What you are about to read is scary. So if you feel a bit cowardly, I strongly suggest you stop reading. You are about to take a trip inside and outside of your head. It may change the way you are, as it did for me when I did it.. And once you look, once you get it, and hear the words.. There is no going back. This is the price of being free. A little discomfort. Are you ready? You sure????

Ok… Let’s go take a peaceful shower then. You know, one of those showers where you tell yourself, “I’m going to let the water run and just think about nothing…” Love that, don’t you? I do.. so soothing! I mean, there you are, alone with the water and.. what happens? You stand there, and at first you smile as the temperature of the water gets to be just right. Then, if you are a normal human being, it begins inside your head. Maybe it goes something like this:

“Hmm. that’s good. The water feels perfect. Well, maybe not perfect, but if I just turn it so.. There! That is perfect! I wish my life was perfect..   I wish that I could stay in here and.. Hmm.. The water is changing. It got colder. Cold. Reminds me of the other day when I was in the store. It was cold in there! And M was rushing me. I hate it when she does that! So pushy. Why did I ever go become friends with her? Well, she did lend me 20 bucks the other day.. Our day was fun afterwards, but she really does get on my nerves. Asking me about K. So he never called? does not mean a thing. Will I ever get married? Dam you M! I love her but still what a pain in the ass.. oh! That damn dog is barking again. Someone needs to tell the owner of that dog to shut him up! God this is relaxing… Don’t want to think about the shit going on.. and so much is going on! I mean, seriously, what am I doing? What time is it? I am hungry, so maybe I will try that new place down the street… They make good pizza so M says.. The name? Pizza Jose or pizza Jo.. I’ll google it. Oh.. There’s this new app.. FindaPizza.. A dollar… Who dreams up this stuff? Why am I not dreaming up something? But I really should not have any pizza.. My friends say I’m gaining weight, am I? I like my weight! I can eat that if I want! But then will my clothes fit me? What time is it. I am so late… This is such a good shower.. la,la,la,la,la, love that song. I will go to the gym after this. X and Y will be there to cheer me up. I’ll go shopping. I hate feeling like this. so stressed! And tired! But this shower is so good.. what time is is? Damn that barking dog!  I smell so clean! What a nice sunny day! ”

So it seems funny. But who is that talking in your head? Is that really you? Think about this for a moment. Really ask yourself that question, is that really me talking in here? Is that truly me that does this 24 hours a day???  Because you know that this is a voice that is always going, right? 24 hours a day… (never noticed?) So let’s meet this ‘person’ you might think is you. Let’s pretend I just gave you the power to remove them from your head and make him / her into a real person. Now that she is out, she will be with you 24 hours per day, everyday, every second, right there next to you, talking to you just like that. Forever.

What? What happened? What’s the matter with you? No fun? How long did it last before you wanted to kill her, tell her to shut up, go away and never come back. How long? A minute? 20 seconds? An hour? How long would this ‘you’ last along side you, following your every move? I will bet that it would not be for very long.

Welcome to the apartment, your brain. You have just met your roommate. The real issue you may be having right now is asking yourself, “If that is not me, who is it?” or even worse, “That is me? Oh my God that is me!!! It is, it is!!!”  Well. No. It is not. It is the roommate.

There is a difference. If you identify with this individual as you, the roommate has 100% complete control of your life. He or she decides everything for you, or runs away from everything for you. He decides when you will be happy, when to be sad, when to feel, when not to feel. This roommate decides whether you like yourself or not. Think I am joking? “I look good today.”  or  “I hate myself and want to die.” Yep. Decides for you, and does not take your suggestions. It just decides.  The roommate is the reason people turn to chemicals, eating, sex with strangers, and danger. Anything to shut the roommate up. Especially when you identify his as you.

But who is it?? How the fuck did a roommate move into your brain? How is this even true??

Somewhere, some time ago, you let the roommate move in. When is not important. The roommate was quiet at first, and you led a very happy life of curiosity. Life experiences, things that hurt, or things you could not process, made the roommate’s mechanisms come to life. It got stronger, to try to help you not be alone of course. The thing that is important is this: YOU are not the roommate. The roommate is living with you, inside you. You are not he or she.

Ok then. But if I am not the roommate, and it is living with me.. Who am I?? The best questions are the simplest, you see?. And the most complex. So let me ask you.. Who are you?

Well? Who are you? Seems so easy right??

You say, “my name is Blank Smith!” So you are saying you are a collection of letters on paper? B-l-a-n-k  s-m-i-t-h ?  Of course not. So you say, “I am Blank Smith, I am married to Mary Smith and I live in China. I have a job as an actor in commercials.”  Pretty good. But who were you before you became an actor? Before you married Mary? Before you lived in China. Who?

Grrr.. You can get mad.

“I was born in Kansas, my parents were Bob and Susan Smith! They conceived me, and I came from her womb! They raised me and I went to school at Cool HS! I graduated with honors! So ha!”

Again, nice. But that is where you were born. What you do, where you were conceived. You are not in Kansas anymore, your parents did conceive you, but you are all grown up. You are not the same Blank you were as a baby, and for certain you are not the Blank you were before you married Mary and moved to China. And are you the same Blank that you were in HS?? Weren’t you shy then? So who are you now?? Where were you before you married? Who are you now that you were not then?

“I am an actor in commercials! I am no longer shy! ”  That is what you do. Not who you are.

Who are you???

“Fuck you and why did you have to ask this question!” Right? Because the answer is not as easy as you thought is it? But I am going to give it to you. As it was given to me.

You are a being that came into existence some time ago. You are currently sitting, standing, or in some position… reading this. And as you do, it is You who is really aware of this deep part of  ‘being’. And you are the being that can hear the roommate thinking all the wrong things, that is aware that this is all you are, and that the roommate is a bunch of collected ‘recordings’ playing back from a brain, a machine. No? Not really?  Hmmm. Try to think of something.. anything, and as you do, try to become aware as though you can experience the act of thinking.

The roommate is having trouble right now isn’t it? For example, if you take a step back and you say, “It’s the roommate that’s thinking this is a load of bullshit..” is it not funny that the thoughts cannot form concretely? Is it not funny that the thoughts stop, almost every single time you just say to yourself, to your roommate, “I am aware of you now..” that something strange happens?

Scary isn’t it? Well… You are now free to keep letting the roommate control your life if you want. Just forget everything you just read. Put it out of ‘your mind’. Forget it.

Or you can be the bravest you have ever been, and listen to the roommate rants, and as you do become aware that they emanate from the brain. A machine. And you, the real you, are now aware of it. As in the matrix, you took the red pill…

Or even simpler, practice being mindful of your daily actions, your body, your surroundings as external things you respond to. Examples: “I am aware that my brain is thinking, and my thoughts are a bit scattered. I am aware that I am breathing in, and now I am going to exhale. The grass feels awesome under my feet, as does the sand and the water. I can see the colors of the flowers as I walk in the park. I can hear the sound of my own breathing…”

When you become aware that the roommate is injecting an unwanted opinion, observe it as though it were a record playing on a turntable, or hear it as the annoying relative on the phone. The second that you do, and that you ‘get’ this exercise, you will notice how it just ‘stops’. Then you will know who you really are; A being that has an incredible position in the universe. A being that is actually more in tune with everything, God, creativity, love, compassion, than you ever thought possible.

The exercise of being mindful can be done as a game. Observe the roommate as exactly that, some guy / girl in the apartment of your brain (in a comical way they are actually trying to help, but do a shitty job). And all you have to do is actually be aware of what is being said. Almost as if you walked into the room and are catching the act taking place. The result will be astounding. You will notice that your mind stops.  and when you are ready, you can begin correcting the dialog, choosing what is allowed and what is not. Maybe you will decide to even evict the roommate.. I’ve tried, and from first hand experience I can tell you it is a life long process. But the best thing is to just be aware. The freedom it causes is worth the pain of bearing it.

Now if only the roommate could pay rent.. In the real world.. One can dream…  d(^,^)b

| Castellano |

Lo que vas a leer puede darte un poco de miedo. Así que si te sientes un poco cobarde, recomiendo que dejes de leer ahora. Vas a hacer un viaje dentro y fuera de tu cabeza. El viaje puede cambiar la forma en que piensas, como lo hizo por mí cuando lo hice .. Y una vez que lo ves, una vez que lo consigues hacer, y oyes las palabras .. No hay vuelta atrás. Este es el precio de ser librerado / a. Un poco de incomodidad. ¿Estamos listo? ¿Seguro??? Bien..

Vamos a tomar una ducha tranquila entonces. Vos sabes, uno de esas duchas relajantes, adonde te dices, “Yo voy a dejar correr el agua y sólo pensare en nada …”  Que, bueno no? Tan pero tan relajante! Quiero decir, aquí estás, a solas con el agua y es casi perfecto, no?  Y qué pasa? Estás ahí, y al principio sonríes mientras la temperatura del agua llega a ser justo como te gusta. Entonces, si eres un ser humano normal, comienza esto dentro de tu cabeza. Tal vez es algo como esto:

“Hmm. eso es bueno. El agua se siente perfecta!. Bueno, quizás no perfecta, pero si acabo de activar para .. No! Eso es perfecto! Me gustaría que mi vida era perfecta .. Me gustaría que me pueda quedar aquí y .. Hmm .. El agua está cambiando No se hizo más frío? El frío. Me recuerda el otro día cuando yo estaba en la tienda. Hacía frío allí y fue corriendo con la M hablando mierda. Odio cuando hace eso! Tan agresiva. ¿Por qué me hice amiga con ella? Por cierto, ella me presto 20 dólares, el otro día .. El día fue muy divertido después, pero ella realmente me revienta los nervios . me pregunta acerca de K. Así que nunca llamó? No significa nada. ¿Alguna vez me casare? Esa M! la amo, pero es un dolor en el culo .. ¡Oh, ese maldito perro ladra de nuevo. Alguien tiene que decirle al dueño de ese perro que haga que se callara!
Dios, esto es relajante! Que lindo es esta ducha.. … No quiero pensar en la mierda que estoy pasando .. y hay mucho que está pasando, quiero decir, en serio, ¿qué estoy haciendo? ¿Qué hora es? Tengo hambre, así que tal vez voy a tratar el nuevo lugar por la calle … Hacen buena pizza con lo que M dice .. El nombre? Pizzería José o la Pizza Jo .. voy a buscarlo en Google! Oh. . Hay una nueva aplicación .. FindaPizza para mi blackberry.. Un dólar … ¿Quién sueña con estas cosas? ¿Por qué no estoy soñando algo asi? Pero yo realmente no debería comer pizza .. Mis amigos dicen que estoy aumentando de peso, estoy ? Me gusta mi peso! Comeré pizza si quiero! Pero entonces mi ropa .. si no me queda? ¿Qué hora sera. Llegare tarde … Esta es una buena ducha .. la, la, la, la, la, amo esa canción. Ese K no me llamo. Idiota. Voy a ir al gimnasio después de esto. X y F estarán ahí para animarme. Voy a ir de compras. No me gusta sentirme así. Tan estresada! Y cansada! Pero esta ducha es tan buena ..relajante.. Maldito sea ese perro que ladra! Me huele tan limpio mi cuerpo! ¡Qué bonito día soleado! Estoy feliz? Creo que si..”

Parece divertido. Pero, ¿quién está hablando en tu cabeza? ¿Es eso realmente vos? Pensá en esto por un momento. Realmente hacete esa pregunta.. es que realmente YO que esta hablando así en mi mente? ¿Que realmente hace esto 24 horas al día?? Porque sabes que esto es una voz que siempre va, ¿verdad? 24 horas al día … (Nunca te diste cuenta que no para?) Así que pensás que esta “persona” sos vos? Vamos a suponer que yo te di el poder de quitar de la cabeza y hacer que él / ella sea una persona real. En este mundo, a tu lado. Ahora que ella es verdadera, estará con vos las 24 horas del día, todos los días, cada segundo, justo al lado tuyo, y te habla así como en la ducha. Siempre. Para la eternidad.

¿Qué? ¿Qué pasó? ¿Qué es lo que te pasa? No es divertido? ¿Cuánto tiempo paso antes de que la querías matar, decirle que se calle, salir de tu lado y no volver nunca más! ¿Por cuánto tiempo? Un minuto más? 20 segundos? ¿Una hora? ¿Cuánto tiempo esta “vos” duraría con vos si fuera tu companiera, siguiéndote todos tus movimientos? Yo apuesto a que no sería por mucho tiempo. Ni por unos minutos la soportaras. Y en tu cabeza porque entonces??

Bienvenido a el apartamento de tu cerebro. Te acabo de introducir a tu compañero de cuarto. El verdadero problema que podes estar teniendo en estos momentos es preguntando: “Si esa no soy yo, ¿quién es?” O, peor aún, “Ese soy yo? Oh, Dios mío si es! Lo es, lo es! “

Bueno. No. No es. Es el compañero de cuarto.

Hay una diferencia. Si te identificas con este individuo como vos, el compañero de habitación tiene 100% control completo de tu vida. Él o ella lo decide todo para usted, o se escapa de todo por ti. Él decide cuando va a estar feliz, cuando estés triste, cuando se sientan, no cuando se sienta. Este compañero de piso decide si te gusta a ti mismo o no. ¿Crees que estoy bromeando? “Me veo bien hoy.” O “Me odio y quiero morir”. Sí. Decide por vos. Simplemente decide. El compañero de cuarto es la razón que algunos abusan químicos, comer, sexo con extraños… Cualquier cosa para no escuchar el compañero de cuarto. Especialmente cuando te identificas como is es vos.

Pero, ¿quién es? ¿Cómo carajo se mudo este compañero de habitación en tu cerebro? ¿Cómo es esto cierto esto?

En algún lugar, hace algún tiempo, el compañero se vino.. cuando no es importante. La compañera de cuarto estaba en silencio al principio, y vos llevabas una vida muy feliz llena de la curiosidad. Las experiencias de vida, cosas que duelen, o cosas que no pudiste procesar, hizo los mecanismos del compañero de cuarto a la vida. Se hizo más fuerte, para tratar de ayudar a uno no sentirse solo, por supuesto. Lo que es importante es lo siguiente: El compañero de cuarto no sos vos. El compañero de cuarto está viviendo con vos, dentro de vos.

Ok entonces. Pero si yo no soy el compañero de cuarto, y está viviendo conmigo .. ¿Quién soy yo? Las mejores preguntas son las más simples, ¿ves?. Y lo más complejo. Así que déjame preguntarte .. ¿Quién eres?

¿Quién eres vos en serio si no es esta ‘persona’? Parece tan fácil ¿verdad??

Dirias: “mi nombre es Blanco Smith!” Así que estás diciendo que sos una colección de letras en papel? B-L-A-N-C-O s-m-i-t-h? Por supuesto que no. Así que dirias, “Yo soy Blanco Smith, estoy casado con Mary Smith y yo vivo en China. Tengo un trabajo como actor en anuncios publicitarios. “

Bastante bueno. Pero, ¿quién eras antes de convertirte en actor? Antes de que te casaste con María? Antes viviste en China. ¿Quién eras?

Grrr .. No tan facil, eh?

“Nací en Kansas, mis padres son Bob y Susan Smith! Ellos me criaron, y yo nací de su vientre! Fui a la escuela Cool High Schooll! Me gradué con honores! Por lo tanto!! “

Una vez más, que bonito. Pero ahí es donde naciste. Quienes son tus padres, que fuiste concebido. Pero ya no estás en Kansas, tus padres por cierto te concibieron, pero ahora sos un adulto. Quien eras antes? Ya no sos el mismo ‘Blanco’ que eras como un bebé, y por cierto no eres el Blanco que estaba antes de que se casó con María y se trasladó a China. Entonces, ¿quién eres ahora? ¿Quien eras antes de casarte? ¿Quién sos ahora que no eras antes entonces?

“Yo soy un actor en anuncios publicitarios! “   Eso es lo que haces. No es quién eres. ¿Quién eres??

“Vete a la mierda y por qué me tuviste que hacer esta pregunta”,

¿verdad? Debido a que la respuesta no es tan fácil como pensaste, no?  Pero voy a darte la repuesta. Como vino a mí….

Eres un ser que vino a existir hace algún tiempo. En este momento está sentado, de pie, o en alguna posición … leyendo esto. Y como lo hace, sos el quien es realmente consciente de esta parte profunda de “ser”. Y tú eres el ser que puede oír al compañero de habitación pensando en todas las cosas malas, que es consciente de que esto es todo lo que es… Y el compañero de cuarto es un montón de ‘grabaciones’  de reproducción en tu cerebro, una máquina. ¿No? En realidad, no? Hmmm. Trata de pensar en algo .. sea lo que sea, y cuando lo haces, trate de tomar conciencia de que estas pensando, y que pasa??

El compañero de cuarto está teniendo problemas en este momento, no? Por ejemplo, si tomas un paso hacia atrás y dices: “Es el compañero de habitación que está pensando que esto es un montón de mierda ..” ¿Es curioso que los pensamientos no se pueden formar de manera concreta? ¿No es curioso que darte cuenta de que existe eso pensamientos, casi cada vez que acaba de decirse a sí mismo, a su compañero de cuarto, “soy consciente de que ahora ..” de que algo extraño sucede?

Miedo no es así? Bueno … Ahora estas libre para seguir permitiendo que el compañero de cuarto controle tu vida si lo deseas. Olvida todo lo que acabas de leer. Podes ponerlo fuera de ‘tu mente’. Olvídalo.

O aún más simple, la práctica de ser consciente de sus actos cotidianos, de tu cuerpo, como respondes a las cosas externas.. Ejemplos: “Soy consciente de que mi cerebro está pensando, y mis pensamientos son un poco dispersos. Soy consciente de que estoy respirando, y ahora voy a exhalar. El pasto se siente increíble debajo de mis pies, al igual que la arena y el agua. Puedo ver los colores de las flores al caminar en el parque. Puedo escuchar el sonido de mi propia respiración, mis pensamientos, estoy consiente de lo que pienso, y lo examino..”

Cuando te das cuenta de que la compañera de cuarto es la inyección de una opinión no deseado, lo observamos como si fuera un cassette, o como el pariente molesto en el teléfono. El segundo que lo haces, y podes “conseguir” este ejercicio, te darás cuenta de la forma en que sólo “se detiene”. Entonces sabrás lo que realmente eres, un ser que tiene una posición increíble en el universo. Un ser que es en realidad más en sintonía con todo, Dios, la creatividad, el amor, la compasión, algo que nunca pensanste era posible.

El ejercicio de ser conscientes se puede hacer como un juego. Observa el compañero, como exactamente eso, un chico / chica en el apartamento de tu cerebro (de una manera cómica en realidad están tratando de ayudar, pero lo hacen para la merd). Y todo lo que tienes que hacer es ser realmente consciente de lo que se dice. Casi como si entraste en la habitación y los encontraste charlando. El resultado será asombroso. Y cuando esté listo, puedes comenzar a corregir el diálogo, la elección de lo que está permitido y qué no es. Tal vez decidís a desalojar el compañero de piso .. Lo he intentado, y como experiencia de primera mano te puedo decir que es un proceso de larga duración. Pero lo mejor es ser simplemente consciente. La libertad hace que vale la pena el dolor de los que lo contiene.

Ahora, si sólo el compañero de piso podría pagar el alquiler .. En el mundo real .. Uno puede soñar …

I invented something yesterday, or rather I stumbled upon it and have coined. It’s not that easy to get a first these days. The pace of technology goes so fast, and trends come and go. But today, with the help of my daughter Sam, and the photograph below to commemorate the event.. [v] was born. What is it? Well, it’s the emoticon for email. It did not exist until today. And you know what? Maybe it didn’t need to, but it sure was fun suddenly finding it. And of course, being the first to use it. Yes, I will be sending an [v] to everyone I know this morning. :)  What, you think I won’t use it? I love the idea of never having to spell out ‘email’ or ‘message to your inbox’ ever again in favor of… “Hey I sent you a [v] for your birthday, did you get it?” Or, “If I get one more piece of #%$@! [v] regarding the @$%#@!..” Lol. 

Will it take off? I don’t know. but as of today, Google will at least know who designed it, who coined it, and for that fun fact alone.. I’m glad I did it. :) Enjoy the video I made as well… It’s on the Youtube. Do a search for [v] = Email. Hehe. 

BTW, my [v] is Aboxmanager@gmail.com.

[v] = Email.

you can watch the video as well…

Please, PLEASE, SHARE!!!!   Send an [v] to someone and tell them about it.. :)

01. Living In Oblivion . Elektrode

02. A Moment’s Shifting

02. Carmen . Just One More Day Remix

04. Every Single Day . Unknown Mix

05. Do you Hear Me Anymore

06. All These Hours Undone . Extended

07.  Because . Longer Orchestral Mix

And the link to get it is right here: Anything Box 5.2 EP from endpop.com in case you don’t want to read any further…

But in case that you are staying with me on this post, I just want to tell you a little bit about why I did it, why today of all days and so forth. Well, The reason is two fold. For one thing, I am still working on material for Anything Box’s next release, whether it will be a single or an EP I will not say for now. I am working on Kiss Of Love 2011, and at the same time a cover of a Portishead song, Machine Gun (coming out delicious I might add). It’s a productive time, albeit slow at the start. I’ve been through some heavy stuff, but the world is moving on, and it is my duty to make people smile, even if it kills me in the process. That… That is how I roll these days. So yes, there you are, a free one. Something to keep you excited! What is coming will add to the legacy of what these 7 songs mean to me, and I am very proud to continue with my music and my art.

5.2? Well, 40 years ago to the day my family stepped off an airplane and my life in Argentina ended and my life in the United States began.  And just a year ago on this very day I played with Moenia in my other adoptive country, Peru and fell in love. Being a bit of a sentimentalist, you can see why I chose to give away a few songs today. To celebrate all of it. Free from all my hang ups, I have come to realize that life is good. Everything happens for a reason, and right now… I am feeling quite happy.

Going back to the studio…

Now love, pain, and every second that I’ve been alive on this little blue world? That has changed me, formed me. I guess in retrospect, Anything Box is the observer of this, and Claude S. the reporter…

Today it feels dark, the darkest that it has been in a long time, and it comes on the heals of my greatest of joys… So how does one reconcile these things? I don’t know. A good friend of mine lost her husband a few days back, so what I am facing is petty and pales in comparison. But pain is pain. No one is immune from it…

All I can offer up is a quote from a guy I sat next to on a plane last year…

There is no price high enough for one’s love or dignity…

At least I can hold my head up and say I have both.

I felt the wind, or was it your skin
Brushing me, shook me to my very core
I have to say, oh what a feeling
Coming over me ever after…

I stole a kiss, the taste was perfect
Our lips collide, sends me through the stratosphere
Above the stars, beyond my woven dreams
Where I’m flying through the ever after

All the things I used to be
seem so meaningless and somehow
thoughts that cross the deep blue seas
float right back in my I love you (s)
As it stands and as it were,
I will love you till the end,
maybe past it, I don’t know
all I know is I want you with me…

© 2010 | Claude S. | Anything Box

addthis_pub = ‘presswerk’;

TAGS: Anything Box, Abox, Goodbye July, Music, New Wave, Animas Mundi, Claude S., The Diary, Say No To Real ID Act, No Verichip Inside, YouTube, MySpace, endpop.com, CdBaby.com/from/katsama, iTunes, Love, Surrealism, Art, musica popular, pop del futuro, indie synthpop, futurepop, synthpop, separate, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, PetShop Boys, Bkork, Erasure, Indie 103, David Bowie, John Lennon, Beatles, Joy Division, New Order, NWO, Beck, Kraftwerk, Human League, Daft Punk, Ladytron, Pink Floyd, Kinks, Beastie Boys, Elektrodelica, Universe, Hope, Worth, Recovered, Future Past EP, The Effects of Stereo TV, Peace, Oblivion, Politics, New Music, Carmen en Castellano, Surrealismo, Arte, Cultura, Musica Electronica, Temas Buenos, Si.TV, Canciones, Meloncholy Pop, Mas

So I ask myself, ‘Self? What is going on?’ and my answer is that I am far away. I want to write, but somehow I have distanced myself from the act itself, or perhaps I have come to that dreaded writer’s curse: I’ve nothing to say. Could it be? No, I don’t think so. But sometimes what we say is not what we mean, and thus this is the feeling I’ve come to regard as the ‘non-me’.

The non-me will write about everything not related to me, for fear that such things might be too close for comfort. And they are! So much has happened in my life in a span of a year and a half that it is staggering to say the least. So after a bit of non-writing writing, i gave myself a break and let it all go….

And then, just as I was thinking about nothing at at all on the freeway on the way home from Minneapolis this weekend… It just came… A real song, something to be recorded. I say recorded because it is the first that makes me feel that there is more, even if it is simple, even if it tells the world something personal. I had forgotten the feeling… So now?

I have to follow it and see where it leads… :)

But for now, it has made me feel all the emotions that have been building up. So after a really good cup of coffee, I will go and work on it…

So yeah, back in June this offer to play in Minneapolis came through. It was not by any means what we usually do, but it was a chance to see a new city, and it was a risk as well. Are we played there? does anyone know Anything Box in Minneapolis? So many questions. I decided to ask Dania and Paul about it and we all agreed: A new city means inroads to further the Abox road. So we agreed to do it. Then I forgot all about it.

The city proved itself to be everything I could ever want in a city, and thus Minneapolis has become one of my favorite cities. It has individualism to the 9th degree, which explains both Information society and Prince quite nicely now. I understand. It has a culture, something that I have been missing in California as of late. Don’t get me wrong, I love California for what it has, but it definitely needs the kindness and warmth I experienced in Minneapolis…

As for the show, it was a strange mix of elation and pain. I set about playing the entire Peace album, and that is just what we did. The order was changed, otherwise ‘Oblivion’ would get played way too early in the set. However this was not without difficulties, as we would soon discover. The album is almost half moody songs and club tracks. so we could have done all slow songs leading up to the finale, but that would be obvious. I opted for little sets, where 2 slower songs led into the faster ones. How wrong was I? well, how do you go from ‘When We Lie’ to ‘all these Hours’? We did it, and it seemed odd, but we rolled with it. After all, no matter what, we were going to do the whole album.

My favorite was ‘Lady In Waiting’, one because it was the first time we did it in its original form, and second because we had done some technical work to save it in the morning hours after breakfast. We almost had to scratch the version, but in the end it all worked out really well…

On the way home from the airport, I suddenly got an idea for a song and wrote it down… Inspired. I loved Minneapolis. Seriously, I could live there…

Claude