October 2003 - Benjamin Wagner

Wish Me Luck

By admin | October 31, 2003 |

It’s Friday night. I’m home, and am sure to be asleep within the hour. Of course, I have to run 26.2 miles on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, some quick notes: I’m listening to the bonus disc of The Best of REM, In Time. It has a bunch of b-sides that probably even the most grave completist…

Blow A Seam

By admin | October 30, 2003 |

My parents took me to Annie when I was six-years-old. I sang “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” every morning for months. Sometimes I think I’m singing it still. I walked to work today loving life. I had finally tackled the pile of dishes in the sink, I had three cups of coffee, and even…

The Journey Is The Destination

By admin | October 30, 2003 |

The race is on. The Almost Home master, artwork, and my $1600 payment is en route to Acme CD Manufacturing Corp. So now, I wait, and hope my 1000 copies make it to me in time for the November 20 tour kick-off. The good news is that Alan made the track listing change I mentioned…

Mastering ‘Almost Home’

By admin | October 29, 2003 |

I don’t listen to my records once they’re done. But I got the Almost Home master last night, so I kinda’ had to. After all, I want to be sure it’s perfect for you. I was surprised how great it sounded, and how painless it was for me to listen. See, I know every mistake,…

Sing

By admin | October 28, 2003 |

I woke up early this morning. It was bright blue and gorgeous outside. Instead of the usual NPR, I threw the CD player on shuffle. And for some reason — sheer exhaustion, marathon anxiety, nicotine withdrawal (sorry Mom, I’ve been making a rock record) — every song left me on the edge of tears. On…

‘New York’ Video Shoot

By admin | October 26, 2003 |

Chris and I were up and off to Times Square this morning at 5:30 for day two of the ‘New York’ video shoot. As we wrapped across from The Dakota at 8:30, Yoko Ono wandered into the shot. The premise of the ‘New York’ video, you’ll recall, is that I am walking home from LaGuardia…

All The Advil At Duane Reade

By admin | October 25, 2003 |

I woke up at 4:58 a.m., fully-dressed, in bed, on top of the covers. It was that kind of Friday night. I just stood here in my bedroom, staring out the window while the coffee maker gurgled over my shoulder, and tried to piece everything together. I don’t think it’ll take you long to see…

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

By admin | October 23, 2003 |

Was there ever a time when one didn’t work on, like, fifteen different things simultaneously? I marveled today as I popped from one project to another — MTV News features, tour dates, doctor’s appointment, t-shirt design, CD ecommerce — while still managing to feel like I was making headway. This much I can say: pending…

At-A-Glance

By admin | October 22, 2003 |

I’ve kept one of those week-at-a-glance calendars for assignments, deadlines, meetings, birthdays, etc., since college. When I looked at it this morning, Wednesday was completely blank. Of course, there’s plenty to do, my day job at the MTV not withstanding: FedEx-ing the mixes to mastering, scheduling the tour, prepping the artwork, the bonus disc, t-shirts,…

Sequencing ‘Almost Home’

By admin | October 21, 2003 |

I have been listening to Almost Home all day, trying to sequence the tracks in an editorially and emotionally meaningful way — not an easy task. So it’s 11:21, I’m all squinty-eyed and tired, and I’ve missed tonight’s last Fed Ex pick up, but I think I’ve figured it out. See, I think a record…