Hey, it worked!
I did several of the things I set out to do. Helps that work is very light these days. Probably also helps to put intents down on paper in a self-actualization style, and to write them out in full flowery language is maybe better than to just make a chart or spreadsheet, and to have them on a webpage I can call up from any of my devices also helps. Something like how rewriting your notes helps you memorize for a test, but also probably some kinda witchcraft of announcing what you want to the universe and then doing what it takes to get it done.
I have done a complete 180 on several of my accordion ambitions - I was holding out for a good wet-tuned instrument for YEARS, now that I have accidentally accumulated (and since recorded) a bunch of broken accordions, I have come to appreciate my dry-tuned one, mostly because it's actually in tune (and in tune with itself.) So I replaced accordion in Bagworm and Countdown, and added some in Christmas Car Bomb.
This iteration's big "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me" is I recorded both sides of an accordion with one omni. Yes, I double tracked it and panned them stereo, but one of my most common notes for my old accordion tracks was "narrow the stereo field." A wet-tuned accordion is designed to be out of phase with itself. That's great if it's consistent. If it's not, it's bad. So I was just after a Wall Of Sound, something I've done on similar tracks with (fake) organ and (electric) autoharp. It's okay now.
I worked on the mix to Ripcord. Both my and Cory's vocals are from roughly 5 years ago, I am keeping them. It's sounding a little better now.
Added a couple vocal overdubs to Countdown but I did wind up using the weird mic demo from the weekend for the whole thing. My tremor was really going that day, so I started turning on a fairly agressive autotune at the end of each line to get a pleasantly distressing vibrato. Just turn your human body into a synthesizer. That song is! Almost Done! I can't believe it!
Lots, probably. Many songs I haven't been thinking about. One thing that I would REALLY love to do is break out the hammered dulcimer, set it up, and tune the whole thing. That's the sort of instrument I feel like I could add to every track, but I probably won't. Countdown could probably use some in the bridge doubling the glockenspiel, which decays too quickly. Maybe a synth or piano would work too but if I can muster the wherewithal to set up the dulcimer, I'd like to try that first.
In other tuning-wrench news, I'm sure I'm forgetting some autoharp I wanted to record; I have not recorded it since I changed the strings in the spring, so that's another 20 minutes of tuning probably. But off-hand I can't think of any.
The Ultimatum could maybe benefit from both of those instruments, actually. The guitars are sounding okay, maybe I should replace one with a banjo or ukulele or something. I swear I recorded a couple seconds of bass clarinet for something since I last wrote but I can't remember what - maybe it was for that and it got deleted. That song will need all kinds of woodwinds.
Also, visuals, package design, etc. Ugh.
I don't know. Mood swings between idle productivity (hey, let's open this song and mix it for 20 minutes, just for something to do) and feeling bad/doing nothing. I started playing La Mulana 2, which is great, but requires a lot of attention, plus it's like, hard in a video-gamey way, and I am not good at video games. So sometimes it is precisely what I want to lose myself in for like, 30 minutes, and sometimes I am like "this is the exact opposite of what I want, let me just watch Homestar Runner on Youtube while laying in bed at 4:30 pm." Oh damn, I haven't taken my pills today. Well, off I go