As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, my new hobby is venturing into the suburban wilderness of Southern California and recording songs on acoustic guitar using my iPhone, in selfie mode.

I usually aim for locations with no visible civilization — no cars driving by, no buildings, no sidewalks. I think a nice backdrop does the song justice, moreso than bedroom walls do. Of course once the recording is done, you can almost always hear the far-off buzz of traffic in the background, along with whatever other noises happen to be going on. This is OK with me, though, as it adds a little bit of “real world” to something that is so often geared specifically for social media. It also seems to turn out pretty damned relaxing to watch.

This was, I think, my third attempt at recording this song. I tried a couple of times before to tack it into the end of another recording, but was always out of juice by then. You’d be surprised how tough it can be to get through a song, even one you know thoroughly, without screwing it up.

Anyway, enjoy.

As I record other songs, they will be posted on the MD YouTube channel.

People can say some pretty stupid things online. Maybe it’s the anonymity, maybe it’s just a spur-of-the-moment thought immortalized forever on a message board. Some of them are understandable, given circumstances. OK, your brain farted and spat out that retarded statement, and now you’re feeling better. Alright.

But sometimes, the things people say can cause great need for release of frustration. Some of them can make you want to steal a car and ram it into a shopping mall, or grab the next person to walk past you and shove his face into a tree trunk. For example, I’ve heard, more than once, someone who is supposedly into rock music say they hate Nirvana, and that Nirvana sucks. This is utterly berserk. Listen up, pinhead.

First of all, the words “hate” and “sucks” are oversimplified ways to express discontent with something. People use them when they don’t know how else to identify or explain what they don’t like about something. And don’t get me wrong, there is much not to like about Nirvana. (Big hint: It’s designed that way.) But to say Nirvana “sucks” and that you “hate” them is entirely missing the point, like saying “man, Casablanca is so damn sappy,” or “why does Van Gogh paint so many sunflowers?” Let me explain.
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