Do you ever do something that you kinda wish you hadn't done?
Worse. Have you ever had a recording of that thing you wish you hadn't done?
Worse still. Have you ever shared that recording of that thing you wish you hadn't done?
Personally, I somehow think that's the most foolish to do. I mean, why would anyone want to publicly humiliate themselves? Yet, for me… Okay, let me back track a moment and explain.
Last month, the Brobdingnagian Bards led a vacation tour of Ireland. It was awesome. Great sites. Great people on the tour. Our coach driver, Liam, said it best, “You're a like most tour groups. You're fun!”
Now me, I'm a podcaster and archivist. I like recording stuff shows I do and sharing them with others. It's what I do. But I also like to drink. And on occasion, I get kinda wild while drinking. So halfway through the tour while we were holed up in Lisdoonvarna, I and 20 friends went to a pub. I sang, drank, sang some more while everyone else sang, drank, and sang-a-long. It was great craic!
Past couple days, I went back and listened to those recordings. Youch! Sure there was some FUN stuff early on in the evening while I was still sober. But that NC-17 version of “Scarborough Faire”…? I don't think that should be heard. Nor should my foul mouth throughout the end of that show. And the “I Need to Pee” song was just, well, bad.
So it raises that interesting dilemna that I'm trying to figure out. Should I accidentally lose *ahem* delete, those files? Or hold on to them with the fear I'll be blackmailed in later years. Or should I go ahead and find the good material and just release that. I'm leaning more towards that. Why soil my mediocre name with material that was questionable at best… not to mention the performance of that last hour just, well, stunk.
I know, I know. Those on the tour are like “I WANT IT!” And those who weren't and read this are saying, “GIVE IT TO ME!” But I just don't know…
I mean, if someone else recorded it and wanted to listen to it at their leisure, that's one thing that doesn't really bother me. But when I have the power to protect my image, a sensible person would say, “Yes! Protect it!” But then when have I ever been sensible?
Anyway, when I finally decide, I'll post those live shows here with my others.