One step forward, two steps back.

This will be a short blog, because I'm tetchy.

Yesterday proved something important to me. Firstly, I discovered that I AM capable of pulling my finger out, putting everything else to one side (momentarily), and actually getting some work done on a new track.

My satisfaction and feelings of personal accomplishment were short-lived, however, as yesterday also proved something else – namely that sometimes the universe is just out to remind you that you’re not actually in charge of your own destiny – merely an enthusiastic contributor… This became evident when the heart of my musical setup – my beloved Roland MC-808 turned out to have a serious fault.

Unfortunately, the serious fault was not immediately obvious, thereby making the ultimate impact all the more galling. Specifically, everything was working fine – I use this box to write all of my drum tracks, instrument lines (except guitar, which I play live) and so on – it sequences the individual parts, including effects and other incidental sounds, and plays them all back. In short, if it ain’t vocals or guitar, it does it. Except, it seems, it does not save any of the work I produce. Bugger.

I finally committed a decent number of hours to writing a good start to what was shaping up to be a very promising piece of industrial techno and couldn’t frickin’ save it. The “Save” button is the only part of a very clever, very expensive piece of kit that does not work. What a waste of an evening.

The thing is this - putting aside the disheartening waste of creative juices, the MC-808 is still on a guarantee (although I believe it’s refund only, but hey…) – sadly, I bought it from a company in France. So it’ll cost me a packet to send it back for checking over, and I may not even get it back. Ok, I may get the purchase money back, but I got a great deal on it, so if I have to find another, I’ll probably have to cough up a load more money. Bugger.

I could get it repaired, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what that’s likely to cost. Bet it’s more than I can spare at the moment… Bugger.

So anyway – I did manage to get some of my law course studied, so I haven’t entirely wasted the last couple of days, but CRAP. I think I may actually hate lots of technology after all – the computers seem to have got some company on “the list”.

Maybe I should become an author or an actor… Or a boutique cheese manufacturer. I like cheese.