From the studio to the radio

[illusionofjoy]

I was back at my apartment this afternoon, working on new recordings. During the week, it seems that I can't really start a new project so much as fiddle with and add flurishes to existing ones. The time isn't there to fully involve myself and I have to start something new and leave it half-finished, though to say that what I did today is finished is a misnomer; What I have done is akin to building a foundation and the supports of the walls and the roof. The carpeting, furniture and fixtures can always be added on later.

In any case, the track I'm working is an experiment in percussive subtlety. I'm using a drum machine still, but I'm mixing it low and eschewing frivolous fills and rhythmic excesses. What drives the track instead, is the lead synthline. In fact, the synth I recorded is so dense in low end, I'm probably going to have to record a second track an octave up to compensate. I like what I'm hearing though; had I chosen a string section, this would be described as atmospheric. It could still be described as such...if you were describing the atmosphere of Venus (which is made up of sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide heated to 860 F). I doubt I'll be accused of ripping off the Cocteau Twins with this one.

Lately, I've been turning on the radio while I've been driving, just to see if it still sucks as much as I remembered. For the most part, it does, though I do catch some occasional bit from the 90's that I actually enjoy. Pittsburgh is just not a good town for radio though. Today, as I drove back from recording, I caught "Hey Man, Nice Shot," Filter's hit from 1995. There were plenty of people who told me over the years that the song was about Kurt Cobain. Those people were lying to me. The song was actually inspired by the on-air suicide of Pennsylvania politician Budd Dwyer on January 22, 1987.

I've always liked the song - it's just a great rock song. Of course, I've never been moved to buy any albums by Filter, because the stuff that isn't released as singles is generally crap. It was by the grace of college radio that I found this out. This is a group where, once released, a greatest hits album will be all that is needed.

The radio didn't stay on for too long. Soon after the three minutes of Filter nostalgia passed, a sweeper was played with a station-owned voice excitedly telling those tuned in that, it was "now time for an AC/DC song! Yay!" I turned the radio off, thinking that playing AC/DC was nothing that anyone should be proud of.