A night of agonising stomach pain and no sleep, followed by a day of similar pain. It seems I'm doomed to eat irregularly and lightly. It appears that onions, fibre, fructo-oligosaccharides, are my enemy. Since childhood I've had a vomit-inducing intolerance to garlic, but over the years this had grown to include onions, and high-fibre items like baked beans or bran. I tried some fructo-oligosaccharide-based soluble fibre last year and this was instantly agonising. I would like to know why, and what has changed. Are certain cells now missing that were once there? Are certain bacteria now absent that I can replace? It is possible that the out-of-date peanut butter from yesterday has caused this pain too.
The day started early anyway, with a transient house-sitting trip for workmen who didn't arrive.
Then, some good work on Fake Plastic Lies. I needed to work on the middle solo section. It would have been easy to loop the verse or chorus chords and play something happy over the top, and this was the initial plan, but that seemed too simple and this was to be the last track of this 'first section' so I thought I'd crack the music open so that it broke into the main melody of the opening track 'Do You Know Where Your Heart Is'. So I borrowed the same instruments and set up from that sequence and changed the key to fit, but the rest of the song kept playing the Fake Plastic Lies backing, the chords jarring.
Gradually, more and more parts from 'Heart' appeared, until the song smashed into a booming piano part, echoing the start of the album. I played this piano part in one take, a fall in chords, a tragic and epic mood, a moody collapse of keys and notes. I added some unexpected pauses, thoughts. This was all about searching, the search from the start of the album, but also the search mentioned in these lyrics, the search for the real behind the fake.
The piano notes hit a slight rhythm to mimic the bouncy rhythm of the main song, then the song instantly bounces into the happy continuation of the next verse. The change is so unusual and sudden it made me smile. This convinced me that this unusual interlude must remain. Nobody will hum or whistle this (or at least the middle part). No karaoke or party dance-floor here. This song is not for that.
In the afternoon, my stomach still in withering pain, we left for Bickerton to collect my unsold three paintings. I had hoped for a sale, but enjoyed painting the portraits, and indeed reframing Female God, which looks much better now. After that, a brief trip to town, then a light meal of rice, peas and ham which my stomach has accepted.
