The sixth form college where I studied in the 80s was about a 45 minute coach journey away - perfect for playing one side of a C90 tape. My fellow students started bringing along their music and asking if the bus driver would play it.
There was some bad stuff and some good stuff but, in my opinion, nothing as good as the Genesis albums that I had been collecting from second-hand record shops. I made a mixtape representing all ages of Genesis to that point. It was epic.
I waited for my moment then asked the bus driver to play it, which he did. I was apprehensive for the whole journey, wondering what people would make of it. When we reached college, a girl approached me from the back of the coach. I remembered some friends had speculated at one point if we were well matched.
"Was that your tape?" she asked.
"Yes, that's right," I replied.
"If you ever try and play that again, I'm going to shove it so far up your arse that you'll need a toothbrush to get it out!" she said.
There was something in the way her lip had curled back to reveal her teeth that told me she wasn't a fan. That and the unambiguous hostility of her words I suppose. Reader, I didn't marry her. I stayed well out of her way.
Despite that hard earned lesson, I have continued to bother people with my questionable taste in music ever since. I've mentioned before my abortive attempts to learn how to play guitar though so it seemed like the world would be spared any musical musings as a result of my recent creative excursions. However, I discovered digital audio workstations (DAWs) this year.
The GarageBand software package that comes bundled with Apple computers is probably the most famous example of a DAW. Essentially, a DAW allows a user to create music by aligning tracks of music notes and selecting which synthesised instrument will play those notes. You can layer the tracks, add effects and change the timing from the user interface so even a talentless heathen with no coordination like me can make something approximating music.
Making music with DAWs has been the most recent manifestation of the obsessive compulsions that can be a symptom of Parkinson's Disease and a side effect of the medication. This latest obsession has taken me down some unexpected cul-de-sacs including a confusing conversation in Richer Sounds following a visit to buy speakers from a man in a village called Fustyweed.
If I had thought that there was any possibility of making an album of music, that would have been an item on my bucket list. On the 18th May, 2022, I released an album called 'Frequencies & Amplitudes' under the moniker Lost Signal. Something to tick off the bucket list if I had one and if I had thought to include it.
As if proof were needed for my enduring geekitude, here's my cover version of a couple of favourite Genesis tracks.
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