China Mieville's Squid

The Times has a great piece about sci-fi author China Mieville and his latest mind-trip, Kraken. For those who don't know, Mieville has been warping brains since the late 1990's when his debut novel, King Rat, exploded onto the scene with its bizarre mix of steampunk, science fiction, and dark fantasy.

You can read the article here and check out Mieville's blog here.

My Loneliest Year

This is another of those sad-just-moved-to-Nashville songs which I wrote so many of in the first few months of my diaspora. While I've never been all that fond of the lyrics, I do think there is a quaint, almost child-like quality to them, which I have never employed since. Their earnestness and sincerity sort of shocks me all these years later, but the truth is I meant these words when I wrote them down even if they really aren't fair to the people I refer to, and even if the sentiment of meeting a woman "down by the river" who saves your life is a little on the naive side.

The curious thing, though? I actually met my wife four months later in a bar only a few blocks from the Cumberland River. And she saved my life. How cute, eh?

Call Me Mr. Perfect Pants!

This little nugget of internet craziness comes courtesy of Patrick, the other half of Noble Three, circa 2008 as we were recording our Shipwrecked e-Single in Josh Fuson's too hot to handle attic. Patrick made the mistake of bringing a video camera into the studio on a few days when I had little to nothing to do on the track. This is the result*.

To view the video click here. BTW, it is safe for work**.


*One thing I like about this, other than the fact that it sets up an Abbott and Costello-esque dichotomy betwixt the two of us in less than a minute, is that it actually is a pretty good documentation of the recording of that single (which included "Shipwrecked," "Our Love," and a gorgeous Patrick song titled "I Would Run"). I spent most of the recording cutting up while Patrick and Josh spent the time actually laying down tracks and getting things done. But as you will see, I played a mean hand-cymbal. Also, it is a testament to how advanced recording technology has become, that we were able to create something so professional sounding in a drafty attic, with egg crates tacked to pieces of wood.

**And yes, that is actually me, for anyone curious about such things.