 Back to 52 To Change The World
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February 23, 2010 |
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Money Don’t Matter
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This is week 7! I read a load of stuff on the recent financial crisis as research. I tried very hard to think of something sensible and positive to say and eventually settled on this. Money is both a cause and effect of this list of things I wrote that "matter" and therefore in itself completely meaningless. As long as we give undue power to money in our lives we will continue to give undue power to those who handle it. Therefore bankers earn more than they should whilst controlling our livelihoods. Being human they make mistakes and naturally we blame them but be aware that it is each and every one of us who gives them their power by aspiring to their wealthy lifestyle. We need not. Musically this was a blast! My lame yet strangely effective attempts at beatboxing made me feel like a one man rolling stone:-). Until I can get more kit out here to Italy it's a nice way to get my message across. Might try it again sometime... |
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that matters fresh food to eat that matters a warm bed at night that matters someone to share it with that matters clean air to breath that matters a healthy body to breath it with that matters friends and family who give a damn they matter like minded people to work with they mater ...but money don't matter... Having someone you can talk to when you're down that matters they'll be honest yet kind and not judge you that matters being appreciated for who you are that matters having people gladly accept your kindness that matters free movement for your body and your mind that matters the sacred right to speak as you find that matters the responsibility to let others retort in kind that matters a space in your life to create howsoever you're inclined that matters |
February 21, 2010
Financial Karma
So last week I wrote a song called “Money Don’t Matter”. It’s great, it’s got crazy vocal drum and bass because I’ve only got my voice and a guitar to work with at the moment… Anyway, I just finish recording and I get a text message from my phone provider saying I’d run up 112pounds in roaming internet (oops)! So now I can’t put the song online until I’ve got a local internet sim. Monday or tuesday basically. Seems to me like money is getting it’s revenge for my scorn. 
I’m really pleased with the recording though and feel like I’ve settled into a rhythm where I can do one of these a week without it churning up the rest of my life/projects so much.
It’s a beautiful day outside as Tuscany started to warm up. Just had breakfast in bed listening to Chopin. Life is good and money really doesn’t matter!
February 13, 2010
Back in Italy to get some perspective
Firstly, I’m back writing the next ‘52′ song now. There’s going to be a more human focus this time…
Flew out to Italy this week. Spending the next three weeks here in Tuscany, I always get perspective from the change. Firstly I think I’m going to record some acoustic arrangements of my songs. I used to play them around london at open mics etc but would never quite finish them because I wanted to prove I could do the whole multi-instrumentalist thing. Now I’m confident with that I’d like to fashion these guitar/piano songs into some recordings. Watch this space – it really shouldn’t take too long and the quality of the songs/recordings is liable to be a whole lot better than what I’ve been releasing for 52tochangetheworld simply because of the amount of time I’ve spent with these songs over months and years. They really are part of me.
February 9, 2010
You couldn’t make this stuff up
So I go to the studio to get my finished version of Respect mastered. The guy pointed me to a few fairly simple things I could do to the mix to improve it but basically said my limitation is my technology. This is fine by me. Better than the limitation being me right? Anyhow I was amazed how much more alive and punchy he could make the mix. I’m really starting to understand how so many talentless nobodies become extremely successful. They have very effective people and equipment around them and that is enough to make something sound good…
Anyway, enough whining;-). I bring my cd home really excited and stick it in my cd player. It whirs for a while then spits it out. I try it again and no luck. I manage to get it to work on my mum’s pc. Only there’s a problem – it skips for about a quarter of a second part way through the first verse. I try it on another computer and get the same problem. The cd is knackered. I phone the guy at the studio. He says he’ll have another listen to his copy but refuses to post me a copy of it or put one online. This is a problem for me since I am packing today to leave for Italy and do not have time or money to spend half a day traveling up to London to pick up a copy that works.
Listening to what he did again I’m going to conclude a couple of things:
1) It’s really not so hard to master recordings. I watched him and listened and reckon I could do just as well – probably better with my own music since I noticed he was quite heavy handed with a few things that he seemed to simply miss. Note – I would rather meet someone who “gets” what I’m doing but until that happens I’m on my own I guess.
2) There’s a few simple things I can do to my mix that he pointed out that will improve it dramatically. (There’s also a few things he said that I disagree with but that’s only natural I guess) It would have been daft to master the recording without doing these things when they are so easy.
Unfortunately I can’t do any of this until I return from Italy in three weeks. Meanwhile I’ll update the in progress page and keep writing songs! This is not the first time something weird and strange has happened to stop me from releasing something that could have been slightly better. It seems like this music *wants* to be perfect and is damned if it’s going to let me skimp no matter how much I may want to.
It’s a beautiful day. And I wrote and recorded a beautiful song this morning. That’s enough for me for now:-).
February 7, 2010
Status report
Well “Respect” is finally done. You’ll get a shock in the difference between this and the last version on the “in progress” page. It’s changed fairly significantly… I’m going to a studio to get it mastered tomorrow then it will be online sometime in the next few days.
No “52″ song this week. Instead we’ve got another song for the work in progress page “When You’re Not Around”. I wrote it last year and did an OK recording but now with what I’ve learnt from doing Respect I can do a lot better:-). So far I’ve improved it by getting a real piano in there and double tracking the guitar.
Going to Italy for a while this week so the full arrangement recordings will have to cease for the time being but I’ll still have my laptop and guitar. Really feel like recording a simple commercial love song. All this political/ethical stuff is great but I sometimes forget I’m actually a human being on some level under all those musical instruments and political ideals!
