i did a little bit of recording yesterday. this song is what came of it. my guitar sound needs some better engineering. when i record just the dry guitar signal, it has no presence. if i add distortion effects, it sounds much more rich and cuts through the mix better. i am such an amateur. i love the “watery” sounding guitar that comes in at 1:11. putting a small stone phaser pedal before two distortion pedals in the effects line can do some crazy things.

went to best buy to pick up “guero” limited edition cd/dvd. it would be nice if they had the same prices in-store as they do online. online it is $14.99 and in-store it is $19.99. obviously, i’m going to buy it online, but i don’t want to pay shipping, so i choose to pick it up at the nearest store. i got the best of both worlds, or did i?
i went to the online pick-up counter and there was no one around. two geek squad guys were helping some other people, but i didn’t expect them to be of any use anyway. a few minutes go by and two best buy employees come over and start chatting with two people near where i was standing. while this is going on, no one is acknowledging that i’m even there. the one time i don’t want to be invisible is the time when everyone looks the other way. finally, the two employees are done chatting with their friends and then they go through some doors into a backroom (worthless). so, there i am, spinning my folded piece of paper with my confirmation e-mail on it, not getting any service. i decided if they weren’t going to come to me, i would go to them. i went to the returns/exchanges counter. i told the guy i had an online pick-up and gave him my confirmation e-mail. he looked at me like he had no clue what i was talking about. i pointed to the order number on the e-mail, because my printer is impotent, and i thought maybe he was having trouble decyphering the jagged mess of gray inky stains i call a “print out.” i was hoping, so very much, that he would say i was at the wrong counter. nope, he was just new and didn’t know what he was doing. he asked another employee and finally i got my beck. the whole time this is going on, i was eavesdropping on another guy who was complaining about not getting his mail-in rebate. sucker… wait. i lost $20 because of that same deal. don’t ever do mail-in rebates. i don’t care how good the deal seems.

the limited edition beck is sweet. it’s like a book with full color photos, lyrics, and drawings. the dvd has the video for “e-pro,” 5.1 mixes for the album plus visuals to go along with them, and a photo gallery. the cd includes 7 bonus remixes and b-sides. talk about a complete package!

one note about the lyrics. i liked it better when i didn’t know what they were. like in the song, “hell yes.” he says, “my beat is correct,” but i thought he was saying “my beaver’s correct.” it would have been better with the beaver. trust me on this one.

yes! i don’t have to buy a tivo now. i thought one of the biggest selling points for the tivo was the ability to skip commercials. if they are feeding you commercials while you are skipping commercials, isn’t that counter-productive? it’s only a matter of time before they start putting tickers and little corner icons all over the tv screen. then you’ll have to cross your eyes like with those magic eye things in order to see the program you are supposed to be watching.

when i got home from work tonight, i read a news article about someone getting shot less than a mile from where i live. it’s comforting to know that even the ‘burbs are becoming battlegrounds.
people say: “that’s a good neighborhood.” i say: “good neighborhoods are a thing of the past, because everybody has guns these days.”
i maintain that “gun safety” is one of the biggest oxymorons ever. but i’m a cynic, so don’t listen to me. go about your business as usual.

i was late for work today, so that i could burn a cd of music to listen to while driving. when it comes to beck you have to bend some rules. i listened to his new album “guero” many times throughout the evening. it’s fantastic. “farewell ride” rocks my socks completely off! seriously, i wasn’t wearing socks after listening to the song. it’s got this slow western-tumbleweed-grab-your-six-shooter vibe that begs repeat listening.
sample lyrics:

I don’t see the face of kindness
I don’t hear the mission bells
I don’t smell the morning roses
all I see is all I see is
two white horses in a line
carrying me to my burying ground

i also listened to two recent nin concerts. the new material sounds uneven. some songs are great, while others don’t have the grandiosity that normally accompanies nin. i’m going to wait until i have a chance to listen to the finished product, because you don’t always get the best clarity with bootlegs. “with teeth” is an amazing song, though. i don’t need clarity to tell me that one. the bass is like frickin’ waterfall! it’s insane.