The point is Phil, this is not the only life

I'm working on a new song. It's only half done, less than half done I suppose. It's about my favourite scene in Star Trek, the above screen grab is taken from it. It's from the original, unsuccessful pilot, "The Cage". In this scene, which is near the beginning of the story, Captain Christopher Pike is relating to the ship's doctor his weariness of his command, which has been made worse by a recent violent incident that resulted in the death of a crew member. There is wonderful dialog in this scene. Pike is musing with the Doctor about all the alternatives in life he may have and the Doctor is trying to persuade him to carry on as captain and not give up. The doctor's point, which Pike begins to see over the story, is that people need to keep challenging themselves and not give up, even if their challenges seem too much for them at the worst of times.

This scene is beautifully played and written. There is some definite dodgy moments in "The Cage", some of the production values are pretty bad by today's standards, but there is also some wonderful stuff too. I found out later that this was the first scene that was ever recoded for Star Trek. I wonder if they used this scene for screen tests and / or rehearsals, the two actors play it so well, they seem to know it well. I loved Jeffrey Hunter's more internalised and cerebral captain. I think Jeffrey Hunter could act William Shatner off the stage, on a good day, it's such a shame that he only lived to the age of 42.

Whenever I've been going through the worst of times in my career, this scene tends to rattle round my head. The song I'm writing, has the quote "The point is Phil, this is not the only life", which, like a lot of quotes that make their way into songs, is a slight misquote. The world weary Captain Pike seems to articulate some universal themes in this scene, it's like great songwriting, the best drama helps you relate to stuff that is happening in your own life, like going for a beer with your best mate and being able to pour hour heart out and realising that you are not the only one that has these issues in your life. There are so many other beautiful potential quotes from "The Cage", I think I'll try to capture more for the lyric.

Having had one go at the music today, I think I'll sleep on it for a bit. I like my verse chords, but the chorus, which I usually write first, sounds too much like a song I wrote last year called "Ferdinand the Bull", bugger. I also dropped another plectrum in my acoustic guitar and it took ages to get it out, I'm always doing that. I wonder if John Lennon used to do that?

Good Intentions Continue, but I'm scared to be called a Geek!

Despite the jet lag forcing me out of bed at 04.30am this morning, (yes - that's 04.30 am, I was in the office by 06.30am today, that won't happen very often), I continue to be enthusiastic about getting back into Garageband and more music making.

I've been doing some more investigating in the huge ocean of content that is the internet, and in particular, I've been looking at the blogosphere and there are so many interesting, creative people out there. It's in part, a lack of self confidence in my own musical ability that has delayed my efforts in the past, but I think some of a lack of confidence is a cultural thing - I'm finding that my confidence levels are different outside of my native land. I could write at length about my own views about how Scottish children are damaged and held back by aspects of the culture and education system in the UK, but that's a topic for a whole other time. I also wrote a song about it that I'm quite proud of, as it articulates exactly how I feel about that, but there is a lot of old pain in the song too, so I find it hard to listen to. It does it's job quite nicely though, as a cultural, musical statement. It was my first song composed entirely on keyboards too. I may get round to putting my new stuff back on the internet. I need to sort out a branding issue with it first, more on that later.....

I've also been having fun this evening, finding out about software syths, and even better, software organs. There is this great product you can buy for pc or mac and it integrates with your MIDI keyboard and will make sounds like a genuine 60's / 70's Hammond. There is even a setting to make the software Hammond sound like it's new, or like it's been on the road played at gigs for years. Wow - whatever will they think of next.

I must check this out at the weekend, my weekday evenings tend to be a waste of time for doing anything other than watching DVDs or listening to internet radio, such is the tiredness created by work. So all my good intentions tend to be scheduled for the weekend, which can create some pressure / tension.

I've resurrected a song idea that's been bubbling around in my head for years, and I like the sound of it in my imagination. It's about my favourite scene in Star Trek. I found out later that it was the first scene they ever filmed. Captain Christopher Pike and Doctor Philip Boyce are having a chat over a Martini disguised as medicine and Captain Pike has this wonderful dialogue about the his weariness of the responsibility of his job and his longings to be free. It sounds terribly geeky as I write this, writing a song based on Star Trek. I would have to do this on my own, as none of my mates would agree to help me with this! However I'm hoping it won't turn out geeky in actuality. It sounds great as I play the song in my imagination, lets see how it will turn out in reality.

Off for some food and the second episode of Life on Mars, series 2. Let's hope the series is all as good as ep1. Then off to bed at 09.00, I feel another early start coming on tomorrow. Rock 'n roll!