  so today at Gregory Heights, as the band was getting into their 2nd complete rendition of "unwater," i started to get funky in my chair. i was unsurfing, arms to the side, head bopping in time. it's moments like this that really make recording appeal to me. front row seats at the best concerts in the world. so today was a, and i think this is the best way to put it, a big dig.
we got in there and got some takes, good but maybe could be better, etc... and worked and worked and passed the point of getting better, and blah and see how this sentence is a run-on and doesn't quite make sense? well, that's how the day was. in editing now, we've decided to use the 'unsurfing' take for the first half, the death-metal double kick run from take 6, and the end of take 5. in a year we will have forgotten where the edits are at all.
i think it was will who told me that rick rubin says that the best drum takes are the ones that always seem on the verge of falling apart, but somehow don't. i think this holds true for all basic tracks. to my ear, interest is held by the suspense that accompanies always wondering if the band is gonna pack it in, break a string, or just plain fuck up too much to make the take usable.
this was 'unsurfing'. also, it is hard to remember not to treat the live takes, as they go down, as though they are recordings already. yes, they are recorded, but the future is not determined, and a good start does not mean a good end. a fine line we walk. 
