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12.15.04 10
am 12.07.04 12
pm Had a holiday party on Saturday night.... lots of people, lots of nice people. Kudos to Nuno for a kick-ass party mix. And to everybody who struck drunken 'ambum cover' poses on the couch – let's keep our day jobs for the time being. 12.02.04 1
pm And now that the iTunes Music Store is working for Canada, there's no excuse not to pay for the music we're enjoying, folks! 11.19.04 1
pm Then I was at the Gladstone watching Butterman rip out some hits with some old friends. Looks like I missed their cover of 'Bright Star...' again. Some music that I wrote and recorded a while ago was sold to some U.S. networks for use in some shows, the details are in the lounge. It was an unexpected surprise, and it's always a cool (and slightly weird) feeling when your music takes on a life outside of yourself. For some reason a producer at VH1 felt that 'Away Now' would be a good fit in a program taking a behind the scenes look at the show 'Frasier'. Now that's a good start, but I'd like to aim a little higher. I would like my music to be used for a behind the scenes look at any or all of the following: - The Wombles The SKEL iPod is going to get a serious makeover next week when the iTunes music store for Canada is released. Can't wait... Looks like that little alias I created in the Panther Finder for this html file might lead to more frequent updates... 11.17.04 1
pm Once in a blue moon I check out the stats for the site. So far this month it's reporting hits from Canada, U.S., Germany, Hungary, Qatar, Sweden, UK and others. I can see the downloads of each song. The new one is being downloaded most this month, which makes sense. I often wonder who you all are. I sometimes get e-mails from visitors to the site. People who have ended up here one way or another, listened to my music, and felt inclined to write to me. This week I heard from Sue in Germany who apparently has 'Red Dress' on heavy rotation and wanted the lyrics. And there was Michael - a psychic known as 'The Ancient One' who sent a nice note to me on Monday (Michael, how long till I'm done the new record?). All unique people from different walks of life in different worlds. I appreciate anybody who connects with what I do. It's that personal relationship with music that has driven me and that means more than the superficial noise that surrounds it. So... thanks for lending your ears, whoever you are. 11.15.04 6
pm Sometimes when it seems like people are obsessed with self-image, with using people, with taking things for themselves, with selfish, misleading, opportunistic, mean-spirited crap, people unconcerned with the consequences of their behaviour and how it effects others... when you see a movie like this... the selfish idiots seem even more insignificant. 10.19.04 2
pm It's a bit fantastical. It makes me sort of larf. That's about all I have to say about it. It's got a lot of energy in it, for sure. Tick, tick, tick, they're coming out but only when they're ready. Of course on scale of the history of the universe, it's all a flash. But then again so is everything. 08.30.04 1
pm Last night I dreamt a blind man was asking me for help in a supermarket and so I offered my hand but he took my wrist in an iron grip and started freaking out. It was hard to pry him off but he kept coming for me and I couldn't get away - he always seemed to have an instinct as to which way I was going to go - I was unable to escape his presence. ... There some things just shouldn't happen. 08.19.04 2
pm A little Aphex Twin while I'm working, and I'm good. Throw in some Beef Terminal and I'm even better. Ahhhhh, music. My new one is called 'I'll Swim With You' and is about half done. Hope to have it ready soon. My friend Jason Gleed has a new site up for his music, check it out. 07.26.04 1
pm Real-colour hi-res images of Saturn. Check. Pants. Check. Milk. Check. Thought. Check. Check. Check. 07.22.04 11
am I saw a gross ad for Axe body spray in a bus shelter that shows a plug being surrounded by sockets. So spray that stuff on! Stick yourself in a newly available socket! Yeah! A person is a socket you can stick in! Smells good, ladies! Here come the plugs! (The sad irony is I'm wearing it) I've been messing about with new loop software which is cool. But playing a virtual instrument with a keyboard and programming a beat somehow seems more legit that dragging a pre-recorded AIF file of a tabla player into a timeline (which is what I have been messing with). I guess if it sounds good.... 07.19.04 4
pm I've been hesitant to do music under my own name because I have always wanted the emphasis to be on the music and not on the person or people involved. I always loved how Mike Scott had the constantly shapeshifting Waterboys as the entity for his songs. Same for World Party, Red House Painters, Plastic Ono Band, Wilco, the list goes on and on... I liked the anonymity of that. It also allowed over the years for the involvement of many talented musicians without the emphasis being on me. People who injected their unique creativity into the mix in both live and studio settings, when a bandname reflected a shared effort. Conversely the attention-getting dynamic of marketing oneself as an entertainer and begging to be seen, always made me squeamish. I do music because I have to, not because I want to be seen. The ego-feeding aspects of being a musician always freaked me out. It bothers me when people use the music they make - or even worse - the music they listen to, as a statement of hipness or a 'coolness barometer'. That's specifically the opposite of cool, in my opinion. (Geeks pretending to be cool, afraid of being found out, should be gathered up on an island where they can confer about what's 'the shit' in music these days. Or at least offered instruments so they can show how it's done). If you have a direct emotional response to any music, regardless of popularity or current trends, no one can question it. So, I would like for people to know my music and it essentially is just me now, kicking away in my own space to explore new musical territory. (Cheers to Scott Cooper for showing me how you can do music under your own name and without resorting to modern vaudeville.) 07.16.04 2
pm Consider yourself formatted if you forget to not buy something in it's un-right place-holder for a limited time buy now my back was sore my head was turning wheels from the news-stand still don't move slowly stab the fork in the road and when standing in a room talking ego brandy alexanders made of processed shit but insisting that it tastes good, capitulate and keep moving. and keeping moving we feel stationary while forgetting to write anything down. 07.09.04 11
am Saw Beef Terminal at Sneaky Dee's last night. Amazing, stumbling onto music like that and then finding other cool artists on the way. There's hope! Also, check out Noise Factory Records, a label that is bringing out amazing music. 06.02.04 11
am All moved in. Big Cookie. I have this urge to do a song all in French dance beats with strange lyrics read through a Vocoder. With perhaps some Tibetan horns in the background. Please curl up in a little ball and will me to do it. Hey, maybe that'll be the chorus... 05.28.04 10
am Moving is like a big sour lemon, squeezed out of necessity into the Big Nice Drink at the end of the whole episode. Moving means no new music and the discovery of hidden dust-bunnies. Moving means an end to endless schlepping. Moving means rooftop patio masterpieces that aren't quite done. I can't find the switch or figure out how to lock this thing. Leave a note for the delivery guy. Remember to grab a box. Petty rivalry is a small industry for self-involved people. You can make a profit if you put someone down the right way. Here's something that all the Fun People understand: No responsibility. No analysis. No learning. No introspection. No meaningful discussion. No empathy. Take. Use. Play. Manipulate. Reality is the subjective sum of a constantly shifting set of variables based on what you put into the world and how you see it reflected back. Feed your Ego at any Cost. Love your Victories over Others. Smile Warmly as a Trojan Horse. Use it to Get Inside. No responsibility. No analysis. No learning. No introspection. No meaningful discussion. No empathy. Take. Use. Play. Manipulate. The Relativist's Paean To Selfish Opportunism. It's not Selfish if you're having Fun, right? Right!? Keep smiling. 04.14.04 9
pm I have another new song available for download. Click the headphones above to hear it. It's called 'When You Call My Name'. It sounds like somebody fed peyote to a ghost. It would be lonely to be a ghost stuck on earth by yourself, wouldn't it? Roaming the streets late at night in some sort of timeless loop. Whispering in friends' ears so that they hear ringing. Almost enough songs for a record. Just a question of finding the time. Time is finite for humans and it seems to slip by so fast... 03.28.04 9
pm I've finished another new song. This one's a 'vibe' tune and I've described it as the feeling of falling asleep upwards. It's called 'Flying' and you can download it by clicking on the headphones above to get to the audio section. I imagine it will be the last track on the upcoming release. Still more cooking, too. By the way, check out the movie Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, very cool flick. I had fresh scones this weekend. I mean real, legitimate old country scones that my Nana or Grandma would have made. Potato-head made them and they were truly delish. Sometimes I feel like a very, very lucky guy. 03.22.04 8
pm New song uploaded today, just click the headphones above to hear it. I had a good time making this song, it was like scratching a miserable itch while noone's looking. Looks like I'm not with the program. More next time, I have to go have some chicken soup... 02.16.04 4
pm Still alive. Both rovers functioning properly. Have just discovered ><<|J data failure |
