RIGHT THINGS
“Right Things," offers a sarcastic perspective on the internal voice that constantly judges its host's actions. Optimistic antagonists often demand reality be silent, yet the truth, symbolized by light, seldom complies.
"I wrote Right Things" in 2021 during a "fugue state," engaging in dissociative rhyming over guitar riffs repeatedly until something intriguing emerges. Once the song's subject revealed itself, the process involved doubling back and refining the lines into a cognitive narrative, still allowing for interpretation. Conceptually, I envisioned living in a house entirely made of glass panes. Without framing and walls, it would be shaky, especially when someone pulls shades to block out light.
The chorus reflects my personal journey – departing a lucrative tech career without having children, making it sardonic to offer advice through a song when most would have chosen the staple paths I denied. The second verse introduces nihilism, countered by the optimistic antagonist urging, "don’t remind the crowd of that, just make 'em dance or else just shaddup a ya face and go home!" Despite never playing to a substantial audience, the line pays homage to a novelty song by Ohio native Joe Dolce, discovered shortly after my family moved to Italy in 1981.
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1000 MILES
Here's a tune inspired by my ex and our epic saga of marital misfortune. Marrying at 24, thinking I was a 'white knight'—spoiler alert: bad call. Twelve years of mostly misery, but hey, thanks for the endless songwriting material. Many thanks go to chemicals for soothing her childhood baggage and my post-dad-dying chaos. What a messy love story! Let's hope the song makes it all worthwhile.
““This song is making me throw up.””
BLEED
The opening verses of 'Bleed' weave between the critical and optimistic voices in my mind. For the darker tones, Jason wisely suggested an effect reminiscent of the Smashing Pumpkins' 'Tales of A Scorched Earth' to amplify the sinister vibe. Bradford added peculiar three-part harmonies to the softer parts, enhancing the contrast between the two voices. We aim for this dynamic to resonate as the timeless trope of a devil and angel on each shoulder. 'Bleed' kicks off with the lines 'You've been Living On Lies, never Satisfied…,' referencing two songs from our earlier days as the band Herb & Jellyfish."
WHITE GUILT BLVD
Over the past decade, Seattle, like many other major West Coast cities, has embraced a colorful array of dogmatic policies. Some examples are highlighted here [Link: https://www.stevemurch.com/west-coast-progressives-its-time-to-show-your-work/2023/09]. From my perspective, much of these changes appear impulsively reactive to anything labeled conservative. "Progressive" figures like Sawant, while well-intentioned, often end up causing more harm in their zeal for progress. This leaves the average citizen caught in the crossfire between right and left ideologues and their fervent, cult-like followers, who prioritize change over societal stability. I'm on my last breath trying to encourage both sides to engage in constructive dialogue and find common ground.
As for the vocal effect at the start of the song, Andreas explains, “I think the effect heightens the absurdity of the song’s theme in a wry/ironic way. Picture a cosmonaut in space, the epitome of human advancement, yet all he can focus on is identity-based guilt, earnestly proclaiming it to the world as if it's the most crucial topic. It's absurd, but that's precisely the point; in its seriousness, it satirizes the caricature of the woke fanatic who sees race in everything and demands uniform thinking. The space angle takes it to a whole new level.”
The song imagines the negative outcomes of corporations attempting to subtly manipulate the choice of workers. It's loosely based on the theory of the same name from the book Nudge (2008) wherein the authors promote 'liberal paternalism' to help consumers make better decisions by reducing biases and errors caused by limited rationality.
I'm really proud of the work my team has done on this new single. Our new mixing engineer, Don Farwell of Earwig Studios, did some great work remixing the original tracks we recorded with Jason Lackie. In 2019, I started writing "Choice Architecture" and the line "assume you've got a choice in the matter" just fell out while riffing lyrics over the chorus chords. After some research I found Choice Architecture on Wikipedia and the song practically wrote itself from there. "Choice Architecture" wonders if corporations subtly manipulate workers' decisions to their advantage. It's a question my imagination finds compelling, especially since I like conspiratorial topics. Liberal paternalism seems like a theory that would encourage the bigotry of low expectations upon the lower classes by the upper.
My biased ego-driven wonderings aside, the highlight of this song is Dre's incredible guitar solo at around 2:46. Oh, and the sax solo also pays tribute to one of my favorite songwriters, George Michael. We'll be releasing this track on Friday, January 26th, 2024. Make sure to follow us on Spotify so you'll be notified when it's out.
CHOICE ARCHITECTURE
DON’T KNOW
WHAT TO SAY
Don’t Know What To Say is the first single & music video off our upcoming, Choice Architecture EP. Over analyzing thoughts and poor communication skills can leave anyone speechless. In 2019, I had two different in-person political disagreements with friends that ended in silence. In one such conversation I presented a dictionary definition of the word racism as a counter to the assertion that “people of color can’t be racist.” I was told the dictionary was written by “old, white, men,” which itself is an ageist, racist, and sexist sentence. Still don’t know what to say about the staggering hypocrisy of that statement. It seems that far left dogmas are just as retarded as the ones on the right.
The “Don’t Know What To Say,” video was filmed on Sept. 11th (never forget) in an airplane hangar by Ahren Lanfor of Lanfor Productions. Our lead singer and his partner lived there during the pandemic to clear it for sale after 40 years of memories were built there. You'll see a master bathroom from the 60’s along with a bunch of very dated rooms. Plus, a kitten poster from the 1980's that looks like it would be in Stranger Things. This music video is dedicated to the passing of Priscilla Smithhart who originally designed and built the house where this video was filmed.
SUGARPUSS
Sugarpuss is about simping over a woman. You know it’s unlikely she’ll ever come round but you hold out hope in case the bridge ain’t completely burned. :)
““U2 and Radiohead guitar vibes. Dated sounding. Vocals are kinda greasy, lecherous sounding - would never want to listen to this. The melody isn’t bad. Technically: pitch, intensity, the vocals sound good. Just not vibing with them. Style feels very old to me, song feels uninspired, not relevant. The 80’s shred guitar is … I’d avoid that. Good recording of a concept that doesn’t appeal to me personally.””
EASIER SAID
Arranging a ménage à trois is easier said than done.