swarbles.

it is looking as though one of the best life choices i ever made was pledging enough money to the music tapes kickstarter to get to choose the board member of the music tapes pledge level in addition to the level i pledged at as well (still not disclosing what level that was), so i don’t have to worry about trying to snag neutral milk hotel tickets whenever they finally wander up to the northeast.  even though there are no northeast tour dates yet, surely there will be at some point in time in the next two years.

so glad i saw the writing on the wall with the differentiating text between the friend of and board member levels (“be on The Music Tapes guest list for a Music Tapes performances in your area, and sit in reserved seating right up front (where available)” versus “be on the guest list PLUS A FRIEND, for two area performances of any music project featuring Julian in the next two years (limit to one show per tour), and sit in reserved seating near the front (when available), visit the Music Tapes backstage”).  it set off a little light bulb that i had forgotten about until that weird picture emerged.

it also looks like this means i get to hang out backstage?  which is a bit… crazy.  i’m glad that my life has taken all sorts of weird turns and i’m somehow already friends with julian and have at least met scott (and jeff, but that was still a bit overwhelming), because otherwise, i’m pretty sure i wouldn’t be able to function in such a situation.  i might not anyway.

i don’t understand anything about anything.

here’s a recap of my weekend, in reverse chronological order.

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i have been saving drafts of reblogs for months now and refusing to actually post them until i posted about where i disappeared to and what all has happened since then, because i suppose i feel as though i owe some sort of explanation (even though i don’t).

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brevity;

since thursday, i have had an incredibly sore throat.  i checked for spots and/or swelling every day, but forgot to on saturday, until later in the evening, and then discovered that the back of my throat, tonsils, and uvula were decked out in white spots.  my uvula looks exceptionally droopy and upset.  i’m fairly certain it’s strep throat, but it’s strange because i’ve never had strep without a fever before, and i’m pretty sure i never had a weird looking uvula during previous bouts of strep (i’m not certain about this because i never actually looked down my throat at what strep throat looked like when i was a kid.  i haven’t had strep in well over ten years).

so tomorrow i’m going to try to get an appointment at my doctor’s office.  i’m either going to pay seventy dollars to be told i have strep throat (which i’m pretty sure is what’s going on), or i’m going to be told that there is “nothing wrong” with me and be sent on my merry way.  this is why i avoided having a doctor for so long.  i’m pretty sure that if i hadn’t gotten established at this place earlier this year, i would just be ignoring it, but i am pretty miserable.  i’m not getting hungry at all, maybe because it hurts to swallow so much?  lots of flavor ices and toast.  i do like flavor ices and toast, but i wish there were somebody sweet here to make me curried butternut squash soup and to cuddle up with.

i was going to go to bull moose at midnight to pick up mary’s voice on cd (even though i’ve already burnt it to cd for cartimes, i’m still buying it on cd because i like to have a copy of all of their releases on every format, and also because i love them dearly and support them [still waiting to make my pledge to their kickstarter campaign, but it will be happening in the next few days {also i might be making some metronome love patches to sell on etsy, and all of the proceeds would go to their kickstarter campaign.  if i get around to actually making them in the next day or so}]), but now i’m just going to go to sleep.

my grandmother is unwell again.  i’m not sure exactly what is going on, but when i spoke to my father today, he was saying that he’s going to be trying to get down to new jersey sooner rather than later.  so.  that’s not good.

but the waiting room radio show played another song of mine on their program this week, and last week’s episode is archived online.  you can find broadcast times and stations, as well as last week’s archived show (#105) here.

i’ll post thoughts about mary’s voice soon, but right now, i really just need to sleep.

i’ll try to be better about blogging here at some point in time again.  maybe….

wait, have i really not written an end thoughts since april?  i know i posted a private thing (in may?), but i could’ve sworn i had end thought’d since then.

we’ll do a list tonight.

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i was thinking the other day about all the music tapes memorabilia i have and i figured i had a lot of things, so i wrote it out in list form to see just how many, and as it turns out, i have more things than i thought.

we’ll list in order of most common to most rare.  or at least what i think is most common and most rare.  i’m not sure about some of the things and i’m too lazy to try to figure it out.  but the last thing is most definitely most rare.

(also i recognize that the singing saw at christmastime isn’t “the music tapes” per se, but go with it.  but if i am going by that logic, shouldn’t i also be listing both chocolate usa cds?  i have them both.  consider them listed.)

• the music tapes for clouds and tornadoes cd.
• the singing saw at christmastime cd.
• first imaginary symphony for nomad cd (with pop up).
• the music tapes for clouds and tornadoes 12”. 
  
• the singing saw at christmastime 12”.
• a poster promoting the singing saw at christmastime.
• two music tapes pins.
• green friend of music tapes shirt with red ink.
• white raglan with black sleeves featuring the gentlefellows and metronome from the music tapes for clouds and tornadoes.
• music tapes pillowcase (in which sleeps the music tapes blessed pillow).
• music tapes kazoo (with intact reindeer game [i made a copy of it so as not to have to cut the actual copy that came with the kazoo because i have problems]).
• purim’s shadows (the dark tours the world) tour only cd-r with music-headed man artwork and hand written liner notes (i’m actually not sure how limited this was, since i know julian was assembling copies all through the tour).
• why is the president crying/untitled flamenco solo picture disc 7” from stop smiling magazine (#452 out of 1000).
• the television tells us/freeing song by reigndeer 7” (earworm european pressing of 500) (with pop up artwork and lyrics poster and bonus small blue poster).
• please hear mister flight control/smoke is a fireman’s friend 7” (with pop up artwork and poster by brian dewan).
• the first imaginary symphony for nomad 12” (with pop up artwork and comic strip poster by brian dewan).
• erika records inc. test pressing of please hear mister flight control/smoke is a fireman’s friend 7” in very beaten white paper sleeve with very faintly written “music tapes” in somebody’s writing (maybe julian’s?  it doesn’t really look like his, but it might be) in dying green marker.
• the second imaginary symphony for cloudmaking on cd-r with a nesey gallons’ decorated label with poster of nigh (which has suffered a small tear because i am bad at life).
• various items left at my house after the lullabye delivery evening in 2010, consisting of; a length of green and white polka dotted ribbon, a green peppermint candle, a broken blue light bulb, several strips of paper).
• a test pressing of music tapes for clouds and tornadoes in a ray kinney record sleeve that nesey decorated with encyclopedic clippings, with nesey drawings on the record label (with ray kinney’s “lovely hula hands” still included [which is funny, because i already had that record prior to purchasing the test pressing]).
• a christmas card featuring artwork by sarah (the lovely artist who did the ice palace drawing in the liner notes for the music tapes for clouds and tornadoes), with drawings and very brief notes on the inside from julian, nesey, sarah, and ian (ludders) from the day i first met all those kind folks for belated christmas carolings.

(that last item is one of my most prized possessions in the history of prized possessions and would probably be the first thing i would try to rescue if my house were ever to catch fire.  it was one of the most lovely days i have ever had and i hold it very close.)

(and of course there’s also the metronome love patch sweater and the music tapes garland i made, but those don’t really count as they are not officially sanctioned music tapes memorabilia, right? [although they could be!  and maybe should be???  they should let me know.  well, first they should know about their existences.  and then, yeah!  payment could be monetary and/or in physical manifestations of appreciation and adoration.  i mean, who wouldn’t want cuddle times with any of those fellows and/or a seven foot tall metronome?])

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