Hello Saturday!
In Song Two (On The Edge) – Version 2, there’s a part where my voice got hoarse, it’s when I sang “right on the edge” the third time in the song. Every time I Iisten to the song, my ears wait for it, counting: “I’m on the edge, ONE,… I’m on the edge, TWO,… I’m on the edge, THREE, here it is!”
There was an almost flawless take that I recorded just before that take – the one that Mom reviewed as “smooth and easy on the ear, one can listen to it over and over”. But I preferred the “flawed” one. So did Mom.
It might not mean much to someone else, but when I listen to that part, I remember that moment. It was the day before I left for California to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I hadn’t packed yet, and there were many loose ends I had to tie up before I went, and I wanted to finish the recording that day because I knew I couldn’t do it on the trip, AND I also wanted to try some video recording, for the first time, together with the audio. After quite a few takes, I was tired, I was sick of recording videos of myself, and I was anxious that I hadn’t even packed. So when I got to “right on the edge”, my voice suddenly got hoarse. And I like that!
Like most artists, I strive for a certain finesse, and am obsessed with perfection. But life’s taught me that it’s also important to recognize the beautiful imperfections and treasure them, ‘cause they speak something of that unique moment in time and space. Impossible to replicate.
* I’m writing a new song, and it’s in a Pentatonic scale (5 note scale). I’ve been rebellious musically up until this point – never wanted to stay within a normal 7 note scale. I broke out of the box wherever I could, using unusal chords and jumping keys often. But this time, I make myself a smaller box to stay within, and am excited to see how much fun I can play with it.
