So, here it is, the album that almost wasn't, then was, really quickly.
For those who don't know, the RPM Challenge is held every February, organized by a seacoast-area newspaper. The challenge is to write and record an entire album (either 10 songs or 35 minutes of music) between February 1st and February 28th (in leap years, they give you an extra day). You're not expected to produce masterpieces, it's just supposed to get the creative juices flowing. It's not a contest, there are no prizes, it's just a kick in the pants to get you doing something.
This year, I was hesitant to participate. I've done it for the past four years, and my results the past couple of years were not great. I'm not much of a musician, but even to my lowered standards, I wasn't happy with what I put out. There were other factors, as well. I don't have great recording equipment at home - I tend to make my music in GarageBand on the Mac, which really only works well on my computer at work. I have it on an iMac I own, but it runs slow, and doesn't have the abilities as the G5 I have at work. Time at work is limited, so I just can't spend the time I would need to make my music sound the way I'd want it to sound.
As the month went on, Sarah told me about her ride home from work. She nannies my brother's 4 daughters, and as a result, listens to a lot of nursery rhymes. She commented that the music she listens to on the way home is "Anti Nursery Rhyme". Nothing terrible in terms of language or content, but definitely more adult than what the kids listen to all day. After this conversation, I found myself wishing I'd participated this year, if for no other reason than to write an album of true "Anti-Nursery Rhymes" for her to listen to after work.
The next work day, I found myself with some free time at my G5, so I pulled up GarageBand and started noodling around. Before I knew it, I'd written a song. On February 15th. More than halfway into the challenge. Well, I wrote that song in a day. Maybe I could do a song each day. If I can write in the 4-5 minute range, then it would only take 7 or 8 songs to fulfill the 35 minute requirement. This could work!
And, for the most part, I managed to work in that time frame. There were a couple of songs that needed extra work. "Andryala," for instance, I had mostly done in a day, but it sounded a little goofy. So, I tweaked it a tiny bit, and found a much richer sound. I was also lucky to find some new instruments, which allowed me to open up my sound a little bit; many of the new guitars I now have come with built-in chord structures. These can present a different set of challenges - different sections of the keyboard represent different types of chords, which can severely limit range - but they make it simple to write a loop with a mix of chords and single notes, as well as giving the music a fuller sound.
Originally, I'd intended to call the album "Anti Nursery Rhymes", but that doesn't really flow very well. In the end, I went with the more compact "Anti Idol". There's not much meaning behind it, other than I don't really like American Idol. That's not really where the name came from, but it works well enough.
As the month wrapped up, I had 8 tracks, and just shy of 35 minutes of music. I could have slowed down "Ephemera", but that felt cheap, and I liked it as-is. So, with a weekend free from hockey, I pulled out the iMac, and wrote something kinda bad, but long enough to finish. I burned a disc, sent it off, and got confirmation a couple days later. I had done it! An album of music in half a month! Crazy! And better than my past couple of efforts! Crazier!
Of course, I wasn't entirely happy. A couple of songs needed balancing/tweaking, and, of course, the final song I'd written was kinda crappy. And, I hadn't actually named the tracks, or created an album cover - neither are required, but I enjoy creating the "final package". So, as March began, I set back to work. I wrote more for that final song, changing it from a crappy string swell into a shape-shifting tone-setter. I smoothed out some rough edges, polished off a few songs, and created a cover.
Here's the kicker: I wrapped it all up by March 13th. Even with the extra work, I'd completed the challenge. My album was started and finished in 28 days.
What I'm really proud of though, is the music. Two years ago, I built most of the album around variations on a song from my first RPM Challenge album (not all that successfully, though it's decent in places). In some years, I've simply used different versions of songs (on my 2nd RPMC album, I slowed a song down and tweaked it slightly), or fleshed out song fragments I wrote and/or recorded before the month had actually started. While I was able to rationalize all of that, and I still think it all falls within the rules (that 2nd album had well over 35 minutes of music without the slowed-down version), I always felt that I took a shortcut in a way, worked the system. Even last year, I had written the base of one song before the month began.
This year, I conceived, wrote, and recorded everything in February. Two of the songs contain riffs from other songs, but I did so on purpose, as a reference to those other songs. In all other aspects, the songs are unique. On top of that, I think this is the best group of songs I've produced. If nothing else, I think my techniques have improved to the point where some of the music sounds like it might have been played with real instruments. I'm particularly proud of the drum work. It's not perfect, but I think I've come a good distance from the Meg White simplicity of earlier efforts.
I would recommend listening on a set of high-quality headphones, as I always think music sounds better when you can immerse yourself in it and let it envelope you like a warm blanket. A warning though, at least one of the songs is quite loud, and there is quite a bit of bass throughout.
Without further ado, here's the track listing and notes:
1. Transmissibility (3:44, 120 bpm)
The first track, but the last written. Really last. The strings you hear at the beginning were the beginning of the track I'd written at home. It continued on like that, with a trombone joining in, before the whole thing ended rather abruptly. I'd had an idea of what I wanted to do; something similar, but a bit more intricate. The iMac didn't cooperate, though. I couldn't get the instruments to load properly, and when I did get them working, they still didn't work quite right (and no one in internet-land had the problems I did, apparently, as the various Mac help forums gave little help).
Transmissibility is a concept related to permeability, or transmission. I felt like it fit this song well for the way the three distinct sections flow well together, and also for the way some of the sounds/tone permeate the rest of the album.
This is one of the two songs that references a later song.
2. Ephemera (1:32, 170 bpm)
The second track, but the second-to-last written (don't worry, this pattern doesn't continue). As you'll notice, most of the album hovers around the 100 bpm mark. After 7 tracks of that, and right after working on the slow-building Anti-Idol, I wanted something fast. It kicks off with a bright electric piano playing an arpeggiated E chord, then a nice, aggressive bass kicks in. The drums build, and a fuzzy keyboard carries the lead. This is the other of the two songs that references a later song (more on that, well, later).
As most of you no doubt know, ephemera refers to things that last for only a short time. I figured that the shortest song on the album qualifies.
3. The Lost Woods (3:01, 90 bpm)
The second song I wrote, and one of the three I wrote before getting more instruments. I used a synth instrument, but didn't quite like the sound, so I played around with the settings in the instrument generator until I found something that I not only liked, but resonated with something deep inside me, something that reminded me of my childhood, of running around the woods with a wooden sword and shield, stunning strange looking creatures with my boomerang so they wouldn't shoot arrows at me before I could slay them and reap the bounty they dropped.
And yes, of course I'm talking about a video game (mostly), Namely, if you haven't guessed already, The Legend of Zelda, easily one of the best console video games of all time. The synth I tweaked sounds, to me at least, like the synth that plays the opening theme to the original Zelda. I'm sure it's not exactly the same, but enough that I knew I had to use it. And name the song in he game's honor.
The music is somewhat standard for me, if you've heard my earlier stuff. A couple of synths, some delayed drums, and that nice texture running through the entire thing, opening the song like some beast opening it's maw (more fantasy/video game stuff for you). I really like the drums, though, and the way the "Zelda Synth" is both the main melody as well as the bass line, but don't simply mimic one another.
4. Titanomachy (5:12, 110 bpm)
I don't know if this is the best song on the album, but it is one of my favorites. Listen to it with the bass up, on a good system. If the first minute or so doesn't get your blood pumping, you may want to seek medical attention, because you might be dead.
This was the first song I wrote after installing the new instruments. As a result, the crunchy guitars have a more realistic "crunch", the bass hits harder, and the drums seem to have more pop. I don't know, maybe I just used the instruments together better? In any case, I really like the sound; it's more along the lines of what I've been trying to do for the past few years. Heavy, bassy, but melodic. The basic structure is 12-bar blues, which also makes me happy.
As for the title, titanomachy refers to the war between the Olympians (Zeus, et al) and the Titans (Zeus's father Cronus, et al). Essentially, "new" Gods versus the "old" Gods. I always picture this as thundering warfare, igniting the heavens and shaking the earth. A comic book battle eons before books. The first time I listened to the original version of this song, there was so much bass I thought my car was going to rattle apart (I adjusted that a bit). Keeping with the Greek theme, it's probably wanton hubris to consider this song sounding anything close to that, but so be it.
The intro is an arpeggiated chord; the same chord can be heard towards the end of "Transmissibility". So, there's the first reference.
5. Andryala (3:06, 102 bpm)
Banjo? Banjo!
Yup, one of the new instruments I installed was a banjo (a couple version of it, actually), so, I figured I'd give it a whirl. Now, most of my music features instruments I've played (piano/keyboards mostly, along with guitars), or instruments that I'm more familiar with the playing off (woodwinds, horns, drums). The trouble I have with the drums is lack of experience actually playing them. Now, I've seen a banjo played a few times, and even held a banjo once, but I've never played the darn thing. It is similar to a guitar, but not really. Kinda like that foreign cousin who looks a lot like you, but speaks an entirely different language and puts apple butter on EVERYTHING (never let him use your phone). What makes it even more difficult is that I'm not actually playing the thing, I'm essentially playing a keyboard to make the notes come out. The fact that this didn't become one of my "lost recordings" is remarkable.
In fact, it almost did. I whipped the song off rather quickly (I think during lunch!), but when I listened on the way home, it just sounded silly. Every string was plucked the same, right in time with the drums and guitar, and it just sounded cheesy. I tweaked the banjo a bit, and I think it sounds a little more realistic now, less uniform (I really like the little slide effect; I think it adds some realism).
Andryala is a member of the daisy family. I dunno, just seemed to fit.
6. Big Sky (4:41, 99 bpm)
The first song I recorded. I think I was going for something more like "Titanomachy", but I didn't like the tone of it, so I filtered everything, to give it this sort of low-key intensity. Definitely a headphone track.
It reminds me of the sky as a storm builds; high pressure, everything is somewhat muffled by the clouds, and there's this sense of impending doom.
7. Proto (2:56, 84 bpm)
I wrote this song just before "Titanomachy", and didn't really like it. It was actually in the most danger of being scrapped. The newer instruments helped save it, though I still think it needs more work. If I were ever to do anything with these songs, I would spend the most time cleaning this one up. The "solo" at the end is the most glaring weakness to me. Believe it or not, it sounds better than when I first wrote it, but it needs work.
As it was kind of the prototype for "Titanomachy" (and to some extent, "Ephemera"), and because I feel it is unfinished in a way, I called it "Proto".
8. Wake-Up Call (4:03, 100 bpm)
Ok, I wrote this before "Proto", but am much happier with what it became. I think I like it because I took a pretty simple riff (which you hear at the beginning), and varied it throughout, using two keyboards that rarely play the same variation at the same time. I think the song has great movement.
As for the name, well, Sarah had been studying CPR for her EMT class, and I recalled that the target for chest compressions is 100 per minute. It is common for CPR instructors to tell students to hum "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen as you apply compressions, as it has a solid beat, and is 100 bpm. Unfortunately, it is difficult to do this and not sing out loud, which, given the lyrics, could be seen as just a touch inappropriate.
So, I wrote a song that would be 100 bpm. Now, it didn't quite work out that this would be a good replacement for AOBTD (the beat just isn't that same, simple, pounding rhythm; it's too complex), the intent was still there. And yes, if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm referring to performing CPR as giving someone a wake-up call. Might be a touch inappropriate in and of itself.
9. Anti-Idol (9:59, 100 bpm)
Ah, the album-closer. This was not the last song I wrote, but there was no doubt it would be the closing track. It just feels like it wraps up the whole album. I wanted to write a song that built up slowly, working up to an explosion of sound. I'm not sure that it came out exactly how I envisioned it in my head, but I really like the way it sounds. The syth swirls and swells, the bass drops in and chugs through as the rest of the instruments prepare themselves for the final movement.
The guitar riff that plays after the hi-hat fill towards the end (when the drums come up out of the phased sound) is the same as the main riff in Ephemera. It's not the easiest to hear, as the echo on the synth in Ephemera changes the sound, but trust me, that's the second reference.
And that's the album. I hope you enjoy it. Sarah seems to like it, so that makes it successful in my book!
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