News

A rough cut of “Idiot” is up at the RPM Challenge site. It’s low-fi, low-bitrate MP3 per their rules. I’ll post it here in full HiFi modernistic glory once I’m happy with the mix. Not sure about the vocal — my voice is shot today, but the sound kinda fits this song.

So how’s that RPM Challenge going, you ask?

Well, I did plug one hole in the list — another unrecorded oldie, “Idiot”. And for no good reason, that’s the one I’ve started with. It’s one of probably two I’ll actually do a full “band” recording of — which is to say, me, a drum machine, bass, various guitars. So all the solo acoustic stuff should seem trivial. Ha.

Actually, part of the reason is that my voice is a bit out of whack this week, so I’m doing instrumental things as much as possible at the moment.

To that end, “Idiot” now has a full “drum” track and a rough guitar track which meshes nicely with same. Nicer guitar tracks plus bass in the next day or two.

Recording at home, by the way. The gear lineup is:

• Reaper v2.101
• The usual guitar menagerie, through a Line 6 TonePort UX2
• AudioTechnica AT3035
• AKG C 2000 B
• Boss DR-880

RPM ’08:

The RPM Challenge is simple: record an album in 29 days, just because you can. That’s 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material recorded during the month of February.

OK, I’m in. Goals are good. Natural procrastinators like me need goals, and we need to say them out loud so that we don’t weasel out.

I’m aiming for the “10 songs” variation — mine run long, so 35 minutes seems like cheating.

There’s old things that have never been properly recorded (not that my home demo setup really counts as “proper”), and I’ll likely have to finish and/or create some new stuff. Channel my inner Jonathan Coulton. Maybe actually write a song about Jonathan Coulton. Perhaps everyone should do that. What’s his birthday? Let’s find out, and declare it National Everybody Write A Song About Jonathan Coulton Day (NaEvWrASoAbJoCoDa).

The list as it comes to mind right now:

• Disappear (live version here)
• Mind of Its Own (live version)
• Closer (Crash Basket version here, with the worst possible vocal)
• The Great Unknown
• two-thirds finished new song which has no title as yet
• Optional (demo version here)
• How Do You Do It? (you’ve never heard this one, it’s old, jangly and fun)
• Room To Breathe (live version)
• ummm…
• and then…

If I’m forgetting something obvious that hasn’t previously been committed to shiny plastic circles, let me know.

“Yes I’m blue,
but from holding my breath
like I have from the start…”

Guster, “So Long”, from Lost and Gone Forever (1999)

This is where Guitar Acquisition Syndrome leads.