Liara

tl;dr? song link here: Liara (mp3)

I just finished Mass Effect 3 on our Xbox a few days ago. For the uninitiated, it's a sci-fi role playing game with combat elements that involves saving the galaxy from genocidal invaders, putting together a team in the course of the game to do so. The first two games establish the nature of the threat to the galaxy and are where most of the new characters are introduced, while the third one deals with actually fighting off the invasion.  The game trilogy has fans as devoted as any movie or book series, and at least touches on deep moral and ethical questions, even if it doesn't always resolve them. 

As with many games of this type, the relationships between characters develop with time (and with how you treat them). Many of the characters are "romanceable", several to players of either gender. This is true even though relatively few of the romanceable characters are human. Both of these facts were somewhat controversial when the first installment of the game came out, and both centered on an alien character of the asari race named Liara-- the only non-human romanceable character in Mass Effect 1, and the only one romanceable by either gender.   

I've been using the same character (Mordechai Shepard) for all three games, importing him from one game to the next as each installment became available. While the ending was...not what I was quite expecting, I'm thinking I may start again from the beginning in 2013 and play through all of them without having to wait for years in between. The one major change I imagine making in the next playthrough will be romancing Liara. She's not the favorite character of the fanbase (that crown probably belongs to Garrus, though Tali has a strong contingent), but certainly some of the sweetest moments in the series involved her. While other romances and squadmates from the first installments may lose faith in you or get drawn off on their own obligations, Liara never does.

So, even though I'm 43 years old, I wrote a song for a blue alien character in an Xbox game. It's just me and a guitar, basically just a demo.  It may never get more developed or better performed than this, but after spending hundreds of hours with her over the course of 5 years or so, maybe I'll rerecord it at some point. :)

Here it is:  Liara (mp3)

Live at AGU!

Howdy from groovy, rocking San Francisco. I'm here for the American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, one of the major annual gatherings of planetary scientists (along with, in this case. oceanographers, atmospheric scientists, geodesy people, geophysicists, and all the other disciplines that comprise earth science).  It's a giant meeting, with something like 20-30,000 attendees.

This year for the first time, they held an Open Mic Night. We had a great turnout both from performers and the audience perspective.  Naturally, I couldn't resist signing up.  I managed to whip through two songs in my 5 minutes: OBAFGKM and the Planetary Blues (which was a slight reworking of the LPSC Blues, which itself was a reworking of the LPL Blues).

The crowd, who were mostly geologists, didn't get the whole Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me (Right Now Smack) reference, though they were appreciative.  All in all, it was a very fun night, which led into the rest of a fun evening with old friends. I'd particularly like to thank Luke and Barbara for showing up!

They were sporadically videotaping the event. I have no idea if I was recorded for the official video.  I did get a recording of myself using my phone. The sound is heavily dominated by my guitar (the wonderful Washburn Rover), and my voice is a bit buried, but that may be for the best.  And, after all, that's what this blog is for.

So with no further ado, here's my two song set at the AGU Open Mic Night!

(And with only additional ado, here's my link to the blog post on space songs I've done, including OBAFGKM yet again: link) 

The Cheese Stands Alone, now on Bandcamp

As of today, all of the music I've recorded and "released" can be found at the Gedankenband Bandcamp site. The last album to move over, The Cheese Stands Alone, is now available there. As with the others it's "pay what you like", from zero on up.

This blog was originally started as a place to host TCSA back in 2009. I've rerouted all the links to the songs to the relevant Bandcamp ones. However, since the blog has evolved into a place I put recordings of cover songs, demo bits, new rerecordings, and poetry during National Poetry Writing Month, all of which I plan to continue.

Thank you for reading (even whoever is reading the element poetry from Russia), and enjoy!

What's Her Name?

It's been a little while since I picked up the guitar, and I was having so much fun I figured I'd bash something out.  So here's an oldie, dating all the way back to December 1993: "What's Her Name?"  I think it used to be "What's-her-name", which is probably a more accurate portrayal of the attitude in the song.

This was never played by any bands I was in, and it was written in a bit of a period empty of band songs-- the infamous "Taking Matters" came three months later, and the previous band song I'd written was "Whenever She Calls My Name", nearly a year before.  As with some of the other songs written at the time, though, this did make its way onto one of the albums, appearing on 2005's Do Not Tip Or Rock as track 6.

I honestly don't remember who I had in mind, if anyone, when I wrote this.  But I've always liked it a lot.

To reiterate:
New, informal acoustic version
Do Not Tip Or Rock version

I Think I'll Fall In Love With You

I feel like I haven't posted here in a while, though I suppose it's "only" been three weeks. Perhaps part of the perception is because my last several posts have focused on Not for Having But for Tasting and the Men Are From Mars single (both still available at the Gedankenband Bandcamp site of course, as is the previous EP Local Technique and our first three albums!)

Where was I?  Right, new post.  I thought I'd post a demo version of a song that I think is likely to make it onto the next EP: I Think I'll Fall In Love With You.  It was written in the summer of '97, which doesn't feel like 15 years ago, but so it goes. For some reason it slipped through the cracks, never making it as a Science Diet song unlike Bad News (written only two months earlier), or onto a 4-track recording unlike Look At Her Dance (written just a bit earlier than that). Looking at my journal at the time, I was in the middle of a spate of travel and thesis writing, it's as likely as anything that I simply forgot about it.  Until recently. :)

I Think I'll Fall In Love With You

New Release: Not for Having, But for Tasting

As discussed in the last post, I've been working on some music. The EP, named Not for Having, But for Tasting, is now ready and released on the Gedankenband Bandcamp site.  I guess there could be argument as to whether it's actually "ready", but it is definitely released. As with all my previous released (and probably my future ones), it's available for download on a "Name Your Price" basis.

Thank you for your interest, feigned interest, or polite disinterest!





Song list and links to the songs:
1. (Good Luck with the) Woman Of Your Dreams
2. Another Life
3. Amity Hall
4. Put Down Your Guard
5. One Thing To Do

And again, a link to the EP as a whole. 

One Thing To Do and Coming Attractions

I've been slowly accumulating songs for another album in the 3ish years since I released The Cheese Stands Alone, but the results of an impromptu poll on Facebook favor more frequent shorter EP releases rather than less frequent full-length collections.

With that in mind, I'm planning on posting a 5-song EP/mini-album to the Gedankenband Bandcamp site in a month or so. The current title (and probably the final title) is "Not For Having, But For Tasting" and the currently planned songs are:

1. Good Luck With The Woman Of Your Dreams
2. Another Life
3. Amity Hall
4. Put Down Your Guard
5. One Thing To Do

One of these songs, Good Luck With (etc.) has already appeared here in demo form. And to bookend things in a way, here's an old four-track version of One Thing To Do.

Upcoming Release: Men Are From Mars

In pseudo-commemoration of the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory, the Gedankenband and I are happy to announce the release of our latest single: "Men Are From Mars", with the B-side "Wrong Place, Wrong Time". It's available here at our Bandcamp site, for a price you can choose yourself!

Thank you for your support!  Or your interest!  Or, whatever it is you're doing here.  

Happy U. S. Independence Day!

Quick post today. I wanted to record something for the holiday, and I settled on  The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Not as epic a version as some of them out there, but it is freshly made just for you.

So here's my version.  Enjoy the holiday! May we all one day be free.

The Belated Japan post

I had the pleasure of spending nearly 3 weeks in Japan recently, the first time I had an extended visit since I spent the summer of 1991 in Kyoto (save several days in Okinawa in 2009, but that's pretty far from the main Japanese islands).

So I figured I'd commemorate the trip by posting some of the songs I wrote when I was there 20+ years ago. It's a bit less timely than it might be (I'm already on the next work trip), but what the heck?

Pastoral #1: written here, where the Kamo river splits in Kyoto. Full story reported on this blog about a year ago. Also available is the more-orchestrated version, Pastoral #2 (at Bandcamp).

Another Sunrise: inspired by the time difference between my girlfriend (in California at the time) and me, and the odd hours I had to get up to hit a pay phone with my phone card. We wrote lots of letters, and had occasional email access, too.  It feels like a totally different world.

Kumiko (at Bandcamp): OK, this one wasn't actually written in Japan. It was written about my undergrad linguistics TA. I believe that alone makes her traceable on the internet, but I don't imagine anyone will be so inclined. Also available in a version (Live at East Campus!) by Dr. Lüst, the band I was in while taking her class...

Solar System Poems 30: Consider A Face

The gods and demi-gods of yore now circle up above,

decamping Olympus or Valhalla for inky space.

So when we hear their name and consider a face

it is crater-scarred and battered; science is what we think of

and we imagine touching them only with protective gloves.

Ceres, Oberon, Callisto now evoke a place

not a personality now gone that cannot be replaced

not a personality now gone that we have known and loved.

The gods and demi-gods of today, though numbered higher,

have given objects the honor of their name.

And thinking of them, as we often do

evokes not a rock devoid of living fire

but a loving, caring human worth their fame

like we will always remember Betty and Sue.

Solar System Poems 29: Earth's Soul Mate

I think we may have gone all the way

too quickly 

for the good of the relationship.

Years of schoolkid crushes

fantasies about "the first time"

turned to lust and competition

when someone else made eyes at you.

We checked you out

and made promises

to ourselves? To you? 

After a thrilling conquest

and few long weekends together

we got distracted. 

We told you we'd call

but month after month after month

we didn't.

We thought you'd "just" be the first

but you're still the only.

Once again others are making eyes,

talking about moving in

and giving you the 

long-term relationship

we apparently couldn't.

Our response is a shrug,

paying you attention on the cheap

and hoping the ebb and flow 

of it all covers the fact

that many folks see red

and would rather find a new conquest

or die trying

than return to your touch.

No way to treat Earth's soul mate.

Solar System Poems 28: Siren With A Lined Face

Siren with a lined face 

but gem of the system.

Her warm heart covered

by an icy shell

some would pierce for science.

Pushed by her neighbors

she flexes and shudders

to stay in shape, but some say

she still smokes

where nobody can see her.

Surveys say we should return,

flagship or armada,

but warring factions 

have the upper hand. 

We will attempt no landing there

with money caught

in a different web.

Put her image 

as your laptop background

but that's not quite the same-

it isn't, is it, my old friend?

Solar System Poems 27: Transient Joys Beyond Heaven's Gate

None who saw you will forget you,

a hairy, multi-tailed wonder 

stalking the skies 

as the century

wound down.

Your Japanese opening act

warmed us up well,

I couldn't imagine

how you'd top it,

but you did.

In the vivid sodium light

I see you still.

From the east end of

Speedway

to the desert

below Gates Pass,

in the red Celestron

I got for my bar mitzvah,

you pinwheeled across the sky.

I can still call up 

your memory,

you hanging over 

the Catalinas

in difficult times,

reminding me there is

a universe out there

beyond heaven's gate,

and transient joys

are no less joyful.

Solar System Poems 26: A Topic in Forums

Subject of discussion

in the old-school forums,

your namesake inspired chastity 

in the service of study

until the flames burned down.

Now you shine by 

the light of the Sun,

brighter than your comrades,

bright enough to be seen

by naked eye

had the virgins known where to look

And you still give a bounty

to planetary scientists:

Elements and spectra,

gravity and topography,

craters and mounds and cracks 

from the littlest planet.

Olbers would be proud

if knew where to look

to find him today.

Billions of years after

your own flames burned down,

you inspire discussion

in latter-day forums

with the light of a new dawn,

though I will not speculate on 

the chastity of those taking part.

Solar System Poems 25: Bask In Light Of Jove

Spat on by neighbors,

by gossamer ring you fly.

Barnard's other star.

Red, green, and icy,

formation a mystery.

Made here or moved in?

Mother closely held,

Red spot big as twenty moons.

Bask in light of Jove.

Solar System Poems 24: How Do You Plead?

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

despite news to the 

contrary 

and even a 

claim 

of responsibility by a 

"killer"

it is not clear that a 

crime

was even 

committed.

And if there were one, 

my client remains innocent. 

What is she accused of,

having an alias?

It was used without her permission.

You'd take one too if your name

were so closely associated with

chaos.

Being ambitious?

Indeed not. The media projected

ambition onto her.

If anything, my client was being stalked.

She bears a more than

superficial resemblance 

to the alleged victim.

Similar size,

similar airs,

similar background.

It would be more productive

for you to interrogate

the Easter Bunny.

Solar System Poems 23: You Exhale Ice

Though fiery on Earth

there you exhale ice,

the taste of comets still on your breath

from your youngest days.

Gashed by tiger claws,

your wounds still throb

with heat,

belying your white stare

more pale than snow.

The groans of your wild unrest,

cannot be heard, 

But standing in the right place,

we may yet see a rainbow.

Solar System Poems 22: Remaking Itself in Slow Motion

Captured from the deep 

by the god of the seas,

the battle was short but bloodless.

Nevertheless Neptune's retinue was 

doomed by this new arrival,

who may have given its freedom

so that others may escape.

Cousin to Pluto,

cold enough to freeze air.

There are still clouds and hazes,

with geysers spewing tarry dust

onto plains of ammonia and ice.

A world remaking itself in slow motion,

under the watchful eye of the god of the seas

who relentlessly pulls it

ever closer.

Solar System Poems 21: Luna's Little Buddy

It might fit in your room

without any trouble

and we wouldn't need Hubble

to continue its study.

It was our other moon

Luna's little buddy

for some time the past decade.

First thought to be manmade

it now seems to be rocky.

No more over Miami

or even Milwaukee

this Romeo's wandered

leaving much to be pondered

until it returns

as it will, we assume.

Solar System Poems 20: Horseshoes But No Hand Grenades

They race around the rings

evenly matched

a thirty second lead after 

twenty-two thousand marathons.

But even when running forever

thirty seconds can add up.

Orbit after orbit they race,

the inner moon slowly pulling away

then pulling closer to lap.

Horseshoes but no hand grenades,

the God of Transitions is called forth.

With seemingly no afterthought

the smaller moon gives way,

Inner moves to outer

and drops back.

The dance renewed

and the race goes on.

Solar System Poems 19: No, Dr. Cheng

Yes, it is an amazing object:

the first asteroid to be 

truly explored,

orbited and landed on,

The spacecraft did go

"all the way"

in that sense.

We expected craters,

but not the amount of soil,

nor the evidence of its motion;

the fine-grained ponds where

boulders get comfortable

and take off their outer layers

before our eyes.

And yes, you could

call the results "sexy",

and I agree it's an

amazing body,

the apple of our eyes,

and it turned people on

to how interesting 

asteroids can be.

But no, Dr. Cheng,

we will not be cataloguing your work

with the erotic literature.

Solar System Poems 18: The Inuit and the astronomers

The Inuit know Sedna lives 

in the icy deep,

flung to the bottom of the Arctic,

but there are many differing stories 

about how she got there.

So it is with her namesake,

who has gathered a pod of worshipers

hoping she grants good luck in their hunts.

In the slow, deep time of space,

where the Sun has little interest 

she circles, considering,

redder than blood, colder than ice.

The astronomers know Sedna orbits

at the outer reaches of the solar system,

retreating over 900 AU from the Sun,

but there are many differing theories

about how it got there.

Solar System Poems 17: The Keyhole Is Open

Born of violence, 

bigger than the pyramids.

It would not swallow the sun

but if allowed would part the seas

for a moment

before killing the first born 

and later born

as a set.

The heavens align. 

The door is closed 

but the keyhole is open.

It lost at roulette

but it holds a lottery ticket.

If it slithers through

we must take to the 

tenth region of the night,

call upon our wizards

and mimic the sun.

Solar System Poems 16: A Return to this Sprite

Found by Lassell in the British heavens,

the marmalade sky yielding icy gems.

Far from being at sixes and sevens,

a tidy four were spotted by his lens.

When Voyager arrived twelve decades later

it found our subject cut by valles and troughs.

The general lack of very large craters

suggests resurfacing (perhaps died off).

A return to this sprite remains uncertain

though none can arrive until decades hence.

Still, some look to reraise the curtain

and look to an encore with much suspense.

And when again a probe we dispatch

the science will be her own ex'llent match

Solar System Poems 15: Locked In Your Embrace

Even here in deepest night

we have each other.

Our path isn't like

what the others take.

They have been frustrating years,

learning that your 

expected promotion

turned into my demotion,

only learning hours after the others.

Still, that ship has sailed and 

new horizons await.

and even here in deepest night,

even as I may be losing my air,

even if I am forgotten in the future,

I am locked in your embrace, content 

with a face that sees only you.

Solar System Poems 14: Juicy Science

It is there in black and white

and also many shades of gray.

Majestically doing laps around the king

while his other lovers fly at twice, four times the pace

It is all there if you dig deep enough:

Ice and rock and metal.

Bigger than Mercury and more magnetic,

as neato-keen as its neighbors

if admittedly somewhat less groovy.

When we put our mind to it

it will surely offer us cups of

juicy science

even if there are no ships

buried in the shadows.

Solar System Poems 13: Bouncing between these worlds

Born in the deep until it was time for a change. 
One misplaced letter from being Pluto's best friend,it took 
a different path instead.

Sometimes it looks like a rock star, 
sometimes its hair is surprisingly long.
Perhaps no coincidence it prefers a co-dependent atmosphere?

Bouncing between these worlds 
it may not be long for the path it's on 
before moving somewhere closer to the sun. 
Wise, indeed.

Image copyright W. K. Hartmann, sheepishly used without permission (but I'll take it down if he wants).

Other space art of Bill's at http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/opc.html

Solar System Poems 12: Surely Not To Panic

There still is some confusion

regarding the solution

to exactly where this body was created

While long ago occurring 

the data's often blurring

and multiple answers may be demonstrated. 

Its spectrum reminiscent

in its strong sloped ascent

to comets it was captured perhaps

But dynamics workers 

and also conference lurkers

don't see how to make this object do laps

Some say impact made a dozen

but of all its cousins 

only a single still survives we fear. 

But even that sole linkage

has suffered some shrinkage

and whether they relate at all's not clear

And so the battle rages

in usual fits and stages

'twixt spectroscopist and celestial mechanic

If Merlin were living 

the advice he might be giving 

is not to fear and surely not to panic. 

Solar System Poems 11: Proceedings of the LNPSC

It could be on a list now

with the Sidera Lodoicea,

celebrating the 350th year

since Cassini's discovery,

trying to determine how

Herschel could miss it.

How easy to imagine!

Close-up images from Mariner 4,

in-situ data from Venera 6,

radar coverage from Magellan.

Our sister planet unvexed by

a nearby target.

And in joint sessions

at the LNPSC,

we'd look for creepy similarities,

family cataclysms,

and make plans flexible enough

to put humans on this moon

and bring them back safely to Earth

in some decade or another.

It is something of a shame

it is not a list of 

Decadal Survey priority targets

instead of on a list with

yeti, perpetual motion, and Zetans.

Since this one is even more obscure than usual, here's some background info from Wikipedia and Solarviews.  

Solar System Poems 10: Falcon and Masters

The peregrine soars 

sent by its masters to find

scientific prey.

Itokawa sits

battered but unchanged since the

birth of history.

Thirty month journey.

Confused but still determined,

the falcon alights.

The masters see all:

the seas of gravel and rock

through peregrine eyes.

Prey is elusive.

Masters call to return home

with talons empty.

Wounded but living,

with fifty more months of flight

the falcon obeys.

Air thick and fiery,

peregrine transforms itself

into a phoenix.

Masters see, grooming,

falcon's talons now covered

with priceless jewels.

Solar System Poems 9: Jupiter Has Loved Her, Too.

dark horse in a field of heavyweights

newcomer upstart, 

what can you have to offer?

no volcanoes

no oceans

can't bend a compass,

can't tip the scales.

you're like all the nymphs, aren't you?

bigger maybe, but no better.

spreading your dirt 

to the high-rent district,

onto our gleaming ramparts and palimpsests.

you're not from here,

you don't belong here--

one-night stands who overstayed.

She is not bright and flashy, no. 

And she has no PAC or senators on her side.

But she too is part of the story and 

we should come close enough to listen:

Jupiter has loved her, too.

---------

This one is thematically very similar to yesterday's, as is obvious.  Normally I'd separate them by a bit, but I have personal reasons for posting this today so I figured I'd just go for it...  I'm still going to try to only use planetary satellites and small solar system bodies, and since there are common themes in the science of those objects it's hard to make them completely unique...

Solar System Poems 8: One Of The Friends

She is a Titan, but no Titan.  

Sister to Rhea and Tethys in lore,

but better known in current tales

as one of the Friends.

Indeed she is more friend than kin

to those we call "regular"--

dressing in black, out of sync,

favoring retro 

and flying the wrong direction.

How many stories she could tell,

and what secrets lurk,

peeking out from inside!

Joining the TNO diaspora,

riding with the Centaurs,

greeting Cassini at the city gates

and consenting to a few pictures

before going on her own way.

Not Poems: Space Geek Music

Sorry to interrupt NaPoWriMo, but since this is mostly a music blog I figured I'd point to some songs I've done in keeping with this year's poetry theme.  Most of the music I've done is homemade, recorded on my laptop, and doesn't have great singing or playing (other than that, what's not to like?). I don't tend to write science songs, but the ones below have some space/astronomy content.  Most are hosted at BandCamp, though the last two are hosted here on the blog. The latter is a free download, the ones at BandCamp are "name your price", but that price could be free if you like, and you can listen before you download!

1. The Astronomers Song from 2003's In-Jokes With Myself
2. OBAFGKM from 2005's Do Not Tip Or Rock
3. Down On Vesta from 2011's Local Technique EP
4. We Didn't Start the Science from 2008's Cheese Course maxi-single (or something) 
5. We Didn't Start the Science (acoustic demo version) 

Solar System Poems 7: In Peace for All Mankind?

If things were different,

not a lot different but a little different,

we'd already know.

The images would have long been returned,

the chemical analyses long since finished.

No doubt, after more pleasurable grunts

kilos of soil would be examined 

from Irkutsk to Leningrad,

from Minsk to Baku,

from Gdansk to Sofia,

and Bolshoi Mir.

In Moscow the results would be heralded:

"Phobos proven captured", or

"Phobos a piece of Mars", or

surprise of surprises

"Shklovksy Correct!!!".

If things were different, 

if history were more flexible,

a bug found here, a wire soldered there,

a paradrop here, a coup attempt there,

the EVAs would be planned 

and soon Andropov Base will rise

on the edge of Stickney.

Solar System Poems 6: A String of Pearls

How long had you thought of this moment?

How many times had you swung past,

rehearsing your entrance?

You watched Jupiter for eons

wander drunkenly to and fro,

scattering your kin and imprisoning others,

waiting for your chance to dance with him

and die ecstatic in his embrace.

We could not believe our luck

to be born at the right time. 

We watched from any seat we could find:

from tiny telescopes the size of a newborn,

to the mightiest mirrors mankind had constructed.

Galileo, crippled but proud, 

turned his eyes to you in wonder.

Hubble, a punchline no longer

after redeeming himself in your light.

I watched from the cheap seats

in Mansfield, Ohio.

To us all, you were beautiful;

Jagged black rock made into

a string of pearls.

Solar System Poems 5: Am I Not A Planet?

Am I not a planet?

I am larger than Mercury, 

airier than Mars,

smoggier than Houston.

With dune seas that rival the Sahara

and gentle oily rains that fill my lakes

and drain again as seasons change.

Am I not a planet? 

You may pray for Gale crater to make you 

forget Utopia.

You may predict giant squid 

beneath slabs of ice 

thicker than the lithosphere.

But I have the stuff of life

coating my surface,

misting and sleeting.

Why shouldn't I be a planet?

Just because I fell to the siren

of a body stronger than me,

stronger than you,

who promised a ring?

Go back to your computer,

use as many decimal places as you like.

Change the words however you need

to include or exclude your favored bodies

until the words have no meaning.

Keep looking at the sky and

know what you're missing.

Here beneath my cloud I remain 

content in what I am,

content that my time will come.

Solar System Poems 4: Paris at 15 km/s

You were a late addition to the itinerary: 

A layover in Paris at 15 kilometers a second,

the last tune-up before the main event. 

But some of us enjoy Paris more than

spending time at the icy slopes.

You present the usual facade:

The pockmarked, scarred body

those in your neighborhood cannot avoid.

But what are you really about?

Where are you from? Who are your kin?

Surveilled from all angles, in light and in heat,

Your voice remains flat,

your face a gray, dusty mirror 

reflecting back the Sun.

You hide your secrets well.

Seven score years after your discovery,

we still know more about 

what you aren't

than what you are.

Solar System Poems 3: Outlandish Reds and Oranges

Dragged and squeezed by your neighbors, 

you lost the cool countenance 

still worn by your big siblings.

Instead you live! 

Donating plasma to the void,

painting in outlandish reds and oranges,

never settling on one look for long.

Four hundred years after your debut

you still impress your fans,

some plan to swing by fair Europa

when it's you they hope to see

when off to work they go.

It was said that your namesake 

was comforted by Prometheus

after Hera found you hidden in 

a cloud of Zeus' making.

Is that why you act as you do,

using Prometheus' gift

to make a cloud of your own?

Solar System Poems 2: Some Noble Creature In Her

Her central planet's rings are thin,

Not those that Saturn grace.

No storms (to Voyager's chagrin)

like those upon Jove's face.

None of her siblings have any air

Seen in data or math

And humans may never tread there:

Not flexible that path.

Yet the features that we've found,

Scarps, grooves, and coronae,

Give lie to the idea we're bound

To treat interest as phony.

For if this brave vessel was dashed all to pieces

Has been the subject of several theses.

Solar System Poems 1: Two Faced Orb

Two-faced orb, more Janus than Janus,

light and heat separate soot from frost

in a place where tons are pounds

and Roland's song still echoes 

from Laurentia to Baltica.

Around its world in eighty days,

its showier sibling spits salt to gain fame.

But he, a mystery from Cassini to Cassini,

can wait a while longer for someone to crack the walnut.

NaPoWriMo 2012

It's that time of year again, so once again I'll be participating in National Poetry Writing Month.  I've done this for a couple of years, with the 2010 theme being baseball teams and the 2011 theme being chemical elements. I've been struggling a bit to come up with something for this year, but I think I'll do what comes natural and have the theme be solar system objects. I'm not sure if I'll restrict it to the subset of non-planetary bodies or if I'll keep everything in bounds.  Regardless, first poem should be posted here sometime today, along with poems every day thereafter (in theory)!

I may also still post some songs here through the month of April, though it's more than possible the poems will keep me plenty busy...

Another cover!

I was listening to the Jayhawks this evening, and got in the mood to record something.  So I thought I'd tackle one of my favorites of theirs. Only twice in my life have I bought an album because it was playing in the record store where I was browsing-- the first time was an REM album I was on the fence about.  The second time was in Flagstaff, where I was spending the summer of '95. Tomorrow The Green Grass was playing in the background, and when this song came on, I immediately asked who the band was (I was vaguely aware of the Jayhawks from their sort-of hit a few years earlier) and bought the album.

Bad Time was originally by Grand Funk Railroad, but the Jayhawks version is much better in my opinion.  The Science Diet version was based on the Jayhawks', not surprisingly.

Anyway, after several tries I got through a correct version live with the Rover and then overdubbed the (weak) guitar solo.  And here it is: Bad Time by Yours Truly (sans Gedankenband)

Do Not Tip Or Rock, now on Bandcamp

I'm continuing the process of posting my old albums up on Bandcamp, at http://andyrivkin.bandcamp.com. The latest to go up is 2005's Do Not Tip Or Rock, featuring Science Diet-era favorite "Crunchy Granola Girl", the geek rock classic "OBAFGKM", the Mexican tinged "Casa De Nancy", and Jen's songwriting and singing debut "Song For Nicholas".

Also available are 2003's In-Jokes With Myself and 2000's The Red Album, along with 2011's Local Technique EP.

I'd feel bad for shilling this stuff, but since you can name your
price (including "free") I feel it's less unseemly. ;)

(Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams

After mostly using this site for cover songs for a while, I figured I'd put up an original or two. To be precise, two versions of the same original: (Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams. The song was written around 2000 but never quite finished until I took it up a month or two ago. I tried to get into the same mindset I might have had back then, including a reference that would have been a little dated even at the time.

I recorded the acoustic version in December, then I forgot about it and recorded a version tonight with the Gedankenband. So here's both:

(Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams (Acoustic)

(Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams (Electric)

Not sure if this one will make it onto the next album or not, but I suppose time will tell....

In-Jokes Anniversary

Nine years ago on the 18th I released my second "album", In-Jokes With Myself. And by "released", I mean sent emails to friends telling them that I was ready to make them CDs. To commemorate this self-congratulatory event, I've put In-Jokes on my Bandcamp site, where it's now available for download as separate songs or as a whole.

Since this site is for more random bits, I figure I'll post alternate versions of a few of the songs that appear on the album.

Five of the songs were old Dr. Lüst favorites, with Kumiko dating back to 1986 in its original form. Here's a version of Kumiko played by the band at the East Campus picnic in 1991.

Solitaire is another song that's over 20 years old (!!!), originally done by Dr. Lüst. The original version has the the arrangement I tried to match for In-Jokes, but Jury Rig also did a version, with something of a different feel.

Finally, The Astronomers Song was something of a cult favorite in college and grad school. Here I'm playing it live for a group of (perhaps drunk) undergrads up at Lowell Observatory during the summer of 1995. Naturally I screw it up, because I have never played the song correctly in my life.