Some songs have this sacred space in them that their writers never wanted to touch. Whether it be a guitar riff or backing vocals, i know that there are just some points in my own songs that i’ve essentially roped off in my mind as being complete. I suppose most other artists are the same way. I was just singing along to The Trouble with Poets (the Mulvey album from last week’s list) and without meaning to i ad-libbed some backing vocals going into a chorus. If i were to ever be lucky enough to share a stage with Peter (and, that would only tangentially be possible in my dreams, but still, follow me on this one) and i sang that bit, would he stop playing and turn around questioningly? Would he just give me a dirty look? Would he notice? When other people add their own voices to my own songs it usually bothers me becauses it limits my ability to ad-lib on my own, but otherwise i usually quite like it. Is that the mark of a truly improvisational and inventive performer? Or are some people just more possesive of their work than others? I wonder.