We FINALLY reached day 10 out of 10 of Robert’s initial life-threatening fight against his parvovirus infection! WE WON!!! WE FREAKING WON!!!! Or so I thought… As I learned, it’s not that simple. Hmmm, wait. WHAT?! Where have I misinterpreted the “It’s a 10-day fight, Alex” I heard the vet initially state when he announced the catastrophic news? It sounded pretty straightforward to me, or maybe in the emotional confusion it created within me, I ended up talking with the person in charge of the clinic’s sanitary elements. In retrospect, I did talk with a lot of people in the midst of that news, that’s for sure…!
The point is, even if I totally understand the large margin of error involved and the delicate reality they have to compose with in regard to managing expectations (I guess it’s even more true when a person like me is involved, I understand that a little better now), it just felt like a bit of a letdown when I heard, “It looks promising” at the clinic this morning, marking Robert’s 9th consultation in 10 days (they enthusiastically encouraged me to take a day off after my first eight visits, the texts… oh, and the calls…!).
I’m obviously grateful about the “it looks promising” over “he might die” (or worse), no question about it. I’ll take it, gladly. So that’s where we are… And quite frankly, even if I would have liked a confirmation that we had conquered his deadly menace, I know we’re not talking about a typical virus here. It’s evolutive and keeps on transforming itself through its own will for a while… It’s nasty. (I can hear some of my closest friends laughing while thinking that it strangely sounds like the description of a “crazy” guy they know… Sooooo not cool! So, so not cool!) Anyway… The good news is that, while the fight continues, Robert looks much better today… As you can witness in this video:
I figured I would keep updating you on how the final days before my upcoming album’s master delivery hard deadline are going. I guess I could say “it looks promising”…! Interesting how the same succession of words can be used in all sorts of different situations and have totally different meanings, right?! Ok, nobody will die for a skipped deadline… Well, technically not, but in my case, I wouldn’t be so sure, especially as before having a “hard” (a synonym for “definitive”) deadline, there were a few so-called “deadlines” skipped. So if any family member of my supportive management team is reading this, “No worries, the final version of the record is essentially done.” I swear! (I used to promise; swearing makes it more serious this time!).
That being said, the very intriguing element I always find in the final stage of an expressive art project is the fact that a massive flow of totally new and out-of-the-blue amazing ideas seems to appear at every single “last” step of their completion.
I know, it’s incredible! So who am I to rebuke any of those bright, sparkling pieces of phenomenal genius incubation? As I always said, I’m at the service of the record. I not only have to pay attention to the songs’ surprising late-blooming intent, I also have to make sure each and every one of those sparks will be seriously added in their rightful place in those songs.
Yes, my brain says, “Stop, it’s enough, Alex,” but my brain also often told me in the past, “Just one more tequila, Alex,” so I’d rather follow my heart now! Mornings after are a little heavy on the head (or preoccupying!).
In other words, Ben probably secretly (and not so secretly anymore, he gave me his own hard deadline yesterday… oops!) despises the fact that I am 5 hours ahead of him anytime I come to Tangier. Maybe he doesn’t think it was such a good idea for me to come here to complete the record after all…
This morning, while working on the final lyrical entity for the last stretch of vocals I had to complete on a song, that “spark” of new ideas, not for the lyrics but for the song’s structure, struck me in the form of “YES, YES, YES! That’s it! Awesome!!! Ben will flip out about that spark!!!”
Well, he did flip when I initially started saying, “Brother, what do you think we made this and this and this alteration to the song? I mean, it needs to be done, right?!” It always starts very innocently like that whenever the “spark” happens! And Ben knows his day, along with his health (both mental and physical), will take a completely different form from that moment on…
But as I tell him every time it happens, it’s not me wanting to go back to the production phase when we are essentially done with [insert song title here] that is already titled “Final Mix - 1”, it’s the “spark”…! Blame it all on the “spark”! Don’t hate me, brother, I’m only the messenger here…!!! I’m simply being of service, I have no skin in that perpetual never-ending production game. If anything, I’m the first “victim” of the spark…!!!
All that to say… That song in question has been massively “sparked”… and still is as you are reading this. And again, it looks very promising!
No wonder why my music is considered nu-prog: even the whoooooole process is! And quite frankly, the “spark” is rarely wrong… so… ;)
Bless you, Ben… You are the best!!!
Life creates life!!!
Your friend and brother,
Alex
PS: The sixth part of my “So What’s Going On, Alex?” series will be titled “World Cup Personal Meaning” — for real this time! Don’t blame me for changing the already-announced subject, it’s the “spark”! Remember, I’m the first one annoyed by all those changes!!! So for my next publication, I’m bringing you to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien, where I almost settled ages ago, had a marriage proposal, and almost got killed… See, it’s too interesting a subject to be written in a simple few lines… The “spark”, guys, the “spark” ;)
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