Wow.  This song is amazing.  Some mediocre British rappers sum up the movie Predator in 6 minutes 30 seconds, splicing in dialog and footage from the movie and rhyming it with their own lyrics.  It's pretty funny, too.  Thanks to Jordan for telling me about it. 

I'm flying to Detroit this Friday for what is supposed to be my final recording session for the album project I've been a part of since February.  S and P went into the studio and finished all the drums, so I have to go up there and nail my shit all on the first take.  Well, not really -- I have to go up there and record my parts over the drum parts.  S will play guitar with me to help me keep track, so I don't lose my place.  And presumably M will either sing or call out parts to assist as well. 

I'm taking Friday off and going straight to the studio from the airport on Friday afternoon.  I should be able to get at least 2 songs done on Friday (if not more, since it's only me being recorded and I can go back and fix my mistakes).  I have 5 (maybe 6) songs to do, plus backing vocals on several tracks.  We'll only have about 3 hours or so on Friday, then all of Saturday and part of Sunday.  Hopefully I can minimize my re-takes and we can move quickly. 

In that vein, I am practicing basslines as much as possible with my new bass guitar processor, and listening to all the tracks whenever I get the chance.  I've set up about 9 processor pre-sets to choose from and use for the remaining songs in order to speed the process along, and I'm doing a lot of listening with backing vocals in mind.  We may have to record some lead vocals as well, just so my backing vocals work.

In spite of the scrutiny and pressure on me, this should actually be a more relaxed trip than the last recording session.  We have stuff laid down, so all the drums are set and perfect as possible.  We are keeping a lot of the remaining guitar, and we have 3 vocal tracks done.  This is a 12-song album, and we got through 5 or 6 songs from scratch the first time.  This time, we have at least drums done for every track, and most of the guitar as well.  I know what I'm going to do for all but one or two of the tracks, so I'm looking forward to actually being able to enjoy my time with the band. 

I'm also hoping to see my Michigan friends...so if you're around this weekend, give me a shout.   

I just bought this bass effects processor in order to prepare tones and sounds for my second (and probably final) studio recording session with my college buddy S and our album project.  I hemmed and hawed about it for a while, because I wanted to get a full-sized bass amp first - or perhaps exchange my current 80's-era keyboard amp for one without a tweeter, so I could play my bass and sing through the same amp.  But I realized that I may never have another opportunity to record another album, and I want to be able to give this one my all...so in that vein, it made sense to try to put my best bass forward, so to speak.

I found it used for $250 -- it normally retails for $400.  You can get an entry-level gigging bass amp for $400.  Shit, even at $250 you'd be halfway to an amp powerful enough to gig with.  But I can't take an amp with me to Michigan two weekends from now -- nor can I select from hundreds of effects, tones and sounds to find the ideal mix for my bass for each song.  Even though it's bigger than it looks, I can take this with me as hand luggage inside my backpack or messenger bag. 

I tried it out on my own for the second time last night (the first being amidst the chaos and noise of a used music store).  I printed the user manual from the Internet (from the same link posted in this entry); it's 84 PAGES LONG.  Yikes.  The controls are myriad and initially confusing, and I have to have this somewhat figured out by next weekend. 

But OH MY GOD.  This thing is AMAZING.  I've been tooling around on bass for about 12 years now, and I had no idea what I was missing.  My current bass guitar has been with me since 1997 (or '98, I can't remember), and I could never get it to sound like this before.  The choices are overwhelming.  The sound combinations are insane.  I can literally get not only brighter, cleaner tones, but out-of-this-world space-age effects and everything in between.  Needless to say, I'm really freaking excited about the next recording session.  As long as I figure out what tones I want to use on each remaining song by next Friday.

According to Slate's Green Lantern, the Toyota Prius wins.   His estimates do not take into account disposal costs -- which according to some, risks eliminating the supposedly-dreaded nickel battery disposal problem...an issue which the column debunks pretty convincingly in a previous edition. 

There's another question, of course: will a Prius cost less out of your pocket in the long run?  The immediate answer is no...but the long-haul answer seems to depend entirely on the cost of gasoline.  When gas was just over $2 a gallon, it would have been cheaper over the long haul to buy the Toyota Corolla.  But given today's gas prices, the Prius makes up its $5000 average higher sticker price in gas savings over the assumed 11.5-year period of ownership. 

So as long as you do what you should do and drive your car into the ground, you'd probably be better off buying the Prius -- as long as you could afford the immediate out-of pocket price difference (and assuming you believe the government fuel economy estimates of a Prius vs. their estimates for any comparable car).  The Prius also gives off virtually no emissions, so that's another win for the earth-conscious set.

The only other argument I can think of is that repair costs would mount more steadily with the hybrid, because Toyota's Synergy Drive system is incredibly complicated.  They have a point: it's probably going to be cheaper to take the Corolla into the shop when it starts to break down.  Thing is, the vast majority of car buyers aren't doing their own repairs due to the increasing complexity of all cars.  And assuming Toyota's standard 150,000-mile powertrain warranty on the Prius means anything, you probably won't be paying to fix the worst problems anyway. 

This editorial kinda sums up what I think about both Imus Flap I and Imus Flap II.   To refresh your memory, I didn't think Imus should have been fired back then.   I really don't think this latest incident deserves any ink, but the media can't let go of a potential rabble-rousing story. 

Can we stop, please?  It's possible to be offended by just about anything if you spend enough time thinking about it.  This time, though, Imus wasn't guilty of anything.  He wasn't trying to be provocative.  But in today's gotcha culture, anything you say or write can and will be used against you...especially if you've been reamed before.  Fortunately, this topic has died down a lot faster than the last one.

People should be able to listen to what they want to listen to, and say what they want to say, as long as they don't out anyone else in danger by doing so.  I don't know why it is so hard for some people to accept that principle.  It's one thing to express disapproval of someone's words; it quite another to try to ruin that person.  Leave Imus alone.

Bottled-water sellers must have slapped themselves on the forehead when they saw this article in today's Washington Post.  I can see it now: "Hey, shut the fuck up about this!"  The secret is out, and it continues to spread.  The more I read, the more I feel pathetic for having contributed to this industry.  At the same time, if I want something cold to drink and I don't see a clean water source, I'd still probably feel better buying bottled water than I'd feel buying soda.