A Full-Length Summer

I love summer. I love warm, humid nights and the sound of life chirping and croaking and buzzing. I love not being cold and all tensed up all the time. I really don't understand why humans even settled in cold regions. We're warm-blooded — we're supposed to be warm. After all, every cradle of civilization was located in a warm climate, and for a very good reason: so we could have kick-ass tans. But I also love summer because it's my birthday season. In fact, my birthday is coming on fast — July 3, to be precise. I'm still trying to decide how old I'm going to be this year. I'm also still trying to decide what I'm going to be when I grow up, but that's still a ways away. When I was a teenager I thought I was going to either die young or live forever. So far it looks like I'm going to live forever, which is why I'm playing it safe and flossing regularly. So if you're trying to think of a good gift for me, something that lasts forever would be a good choice — maybe something made out of plastic — like a grocery bag — filled with candy corn. That always lasts forever.

Even knowing that it won't be endless, this summer I'm particularly energized. Since my last release (Trust Everything) earlier this year, I've been writing new material, experimenting, producing a video (It's A Revolution), and updating my secret underground studio in preparation for my next sessions, which I'm all set to begin. Which explains not only why I've been neglecting my blog, but also why I'm feeling energized. And while I was very pleased with the outcome of Trust Everything, there was a lot of learning involved with the process that kept my progress in check, as well as a bit of hesitance in attempting some things I wasn't sure I could pull off. I'm looking forward to having a much more liberated experience — and I expect a lot more fun.

One thing I've also decided for certain: I'm going to produce a full-length album vs. an EP and release a couple of choice singles as I go. At the time I was recording Trust Everything, there seemed to be a shifting of thought out there that suggested that the full-length CD was inclined to eventual irrelevance. The thought was that it might be more realistic to put out shorter compilations more often, and I went along with it. Yet artists are still producing full-length CDs — it hasn't really changed. I think they still matter and still get more attention than EPs — though either will last forever since few people actually buy physical CDs anymore. Actually, when you think of it in the context of progress, Thomas Edison probably wasted his time inventing the phonograph. He should have just invented the MP3 instead — what a stumble bum.

Yes, the end of summer will be a bummer, but I plan to make good use of it, riding it out in a nice cool studio with a grocery bag full of candy corn. Look for a new Lord Jim single to be released in late August and full-length CD by the time I've lost my kick-ass tan and completely forgotten how it felt to be warm.