Today I’m working on Side B of a tape from summer of 2002 called “CID Live! Canarsie” Side A was a bunch of acoustic songs of that era and some electric bass woodshedding at the end. You can find that post here. The overall quality on this cassette is pretty poor. I’m doing a second import of the separate tracks on this one because of some irregularities I heard in the playback that made me think there was some interfetterance.

This side starts off with some work on what would become Complicado, a song I did with my old band Trousers. Mostly focused on the C – Am verse and the bridge, which is still developing at this point. Some of the early couplets for this one are particularly cringey but the main idea of the lyrics is present.

Then I do a stage intro (“Hello, we’re Cognition Ignition Decision”) before going into Life as a Movie. I had done a few performances at that point, a couple band shows, some poetry mics, but hadn’t yet done a set of my own music. All that summer, however, alone in the basement with the Tascam 4 track, I was writing, building material, and toying with the idea of doing a solo thing. I distinctly remember trying to do this recording “without stopping” like I would do a regular set.

Life as a Movie has a nice instrumental outro that I dropped at some point, but it sounds really nice. Apparently I’m super bummed at how the performance was because I say sarcastically “oh good thing we’ve got a couple left”, like, to make up for the one I just fucked up.

Next I go into a really early song called The God Thing, which sounds pretty good too. The song is a D minor vamp, very dark, but the outro changes to D major and a very upbeat vocal to end it, and was something I was pretty proud of at the time.

Next up is Complicado, but just a weird extended version of the full intro, with different chords on what would become the F > Am part. It’s contemplative and a little melancholy. You can definitely feel the late night basement vibes.

The Outer Limits is next, decent tune with ok lyrics but too many of them, and I’m struggling with fitting them all in. I’m feeling pretty good because I say at the end of it “I’m half inclined to try that first song again.”

Next song up is I Got Money, a three chord depressing mouthful that is at least five half steps too high for me, but it was one of those songs that was tied to a specific guitar part and I hadn’t figured out how to transpose yet. I’m really, really struggling with it here. Wish I could go back in time and show this kid the way. As the music fades I hear 23 year old police sirens.

“I don’t know about you but I have had a hell of a time tonight.” I go into my last song, It Hurts Me More Than You, and I’m rocking it out, when during the last song I stop suddenly and say “I think I’ve just been told to shut up” meaning the guy upstairs from me, my landlord Anthony, just either yelled or pounded on the floor. I don’t mention what time it is, but I’m assuming late. I burp and tell the crowd thanks for coming to the July 30th “a.m.” Canarsie “On Time For Rent”  Live recording. This is in reference to the Canarsie “Late for Rent” tape from June 2002 (coming soon). Then, silence.

Final tracklist

• Complicado
• Live set:
• Life as a Movie
• The God Thing
• Complicado (extended intro only)
• The Outer Limits
• I Got Money
• It Hurts Me More Than You (abandoned)

I have hundreds of these tapes and recently I bought an old Tascam Ministudio Porta MKII off Reverb in order to digitize them before they fall apart. I am only putting up excerpts at this point, but if people want to hear the actual tapes I’ll start uploading stuff to bandcamp.

This is an ongoing project.

-jo 11/4/2025