Stripping My Own Song into Just Four Lines and an Orange Lit Valve That Glows Within – My First V-blog (Prelude) Episode 6

If you still don’t get it, don’t be concerned.  Most don’t.  I am terrible in communication.  Next week the video should be out – baring any unexpected exciting events that may appear from nowhere, that I am compelled to blog about, that push my most-don’t-get-it mini-series schedule to yet another week.

After I finished working on the 3 minutes video, I wanted to make a small video clip of simple end credits that is completely different from the video itself.  And I found just what I wanted – an old song of mine written back in 2004 called “Mind Control”.

You know how it is like when you pour your heart and soul and hundreds of hours into making something – ironically may well be applicable to this mini-series – and you think out loud: This is a genius piece of work!  I picked up my electric guitar one day, trashed out some heavy, raw, original power chords, and I was screaming my heart out, screaming my brain out.  I really thought I was the next Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd.  So full of explosive randomness, so full of chaos, so full of madness.  Did my fingers bleed on that one day recording while home alone?  You bet.

Clicked send and the demo song was digitally finding its way to my lead guitarist’s mailbox.  Holding my breath I was, dying for some form of acknowledgement, and his reply was …

“It’s too intense.”

I don’t think my bassist got it either.

4 years have passed and I am supposed to be wiser.  “Fit for Public Consumption?” should now be part of my vocabulary.  But yet I still have this nostalgic affection towards “Mind Control”.  The Boss Metal Zone pedal sound is out and the sweet sound of my Les Paul guitar is in.  Most of the song is out and the excerpt is left with what I love most – 4 lines.

We want the truth, we want the fact
Overrule the media, destroy the rats
It’s mind control, stripping our rights
It’s mind control, running our lives

I had so much fun recording it.  OK, pain too.  You would have thought how tough it is to record a 1 minute excerpt of just 4 lines?  I spent the first entire night trying to get my 10 years old drums programming equipment to work; I spent the second entire night recording in the wrong key; I spent the third trying to get my new toy working (see picture above … and yes, there is a valve inside my new guitar and amp effect processor); I spent the fourth trying to remember the lyrics (I know, just 4 lines right?).  By the time I got a rather decent take, I couldn’t be bothered any more.

“Fit for Public Consumption?” should now be part of my vocabulary.  But yet I am releasing my video next week.  How ironic that some good things don’t change over time.

Neither are the bad ones.

My 1st v-Blog Mini-Series:

• Episode 1: A New, Shall I Say, Mini-Series and I’m Still Not Sure About It [Jun 8]
• Episode 2: The Coincidental Encounters and the Incidental Chain of Events That Leads to This [Jun 11]
• Episode 3: The Cycle of Learning and Sharing: Why Be a Caterpillar When You Can be a Butterfly? [Jun 15]
• Episode 4: Of Dr. Nanorobot, Human Power Plant, Chip Implant, Eyeset, and More [Jun 25]
• Episode 5: Storyboarding at 24 Frames per Second [Jul 9]
• Episode 6: Stripping My Own Song into Just Four Lines and an Orange Lit Valve That Glows Within [Jul 23]
• Episode 7: Little Mr. Sunshine: A Blog Is Not a Book Is Not a Movie [Jul 29]
• Episode 8: My First v-Blog: A History of Chips (That Matters to Me) [Jul 31]