muse

so i've essentially in this post-breakup haze decided to pull out alot of albums i'd hidden away in order to try and be more focused on what i was trying to accomplish in terms of school and stuff. of course now that we're split im sortof moving through this hedonistic phase with lots of booze hookahs and now music. performing my music on stages, and getting on stages for the comedy. comedy is definately a higher form of art than music. but music is more primal and definately just plain sexier. its pretty awesome. none the less yeah its a crazy fuckin setup. but yeah back to the music. i've got the newest Muse album playing and i read through their lastfm page.their most popular songs right now are from their newest album. i feel like thats a good sign that the band is literally besting themselves every time they make something. muse is on the way up and its a dizzying ride for sure. theyve gotten so much better than their early days with Origin of Symmetry and others of that era. It's actually nice to see. Glad they've managed to put it all together in the right way. They've also been winning "best performer" nods in Europe and stuff. All very neat.

I've also pulled out some other stuff. I grabbed a copy of Rum Sodomy and the Lash but it's "remastered" according to the label and it sounds NOTHING like the original. I was shocked and disappointed. But that's how it goes sometimes. None the less, after not getting what I thought I was, I remained faithfully to listen through and found quite a few songs that were pretty good. It's got the same heart to it which is nice. There's soul to the Pogues that is very unique and satisfying. You don't find it anywhere else really. it's uniquely Pogues. And perhaps that's what I look for in bands, uniquely good and great things. If that level of good is everywhere then it isn't really worth listening to ALOT.

labor

lately ive been interested in this idea of music that represents labor. the idea comes from billy connolly who in his tour of australia and other places as well, brought up how he had an appreciation for works that had been built of steel and rivets and the like. he was a welder as a young guy. and he had that appreciation for that ability to build things on grand scales but made by the sweat of many good men. to me there's something to that, the old fashioned good natured laborer. those who do an honest days work. and i like to sortof harness that energy and vibe when i play. you might think i dont have legitimate access to that as many people tend to typically feel you have to be born into it, but i qualify in a number of ways. i was an immigrant myself as were my parents, and while they were doctors they come from laborers. my father was the son of a farmer, and my mother was the daughter of a man who started at the bottom of a company and worked his way up from childhood into old age to become one of their chief engineers. he was never schooled but he was in steelworks. and cousins of mine do that sort of work to this day. billy though was the first to make me aware of the romance surrounding the pursuit.

i have admittedly always had a bit of an interest in farming and rural life. i do love for instance traditions and localities. small towns with character. and regions with culture unique to the area. these are all things ive grown to appreciate. and that is sortof the essence of my current creative drive and wave with regards to music. i have access only to a mandolin.