[Continued from previous blog]

It’s been a fairly productive morning. I finished my parts for two songs. Both of these numbers feature someone else on lead vocals, so it was my job to record my guitar and background vocals. One song, called “Dark Night of the Soul,” is about insomnia and the end of the world. The other song, called “Sugar Daddy Daddy,” is about a woman who shows up for a job interview only to find out that the interviewer is interested in something other than her ability to handle dictation. Fortunately, our protagonist leaves with her dignity intact.

It is still foggy and I’m still drinking coffee. For my next number, I will be recording a song called “Remember the War to End All Wars.” The lyrics came to me last Independence Day, but it has taken forever for the whole song to come together. Finally, though, I think it’s getting close. This tune is a duet, so again I will try to complete my part now so it’s ready for the next time my co-vocalist comes over.

There are clear benefits to recording in my living room, compared to locking myself away in the dark room at the back of my place. It’s light and airy in the living room and the acoustics are much better than the room in the back. The downside is the street noise. Cars with loud engines. Car alarms. Buses pulling in and out of the yard across the street. Loud people. Barking dogs. All of these things can be picked up by the recorder if I’m not careful. All of this noise conspires to give the session a living-on-the-edge quality—at any moment the perfect recording can be ruined by a neighbor’s resounding sneeze.