(continued from below... please start at the previous post)

... and in less time than it takes for my lava lamp to warm up, its over. But that short span lasts a minds eternity and in that space I found some amazing things.

A sense of inner peace and happiness fills my dark, decayed emotional shell that has taken over my normally cherry disposition. That the solutions to my problems have been presenting themselves for months finally strikes me... I feel positive for the first time in weeks.

The music is more rhythmic, more structured than I ever expected. The vocals vary, obviously more than one vocalist participated in the contruction of this album. I listen intently for the fingerprint ofmy old friend Mark, who taught me my craft and who will always be on a certain musical plain with me. I also listen for the only other member of the band that I've met in any intimacy, Brad. The playing I assume is his is amazing. Mark is as stunning as ever yet, insecure I sense and maybe a little shy.

I wonder at the production of the album. I see things I would do differently or mix differently. I wonder what the chances of getting the masters so I can remix a track or 6... and I know Rob wants e'm too (hint, hint).

I find myself engrossed in the visualization that Windows Media Player shows during the album (Alchemy : Random). I find myself falling deeper and deeper into the void it presents. I wonder at other visualizations.... what it would be like to try this again with something else to look at.

But mostly I feel good. And yet through it all, I'm glad Bootsy decided to lie her head on my chest while I was listening. This is a good album to listen to with your dog.