June 11
Still haven’t slept so it’s still Sunday to me. Actually, I haven’t slept well in months. I can’t remember the last time I made it through the night. I hope I find an answer soon because I’m exhausted and everything hurts. Maybe a new mattress? Maybe more meditation, better breathing. I don’t know. I just need some rest.
-J.P.
Didn’t You!
Release Day!
Today, The New Hippies present to the world, their latest single: “Didn’t You”. Now available everywhere you stream your music.
Didn’t You is easily one of my favorite songs we’ve ever done. It’s one of the first times I felt like I was able to really accurately convey what I heard in my head on the record. It’s big and cinematic and every note or texture feels really intentional and cohesive. That’s my opinion at least.
I first got the idea for Didn’t You the day I arrived at Understanding’s house in Jersey for the first day of Season 2 of Wu-Tang: An American Saga. RZA was talking with some people in the kitchen for a while, and nobody else was really awake yet, so I was just in the living room with an acoustic guitar and started playing the main riff that the marimba plays on the track. We made the first demo in the basement studio, which is essentially the same studio they recreated for season 3 of the tv show, so if you’re wondering what it looked like, now you know. That was Spring 2021 I believe, and then we came back to it once we got live drums set up at our house.
Didn’t You is mostly me talking to myself, like it usually is when I write songs. 2021 was the secondd time I had worked in that studio; the first was in 2017 when The New Hippies originally went to record an album of songs we wrote in school, most of which have never been released. Maybe one day. Anyway, being in that room and in that house for an extended period of time felt like the completion of a cycle in a way. A chance to look back and honestly assess. Did I actually achieve any of the goals I set? Did I really believe what in what I was doing? Didn’t I want this?
The bridge was changed out a couple times, and the one we stuck with is an old lyric I wrote in 2013 or 14 that I would occasionally sing to myself. It’s sarcastic but like, it’d be nice to have some money to use for all this and to like, live in America today. You get it.
Well, that’s Didn’t You, by The New Hippies. I really enjoy this one, and it gives you as much energy as it gave me. Peace.
-J.P.
Smoke in the Air
The world is burning. It’s literally on fire. Terribly sad. Be safe and be kind to the planet. It’s our home.
In other news, I’m getting my second wind.
-J.P.
Put it on the Menu
I made a really good sandwich last night for dinner with Bryana. Gonna make it again tonight. Then tomorrow we’re gonna have fried rice. Friday we’re gonna do lettuce wraps and then on the weekend I’ll probably make some pizzas. Life is easy.
-J.P.
I Started This at 11:59 pm June 6 PST
Still haven’t missed a day since I started this thing. Remembered just in time.
J.P.
Bad Dreams
I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. I usually get up three or four times a night between the hours of 1:30 and 4:30 a.m.. I toss and turn and my back hurts when I wake up unless I pull my knees up to my chest and my shoulder locks up if I keep it under my pillow.
What if my dreams are bad? Not the ones I have while I sleep. What if my dreams are bad? What if all these things I want to do are killing me? What if chasing them leads to my demise? I can commit myself to the pursuit, but they don’t make any promises to me. There’s no finish line. And what if I do realize these dreams? What dreams will I have next? Will I ever dream again? Will I wish I never did?
-J.P.
Album Arts
Cover arts have been an interesting part of this musical journey we’ve been on this year. I’ve been doing them all myself, mostly to save money, but also because it’s just easier to stay on my schedule that way. Working on the covers has made me wonder how much the cover matters at all anymore. There aren’t any physical copies being made, so the biggest anyone will probably ever see the cover is on their phone in their music streaming service. In that case, most of the detail is lost because it’s so small. On top of that, Spotify replaces the cover art with a “canvas”, which is a 4-8 second loop that plays while the track plays instead of the cover. Since that’s the case the covers have become a bit of an afterthought, but I think I’m definitely leaving a little on the plate, so to speak.
So I’m making a change. Starting with Roe’s Garden in June, we’re making some aesthetic adjustments to our first two acts. Hopefully these covers will do a little more to distinguish each act on the label. Build the brand. I’ll probably have to make some changes to the artist page on the website as well. This shit never ends.
-J.P.
Dumb Questions
They say there are no dumb questions but… there are. For instance, why would anyone ever ask the grinning bobcat why he grins? It’s because he’s going to eat you. You’re food. And you’re slow. Also it’s a cat it can’t answer you. What a dumb question.
-J.P.
