Going through a strange patch at the moment. I guess it comes from sort-of managing to do a bit of composing, but not having enough time to really work at it - or indeed the technical resources to make it even slightly easy. I have beautiful manuscript paper, a pencil... and erm... not too much more. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I may have to spent quite a lot of money in the near future. Items on the theoretical shopping list are:

• Reasonable-sized keyboard (but small enough to fit in a cupboard) - because I can't handle being without a piano - it's too hard to start a piece without it (although continuing on is OK) and while I'm thrilled that the Barbican Music Library has a bookable electric practice piano, there are actually very few times I can calmly get there and if I just need to check something I'm likely to have to wait a full week before I can get to it.
• Stereo - because, much as I adore my B&O headphones and recommend that everyone gets a pair (death to horrible iPod headphones that broadcast everything people listen to on the tube to their co-travellers!), I hate having to listen to everything through them - my ears want to be free, and to do that I have to buy a proper stereo
• A new computer - because my poor old beastie can't run podcast software, can't run Skype, can't run Photoshop CS and much as I love it, is cracking up completely under the strain
• And, no doubt, due to purchase no. 3 I will have to invest in upgrades to Finale and MYOB because all my discs are in a box somewhere in our storage den in Sydney

I know I've harped on about this for several posts but while mostly I'm OK, it just really gets me down sometimes. This is one of those times - came home completely done in today, ate all the wrong food because I was starving, then felt very blah because of it. Watched a couple of episodes of Scrubs to make me feel better and was starting to feel about ready to do some real work when I realised it was 10pm and I should be starting to go to bed. Too too depressing. Tried to do some more work on the piece I'm reworking, but it's all horrible, so had to give it away and listen to some of Kyle Gann's Custer's Ghost to make myself feel better. Now completing the mood transformation with some Olli Mustonen *swoon!* while I post a few of my photos from our weekend at Chester to flickr.

Ooh - one last item (and definitely the cheapest!) to add to the shopping list (although the Naxos site says 'only available in North America', which has me worried): Naxos' new recording of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. I've got into the podcasting swing lately, and listing to their first 2 instalments of programme on the Milkin Archive of American Jewish music, and hearing a snippet there and some more in a dedicated podcast to that release, I really have to have it - sounds fantastic. Hurrah for the glorious Naxos. Seriously considering signing up for their streaming subscription for the next year if I get a new computer that can process that much information all at one time - might be a great saving in CDs... or lead to a huge expense!

# posted by minim @ 10:44 PM