k-sensa-my '25

Lou resurrects a 40 year-old lo-fi nugget

I’ve gone on and on about my approach to the baritone ukulele, the way I string it, tune it, and strum it. Plainly it’s a creepy, desperate attempt to convince people that -I DID SOMETHING DIFFERENT- and get some -VALIDATION-. “It’s not just a ukulele!” I’ve whined. “I’ve modified a 12 string guitar to a 4-string tuning using 6 strings!” I’ve insisted. I’ve posted here on Substack about it, even made a video about it etc. etc.. But at some point, now, it might be time to just shut up about it. I’ll make my own INNOVATOR badge with some aluminum foil and pin it to my bathrobe. But before I move on I gotta talk about K-Sensa-My and, once again, my beginnings.

The song K-Sensa-My was recorded in 1985 and released as part of the The Freed Man L.P. in 1989. It’s a hardcore-fan favorite (thanks guys!). I’ve never thought much about it. However, in retrospect, the day I recorded it was a very good day. Using a restrung Baritone uke and a makeshift, 2-track cassette set up involving a plastic microphone, a portable cassette recorder and a Radio Shack level stereo console, K-Sensa-My was one of my first multi-track home mid-fi recording attempts. I was really, really into it.

My writing was starting to expand but I still couldn’t think of a chorus so I tapped a nonsensical refrain the way I did for alotta my early song attempts (and band names and noise collages). I was a HUGE Cocteau Twins fan and felt fully empowered to do whatever I felt like lyrically. It’s all about the sound and texture, right? Also, this was just me in my room. I had no immediate plans to share it.

Anyway, the song was a personal revelation and triggered some much needed confidence. I soon got a real job in a nursing home and got my first multi-track cassette recorders. #1, a Fostex and then, #2, the queen of ‘em all, the Tascam Porta-One 4-Track. I assembled the sound/song collage that became Poledo on Dinosaur Jr’s 2nd L.P. using the makeshift 2-track but soon after that I was writing and recording songs like Brand New Love, feeling like possibilities were endless.

K-Sensa-My always sounded goofy to me and when early Seba-fans mentioned it I kinda brushed it off. Very recently when Emil Amos curated and released (via Steve Shelley’s Vampire Blues label) a sweet compilation of my early recordings Really Insane-A Lou Barlow Compendium I cringed a little when I saw it on the track-listing. I even thought of putting a foot down and not including it. But, I appreciate that an audience can hear things an artist doesn’t. I’ve accepted that I’m too close to judge in some cases.

The other day, after yet another request for it on one of Adelle and my -Dinner and Music- live Substacks, I figured I’d go ahead and re-learn the tune.

I listened to the original, baritone uke in hand. The intro for the tune is a screaming tantrum and me bashing one of my guitars on the floor. That goes on for awhile. When the song actually started, I played along, adjusted the tuning and moved my fingers around the neck. A new version of the song took shape. What fun. I appreciated the made-up words. It started to feel almost mature.

I played a long version for the podcast, Adelle and I chatted about it:

Afterwards, I went a step further and re-captured my new version of K-Sensa-My to reflect the length of the original (barely over a minute as was my hardcore-punk-rock-influenced method back then). Check that out (with video) below the paywall.

I love my modified ukulele/4-string guitar. I think it’s the most interesting thing I’ve stumbled upon on my zig-zag musical journey. I think other wanna-be player/writers might benefit from a different approach to a stringed instrument. Everybody knows 6 is too many strings and that EADGBE and all those regular chord figures make everything sound the same. I don’t hate standard tuning and all the typical stuff, I use it all the time, but… playing K-Sensa-My again was a nice reminder of the time I broke through some traditions that were holding me back and started creating my own musical world.

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k-sensa-my ‘25