Earrings, Blogs (privacy?), and Recorded Things

so i concluded a while back that i should write here more often (again), if for no other reason than to clear the dust from my brain, and get my mind working in the mornings. of course that idea didn't last long, for i have been remiss about pulling forth words.

i've long been engaged in a battle with the entire range of emotions that lie behind the facade of a blog, and have for some time felt rather self-conscious about the inherent ego that flaunts itself on these things. (blogs) but then ego is a rather complex subject, for isn't it ego that makes us do much of what we do in life? at the very least, a healthy ego is needed for me to make music, and though i often lack the confidence i would like to have with my work, there is indeed enough there to make things and share them with the world. whether or not the world listens, is in some ways up to me, and in many ways not at all. anyway, all of this has been on my mind lately for a plethora of reasons:

1. i should likely be sharing more news of my recently released (and forthcoming) records with whomever may be reading. (see above and below)

2. i find myself often pondering the concept of what is and what is not private: my wife is pregnant and i've begun questioning whether or not i want to write about that aspect of my life here; especially in regards to my forthcoming child. isn't that somehow too private for me to share? do i want to write about someone who doesn't know i'm writing about them? (in that context) sometimes, i feel exposed enough as it is in the world without this damn blog. i guess in some ways, i feel protective of that part of my life, and especially so as the belly grows.

3. i have considered turning this into some sort of music/culture blog. one where i write about all things musical and their reflexive relationship with north american culture. review things i've heard or seen, and write about my general world of music. gear and such. (people would read it then!)

but rather than carry on about my internal questions, i leave you with answers of a sort. so in chronological fashion.

1: there have indeed been a gathering of fine reviews about the new record i did with christian kiefer. links to a few of them here:, and here:, (scroll down) and as you surely noticed above, one from the Melbourne Sunday Herald (Australia) which was a rather odd discovery, as it is read by 750,000 people. now if some of them would just feel overwhelmed with the need to hear these "briny" sounds. good news these things.

the record (cd) is also available for digital download now at itunes (here), though you would miss out on a rather beautiful booklet if i say so myself, designed by my lovely, big-bellied wife.

in other such (related news) the older record of mine titled "i am not in spain" is now available at itunes (here) as well, for your digital pleasure. oh how i lament the death of the artifact. (you can still order this record from me directly, or cdbaby)

2. my wife is indeed pregnant, and we are both super excited about this most enormous change in our lives. but to write of it (for the time being) feels rather silly and reductive to me. i didn't even want to tell any of my friends this news via email, as it seemed so detached and impersonal. more on this later i presume.

3. music and gear. oh the pages i could write. next time.

oddly, or perhaps not at all, one of the sentiments i have about the blog is similar to one of the sentiments i have about earrings. i sometimes wonder if i'll still be wearing earrings in fifty years. it seems like such a small thing, but can this simple, and seemingly meaningless experience i had at the age of fifteen in the late 80's (piercing my ears) last the course of my life? through all of its twists and changes, it's myriad of unpredictable seasons, can the choice to put a small (relatively speaking) hole in each ear really last a lifetime? can a blog? will i really still be writing here in fifty years? big questions about small things, which in the end just make me fear my mortailty. all this talk of fifty years from now.

Posted by jeff pitcher at November 6, 2007 09:31 AM

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