Well, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time...

I love music. I love everything about music: how it sounds, how it makes a person feel, how it manages to find a way to convey emotions that I can't find words for, how it makes my foot tap (usually not in time), how it can make me feel better when I'm down, how it makes a springtime drive one of the best times on the planet... everything. Music is awesome, in the traditional and proper sense of the word. I have no musical ability whatsoever, other than the ability to listen to it, so music can have a somewhat magical quality to it, in my eyes (so to speak).

One of the many things I find so great about music is the ability to convey an entire range of emotions, to 'tell a story', if you will, just by the selection and arrangement of songs. You know, make a mixtape.

I can spend hours putting together these compilations, choosing the songs I want, and maybe even more importantly, the arrangement of the songs for he listener. I usually start out with a theme (driving, depressing, random, uplifting) then take it from there. Then, sort through the library, picking the songs I think best serve the idea, then arrange them so it sounds right to me. Then, my favorite part- the title. Usually something funny, or clever, or punny, or whatever. Remember, they're for me, so my standards are not your standards. Some past titles are "Sidelong Glances and Barroom Brawls" (mix of fast songs and slower, deeper songs), "LOOK OUT! I'm Dancing Like a Monkey!" (um, not so serious songs, like 'Kung Fu Fighting'), "Leadfoot" (Driving music, of course), and my favorite, "... in darkest night", which was an entire year of my life's story.

Anyway. As I got back into drawing, I thought it'd be worth making an attempt at drawing a title to one of the cds. Since they often have all kinds of different songs on them, with a bunch of different meanings, I wanted to try something like that with the picture. Something to convey an array of emotions, and would hopefully get across the theme of the cd.

I blew it. It pretty much fell apart from the get-go. The idea I was going with was a bit flawed, my drawing wasn't up to the challenge, etc., etc. But, in the interests of posting all the stuff that goes in the book, here you go.

This is why I'll stick to words from now on...

Music: "Love Song" - Sara Bareilles