Good day to you,
Now, before you start, YES - I know I'm on holiday; YES - I know I should be putting all my inner workings to one side and "de-compressing" or whatever they call it; and NO - I evidently don't have a life. But I live to serve you nice people, and so seeing as how I shan't be broadcasting to you via YouTube today, and that I don't have my guitar with me (this is KILLING me by the way, more on that later, assuming I don't start bawling my eyes out and forlornly air-guitaring), I am going to give you the gift of words.
So, as I say, I'm on holiday. I am at Elveden Forest Center Parcs with my family, and I have not been on a big family holiday for YEARS. I haven't been to Center Parcs for about four years, and the last BIG family outing was a while before even that, so I can see myself regressing significantly. Especially with the addition of my little nephew, who is almost 8 months old and has just mastered crawling. My parents, uncle & I arrived after a five-hour car journey to find the little fella excitedly clambering across the floor in chase of a plastic ball. It's amazing and funny and scary all at once. I last saw him at the start of August and he had mastered being on all fours, but could not progress to moving himself about, which he really wanted to do.
We also witnessed a first this morning - my brother-in-law put one of his spoons in his hand, to see what he would do with it, and after a moment's deliberation he held it properly and placed the spoon end in his mouth, prompting a round of applause. He seems to like applause, so perhaps I should get him on a musical instrument early? Not drums, my sister would never forgive me. [evil chuckle...]
It makes me think of when I started becoming musically inclined. I was about 16/17 and had started listening to Crowded House (when their best of came out & they broke up, incidentally - my timing was impeccable, I had the same effect on Ben Folds Five, so if you wish to blame me, go right ahead), and the first instrument I tried was drums. I loved my drum kit. Especially when I had the skins replaced with Remo drum skins and got some Paiste cymbals. Magic. If I could have kept them and used them for recordings, I absolutely would have. I used to drum along to Crowded house albums, and Fleetwood Mac too. A friend of the family visited for a weekend once, and brought with him a copy of the Fleetwood Mac live video ("The Dance" - it is excellent, and you haven't seen it, I urge you to), and watching Mick Fleetwood drum was one of those inspiring moments that I remember. Except I don't pull as many silly face as he does. Hopefully.
Sadly, my drums were eventually sold. I had long since started playing guitar by this point, and we needed not only the space, but I bought a drum machine to aid & facilitate my recording exploits. A substantial amount of recordings on my website/soundcloud/Facebook pages were recorded with my programmed drums, and Sea Glass is the only one that involves my electric drum kit and is, ergo, ACTUALLY me drumming. It's nice to be able to do that again, I have missed it. The reason i now have electric drums is that they are easy to move about and are not as neighbourhood-angering as an actual drum kit (although the noise of me banging them must sound like hammering to next door, and as such I still feel guilty about playing them).
My current living circumstances are that I have neighbours and very thin walls, which I think is inhibiting me and my recording a little, and I am terrified to make too much noise too often, therefore I am getting very little done. I am thinking a way round this. (It also occurs to me that I have, at this house, never had that moment where my blood runs cold because I realise I can clearly hear next door bonking - evidently they too are scared stiff, if you'll pardon the phrasing) I may have said this before, but coming in and eating on a weeknight leaves little time to do anything much, so I have weeknight blues, followed by YouTube weekends, so once I get this block of six out of the way, my weekends will be a bit more recordingy and when I start John Macleod Speaks To The Internet again, I will record them on weeknights, as I will hopefully not be relying on daylight for a decent picture!
In the meantime, as mentioned earlier, I do not have my guitar on this holiday. I appreciate how long I can spend strumming, and I was worried that all of us in this villa (there are eight of us, plus my nephew) being at close quarters, my guitar would be an irritant. I now crave a strum on my guitar, and I worry that I will get an idea for a song and now way of pinning it to a chord structure. I do have my lyric book with me, so I can at least write things down. That said, my frame of mind has moved from "writing" to "recording", which is an odd feeling, because it's as if I have noticed this shift, like a flicked switch. I want to apply ideas and processes to existing songs now, instead of creating them.
Still. Today is nice. It is sunny, and I have been lent The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by a lovely lovely friend, so I think I will tuck into that. And there is the distinct possibility of a swim later. Enjoy what you are doing, hope your weekends are full of goodness.
Speak soon chuckleheads,
John.xxx
P.S: This week there has been a significant surge in very lovely people taking an interest in my scribblings, songs and the like, for which I would like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH. The reason I do this is because I want people to hear my songs and without people passing on words of encouragement and being generally ace, this would feel a lot more like an uphill battle. And it gives me more of a drive to do stuff that you will like, so please do keep sticking with me and I will do likewise. Your support means a hell of a lot to me, and if you like it, please spread the word. I really am very grateful and it has made this week magical. Keep listening! :-P
Saturday 17 September 2011
Tuesday 13 September 2011
A mess of nerves
Hello, people-who-follow-what-I-do-on-the-internet (or, as I like to call you, "folks").
I am getting the impression that there might be an extra handful of you this week, owing to a certain glass-bead-making magician lady who gave me a shout-out on the Twitter and turned my weekend from an okay one into a lovely one. I had recently uploaded my new YouTube video which gave her a mention (and if you want to find out who, watch Episode Five of my "Speaks To The Internet" series, shown below. I know - me so crafty...) There was I, food-shopping in a petrol station/miniature supermarket at half past three in the afternoon, when suddenly a barrage of lovely tweets kicked their way onto my phone, from people saying hello & announcing their intention to give me a follow on the say-so of my friend. I am not too proud to say I got a little teary-eyed and had to pretend that I was allergic to microwaveable party food (I was standing next to the freezers) before gathering my wits & buying an extra packet of biscuits.
But I am not here simply to tell you that I cry in miniature supermarkets - that would be folly! I am also here to tell you of my baffling apathy. Well, it's not apathy as such, more lacking in time. I am finding that there are not enough hours in the day, and by the time I have eaten dinner, it is practically too late to start rattling round the house, making loud noises and upsetting the neighbours. For this reason alone, I am looking forward to getting the last "Speaks To The Internet" out of the way, because I will then spend a few weekends getting songs made and experimenting and the like. The only song I have had chance to play with has been Sea Glass, and I'm very pleased with the results there, so the potential for other songs is rather exciting.
And I think the thing I am rather excited about is that I feel ready to tinker with at least a dozen songs! There was a point when I was writing a lot, and didn't feel quite ready, as a result, to record. I don't know how regular this is for any other musicians among you, but I think I am either in a writing frame of mind, or recording. I have very prolific periods when I am writing songs, and then it's as if it turns off in order to tell me to get cracking on recording all of them. This is all well and good, but when time becomes something you don't have a great deal of, that urge to record becomes as much of a curse as it does a blessing, so, as I say, once I get my last YouTube episode done, I will get cracking on my demoes again.
I'll be honest with you, as I know that you're all imagining me with my customary cup of tea whilst typing this at you, I am sans cuppa. I KNOW. It has been a day where I felt myself atrophying in my day-to-day surroundings, and after I had dinner I felt the need to at least play through one or two songs, whereupon the time slipped to 10.30pm and yawns were happening. I am due an early night or two, so here I am typing in bed.
What else is going on? Well, I go on a holiday with my family on Friday. We haven't all been on a family holiday for years, and my 7-month-old nephew is coming too, so it's going to be a lovely week. Also, Friday is the deadline day for entries to the Nerina Pallot support slot competition, so I might be a mess of nerves by then. I have mentioned it a fair bit, I know, and it is funny because directly after uploading my entry for it, I was anxiety personified. I had levelled off a bit in the intervening couple of weeks, but I noticed today that I am once again on tenterhooks, trying not to focus on a) What could happen if I win, and b) What could happen if I lose. I am not expecting to win, I have seen some of the entries and they are superb, but it's fun having submitting something & I can't tell you how much I would love the chance to do this.
The radio appearance I mentioned last time is still on - an interview & three songs at Moorlands Radio, Monday 26th September GMT, 7pm - 10pm. You can tune in on 103.7FM or log onto http://www.moorlandsradio.co.uk/ to listen live, and if you want to find the Facebook page and send them messages or questions for them to ask me, the page is here, so go for it.
That's all the business & waffle dealt with, I think. If you are new to my internet doings, welcome - please don't hesitate to join in & comment, be it here, Twitter, YouTube or Facebook. I welcome interaction so long as you're not impolite or offensive, so if you like what I do, don't be shy in saying. I wouldn't feel able to do any of this if no-one was paying attention or shouting encouragement!
There will be more blog soon, in the meantime - see you when the next YouTube video comes out!
Lots of love,
John,.xxx
I am getting the impression that there might be an extra handful of you this week, owing to a certain glass-bead-making magician lady who gave me a shout-out on the Twitter and turned my weekend from an okay one into a lovely one. I had recently uploaded my new YouTube video which gave her a mention (and if you want to find out who, watch Episode Five of my "Speaks To The Internet" series, shown below. I know - me so crafty...) There was I, food-shopping in a petrol station/miniature supermarket at half past three in the afternoon, when suddenly a barrage of lovely tweets kicked their way onto my phone, from people saying hello & announcing their intention to give me a follow on the say-so of my friend. I am not too proud to say I got a little teary-eyed and had to pretend that I was allergic to microwaveable party food (I was standing next to the freezers) before gathering my wits & buying an extra packet of biscuits.
But I am not here simply to tell you that I cry in miniature supermarkets - that would be folly! I am also here to tell you of my baffling apathy. Well, it's not apathy as such, more lacking in time. I am finding that there are not enough hours in the day, and by the time I have eaten dinner, it is practically too late to start rattling round the house, making loud noises and upsetting the neighbours. For this reason alone, I am looking forward to getting the last "Speaks To The Internet" out of the way, because I will then spend a few weekends getting songs made and experimenting and the like. The only song I have had chance to play with has been Sea Glass, and I'm very pleased with the results there, so the potential for other songs is rather exciting.
And I think the thing I am rather excited about is that I feel ready to tinker with at least a dozen songs! There was a point when I was writing a lot, and didn't feel quite ready, as a result, to record. I don't know how regular this is for any other musicians among you, but I think I am either in a writing frame of mind, or recording. I have very prolific periods when I am writing songs, and then it's as if it turns off in order to tell me to get cracking on recording all of them. This is all well and good, but when time becomes something you don't have a great deal of, that urge to record becomes as much of a curse as it does a blessing, so, as I say, once I get my last YouTube episode done, I will get cracking on my demoes again.
I'll be honest with you, as I know that you're all imagining me with my customary cup of tea whilst typing this at you, I am sans cuppa. I KNOW. It has been a day where I felt myself atrophying in my day-to-day surroundings, and after I had dinner I felt the need to at least play through one or two songs, whereupon the time slipped to 10.30pm and yawns were happening. I am due an early night or two, so here I am typing in bed.
What else is going on? Well, I go on a holiday with my family on Friday. We haven't all been on a family holiday for years, and my 7-month-old nephew is coming too, so it's going to be a lovely week. Also, Friday is the deadline day for entries to the Nerina Pallot support slot competition, so I might be a mess of nerves by then. I have mentioned it a fair bit, I know, and it is funny because directly after uploading my entry for it, I was anxiety personified. I had levelled off a bit in the intervening couple of weeks, but I noticed today that I am once again on tenterhooks, trying not to focus on a) What could happen if I win, and b) What could happen if I lose. I am not expecting to win, I have seen some of the entries and they are superb, but it's fun having submitting something & I can't tell you how much I would love the chance to do this.
The radio appearance I mentioned last time is still on - an interview & three songs at Moorlands Radio, Monday 26th September GMT, 7pm - 10pm. You can tune in on 103.7FM or log onto http://www.moorlandsradio.co.uk/ to listen live, and if you want to find the Facebook page and send them messages or questions for them to ask me, the page is here, so go for it.
That's all the business & waffle dealt with, I think. If you are new to my internet doings, welcome - please don't hesitate to join in & comment, be it here, Twitter, YouTube or Facebook. I welcome interaction so long as you're not impolite or offensive, so if you like what I do, don't be shy in saying. I wouldn't feel able to do any of this if no-one was paying attention or shouting encouragement!
There will be more blog soon, in the meantime - see you when the next YouTube video comes out!
Lots of love,
John,.xxx
Monday 5 September 2011
A grudge or a whim
Evening, readers.
Another day, another night, another session in front of my computer, typing out codswallop in the company of a good cup of tea (one step beyond just "showing it the teabag", I like it weak, but not anaemic). Actually, it's a bit lukewarm now. It was too hot, but I think I've spent too long letting it sit.
(I have to type this now as it sounds rather cool and exciting, but I have had to stop writing this blog for a few minutes after receiving a message from a local radio station, asking for any more mp3s in the run-up to my interview and session later this month. I have hunted down the most recent recording I've made & emailed it off. As a consequence, this blog is now ten minutes behind schedule and my cup of tea is now undrinkable, but, in the long-run, it's worth it, isn't it?)
If there's any of you here who stalks me, you will no doubt know that I have been excitedly starting a YouTube series for the past few weeks (what?! Over a MONTH?!!) and have rather excitedly been doing all sorts on it. Now, I don't know if it shows, but I do work rather hard on them. It's taken a few goes to get the format of my weekly series looking right, but I reckon I hit my stride by Episode Three - the look of it & the way it's put together is now possibly the swishest I can manage (and just wait until I get a lead for my camera - it should really hit a new height by then!). Anyway, to keep to the point: I work hard and I do my best to deliver something you may want to watch.
So with this thought in mind, it seems somewhat silly to allow internet trolls with an itchy antisocial trigger-finger to stamp through my page on YouTube and start clicking "dislike" on all my videos, doesn't it? Yes, it does. Now, I know you could write this off with a simple "Oh, look at 'im chucking his toys out the pram just 'cos someone didn't like his wittering on about fish & chips," and I don't even say that I'd deny that, but the thing is, the rating system on YouTube doesn't seem to make a great deal of sense, or at least isn't a reliable way of gauging a good video from a bad video, and it's also apparently based on the assumption that internet trolls don't exist.
I can assure you, they do.
If we take my uploads as an example: As of Sunday morning, no-one had clicked "dislike" on any of the videos I have posted thus far. I posted Episode Four and within half an hour it had been disliked. Then, in the space of five or ten minutes, all my videos were similarly "rated". But what does it mean to click that button? Next to nothing - it just means that your videos are shown to have a negative rating, which looks bad. I didn't slog my guts out to make something that will look bad purely because someone doesn't like my face! Call me old-fashioned, but if you've nothing pleasant to say about something someone's posted on the internet, you just leave it be, surely? Or if you've a constructive gripe, you take the time and effort to order your thoughts and post a comment, maybe? You don't just click a button that effectively says "I think this is shit, and furthermore, I won't tell you why either!"
I suppose, to me, it goes against the kind of community that sites like YouTube strive to encourage. They try to foster a community spirit, where someone may say "Hey, I like your work," or "This is good, but I felt it needed..." and the "dislike" button seems to go against that - it's just a purely negative thing. When I started using Facebook earlier last year, I saw people saying "Why isn't there a "dislike" button on Facebook?", which I at first joined in with, but now I think I know why there isn't one. Which is why I've disabled the function on my videos. You can now either ignore it, or favourite it, or write a constructive comment. I have no time for people I do/don't know just clicking "dislike" due to a grudge or a whim, so the chance shall not be open.
So, stepping off my soapbox and sliding it quietly under the settee, I will tell you how amazed I have been by something today. I am currently wearing trousers that I wore for my graduation ceremony. In 2001. Yes, these suit trousers are ten years old and they still fit. Unless I eat dinner, whereupon I will sit for five hours and wonder if anyone will notice, should I do an ear-splitting guff to release the pressure on the trouser-fastenings. I will not lie, I am not surprised. I grabbed them out of the wardrobe by mistake and was amazed that I could pop them on AND do them up, but the point where I started to get a vaguely achey stomach was something I had half-expected. At least I didn't launch into a protracted coughing escapade and launch a button into anyone's eye. That would have been unfortunate.
"So, amid all this conflab & soapbox-ranting, is there anything you can offer us by way of actual information, you cretinous halfwit?" I hear you ask. The answer is a sort of a "No"-ey "Yes". I can tell you for definite that I will be supporting Dead Radio Society on October 14th, in an evening's celebration of the release of their EP, "Plan Z" (which you will have to fang hold of when it's released, because if it's anything like the work-in-progress preview I heard a few months ago, it will be simply superb). I can also tell you that I will be appearing on Moorlands FM later this month, on Monday 26th September. Now, they are on 103.7 FM in my local area (just), but they DO broadcast on the internet as well, at www.moorlandsradio.co.uk, and the show is on every Monday at 7pm-10pm, so if you have those hours free, I would love for you to tune in and listen. I was on there in January this year, so it's nice to be invited back and to give a progress report on what I've been doing since (writing alot, playing more is the upshot, but I'm sure I can pad it out).
There is nothing else I can yet divulge, apart from I have three songs that I aim to have a boot around on this week, voice prevailing. I had a bit of a sore throat issue last week & it's just starting to clear up, so hopefully I can get a few things done before I go on holiday in a fortnight. Any other information is currently speculation, unconfirmed or merely an idea floating in the ether, so all I can say is stay tuned, and as exciting things happen I will drip feed them to you. If you're not already, I heartily recommend following me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/mrjohnmacleod) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/mrjohnmacleod) to get the up-to-the-minute info I strive so hard to give you.
So with all the information and nonformation with which I have presented you, it seems a perfect moment for me to give you a hug, a peck on the cheek, slip your arms into your coat (for I'm a proper gent, me) and wish you a safe journey. I will see you here again soon, no doubt, and I will talk just as much shit then as I have tonight. I enjoy these trips to Blogland, but bed calls and a long week awaits. I hope we continue to make this week bearable for each other, so do pester me (within reason).
Goodnight, folks!
John.xx
Another day, another night, another session in front of my computer, typing out codswallop in the company of a good cup of tea (one step beyond just "showing it the teabag", I like it weak, but not anaemic). Actually, it's a bit lukewarm now. It was too hot, but I think I've spent too long letting it sit.
(I have to type this now as it sounds rather cool and exciting, but I have had to stop writing this blog for a few minutes after receiving a message from a local radio station, asking for any more mp3s in the run-up to my interview and session later this month. I have hunted down the most recent recording I've made & emailed it off. As a consequence, this blog is now ten minutes behind schedule and my cup of tea is now undrinkable, but, in the long-run, it's worth it, isn't it?)
If there's any of you here who stalks me, you will no doubt know that I have been excitedly starting a YouTube series for the past few weeks (what?! Over a MONTH?!!) and have rather excitedly been doing all sorts on it. Now, I don't know if it shows, but I do work rather hard on them. It's taken a few goes to get the format of my weekly series looking right, but I reckon I hit my stride by Episode Three - the look of it & the way it's put together is now possibly the swishest I can manage (and just wait until I get a lead for my camera - it should really hit a new height by then!). Anyway, to keep to the point: I work hard and I do my best to deliver something you may want to watch.
So with this thought in mind, it seems somewhat silly to allow internet trolls with an itchy antisocial trigger-finger to stamp through my page on YouTube and start clicking "dislike" on all my videos, doesn't it? Yes, it does. Now, I know you could write this off with a simple "Oh, look at 'im chucking his toys out the pram just 'cos someone didn't like his wittering on about fish & chips," and I don't even say that I'd deny that, but the thing is, the rating system on YouTube doesn't seem to make a great deal of sense, or at least isn't a reliable way of gauging a good video from a bad video, and it's also apparently based on the assumption that internet trolls don't exist.
I can assure you, they do.
If we take my uploads as an example: As of Sunday morning, no-one had clicked "dislike" on any of the videos I have posted thus far. I posted Episode Four and within half an hour it had been disliked. Then, in the space of five or ten minutes, all my videos were similarly "rated". But what does it mean to click that button? Next to nothing - it just means that your videos are shown to have a negative rating, which looks bad. I didn't slog my guts out to make something that will look bad purely because someone doesn't like my face! Call me old-fashioned, but if you've nothing pleasant to say about something someone's posted on the internet, you just leave it be, surely? Or if you've a constructive gripe, you take the time and effort to order your thoughts and post a comment, maybe? You don't just click a button that effectively says "I think this is shit, and furthermore, I won't tell you why either!"
I suppose, to me, it goes against the kind of community that sites like YouTube strive to encourage. They try to foster a community spirit, where someone may say "Hey, I like your work," or "This is good, but I felt it needed..." and the "dislike" button seems to go against that - it's just a purely negative thing. When I started using Facebook earlier last year, I saw people saying "Why isn't there a "dislike" button on Facebook?", which I at first joined in with, but now I think I know why there isn't one. Which is why I've disabled the function on my videos. You can now either ignore it, or favourite it, or write a constructive comment. I have no time for people I do/don't know just clicking "dislike" due to a grudge or a whim, so the chance shall not be open.
So, stepping off my soapbox and sliding it quietly under the settee, I will tell you how amazed I have been by something today. I am currently wearing trousers that I wore for my graduation ceremony. In 2001. Yes, these suit trousers are ten years old and they still fit. Unless I eat dinner, whereupon I will sit for five hours and wonder if anyone will notice, should I do an ear-splitting guff to release the pressure on the trouser-fastenings. I will not lie, I am not surprised. I grabbed them out of the wardrobe by mistake and was amazed that I could pop them on AND do them up, but the point where I started to get a vaguely achey stomach was something I had half-expected. At least I didn't launch into a protracted coughing escapade and launch a button into anyone's eye. That would have been unfortunate.
"So, amid all this conflab & soapbox-ranting, is there anything you can offer us by way of actual information, you cretinous halfwit?" I hear you ask. The answer is a sort of a "No"-ey "Yes". I can tell you for definite that I will be supporting Dead Radio Society on October 14th, in an evening's celebration of the release of their EP, "Plan Z" (which you will have to fang hold of when it's released, because if it's anything like the work-in-progress preview I heard a few months ago, it will be simply superb). I can also tell you that I will be appearing on Moorlands FM later this month, on Monday 26th September. Now, they are on 103.7 FM in my local area (just), but they DO broadcast on the internet as well, at www.moorlandsradio.co.uk, and the show is on every Monday at 7pm-10pm, so if you have those hours free, I would love for you to tune in and listen. I was on there in January this year, so it's nice to be invited back and to give a progress report on what I've been doing since (writing alot, playing more is the upshot, but I'm sure I can pad it out).
There is nothing else I can yet divulge, apart from I have three songs that I aim to have a boot around on this week, voice prevailing. I had a bit of a sore throat issue last week & it's just starting to clear up, so hopefully I can get a few things done before I go on holiday in a fortnight. Any other information is currently speculation, unconfirmed or merely an idea floating in the ether, so all I can say is stay tuned, and as exciting things happen I will drip feed them to you. If you're not already, I heartily recommend following me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/mrjohnmacleod) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/mrjohnmacleod) to get the up-to-the-minute info I strive so hard to give you.
So with all the information and nonformation with which I have presented you, it seems a perfect moment for me to give you a hug, a peck on the cheek, slip your arms into your coat (for I'm a proper gent, me) and wish you a safe journey. I will see you here again soon, no doubt, and I will talk just as much shit then as I have tonight. I enjoy these trips to Blogland, but bed calls and a long week awaits. I hope we continue to make this week bearable for each other, so do pester me (within reason).
Goodnight, folks!
John.xx
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