Feedback to i.e.

Thanks to all of you who sent feedback, 41 people, namely Alan Dickman, Alex Navarrate, Anna Streiff, Bob Hairgrove, Brigitta Fink, Chris Gattiker, Dan Crouse, Dave Beck, Devon Bowen, Edith Volk, Geli Pietsch, Greg Pasquerello, Horst Minkmar, Jane Ward, Karin Hefti, Laure Fornasier, Loic Jaouen, Manfred Jung, Marc Belser, Mark Kelly, Markus Baumgartner, Martin and Marianne Egloff, Matthias Oberli, Monica Belser und Holger, Rob Nagler, Rob Ward, Roesli Wertli, Romi Wertli, Ron Cherry, Ruedi Schärer, Sandy Goldberg, Sara Beth Kelly, Steven Hampton, Steven Van Wagoner and Helen Meissner, Susanne Unterriker, Susanne Williamson, Ursi Sonderegger. If I missed anyone, or if you want to add to this, write me via e-mail, WhatsApp or Signal. And if I haven't managed to say thank you personally - THANKS!

I thought my upcoming birthday (January 28, 2026) would be a good way to remind people to listen and tell me what they thought. (I know myself how you think 'I don't have time right now, but next week...next week...next week...) I was overwhelmed! I learned a lot about how people listen to music, and was surprised by people's choices. Thanks for all the praise and great ideas. It turned out to be one of my best birthday presents ever!!

My biggest surprise was how many people liked Edgelea Drive. I figured it was too personal, too long, and only two of you have ever seen Edgelea Drive (plus Anna after I wrote the song). Favorites of mine like Isolation didn't have the same reaction from others.

Songs in order, with number of favorites or notable comments

• 1. Isolation: 6
• 2. Liquid Fire: 6
• 3. Fuck Cancer!: 15
• 4. Daddy Didn't Get It: 12
• 5. Without: 12
• 6. Edgelea Drive: 21
• 7. i.e.: 10
• 8. Last Day on Earth: 16
• 9. Heading South: 4
• 10. Stupid Angels: 4
• 11. She's so my girl: 13
• 12. Blackbird Singing in a Palm Tree: 12
• 13. Words Matter: 4
• 14. Cured: 8
• 15. Platypus Tinnitus: 5
• 16. Phenomenally Unimpressed: 3

Sorted by popularity:

OK, in some cases the song got comments but wasn't a favorite... In italics are a few of the comments people made. I found it fascinating to see how differently people hear music. And thanks for all the compliments!

• Edgelea Drive: 21 "You do a wonderful job of recapturing a 'neighborhood experience' that was a slice in time. I'm certain that my kids, and indeed my parents, had unique epochs they grew up in, but you captured one that resonated with me and I bet others of our *ahem* age." "[One person said he likes it because he knows me, it's a part of my life he didn't know.]" "Like the sentiment expressed in the vocals here, feeling of longing, and enjoyed the opening guitar." "Sehr schön, da es uns selber gleich in unsere Kindheit zurückversetzt hat. "Edgelea Drive' deserves an orchestration, halfway through the song, with dreamy keyboards and even violins and a slide show of some of your pictures." "This took me back to C-burg and Mary B. Sharpe Elementary! I had a good friend .. that lived on Weaver Ave next to Edgelea. But ... didn't wander up to his house on our bikes until the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade. (Our parents didn't know we were that far out of our ""approved' 2 block radius territory! They also didn't know about our explorations on the creek at Wilson College either.) " "[My brother, one of two people who remember Edgelea Drive wrote:] the reference to Red alone made it worth it and I know that area just well enough to imagine the fun you could have their as a kid plus [sister] running about naked. And thank you from the bottom of my heart not being a total asshole like our sister turned out to be." "Absolut beeindruckend. Man erfährt so viel über Dich, was ich bisher nicht gewusst habe"
• Last Day on Earth: 16 "Es vereint die positive Einstellung mit einer Portion Ironie (Z.B. Don’t know, how many days i’ve got, but then neither do you)." "our favorite, mostly because of the meaningfulness of the lyrics" "Musikalisch unterstreicht der Song diese [carpe diem] Haltung auf passende Weise: Er ist lüpfig, harmonisch, nachdenklich und optimistisch, ohne Pathos" "Einige Stellen, v.a. im Last Day on Earth erinnern mich an Lou Reed, die Mischung aus Singen und melodischem Sprechen ist cool." "Words to live by!!!!" "Just love the lyrics and spirit of the song"
• Fuck Cancer!: 15 "A rousing unvarnished manifesto." "Top Rhythm, geile Gitarren-Riffs und der Text ist auch sehr cool!" "Fuck Cancer is your story, and I love that. I like that you tell your story for others so we aren't left alone wondering. The song gives me an idea of what you went through and your drive to fight through it." "Well said - and heartfelt." "110% on the lyrics. I am grateful that you have been able to fight through this! Nice guitar single note lines." "Fuck Cancer was great too because it captures something essential about you and your front foot approach to life" """Fuck Cancer"" could have been on Lou Reed's ""Magic and Loss"""
• She's so my girl: 13 "I really liked your loving tribute: She's So My Girl. 'she really deserves this ditty' ;-)" "I thought it was hilarious.  Scruffy, ditty, antsy.  The be-bop tin-pan alley vibe. " "weil es um Anna geht, oder? -)" "Love songs are difficult to write and that one is a hit"
• Blackbird Singing in a Palm Tree: 12 "eine schöne Melodie und einen witzigen Text" "I found cute" "Enjoyed the fun feeling of this playful song along with the birdsong - one for all birders to listen to through their earbuds when there's not a blackbird in sight"
• Daddy Didn't Get It: 12 "[Says the man who wrote the lyrics:] I love this. Solo vocals work great, very rootsy. Idiosyncratic inflection and pronunciation placing you in a very specific place and time the specifics of which are a complete mystery. The backing vocals are hilarious without interrupting or diminishing the song. The entire song sounds very authentic. "I like the a capella singing and the rhythm. Made me smile." "I feel like I lived this one in my own way. Strats, Teles, Fender and Marshall amps? Yes, please!!" "[A] standout for me lyrics-wise [is] the song by your friend Ron ""Daddy didn't get it"" because I can relate to it!"
• Without: 12 "Sehr schöner melanchonischer Song auch das Gitarren-Solo ist sehr gelungen." "Without which reminds me of the movie Once. That was a movie I watched after I got divorced to make me sad, because I needed to feel sad. I love the soundtrack. I also think Without is your best performance" "die Stimmung gefallen mir sehr gut und dass du einfach improvisiert hast" "Peaceful feeling, loved the guitar " "Mein Lieblingssong 😍, weil ruhig, mit wenig Worten die viel aussagen." "I am jealous not to have written [this] myself"
• i.e.: 10 "Das Rockige ist gut"
• Cured: 8 "It's not The Cure, but who needs another Cure?  This is better, it's The Klly." "Opening good, enjoyed the slightly echoey vocal parts (or is that my earbuds going kaputt again?)" "Interesting instrumentals going on there. Possibly my favourite." "Your guitar captured the mood of The Cure pretty well in that one"
• Isolation: 6 "[good] guitar sounds/riffs. And great lyrics." "Really good. Not derivative, has your mark on it. Really good composition; solid and creative. You built a piece of art. " "If you were here during the pandemic, you had to identify with at least some part of this one. Nice clean guitar.  (Bonus points for the guitar sounds!)" "Musically I really enjoyed Isolation, especially your acoustic guitar work"
• Liquid Fire: 6 "Very imaginative and one can really imagine the power of nature" "[A 7-year-old] says it's too scary. She didn't think it was bad, though, just scary. She said it would be good in a horror movie." "Love the mixing. Like in ""Liquid Fire"". Lots of different sounds and they come together well"
• Platypus Tinnitus: 5 "it's 'Platypus Tinnitus' that will make you rich, expect a call, anytime soon, from Hollywood to have it in a movie soundtrack." "Great title, more good guitar distortion tones and guitar parts. I have a bit of tinnitus myself, even though I wore ear protection most of the years I played. Spent a lot of time in front of Marshalls it so shouldn't be a surprise!"
• Heading South: 4 "Den Mut, [wie du] in Heading South voll reinbrüllst ist super!" "My immediate thought when I first heard the opening 60 seconds of this one? Motorhead should have done a cover of this song. I can hear Lemmy singing this!"
• Stupid Angels: 4 "I've heard dozens of songs about Angels in the last 20 years but  your title shakes the dust off.  Really good composition, nice changes.  The song really hangs together."
• Words Matter: 4 "Truth. Loved the distortion tones and the whammy work."
• Phenomenally Unimpressed: 3 "Phenomenally Unimpressed' reminded me of both 'Not In Love' (10cc) and 'I'm not missing you' (John Waite)."

Some general comments:

"Da stecken eine Riesenarbeit, viel Können, grosse Spielfreude und berührende Erzählkunst drin. Deine Texte sind lustig, tiefgründig, traurig, ernst...immer beeindruckend. Die Musik ist überraschend unterschiedlich und dein Gitarrenspiel echt gut." "Deine Musik ist sehr authentisch" "Da hast Du ein cooles Song-Projekt zusammengestellt!" "Ich habe mich seeeeehr gefreut über Deine musikalischen Aktivitäten! Es ist wirklich super, wie Du Dich da voll reingiebst! Sowohl musikalisch, aber auch die Texte sind sehr persönlich und berührend…" "Your guitar playing has noticeably improved in the past five years! Your chord changes are smooth, chords are clear, and your rhythm is on point. "I enjoyed the single note guitar lines throughout the album in particular because your style is a refreshing change from the blizzard of 32nd notes and scales that I listened to for 30+ years when I was younger. It takes me back to a line I read in Guitar Player magazine in the late 80s about B.B. King. ""He could say more with one note than most players of the time could say with a hundred"", and I think that is what I experienced with your work. [Wow, me and B.B. in the same sentence?]" "Keep it going; a lot to be proud of here." "Your playing and song writing made me open the case and play a little guitar too! I still have my 1963 SG Special that I bought in January 1973. Its hard to believe that I have owned that guitar for 53 years now! "

My favorites:

Oh, and my own favorites: Isolation - the best song I ever heard about Covid! And just my sense of humor. Liquid Fire - born to love volcanos, and it was great to write and record something that involves strings PLUS rock guitar. Fuck Cancer! - it did me good to get back to music, and it tells something I needed to get out of me! i.e. I'd been thinking for years that I needed to write a song with that name, and it turned out just like I wanted. Blackbird Singing in a Palm Tree - Mom said I should write this, and I think I managed to turn the true behavior of blackbirds into a funny song. That's enough favorites of my own!