Isn't MySpace crap?

I've recently created an account on MySpace and was absolutely dissapointed by how clumsy it seems in comparison to other networking sites I've used. First of all, it's really annoying that you have to click through two links to log in. I mean, is it hard to put a "login" link on the homepage? Second, I found no way to to transfer my account to MySpace Music. Why shouldn't I be able to do that? Customising your page is also extremely tedious. And why can't I include a link to my own webpage in my profile, for example?

Anyway, maybe it's just that I haven't really taken the time to sort it all out. But I just love to complain! :)

Heat

I'm starting to have enough of this heat, it's practically unbearable now. No rain for weeks now, I don't think the Grand Duché had anything like this for years. Hopefully, things will get a little cooler for the weekend.

I'm having a great time playing again. I recorded one of my older songs last weekend, "Winter Garden". Stream or download it here. Like most of my older stuff, it's a melancholic number, badly marred by the quality of my voice ;). Anyway, I had a great time doing it. I originally went for a kind of Neil Young sound with loud guitars but that sounded a bit too flat. So I threw out everything except the bass track and went with an acoustic rythm and a bluesey solo guitar part. I think it sounds pretty good, at least as far as the instrumental part. I added some master reverb, which pretty much gives the impression of a band playing, rather than layers of tracks. The song is pretty slow, 65 bpm, but I don't feel that it drags, hopefully noone else will.

I also put the finishing touches on an instrumental called "Bee", also available on my Soundclick page. That was totally written on the fly, from the ground up. I used lots of filter effects, it was great fun sculpting the tone of the bass guitar. My original intention was to mask the fact that I was playing with a pick, I think it worked great.

Summer in the City

Lots of people put Luxembourg down as a small town where nothing ever happens and there's nothing to do. Nothing could be further from the truth this summer. It seems that there's no end to things worth checking out. This week I went to see Sigur Rós at the Neumünster Abbey, a great venue for the band down by the Alzette river under the fortress walls. They were supported by Amina, who also played strings in their set. Never heard of them before, although a search on the Internet revealed that they've been around since 1998 and have played on an Album Leaf record. Their stuff was lots of fun, playing all sorts of instruments from strings to a pump organ and a musical saw. Art school kids, go figure. Sigur Rós' set was also great, though I didn't pay attention to much of the second part, since I spent most of it chatting with some colleagues.

My band also has a new lease on life. We finally found a frontman capable of pulling things together to make it work. The last two rehearsals were great fun. Good thing that I hesitated about leaving them before that, it seems that there's no reason now. Our first show is scheduled for October, seems like it might just work out fine.

I've also been coming up with new ideas for my own stuff. I have three tracks in the pipe, all very different in nature: some new metal stuff, more in the vein of my last finished track "Driving Nails", a funkier number and an alt-rock instrumental job. Haven't got much time, though. Anna is coming home with her sister's family tomorrow, and I still have a couple of things to set straight.