* bits & pieces, 1989
for years i recorded song ideas on cassette tapes
any scrap of a melody or interesting chord progression
i kept the tapes in a box, and over time accumulated a hundred or so,
always thinking i’d go through them and maybe find some nuggets worth
developing
once in a while i’d put the box in my car and listen to a random tape while driving
the recordings were sloppy; the guitar almost always out of tune, my voice
fumbling for the right note, lyrics made up as i went
listening to them was not enjoyable
there were lots of variations of ideas
there were lots of bad ideas
there were lots of variations on the bad ideas
so when i discovered, after our last move, that the box was gone i was kind of
relieved. even if i lost some promising song bits, i no longer had to feel like i should
listen to every last tape, just in case
i still have a few tapes that were in drawers or cabinets and didn’t disappear with
the others. a few is plenty