Wherein we briefly touch upon the Thin Line, and go completely off on the Art of the Mixtape
Note to Present Self from Past Self: "And nothing is more difficult than learning to love people for their weaknesses as well as their strengths."
While it would be probably be good emotional practice to write two full essays on why I love and hate someone who's on my mind this evening, the soapbox is most definitely not the place for it. As cathartic and ceremonial and Beethoven it is to simply let it all wash over me and everyone who reads what I write, the Guy Who Knows Better is wisely saying "nuh-uh" to the idea. I may or may not perform this exercise on my "other" spare time (the time I spend away from my journal), but that's not yet decided.
I do, however, plan to completely indulge that circuit this evening in one form or another. Perhaps I'll find something else to infatuate myself with this fine evening. Music is always a good start. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has been on the brain over the last few days (and it's all her fault), and there is much gushing saccharin to be juiced out of it. The flip side of that album will likely be a hybrid from several sources: perhaps Cave, perhaps Waits... perhaps a more violent slant as well, like Ministry.
Lightbulb.
Forget the full album idea. Well, I'll stil listen to stuff, but I have a better plan for an upcoming evening's exercise (since I spent this evening talking and writing, apparently). What better exercise for the emotional circuit of a musician and amateur shoutcast deejay than a mixtape? It's actually a good crossover exercise for the emotional and rational circuits (which is probably why those are the two I have so much experience with), because you have a set number of minutes within which to convey your message, and you thusly have to choose your songs with several factors in mind: time, transition, flow, perceived listener's preference, etc. I used to get intensely critical when doing a mix for someone I really dug. It was almost comical.
The secret to a good mixtape artist is infinite flexibility. If you have to give someone a particular song, give it to them by itself, or give them the album if you really don't want to waste space on a CD or a tape. But if you're flexible, and don't bind yourself to a particular song or set of songs, you can surprise yourself with a real work of art. Having some musical background and sound memory can help you find songs that transition well, but it's also fairly easy to stumble upon them by accident.
(Yes, I sometimes title my entries after I have written the majority of content for them.)
While it would be probably be good emotional practice to write two full essays on why I love and hate someone who's on my mind this evening, the soapbox is most definitely not the place for it. As cathartic and ceremonial and Beethoven it is to simply let it all wash over me and everyone who reads what I write, the Guy Who Knows Better is wisely saying "nuh-uh" to the idea. I may or may not perform this exercise on my "other" spare time (the time I spend away from my journal), but that's not yet decided.
I do, however, plan to completely indulge that circuit this evening in one form or another. Perhaps I'll find something else to infatuate myself with this fine evening. Music is always a good start. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has been on the brain over the last few days (and it's all her fault), and there is much gushing saccharin to be juiced out of it. The flip side of that album will likely be a hybrid from several sources: perhaps Cave, perhaps Waits... perhaps a more violent slant as well, like Ministry.
Lightbulb.
Forget the full album idea. Well, I'll stil listen to stuff, but I have a better plan for an upcoming evening's exercise (since I spent this evening talking and writing, apparently). What better exercise for the emotional circuit of a musician and amateur shoutcast deejay than a mixtape? It's actually a good crossover exercise for the emotional and rational circuits (which is probably why those are the two I have so much experience with), because you have a set number of minutes within which to convey your message, and you thusly have to choose your songs with several factors in mind: time, transition, flow, perceived listener's preference, etc. I used to get intensely critical when doing a mix for someone I really dug. It was almost comical.
The secret to a good mixtape artist is infinite flexibility. If you have to give someone a particular song, give it to them by itself, or give them the album if you really don't want to waste space on a CD or a tape. But if you're flexible, and don't bind yourself to a particular song or set of songs, you can surprise yourself with a real work of art. Having some musical background and sound memory can help you find songs that transition well, but it's also fairly easy to stumble upon them by accident.
(Yes, I sometimes title my entries after I have written the majority of content for them.)