Perfectionism

If I could let everyone on the planet know one thing, it would be that recording is the most difficult process that has ever been known to man.

Thanks, 

Travis

The Transit of Earth

So I feel bad about not posting as much as I used to, but there are two main reasons for this:

1. School has begun and takes up the majority of my time, despite being rather easy this year.

2. I have felt somewhat shitty for the last few months and finishing a post has become rather difficult. I've started quite a few posts that are now saved in my drafts somewhere, waiting to be finished.

Particularly number 2 this last week or so. I've started two or three posts that have dwindled away into nothingness somewhere in my brain. Maybe it's been my mindset that has created this inability to follow through. I don't know... I'd say that the best I felt in the last week was last night. I was vaporizing by myself in my car (via a power adaptor) and some dj on KALX played The Transit of Earth by Arthur C. Clarke (that's a sci-fi story, for you uneducated) with Clarke reading it. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't sad either. I felt no connection to the world, but rather to the astronaut of the story who was stranded on Mars, recording Earth's alignment with the sun, Mars, and the moon. The character had only a few days of oxygen and was forced to come to terms with his death. The strangest part of the story was that, despite writing it, Clarke read the story with no emotion. That is probably what struck me most. I felt at ease, peaceful. That is what his voice did to me. The character was not afraid of dying, and neither was I.

The Mattresses ep is now fully planned, and partially executed. To be completed within the next two months. Title will be announced (here for the masses) as it nears completion. It is approximately half the length of the album, which was scrapped after too much time in limbo. I needed something to plan and get excited about, and of course it worked. Now all I can think about are the transitions.

Maybe I like being alone. I'm talking to Adrian, and that's what he suggested. I think I might agree, not sure...

Sorry for the downer. If you can't handle it, then you should pass on the ep, which is also on the darker side. Music is different than whining though... so maybe you could reconsider. It is free, after all. (Except for copies with artwork.)

Thom+Jonny/George+John=me in my head

I'd say that this little tiny ep that probably won't even be pressed is my White Album. In terms of Radiohead, you could say it is either my Kid A or my In Rainbows. Probably closer to Kid A.

Ending in Sight - Mission Green Status

I'm usually not very pissed at my cat, because I'm usually very happy to see him... but right now I am very angry and I am going to vent here. He bit through the chord of a rater nice pair of sony headphones that I own and now they are fucking useless. this upsets me because they were a present from my mom that I appreciated cause it was when I first got into music that I got them, and they also looked like the headphones that my favorite actor wears in this french movie that I like a lot. I have the poster of it up on my wall... That's how much I like it.

Anyway, to look on the bright side it will be easier to use the headphones and ear protection during band practice. That is, if we ever start practicing again. At the moment we're recording our continuously morphing ep/album (now an ep), but plan to finish it in the near future. Within the next 2 months is the concrete goal.

I'm up too late. I'm not in the best of moods really. I don't really want to talk about it though. Let's just say that the album has transformed from a psychedelic pop bliss treat into a dark, quasi-circus, Radiohead-ish sound. Hopefully, since I wrote all the songs and have designed the album with simple, yet lush psychedelic-ness in mind, it will sound like The Mattresses. I think it will.

Did you know Palin smoked dope?

I'm gonna have to make this one quick as I have to leave to go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in a minute or two, but I had a comforting thought that I felt needed to be shared. While standing at the kitchen sink eating some waffles a moment ago, I was reflecting on the Saturday Night Live opening skit last night, which included Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill, and some SNL dude as Joe Biden (although I cannot remember his name, I must point out that his performance was brilliant). Anyway, this isn't the point, what I was really thinking about was how much I disliked Sarah Palin, which led me to one thought: if she was really just introduced to me a month or so ago, and I already hate her as much as George Bush... than I am happy. Why? Think about all those fucking annoying, lying, sacks of shit that you never ever have to meet in your entire life! Fucking comforting in my mind.

Than again, I suppose that means you will not meet a lot of awesome people too. However, I have found the number of fuckheads is higher than the number of awesome people.

Oh well... whatever. I'm off to get stoned and watch Iron & Wine.