Mutations

I was revisiting Beck's "Mutations" album yesterday. MAN. It's like wearing a warm liquid suit. Mmm, comfy.

Sometimes I get a chance to listen to the music I love again, and I hear beautiful drones forming, or feel little sparks of light in happy areas of my brain. I think the dead zone of musicality I've been wedged in for so long like some kind of tuneless Aron Ralston is mostly due to not having the same access to my music as I used to. It's very silly. I blame iPhone. I still have an iPod nano somewhere I should be using, I should really dig it out so I can at least have nuggets of my collection.

Thanks for your help on that one, Visual Thesaurus.

Anyway my point is, that's a great album, and it gave me ideas. Ideas. I don't get those very often.

Perhaps ironically, Jacob and Bart, the two fine chaps who suggested I channel my creative energy into the form of a song per month (each), are heinously prolific. Or perhaps that is the opposite of ironic. I can't decide.

For example: Bart created the artwork for this album for Jacob, just for kicks. Jacob then took it upon himself to make the fictional songs real. What a beautiful freak!

As Jacob becomes more involved in the songwriting, my contributions get smaller. I have no problems with that, particularly because some of our best stuff has been initiated by his newfound genius, but it does give my own typical nervous energy a tiny sense of, well, redundancy. I realise this is melodramatic at best. Fortunately as the singer, my position is assured for a while, anyway.

Being in the studio is pretty much the best of all things, especially when there is also chocolate inside said studio. Hearing songs that I've nurtured since the babydom of a few strummed guitar chords grow into strong melodic creatures of their own is hugely rewarding. You should hear what Mallow grew into. She's a force to be reckoned with.

That was a long winded way of saying: music breeds music. I will write more when I take the time to listen more, and awaken that magic little feeling again.

Also, I just received a text from Jacob, saying he just wanted to say hi. My band has awesome people in it.

Happier in the Canyon

Seeing as songwriting is about the only thing I've done lately that even remotely relates to this blog, I'm going to milk it. The surprise song has been utilised as a weapon of love on the occasion of our guitarist's engagement party. A weapon of love. This band is dangerous, man. We make people cry. Curse this talent!

The song is called "Happier in the Canyon" and Jacob started writing it as an ode to the day he proposed to his lady love. He wrote all the music and some words in the bridge and then went "uuh, I don't know how to finish this" and asked if I'd help him make it into a real song. Of course I obliged. I wrote some stuff about rivers and stars and life journeys and it was all very straightforward and simple and sweet. I'm usually a bit uncomfortable being so direct in love songs. But, sometimes when you know the purpose of the song, it just kind of writes itself. And best of all, I think she liked it.

Lack of progress

Something about today just doesn't feel right. Maybe it's hormones. They make a good scapegoat for pretty much everything, so I might blame them. Although more likely is all the hours I've spent outside lately, a lovely thing as summer kicks out, but a horror if you've put on inadequate amounts of sunscreen. My skin is screaming at me. So I'm hibernating, and enjoying the weather through the kitchen door instead.

I've tried getting my music cap on but I'm uninspired all round. I think I'm writing a song about Tasmania but it's hard to be sure. Yet another hidden lesson regarding songwriting, and perhaps a classic truth: I have a certain 'style' in which I write. Of course. Thanks, Captain Obvious. I guess what I mean is that I can say I'm going to write a song about something oblique, like cycling to Wollongong, but I still kind of fill it with metaphors and stuff. Bart left a comment that nicely tied it up: "the more literal you get, the more crazy-deep metaphorical it sounds". That track is probably the most literal I've ever gotten, since it actually has some kind of narrative, but I'm doing it again in this Tasmania song (working title: Lagoon). I'm sort of telling the story, but in a sideways manner. It's not intentional, but all my stuff just kind of comes out like that.

I like people not really knowing what I'm singing about, or getting some kind of alternate meaning, or taking it at face value and not knowing about an emotion watching quietly from beneath. You don't want to get too weird with it though, because there needs to be that point of connection: the something they take away even if it is not what you first intended. It's like with 'Blow On In'. The verses are kind of just random sentiments. In order to make them feel more tangible, more real, I started numbering them. Eleven reminders why we left. Seventeen reasons we couldn't afford. Twenty-three lorikeets colour the sky. Ninety-eight beats of a rapid heart. Now it feels like something.

Then, of course, there are songs that are just written because the words seemed to fit nicely and I couldn't find an appropriate feeling from my repertoire to match. That seems to happen more frequently with the band now, another thing I wasn't paying much attention to, so getting to write on my own is a nice way of reminding myself that it's ok to say whatever you want and I don't have to try so hard all the time.

Anyway, this is sort of bizarrely askew of my regular blogs, but I can only contribute what I have. Today that just happens to be a breakdown of my songwriting patterns. Which reminds me, we're playing at the Excelsior Surry Hills tonight at 9pm - oh I should also probably mention that we came runners up in the band comp, but I won't elaborate for reasons of diplomacy - and that'll be our last show until May.

Also, we went to see Jersey Boys last night and it was fantastic. I may have to work some Four Seasons-esque choreography into our set now.*

*not really.

Every Century

And now: a song for you!

Thanks for the inspiration, Karen! I'll do a better audio recording of this some time so I can get to saving the world in highest quality possible. (It also doubles as - what am I up to now? - January's song.) Hoorah!

I walked, I left a footprint

Heavy in the sand

I felt the lapping water

Gripping at the land

I sensed the air was thicker

And prickly on my skin

I peered into the volcano

As my breath was getting thin

As your energy recedes

We forget just what we need

Small movements make a big stand

Tiny actions become a large demand

Little changes felt in giant ways

Every century still breaks down into days

I saw the heavens spinning

Clouds go rushing by

Amazed at all the colours

Ignited in the sky

I felt foundations slipping

Underneath my feet

But heard the people singing

To one determined beat

As your energy recedes

We forget just what we need

Small movements make a big stand

Tiny actions become a large demand

Little changes felt in giant ways

Every century still breaks down into days.

Zebrotamus

I sat down to try and write a song yesterday, and dogged as my pursuit was, it turns out I'd run out of things to say. Odd, because I seem to have too much to say (of little interest) most of the time. I guess it's a collaborative thing - when provided with a something to build on (ie. music), part of your job is to slot together something that fits (ie. melody and lyrics). Otherwise it's like we're doing two different jigsaw puzzles, except Jacob's is of a zebra and mine is of a hippopotamus. It doesn't work. Unless they were made in the same factory with the exact same shapes cut out of it. Then I suppose they'd fit together ok. You'd just get a weird animal at the end.

Spending two hours aimlessly noodling didn't feel very productive, so I decided to make a start on Karen's climate change piece. I also signed up with 1 Million Women. You should too, provided you have the necessary genitalia. They run a campaign for inspiring women to take small, personal steps towards reducing carbon emissions, and give you hints on things you can change in your life towards making this happen. Each woman needs a minimum goal of reducing 1 tonne of CO2 and the site calculates your tally for you as you tick things off. While filling out my profile I realise that we are already running a fairly good household for emissions - we ride our bikes and use public transport, we recycle everything, switch stuff off at powerpoints, avoid using plastic bags, cut out one day a week of meat consumption. I suppose like everyone, it's about making those extra changes. Taking shorter showers. That kind of thing.

Anyway so I'm about halfway through a song about it. It's an effort to stay on the right side of preachy or naff and still be relevant. I don't want to make it too abstract but I don't want to be all "yeeeah so save the forests, pandas are dying wooooo" either. It's called 'Every Century' and hopefully I'll get some audio of it up soon. 1 Million Women already have a theme song but I think I'll 'donate' my song to them anyways and see if they're into it.

Oh, and the fundraising ball. Totally. Happening. Watch this space.

Songwriting catch up

Just to prove I did write some songs all those months ago, here's a snippet of what Dusker sounds like rehearsing "Blow On In" (September's song):

...oh and also I don't think I ever posted "Mallow" (August's song). I was still trying to figure out the whole blogging thing back then. I still can't figure out whether it is here or not. Anyway, in case it isn't, here's a demo of it. Imagine it getting totally Sigur Ros on your ass right at the end and you'll get the idea.

Mallow by duskerdee

Soft like a mallow

I caught you in the shadows

You climb in through the window

You're shooting all your arrows

Hold me in the winter dark

Bathe me in the summer light

The water is your alibi

The wind is your valentine

Your light is a firefly

The trains are your lullaby

Hold me in the winter dark

Bathe me in the summer light

It's a trick of the light (soft like a mallow)

It's a trick of the light (caught you in the shadow)

It's a trick of the light (climb in through the window)

It's a trick of the light (shooting all your arrows)

Trublood (You Need It More Than I Do)

I have just done a chart of my songwriting progress, and it's a bit sketchy. I've managed to write eight songs in the past six months (well, calling "Sausages" a song is a bit rich) but as impressive as that may sound, I am still four songs short. I will catch up, eventually. There are many factors and I am slowly trying to address them.

Here is song Number 8, or rather, song Number 4 in the "Songs About Challenges" category: Trublood (You Need It More Than I Do). Can you guess which challenge it is about? Because I'm all about subtley, you know. I hope HBO don't sue my ass for pulling these dodgy samples off youtube.

Trublood (You Need It More Than I Do) by duskerdee

[I know y'all are vampires and all, but you don't have to be such bitches about it]

I've got 8 litres of the good stuff
And you can share it 'coz I've got enough
How 'bout I fill a coupla bags for you?
We're hoping it'll make you feel brand new

You need it more than I do
You need it more than I do
You need it more than I do
You need it more than I do

I got a bad ass bruise from when I gave
My arm was black and blue for several days
But that won't stop me doing it again
Because I got a Mars Bar at the end

You need it more than I do
You need it more than I do
You need it more than I do
You need it more than I do

[One caveat, gentlemen. If you drain her completely, that's the last faerie blood you'll ever drink.
Mmm, good point.]

Kitty, I'm A Train Wreck

Two videos in as many days? I know. It's utter madness. And I also did laundry, bought groceries, played Wii, spent a ridiculous amount of time fiddling with speakers and amplifiers just so I could get disgruntled at my lack of synthesizer skills, accidentally terrified a cat, and momentarily became entranced by the pounding bass emanating through the ceiling.

"Kitty, I'm a train wreck" is a lyric I've had floating about in my repertoire for a while, waiting for an appropriate place to live. I tend to find that my own stuff is slightly darker than the material we write collaboratively in Dusker, and I'm also not a guitar genius like Jacob, so the songs always start from a different place. I'm feeling more at ease with writing on my own again, something I haven't done since the early London days circa 2007.

Anyway, I came up with the chords at the end of last week but only got around to writing the lyrics and melody inside my own head yesterday. Today was the first day I have physically put them together, so it is reassuring that it comes together the way I expected it to.

It wasn't until I made this recording and played it back that I realised the melody in the bridge is exactly the same as one of the chorus lines in 'Breaking The Girl'. Damn you subconscious! Next time I give blood I hope they are playing Beatles records.

I've emptied the cupboards, I'm ready to go

These clothes that don't fit me

Have turned me into somebody that I don't know

I'm hailing a taxi and not looking back

The truth has been twisted

And distorted, and it's going to crack

Kitty, I'm a train wreck

Kitty, let's not hit the skids

Kitty, we've got to just

Tell it like it is, tell it like it is

The sire keeps making his crazy demands

Pointing and shaming and shaking and blaming

But never looking down at his own hands

You're wearing the heart of a lion on your sleeve

You deserve a medal

For all of the shit that they'd have you believe

Kitty, I'm a train wreck

Kitty, let's not hit the skids

Kitty, we've got to just

Tell it like it is, tell it like it is

Kitty, I'm a train wreck

Kitty, let's move to attack

Kitty, I'm sorry that

You carry that load, you carry that load

On your back

You carry that load...

You carry that load...

Tiny Mantis

Congratulations, folks, you're the proud recipient of a brand new baby video.

I know I'm way overdue with these, but I'm gonna catch up soon. I actually wrote this song in time for October's due date, I just hadn't got around to putting it up yet. (Yes I am aware it is now December).

Something isn't right

But I'll pretend that nothing's wrong

You are the loveliest distraction I can think of

Please come straight on home

The worst part is, we're never gonna know

Oh tiny mantis outside my window

The worst part is we'll never know

This is the part I hate

Shining it on another day

The odds are stacked against a quiet tragedy

But please come straight on home

The worst part is, we're never gonna know

Oh tiny mantis outside my window

The worst part is we'll never know.

Musicophilia

The Briscoe bandwagon is rolling with gusto, although it is less of a wagon and more like Bart’s lounge room, and less like rolling and more like rocking. Bam! I didn’t even plan that sentence. I just come up with this stuff. Did some awesomely fun gang vocals on Sunday, and whoever wasn’t at the mic was engaged in a game of tag team scrabble. Playing “pixies” over a triple word score for 54 points still wasn’t enough to win it for me, but something about board games makes me gleefully happy. I think it is to do with my sibling-less childhood and the fact I never had anyone to play them with. Insert pity. Yes, I am that pathetic.

Anyway, it is great being in someone else’s band and not having any pressure to really do anything but turn up and play your bit.

I’m reading Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks just now, and it is fascinating. The kind of fascination I experience when I’m trying to eat dinner and watch a David Attenborough documentary at the same time – it just ends up being a fork hovering in the air with my mouth partially opened, eyes glued to the mating dance of the Birds of Paradise. That’s what this book is like. Thinking about the weirdness of the brain makes my brain fry. I mentioned earlier my intrigue at the juxtaposition of a perfect melodic singer having seemingly little sense of natural rhythm. Apparently it is not so uncommon. Another thing that tickled my fancy was the creation of music from silence – to write, I often have to spend a long period of time untouched by sound. It’s as if it gives the music a chance to crawl in. I thought that was pretty weird, since surely sitting at an actual instrument or at least humming a tune would be the most sensible way to birth a song, but it turns out I’m not too much of a freak after all. Which is not to say that I don’t occasionally pick up a guitar and noodle out the start of something. Because I did yesterday. It was very exciting.

There’s a free seminar on climate change supposed to be happening on campus here at lunch time, so I’m going to go sit in on it and take some notes. Of course, that’s providing that any of our students show up to it. Which they probably won’t.

Tomorrow is Blood Bank day. It’s a bit annoying actually because we’re going out to see The Fall tonight and it means I won’t be able to drink anything. All for the greater good. If you’re a B+ in need, then boy do I have a Christmas gift for you.

Perspective

I am getting better at meditating without distraction in loud or busy spaces, although I am also finding my tea is usually cold by the time I’m back in the land of the conscious. Mindful meditation is what I’m mainly focussing on now. I have been too lazy to charge my iPod shuffle for, oh, over a month now, so I’ve not been listening to my audio in that time.

The weekend had a lot of unpleasantness in it so I will focus on the blessings instead: the coming together of friends, the rare spotting of a giant wombat foraging for food, and the serenity of quiet contemplation at the platypus pools (albeit without seeing any actual platypuses, but a relaxing endeavour nonetheless).

I’ve decided to focus on the challenges that don’t involve any costs until my karma balances out and I can justify paying for silliness again. This firstly means recharging the iPod so I can upload some Learn-Japanese CDs onto it. I figure if the weather is bad and I can’t cycle to work, I can at least spend 40 minutes each day listening to a recording of someone speaking gibberish and then asking me to repeat them until something sticks. If nothing else it might get someone to finally laugh at me on the train.

Music has also become a core default setting in my brain, which is a surprising return after many years of my songwriting habits de-evolving. In anguished moments I find myself thinking it would be nice to just have a few hours with a guitar, or space to sing. Maybe that’s just a reaction to not having had a band rehearsal or gig for a couple of weeks, but this in itself is noteworthy as usually having so much band stuff on can be quite draining. Maybe it’s the subconscious urgency of having to write 19 more songs before next July. Maybe it’s the realisation that singing other people’s songs is rather enjoyable. Let’s also not forget that half-decent busking might actually make me money, a very rousing prospect.

I also just made an appointment to give blood for the first time, so that puts some things in perspective and makes me feel a little better about things in general.

Saltwater wells in my eyes...

I am a few days behind on my blogging. I made my first schnitzel on Monday night and it was good. I took a photo which I’ll post when I make the quantum leap to plugging my camera in.

Secondly, a new postcard arrived. Even though the deadline has passed, this is actually a good thing – I don’t think anyone else noticed, but I totally miscalculated the number of challenges on my List page. I counted 4 of Jacob’s challenges, and there should only have been 3. So I only had 28. But now I have 29 again. So it’s ok.

Yay! A happy face in the mail, upside down in an envelope as a reflection of her journey from right-way-up-London to wrong-side-down-Sydney, and a lovely letter to boot. There really is nothing to brighten the soul like a handwritten letter. Thank you, Karen.

The new challenge: “Create a protest song, warning of the dangers of climate change. Once completed, give the song to an environmental charity and get them to put it on their website. We need you to help save the planet!”

I puffed my chest out. Saving the planet has a nice ring to it. My 25th song for the year. This will be my most prolific period, like, ever.

The Ballad of a Substandard Cyclist

I finally got around to recording one of October's songs, and I'm starting to get the hang of Garageband. This is the third in my 'Songs About Challenges' repertoire and is definitely a step up from my last attempt, the now classic track "Sausages". This one is about the Sydney to Gong ride and cycling in general.

May I present: The Ballad of a Substandard Cyclist.

Ballad of a Substandard Cyclist by duskerdee

She rides... she rides...

It's like Lamaze

All this breathing and pushing

She rides

Uphill

We battle uphill

While old men sidle effortlessly by

I'm indicating

I'm on a bright yellow bike

And it's frustrating

Because I know I'm in your sight

But you're not waiting

You just drive out and make your point

There's so much hating

Around

Ninety kms...

How are we ever gonna make it

Along that highway?

Uphill

We battle uphill

I'm really gonna make it even if it means

I'm pedalling for days

I'm indicating

I'm on a bright yellow bike

And it's frustrating

Because I know I'm in your sight

But you're not waiting

You just drive out and make your point

There's so much hating

Around

She rides...

She rides...

She rides...

Bike maths

It took me 35 minutes to ride into work this morning – new personal best. Self esteem win. I did however have another high flying business jerk dangerously cut me off on Abercrombie St at whom I yelled the C word very loudly, so I’m also glad I didn’t get arrested. Ben’s got some new App on his phone that tracks his journeys and gives him a reading of his average speed, distance travelled, etc. It’s pretty cool and significantly cheaper than buying one of those fangled bike computers. Yesterday he did 9.94 kms in 27.14 mins, so that’s looking like just over 4 hours to get down to Wollongong. A worthy target. Me, I guess I’m averaging out at around 40 minutes for 8.2kms, so that brings me in at the slightly less impressive time of 7.3 hours. Ben leaves at 6.30am so as expected will probably be frolicking in the ocean or gorging on French toast well before 11am. I leave at 8am so I’ll be lucky to arrive before 4pm. Yikes. Carly has tried to alleviate my concerns by reminding me that she doesn’t even own a bike yet... but I'm not sure if it's working.

It’s the 22nd, and I need to record my 2 songs. Jacob’s is entitled “Tiny Mantis” and is about distracting myself from bigger issues by watching the wildlife directly outside my window. Bart’s is entitled “The Ballad of the Substandard Cyclist” and is rather self-explanatory. To be honest, neither of them are 100% complete, but I was kind of hoping that if I pointed behind you and yelled “hey look at that really interesting thing over there!” nobody will notice.

Oh yeah, and we’re playing at Marrickville Festival on Sunday for a blazing hot 20 minutes. Come and be amazed! And also, make yourself sick on gozleme. But mostly be amazed.

Overwhelmed

I am now officially too busy to do anything, ever. This is multi-tasking at its most ridiculous level. It's Monday morning and I am no longer in denial about my desire – nay, necessity – for energy drinks. I’m wondering exactly at what point I decided my life wasn’t full enough as it was, who had spiked my drink at that time, and how I should punish them. Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the more acutely aware I am that this was my own preposterous idea.

What Would Danny Wallace Do? Quit his day job? If my day job was writing articles for the paper about how awkward my life is, it probably wouldn’t be this crazy. It would fuel itself. I bought ‘Awkward Situations for Men’ on the weekend as a reward to myself and am hoping it will somehow inspire me… another idea that is slowly dawning on me as not-very-well-thought-out. Also, the 22nd is 4 days away and I still have 2 songs to write. This is a problem because I have choir tomorrow, dinner on Wednesday, and band rehearsal on Thursday, but I’ll figure it out somehow.

I was asked to join Briscoe as a full-time band member, to which I immediately reacted in 2 ways: soul-leaping joy, and brain-constricting tiredness. Dusker have a lot of shows coming up, which means more frequent rehearsals, and doubling that worries me. But, you only get out what you put in, eh? I love that band too much to turn it down. I was thinking about sticking with the gospel choir longer-term but now know that the only sane thing to do would be to drop out once we’ve done a live performance and I can tick the box; free up some time for the next thing. I rode my bike again today but my head and lungs were working against my legs, and it felt like pedalling while being hugged by an octopus. I know I’m in an emotional trough right now and this will pass soon enough, but the fact of the matter is I’m still in a trough, and the pigs are looking in, and it smells a bit like rotting food scraps.

BUT! We booked our flights back to the UK over the weekend (our departure date is July 24th, 2 days after my 30th) AND we bought a car. Damn straight, we are people of action. It’s a 1997 VW Polo and it is Fully Sick, something us middle-class inner-west vegetarians-on-Thursdays bicycle-riding herb-growing white folk are going to have to work on. We’ve already removed the crass medallions from the rear view mirror and the Everlast car seat covers, but it’s the embarrassingly loud modified exhaust muffler that really needs to go. I’ll post a picture of it once I’m a bit more organised.

Our rescheduled horseriding lesson is happening this Saturday, so now we can even drive out to Glenworth Valley instead of catching the stinky old train. Amazing.

We also bought a new Jamie Oliver cookbook, 30 Minute Meals. I really dig the style it has been written (step by step through the whole meal, not just one section of it at a time. So for example it tells you to take care of the potatoes after you’ve done your bit with the meat, and then while the potatoes are doing their thing you go back to turn the meat and then you can start on the salad, or whatever). He’s still Jamie Oliver though so mostly it’s hard for me to get past the fact he’s a bit of a twat, but I have warmed to him somewhat over the years. Still, I resent having to go hunting for fennel seeds. Also, it took me 50 minutes to cook only 2 of the 4 components of his 30 minute meal, but that's probably saying more about me than it is about him. Just as well it tasted good.

I-Tube

22 postcards! This is getting exciting. I never actually thought I might receive them all... just a couple of the usual unreliable suspects lagging. Some of the latest additions include posting one of my songs on Youtube, joining a theatre group, and doing a mini-busking tour of Australia (must comprise of 2 capital cities and 2 country towns). That's a clever one. Must find out about busking laws. I actually already have a couple of songs on Youtube, but I'm going to use this one as an excuse to film a proper video clip. It's something I've been wanting to do for far too long.

Speaking of songs being posted on Youtube, I think I've written the first of my "songs about challenges" challenge. I just need to practice it a bit more, and then I'll put it on the interwebz. Bart's stipulations are quite detailed, and one of the instructions is to hastily record the song in some semi-professional capacity, so I am planning to put video versions up first (raw, like!) and record later to pretty them up a bit. As long as the song is written before the 22nd of each month, it's allowed. This first song (imaginatively titled "This Song") is a bit ridiculous actually, so we'll just have to see how it pans out.

Human

21 postcards in. I'm pleasantly surprised at who has come through with the goods. I often wonder what our postman must think.

Due to what has been a high-stress, high-emotion and high-activity week, we decided against doing the Manly walk today (which turned out to be a good move because there was some rain earlier too). Instead we slept in, treated ourselves to a big breakfast, and rented a Wii game that we are pretty appalling at so far. I'm starting to feel human again.

I went and bought a copy of "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter", apparently a modern classic, by Carson McCullers. I'm assuming this is the book Tim challenged me to read, as Cormac McCarthy didn't have one of the same name. There is something wonderful about a new book, particularly one that has been recommended to you. A fresh paperback, waiting to be devoured. At the moment I'm struggling to read "The Pillars of Hercules" by Paul Theroux - not because it isn't interesting or well-written, on the contrary, but I'm just not engaging so far. Travel books aren't really my usual bag. So it will be nice to have a crunchy novel to bite into again.

I'm pleased to say that we've done what feels like a lot of cycling the last 2 days, and it has been very rewarding. I'm becoming more familiar with Woodstock's movements and quirks, and feeling the bond grow between bike and owner. I'm still not confident of taking the journey to work - mostly due to a combination of a couple of steep points and peak hour traffic - but I"m considering maybe doing a partial ride (catching the train the remainder of the way).

I realised last night that somewhere this week, I stopped meditating. Whoops. I'm pretty sure the last time I did it was Tuesday. Must put together a game plan for making this one stick, because I think if I can get into a routine, this will be really good for me. My brain is unrelenting for most of the time, so being able to train it to eat a chill cake would be nice.

Ben is in the kitchen making cookies, so I think I'm going to go and write a song for Bart's challenge now. The idea for Song 1 has been floating about in my head the last few days and I think I can knock it out relatively quickly (she says, with naive overconfidence).

Sunday songwriting

A quiet Sunday. How unexpectedly lovely. I've done some chores, been reprimanded by my Wii Fit, watched some stupid videos on the internet, ate some spring rolls. Carly-le called and let me know she registered for the Sydney to Gong bike ride, so that's awesome. And I finished a song, which I've now sent to Jacob to listen to... it's harmony central in the world of Garageband. I spoke to Bart yesterday about the doubling up of certain tasks, but his postcard specifically mentioned that the song has to be about one of the challenges I'm doing. This was not one of those songs. I may have time to squeeze one in before dinner though. The actual process of writing a song isn't that difficult. It's writing one that doesn't suck that is the real struggle. The beauty of Bart's challenge is, the song doesn't necessarily even need to be 'good', in theory... it's just a method (although being 'good' would be a nice bonus). I'm aware I spend too much time overthinking my music. Being forced to write something once a month, without the pressure of it being for the band, is going to be very mind-opening for me. "Even G, C, and D can be beautiful if the vibe is right." Those 3 chords work for a reason, even if Matchbox 20 did ruin it for all of us for a while there.

I got 2 more postcards this week, so I currently have a total of 20 challenges. Receiving one from my old english teacher was amazing, as I wasn't actually sure I'd found her; and I can't say I wasn't relieved when another challenge arrived which was to merely read a certain book.... and it wasn't even Ulysses or War & Peace or anything painful like that (I tried to read Moby Dick once but must admit I was well and truly beaten by about page 30). A few more challenges like that one might be nice. If I am to complete a full 29 challenges in 52 weeks that means I have to average completion of one challenge every 1.7 weeks or so. And I'm already 2.5 weeks into this thing. Ah.

Next week is my very last week of crazy shit, and then I can concentrate on this a little more. Step 1: driving lessons. Oh yeah, and I'm cooking salmon tonight.