cassette

Cognition Ignition Decision part 2

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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.

an excerpt from “The God Thing” with intro

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.

excerpt from “Complicado”

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.

“It Hurts Me More Than You” with abrupt ending and signoff

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

Cognition Ignition Decision part 1

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Today I’m working on a tape from June 2002 called CID Live! CANARSIE. That’s the only identifying marker on the outside. The inside flap lists the contents of Silver Jews Starlite Walker on side A and Nikki Sudden and “various stuff from 45s”. I have a suspicion who’s handwriting this is, but not 100% sure. It does not sound like that material was taped over, rather that I needed a cassette flap and took this one, probably no longer in use. Also, the flap is from a Radio Shack LN60 and the tape itself is a Maxell UR90.

For context: I was still living in Brooklyn at the time, but not for much longer. My apartment was a basement in Canarsie, and by June 2002 I was living there alone.

Side A of this tape says “Free Bass latte June ‘02” but so far appears to be just me on my acoustic bass (like a Violent Femmes style acoustic bass) singing some of my songs from that era, despite me usually reserving the term ‘Free Bass’ for woodshedding by running the drum machine from the Casio through one input and my electric bass through the other.

The tape quality on this side is pretty poor. I did side B the other day and the quality was bad, but this side is even worse. It’s not quite unlistenable, but it’s going to take some serious cleanup before I release it. I started with “It Hurts Me More Than You”. I was playing around with this song at this point. I’d done it with my first band, and would record it with my next. There’s slightly different lyrics on the last verse here than that recording.

“It Hurts Me More Than You” showing the shit quality of the audio

Then I do Life As A Movie, which I’d probably just written and remember thinking was the best thing I’d done so far. Then “The Outer Limits” on which I’m also working with some preliminary lyrics.

an excerpt from “The Outer Limits”

And holy shit out of nowhere there’s a cover of Modest Mouse’s “Trailer Trash” which is actually pretty decent. I’m still very raw in both playing and songwriting at this point, and I haven’t yet figured out how to sing or write for my voice. I go back into the Outer Limits riff for a bit, then I’m just jamming out for a bit. This sounds like a very early version of “Complicado”. But there’s a completely different vocal.

an excerpt from “Trailer Trash”

Then it’s a couple of stabs at one of the first songs I ever wrote, I don’t know if I ever finished this or named it. It’s just G – Em over and over, with some stop start dynamics and changes of phrasing in the vocals. There’s a lot of lyrics here…. some are good but some are just terrible.

Wow now I’m covering a song from my first band called “Breath of Life”. Our keyboardist Daryl came up with the riff and all three of us wrote our own verse. This is awesome. So great to have all the right lyrics on tape. No way I would have ever remembered them otherwise.

Then I do Life As A Movie, which I’d probably just written and remember thinking was the best thing I’d done so far. Then “The Outer Limits” on which I’m also working with some preliminary lyrics.

Finally, with about ten minutes left on the take, some Free Bass!!! The acoustic session ends and the familiar Casio drum machine kicks in. Sounds like I’m trying to riff on “When the Saints Come Marching In”. Tape quality is much better, more comparable to the other side. I guess I taped all that acoustic stuff over the first part of this. I quickly fall into a bouncy riff I like and proceed to work it over and over and over. This was the general purpose of Free Bass. I’d been playing on and off (mostly off) for ten years at this point. I wasn’t that good and I’d only been in one band and was just trying to play as much as possible to get better. The tape cuts off suddenly.

a “Free Bass” excerpt

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 10/24/25