Summer Hides

There have been times over the past few months where I’ve really considered writing in this blog again, only to have some new project or obligation arrive at my doorstep in a package with a bow. I’m not apologizing, but miss tying these threads together. It’s not lack of time – writing a few paragraphs doesn’t take a while. It’s actually organizing and reflecting on what’s been happening lately, the whirlwind that the end of the semester has created, and logging it all. Logging.

It has been a fantastic week. We had our final concert on the last day of class and we felt like rockstars. The studio has been a much more interesting experience this time around – more talent, more microphones, old-school engineer, etc. Seventeen songs sounded ambitious to most of us, and to our prorcer, but we managed to get most of the tracking done in the 20 hours we had allocated (a couple of us head back for an extra hour of tracking on Wednesday, and then the mixing process begins). We had spent a couple hundred dollars trying to get a feel for what mixing would be like. According to the technicians, the less time spent mixing, the sloppier the final product. Maybe I shouldn’t have placed as much blame as I did on Archie’s lack of experience. I had woken up that day at 7:30 to get my new license, and I ended up taking a nap on one of the comfy couches in the lobby of the studio. Things really started to come together once we let go of the idea of separation, and we started to listen to each other in a clump rather than scattered across the room. Who knew that natural blending would beat artificial? Some of the group members think of our records as methods of archiving our work, but I’m certain that this will turn out to be something more. Need to produce way less discs this time around – turns out the demand isn’t quite as strong as we’d thought it was.

The minute the semester is over though, I’m going to start from scratch. I started the space record, and about 3 songs into it, school hit hard. Then I started the still life record, thinking that boshing around trying to find unfamiliar tones would lead to a successful recording. I was too afraid to write anything else, even though my collaboration with Amanda sounded pretty cool. I like that – it’s not anything brand new, the idea of collaborating with an artist who expresses themself through a different medium, but it’s an idea that isn’t take advantage of very often. Ed had recommended a really cool photoblog, pictures of Durham Township, Pennsylvania. I’ve realized that I want to collaborate with people I know though. Anyway, so that idea is still collecting dust, as is my synth and all the software I’ve stolen. Think I’ll get back to the heart of things, and start writing about my life again. That’s how it started out, this whole songwriting thing, and then I moved into love, and then into fictional stories. Scott mentioned that concept albums are a good vehicle for me, and I agree, but I guess I always feel left out.

Fantastic week element number one: three fantastic albums leaked. Paul Simon’s Surprise was really a surprise. Eno co-writes and produces, along with Hancock and Frissell. Very cool stuff. I also bought the new Glen Phillips off of emusic (subscription site that Sami recommended. If you download the 40 songs a month, it works out to .25 per song, not to mention they don’t come in propietary format). Some cool songs, and some old ones re-done. Sounds like stuff he wants to hear/release. The new Teitur album has thrilled me so much, I’ve sent it to a few people who all have different favorite songs. Martita and I were talking about how complex the music is, moreso than Poetry and Airplanes (more accessible). There’s a lot of depth here.

We had elections in the studio and I’m to be the president of OASN next semester. Feels like getting hired as the “new James Bond” or something, and it takes getting used to. Once again, we get a facelift. Always bigger and better.

I’ve completed two of my hardest finals, but this weekend will still be consumed with writing a final, writing a paper, studying for my other two finals, and starting to think about summer. If I can swing it, I’ll be developing some cool systems for housing and dining, while working a 9-5 job at Weichert, occasionally helping out at Mehmood cha cha’s financial planning firm. I’m a bit nervous to travel to Europe, I don’t know why. The thought of seeing Liza though, balances that nervousness with pure excitement. It’s amazing to think that after this summer, we get to live in the same city again.

Plan for tommorow: meet with Dime/Treble, chat about the future. Write a paper on Arrow electronics, write my e-commerce final. Start thinking about Marketing and Operations finals.

Someone told me that there’s a chemical in your brain which makes time seem slower, and that it decreases as you get older. Summer vacations in elementary school felt like years, and rainstorms were everyday. I’m almost a senior in college now, and nothing is slowing down. Still though, looking back – it’s the exact number of hours and minutes. Someone else mentioned that it probably slows down again when you reach a certain age. I want a drug that does that now.