Dear JC,

On 24 May you wrote that the re-mastered version of Positive would be available by 1 August of this year.Well, it’s now the fifteenth and I’ve heard nothing about this for quite some time.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to recall that your last record was also delayed. And the one before that. And so was the one before that.

You know I support you, mate. But let me ask you: Why bother telling people about new albums if you never come anywhere near the target? Why not try putting out a new album after it’s done and not talking about it beforehand?

Hoisted on my own blog-petard. How embarrassing.

The raw truth is this: The sun got in my eyes. So it fell out of me bag on the way to school. And my dog ate it. And then things got really tough.

But seriously ladies and germs, there’s been the usual delays which result from trying to […]

Steve (Porcupine Tree) Wilson has been writing a bunch lately about ‘the evils of compression in music listening.’ I’ve certainly done my share of ranting on this topic.

Everybody has a “kill ’em all” moment—at least once in a while. Everybody. Mother Theresa had ’em.

My latest issue of Time Magazine hit my mailbox and the moment I looked at the cover I had one:

Not immediately, mind you. It took a couple of seconds to register. I mean, at first all I saw was a very pretty girl in a beautiful hijab. I mean—look at those eyes! At the same instant I did think (no cliche) “What’s wrong with this picture?”

See it took a couple of seconds because I just couldn’t imagine this. I’ve read plenty of gruesome tales from various histories (Roman, Persian, Henry IV, etc.) where such things happened. But that was like, oh… a THOUSAND YEARS AGO.

It literally took a couple of seconds before my brain would accept the visual information being streamed in through me glassies. I’ve read a bunch of psychology articles which talk about the old ‘deer in the headlights’ deal—people hesitate […]

I Do Love A Bargain!

Well, I got me a new drum kit. I haven’t even played it yet, so it’s hard to comment beyond saying that I got a good deal from this Nigerian guy on this farm out in *EBF. Typical story: got it for a teenage son who played it about five times and then decided XBox was more entertaining. This new piece of craftsmanship is made by the same company that built my beloved Ringo, but sadly, the 2010 version is made in Taiwan of materials that were probably sourced from the Taipei Home Depot. For some reason, this fact has just told me it must henceforth be known as

Rudwig.

Because that’s the kind of humour I live for.

Why get a kit now? All summer as I’ve sat here not playing, I’ve been thinkin’ and thinkin’ and thinkin’ about the various criticisms I’ve received about my non-prog ‘prog’. And the loss of the drum kit got me thinkin’ about even more about what I practice in my drumming […]

Sorry I’ve been out of the loop. I’ve had an ongoing battle with pneumonia and bronchitis that hasn’t let up since Christmas.

I played the absolute worst recording session of my life a couple of weeks ago, with a guy who does a type of music unique to himself (in the Seattle area anyway.) It’s so unique in fact that, were I to mention even the genre to you, I would unmask myself before him and thereby ruin our relationship. (How’s that for some bush league, soap opera cloak and dagger!) But he’s about the nicest guy I can imagine and I actually like the genre he works in a bunch. Therefore, his identity shall forever remain a secret!

And yet, Dear Reader, I feel I must comment on his approach to music because it’s so, so, so… wrong.

He begins the recording process by creating very detailed mock ups of his music in a computer, using synthesizers as his sound sources. He makes sure that every nuance he wants played is electronically […]