Just an update

i'm not sure how this blog project is going. the last 8 or 9 weeks have seen me doing a lot of bending my own guidelines. first of all, the timing of my posts has been all over the place. i haven't been sticking to getting things done by friday (though i usually backdate the posts). i also don't really feel like i've come close to any of the supposed theme feelings lately. for awhile i just had no motivation or inspiration. it was just a natural down period which i attempted to work through as i continued writing something each week. in addition, i've barely been sketching out tunes, and haven't done a decent mix in 3 months. and i'd hoped to start adding lyrics over the second half of the project too, but words have been even harder to come by than musical ideas. it's started to leave me feeling pretty negative about my writing abilities at the end of the week, and then i'm even less motivated to start working on the next week's piece.

and thing is, 19 weeks from the end of the project, and i've actually started to get ideas again. only they're not for any of the feelings left on my list. instead i'm getting antsy to start finishing up tracks for my next album and have it ready to release early next year. including all the songs i've started with this project, i have nearly 70 tunes, and i think almost half of them are worth at least considering developing for the album. these three "legend of ..." albums have really been about documenting my learning how to use the computer to produce music and hone my writing and mixing skills as i explore a variety of different styles and techniques. i feel like i'm coming to, well, not the end because i'm always learning something new, but i guess i feel like i'm ready to level up. i want to get this final "legend" album out so i can move on to really focusing on some conceptual albums i've been thinking about and putting together a live show.

so anyway, i'm really tempted to shift the focus of this blog. i'd stick to a similar format, but instead of the feeling per week thing, i'd post updated versions of tracks for the album as they develop. and i may or may not loosen the time constraints. it's something i wanted to intersperse with the song a week anyway, but i've only had a chance to work on a handful of album tracks since i started this project. this is probably where the blog will go after the year is up anyway, but i'm waffling because i did set the goal for myself of a new song every week for a year. it would sort of feel like failing to give up on it now even though the project has ceased to inspire much new experimentation. I can't tell if the project has run it's course and served it's purpose, or if i just suck. is it worth sticking to a commitment that doesn't serve a purpose just for the sake of the commitment? or would it be better to move on a find a new purpose?

for now i'll try to stick to the plan - at least for the next two weeks, and then i'll be taking a week off while we're on vacation. but after labor day things might change. i think i could still feel pretty good about 8 months and 35 songs of this project. but then maybe by that time i'll either find come inspiration for the pieces. or maybe i'll just see the end of the tunnel, and when i'm down to just the last handful of songs i'll get motivated to see it through to the end after all...

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