Tripecac - Miner

The title is a pun on "surveyor", "survey ore", "survey yore", and "serve yore". Basically, I'm taking a first glance at some of my old unfinished ideas. I'd like to "serve" my ideas from the past by completing them. Yeah, I know: blech!

The first chord is C minor, which is probably my most common chord. I wanted to make sure I opened the album on its namesake!

I created the chord progression in July 2001. I was on my third Alaska trip (this time by car), visiting my friend Andrew in Fort McMurray, Alberta. He worked at a school there, and let me hole myself up in a piano practice room while he finished his work for the day.

This song involves an interesting coincidence. I wrote the first lyrics for it back in 2001, while driving in Canada (see the Trex song "Pick Up the Book"). Because I had scribbled them down on the same sheet as the chord progression for "Surveyore", I decided to finish them next.

Here's the coincidence: The evening right before I started it, I heard about a day care councellor who refused to let kids read books outside. I thought it was funny how that was the exact theme of the first verse.

Okay, well, enough about that coincidence. It was pretty boring. I'm not a good story teller today. Blaa blaa blaa.

So, anyway, what do you think of the vocals? Are you glad they're back? Are the lyrics too cryptic for ya? Were you hoping for something more polished and thoughtful? Yeah, well, me too.

The original title was "Introverted Chord Progression". I shortened it to "ICP", which is a pun on "I see pee". In case you don't get it: I have to spot check the guinea pigs' cages several times a day, so it kinda makes sense. Kinda.

The chord progression is from my 2001 road trip. Everything else is brand spankin' new.

Spank hard enough and you might make it pee. Okay, that was dumb. Forced. Very forced. Like pee.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

:|

Where's the line between gusto and disgusto? I don't know!

This is a slow song that I recorded when half-drunk during a tiff. It took me a couple days to clean it up, and it's still not very good. The drums are barely there, very muffled. Oh well! I tried to capture the heartfeltness, but I think I captured the farthealtedness, if you know what I mean.

Look in a mirror and what do I see? Stupidity staring back at me.

I have no idea when I wrote the original chord progression. Is such a memory gap to be regarded as a significant loss? Not really. Similarly, if you "forget" this paragraph, this song, or even this artist, is that a great loss? Not really.

I had too many cardboard boxes in the garage. The place was packed, chaotic. Spiders and mice thrived inside that cardboard mountain.

This song is similarly stuffed full of, well, junk. Lots of junk.

No obedience. That's what the title means.

The chord progression is a mix of an old waltz (Fm Eb) and "Christmas in Cancun (1)". It's cheesy, yeah, but, well, so what. At least I'm following my rules by regurgitating old stuff. I like rules. Even if they result in stupid songs like this.

I reverted to Sonar 4 (for the second time) because I was getting tired of Sonar 5's bugs. Later, I forgot that I started it in Sonar 4, so I went back to Sonar 5. Those are details you gotta know!

If at first you don't succeed (at mowing), you gotta keep mowing (at mowing).

Ugh. Lemme try that again.

If at first you don't succeed (at mowing), you gotta keep trying (at mowing).

Yuck. Oops, gotta do over.

If at first you don't succeed (at mowing), you gotta try, try again (to mow).

Nope, sounds too cheesy, still not right...

If at first you don't succeed (at mowing), you gotta something something mowing (mow).

Yeah, perfect!

I forgot to base this on an old song when I started it. So on the second day I had to find an old snippet to integrate into it. I chose a percussion rhythm so that I didn't have to bother with notes. I then mixed down that part so low you can barely hear it. Hooray for me!

This is a semi-medley of old ideas. Most are pretty cliche-ic. Or rather, cliche-ick... Sigh.

The title comes from an idea I had for a game. One of the traps would be a land mine which explodes into a swarm of bees. Get it? Double-sigh.

I had technical difficulties with this song's project file, which is why it took so long to finish it. To compensate for the extra days, I made the song extra long. Hey, that rhymed! Too bad the song isn't as musical as these notes!

The title is a pun on "thug" and "rug rat". Did I really have to point that out? Did I really have to start this song, finish it, and upload it? Couldn't I have just relaxed a bit, taken it easy, bummed a little... Indulged, smelled the roses, carpe-dium'ed? And then when things need done I can just get someone else to do it for me? And if they don't want to help me, I can focus on convincing them, maybe via a slight show of force, a little veiled threat, a not-so veiled threat... So that I can go back to relaxing? The game boy calls!

The music is bits from old stuff. So are these words, just rearranged a bit. In a not-so-pleasing manner, eh? Eh? Hey, I'm talking to you. Listen up when I'm speaking! Yeah, you! Okay, that's better. Now let me finish this level.

An ohm is a unit of resistence. So a command ohm is like resisting command or authority, right? It's also a pun on "Commando" which is our nickname for Donovan.

The faint [fake] guitar chords (which add a little tension by being slightly out of key) come from 199-something or 200-something; I don't remember. The vocals and everything else are completely new. Assuming any Tripecac these days is really "new".

Funny how I spelled Donovan's name wrong. Not that it really matters... It's not like he's gonna head-butt me or something. Right???

The title is a very obvious pun on the word "narcolepsy". Get it? No? Well, I bet you don't get yellowjackets inside your home either. Lucky you! Now zip it and buzz off!

The buzzing and discord are symbolic. So are the cymbals. Get it? Get it? Get it? Now buzz off!

I was working on song number 13. And I was thirsty! Now buzz off!

Okay, so the chord progression was loosely based on something that may or may not have been inspired by something I had scribbled down long ago. But I doubt it. Or do I? I'm not supposed to admit that I may have detoured outside the rules of the album (finishing old stuff). May have, I said. I don't know for sure. And neither do you. And that's what matters!

Fact is, I'm getting bored of working on the old songs, and this particular sound template. I want to do new stuff. Like this. This is new. So new. Oh so new, baby. Oh so newliciously new. Yup.

Betcha never heard a Tripecac song like this before! Yeah, I'm breaking lots of new ground here!

Or wind. One of those.

I wanted to end the album with energy. Well, here's lots of energy. Not much skill though. Nope.

Sigh.

To be more accurate, this has pockets of energy, but can't sustain it. It's just too long, and too weak a song, with no real "groove".

I really didn't like the song at all, actually, but I needed to strettttch it for ten minutes in order to finish the album. So strettttch it I did. You get ten minutes of strettttched... umm... well, poop. Stretchy, stringy, mushy poop. Stuck on the bottom of your foot. Yep.

Hey, Donovan! Stop hogging all the veggies!

Gotta go now. Nature calls.