i kind of expected i'd be writing symphonies at some point and didn't want to steal a number from myself. this is more of an experiment than a symphony, even though it gets a little "symphonic".
more importantly, it's the first serious example of me putting my long-held disdain for the idea that music should have a "theory" (an idea that i think is preposterous) into real action. it's the first exploration of a long mental process that has yet to reach it's conclusion. i'm very adamantly of the view that art is not a realm where theories should exist or be viewed with anything other than scorn. theories are rigid, formal things; art is informal, chaotic.
the track is composed of a single brief melody that was chosen by randomly mashing notes into a scorewriter. i then took that melody and pasted it over top of itself at differing speeds. i then took that and pasted it over itself, backwards.
that might sound like it's going to sound awful, but it actually sounds quite lovely. one could analyze it quite easily, but it's creation is beyond the realm of any rules of construction.
which is where art belongs.
recorded in june, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/symphony-0
Thursday, November 14, 2013
the phantom of the opera (original album mix)
a synth-pop cover of the popera classic...
i decided to do this tongue-in-check because the preceding track borrows a little from the melody at the very end. in that sense, the cover is meant to be the second half of the preceding track. it also functions as an intro to the next, building a bridge between the two tracks.
i think it's kind of groovy, actually. the percussion is a looped sample of a washing machine....
recorded in june, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/the-phantom-of-the-opera-3
i decided to do this tongue-in-check because the preceding track borrows a little from the melody at the very end. in that sense, the cover is meant to be the second half of the preceding track. it also functions as an intro to the next, building a bridge between the two tracks.
i think it's kind of groovy, actually. the percussion is a looped sample of a washing machine....
recorded in june, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/the-phantom-of-the-opera-3
weedin’ the yard (original album mix)
i was flirting fairly heavily with glitch around this period. insofar as my exploration of the topic is concerned, this would be the furthest i would delve into it, properly.
what i did to create this mess was take the dub out of an old double cassette deck and plug it into it's own in. this created a feedback loop that i was able to play as an instrument by turning the levels up and down. both the static and the pitch bending in the track are created by turning the recording volume up and down.
recorded in may, 1998.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/07-weedin-the-yard
what i did to create this mess was take the dub out of an old double cassette deck and plug it into it's own in. this created a feedback loop that i was able to play as an instrument by turning the levels up and down. both the static and the pitch bending in the track are created by turning the recording volume up and down.
recorded in may, 1998.
http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/07-weedin-the-yard
i feel much better now (original album mix)
at this point, i had the conceptual idea of a record that alternated between "songs" and "sounds". i think this is the first of these sample collages that was constructed specifically to fit between two songs.
recorded in may, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/i-think-i-feel-much-better-now-1998-cd
recorded in may, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/i-think-i-feel-much-better-now-1998-cd
nope (original album mix)
there was a bit of discussion during this period about the possibility of me taking anti-depressants. i didn't like the idea....this was my reaction....
i was given a prescription, but never filled it. the discussion has never really gone away, but i've never accepted anything.
yes, that's mulder & scully.
recorded in april, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/nope-1998-archived-112-kbps-mp3
i was given a prescription, but never filled it. the discussion has never really gone away, but i've never accepted anything.
yes, that's mulder & scully.
recorded in april, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/nope-1998-archived-112-kbps-mp3
why (original album mix)
here's the biting, satirical, misanthropic anarchist jessica that you know and love! finally...
this is the first thing that shows up that's explicitly political in more than a social sense. the lyrics are clear, obvious and mixed very much to the front. here's the story on that: i'm emulating a beat-box situation. i'm a politician, tongue-in-cheek, with a sound system in the back. when i get my headphones fixed, i'll see if i can mess with it a bit, because it's a bit too pronounced, but the general aesthetic is going to stick with it. it's purposeful.
the paper crumpling sound in the middle is meant to represent me spoiling a ballot.
if you listen carefully, the background guitar wanking is awesome.
recorded in april, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/why-original-1999-album-edit
this is the first thing that shows up that's explicitly political in more than a social sense. the lyrics are clear, obvious and mixed very much to the front. here's the story on that: i'm emulating a beat-box situation. i'm a politician, tongue-in-cheek, with a sound system in the back. when i get my headphones fixed, i'll see if i can mess with it a bit, because it's a bit too pronounced, but the general aesthetic is going to stick with it. it's purposeful.
the paper crumpling sound in the middle is meant to represent me spoiling a ballot.
if you listen carefully, the background guitar wanking is awesome.
recorded in april, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/why-original-1999-album-edit
wish (original album mix)
i had earlier recorded a vocal version of this, but i had the good sense to realize it was awful and replaced the vocal parts with synth sections, creating an electronic/ambient piece with a liberal use of noise. it's admittedly a little elevator-music sounding, but i think that's sort of part of it's charm. it's very precious sounding.
this is one of my favourite early pieces. i used to just sit and play the simple guitar outro, with drum loop in my sennheiser 440-IIs, for hours at a time...
the decision to remove the vocals on this track was largely a reflection of my growing confidence in the quality of the music to stand up on it's own. over the '98-'99 period, i was largely aware of how cringeworthy my lyrics were and put them into three overlapping categories: (1) comedy/satire, in which case i let them stand as they were, (2) cries for help, in which case i upheld them as they were hoping somebody would listen, (3) songs that i had no lyrical idea for but that i felt needed lyrics, in which case i felt trapped by the genre conventions and upheld ideas that i truly didn't even like at the time simply so the songs would have vocals. over time, i eventually got to the point where i had enough confidence in the music that i no longer felt that the songs required lyrics, and i started to look at it as something to use sparingly based on whether i actually had an idea to express. while there are definitely songs in this period that i wish i had kept instrumental versions of, the final mixes only include a couple with lyrics that i actively regret. this is the first time i was able to mentally push back against myself and say "no. this song does not need lyrics.".
recorded in april, 1998. edited on nov 14, 2013.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/outro
this is one of my favourite early pieces. i used to just sit and play the simple guitar outro, with drum loop in my sennheiser 440-IIs, for hours at a time...
the decision to remove the vocals on this track was largely a reflection of my growing confidence in the quality of the music to stand up on it's own. over the '98-'99 period, i was largely aware of how cringeworthy my lyrics were and put them into three overlapping categories: (1) comedy/satire, in which case i let them stand as they were, (2) cries for help, in which case i upheld them as they were hoping somebody would listen, (3) songs that i had no lyrical idea for but that i felt needed lyrics, in which case i felt trapped by the genre conventions and upheld ideas that i truly didn't even like at the time simply so the songs would have vocals. over time, i eventually got to the point where i had enough confidence in the music that i no longer felt that the songs required lyrics, and i started to look at it as something to use sparingly based on whether i actually had an idea to express. while there are definitely songs in this period that i wish i had kept instrumental versions of, the final mixes only include a couple with lyrics that i actively regret. this is the first time i was able to mentally push back against myself and say "no. this song does not need lyrics.".
recorded in april, 1998. edited on nov 14, 2013.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/outro
think (original album mix)
this is a nice update of the original in all aspects, with slightly modified lyrics.
recorded in mar, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/i-think-i-feel-much-better-now-1998-cd
recorded in mar, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/i-think-i-feel-much-better-now-1998-cd
hurricane (original discarded outtake)
wind sounds. really, i was experimenting with synthesizing using two different methods: my jx-8p and cool edit as a synthesizer slash effects processor, just to see if i could.
recorded in mar, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/hurricane
recorded in mar, 1998.
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/hurricane
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