February Album Writing Month

I can't believe I actually finished! A few of the final tracks were just half-formed ideas (one doesn't even have a demo yet), but I finished!

14 songs in 29 22 days (I started late)

===

My first day volunteering at the local radio station, I had the opportunity to watch someone sort the mail. OH MY GOD THEY GET SO MUCH MAIL. This is just a teensy little community radio station in the Midwest, guys. This is not Clear Channel. This is not Sony BMG. This is not even Saddle Creek, but there were like ten zillion CDs and some of them had posters or cutesy little gifts and they were all very professional-looking and, dudes, with the exception of R.E.M., I had never heard of any of these people.

It felt kind of overwhelming-- all of these artists just floating out in the abyss, unheard; their labor of love dumped unceremoniously in a cardboard box in the storage room of some community radio station.

I mentioned recently that a friend of mine put one of my songs on a mix CD. My initial thought was: "You can do that?" As if music is only music if it's handed down by a record company with slick packaging and downloadable ringtones.

My experience with FAWM has only succeeded in broadening my views further-- I've discovered songs through that site that I love every bit as much as the newest Panda Bear or Cold War Kids. This is music, too, and it feels real and it feels accessible.

Anyway, these thoughts are a bit disjointed, but I just wanted to write something about that.