Kumbaya

How did I spend my Veteran’s Day?  I spent the whole day sleeping.  After I finish this entry, I’m going to sleep some more until I have to wake up and get ready for work.  Margie and I often talk about how great it would be if we were reincarnated as bears.  You get to gorge on food and hibernate in a cave for nearly 100 days through winter and into spring.  Ahhh… now THAT would be the life.

Sam Beam kinda reminds me of a bear.  And camping.

Speaking of camping, I haven’t gone in awhile.  Maybe if I don’t end up visiting Korea next year, I’ll use my vacation days instead to go camping and traveling up the coast with some friends.  That would be nice.

This might sound a little hokey, but what I enjoy the most about camping is that it gives me a chance to experience and enjoy nature.  I work in the city.  I live in the city.  My day-to-day is city life; the hustle, the traffic, the high-rises, the high-tech electronic devices that we can’t leave home without.  It’s just such a relief to break away from that every once in awhile.  And right now, I can use a little peace and quiet.

Iron & Wine – Naked As We Came (Cover)

The Day the Whole World Went Away

Oh, Trent Reznor how I love you so.

Nine Inch Nails – The Day the Whole World Went Away (Cover)

Frail

Another cover recorded at 4:00a.m.

Nine Inch Nails – Frail (Cover)

Nyquil + Piano = Happily Intoxicated

I’ve been sick with the cold since Wednesday.  Actually, I’m not sure if it’s a cold or the flu.  When I tried to diagnose myself with WebMD, I had half of both columns.  Go figure.

I don’t feel well enough (or showered enough) to leave the house so I’ve quarantined myself in my condo.  The only medication I have in the house is Nyquil, so I’ve pretty much been spending most of my time drugging myself with this icky tasting liquid and trying to sleep it off.  I think it’s getting better… I’m not sure.  I don’t feel as congested, but I’m coughing like heck.

I’ve spent the past few hours watching comedies and learning a few new songs on the piano.  I FINALLY found notation for Gonzales’ Solo Piano online.  I was so excited to find it.. then, I realized that it didn’t include my favorite track “Manifesto”.  Damn!  Well, I guess you can’t have it all.  It does, however, have “Overnight”.  I’ve finished learning the first page, which is uploaded below.  My eyes were watering towards the end of the recording so the timing is a bit off.  My favorite chord transition from the entire piece has to be towards the end of that first page, from C7 to Eb.  Ooo La La!  It makes my heart pitter patter.

God, I feel delirious.  Really, really delirious.  I’m going to take my last dose of Nyquil and bury my head under the covers tonight.  Hopefully, by tomorrow morning, I’ll feel well enough to start actually enjoying the rest of my weekend.

Gonzales – Overnight Intro (Cover)

Nobody Said It Was Easy

I was listening to my ipod on shuffle the other day, and Coldplay’s “The Scientist” started playing.  I remembered purchasing the sheet music on Musicnotes a few years ago, and decided to learn it again.  The cover sounds very rusty, and I’ll probably end up reposting a better version after I work on it for another day or two.

I really love this song… even though it’s pretty depressing.  It’s a bit comforting to listen to something that’s close to what your heart is experiencing at moment.

Coldplay – The Scientist

Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry
You don’t know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you,
Tell you I set you apart

Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions
Oh lets go back to the start
Running in circles, coming in tails
Heads on a science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It’s such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing tails
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh it’s such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard

I’m going back to the start

Coldplay – The Scientist (Cover)

Be Here Now

My neighbor had guests over today and since my side of the common wall that we share has the Casio keyboard against it, I decided to postpone recording and posting the disco cover. Though the walls are pretty thick, I still feel sorry for my neighbor because I make so much noise.

Actually, I take that back.  I DON’T feel sorry for my neighbor.  She gets drunk with her super-loud friends past midnight and leaves her front door open so that everyone on our floor can hear her.

I started working on a cover of Ray LaMontagne’s “Be Here Now”.  You can hear my air-conditioner, my cats collar bell jingling, my cell phone beeping, cars speeding by, and sirens blaring on the recording.  It gives it a little… character.  Hah.  I set the microphone sensitivity to low and I haven’t installed any sound editors on my computer yet to make adjustments, so you’ll need to turn your speaker volume up to hear most of it.

Ray LaMontagne – Be Here Now (Cover)