I seem to have a cough, and I don’t know if a cough makes you feel unwell in itself, but today I was struggling. I felt like I’d been on an army training course and that immediately made me think of how lucky I was to be of a generation that didn’t have to go to national service and most incredibly in the history of the world, never had to fight in a war – yet. If you look at this list and you aren’t on it, you should be very grateful because for me the thought of even having to go to national service sounds horrendous. This page led me to the world population page, India and China have populations of one and a half billion (Vatican City has 510). But in a fascinating statistic, India has increased its population by 14 million between 2022 and 2023 whereas China’s population has sunk by 280,000, USA has grown by just 60,000. Last but not least the world population when I was born was almost three billion, in 2023 it’s over eight billion – food for thought, that is if there’s any food.

Here in Portugal (ten million people) in the summer months, the streets are thronged with people, even in the winter the tourists come for the warmer weather, but they come, and then they leave, in India, they are there all the time. I scuttle inside when it’s too hot and too busy on the streets, and then with cabin fever venture out again to feel the energy of the crowds and look at the blue sky. Not today and I’m glad, as Olivia told me it was muggy out there. Happily, I didn’t notice from the inside (although it’s a great album).

Halfway through my not feeling so well, I had my ‘eye thing’. These days it doesn’t amount to much, generally just 20 minutes of diamonds in my eyes and then sometimes a dull headache and sometimes nothing. Olivia was out, so I put on Metallica’s new album and sat in the legendary red chair until it passed with heavy riffing in the other room. I’m not sure if I was torturing myself or simply trying another distraction. Usually, I look for something mellow to play like early Floyd, today I tried a new madness for this incapacitating and frustrating issue that on the one hand, I’m grateful no longer causes me so much pain but on the other hand there is still a version of it going on.

One sesh with Rajan in Brooklyn today. We have already been to the studio in Texas and recorded three tracks that will soon be mixed, but we are intending to go back there in January and record two or three more so Rajan can release a five or six-track EP. All sessioneer releases will make it out there at some point.

I watched the tennis final, and all I can say is, unbelievable athletes.

Music today has been Metallica’s latest record, 72 Seasons (2023), believe it or not. Contemporary metal music to riff the clouds away when Nick Drake doesn’t work, although they aren’t a patch on Black Sabbath…

Music Of The Daze