Category: Music

Google Play

I know all you high tech folks will roll your eyes, but it blows my mind I can go to Google Play on my laptop, pick out apps to try, have it confirmed that they will work on my model of phone, and then they can push to my phone in seconds through the wifi.  And just as fast as I try the little suckers, they come off my phone, usually, but the drum rudiments app is proving useful, even as the music notation app is not.  For example, Angry Birds is off.  Each time the advertisements blocked my ability to destroy those verdammten schweine I died a little, and off it came – although now I know what all the fuss has been about.  So far I’ve been sticking with free apps, anybody got any tips for a good paid app? I’m looking for utilities, music apps, productivity apps and anything you’ve found useful.  I can recommend gStrings Free, it’s as good as any tuner I ever paid for and quite sensitive.

Visits.

Visited with Sue this morning to help her download from her daddy’s funeral. He was 102.  Meshuggas about the inheritance; waiting is.

LOVELY visit with Mike last night (funnily enough I’d been kvetching to Paul, with whom I was practicing yesterday, about how MIKE WUZ NOT RETURNING MY CALLS WAHWAH) and he called around 8 and I kinda forst him to let me come over.  I brought Otto and sang Theo’s Theme and John Scalzi’s Blog and Compost and Grateful and It’s Just So Nice When Someone knows your Name, and Lemming’s Twofer, and the first verse of Wanted to Believe, and Mike sang the drop D version of Dylan’s Tangled up in Blue and another song, I can’t remember which.  We talked about various things, including how trying work is for him right now, and how the insomnia really doesn’t help. BUT HE FOUND THE TAYLOR.  His parlour guitar was lost in the move but he found it again, and so me happy.  I was VERY BAD and drank two beers, which made me so drunk I collapsed on the sofa and slept from 10:30 til 8:30 the next morning.  Two beers.  I always was a lightweight, but this was ludicrous.  Also worked on Rozo for a while, her shoulders were a reticulation of weenie little knots.  While I was there Mike called Brian and I got to talk to him for a while.  There is nothing like the sound of a friend’s voice, yanno?

This morning I came home and promptly started brekkie for Jeff, being melon and bacon and pamcakes, and then Sue called and I went off and had a second breakfast of more coffee.  Also, getting checks signed so I can pay some churchy bills. Then I wandered into a sign shop and ORDERED the John Caspell Memorial Pinball Parlour sign for reelz this time, and then my other errands got shunted aside as I had to trot home due to the coffee.

Now I am looking up the language of flowers on the internet for a bouquet I’m buying for the minister tomorrow and as soon as I change my clothes – ew, slept in my clothes, what am I, frosh at some scummy college??? – I’ll be off to buy a floral bouquet, pick up some more spray paint, and buy some eggs and butter to get going on some biscotti.  Roast chicken for dinner tonight.  MMMMM chicken.

I cooked a pork roast the other night with basil and lemon thyme from Suzanne’s deck garden.  It was nommy too, although Jeff owned that it was a little overcooked.  We did agree that pork roast should be roasted, it doesn’t cook right in the crock pot.

Paul and Keith are off to Seattle for the long weekend.  Katie is doing cat care this time; I should call her.  The only reason I know she’s alive is from her facebook comments.

Miss Margot has been extra barfy.  I need to brush her very very thoroughly and give her a lot of kitty malt.

SO LOOKING FORWARD TO SINGING NEW SONG FOR MINISTER.  he he.

New Song – Compost

It was wonderful to hear back from the minister. This is in D open tuning.  I’ll be singing it for her Sunday.

From these thorns, we will grow grapes
From this dry and brittle grass, we’ll harvest grain
From this rot,  we will make sweetness
once more as the seasons turn again

What did you put in your compost today
With perspective, a little help and time
All may be redeemed, all may be transformed
And in the garden peas and beans will climb

From this sorrow, we may grow compassion
from this anger, seeds of justice grow
from this envy, resolve to do better
Once more, though it seems it can’t be so

What did you put in your compost today
With perspective, a little help and time
All may be redeemed, all may be transformed
A better world awaits if we but climb
A better world awaits if we but climb

And for those of you who hate it when I’m serious, this via Stephen Fry from twitter:  It’s #JamesBondDay so we might as well get the oldie of the day of out the way: “What time does Sean Connery go to Wimbledon? Tennish !

Letter to the luthier

Peter Cox wrote back letting me know that Otto’s rosewood and red cedar.  I could already tell the back was maple, so now I know what Otto is made of.

Dear Peter,

Thanks.  I think the neck and back are maple and red cedar.

He has a name now, Otto.  I have customized it a little.  I put copper foil on the top as a pick guard (trying to make it look steampunky) which gives it a really interesting appearance, and I plan to paint the tailpiece bronze.

I have written many many songs on that instrument since I acquired it.

Maid of Tarth (pseudo trad folk from the Game of Thrones universe)
My Needle and I (contemporary style folk from the Game of Thrones universe)
Midnite Moving Co. Theme song for an imaginary TV show
Theo’s Theme – Character theme for that imaginary TV show
Grateful (standard issue folk song)
Margaritas on Wreck Beach (ersatz Mexican style folk song)
Lemming’s Twofer (a jug band style tribute song to the multi-instrumentalist Blind Lemming Chiffon)

With the possible exception of my first guitar, which was destroyed by my daughter’s suboptimal boyfriend some years ago, I have never loved an instrument more, and I can’t thank you enough for making it.

Disturbed night of sleep

I woke at 2:30 and stayed awake for a couple of hours, then slept again.  I woke up and thought “I know what time it is – it’s 9:30!”  Then I checked my computer and it was 9:25.

Jeff has YAY made more coffee, so I think I’ll stagger out into the kitchen and review my to do list.

I had a lovely long chat with Keith last night.  He had a wonderful time in Toronto and had many stories to tell of old friends and family.  He very much enjoyed hanging out with Peter and Sarah, and said that getting Kaileagh and Sophie into the same room was pretty funny (they are both high energy wirey blondes with attitude).  Grandma Phyllis is about the same as always, only a little less mobile, but she must have been very happy to have so many of her family and family friends about her, given that she’s had two dreadful losses in the last few years.

My new song on Otto is NOMMING ME BRAYNZ!  It uses 7, count ’em, 7 chords, all in rapid fire succession, and also requires finger picking, so it’s at the outside edge of my ability to play.  Oh Muse darling you are a cruel and uncaring personage.

I continue to await with interest the comments of the minister on the new toon.

 

more toonage

I wrote a very tongue in cheek song about drugs nearly two decades ago and woke up with two more verses in my head this morning.  I take no pride in finishing that which I should not have started.  I’d put it on youtube but it’s so darned catchy that I just do NOT want to be explaining in my nineties how it is that I’m the little old lady who wrote ‘that drug song’.

Church, food, music.

Took a chicken soup to church today for the soup lunch, and despite there being 7 SOUPS (A new record) every drop and smidge of it was consumed.  Thanks to Shane for his peppery beef soup, it kicked ass.

The homily this morning was amazing, about how readily various faith traditions coexist inside Unitarianism.  I have a copy of the homily, and intend to carefully re-read it.

I have two commissions for church; one to write a song about compost, and one for Beacon’s birthday celebration (church is 30 years old in February).  La la!  Also I took Otto to church today and lightly exercised him.