Click on the thumbnail to view a printable cd sleeve.- Title: Slow Wins Teddy
- Artist: Tripecac
- Timespan: 2020
- Theme: slow and steady
- Length: 65:02
- Tracks: 8
- Lyrics: 5
- MP3s: 8
- Rating: **** [4] (1 rating) rate this album
Track List
| # | title | lyrics | time | started | recorded | rating | mp3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Golden Mullet | lyrics | 9:28 | 2020-02-13 | 2020-05-25 | ****½ (1) | download |
| 2 | The Molten Gullet | lyrics | 8:38 | 2020-06-02 | 2020-06-29 | ****½ (1) | download |
| 3 | Inversion Lair | lyrics | 11:29 | 2020-07-20 | 2020-08-10 | **** (1) | download |
| 4 | Version Err | - | 3:00 | 2020-08-11 | 2020-08-18 | **½ (1) | download |
| 5 | To Slow | lyrics | 5:09 | 2020-08-25 | 2020-09-16 | ***½ (1) | download |
| 6 | Or Not to Slow | lyrics | 10:17 | 2020-10-12 | 2020-11-09 | ***½ (1) | download |
| 7 | All Mow Stun | - | 12:05 | 2020-11-16 | 2020-12-14 | *** (1) | download |
| 8 | Duhn | - | 4:56 | 2020-12-15 | 2020-12-17 | ***½ (1) | download |
| Total | 65:02 | album rating: | **** (1) | ||||
Notes
2020. It's like 9/11 for the next generation. A very long, slow 9/11.
"Where were you in 2020?"
"At home."
"Really? Me too."
"Yep."
"So... yeah..."
"Okay, gotta go now."
"All right, see ya."
Yep, that's about how connected, creative, and fun the rest of the world seemed this year.
For us, it was a little different, since we only had a month of lockdown and a few weeks of (not rigorously enforced) social distancing and hand sanitiser. Our trip to Italy was cancelled, but we were lucky to have Mom and Dad visit early in the year, before COVID really kicked off. The rest of the year was pretty much business as usual, except for a lack of tourists, one or two closed restaurants, and the relentless tide of bad news from overseas.
Finding time for music was tricky, especially with the girls stuck at home for lockdown and again whenever they had a sniffle or cough. Still, I managed to squeeze out enough (long) songs for the annual Tripecac album.
The music starts off sassy and juvenile (perhaps rebelling against the restrictive, fearful feelings of early 2020), but by the end of the year, when COVID-19 was not really a "thing" for us anymore, the music had settled back into its usual calm instrumental groove. Enjoy the good bits, and please excuse the rest!
Songs
The Golden Mullet
- Slow Wins Teddy track 1
- started: 2020-02-13
- recorded: 2020-05-25
- length: 9:28
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5, vocals
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
This song took forever to finish, thanks to a little "infectious agent" with a (golden?) mullet/crown. Yeah, I know, it's a forced analogy, but I actually wrote the idea down long before COVID-19 was a thing.
My hair was a thing then, though. Boy, it was a thing. It isn't anymore now. Thankfully.
Lyrics to "The Golden Mullet":
the golden mullet so proud of it the golden mullet never cut it
User Comments:
- "Memorable and weird at the same time. One of my favorite Tripecac songs from the 2010s!" [****½] - (2025-07-15)
The Molten Gullet
- Slow Wins Teddy track 2
- started: 2020-06-02
- recorded: 2020-06-29
- length: 8:38
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5, vocals
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
I picked the title before anything else. Can you tell?
I was eating a peanut butter sandwich when I recorded the vocals. Can you tell?
They were improvised. Can you tell?
Lyrics to "The Molten Gullet":
ah ah ah ah
ee ee ee ee
ah ah ah ah
uh uh ee ee
in the molten gullet
in the molten gullet
in the molten gullet
in the molten gullet
i can talk with my mouth full
but it's not polite to talk with your mouth full
but i can sing with my mouth full
but it sounds really bad when you sing with your mouth full
d d d d down it d d down it goes
in the molten gullet
g g g g gulp it stop don't pick your nose
in the molten gullet
d d d d down it d d down it goes
in the molten gullet
g g g g gulp it stop don't pick your nose
in the molten gullet
boom
boom goes the microwave
and ring
ring goes the refrigerator when you have to put it out on the deck
boom boom boom boom boom
in the molten gullet
ring ring ring ring ring
in the molten gullet
boom boom boom boom boom
what is a molten gullet anyway?
ring ring ring ring ring
hiss like a ferengi
hiss hiss
hiss like a ferengi
hiss hiss
we're gonna hiss like a ferengi
hiss hiss
and p--- like a klingon
ha ha ha
[klington scat]
in the molten gullet
in the gullet
in the molten gullet
in the gullet
through the wormhole
my oh my
through the wormhole
klingon scat
i wrote down klingon
i stepped in klingon scat
i accidentally made the food replicator create a smoothie made of klingon scat
that's awful
User Comments:
- "Dumb vocals, but the music is fantastic!" [****½] - (2025-07-15)
Inversion Lair
- Slow Wins Teddy track 3
- started: 2020-07-20
- recorded: 2020-08-10
- length: 11:29
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5, vocals
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
Inversion layer, yeah, we get it, Trav...
The lyrics don't line up with the song title, but oh well.
At least it's long! And in 2020, long trumps everything!
Lyrics to "Inversion Lair":
it's inverted... lair
it's converted... where
it's deserted... there
disconcerted... share
makes no sense
we were diverted there
on a perverted dare
to the deserted lair
of an alerted bear
oh this sucks
that's the best that you can do?
that's the best that you can do?
that's the best that you can do?
that's the best that you can do?
ok give it a rest
we were inverted
we were inverted
we were inverted
we were inverted
what did that sound come from?
that was odd
it's like a ray of sunshine
gloomy emo sunshine
sunshine sunshine
mister sunshine
i missed ya sunshine
i missed ya sunshine
i missed ya sunshine
i missed ya sunshine
we missed ya sunshine
we missed ya sunshine
we missed ya sunshine
we missed ya sunshine
we missed ya sunshine
crash
crash
crash king
crash king
ok i'm out of ideas
someone stop the song
ok i'll have to do it myself
here goes
well that was harsh
you killed it
meanie
but the sunshine lives
but the sunshine lives
but the sunshine lives
but the sunshine lives
mr sunshine lives
mr sunshine lives
mr sunshine lives
mr sunshine lives
hooray
he's alive
happy happy happy
alive to fight another day
mr sunshine lives
hooray all 3 of them are alive
alive to argue another day
and another day
and another day
hooray
i am mr sunshine
with the golden mullet
and the molten gullet
hi
how ya doin'
what's this song about anyway? i forget
me too
me three
but with the proper reverb
everything
and i mean everything
sounds profound
sounds profound
sounds profound
sounds profound
sounds profound
this is the profound sound of the joseon underground
this is the profound sound of the joseon underground
this is the profound sound of the joseon underground
this is the profound sound of the joseon underground
hi
how ya doin'
i'm fine how are you
i'm fine how are you
i'm fine how are you
i'm fine how are you
this is the profound sound of the
this is the profound sound of the
this is the profound sound of the
this is the profound sound of the
profound profound profound
profound profound profound
profound profound profound
profound profound profound
this is the profound sound of the inversion layer
this is the profound sound of the inversion layer
this is the profound sound of the inversion layer
this is the profound sound of the inversion layer
inversion layer
inversion layer
inversion layer
inversion layer
enough
no
it's back
it's back
it's back
it's back
no
enough
User Comments:
- "More dumb vocals, but the groove is cool." [****] - (2025-07-15)
Version Err
- Slow Wins Teddy track 4
- started: 2020-08-11
- recorded: 2020-08-18
- length: 3:00
- Travis Emmitt - Addictive Drums 2, Addictive Keys, SI-Bass, Rapture
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
Ok, this was a 100% improv, no planning or looping whatsoever. I basically pressed "go" 4 times (once for each instrument) and recorded whatever popped into my head during that one and only take. Later, I cleaned up the obviously bad notes, but I didn't do any looping or additional recording.
So, if my fingers had hit the keys correctly in the first place, this is what would have come out.
Impressed?
Me neither.
It sounds like bad, and I mean really bad, 80s jazz/synth/lounge music. Imagine the Anchovies playing in the downstairs hallway of the Omni. Awful, awful, awful!
Jon would probably have nothing to do with this, of course! So all the blame would fall on me! :) :) :)
No, wait! Actually, I take it back! This was Allen's idea! Yeah, that's right! It's an Allen Foster Production!!!
Case closed.
User Comments:
- "The overly aggressive bass and drums clash with the gentle piano, making the song sound really "off"." [**½] - (2025-07-15)
To Slow
- Slow Wins Teddy track 5
- started: 2020-08-25
- recorded: 2020-09-16
- length: 5:09
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5, vocals
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
That last song was really rushed, and it certainly shows. Should I slow down, or keep up the hasty pace in order to finish enough songs this year? Quantity or quality? To slow or not to slow?
The lyrics are improvised, and completely fictional. Well, mostly.
The final melodic improve was purely accidental, and ended up sounding like the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", which we had watched recently.
Lyrics to "To Slow":
i i i i i'm ready to go
but you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
so we took a walk
around the block
or at least i wanted to
'cause when i turned round
you were sitting on the ground
tying your shoe
and i said: come on, let's go
and you said: oh no, hold your horses
and i said: i'm ready to go; how 'bout you?
and you said: i'm sitting here tyin' my shoe
and i said: i haven't thought of the next line
(oh good one trav)
and you said: well, i'm slow so you've got time
(you've got time)
and i said: i'd rather spend that time doing something productive
(like playing computer games)
and you said: i don't know what rhymes with productive
(conductive, reproductive?)
but you're slowing me down by breathing down my neck
and i said: did you know that you used the word down twice in the same sentence
and you said: i'm almost done tying my shoe
and i said: i'm not sure i want to go on a walk with you
and you said: fine, i'll just stay here
and i said: fine, i'll see you later
and you said: fine, i just need to take off my shoe
but it's stuck
and i said: what the
what the
what the
what the
oh what the
ha ha ha ha
oh this is awful
next time write it down
ah no, you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
ah no, you're too slow
i i i i i'm ready to go
but you're too slow
User Comments:
- "Catchy music, but the improvised vocals are like a really long joke with no punchline." [***½] - (2025-07-15)
Or Not to Slow
- Slow Wins Teddy track 6
- started: 2020-10-12
- recorded: 2020-11-09
- length: 10:17
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5, vocals
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
Woah boy, this is wild! I missed a Monday in the beginning (due to school holiday) and when I got back to the school I was surprised at how weird this sounds. Especially the vocal effects. Nice!
Lyrics to "Or Not to Slow":
[scat] this is so dumb and it slows me down too this is so dumb and it slows me down - how about you? does it slow you down? does the song slow you down? is it like getting stuck in glue does it slow you down too? this is so dumb this is so dumb this is so dumb this is so dumb down d-d-down ... ha ha ha forget that next idea pull the next idea out of the hat dear assistant oh god it's an improv now i can't sing and i can't play i can't do anything very well today i can't think, i can't do i'm just trying to duck away from you dumb dumb dumb dumb... i can't rhyme, i don't have time this is bad dumb dumb dumb dumb... give me some chewing gum i should have listened to dad i should have listened to dad i i i don't quit your day job son he said b-b-b-b-b-bad b-b-b-b-b-bad b-b-b-b-b-bad chewing gum should've listened to dad ha ha ha ha should've listened to dad don't quit your day job son don't quit your day job son don't quit your day job son or you're gonna have to go on the run oh should've listened to dad don't quit your day job son don't quit your day job son here's some dishwashing money spend it on something lucrative but i threw everything i had into this peak freak overdrive effect overdrive mortgaged the house mortgaged the children and put everything into this one effect box hoping that i would create a song that would do it justice but the sad thing is it's a virtual effect box and it came free so i got suckered so i got suckered free free free free... to slow or not to slow to slow or not to slow do i go or do i not go? ha ha ha to slow or not to slow to go or not to go not not free free free free... oh god oh god god god not free, not free, not free.. jesus this is so dumb and it slows me down too this is so dumb and it slows me down - how about you? does it slow you down? does the song slow you down? is it like getting stuck in glue does it slow you down too? this is so dumb this is so dumb this is so dumb this is so dumb down d-d-down ...
User Comments:
- "More catchy music, and dumb vocals. This is sort of the pattern for this album!" [***½] - (2025-07-15)
All Mow Stun
- Slow Wins Teddy track 7
- started: 2020-11-16
- recorded: 2020-12-14
- length: 12:05
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
This started as a very long multi-track improv. I made it even longer, trying to minimise the use of loops.
It inches me closer to finishing the album.
But doesn't really add much to the "pantheon".
Not even panting, since there are no vocals.
Sigh.
Actually, no sighing either.
User Comments:
- "Sounds fine. But does not stand out." [***] - (2025-07-15)
Duhn
- Slow Wins Teddy track 8
- started: 2020-12-15
- recorded: 2020-12-17
- length: 4:56
- Travis Emmitt - Kontakt 5
- mp3: download (HTML5 player)
This track was a last-minute, rushed-out effort to give the album a sense of conclusion.
I wanted something dark (to reflect the global events of the year) but also catchy (to reflect the amount of fun we ended up having anyway). Hopefully it worked in capturing the "feel" of 2020 from our perspective.
Even if it doesn't work, at least it's short. Actually, that should be in air quotes: "short". Relative to most of the other songs, at least.
Hmm. Maybe I should have called it "Duhm".
User Comments:
- "Solid end." [***½] - (2025-07-15)
User Comments: