Life is too serious

Yes life is far too serious.

To that end and to the horror of my family I have resumed making music in my bedroom. This is an activity from my youth when it meant reel to reel tape and instruments like ukeleles, stylophones and cuzoos. In the late 70s and early 80s I was involved with largely mythical bands whose tapes were accurately reviewed as "redefining primitive and eccentric." We wrote our own stuff and were a dreadful preview of what would later be done properly by They Might Be Giants. The recordings exist and sound as bad as ever.

I also recognise myself as the last person on the planet to have a blog. The blogs I admire are serious, thought provoking and enlarge my perception of the world.

This one doesn't do that.

This blog is devoted to cover songs and in particular my flawed but fun attempts to do justice to my favourite songs. I am hamstrung by a voice that should have been drowned at birth and an attention span that determines that I work fast and sloppily. In the words of the great Nick Lowe, "bash it out" - although he would add "tart it up later."

I should note that my lifelong love of covers has been reawakened by the wonderful Brian Ibbot's "Coverville", which has become essential listening.

I'm might add that the versions I hope to make are not entirely serious. In fact, I have learnt to my ongoing astonishment that the more seriously I take an attempt the sillier it inevitably sounds and the more ambitious the song the more ludicrous the outcome. However, just as I have friends who enjoy to paint in the full knowledge that they will never be hung in the gallery, I will open the aural waterpaint tin and splash away.

As soon as I figure out box.net and all that I'll post a song along with commentary on why the original is so great.