'Dotty Ditties, Volume 1(?)' - Individual Song Breakdowns ____________________________________________________________ Individual Song Breakdowns “Ladio Radio” (165 BPM) Whilst engaged in my side job, I heard a lady on the radio proclaim, “Everything is gonna be okay,” quite matter of factly. Then, the vocal hook crept into my head and I thought it’d be fun to experiment with different variations of major and minor chords to further emphasize the positive and negative sentiments. I also had a loose idea of the second section being some sort of mashup between Mike Patton, slap bass, and, uh, nu-metal. I sat down with Guitar Pro and it all came out in a day or two. Lyrics Everything is gonna Everything is gonna be okay x2 Everything is gonna not be okay x2 Everything is gonna be okay x2 Everything is gonna not be okay x2 The lady on the radi gonna be okay Ladio radio, gonna be okay, okay Ladion radion, she says it will, she says it's gonna be okay, okay, okay She won't lead us astray OKAY! Everything is gonna Everything is gonna be okay x2 Everything is gonna not be okay x2 Everything is gonna be okay x2 Everything is gonna not be okay x2 ____________________________________________________________ “PSA” (141 BPM) Another tune whose primary inspirational source was a vocal hook; this time, both the “Do what you want, say what you want” and “You can miss…” lines. The slap bass in the A sections is programmed, because I wanted it to sound super clean. Synths on this are also all programmed, but with actual synths (CS1x, Vermona E-piano). The motown-y bridge came out of nowhere. I was already in correspondence with Sinha, who was knocking out vocal tracks for ‘Projects III’ with great fervor. She agreed to prioritize this and track it before she got to the rest of PIII. I told her to sound like she’s losing her mind from either frustration, liberated happiness, whatever! She nailed it. The ending sees even more programming: drums! Used an auxiliary 13” brass snare and 12” hats with a load of effects to contrast the huge, natural drums. Lyrics Do what you want, say what you want x3 Do what you want, I don't care This is my PSA, recommended for daily play You can miss, miss me with All of your, your bullshit You can miss, miss me with All of your, your bullshit Do what you want, say what you want x3 Do what you want, I don't care I don't care x4 Care, care, care, care, care, care I just don't care Do what you want, say what you want x3 Do what you want, I don't care You can miss, miss me with All of your, your bullshit You can miss, miss me with All of your, your bullshit ____________________________________________________________ “Phoneship” (140 BPM) I took a Skype lesson with David Benites to learn some basics of screaming properly/healthfully in August (2020). I was turned onto him by my friend Taylor Larson, whom he had been collaborating with on some music. I told him if and whenever he came back to Bethesda (he’s Boston-based), that I’d gladly make the drive to take an in-person lesson with him. I practiced ‘false cord’ screaming and what I thought were fry screams for a couple months, before said opportunity presented itself. At the lesson, David showed me a new way to approach getting the feel for executing fry properly, as I had been doing mid/upper false cord screams rather than fry. As quickly as on the drive back to my studio did I learn how to properly activate fry, and I even sustained a powerful 30-second scream! After this revelation, I thought it’d be funny to compose a metal tune wherein I simply screamed “fuck” for 20-30 seconds, then “you” for another 20-30. Then, I remembered this silly phrase/lyric/whatever that I’d tucked away in a large text document with all sorts of things of that ilk: all my friends live in my phone. I sat down that night with Guitar Pro and figured out the vocal phrasing and chords for the first section, as well as the B section; finished it up the following day. After tracking all of the instruments, I figured an outro with a combination of beatboxing+programmed electro drums (with my TE PO12) settling under a reprise of the chorus chords would be cool. The bridge in this is my favorite section, perhaps because it contains the sole reason for recording the tune: those long-ass fry screams. But the background vocals were all improvised/conceived on-the-fly and now I can’t envision that section sounding any different. Lyrics All my friends live in my phone They can't seem to leave me alone Go fuck yourself I can't think for myself All my friends live in my phone They can't seem to leave me alone Father Time's coffers are behind I'm so sick of this shit I can't wait to leave this mortal plane How embarrassing, this life chokes your brain Fuck you Go fuck yourself I can think for myself, thank you All my friends live inside my head They'd rather see me wind up dead ____________________________________________________________ “Break Through Glass” (156 BPM, 196 BPM at 1:33) By this time, I had been taking weekly vocal lessons via Zoom with Sacha Mullin for about a month. I started to feel more confident about matching pitches and sought to write something jazzy. I came up with what I thought was a pretty sophisticated chord progression, although it’s only one bar long. Combining this with some cheesy, sentimental lyrics that were punctuated with jokey lyrics made me giggle. My other big idea was for the jazzy vibe to come to a crashing halt and segue into a punk rock thing. My inspiration for this was the Foo Fighters tune “Up in Arms”. The ‘guitar’ in this section was a total accident. I played the chords on my bass with a pick (something I never do because I can’t, haha), re-amped the DI signal, then applied Soundtoys’s Microshift to fill out the stereo field. Lyrics Darlin', I miss you so much I don't know why Honey, I miss you so much I may just cry Contemplate my options, can I walk away from my problems? Honey, I miss you so much I could just die Darlin', do you miss my touch? If I could pry Contemplate my options, can I walk away from my problems? When can we be together at last? I'd break through glass, bust my ass When can we be together at last? I'd like some gauze, I'm in so much pain Theoretically speaking, of course Darlin', when are you comin' home? I need to know Honey, I like you head to toe Darlin', I miss you Positively miss you Don't know why Time spans my memories Opaque and temporary Stretches on for life In my MIND I'd break through glass, bust my ass ____________________________________________________________ “First Class Magazines” (134 BPM) After stumbling onto the ‘guitar trick’, I got a hankering to write another guitar-esque part, except double-tracked, along with an actual bass line, of course. I rediscovered yet another silly lyric/song title/whatever in my text document, which was based on a true story: first class magazines. I was once flying back after a session—not a tour, which is the only discrepancy in the lyrics—and my flight kept encountering delays, until it was altogether postponed until the following day. I had to sleep on the terminal floor, which is a displeasure I’ve had to endure a few times. Due to either my insistent questioning immediately followed by disappointment, the airline employee taking pity on me, or sheer luck (who knows?), I was upgraded to first class. To this day, it’s the only time I’ve ever flown in such luxury. I was struck not only by the amenities and general hospitality—aside from one of the flight attendants taking a dislike to me for some reason—but even down to the magazines, which seemed to inhabit a worldly space to which I’ll never be privy, haha. The tracklist for this EP is arranged sequentially as per when the songs were written and recorded. By this time, I was feeling most confident, vocally, so I wrote the most complex and layered arrangement on the EP. I was sort of going for a Beach Boys vibe in the chorus, and the verses remind me of Weird Al. The interlude between the synth solo and outro chorus section makes me guffaw heartily. Lyrics The lady on the plane was pretty rude, yeah She had a bad attitude, 'cause I looked kinda crude Well what do you expect out of me? I've been sleeping with my luggage between my nuggets With a drum case for a pillow, see? That's what I get for booking a connecting flight on a puddle-jumping night Thank you for the upgrade First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze My four-hour nap on the terminal floor It paid off, so fill my cup up once more First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze My four-hour nap on the terminal floor It paid off, so fill my cup up once more First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze Ahhh Thank you for the upgrade x4 (licka-wocka, licka-wocka, chugga-bugga, chugga-bugga) First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze My four-hour nap on the terminal floor It paid off, so fill my cup up once more First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze Comin' home from tour, the pervasion of normality in store But it was mitigated with First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze My four-hour nap on the terminal floor It paid off, now fill my cup up once more First class magazines, they give you Complimentary, food and booze Food and booze, snacks and shoes These rich folks sure got it good ____________________________________________________________ “Eat Something” (134 BPM) Written as a sort of ‘evil twin outro’ to FCM, I also recorded it simultaneously. These are the greatest lyrics I’ll ever write. The ending was another happy accident. Rather than an abrupt ending, I was playing with various effects on the master channel: timed delays, reverb and such. I came across something I liked, then I imported the opening guitar chord as well as the synth ‘air’ that comes before it, which will all open ‘Projects III’. These elements interacted pleasantly with the master channel effects. Thus, a ‘portal’ is born; much like the ending of ‘Projects II’ being a ‘portal’ to ‘Finite’. Lyrics Eat the rich, eat the rich Eat a dick, eat a dick Eat the rich, eat the rich Eat a dick, eat a dick YEAH

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