It's May, what more can you say?

It’s beautiful and looks very professional.

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Really sorry to hear that Aito, maybe you've been playing music too loud and for too long - I know I get dizzy if I do that (even without an infection)

I've been trying to vary my uploads/remixes - did a spoken word story/poem yesterday and just did some simple reggae today. Some genres are very easy for a vocalist to add to, Blues, Country, Folk or Reggae normally go where you expect them to go. Jazz is workable if you can improvise - and Rock, well, not easy just lots of attitude and volume. I'm generalizing of course, but it's the easier stuff I'm drawn towards. However if you get a big alternative production or something with a surprising chord structure, now that is a challenge and maybe better to leave it to a beautiful lead instrument... cello, sax, flute, guitar, violin etc.... and there are many, many examples of templates on wikiloops that are better without a vocal.

It's almost "Whoohoo" Day again, it comes around so quickly. :) I think Fridays should have more hours like some months have more days - we could take them off Monday or Tuesday perhaps :D

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Still hard at work trying to figure out how to run my MODX keyboard with a Windows audio driver. The MODX has an in-built audio interface which lets me connect directly to the DAW but it requires the Steinberg driver. Yamaha says that if I want to record any other instrument (bass, guitar, vox), I should just plug them into the MODX. Alternativly I could use my external audio interfaces for instruments but would need to deactivate the Steinberg driver and when I want to switch back to the MODX deactivate the Windows driver and activate the Steinberg.

I hate it when design flaws are billed as special features.

Re Shamikas last entry: Rock vocals are just lots of attitude and volume?? I beg to differ. I`ve got the attitude and the volume. Doesn`t make me a rock singer. Would I attempt to sing, I`d probably get arrested and charged with failure to maintain pitch, lack of a suitable voice, inability to project and countless other musical crimes. I`m sure the Geneva convention contains a paragraph explicitly mentioning my name in the context of singing. I believe the term they used was voice-boarding.

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The weekend is coming, can't wait to finish work today :).

Unfortunately a gremlin as struck my car and I need to fix it pronto! Basically, I had a problem with a misfire about 1.5 years ago. I changed all the suspicious parts, could not solve it. I resigned to the fact that I might have to go to a speciali$$$$$$t, but kept on driving for a couple of weeks. Then suddenly I noticed that the problem was gone. Woohoo! However yesterday it came back with a vengeance, after 1.5 years!!!! Why??? *#@§$%&@!!!!

Anyways, hope you all have a great weekend :)

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I believe we've had this conversation before Dear MySounds :o I give up trying to stop your unjustified self deprecation, so I wrote a song for you (using a template of yours that hadn't been remixed) I hope the lyrics will make you smile.... and shut you up :D

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riddle me this, does singing to my pet rock, make me a rock singer?

[img]https://nationaltoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/National-Pet-Rock-Day-1200x834.jpg[/img]

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No, sorry Nick, it probably just means you're stoned again :)

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Sunday 11th May.
I always think that if you want to sing about love it sounds so much better in a softer language like Italian, Spanish or French..... English/American and German for example, sound less romantic, but it depends who is singing I suppose :D.
So today I tried out 'Un po' di Italiano'. The problem is that my Italian translator speaks really quickly and uses sounds I can't actually get my tongue around.

Waiting for another football game to start now against our local rivals Nottingham Forest. I expect there will be trouble at this match as there's a history of violence and hate every time we meet :o But this time we are going down and they are staying up quite high. At least next season we'll be in different divisions.

Still no action on the house sale so it's either reduce the price or take it off the market, I was hoping to move before the Summer but that won't happen now :@

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Quite a busy weekend. Spent saturday morning - as usual - enjoying a couple of glasses of Cremant de Loire at a small bar inside one of the best delicatessen shops in Hamburg. This has become a routine for me to start the weekend. Being a regular guest there has the distinct advantage of not having to book a place at the bar. As I`m on first name terms with all of the staff they always manage to clear a table for me. Especially important on weekends like this one when Hamburg was full of tourists coming for the annual Port of Hamburg festivities.

Ernie and Didier sent me some HDs I`d asked them for for two different tracks. Got this idea for rearranging a couple of tracks. Might be a waste of time or then again it might turn out to be at least interesting. Time will tell. But listening to them playing their stuff is just a big wow experience.

Watched Liverpool v Arsenal yesterday evening. Considering that over last 2 weeks Arsenal threw away every chance at getting some silverware this season, this game wasn`t half bad.

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Monday 12th May

The Sunday game was a 2 - 2 draw, just two more games left to play.
I can't remember the last time I went away on holiday but I've become such a nervy driver (or passenger) that it's become a big deal. The problem, which is probably psychological, is my lack of trust in other motorists. I'm OK flying, it's the drive to the airport and the wait there that I dislike.

I saw a rat in the garden yesterday, he was sitting on the bird table nibbling their food. I find rats scary, it's odd because I enjoy watching squirrels and they look like rats but the bushy tail makes them more acceptable.

I like the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi (seeing beauty in the imperfect) My home is a testament to that. Yesterday I found some old wooden steps in the garage so I dusted them down and put them in the lounge to hold a lamp. I'm fascinated by crumbling old ruins and time worn buildings. However I can't see beauty in ripped jeans a fashion that won't go away. I also think it's sad that people deface their skin with art that should be on a wall. In music I don't always like the perfect sound of an Opera singer, I prefer a 'lived in' voice.

I just had a Chicken Hotpot followed by a Cornetto for lunch and I'm now drinking a cold tea.... it was hot when I started typing this post but I forgot all about it - did that yesterday too.

I want to upload some music but the last 2 attempts had me 'red flagging' again - I must do what TeeGee suggested and try them on a private band upload first. But then I'm a person that doesn't take my music too seriously - if it all got lost tomorrow I'd just say "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted" Byee for now <3

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Still struggling to find a solution to my car problem. It makes me crazy not finding what causes the misfire. Makes me question my whole technical life. Why can't I find it?? After days of indecision that gnawed at what is left of my mind I decided I might let the #1 expert in Germany take the car, overhaul it and also solve the problem. I wanted to do it anyways next year, but. So I called the nice man, he told me he can reserve a spot for me in November :O :O :O

So I am back to square 1... :(

Anyways, I got some new ideas where to dig, so let's see

I am going away for a week to work in a trade show, not looking forward to that to be honest. But, on the good side of it, I will meet some nice customers from all over the world that I only see on these shows, and will have some nice chats with them.

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I currently read a biography of Paul Dirac. It's touching and interesting, how his and general life has been hundred years ago. When he was not lecturing he traveled around the globe. He had one coat, one suit, and no email no SMS no Google maps no WhatsApp no Paypal but discovered the whole world by train and ship, mostly alone. And the new theories of quantum physics he developed also. Perhaps the priorities where the other way round.

PS: TeeGee, the reason for mis fires in your car's engine are quantum fluctuations, my guess!

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It sounds to me more like gargantuous flatulation :O Terrible!! And the worst thing?? It is all my fault. Why? I was driving along on the beautiful mountain roads near the Mosel river, and I was saying to my sister "look how nice this old car is driving, amazing!" Basically, I jinxed it!!!

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Did you know that Wikiloops is good for tourism? I recently told `she who must be obeyed` which title and cover pic I had in mind for the next album. Well, for this weekend she`s drawn up a plan for visting various possible locations to look at landmarks all around northern Germany. Seems like we`ll be zigzagging between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

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Thursday 16th May.

An odd thing happened - yesterday I was at the medical centre and they were playing "This could be the last time" (Rolling Stones).... then I went to the Supermarket and they were playing "Let's spend the night together" (Rolling Stones) I was starting to wonder if Mick Jagger had died or something :o

Although these are old songs it reminded me how a repeated riff and an easy lyric makes for a successful song. I don't think the playing or singing was outstanding but for some reason those songs have become instantly recognizable and memorable.... more please :)

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My hearing got worse and worse for a couple of weeks until today when, suddenly, my ear started to work. I was sitting at the bus stop at that moment, but a small tear of happiness sneaked out from the corner of my eye. I no longer believed that the medication I had taken could work, as more time had passed than the doctor had said.


At worst, I was missing over half of the hearing in my left ear and almost all low frequencies. I was already sure that I had ruined my ear by playing too loud, but it was likely due to issues brought on by hypertension. Now I just have to hope that the ear heals completely, as it is still not fully healthy.


I have always liked the music made by Rootshell, but today it sounded 100 times better when I put on headphones for the first time in a couple of weeks and got to play bass along with it. Maybe tomorrow I'll record something, or maybe I won't. :D

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Get better headphones :D

I mean, for someone who aspires to create the perfect 30sec song, Mr Rootshell is not untalented. His guitar playing certainly has an entertaining value of sorts and his vocal contributions on occasion may elicit a smile....but I'd never consider him to be a reference point for my hearing ability.

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Wednesday 21st May

* Nothing happening musically for me these days, maybe because it's lovely weather outside.

* There have been no views on the house for 2 months so it's been taken off the market until things start moving again.

* To satisfy my need for constant change, I have decided to go down the Japanese/Scandinavian route decoratively. The dated wardrobes and carpet have been stripped out and I'm waiting for some Shoji panels to arrive. Also looking into getting a low platform bed and new lighting. Hey, that's another reason that I haven't been at the Loops so much.

* The saddest thing this week was seeing a rat sitting on the bird table, eating then running under the shed. The pest control people advise removing bird food.... so now, every day my little Robin visitor comes into the garden looking hopefully at the empty bird feeders :|

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True hearing skills are when you don’t hear your spouse muttering in the next room about the global tragedy of being out of butter

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Your bird feeder hangs on a line? I would post a sign in big letters: "rats can't climb."

( At least this would work with overly deferential humanoids. )

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