Nowarezman

Really nice tune, Craig. I like the tight construction - it drives nicely, has a few unexpected shifts in rhythm and texture, but no hint of disjointedness - good transitions between sections. Most of all, the way you've treated the vocals is a real treat - there's a lot going on with the vocals, lots of contrast in the vocal treatments between sections, but it still flows and as they say, serves the song. Your singing sounds unforced yet still expressive - some nice vocal inflections in there, too. nat

The terms "highbrow" and "lowbrow"(originally coined in the context of the erroneous "science" of phrenology) became commonplace in the publishing industry to denote specific markets for books. As more and more of the population became educated and developed reading habits, it was only natural that new kinds of writing could serve the expanding literate audience outside of academia, with a more popular bent. There's room in the world, and even in the individual reader's life (assuming enough spare time) to read around all the various genres and "levels" of literature. Why just read all the "serious" stuff all the time? I hope I never become that serious of a person - that would be a very incomplete person. nat

These novels I admire hugely:

Thx folks for the recommends...I'll check them out! nat

My Epiphone Elitist Casino needs some work. Mostly electronics, plus I need to upgrade the tuners. Any shops to recommend in the DFW area? I'm in Plano specifically - Thx, nat

The big problem with non-focused listening, which is seemingly the norm (music as background to other stuff, etc.) is that you can tire of having music on without having really listened to any music at all. That's a lose-lose situation if ever there was one.... nat

Every time I hear someone say, "nah, no one will ever want this old junk", another little voice inside me says, "hmmm...sounds like something to hold onto or buy more of now while everyone thinks it's worthless". There are always reasons to think something will never be a desirable thing - the TB-303 comes to mind. A total failure, what a piece of crap! Said just about everybody circa 1981 - and they were right if you consider the context of the times when it was produced. Right now, in our context, with unlimited streamed music available for free or close to it, it seems that no one will need the old junk, the personally owned physical recorded music thingie. But contexts can change - who knows? It could maybe be a crime to stream music at some point in the future. Or the internet will come under strict control, dolled out as a public utility, each bit and bite censored and charged for according to market or governmental dictates. Maybe someone like me will only be able to afford four hours of government-streamed music per month or something....things will change, no question. There's no reason to believe that access will just keep getting easier and cheaper and more comprehensive forever. We can all see various possible crises rolling this way...plus the ones we can't see. Things will change and not always for the better by a long shot. But of course some things will be rendered totally obsolete. Well, then they are historical artifacts, no? And markets spring up around just about anything scarce. What I see now is the rapid disappearance of wooden furniture. Grandma's old clunky Mediterranean sideboard? Ugly, old, needs repair, coated with a grimy film of nicotine, no one wants this kind of stuff. I'd like to fill some warehouses with all the unwanted wooden furniture like that - if not for my sake, for the sake of my heirs.... nat

Your video production, music included, opened up a few resonant channels for me. 1 - the music has echoes for me of Patrick O'Hearn. If you haven't heard of him, I venture to guess you would find his music appealing. The one thing O'Hearn does, that perhaps you could work into your compositions, is a bit more assertive presence for the parts as they transition section to section. More drama I think I would say - not always a bad thing. O'Hearn also uses percussion (clearly sampled in most cases) to great effect. Check him out if you haven't heard him. 2 - I was in 9th grade in 1969 and watched the moon landing coverage - Walter Cronkite and all - when it happened. Earlier even than that, I subscribed to a club for kids that NASA offered, and man, it was great. I got, for free, some mailings that included photos, stickers, decals, and so on. I can't even find any evidence that this existed on the web, but I sure remember getting the little packet in the mail with all the goodies. So I bought in 100% to the 60s positivity about progress, science, a wonderful future just waiting out there for the adventurous to reach out and possess. The U.S.A. space program seemed, at the time, to be the most inspiring endeavor of modern times that that didn't involve conquering and killing humans as enemies. There is a fantastic episode of Netflix series The Crown, set in 1969, where Prince Philip is gobsmacked by the lunar landing and the sheer audacity of the Americans pulling off this historic feat (only to meet the actual astronauts and find them disappointedly "common"). Highly recommended. I don't mind the admittedly clean quality of your track. It's a vibe - it speaks of careful editing and a concern for pure sound. It jives with space travel and the little clean lab that every space capsule smacked of. It's like the movie 2001 - space exploration in the 60s was associated with precision and purity and vacuums and exacting, intricate. technology. The space program urged an ideal of transcendence in an era that seethed with human struggle and base inequities. We need our ideal North Stars that we will never obtain, yet still urge us on to a higher goal. nat

Anyone here see Bernstein's Young People's Concerts while still a Young Person? I saw one or two when I was around ten or eleven, and they changed my life. It was not only Bernstein's intensity and dramatic presentation, but he brought to the surface for me a feeling that had just begun to sprout somewhere deep in my very young self, that music could be a serious thing and a universe in and of itself, worthy of your hardest efforts and deepest responses. There were fifty-three episodes over fourteen years - I had no idea. Access to media was quite constrained in the late 50s, early 60s. They are all on YouTube. But maybe you would prefer something a bit more recent, a bit more targeted to adults with serious musical interests. I highly, highly recommend the series produced by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Inside Chamber Music lectures by Bruce Adolphe. Again, these are all on YouTube, and there are at least 63 of them (apparently some are "hidden", whatever that means in YT.) Adolphe is entertaining, massively informed, engaging, amusing, an actual composer of repute, and his lectures hit a very sweet spot that speaks to both serious musicians and serious listeners. This one about Beethoven is a great example, but there are so many lectures that cover such a diversity of composers and time periods..... nat

Paul Simon's output from 2000 on is at a very, very high level for the most part. He turned 59 in 2000, put out That's Where I Belong, which is a real gem. He's never stopped evolving his style, moving on to new ideas and sounds. His best? I'll just say, if his only output was what he's done since 2000, he would still earn his status as a national treasure. I suppose his latest, Seven Psalms, might be his last for the spry octogenarian as he's had a lot of hearing loss. But he's definitely of the rare type, a life-long creative talent. nat

We were in the totality line here in Texas (another reason for you to hate Texas :)) It was mostly cloudy as the eclipse began, but then about 10 minutes before total eclipse, the clouds thinned out and we got a great view of about 90% eclipse just sitting in chairs on the driveway. But at total eclipse, a big stupid cloud blundered into the path...but then, to our great delight, there was just a short 5-7 second break where we could see the corona - wow! All that drama of the clouds obscuring and revealing...it was a cosmic striptease! nat

So what's next, going to concerts to watch a box write a song? nat

I played a Studiologic SL88 for a long, long, time. The action was heavy, sure, but when I dug in, it followed nicely, I sold the SL88 and bought an Arturia Mk II 88 keys board. Well, the old SL88 was sloppy and funky, where the Arturia is heavy and accurate. The Arturia is bringing out a lot of subtle touches in my playing that the SL88 just bulldozed over, no question. But it is a heavy action. I use a MIDI compressor to help me play within a certain velocity range - makes things much easier. When I play on a, say, real acoustic Yammi C7, I can just fly as the action on the acoustic piano is much easier than on the MIDI controller. The thing is to find a keyboard that lets you FUNK with the fingers you got. Cost is not an issue - feel is all there is to go on about. nat

I kinda like the yellowed keys - could perhaps help a tiny bit with locating key positions when playing changes that involve larger skips - especially when improvising. nat

I didn't list the System 8 because it's digital. But I have to say, it sounds so good and accesses so much Roland magic from their vintage analogs, that it's kind of slaked my thirst for the biggest, baddest analog poly. I have a the 4-voice Poly Evolver rack and a Mono Evolver Keyboard, so I've got a 5-voice analog/digital Dave Smith hybrid, a very unique synth, seemingly best of both worlds. But since I got the System 8, I just keep gravitating to it daily and blissing out, month after month, on the 106, the Jup8, and the System-8 synth itself. nat