June 12, 2003 7:36 PM

For the umpteenth time I discovered how much of a party animal my 4-track is. Anyone with a slight interest in making music should get one; they're relatively cheap (even cheaper used), tape costs nothing (pick up a handful at a thrift shop and put scotch tape over the read-only tabs, even!), easy to operate, and convenient, and, though it lacks in sound quality, it'll allow you to accomplish wonders creatively. You don't know what's possible until you've tried multitracking.

Plans tomorrow: screw around with my 4-track at the park, check out an antique shop, try out a strange electric guitar I saw at a thrift store, get my free coffee (I had to drink 10 to get this one), maybe catch a movie, and then play a show.