I Only Hear The Mistakes
Got the test pressing of the single last night - white label vinyl, woo!
Nobody has a record player, though, so we ended up having a "listening session" as part of Andrew's housewarming party. It was dead impressive, felt like something really special to have everyone gathered around listening closely to it, realising that our friends are excited, too. Makes me feel like we're ILX's very own Girls Aloud, that they've been a part of it all along, watched us form and grow.
But my problem is, I only ever hear the mistakes. I hear the mixing errors, the slight "pop" of distortion where the vocals peaked out. The wash of step delay because the backing vocals don't quite match up, the shittiness of the microphone. (It's Jo's microphone that I've been using for over 15 years now.) But other people don't hear that, they hear Our! Single! Woo! And the responses were very encouraging.
Stress dreams last night, missing trains, trying to get to a Festival only to find out that I've left my gear at home, that kind of thing. I was a mess, I was waiting for someone, who was lost, so I decided to go ahead without them, went through the wrong door, and suddenly I find myself on the stage! With Thom Yorke! Argh! He's playing solo stuff, with just a laptop and an acoustic guitar. Doesn't seem surprised to see me at all, he finishes the first song and hands me the guitar. I'm kind of picking at it, gobsmacked, and he just looks at me and says "Well, are you going to play?"
"I... I don't know. What key is it in?"
He shrugs and smiles his mischevious crooked grin. "I dunno. Goes a bit like this!" and the song starts, and I'm just trying to keep up. I'm terrified, but he's smiling and nodding as he sings and taps his laptop, and I'm playing kind of dronerock riffs on the acoustic and it actually sounds quite nice. So we carry on like that for the rest of the set, and I'm too busy just trying to concentrate on jamming in the right key to think "Ohmigod, I'm like, totally jamming, with Thom Yorke! Live at a Festival in front of thousands of people!"
But it's good. And we totally pulled it off. We get offstage and we're kind of running along this corridor backstage, laughing because we got away with it. I kind of tackle him, and grab both his arms and hold them behind his back and he just laughs and says something like "Ooh, I like being restrained, I find it very freeing."
Which I suppose was a pun, and not an invitation to kinkiness. He was telling me that technical limitations force you to be more creative. Accept your mistakes, they are happy accidents, make them the focus of improving your work.
I go nt home through forest trails and got on the wrong bus, but got home to find a parcel waiting. It's a CD that Thom has made me, and a letter saying thank you, because he's terrified of going onstage by himself. And he says keep in touch, but then I realise that I've ripped the part of the envelope with his return address so I can't read it, so I can never reply.
It's bizarre when parts of my subconscious mind decide to speak to me through my dreams as pop stars. But it was such a vivid dream, I know it's important in some way.
Nobody has a record player, though, so we ended up having a "listening session" as part of Andrew's housewarming party. It was dead impressive, felt like something really special to have everyone gathered around listening closely to it, realising that our friends are excited, too. Makes me feel like we're ILX's very own Girls Aloud, that they've been a part of it all along, watched us form and grow.
But my problem is, I only ever hear the mistakes. I hear the mixing errors, the slight "pop" of distortion where the vocals peaked out. The wash of step delay because the backing vocals don't quite match up, the shittiness of the microphone. (It's Jo's microphone that I've been using for over 15 years now.) But other people don't hear that, they hear Our! Single! Woo! And the responses were very encouraging.
Stress dreams last night, missing trains, trying to get to a Festival only to find out that I've left my gear at home, that kind of thing. I was a mess, I was waiting for someone, who was lost, so I decided to go ahead without them, went through the wrong door, and suddenly I find myself on the stage! With Thom Yorke! Argh! He's playing solo stuff, with just a laptop and an acoustic guitar. Doesn't seem surprised to see me at all, he finishes the first song and hands me the guitar. I'm kind of picking at it, gobsmacked, and he just looks at me and says "Well, are you going to play?"
"I... I don't know. What key is it in?"
He shrugs and smiles his mischevious crooked grin. "I dunno. Goes a bit like this!" and the song starts, and I'm just trying to keep up. I'm terrified, but he's smiling and nodding as he sings and taps his laptop, and I'm playing kind of dronerock riffs on the acoustic and it actually sounds quite nice. So we carry on like that for the rest of the set, and I'm too busy just trying to concentrate on jamming in the right key to think "Ohmigod, I'm like, totally jamming, with Thom Yorke! Live at a Festival in front of thousands of people!"
But it's good. And we totally pulled it off. We get offstage and we're kind of running along this corridor backstage, laughing because we got away with it. I kind of tackle him, and grab both his arms and hold them behind his back and he just laughs and says something like "Ooh, I like being restrained, I find it very freeing."
Which I suppose was a pun, and not an invitation to kinkiness. He was telling me that technical limitations force you to be more creative. Accept your mistakes, they are happy accidents, make them the focus of improving your work.
I go nt home through forest trails and got on the wrong bus, but got home to find a parcel waiting. It's a CD that Thom has made me, and a letter saying thank you, because he's terrified of going onstage by himself. And he says keep in touch, but then I realise that I've ripped the part of the envelope with his return address so I can't read it, so I can never reply.
It's bizarre when parts of my subconscious mind decide to speak to me through my dreams as pop stars. But it was such a vivid dream, I know it's important in some way.
posted by Masonic Boom | 10:11 am
4 Comments:
Dude, Thom Yorke is your animal guide! Top work!
I can't express how incredibly proud I am that my flat was the first place anyone heard Shimura Curves first single (okay everyone there had heard it 1,000 times on mp3 and live, but still..). I look forward to it being mentioned in my obituary as a bit of context for the heady life I lived in London.
aw, that is such an ace dream.
You should put Thom Yorke is my spirit guide on a t-shirt...
Someone made a 7" of your music? I bet they spent a lot of time, care, effort and money doing it as well. You must be really happy! If I were you I would say thanks.
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