albums
Underway
2006 Wonday
Compilations
1993 Songs to Sleep By
1997 Songs to Sleep By 2
2002 Sunday Sampler
2002 Dad's Picks
1999 Mix 1 (sy55)
2010 Mix 2 (triton vocal)
2010 Mix 3 (triton instr.)
SY55
1991 Archives
1992 College Collection
1993 College Collage
1994 The Hermit
1997 Where's My Muse
1999 South or Southeast
Triton
2001 In the Margins
2002 Renewal
2002 Re-treat
2002 Convenience
2002 Back Up
2003 So So
2003 So On
2003 So Long
2003 Baby Steps
2003 Baby Talk
2004 Schmocial
2004 Brroom
2004 Chuckadee
2004 Disco Hike
2004 Extra Extra
2005 Coma Pill
2005 Ourboretum
2005 Jaminy
2005 Padden Drift
2005 Gorilla Love
2005 Aminals
2005 Vegibles
2006 Fruitine
2006 Dignored
2006 Miner
2006 Mouseculine
2006 Yata
2007 Zipit
2007 Sixawon
2007 Halfdosin
2007 Whatcom Home
2008 What Roses
2008 Pho Kit
2008 Composed Pile
2009 Decomposed Pie
2009 Swaddlicious
2010 Lost Train
Soft Synths
2011 Out the Margins
2011 Redebut
2011 Reprogression
2012 Working Progress
2013 Tripico
2014 Aerosol Concrete
2015 Reduced to Clear
2016 Motions
2017 The Walking Dad
2018 Mockolate
2019 Still Testing
2020 Slow Wins Teddy
2024 Battle of the E-Bands

Track List

# title lyrics time download listen started recorded rating
1 Cakewalking Dead lyrics 8:45 download listen locally 2018-02-13 2018-02-27
2 Avefadi lyrics 5:51 download listen locally 2018-04-10 2018-05-08
3 Immockulate lyrics 8:22 download listen locally 2018-05-15 2018-06-05
4 Roomhaven lyrics 9:39 download listen locally 2018-06-12 2018-07-03
5 To Myself lyrics 4:05 download listen locally 2018-10-15 2018-11-19
6 Weigh Bee Hind lyrics 9:37 download listen locally 2018-11-20 2018-12-05
7 Codada lyrics 12:38 download listen locally 2018-12-07 2018-12-17
Total 58:57 play all locally album rating:

Notes

This album is shorter than usual, due to a seemingly endless series of interruptions and delays. The year started slowly, with my wasting investing a lot of time researching software to replace SONAR (which had been discontinued in late 2017). In the end, I decided to stick with SONAR until it stops working. That [non]decision cost me many hours which could have been spent making music!

By early July I had only completed four songs. We then went on a trip for six and half weeks. When we got back, the girls were no longer enrolled in their after-school gym classes, so I lost my usual two-hour music blocks.

In the fourth quarter of the year, the girls joined the coding club, which gave me a two-hour music block again. But then I had to upgrade to a new computer, which consumed more time. Sickness, holidays, and coding club cancellations meant I only had a few afternoons here and there to work on music. Somehow I managed to squeeze out another three songs. By then, I had lost any musical momentum, and felt rusty and rushed; you can probably tell that from the songs.

Speaking of the songs, all of them have vocals. They're silly and mostly improvised, but occasionally catchy. The idea was originally to "mock" various things happening at the time, but over time I neglected to do even that, and the writing dwindles into babbly nothingness. In other words, they're par for Tripecac.

The first four songs are the most focused and polished. Each seems to revisit a different period of Tripecac production. "Cakewalking Dead"'s drum machine and roomy production remind me of Where's My Muse. "Immockulate"'s dueling vocals hearken back to Convenience. "Avefadi" sounds like it could have been on The Hermit, with over-distortion, [fake] sax, and sped-up vocals. "Roomhaven" feels like one of those early soft synth tests on Out the Margins; it starts off meek and awkward but then comes together in a nice funky groove towards the end.

The final three songs sound like a rushed "sequel". They're less chronologically adventurous in terms of production (all sound relatively recent), but are even messier and sloppier in terms of writing, performance, and mixing. "To Myself" is over-compressed, "Weigh Bee Hind" is over-repetitive, and "Codada" is over-stupid. On the positive, there are some decent solos buried in the mess.

Oh well. Hopefully next year will be less time-pinched, so that I can crank out more and better music. I think I've said that before. But this time I really mean it!

Seriously.

User Comments:

  1. "4" - Giovanna (2020-04-23)

Songs

Cakewalking Dead

Cakewalk is dead. This song laments that. Sloppily.

Lyrics to "Cakewalking Dead":

oo yeah oo yeah..

gimme a c
now tell me what you see

and gimme an a
now tell me what you a  [ha ha]

and gimme an l
ah la la la la la

i didn't spell it right though
c a l ?  no  
cal
there's no cal in cakewalk

well there was
but they lost interest in supporting it

well i like cal
not sunny southern cal
but i like cal
not calvin and hobbes

but cal as in cakewalk application language

ok shut up
shut up
shut up

cakewalk is dead cakewalk is dead
it kinda messes with my head
to know that cakewalk is dead

which means

sonar is dead sonar is dead
it sorta messes with my head
to know that sonar is dead

x1 killed it                        [x1 stunk]
and then x2 stomped on it           [x2 stunk]
and then x3 pooped on it            [x3 stunk]
and then platinum was a dead skunk  [platinum stunk]

so cakewalk is dead cakewalk is dead   [well boo hoo hoo]
even after taking all my bread         [well not really]
you know cakewalk is dead

gotta sing about something you know
gotta sing about something you know
gotta sing about cakewalk you know
gotta sing about sonar you know

  a dead skunk a dead skunk a dead skunk a dead skunk...

not on the street corner  [you know]
not in your hallway       [you know]
not in the club scene     [you blow]
not in the stage show     [you blow]
not anywhere am i
not gonna get a penny

  you know they kinda deserved it
  they forsook cal
  they forsook studioware

they just basically wanted a nice gui
wanted a nice gui 
wanted a nice gui
well now cakewalk's corpse is gooey
gooey gooey

so now
sonar is dead sonar is dead   
i think they burnt all of my bread
and so now sonar is dead

you know

[scat] click pop
snap and crackle make it stop
[scat] click click click pop
snap and crackle make it stop

[scat]

snap crackle and poop you know

i know i know i know

blame it on cakewalk
and blame it on sonar
blame it on all those guys who led me so far

blame it on cakewalk
blame it on the racket you know you know you know

blame it on cakewalk
blame it on sonar
blame it on x1 x2 x3 platinum you know

blame it on cakewalk
blame it on the techs
blame it on all those guys who took my cheques

i don't know i don't know 
they gave me a slick interface
but pops and crackles in my face

oh let's just shut up and listen to the solo

yeah solo solo
solo solo solo solo solo solo solo solo

cakewalk is dead cakewalk is dead
it kind messes with my head
to know that cakewalk is dead

sonar is dead cakewalk is dead
i think they burnt all my bread
cakewalk is dead

[scat] 
 
it smells like smoke in here

yes
gui

all right
let's do another song
using cakewalk

  

Avefadi

I got the title from a CAPTCHA that happened to be on a nearby monitor when I was trying to pick a name for this song. It sounded kinda dark and mysterious, so I tried to make music to fit.

The music ended up being pretty punky (and very distorted - the dynamic range is 2, which is absurdly low). I think I was listening to Sisters of Mercy and Morphine at the time. Can you hear those influences?

Can you hear anything after listening to this?

Lyrics to "Avefadi":

a a a a avefadi
avefadi waits for me

one more
one more
one more
one more captcha

it bleeds
oh it bleeds

it bleeds oh it bleeds oh it bleeds oh it bleeds 
oh it bleeds oh it bleeds oh it bleeds oh it bleeds 

it burns it burns it burns and we bleed
and it burns you burn i burn and you bleed

you bleed

ah ah ah ah 
do do do do 
ah ah ah ah 
i made a poopie 

oh yeah

a a a a avefadi
avefadi waits for me

  

Immockulate

Silly and repetitive. 100% improvised. Can you tell?

Lyrics to "Immockulate":

forget about it
forget about it
forget about it
forget about it

  i already have

forget about it
  what?
forget about it
  yeah
forget about it
  forget about what?
forget about it
  i don't remember

[etc]

cough
  oh god
hard on the throat man

it's hard on the throat man
   
got a cough drop
drop it in your pockulate
got a cough drop
??? immockulate

the immockulate conception
  cough drop innoculate
the immockulate conception
  cough drop innoculate

the immockulate conception
  cough drop innoculate
the immockulate conception
  cough drop innoculate

that isn't funny

oh my ears
my ears hurt
my brain hurts
your brain hurts

everybody clap on 3
  1 2 3
everybody clap with
  1 2 me
everybody clap and see
  a b c
everybody clap and then pee
  pss pss pss pee

oh god oh jesus
are you immockulate  
oh god oh jesus
are you immockulate  
  conception
  
what a waste of hard drive

  [scat]

this is pathetic
  this is more than pathetic
may the lord strike me 
  it's apathetic
i don't see any striking

what's that drummer smokin'
  i don't know
why is that fuse box smokin'
  i don't care
  'cause we're playing too loud i guess
      
why are these nachos smokin'
  ugh
  too much hot sauce possibly
what is that gandalf smokin'
  pipe weed
  yeah quote pipe weed unquote

it's smokin' conception
  makes no sense but it's smokin' conception
oh come on reverse it's already spoken
  oh even worse it's croakin'

  [repeat earlier nonsense]
  
  

Roomhaven

The title was inspired by a popular board game (Gloomhaven). The lyrics poke fun of people who play it. Which will be me in a few weeks. Or months. Or years. If I'm lucky.

The music was inspired by... ummm... Sorry, gotta go now.

Lyrics to "Roomhaven":

i'm in my roomhaven
i'm in my room
i'm all aloon haven
i got the gloom

i'm in my roomhaven
i'm all aloon
party in my roomhaven    
i got the gloom
  
i'm in my roomhaven
i'm all aloon
there's a party in my roomhaven    
and i got the gloom

i'm in my roomhaven
i'm all aloon
there's a party in my roomhaven    
i got the gloom

  +1 +2 +3 +4
  why are you walking to the door  
  come see my magical sword
  nice try pretending that you're bored

  you're just jealous  
  

To Myself

This is the first song I work on with my new computer. It's a bit clunky, but not nearly as clunky as what it took to get the tools for working on it installed, configured, and able to let me finish it. I'm glad that's over with!

Lyrics to "To Myself":

it's been a long long time since i made any songs
it's been a long long time since i made any songs
it's been a long long time since i made any songs
it's been a long long time since i made any songs

  stretch it out trav stretch it out
  stretch it out trav stretch it out
  stretch it out trav stretch it out
  stretch it out trav stretch it out

and here i go
when i've got the house to myself i dance alone
when i've got the house to myself i sing alone

  when i've got the house to myself
  when i've got the house to myself
  when i've got the house to myself
  when i've got the house to myself

and it's true
when i've got the house to myself i think of you
and i remember to put away my shoes
that way i can't lose

here i go
when i've got the house to myself i dance alone
and sometimes on the phone
now that's what i call multitasking

  now i've got the house to myself
  now i've got the house to myself
  now i've got the house to myself
  now i've got the house to myself    
  

Weigh Bee Hind

I was very behind on making music (thanks to travel, work, and school schedules), so I needed something that I could repeat for a long time, to fill up space. Meanwhile, we'd been noticing two bumblebee hives (underground) in our garden. This song's lyrics fuse those two ideas.

Lyrics to "Weigh Bee Hind":

weigh hey hey hey the bee hind
weigh hey hey hey the bee
weigh hey hey hey the bee hind
weigh hey hey hey the bee

  1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 

  how much does a bee weigh anyway?

[repeat]   

we've got bumblebees in our garden
and at first they were a little bit alarmin'
but then we heard they were good for the flora
so we let them be and now there's more-a

hey hey hey hey there's a bee hive
hey hey hey hey there's a bee
hey hey hey hey there's a bee hive
hey hey hey hey there goes a bee

we've got a hundred bumblebees in our garden
they nest inside two holes that they've been carvin'
we put a couple sticks nearby as a warnin'
so i guess i'm now a bumblebee warden

hey hey hey hey don't touch my bee hive
hey hey hey hey don't touch my bee
hey hey hey hey don't touch my bee hive
hey hey hey hey don't touch my bee

  

Codada

I needed something long. For some reason, I also made this slow. I think the idea that slower equals longer.

Well, I also started off making it sound pretty classical. But I don't really "do" classical, so it didn't take me long to transform it into something else.

Loop loop loop.

Long long long.

Improv improv improv.

Barf barf barf.

Done done done.

Lyrics to "Codada":

       
we gotta go for 10 minutes, 10 minutes    
we gotta go for 10 minutes

  how do you do?
  
we gotta go for 10 minutes, 10 minutes    
we gotta go for 10 minutes, 10 minutes    

  hello okay thank you

coda da da da de da da coda da de da
coda da da da de da da coda da de da
coda da da da de da da coda da de da
coda da da da de da da coda da de da

coda coda coda coda
coda coda yoda yoda
coda coda yoda yoda
coda coda yoda and chewbacca

what's that?
  what?
who sang that?
  oh oh

i'm looking at you
  loking at me
you in the corner, you sang that... you are excused
  uh thank you 
    
hey you, you never play your solo when you should
  yo sorry
and you guy with the eye playing with his woodwind
  woodwind

oh no that's not right

  playing with his woodwind
  he's playing with his woodwind
  there are no woodwinds in this song
  it's just brass drums bass piano organ
  all electronic
  all fake
  fooled ya didn't i
  didn't we
  didn't we
  wee
  gotta wee 
  time to wee
  see ya
  just kidding
  i'm not going anywhere
  'cause i gotta make this song really long
  and i gotta speak like this
  that is a requirement
  to speak like a southern robot
  in an echo chamber
  a nuclear echo chamber full of other robot parts
  from the previous experiments
  this is take 96

coda da da da de da da coda da de da
coda da da da de da da coda da de da

  ooh

coda coda coda coda
coda coda yoda yoda
coda coda yoda yoda
coda coda yoda and chewbacca

  we gotta go for 10 minutes, 10 minutes    
  we gotta go for 10 minutes, 10 minutes           
  

User Comments:

  1. "Love your take on classical music. Captain Ri eat your heart out!" - Giovanna (2020-04-23)