the endless fiddling monster

well
the 1st of feb is here
in all it's dismal splendour
i knew it was coming
i knew it would eventually arrive to find me
ready to let go
or clutching my little musical precious
like gollum

i'm going to spend most of the day
wrapping the mixes up
at this point
whatever changes i'm making
are minuscule
a nip here
a tuck there
this is when you enter the potentially endless
tinkering
the songs aren't changing much at all
but the questioning voice starts getting louder
and louder
and LOUDER
threatening to drown out all clear perspective
this is the stuff that can drive you mad
"maybe i should re-cut that acoustic?"
"is that tambourine hit is slightly late?"
"should i have sung and instead of but?"
i've heard rumors (rumor is the key word here)
of someone that is still adding things to
the two track "final" mixes of a record that was
finish over a year ago
still tweaking and mixing over the finished mixes
that could've been me 5 years ago
anyway
i promise not to do that
all the things i've been working on up until now
have been valid improvements to the record
i'm just theorizing on some artist's knack for endless
obsessing on the minute details of their records
i fall into this category but recognize
that in carefully measured doses
it hopefully allows me to make interesting
detailed recordings

when the endless fiddling monster is let off its leash
chaos is sure to ensue...
eyes glaze over
lack of attention span
graying of hair
thinning of mane
emails not returned
phone calls unanswered
bathing reduced to weekly
shaving apparatus on permanent malfunction
sound of wife's voice not recognized
invitations for child's play lost in translation
divorce imminent
homelessness plausible
mixes over-wrought
record in toilet
madness
sadness
and finally
tinnitus
(that high ringing sound in your ears)