017 snow

It's 20h16, and it's not warm.

Tonight's post will have to be short as well because my wife will be home soon. She works until 20h15...well, maybe I have a little time, unless she gets a ride, but I wouldn't blame her if she asked someone to give her a ride because it's really cold outside. I just got back actually from shopping; I almost didn't make it to the stores because of work, but I did and was able to find what I was looking for. Honestly, I haven't had much time to go to the stores with work and all, but I have been able to find a couple of things that I hope she'll like. Of course, the Internet has also been a life-saver because really, when you don't have a car, it is quite difficult to get around here because the buses are not realiable in winter; you could be waiting for a long time for them to arrive.

Well, I finally have something to put on my wine blog. No, I haven't posted yet, but this past week, we had a wine party and it went really well. I hope to do it again soon. I won't go into too much detail, but there were six wines, and a lot of food. Everyone seemed to have a good time, but I think I drank too much. It seems that when I drink, I get, how should I say, preachy. It's strange, too, because I don't remember ever getting that way back in Canada, nor when I first came to Japan, but now that I think about it, I tend to talk a lot when I have been drinking, and well, when you're somewhat tipsy, you don't know, well, when to shut up. I'll just leave it at that. In any case, the wine was overall good, and so was the food; definitely, a good evening was had by all. If you are interested, I hope to post about it tomorrow, well if I have the time because I still have some shopping left to do.

Anyway, on to the song. Honestly, I wasn't sure which song to post. Recently, I have been recording only melodies and not really writing any words. To clarify, I mean that sometimes when I have a melody in my head, I can play it out on the guitar, but when I don't have any words to sing, I tend to mumble or make up any old gibberish to catch the sound I want. Then later, I go back and try to put words to it. Therefore, I have many pieces to post, but since I haven't gotten around to putting real lyrics to them, I can't really post them now can I, so tonight was going to use my last piece, thereby forcing me to sit down and properly record the others. However, on my way home, a melody popped into my head, and words came really easily; luckily I had my recorder, so I recorded it. I don't sing in French very often, but this one is in French. After I came home, I recorded it, but then immediately the song I am going to post this evening came out of nowhere, and I thought, 'Hey, this is really catchy!', so I recorded it as quickly as possible. The song is definitely funky pop bluesy something; I'm not really sure what you classify it as, but here is the song for this evening, which means I still have two songs left, but that still means I have to record the others soon, or I'll be in trouble. Where do all these melodies and ideas come from?

cheers,
alexander

016 say yes

It's 18h07, and it's a winter wonderland outside - I'm not kidding. We got hit hard on Tuesday, and well, it doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon.

Well tonight will have to be a short post because I have some shopping to do. Tonight we are having a wine party, and I'm responsible for the wine, so if I don't leave soon, the store will be closed. Actually, I'm really looking forward to this because first of all, it has been a really long time since we had one, and second, well, I love wine! Tonight will also be our first blind tasting - only I will know the wines - so it should be interesting; hey, I may finally have something to post on my wine blog! Yes! Of course, it's difficult to have such a party every week because of schedules and of course financial reasons, but it would be great if we could because as many sommeliers and wine advisers recommend, the more wines you try and the more people you try them with the more fun and educational it can be.

As for tonight's song, it's one of my more poppier songs. Honestly, it reminds of something I've heard before, but I can't figure out what, so I'm safe from copyright infringement although it is only the melody that sounds familiar. As for the theme of the song, I would say it's about love, although there may be a tint of vampire with the part about watching the sun rise one more time, or it could just be about having to leave someone you love and this is their last night together. As you can see, I'm not really sure what it's about because I wrote it spontaneously and I just liked how the melody and words mixed, so I left it like that, but despite its spontaneity, there is potential in those lyrics for various interpretations. If you are interested, let me know what you think about this song's meaning, or more importantly, how it makes you feel. I would be glad to hear from you.

cheers,
alexander

015 what would I do without you?

It's 17h56, and I've just heard sirens nearby. It sounded like an ambulance. I think this time of year, many people are using their heaters, and as a result there tends to be more fires, accidents etc. I hope whoever it is is OK.

Well, I spent some time again today clicking on the next blog only to find more and more reading and writing blogs. There are really so many out there, aren't there? It still amazes me. However, I was able to stumble across these two blogs both of which have nothing in common with one another nor with the theme of reading books and writing books. Here are the links

Brandon

Bernie Gonzalez

I liked Brandon's blog for his accounts of living in Japan and now Korea for the first time. Some of his stories are quite funny, and quite true to me because I also have been there and can relate to what he's saying. As for the other blog, the cartoons are cool and I like the Hammer Horror reference. Actually let's link that up, too.

Hammer Horror

Definitely check out the archive; I love the Dracula films.

Anyway, this post will have to be short because I have some shopping to do, and the place I have to go closes early. Before I go though, I just want to mention another band that has influenced me, but more recently - Vampire Weekend. I am sure that many of you know this group, but if you don't check them out because in my humble opinion, they are one of the best bands out there right now. Here is one of their songs,



Well, as for my song tonight, it's probably not as good as Vampire Weekend, but it's quite catchy I think. Honestly, I should probably post some of these on Youtube and see what happens, but for some reason, Youtube scares me. Does it scare you?

Cheers,
alexander

014 boogeyman

It's 18h34, and I think it's quite mild, or at least it was when I came here this morning.

Well, winter is finally upon us; it started snowing Monday, but most of it has disappeared now. Nevertheless, since Monday I have been walking to work, mainly because riding a bicycle in the snow is a little too adventurous for my blood, but also because I need the exercise. Yes, metabolism has struck with a vengeance, and I've put on a few pounds to say the least. Hopefully, walking to work each day - it takes about an hour to go there and back - will help me shed a few pounds.

Recently, I've discovered that blogger has a new function where if you click on the 'Next Blog' button, you'll probably be brought to a blog that is similar to your own, but so far, no luck. Honestly, I never knew so many people used blogs to review books. I spent about 10 minutes or so, clicking the button then going back and doing it again, and about 90% of the blogs that appeared were about books; interestingly, my blog is not about books at all, so I really don't know how they associate these blogs with mine. If someone could let me know, that would be great. What I was hoping for was to find other blogs like mine that showcase original music, but perhaps everyone in that boat is over at myspace, but despite having an account there, I never really got into myspace, maybe because of the look or the upload capacity - not sure.

This morning I heard something straight out of a sci-fi movie - scientists are developing a contact lense that will function as a computer. It seems that you just pop in the contact and the screen appears in front of you. Of course, I only heard this this morning, so I really don't have any details, but my first thought was that if some people are so oblivious when talking on cell phones - I don't know how they don't get killed while using them - what will happen if they have a computer screen in front of their face? I picture many people with bruises and broken noses for a while. Or maybe they will have to close their eyes while using it, so then we get a bunch of people talking aloud with their eyes shut. Can you imagine that? A bus full of people with their eyes closed surfing the Internet? It would be a very bizarre world indeed.

Well, I should get going, but first, just a little about the song. I wrote it this week or last, I forget exactly, but I really like this because it's very calm, relaxing, but also poppy. I also like the lyrics which I wrote in a very short time - less than 10 minutes maybe? I think those songs have the most potential, the ones that you create in a flash. There is just something energetic, raw about those that make them fun to play over and over again. As for the lyrics, I would say that it's a parent protecting his or her child, although I would be interested to hear what you think. If you'd like, leave a comment or email me at sneakergroove(a)hotmail.com.

Also, if you are interested visit my other blogs. There is one for learning French, one for English vocabulary, and one for wine, although I haven't started it yet. Honestly though, even though I want to have a wine blog, I realize that I never have much to say about wine, not enough anyway to have a blog. In due time, I guess... in due time.

Cheers,
alexander

013 fear of cars

It's 18h01, and the heater is making all sorts of noises.

Yeah, I am not sure what it's trying to tell me, but every day around this time, it starts to cackle and pop and then after a few minutes it goes back to sleep leaving the room nice and toasty.

I can't believe it's Friday again, which means that Monday is almost here, and then it'll be Friday once more, and I'll have no idea of where the time went. I don't really have any plans, except for doing some Xmas shopping, but other than that, I've got nothing going on. Of course, I won't go into that because, well, it's not that interesting for you to hear that I have no plans, now is it?

What I will talk about is Ben Harper. I was thinking of who to introduce this week because it has been a while since I talked about my influences, and Ben Harper came to mind. I haven't really listened to his new stuff though, but his first two albums, especially the second one, were awesome. I probably should check out his recent material, but the first two albums were solo performances, whereas later he's with a band. I especially like his slide technique, something which I can't really do, and well, never really fit my style, but when you hear it done right, it's really nice.

The song I am posting tonight will be a little different from the samples of Ben Harper I am going to post, but these songs are beautiful and you should really listen to them. If you like these songs, I strongly suggest you listen to more of him because he is amazing.







I just realized that all three songs came from his second, and I couldn't really think of any songs from his first that I would post, so maybe it's only his second album that really affected, or it could be that I just forgot - it has been a few years since I listened to him. The last video is of him with Jack Johnson, another artist that I know more by name and not music. I was told once that one of my songs sounded like his, but until I listen to him I can't really say. Anyway, before I head on to my song, here are two links, one for Ben Harper and the other for Jack Johnson.

Ben Harper

Jack Johnson

Well, I wrote this song (see above) or this part of it this week. One night earlier this week I was home and this song came out of nowhere - I like those - but I didn't have the time to really record it until last night, and I'm glad I did because the song had been stuck in my head until then. As for the meaning, I would say escape would be it. It seems that many of my songs are about escaping or running away, or going to somewhere quiet where there are lights or cars or city noise. Maybe I'm trying to tell myself something? Anyway, this will definitely be one of the songs on this blog that I will try to work on for performing live because I think this could be a very good song if well rehearsed. I am not sure if I will change or add anything extra to the music because as I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes songs sound OK as they are even if they are simple, and if you go and add something more, it could completely ruin it.

Well, I should get going because it's getting late. If you ever like a song of mine please feel free to leave a comment and let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Cheers,
alexander

012 tomorrow let's sleep in

It's 18h36, and it's quite warm for a December day.

I didn't post anything last week because I had to go to Akita. I won't go into any detail, but it was for personal reasons. I will say however that I got sick while I was there and had to go to the hospital. Yes, that's right, the hospital. At first I thought I had drunk too much at the family gathering, but when I continued to get sick until 5 in the morning, I knew it wasn't from drinking. Also, several other family members reported getting sick, so something tells me it was something we ate. However, honestly, I don't know why I got sick because the doctor could not find any reason. He gave me some medicine and sent me on my way. I have to say though that I must have looked crazy to the other patients because I was wearing my brother-in-law's sweatshirt, my father-in-law's sweatpants and I was carrying around a garbage can with me just in case I got sick there, but with all those people I did my best not to. Fortunately, it was not too serious and now I am back to work feeling much better.

Well, enough about that. I still can't believe it's December. Time really flies, doesn't it? I haven't even started Xmas shopping yet and before you know it Santa will be here. I do have some ideas of what to buy though; it's just finding the time to buy them.

So, tonight's song - yeah, I know, this post might end up being a little shorter than usual, but really, once I become busier, I will probably have to keep my posts short or I am going to find myself pinched for time - is quite poppy, probably one of my happier tunes. To be honest, the more I listen to this song, the more my vocals resemble Eddie Vedder's even if it is only a little. Again for those of you who don't know who he is, he's the lead singer of Pearl Jam (the link is on the right). I think it's a song that would definitely sound nice live with the right bass and drums behind it. It could definitely be one of my catchier tunes as well, and of course, we all like catchy tunes, just not those that get stuck in your head when you don't want them to, then it's just horrible. As for the meaning, I am not sure yet as to what I want to say here, but considering the lyrics are about sleeping in until the sun sets, I could say that it is another song about vampires, but I'm not really sure, and no, I am not that goth.

Well, I should be going because I have some things to do, but before I do, I should tell you about the links to my other blogs on the right. There's one for French learning, one for wine (which I really need to start), one for vocabulary learning and one for education. The French blog will be posted every Monday for now, the vocabulary one, I will try to post every weekday, and the wine one every Sunday, but as of yet, I haven't gotten around to posting. There are some links on it though for wineries in Japan and for some shops here in Hakodate. If you're interested please check them out.

Cheers,
alexander

011 excited

It's not 18h55, and I am fairly tired. I spent about 3 hours today in the deepest regions of our library looking through 30+ years worth of journal articles searching for something that might be related to the research I am doing, but all I got out of it were dirty hands, a weird taste in my mouth and about 5 articles that may or may not be usable. Yeah! I guess it is not so bad though because I think after today I can finally say to myself that there are no articles for me to use, and now it's time to get down to writing.

Anyway, that is too work-related, but really after doing that all day, that is about the only thing on my mind; I feel quite spacey actually, and I can see why after many years of such activity we have terms like the mad professor or the mad scientist. Who wouldn't go mad after ingesting dust for two hours? But seriously, I kind of like it, being amongst old books for extended periods of time. I have often said that I would like to have my own study filled with books, but alas, technology is killing the book, and it is only a matter of time, albeit a long time still, I hope, but nevertheless, I can see one day when Where's Waldo books will be displayed in a museum and children will be asking their teacher, 'What's that?' and the teacher not knowing really what it is will ask the caretaker for the answer. On the plus side though, we would be saving a lot of trees, but as we all know, that is only one of many things we have to do to save our planet, but I won't get into that because, well, I am sure there are more informed blogs out there on such a topic, and I am not that informed.

So, moving along, tonight's song (Oh yeah, I just remembered that I still have to talk about my influences...well, let's leave that until another time, shall we?). I have to say that I like writing these really short numbers, with very simple lyrics. Of course, if I were to play them live, which I have thought about recently, I would have to try to add to them, but then again, perhaps they are OK as they are, and I shouldn't add anything because I could end up ruining the song if I did. It would be interesting to hear people's opinions on me playing 1-2 minute songs. Of course, there have been 1-2 minute songs, but every song only 1-2 minutes. Hmmm...maybe some punk bands come to mind, but even bands like The Ramones had longer songs, didn't they? Let's see...


I wanna be sedated

2:26 minutes. Well, a little longer than 2 minutes, but, who's complaining? It's The Ramones!

I also just noticed Ed the Sock in that video. Any Canadians reading this blog should automatically know who he is/was?, but he was a host on MuchMusic in the 90's. I think he even had his own talk show at one point, but I don't really remember. If you're interested, here's a link to his bio:

Ed the Sock (Sorry, only in English)

OK, I must be tired because this is the third time writing about tonight's song. I was going to post another song, you see, and so in the title area, had written the name of that song, but then I changed my mind and posted another, but forgot to change the name in the title section and so as a result, and of course due to fatigue or dusty spaciness, I deleted what I had written first, which was actually for the correct song, then rewrote it for the imaginary one, and now I'm back to square one, and I think I am tired because I think this paragraph is somewhat ungrammatical, but I'll let you decide. Anyway tonight's song is one that I'd like to open a set with. It's a very simple song, but the lyrics are sort of dark. Definitely worth working on.

Cheers,
alexander

010 the light is gone

It's now 20h13, and I really should be going home. I started posting today on another blog - yes, that's right I have several in fact - and it took a little longer than expected. Who would have thought that pronouncing the name Abdullah would take so long? Anyway, here is the link if you are interested,

The Wonderful World of Words or How many words do you know?

Actually, this is a second attempt at this blog because back in the summer I was posting, but on wordpress. However, unfortunately, wordpress does not have free audio and blogger does (Yeah for blogger, boo for wordpress!), so here I am. At first, I was considering simple text and leaving it at that, but finally decided to record the posts, mainly so that I could have the chance to practice the pronunciation of the new words I come across. Yes, that's right, the blog is pretty much a vocabulary notebook for me, but I think anyone interested in vocabulary, especially the more uncommon words, may find this interesting. I also started this blog in order to improve my own vocabulary because let me tell you, I really need to, especially if things work out next year.

I guess I should just come out and say it because, nah, I won't just yet. Suspense, you got to like it, eh?

However, I have to say that having all these blogs can be a little risky because they can get time-consuming take today's wonderful world of words post for example, but I think that once I get used to recording the blog it will get better and besides, not every sentence will have complicated pronunciation. Of course, it's not that the pronunciation is difficult, but I am somewhat of a perfectionist, so I did not want to mess up on the pronunciation of Abdullah, although in the end, I probably did. Sorry!

I still haven't decided how often I will post, but ideally every evening would be nice. It would force me to read more, and since it is vocabulary practice, learning 5 or so words a week would be reasonable considering my schedule. As for the music blog, which I should get back to, I am hoping for twice or maybe three times a week, maybe Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Well, I was going to talk a little bit more about my influences, but the other blog kind of took my time, so I won't go into that tonight, but I must say I was surprised to hear, and I apologize for being so behind in the news, that Aerosmith and Oasis are both without someone vital to the group, Aerosmith's vocalist Steven Tyler, and Oasis's guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher. Pretty crazy, eh? I never really listened to Aerosmith though, but one of their songs that I like even today is one of their older ones, Dream On, a great song that I recommend you check out if you haven't heard it. Let's see if I can get a link:

Dream On

As for Oasis, I think I first heard them when I was working at home. I think it was the year I took off from university, and that summer I was working on a website or something, I don't really remember, but Definitely Maybe and What's the story, morning glory? were awesome albums. After those, I kind of stopped listening, but some of the songs on those two albums that I really liked were Slide Away, Live Forever, Hello, Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger, She's Electric and Champagne Supernova. Here are some links for your listening pleasure:

Live Forever

Wonderwall

Don't Look Back in Anger

Champagne Supernova

I am not sure if I learned them all, but I definitely remember learning Slide Away, Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger and Champagne Supernova. Unfortunately, I would not be able to play them now if you asked me to, or maybe that's not so unfortunate. Honestly, I prefer originals any day than covers.

Well, OK, I have to stop here because I just noticed the time and I have to go. Tonight's song, 'the light is gone' is actually quite Oasis-like. Whether that is a good thing or not, that is for you to decide. I think this song may be nice as well as an opener - I find it difficult to write good opener songs as most of them seem to be better suited to ending a concert. Hey, maybe I could start a trend of ending the concert multiple times! Hmmm, maybe not such a good idea.

Cheers,
alexander

Don't leave or Work it out? Which do you like more as a title?

It's 17h33. It's really windy outside, and I think it calls for rain, so I shouldn't stay here too long because I didn't bring my umbrella this morning.

Well, I can't believe it, but this is my second post this week! I hope that this will continue, but like all things in life, one can never be sure. What I need to do in order to make this work is set a day or days when I post and try to stick to those days. That way I can develop a schedule and not be so sporadic with my posts.

In my last post, I listed some of the bands that have influenced me and my music over the years. I thought that today I would pick one of those groups and talk about the album that affected me the most musically, and I think today I will talk a little about Pearl Jam. It seems that where I am, most people don't know who they are. Well, I won't go into their history because it would take forever and would involve some background research on my part, so instead here are some links that may help.

Pearl Jam - Wikipedia (Japanese)

Pearl Jam - Wikipedia (English)

Pearl Jam - Official Site

To be honest, it's been a while since I listened to them. The last album I bought was Yield, so that can give you an idea. I don't know why, but for me, after Yield, I just couldn't get into their new sound, if that's what you could call it. However, I have recently listened to their last few albums and I think there may be some renewed promise, but for me the albums that really affected me would be Ten, Vs, Vitalogy and to a lesser degree No Code and Yield. Definitely, the first three were amazing for me. I still remember when I got Ten. I had joined a music club, BGM or something like that, and had received my 10 free cassettes, and if I remember correctly, there were some really nasty choices in there, which I don't remember or choose not remember and will never reveal to anyone. Needless to say, Ten was the diamond in the rough, and almost every evening, I would sing along to songs like Deep, Once, Black or Even Flow. They were all amazing. Then Vs came out and it was crazier with songs like Daughter and Rear View Mirror, and finally Vitalogy with Better Man, Corduroy, Last Exit, Spin The Black Circle, Not For You, Tremor Christ and Nothingman, a beautiful song that probably was one of the most influential for me melody-wise. While No Code and Yield were not as exciting for me, Lukin was and still is awesome to listen to, and Who You Are was really atmospheric, really cool.

Of course, there were other songs that I really liked especially State of Love and Trust and I got Id and The Long Road from the Merkinball single. Actually, here is the link for I got Id,

I got Id

OK, well I could go on, but it's getting late and I should get going, so here is the song for today. I am not sure what to call it as the title shows, but I think both could work. The song is quite mellow I think, and could even be an opener for a concert. I can imagine starting with that one and then following it up with something really heavy. Well, it seems that I spent all my energy on Pearl Jam because I feel I have nothing left to say except enjoy the links and enjoy my track and until next time, take care!

cheers,
alexander

Wide Open Skies

It's 17h59. I haven't been outside yet, so I don't really know what the weather is like, but this morning it was pretty cold, and I forgot my mittens!

Well, things are pretty much back to normal; I am referring to my cold, high fever, sore muscles from not playing sports enough and then my bicycle accident and broken bottle of sake. I have had three bad things happen to me, so there should be something positive to come, and I think I may have already received one - the deadline for my paper has been extended to the end of March, so I will have a lot more time to work on it than expected. I won't go into too much detail because for many of you who may be reading this it gets quite technical, but my paper will focus on modal auxiliary verbs and futurity, and whether the structure Modal Auxiliary + Have + -ED is acceptable or not in a future context, especially the modal auxiliary should. However, despite the extension, it may be in my best interest to get it finished as soon as possible because if things work out as I hope they will, I will become considerably busier in January, so I really should clear my schedule as soon as possible.

Anyway, enough about that, this blog is not exactly for me to talk about my life per se, but rather to introduce to you the Internet my music while keeping a record of my music samples, because so far that is what I've been posting here. Speaking of which, the song for today called 'Wide Open Skies' was another of many of spontaneous melodies that just came out of the sky so to speak. I forget what I was doing at the time, but I think I was recording something else when this caught my attention. I have to say though that it sounds a lot like Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, one of my early influences. Actually, I was thinking of doing this later, but hey, what the hell. Here are some of my influences, and I will try my best to put them in order.

Pearl Jam
Nirvana
Oasis
Blur
Foo Fighters
Dave Matthews Band
Ben Harper
Rufus Wainwright
Radiohead
Coldplay
The Strokes
John Mayer
Jazz

I know that there probably have been many more. Also, Jazz refers to a countless assortment of musicians, ranging from Stan Getz to Django to Chet Baker to Duke Ellington, just to name a few. Also, and I will leave this for another day, I was not influenced by all the music that each of those groups produced, but rather at different times in my life, certain albums in particular stood out for me. Honestly, and this is probably a little strange considering I love playing writing and playing music so much, I don't listen to much music now. I sometimes hear things on Youtube or other sites, but really I do not listen to music as I used to.

Well, I think I'll leave it at that tonight. I hope you all like the song. If you want to leave a comment in Japanese, English or French, here is my address:

sneakergroove(a)hotmail.com

Cheers or Tchao, as they say in French.
alexander

song 20

It's 6h02 and it's very cold outside. Winter is definitely on its way.

Well, I won't be writing too much today because dinner is almost ready, but this week has definitely been a hard one physically. Monday to about Friday, I was sick, Tuesday being the worst day with me spending the whole day drugged up on cold syrup in bed. I did get to watch Lord of the Rings, something I hadn't done in a while, so it was not all bad. I even got to take a couple of days off work, so I suppose that wasn't too bad either. Yesterday, however, I was on my way home when I had an accident. I was about to cross the street when I somehow, I still don't know how I managed to do this, brought up in a drain grate with the result that I ate pavement hard. Unfortunately, the bottle of sake did not survive, nor did my pants, nor did my right knee and shoulder, but on the bright side, I was able to save a third of the bottle of sake, the rest, well, soaking my bookbag, something else which surprised me because the sake was in a plastic bag, and the plastic bag looked intact, so how did the sack end up in the bottom of my bag is beyond me. My knee has healed quite nicely although the road burn I got well stings a little even now. My shoulder, although I did not go to the hospital, seems better, but is still quite sore and I am waiting for the bruise to appear. However, what surpises and relieves me the most at the same time is the fact that I did not hit any cars. The drain that I brought up in was located between the sidewalk and the road. I saw that the light was flashing so figured I had enough time to cut between the sidewalk and the car to the crosswalk, when my bicycle just stopped and I went flying landing on my shoulder. I got up and walked my bicycle to the sidewalk, but not once did anyone come up to me saying that I hit their car. How I was able to avoid any cars is beyond me, but definitely the bright point of the evening because as the cars were stopped, it would have been my responsibility if I had scratched someone's car.

Well, I am sure that next week will be better because after this past one, it cannot get any worse. I do feel 90% recovered from the flu or the cold or whatever I had so it is now just the arm and knee, but it's really the arm that worries me more. I just have to be careful from now on.

OK. Due to having the cold this past week, I have not had the voice to record anything decent, so here is a piece from a while ago. I still have not been able to think of a proper title for it, so I went with 'Song 20'. It's kind of catchy, more of a relaxed song, but I can't help think that it reminds me something that John Mayer might record if he were missing a G-string. Let me know what you think.

Good night
alexander

the human life

It's now 6h40, and the sky is clear, but it has gotten colder these evenings.

I am actually at the office doing this. I had to come today to do some preparations for tomorrow morning because I was away this weekend. Friday afternoon I left with some students to go to a place I can never really pronounce correctly because it sounds too much like Nepal, with the only difference being the initial stress. The actual place is called Nepal Mori and it's often used for events with big groups. This weekend was the orientation for those students who decided to major in western cultural studies. There were some presentations about job hunting and exchange programs and examinations, but it was not all about work - I played some volleyball and badminton with some of the students, which was really fun, and it also gave me the great opportunity of getting to know them better. Unfortunately, I hadn't played sports in an ice age, so yesterday and even today, I hurt all over, and to add to the pain, I think I am coming down with a cold. However, all in all, it was worth it.

Saturday, however, was also quite packed because the morning was the continuation of the orientation, followed by a trip to buy some clothes and finally a party for the first year western culture studies majors.

Sunday has been a little more relaxing, but like all trips, you need at least a couple of days to take it easy afterward and rest up, something of course which most of us do not have the pleasure of having. I must say though that despite the pain, and the cold that will probably hit me tomorrow...hard, it has been a nice weekend, and I wouldn't mind doing it again. I guess I am the type who prefers to be too busy than too free.

Well, speaking of that, I should get going because I have to start cooking. Tonight we are going to have pizza from 10-4 (Yeah!), and to go with that, I am going to make minestrone soup, although I don't remember ever making it, so it should be interesting. The song tonight, 'the human life' is pretty catchy in my opinion. I also like the lyrics because they are not so straightforward although they may appear to be. I think this one though may sound better with effects and drums, but until I find someone to play with, I'll leave the song as it is because, well, I don't really have the time recently that it would take for me to add drums to this and although I started this blog so that it wouldn't take me so long to record and upload, I think tonight's video took me an hour, which is something that I can't afford to do, especially if things go well and I start school in the new year.

cheers,
alexander

your white knight

It's been almost 10 minutes since I started this post and still haven't written anything. I wonder why I have writer's block or maybe blogger's block is more appropriate. I just can't think of anything to write, or maybe I hesitate too much. Perhaps I should just let myself go and write anything, but that probably would not be the greatest idea - better safe than sorry, right? Of course, I don't mean to sound like I have something really controversial to say, it's just that I don't want to say anything that will make me go 'What the hell was I thinking when I wrote that?' in the future. I guess you're probably thinking, 'Well, if you are so worried, then why the blog?', but really, would a lonely video be interesting? Maybe yes. Maybe no. I guess I would lean to the 'maybe no' group then wouldn't I?

I suppose if there was something to talk about, it would be about 'Hanamame', or fava beans. I haven't seen them in many stores, but the Seicomart, a convenience store, near the place where I work has them, and I can't get enough. It's nothing extraordinary, just some deep-fried salted fava beans, but really, if you try them, you'll know what I am talking about.

Well, I guess I should talk a little bit about the song for today before I go, but there isn't much to say, just that I like this song, and I think it could definitely be an earworm. I think if I were to play it in concert, I probably wouldn't write any other lyrics, but maybe just work with those because I think that if I add anything to the current lyrics, there is a high chance of ruining the feeling of the song. Honestly, the more of these short songs I write, the more I think I should perform them as if they were dance tracks because often that kind of music repeats itself, but usually with good effect. Maybe I should consider doing something like that, but instead of using electronic gadgetry, because I am so technically challenged, I should just have drums and guitar. Of course, there is just one thing...where can I find myself a drummer?

Cheers,
alexander

she

It's 1h24, and although I can't really see from where I am, it looks cloudy.

Well, I finally went out and bought an external hard disc drive, so tonight hopefully, I will format my computer and send all the evil spirits residing therein back to whence they came, or so I hope. It will be nice to have a clean computer again, and I hope that it will work better than it has been recently. Of course, after formatting, I have to remember to do monthly cleanings, or I am sure it will all happen again.

Well, today's song called 'she', but to be honest, it is probably only a tentative name came to life this morning while listening to the radio. I forgot the name of the show, but they were talking (I am typing too fast for my computer it seems), about earworms or songs or choruses of songs that just stick in your head and never leave. Honestly, I think earworms sounds a little creepy as it reminds of that scene in that Star Trek where they put that thing in his ear to control him. Shudders. I have to say that in some ways what I am doing here is kind of making little earworms because I am not yet posting the full song, and have even been considering changing my style and writing only short pieces or at least simple songs both musically and lyrically. Of course, that doesn't mean my songs will stick in your head, although that would be kind of cool, but I do hope you out there will like these songs and maybe pass them on to your friends.

I also tried something a little different - animation, again if you can really call it that, but usually I just have a picture with the lyrics, but today I thought hey, why not? However, I will probably not do it for every song because it does take time and one of the original reasons for this site was to allow me to post my music in as short a time possible and if I start designing animation, well, you know what I mean, it won't quick anymore.

Well, gotta go and bring back some movies. I have been watching Veronica Mars (I for some reason call her Myers, no idea why) and finally finished season 1, but probably will not move on to season 2. Besides, I still have some Sex in the City and Without a Trace on Gyao to watch, so I should be OK for a while.

alexander

五時の人

It's 9h23, and I just got back from work.

Today I used my kerosene heater for the first time this year, so you can guess what the weather is like here - cold. Actually, it isn't too bad in the morning because I get a lot of sun, but around 4, you can start to feel the cold. I really don't mind it that much though, because I like autumn; it is the season that inspires me the most.

Well, this post is going to be really short because to be honest, I can't really think of anything to say, although I am pretty sure that once I post this, a tonne of ideas will come to me. I just wanted to post this song because some people have been requesting it. Like most of these pieces on this blog, I do not know if this song will ever become anything, but I have to say that the atmosphere of this song is quite soothing. I hope you all like it. Again, feel free to leave a comment or if you'd like email me. Here is the address:

sneakergroove(a)hotmail.com

Cheers,
alexander

where to start

It's 2:48 and it's beautiful outside, quite the contrary to what it was like the other day - cold and rainy. Fortunately, I had some errands to run, so I was able to enjoy this weather while it lasts. Usually, when I am on holiday I have the tendancy to stay inside the whole day, which can be good if it's raining, but when the weather is so nice, it's really better to be outside.

After finishing my errands, I decided to take the long way home because it was so nice and on the way I saw the oddest thing - a single, black shoe. It amazes me how anyone can lose a shoe. I didn't really take a good look at it, but it may have been a shoe belonging to a school uniform in which case I suppose the owner must have had it in his or her bag, hit a bump and there you go, a lonely shoe on the side of the road. Well, that is really the only plausible scenario I can think of at the moment, but there could be more. Let me know if you have some theories.

Well, today is the last day of 'silver' week, and tomorrow it's back to work. I am not sure what I will do tonight, but right now I am thinking a movie and maybe a bottle of wine would be a nice way to end it. Maybe after this I will head over to Geo and see what's there. If not I may just browse the site Gyao and see what they got to offer. Just to let you know, Gyao is free and from time to time there is some alright stuff although they remove it after a certain period, which can suck a little, but hey, it's free so you can't really complain.

It's 3:12, so I really should get going because I don't want to spend my whole afternoon writing and editing this blog since it could take forever, so let me say that today's song has been rolling around upstairs for quite some time, but still hasn't found a resting place. This version is a little slower than what it used to be, but it's still kind of nice. I guess you could call it bluesy, but maybe some of you would disagree. As most of my music, I tend to mix genres although generally I would classify my music style as rock. Anyway, let me know what you think, via the comment section below or by email,

sneakergroove(a)hotmail.com

Cheers,

alexander

don't turn away

It's 4:19 here in Japan. It's a little cold, and it looks like it's going to rain.

We are now in the middle of 'silver week', or at least, I think that's what people are calling it because most people have five days off, three national holidays plus the weekend. I spent most of today searching for viruses because there is something fishy going on with this computer although it's not the first time the computer has decided to take a vacation; maybe it knows, too, when the holidays are and wants to take a break and so is acting this way out of spite for me wanting to use it. I think though that it is time to format the computer, but first I need an external disk drive in order to properly back everything up because it would not be very good if I lost all my music and other pertinent information, no, not very good at all you see.

Anyway, about the song - there is really not much to say since it just came out of nowhere. Many of the songs that I intend to post here will really be only bits and pieces, hence the name for this blog. I figure that it may be better just to post everything and anything than to wait until the song is complete, as any song is really never complete. Therefore some of these songs may appear again in the future, especially those that interest me and merit more attention, in a more complete form, but the main purpose of this blog will be to keep a notebook, or a journal, if you will, of my music, and hopefully some of you out there may stumble across this blog one day and think, 'Hey, that's not too bad.' or maybe, 'Wow, that's awful.' But in any case, thank you for stopping by and thank you for listening.

Finally, I would like to invite your comments; you can leave one in the comment section here, or if you'd like you can send me an email at the following address:

sneakergroove(a)hotmail.com

It is now 4:43 and I really must get up now from in front of this box and maybe go outside before it starts to rain.

Cheers,

alexander