Today we put down drums and bass for three songs: “Let’s Draw Straws”, “M Withdrawals”, and “Cliche Pop Song”. Donovan Babb plays drums and Alec Wooden plays bass. CK Koch is recording and helping me produce the record as we start the steady climb to completion.

It’s pretty exciting to be starting a brand new album since the past two years have been littered with change, travel, and writer’s block. Fortunately things are starting to clear up and this project is finally getting off the ground.

Writing for the album has been pretty interesting. One year ago during the week of Christmas, I hid myself in my house and started making notes on all the song ideas I had lying around: some new, some old. I didn’t have enough inspiration to complete any of the songs then so I just gathered notes and ideas. All throughout 2009 I would refine some of these ideas and eventually they would mold into actual songs. Now 12 months later things are starting to take shape.

Again, there is no date set for completion or release. As of now, it’s projected to be finished tracking in March of this year. However, the true status of the record will have to be posted as things progress. Soon, I’d like to post some rough versions of a few of the songs to show a taste of what I’m working on. Keep a look out!

People here speak in coded embers
that hypnotize me with their pretty patterns.
I moved you like a crossing ship and you moved me too.

Today’s the greatest day I’ve ever lived
and I spent it all alone with tea for two
in Beyoğlu.

Somehow somewhere I know this circle
will complete itself (even in a spiral)
and together complete us too.

M.

Anyway, so Lodger, David Bowie’s 1979 album and the last of his famed “Berlin Trilogy”, is this amazing underrated and overlooked record. For those not familiar with David Bowie’s crazy history, here’s a quick catch-up: In 1976, David Bowie moves from L.A. to Berlin with Iggy Pop to kick his cocaine habit that L.A. had been supporting. He and Iggy Pop live together in an apartment in West Berlin and he manages to beat his addiction… but then gets addicted to heroine. And as if the story couldn’t get much more legendary, he proceeds over the next three years to produce Iggy Pop’s first two solo albums and record three records of his own that are considered now to be among his finest artistic achievements: Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger.

Low is my favorite, “Heroes” is pretty good but there are some songs that are kind of meh, and Lodger is the album that seems to get overlooked in comparison to its two predecessors, and therefore the album I somehow never got around to giving a chance… until this past weekend. It’s got some pretty amazing tracks on it like “Yassassin”, “African Night Flight”, and “DJ”. Actually, this seems to be more of a case where all the songs sound good because they’re together on this record. It also helps that it’s exactly what I’m craving right now.

Interestingly, David Bowie and producer Brian Eno tried a lot of weird recording processes to get different effects. For example, on “Boys Keep Swinging” they made drummer Dennis Davis play bass and guitarist Carlos Alomar play drums simply to force them out of their natural talents. They took Bowie’s earlier song “All The Young Dudes”, reversed the music, and wrote melodies over it to create the song “Move On”. The album ushers in a sense of world music with “Yassassin” and “African Night Flight” but it’s done with this awesome sense of taste that manages to separate them from the cringes that “world music” (just the thought of the term itself) sadly makes me feel.

Unfortunately it received some pretty mediocre to poor reviews (Rolling Stone calling it “one of his weakest … scattered, a footnote to “Heroes”, an act of marking time”) upon release but is now revered as a classic. I’d give it a listen on Grooveshark. Here’s my favorite song thus far:

Last night marked the first practice with friends Donovan Babb and Alec Wooden, who will help me on the new record, on 3 new songs to prepare them for tracking. There’s no confirmed date of when the first day of tracking will begin but I’m planning on the middle of January. This will mean a hopeful completion by April and release shortly after. Sweet Jesus! Lots of work to be done!

The in-site store needs a bit more work such as a jQuery pretty photo viewer so that you can look over some pics of the product by clicking on its respective icon. I also need to actually take those pictures to put on the site. All in due time… all in due time.

Anyway, check out the store as both albums are up for digital download and You Are A Vulture is also there for a physical purchase. Hopefully in the new year I’d like to make some t-shirts and posters and get those going. There will be updates!