Cranking It Out

One of the things that always struck me about recorded music is how slow the process has become over the years.

It may be the only thing that's actually gotten slower because of technology. You can have a whole meal ready to eat in three minutes (or four, for "let stand for one minute before serving). You can access just about any book or movie almost instantly. But it takes longer than ever to make music.

How long did it take Robert Johnson to record "Hell Hound On My Trail"? About three minutes. Six, if he did an alternate take that's been lost (but wouldn't you just about kill to hear it?).

How long did it take "Guns 'n' Roses" (yes, those quotation marks are intentional) to get the song "Chinese Democracy" on tape?

Which song will people still remember in 100 years?

Now, I'm not saying being meticulous doesn't have its place. "Bohemian Rhapsody" just wouldn't have been the same if Queen had gone in and bashed it out on out-of-tune Mosrites in a single take.

But it's wild when you think that Lightnin' Hopkins recorded between 800 and 1,000 songs during his career. Even the Beatles used to fire off two records a year at one point. And now it takes months to get one track right.

I've got my own perfectionist tendencies to deal with, too. I realized that the other day. I've been trying to record all these warped little CBG blues tunes, but I'm massaging the tracks to death. They're too primitive for that. I keep adding stupid stuff. Doing take after take.

So now I want to see what cranking it out feels like. I hope that's okay with everyone if I post about a new two-song "single" or four-track EP every few weeks or so. The downloads will be free for quite a while...I just want to create something for people to enjoy right now. I've never cranked it out before. It should be fun.

The first one's called "Hunker Down," backed with the "Pig Pickin'" instrumental. It's available (Absolutely free! No credit checks! No obligations!) here: http://www.reverbnation.com/unclegus