf is smooth and dark [chocolatey], but doesn't hit heavy in the morning. So, cheers and goodnight!

:: Anne 11:08 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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This is the most amazing video. This guy Noah supposedly took a photo of himself every day for about six years. It's a riveting series of juxtapositions, set to the perfect music.

I just stayed up half the night learning that chilling piano piece. It's pretty much Am/F/C/E for the basic structure, with some D-->G change-ups. The trick is keeping that steady tempo and playing with the dynamics. What a rush. Are you ready?

:: Anne 4:44 AM [smartass remarks] ::
...

Anyone interested in their own recording projects should check out TapeOp. I stumbled upon it while researching Emitt Rhodes. It seems that, since I was able to score a bit of his stuff in analog form (vinyl & r2r) on eBay, much of the "re-releases" I then saw on Amazon have gone out of print again. I really wanted that Hawthorne album, but I think I'll wait to see if it comes back around again.

Meanwhile, I am working on setting up the recording gear in the living room again. It's high time. Last night, through pure dumb luck I'm sure, I learned to play the song posted below. I do it on the guitar, and capo 4, with a strange little minor 7th walkdown resolution that I thought I heard. Easier to do than to say. If I had to describe all of things I do on the guitar to anyone-- well, I'd just have to show you. It's not like the piano, which is so visible in a linear way; the guitar is on a much more intuitive level for me. I navigate by feel.

It sure is nice to have two days off in a row. And another on Wednesday. I feel my head coming back together slowly but surely. I had a nice long afternoon nap today, even after I got a solid eight hours' sleep last night. Guess I've been more fatigued than I thought. Well, for the next month, it's a straight 40-hour work week for me, no overtime. I'm hoping to finish up [and in some cases get started on!] some summer projects. I'm debating whether or not to release an EP once I've completed and mastered five or six studio songs. People say you use EP's to get gigs, which really doesn't interest me. Others say it's a teaser for an album, but I wonder if it's not just a lazy choice for the impatient? I'd much rather have a full album myself, but that seems so far down the road and people have asked me to release some stuff just to get it out there now. Then you have to change it up a bit, like having two of the songs on the EP not appear on the album, which adds to the length of the project [i.e., sheer number of songs to be completed in the studio]. Hmm, don't know yet. Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

The "anne in the attic" MySpace page is here.

:: Anne 11:43 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

We come face to face with death every day in so many ways, but somehow it slips by unnoticed, camouflaged in the ways that we either make it into something beautiful or turn our faces away altogether. It's always there, ever the ultimate possibility. And one day it will be so, for all of us.

It was for one of my peers at work this week. We received a call Wednesday that he had been found at his computer that bright August morning and couldn't be roused. Such a deep sleep, they couldn't wake him. And suddenly, as it is with everyone, there is a hole in the universe where he used to live, breathe, act, love.

And by the end of the week, things continue on, as they always do, always will, without him. We recover our footing and step forward with the reminder that one day will be ours in just such a manner. We resolve to live better, more fiercely in the moment, to be better to our bodies, our families, our friends. We vow to make the world remember that we were ever here.



::: SUFJAN STEVENS : "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" :::

:: Anne 6:17 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

What if?

...MySpace partnered with iPod to make the "MyPod," preloaded with 100 of MySpace's top unsigned artists' mp3s. Each artist would make 25 cents for each MyPod sold with one of their songs on it (there could be a new rotation every so often-- version 1, version 2, etc.,). MySpace would get a small cut too (as if they really need it, but that's the business incentive), and Apple would sell a lot of them. There could be cool timed "Easter Eggs" like on Christmas Day, a coupon for 10 free songs from iTunes would appear. When ported in to your home pc, the iPod could download alerts from the MySpace page to check out certain artists or vote for favorites, etc. Then there are the "skins," or the way the pods look. I'm sure MySpace addicts and fans would love to deck their pods out with that shit. Why hasn't anyone thought of this? Or have they?

:: Anne 7:51 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Took a road trip down to Northern California a couple years back to visit the places where I grew up and family, both living and gone. Set to someone else's music, this is a partial montage. Don't know if I'll ever finish it. The red text imprint in the upper left-hand corner is from the trial conversion software I used to compress it to a manageable size for the web.

:: Anne 5:02 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Man, has it been over a month? Okay. So I guess I'm having a hard time juggling everything right now. There is so much I want to do that I'm paralyzed (I coined the term "option paralysis" several years ago to describe this type of situation). Not only do I want to be immersed in the art in my head so that I can manifest it somehow physically, be it music or photos or video, but I also want to be relaxing and enjoying how beautiful the summer is around here. I have thought lately, about the seasons: I don't know how many more I'm going to see. My mortality is peeking around corners at me-- not quite staring me in the face, not YET-- and this feeling is pervading everything on the docket these days. There's a sense of urgency to my creations, and I know better than to let that seep in and ruin the work itself.

So things feel pretty busy, especially because I've opted to work some overtime while it stays light later. It's only the illusion of time, though. I have been tricking myself that way for a couple of weeks and now I'm a bit sleep-deprived. And I STILL haven't accomplished what I'd hoped by this time. I can't explain, really. But I have been making some wonderful music videos in my head.

In the time between happenings and commitments, I find myself haunted by a body of musical work by an 80's-pop-band-turned-to-heroin, called Talk Talk. [To hear a bit in streaming audio format, there's a MySpace page devoted to this era of the band's work, even though the band is long defunct. Listen to "New Grass" for one of the most evocative and innovative straight-up-yet-wildly-syncopated 3/4 time signatures you'll ever hear, a fine example of their work in this time period. And then of course "I Believe in You," one of my personal favorites, will come back to you in quiet moments, rising inside you first as a small kernel of joy, heightening awareness until you realize you're full of the world around you and it is good, so very good in its bittersweetness.] Their first albums were upbeat and synthed in the classic 80's way. And then Mark Hollis went another direction entirely. The studio sessions were closed and exclusive, and the two albums that dropped at the height of this creativity ("Spirit of Eden" & "Laughing Stock") are two of the most soul-binding, amazing, understated, exploratory albums that will ever-so-gently rip your heart out that I have ever heard. They're spiritual without invoking the institution of "God." They're highly sophisticated compositions without losing the flights of spontaneity and freedom of expression. And yes, I said "haunted." Because they will haunt you. They will make you look inside of yourself and all around you, they will make you question and posit, bury and exhume, clench and release, wonder and know. They're like nothing else I have ever heard, on the fringes of other genres, yet keeping a few secrets as to the exact identity of what you're hearing: a mystery. A call, an echo. A haunting.

One writer from the online review page, Unsung, said of "Laughing Stock": "The only problem I’ve found with this record over the years is what to follow it with. Nothing seems appropriate except silence."

:: Anne 7:17 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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The world is so full of evil people that I just don't know how to keep them all from having anything to do with my personal life any more-- they're just too numerous to keep track of anymore. And it's not humanly possible to stand guard over every aspect of my life at every minute. Some bad people always manage to get in somehow and do some damage. That's not to say that there aren't good people too-- it's just that even one manipulative bad person can do so much damage that it takes so many more good people to balance the scales against one evil soul. How do we protect ourselves? I try to be invisible. Still, bad people who want what you have will try to take it. Or if they can't take it away from you, then they will try to take you down. I am sick of trying to defend my life against people like this, but I am at a loss as to what I can do about it.

:: Anne 1:44 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Feels like the universe has been teasing me a little-- playing a version of "bait & switch" with me. Funny, my awareness of "expectations" has been enhanced and even stretched some, maybe.

Case #1 in point: A couple of days ago I went to go watch a softball game. I checked the schedule posted on the website, and showed up accordingly, only to find that the game had been earlier and the schedule was incorrect. So after bidding adieu to those I met in the parking lot, I tooled over to my brother's house on a whim and, I believe, had a much better time there, as well as dispersing some unpleasantness that had been lingering formerly.

Case #2 in point: On the way home from a department store yesterday, I decided to make an unscheduled stop and ran into a friend. Microbrews and grilling followed, and an altogether lovely evening of conversation and catching up that had been a long time coming.

Case #3 in point: After dinner, I had another stop to make to do some pet sitting. I chose to go a different way home, and as I was passing an ice cream store, decided to stop and indulge. There's this flavor that nobody else has-- ever-- and these guys only have it in summer. It's called lemon custard ice cream and it's the best in the world. I'm not really supposed to have ice cream, but I do sometimes. Well, it must have been meant to be, because they had it-- but I got the LAST pint out of the bottom of the container. I was pretty damn happy.

Case #4 in point: Today, I thought I'd stop by the Saturday Market to see a friend who has a booth there and comes in from out of town, maybe share a cup of coffee for a bit. She wasn't there. So I decided to walk the loop, and when I came to the music stage, lo and behold! A local musician I adore but hadn't seen in performance for a couple of years was playing that hour, so I stayed and listened in a state of bliss while I drank my coffee.

Interesting to me that, had the timing of all of those decisions about going someplace differed a little either way, the thing that happened would probably not have happened. So for the past couple of days, I've felt rather lucky to be in a "right place at the right time" zone. I know these things can't last forever, and I don't expect it to, but the idea that what I was expecting to happen didn't, yet something unexpected and good did happen instead helps shape a better attitude about expectations and disappointment. Various conversations I've had lately have also touched upon that subject, so it must be important for me to be paying attention to it now.

That late afternoon summer sun is throwing its golden light across the land and it's time to go out and try to score some footage before dusk.

:: Anne 5:34 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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It's been quite a month. Since I've blogged last, all sorts of blogworthy dips and peaks have occurred, but the urge to delineate them verbally seemed so cumbersome. I was more content to let them remain the darker inklings at the periphery of my daily life. People continue to surprise, delight and disappoint me, and sometimes it's all I can do to weather that rollercoaster and keep my head up. I'm such a Virgo that I have to categorize it all, which can become exhausting. To care about and maintain so many relationships is just really hard-- nearly impossible sometimes. As I manage to deepen one friendship, another goes by the way, and there just isn't time for it all. And I feel bad when I think I may be neglecting people, because I know how it feels myself to think someone has forgotten about me or doesn't care anymore. Never in my life have I known so many people that I WANT to know-- I mean really KNOW. And I just don't want to take that road of mediocrity, where I have an acquaintanceship with many and true friendship with none. Each one asks a different part of me to grow, and each one offers a different peace in return. There just isn't time and that sucks. I don't know how to reconcile this, so maybe that partially explains the antisocial tendencies I've been having this year. Lately, I so often doubt my own worthiness that, as a friend said to me yesterday and I paraphrase, sometimes just picking up the phone is the hardest thing of all. So instead I delve into my musical pursuits and things sometimes come out in song. Not that I'm not happy to work on these projects-- it's just that sometimes I'd like to share ideas with others. I've had a couple of tastes of that lately-- playing with others-- and it's like heroin. I'm addicted and can't get enough, and I don't know when my next hit will be or where it's coming from.

:: Anne 8:26 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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One of the things that draws me to certain movies is this: that it lets us in to the intimate, private lives behind otherwise closed doors. We are granted omniscience to regard the defining moments of another's experience, albeit fictional-- but these perspectives mirror our own, the stories are those taking place in and out of our lives every day: witnessing an untimely death, surprising another with our presence, discovering truths and lies, working out our stories and how we wish them to end.

Ah, endings. In every story, our characters have to decipher what and how much is theirs to change. Or stop. Or begin. Is our existence wrought only by chaos? Of course not, but where lies the control? We have made our world, our own little worlds within that, and so on. In movies, we watch as others discover this, push up against such boundaries, and fight natural forces for control. Some discover their truths later than others; some never do, the foils in many a story. (Show me a woman who is deep in discovery in a film and I'll show you her best friend who is as oblivious as a box of rocks.) And so I posit that once we wrestle for control, we can pretty much choose how our stories end (within the bounds of natural forces, and foregoing an untimely end). It's just that sometimes, I think we don't realize the impact of what we believe to be our smallest decisions until we experience the snowballing repercussions of them later.

Films illustrating this particular concept (for me, anyway) include:

1. The Ice Storm
2. American Beauty
3. Ordinary People
4. Imaginary Heroes
5. Laurel Canyon
6. Closer
7. High Art

I'm sure this list is incomplete, but I placed "The Ice Storm" at the top of the list not out of favoritism-- indeed I loved the next four quite a bit more as stories go-- but for what it EVOKES. T.S. Eliot coined the term "objective correlative" to describe a writing style in which the author employs words to bring forth a feeling that is not so much written in black and white, but a tension felt, without speaking of it, between the lines. If that term can be applied to the screen, I believe Ang Lee has mastered it in "The Ice Storm."

Such things heighten my senses and put me on the lookout for the surreal in the real world. A good film and an engaging story leave me with an exquisite sense of something missing and a longing to experience that which I have not, to know and see the things that make our lives real to us. I believe Walker Percy immortalized that feeling in "The Moviegoer" as being "onto something."

Two of my favorite Walker Percy quotes:

"The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair."

"I had discovered that a person does not have to be this or be that or be anything, not even oneself."

And on that note, good night.

:: Anne 8:00 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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I've found where I want to go to die. Pachyderm Recording Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. I received their promo DVD via USPS today and I knew I was in love before, but now I'm in quite a state. It's on a par with my current California nostalgia. A state-of-the-art recording studio in the woods: I can only shake my head as I appreciate what amazing times could come of that. See now, if only I could find and afford 40 acres or so in the Mendocino woods, build a Frank Lloyd Wright-ish structure or two-- minimal imposition, yet with expansive feeling conducive to free-thinking, and bring my current set-up [upon which I would build over time].... I'd be in heaven and would never need to die at all. So could someone please just take up a collection? A penny from every person in America should do it, I think. Is it so much to ask to have everything you ever dreamed of and the environment to give back in the most uninhibited way imaginable?

:: Anne 1:54 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Ah, it's a beautiful morning this, the last day of my first vacation of the year. I have plans to wash the car and overhaul my bicycle as soon as I have enough coffee in me.

I lost yesterday to a mistake in judgment-- I think I accidentally doubled up on my allergy medication and it wiped me out for the entire afternoon. I swear, I was so groggy I couldn't even think clearly, and it didn't clear up until around 7pm. And I couldn't seem to get warm, either. By that time, I was feeling pangs of guilt for not attending the choir workshop at the coast. The studio sat waiting and empty all day, too. I wanted to record, but just could not. The Claritin-D stole my appetite, so I couldn't even eat to get my energy up. I ended up crashing pretty early. Consequently, I resolved not to take any allergy stuff today. And already, I feel up a level or two [c'mon, coffee!].

So it's back to work tomorrow for two more weeks of overtime, and then another vacation the second week in May for the Spring concert. And a third a couple weeks later in June for the Song Selection retreat. There's some quality time ahead. Hope I don't waste it.

:: Anne 8:34 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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Yesterday, I went up to Corvallis and did lunch and libations with mom in the garden, which is looking great right now. Took some photos. As always, click on the images for more detail.

It inspired me enough that I went out into my own yard this morning around eleven [after a lovely breakfast of French toast and coffee on the deck] and didn't come in until almost seven this evening. There's still more to do, but it felt really good to get some major yard chores done.

:: Anne 10:58 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Truth is all around us. But it's not necessarily together, all in one place, linear, obvious, or exclusive of other truth. It can be recognized sometimes in the smallest suggestion or happenstance. One of my favorite stories is by the Sufi author Idries Shaw, from Tales of the Mullah Nasrudin. It goes something like this:

The Mullah Nasrudin was walking along a road, his donkey laden with grapes to sell at market. As he walked, local children circled him, crying out for a cool taste or a small handful. Tired of defending his load, the Mullah thought quickly. "Look, children, run along into the city! A huge feast is being given just now by the sheik, free to all!" And the children scurried down the road toward the city. After a moment of thought, the Mullah leapt up onto the donkey's back and hurried after them, saying to himself, "Well, it just MIGHT be true after all!"

Now begins my first week of vacation for 2006. I'm hoping that, at least as a byproduct of what I hope to accomplish this week, I will come upon some recognizable truth.

:: Anne 9:37 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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It's a full moon tonight and, a la Nick Drake, it's also a "Pink Moon." "Gonna getcha," said he in the now famous song, thanks to a VW Jetta commercial a few years back.

I don't need any stinkin' moon to feel "got" these days. This evening I perused the tape we shot at the choir fundraiser, a bowl-a-thon, of all things. Seeing myself on film was nothing less than excruciating. I so do not fit in. And if it isn't evident by the way people don't interact with me, then it should be visually. Yeah, I know I'm ugly-- and believe me, it isn't easy looking like this. But maybe I should try to look more like a dyke, huh? It's always disappointing-- though not as surprising as I'd expect-- to find people to be shallower than I'd thought. Just because someone looks a certain way, perhaps a way you don't care for, does that mean that she can't be intelligent or skilled or even possess the same class of rights as others? Evidently so. It's just one more reason to slink out of society altogether. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can be beautiful in music.

:: Anne 12:32 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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The following pix are to support a post I made at SweetAddy.com about the model of Gibson guitar Elliott Smith played (in addition to his Yamaha). These are of my Gibson J-45 Sunburst (think it's a '65). Though it's CLOSE to the Hummingbird model, the pickguard is unadorned, the black plaque on the headstock has nothing printed on it, and the neck inlays are simple dots as opposed to the more ornate rhomboid designs on the Hummingbird. So I believe this is the guitar Elliott is holding, a J-45. Click on the photos for more detail.



P.S. Elliott, we miss you terribly.

:: Anne 8:19 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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I've really been enjoying my latest bargain bin score, especially at night. I've never actually owned a lava lamp, and this is just a little one, but it makes me smile and trip on the colors, the colors! It ranks as the best five bucks I've spent frivolously on myself in quite a while. Most things I buy have a purpose, and in fact, I was in the place I bought it for some tasty new sheets and a nice-looking shoe rack. All practical Virgo-sounding stuff, right? But there's this kid in me that sometimes has to do the fun thing, too, just to keep it light (ha-- I really didn't intend that pun, but if the foo shits...).

While on the job, out and about in the city today, I saw a bumper sticker that I had to stop and write down. I wanted to try to make a song out of it (and this evening, I did manage to do something with it, but it's incomplete). It said: "You all laugh because I'm different, I laugh because you're all the same." I love the bittersweet feel to that, right up my songwriting alley these days. Been a little bit in the doldrums, but sometimes that makes me more prolific (yeah- I write more crap). People are up to their old tricks of disappointing me. And I? I'm guilty of letting them.

:: Anne 8:16 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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This posting of my small but much-loved lantern collection is for my Virgo friend in Corvallis, with whom I got to hang out yesterday in what seems to be our typical annual way. We're always able to pick right up where we left off without any loss of comfort or understanding, it seems, good because of the sparsity of visits. For me, there's just something about the way another Virgo's mind works that's comfortable. I like the forthrightness, the honesty, and even the bluntness cloaked in wry humor that is so Virgo: blink and you might miss it. I have always had other Virgos in my life and hope I always will; I truly enjoy that dimension (dementia? haha!). Music, beer, food, stories-- all good. I didn't start the drive back until almost midnight, which made it a bit harder than usual to get up early for work, but it was well worth it.

Before that, I'd stopped in for lunch with mom and to take care of a couple of chores that required two people. And also to see the photos and receive the gift of vanilla she'd brought back from her month in Mexico. It was a very nice afternoon.

I've decided not to go to Seattle in April for a two-day turnaround. Though I'd like to see my friend there again, especially since she's just going through a series of chemo treatments right now, it's not as economically plausible as it was last Fall; air fares have tripled. And though I would have made the trip also to stop in at the Lark in the Morning store there, I'm leaning more towards making the drive to the one in Mendocino now. According to the website visuals, the San Francisco store looks like the one to see, but it's just too far south to extend the drive within the time I have to spend on it. Isn't that always the way? I'd really like to spend a few days there, but maybe this time I can at least stay overnight. Then the end of the week is the choir outreach in Newport, and I'm going up to the house (I asked my Yachats friend whose house our family has used for years for summer weekends at the coast if I could have it for this event, but space is limited) early on Friday to just hang out and chill with possibly a couple of other folks. Then Saturday I'll be filming the outreach (if all goes well), Sunday will be decompression/last minute chores, and Monday it's back to work.

So that's my next week off and it's already fairly booked at both ends. Somewhere in there, I'd like to spend some quality uninterrupted time in the studio to finish some things, if possible. Good thing I'll have another week in May (for the choir's Spring concert at the Hult Center, which isn't until the tail end), and yet another in June for the Song Selection retreat. And somewhere in there is a bowl-a-thon, making arrangements with my dad and that side of the family for his 80th birthday celebration, a TON of yard work, going back on the overtime list at work in a week, and getting my taxes done. Guess I'd better get it in gear. I'll be quite relieved to land somewhere in that June vacation....

:: Anne 8:04 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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I think the Martin Limited Edition D-50 K2 Deluxe acoustic has GOT to be the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen. But at the dear cost of $47,500, I will just have to admire it from afar....
Click on the image for a more detailed view.

:: Anne 12:23 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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This is cool. Someone posted this on a MySpace bulletin. 75 bands are represented in this picture. Some obvious examples are:
1. The Rolling Stones
2. The Cowboy Junkies
3. Queen
4. Alice in Chains
Get the idea? See if you can find some of the more obscure ones.
Click on the image for more detail.

:: Anne 11:23 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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A couple of mornings ago, after much of Spring's growth had begun to trust in the sun, there came a chilling frost.... And the sidewalk in front of my house looked like this (at left), dusted in snow. In mid-March. I noticed something amiss when the alarm went off for work because the house was uncharacteristically dark. It's usually never dark in the daytime because there are skylights, but they were blanketed in snow that diffused the light. So I grabbed my camera and ran outside in my pj's and boots to get some photos at the buttcrack of dawn. And then I went to work and trudged around in it until it melted later in the afternoon.

The weather has been kind of dicey lately-- teasing us in so many ways. I've been shamelessly wearing my classic fur hat with ear flaps. I gave up the whole looking-like-a-dork thing when that first icy chill came in January and a freezing wind sliced right through to my scalp. Well, so yesterday at work the sun shone and it snowed no more, so I (like a schmuck!) was lulled into the visible warmth and did NOT don the furry cap. I did notice at times that I was kind of chilly, but didn't realize until later that I'd actually caught a chill and could not get my core temperature back up before something slipped through my defenses.

So this morning I woke up with a sore throat and a fever on the day of one of our choir gigs and could not sing. And tonight, one of my favorite bands, Girlyman, is playing a somewhat unadvertised, intimate gig (now--as I write this!) right around the corner from my house, at Sam Bond's Garage. And I'm too sick to go out. This thing carries quite a headache, too. I'm still somewhat in denial and hoping my body will beat it back tonight while I sleep, but I doubt it. Well, this has been a scintillating blog entry, hasn't it? Good night, all.

:: Anne 9:56 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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As far as I can tell, the image at the right was created by Ed Jonas. The only distinction I might add, in encompassing time and place vectors like this, is the central boundaries being less linear and more like helices.

I'm drawn to the idea of elsewhere and transvergence as part of a nostalgic longing I've been experiencing, a wonderment and somewhat of a mystery, like pieces missing; yet, those pieces actually fit a puzzle parallel in time-- similar, but not the same. Analogous to 'experience' during a time period (era) at certain coordinates being so broad and varied. I know mine, but seek others'. Why? A thirst I cannot explain, except this nostalgia that is wearing on me from the inside out. I ask again, two years later: What am I missing? (It's in the transvergence, perhaps. Ha ha.)

:: Anne 7:25 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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I've always wanted to own a music store, period. No noble notions here to provide a gateway to creativity to the masses or some such thing. Nope, the love itself is purely dreamlike and selfish. I love the silky feel and deep resonance of a sleek acoustic guitar, the dark and regal majesty of a grand piano, and the countless possibilities for instrumentation all around us. From the honey-dripping cello down to the plunky mbira, the sweet, ethereal lap slide to the deep and dirty resonator: I love them all. I would sell them all with love in my heart and faith in the musician that abides in all of us, all-the-while with a slight pang of sadness as each one, adopted by its new companion, went out into the world to be loved and worn, perhaps passed through many hands, and sing its song for all who would listen. For this, I would spend my life.

:: Anne 8:30 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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The fashion trend for a couple of years now in both clothing and advertising seems to be that everything is silhouetted in pastels. I don't know if the Apple iPod ads started it, but they certainly are the most prominent example. Unusual and opposing color wheel hues are also coupled, such as light blue and orange or brown, or white with lime green. It's somewhat retro, but still incorporates today's technology and culture. People are wearing wrinkled floral Oxford button-downs one size too small, hoodies in said colors with said designs, shoes that look like the Nike prototype Steve Prefontaine might have worn. And most of this points to a coastal lifestyle, it seems, or way urban and definitely sunny. It's very L.A.

Why do I mention this? Because lately, I seem to notice all things California. The aforementioned nostalgia has not abated. I dream of a home in the California coastal woodlands, private but near the coast and a community strong with musicians. I dream of a pastoral setting to create my work and invite others in to partake. I dream of wooded acreage with paths and streams, small grottos and clearings, where the deer walk right up to the house. When I was very young, my parents had a cabin in Trinity county somewhere, next to a stream where Kirk would fish while my mom bathed me in one of those old metal washbasins. (There used to be photographs. I wonder what became of those.)

The road trip I took two years ago this April allayed my pangs for a while, but I sense another trip coming down the pike soon. I may just use my pending purchase from the Lark in the Morning music folks as an excuse to take a little jaunt south of the Oregon border. I spent so little time in the woods and so much in cities and simply on the road on the last trip-- maybe this time, I'll explore the castles and counties around my childhood stomping grounds. We'll see if I can work it in. Maybe if I think it's too much for Zooey, I'll rent a car and just go on one of these upcoming vacation weeks. Lark in the Morning also runs a music camp in the Mendocino Woodlands in the summer-- where we used to camp with the Unitarians and the Sufis in the 70's!-- perhaps I'll look into doing that in the summer of 2007 (unless I want to give up my December vacation to get one in August THIS year, dunno yet). But I have got to do something-- I'm just itchin' to go exploring in my nostalgia. Wish I had two consecutive weeks in the Northern California coastal woods.... The way to feed my soul these days is through the senses, it seems. To walk beneath the giant trees and smell the verdant life around me, to hear water and wind and sky, to see the light dance across everything during the day and creep in the serene blue of the night, to feel the earth push up against my feet as I go-- these are the longings that fill my mind of late. Ah, Spring Fever, I see that you have arrived.


P.S. Happy Birthday to my little blog, who is 3 years old this month.

:: Anne 5:51 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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I'm really loving Freckle's (the Martin DM guitar's) bass response lately. As I break him in from his newness-- yeah, it's taken over a year-- his tone has become so warm and sweet; I can only imagine him getting better year after year. Tonight I learned a Sam Beam (of Iron & Wine) song, "Naked As We Came." It has a picking style totally new to me (1-3-2-4) and at first, I took it on as a challenge, thinking I wouldn't be able to do it... but something clicked and now I can do the whole damn thing, singing and all, after about two hours. That's the surprise of the week. Other songs I've learned recently are:

"Cathedrals" by Jump, Little Children
"If I Were a Carpenter," by Tim Hardin
"Wild Horses" by The Stones (this one I'm working on recording all the parts in the studio-- great learning experience, especially with a new style of lead guitar in addition to the usual rhythm).

There have been others in passing, but these are my favorites lately, partly because each one has tested my ear for deciphering them or my skills to actually play them, and each one has taught me something new.

Things are progressing and I am learning a lot about recording and mixing, some from my friends on MySpace, some through trial by fire. At any rate, I have a day off tomorrow and will no doubt do some work in the studio, as well as play for fun, hopefully with other people for a change.

:: Anne 11:55 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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So on the first day of my three-day weekend, I wrote and recorded another demo. This time I sucked it up and stuck it on the MySpace page because I hadn't posted anything new there in a while. I have all of these works in progress-- fully-written, but half-recorded songs that I need to get to.... But I just can't resist a new creative urge, I guess. Anyway, the new song is called "Without You" and can be found here.

:: Anne 1:07 AM [smartass remarks] ::
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When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: most likely, it's you who have turned your back on the world.

:: Anne 11:31 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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Two words: Sufjan Stevens.

Though I often fall in love with a song, it has been a while (Elliott Smith was the last, I think) since I have fallen in love with an artist's entire body of work so deeply as I have his of late. And though I have heard perhaps only a quarter or less of his existing recordings (and he is quite prolific-- a boon!), it is with 99% certainty of enjoyment that I listen to each new piece. Sure, there is always at least that 1% of doubt with everyone, but most of my favorites rank around 10% doubt-- and nine out of ten is not bad, really. Even Elton John, Billy Joel, The BJM, Cat Stevens, and Sarah McLachlan miss for me every once in a great, great while; it's to be expected. Elliott Smith was the last great wonder and inspiration who did everything himself and yet, managed to avoid sounding like just a lot of himselves in an unremarkable way. And Sufjan Stevens does it all, too-- plays everything, writes it all, is a font of beautiful and original work-- but his sheer versatility sets him apart for having such a complex and beautiful mind... and sharing it with the likes of us.

And sometimes his music is so excruciatingly beautiful that I can't even move when I hear it.

:: Anne 11:29 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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