Top 10 reasons today is a fabulous day:
Pic: Richard Skidmore
1. Sun is out, steady gentle breeze.
2. The Nutmeg is generating LOTS of power, feel I could run the whole village off it.
3. Sitting in my wheelhouse editing 10 takes of Natalie MacMaster‘s delightful fiddle playing.
4. Engraver called to tell me some tiny brass plaques I ordered for my wooden sailboat are ready to pick up. ‘Jib’/'spi’/'cunn’/'kick’ etc. Will row out and do some drilling before this evening’s Loch Long race.
5. A sand artist I contacted in Isreal may be interested in working with me.
6. Booked an Eddi Reader vocal session in Glasgow next month.
7. Limbs aching satisfyingly after windsurfing and tennis yesterday.
8. Pot of Earl Grey just brewed.
9. My Wired Playlist Podcast is up on iTunes, featuring 2 1/2 brand new songs!
10. Reading enthusiastic feedback to 9, to my new singles album Singular, and to the track listing on the upcoming GAOW and TFE re-releases.
Pure rapture!
It took until last night to talk myself into downloading i-tunes, strictly for this podcast, and now I only wish I’d done it a couple of days earlier. I’ve been binge-auditioning the two-and-a-half new Dolby Tunes, and I’m becoming adept at skipping past the non-TD tracks (they were lovely, too, but I’m glutting on the new stuff).
Toad-Lickers — Foot-stomping fun! I first heard this in headphones, and found myself playing the bridge on heavy repeat because of the incredible spatial positioning of the CB mic chatter amid the instruments. A drug-free trip, and still nobody does it like Thomas. This one didn’t touch me as much as Oceanea, so why was this the one that ran through my head at work today?
Oceanea — I hate the focus to be on the autotune, but that bucket’s already tipped. I personally despise the effect most everywhere else, but adore it the way TD has used it here. I would hate to part with this element in the final version, but I’m prepared for it all the same. The song in this form is what I fell in love with, the one that had even my uncle wiping at his eye. “The crocuses are all in bloom” kicks me wonderfully in the gut every time I hear it.
To the Lifeboats — I’m tantalized to hear more of this one — the Latin chords so full of sadness and resignation. We don’t nearly know enough lyrics yet, but I’m sensing a “death of beauty” vibe — a companion to “Budapest By Blimp”? I’m excited by the promise in this one.
I cannot wait to own this CD! It scratches so many of the itchy places in my acoustic brain — multiple eargasms usually served up by jazz and symphony.
Thank you 1,000,000 for sharing this, Mr. Dolby!
I Might be taking liberties here but I think our man with the gorgeous songs has gotta take this material to another level.Don’t get me wrong, these are fantastic home recordings but he ends up sounding like you or me.(Audio/Production wise )
Octolad. I too have been skipping to TMDR’s songs on the wired podcast.
I Want to hear more.
Gosh was a little busy this week just saw this pic. Pretty cool. Actually that plane the Catalina PBY in the background was the exact kind my Grandfather patrolled in during WWII along Eastern US coastline at the time of the so called second “Battle of the Atlantic” after the US entered the war. During which time the German U-Boats where having a turkey shoot with ships leaving the US ports to support the War effort over in Europe and Russia. He was part of the fledgling ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare ) force that was created after much foot dragging by the US Admiralty. eventually by May 1943, by which time airborne and ship radar had been perfected, the tide had turned dramatically and the Germans became the hunted and many submarines were sent to the bottom. Not much is written about this part of the War but Churchill himself said it was the only conflict that really worried him as to who the eventual winner was going to be. It’s funny to think I wouldn’t even be writing this had there not been a ASW branch of the US Navy. But that’s another story!
Here’s a pretty good overview about the Catalina PBY even that pic on the site is from my birthpace of Jacksonville,Fl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBY_Catalina
Thomas, Oceaneer is just beautiful. It is so wonderful to hear new material from you! Congrats on all your upcoming releases as well. Your music has inspired my own through the years. Thank you!
Looking more at that pic with the Catalina (and reading JG Ballard, RIP), I’m really grooving on the slight out-of-focus blur on the plane. It makes it look ghostly, an echo of a long-past time (or a far-distant place), as if the sea and the land are remembering something or dreaming about what had been, what might have been. And the explorer looking away – does he not know what’s happening behind him? Can he not see it? Is it something so common in the place he’s found that he no longer notices? Is he an explorer of the dreamscape, or has he escaped from the dream and is free at last in his future?
Ballard would know.
I’d just like to say that hearing these new songs gave me that exciting feeling that I only get when one of my fave artists releases new stuff. Thank you for the preview!