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4-17-03 // 3.40 pm these days the good guys wear black NP: Matt Good - various demos 1992-94 This is bits and bobs of four pre-Matt Good Band demos/self released tapes ("Broken", "Left of Normal", "Euphony", "15 Hours On A September Sunday"). Some great lost songs, especially Euphony, The Ocean (particularly gorgeous, this one), Break In The Rhythm, and The Bombmaker. It's interesting stuff, partially in that a chunk of the songs is a record of Matt's days as an acoustic-y, folk-y type singer (I think he's embarassed by it now, as he normally refuses to discuss it or these early recordings), and partially in that it reveals how much the MGB sound was "rockified" by Dave Genn. I mean, Matt's new solo LP is much closer musically to this early stuff than to the heavy alt. rock type sound of the MGB. You can also get a better ear for picking out the MGB material that was touched least by Genn -- those songs usually are mostly acoustic, and if they are of a faster tempo or more fleshed out musically, they prominently feature Matt on acoustic guitar. He has this oddly jaunty fingerpicking style that you can't miss. Don't get me wrong, the songwriting, lyrics, and melodies have always been Matt Good. But the arrangements were affected by Genn (something that, especially with "The Audio of Being", Matt wasn't pleased about. In fact, he's distanced himself a bit from that LP. Which is a bit sad considering it's actually very good). It's all interesting to think about, anyway. At least it is to me. I assume if you were bored you've already stopped reading. I've been quite busy this week, hence the sporadic updates. I've actually meant to write things here and there, but every time I tried, I'd get interrupted. My days are a constant barrage of meetings, peer reviews, coding revisions, and helping testers. Today's been fairly OK, though. Was a bit frantic in the morning and early afternoon, but now it's settled down. I think tonight the plan is to get a haircut on the way home from work, order a pizza for dinner, make a dent in the mountain of dirty laundry in the bedroom closet, and hopefully take a walk if this gray, cold, drizzly weather takes a break from doing its thing. My body gets used to a regular routine of one or two short to medium length walks a day. At lunchtime I usually talk on my phone and have a short wander around the little office park here, and in the evening I usually walk for about half an hour. Yesterday I didn't get to do either one, and it showed later in the evening. I was sitting on the couch watching TV and my leg was jittery, and hours later, trying to fall asleep, my muscles felt full of pent up energy, which in turn made me a bit restless. A solid, soaking night rainstorm brings a feeling of catharsis. I'm not sure if that's because it's often the release after the heat and buildup of a ridge of high pressure or what, but that's the feeling it imparts. As much as a natural phenomenon can, anyway. Comparatively, there's that short (maybe 15 or 30 minutes) period of time immediately after the rain stops where the world seems totally and perfectly calm. There's that post-rain smell of ozone, not to mention the way streetlights reflect in puddles and pavements coated with water. It's a temporary situation, as soon the clarity passes and the night is filled with that hazy humidity that tends to hang around this time of the year. But regardless of that, for a little while at least, the world feels content with itself, if such a thing is possible. As for now, I have to finish up here at work before I escape for the day. Adios.
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