:: anne in the attic ::

Create Your Own Countdown

:: Thursday, June 28, 2007 ::

"Famous Last Words" -- the game....

This morning I saw a newsfeed that reminded me of a game some friends and I used to play, called "famous last words." Not actual quotes, but things you just might hear people say right before their luck runs out or their judgment renders them candidates for the next round of Darwin Awards. As with many of these, this game goes best with libations, but this morning at work, one of my cohorts and I tossed them back and forth throughout the first couple of hours until we laughed so hard we were short of breath and stumbling out the door. Here are some we remembered hearing or thought up:

:: Hmm, should I cut the blue wire or the red wire?
:: I'll hold it -- you light the fuse.
:: That water tasted fine to me.
:: What does this button do?
:: Toss me that grenade.
:: It's okay -- I packed my own parachute.
:: Wow, what a bright flash....
:: Yeah, it's supposed to make that noise.
:: Did that meat taste kinda funny to you?
:: Don't worry, my parents are asleep.

We found that, after the obvious ground has been covered, people get a little more creative and come up with things like:

:: Pass me a fork-- I think the toast is stuck.
:: Hey, let's open that coffin.
:: Wait, I thought you brought the food....
:: What do you mean I can't carry those asbestos shavings in my backpack?
:: No, leave it plugged in-- this'll only take a sec.
:: I'll bet I can fit in there.

So, yeah. English majors-- what can I tell you? We are twisted, but how else to relieve our pathos than engaging in macabre humor? Got any more? Let's hear it.

:: Anne 8:19 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

This is really cool. I just finished transcribing the chords to a fairly difficult song that I didn't expect to be able to decipher. I did it out of necessity. Okay, I've transcribed lots of songs by ear before, but not quite as tricky as the chord progressions in this one. I wanted to learn the song, but the chords/tab were nowhere to be found on the internet, and I mean NOWHERE. So I sat down with the song, thinking I'd give it a long shot, and here it is. I almost feel like I started a path (a la George Carlin, "You have to hold the grass down yourself at first....").

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“THROUGH THE LONG NIGHT” (by Billy Joel)
::: CHORDS ::: [transcribed by Anne Norris** 6/20/2007 (these chords are just my best guess), corrections to me at this site or post to: http://www.myspace.com/anneintheattic]

**CAPO 5**

INTRO: D--- / A--- / F--- / G--- / (x2)

VERSE:
D--- / A--- / F--- / C---
The cold hands, the sad eyes
Eb--- / Bb--- / F--- / A---
The dark Irish silence
D--- / A--- /F--- / C---
It's so late, but I'll wait
Eb--- / B--- / E7--- / ----
Through the long night with you, with you

REPEAT INTRO: D--- / A--- / F--- / G--- / (x2)

VERSE:
D--- / A--- / F--- / C---
The warm tears, the bad dreams
Eb--- / Bb--- / F--- / A---
The soft trembling shoulders
D--- / A--- / F--- / C---
The old fears, but I'm here
Eb--- / B--- / E7--- / ----
Through the long night with you, with you

CHORUS:
Bm--- / F#--- / B--- / Em---
Oh, what has it cost you
A--- / Bm --- / G--- / A---
I almost lost you a long, long time ago
Bm--- / F#--- / B--- / Em---
Oh, you should have told me
C#--- / F#m--- / G--- / Em7--- / A---
But you had to bleed to know

VERSE:
D--- / A--- / F--- / C---
All your past sins are since past
Eb--- / Bb--- / F--- / A---
You should be sleeping
D--- / A--- / F--- / C---
It's all right, sleep tight
Eb--- / B--- / E7--- / ----
Through the long night with me, with me

CHORUS:
Bm--- / F#--- / B--- / Em---
No, I didn't start it
A--- / Bm --- / G--- / A---
You're broken hearted from a long, long time ago
Bm--- / F#--- / B--- / Em---
Oh, the way you hold me
C#--- / F#m--- / G--- / Em7--- / A---
Is all that I need to know

VERSE:
D--- / A--- / F--- / C---
And it's so late, but I'll wait
Eb--- / B--- / E7--- / ---- / Bm--- / E7--- / G--- / A--- / D (strum once & hold)
Through the long night with you, with you.

**IF YOU REPOST THIS ELSEWHERE, PLEASE CREDIT ME WITH THE WORK.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Also, I adore this quote:

"Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."
~Jamin Raskin, getting to the point, in a debate over a proposed constitutional amendment to the Maryland state constitution to prevent gay couples from having legal marriage rights.

:: Anne 6:03 PM [smartass remarks] ::
...

For a couple of weeks now, I've had passing "post" ideas, but my energies have been so divided among so many other requirements that now, when I finally have a moment and think, "it's been awhile-- I should post a blog entry," and sit down to do it, I draw a blank. Or maybe a translucence. So instead of posting pithy life observations, I'll stick to the facts today. Boring? Maybe, but I spent some more on techno-toys, which is always fun for a music geek.

Time pressure is as it's always been-- not enough large blocks of time to spend guiltlessly pursuing the creative endeavors that feed my soul. Last week I dropped some cash at the guitar mega-store, as the Firepod I've been wanting for the past year dropped substantially in price (a loss leader, no doubt). Of course, I had to look over some other things I'd been researching as well, and ended up buying a Furman M-8 power conditioner, and a Lexicon MX300 effects processor (pictured below), all of which fit nicely into that Odyssey rack I got last fall.

I bought the Lexicon to enhance my sorry vocals and give them some umph (everyone says they're too quiet), but there's also a wealth of electric guitar effects, as well as for drums and bass. The little Digitech RP50 I have does do some of that-- it has some nice presets, but it's limited in scope within each effect. What I did realize, as I was running my fx out through the Crate guitar amp, is that I need a better vocals monitor. Not a big one, but one that's meant for voice and will produce a clearer, quieter sound for recording. Suggestions, anyone? My main vocals mic is not an expensive one, an AKG C 2000 B, but I like it a lot-- it seems to generate very little self-noise for multi-tracking (which can compound air hiss if you're stacking several vocal tracks upon one another, as I often do).

So, I think I'm heading toward a more produced sound with some of my music, though I'll stick to acoustics for some of the songs that were written specifically so. But avenues for experimentation have opened up with these new tools, so I'll be exploring to the perimeters of all my skills (HATE it when I reach my limitations!) to create some work in new areas. I am ready for that.

The rest of the work goes on. The doc needs to be storyboarded, and the DVC tapes transferred, as well as transcripted, especially the interviews. It's a big job that looms large on the horizon, and could really darken it if not taken by task, Annie Lamott-style: Bird By Bird. And that I hope to do. But today, there is work to be done in the yard. And a beautiful day it is.

:: Anne 12:33 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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