Tripecac - Swaddlicious

Finally up and running again, after several weeks' hiatus. Not much new here, more of a going-through-the-motions warm-up. The music feels almost as obvious and forced as the "punny" title.

One nice thing is the guitar, which was an afterthought; I was testing to make sure a new power supply was working correctly. I ended up keeping it, mostly out of inertia. I kinda like it, but when it comes back near the end of the song, it makes the song sound really mindless.

So I guess this means we're starting yet another album with lots of room for improvement!

The title comes from a phrase G used. I thought it was cute, so decided to use it for a song title!

The music is mellow and soothing, like cool spring drizzle. It's repetitive and a little tedious at times, but then again, so was the weather this week. Yet we still got out for fresh air and exercise, and had our quiet little adventures, all in the brilliant green countryside.

So this song is a little thanks to the rain for all that green, and big wet, flowery hug for Mother's Day!

This is dedicated to a certain special someone.

The music is very empty-headed. It's like someone grunting "how ya doin'" and then staring at you blankly.

G came up with the term, and I came up with the music, which was based on a dream. In the dream, I was walking through a university campus while listening to a song that I was somehow composing on the fly.

At some point, I realized I was in a dream, and tried desperately to capture the tune. First I tried to use a tape recorder, but then I realized that a recording would do me no good when I woke up. Then I tried writing down the notes and lyrics on a piece of paper, before realizing that wouldn't work either. Finally, I decided to memorize it, but at that point, I woke up, so all I had left were some tiny fragments.

My most distinct memory is that had really loud, reverby toms, so for this song I decided to start with those. I also remembered sparseness, so I've kept the instrumentation very lean and trancy.

Some people have lots of stamina, and others need a nap. This observation was inspired by Survivor and a visit to DC over the weekend.

The music is pretty dark (like the last song), but I added some funky parts that give it some pep.

I started this song the day after one of our guinea pigs (Coffee) died. At first, I wanted to make it "heartfelt", which meant emotional, sad, touching, etc. But then I decided that a more fitting (and fun) tribute would be to have it resemble Coffee's personality, which meant making it peppy, repetitive, and friendly (melodic).

It took me a long time to finish it, so the original idea got kinda bogged down by the usual Tripecac-isms. Whether it succeeds as a eulogy is up to you.

No, actually, it's up to Coffee.

Rest in peace, little monster!

August is often a hectic month, and this one is no exception. The title comes from a caption I used in a home video once: "A Gust of Activity".

I wanted the music to be different, slightly jarring and hectic, but without sounding irritating. So I chose 5/4 as a meter, which I don't use very often. I don't know if it works that well, but hopefully it captures the feel of getting whisked around.

This was based on a dream I had. It doesn't sound at all like the song in the dream, and doesn't have any of its lyrics, but my goal was to create something more "rocking" than the last one and I guess this qualifies. Pretty much anything would!

The title come from Connecticut, kinetic (Denali), and cute (Denali). Too bad the music isn't cute. Or very kinetic. But at least it's done, and that's my favorite adjective!

I had a bad cold the day I started this, and was taking medication to battle it.

Fortunately, the lack of imagination in the title didn't coincide with a lack of imagination in the music, at least from my perspective. This ended up being dancy and funky, with an increasingly swinging beat starting about halfway through.

Yes, it's repetitive, and yes, it's very long, but there are some catchy groovy moments in there which I kinda like. Whether anyone else feels the same is to be seen, but for now I'm satisfied because being done is fun!

The other day I happened to hear Baby Talk and was impressed with how energetic it was, despite its being so minimalist compared to what I'm doing now. Recently, all my songs have been seeming very drum-heavy, which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for the other instruments.

So for this song I decided to try to create something minimal. The only melodic instruments are the bass and guitars. The drums are also pretty straightforward and mellow. The whole vibe is toned down, in an attempt to sound relaxed, and, well, "cool".

Does it work?

Or is it not "cool" to ask whether it works or not?

Regardless, it's done, and that fact is cool enough for me.

This final song is about leaving the comfort of the womb.

The groove is peppy, but very repetitive, especially at the end. It's supposed to represent the relentless push towards independence. Keep kicking and you'll get there!

Shortly after finishing this song, I packed up my music gear in preparation for our move overseas. Our boxes were supposed to arrive about a month after us (mid-December), but it wasn't until late May that we finally received them. So this ended up being the last Tripecac song in 8 months!