Und dein Vogel kann singen --

I recorded a song called "Noch Spinnt die Welt" but I guess there are some things I should say about it:

1. I didn't want to write it. I got this clever idea for a title, because "Noch Spinnt die Welt" is, as you can guess, "the world still spins." But besides the obvious meaning of "to spin" (albeit only in the transitive sense, like spinning wool), spinnen also means "to be crazy." Like, sie spinnt is a kind of casual way to say "she's nuts." I had wanted to use it as one of those titles that isn't really in the song, but gives you a new perspective on the lyrics. Then I thought I would make something like "So Long to the Holidays," where there are just a couple of lines. Then I had the bright idea of having the last time say "noch spinne ich," which would be a bunch of my favorite things at once: a twisted version of a common expression, a reveal that changes the meaning of the song, a punchline that's only funny because the setup took too long, self-deprecation, etc. And then, all of a sudden, as I was walking back to work from my lunch break, this whole song popped into my head.

2. The vocals, the vocals, the vocals. I don't know what to do. The lead part is pretty clear, I think -- it's the one starting on the F# (which is the third, if you don't have an instrument handy). I'm pretty sure I want roughly three voices in there. The problem is the one that starts on the fifth. I can't decide whether I want it high or low. Or maybe it starts low, and then it moves up, like in "If I Needed Someone"? Anyway, on this recording it's the lowest and highest parts. And those execrable ooooohs on the b-section of each verse ("Every moment I spend thinking of her . . .") are just there because that part sounded a little empty but I didn't want to have the two secondary parts just keep harmonizing with the lead in the same way. I don't know. In my head, it sounds pretty great. Which leads me to

3. I think this could be a good song, but having no instrumentation except an out-of-tune classical guitar banging out chords isn't doing it any favors. I hear a whole lot of moving parts. The bass is running all over the place, the guitars are playing moving lines, and maybe there's even a keyboard. It's kind of a '60s throwback, like a Byrds song or something, all jangly and filled with cool runs. I'm not too attached to the so-called "hook" that I play at the very beginning and the very end. Either there's no hook or there's a better one with a real melody, like in "Und Dein Vogel Kann Singen."

4. When I first went back to Bethesda after college, I wrote "Eine Kleine Morgenmusik" as a kind of neurosis status report. "Noch Spinnt die Welt" serves kind of the same purpose, only where "EKM" ends in resignation, this one ends hopefully. I guess that's a pretty clear statement on its own, but regardless: I cannot stop writing songs. I tried, I really did. And while I have no particular desire to go back to the States I decided a few entries down (and almost a year ago, in a different way) that when I figured out what I had to do, I would do it. So, one way or another: next stop, New York City.

5. I swear I will work on Ziz. Honest Injun. I've made up a bunch of the plot already, and I'm pretty clear on most of the major characters. I would have been working on it all this time if I hadn't kept coming up with songs. But I cannot tell you how much better I feel when I'm working on projects than when I'm not.