'Dotty Ditties, Volume 2(!)' - Individual Song Breakdowns ____________________________________________________________ Individual Song Breakdowns "Wishing Well" (drum transcription, percussion overdub transcription) As is usually the case with The Ditties, the chorus lyrics were the initial bolt of inspiration for this tune; they resided in my brain for several months. After meeting with my band mates to undertake pre-production and listening to much go-go music, I decided to sit down and finally commit to writing this piece (mid-June, 2021); this was the first tune written for DD2. I knew that I wanted it to possess a certain character: a mixture of early 90’s R&B/new jack swing, which shares some stylistic parallels with go-go. I filled out the rest of the verse lyrics while in composition mode. The chorus hook (“as you wish away your wishing well”) is a metaphor for giving up on your dreams. The congas are samples from hits played by Graham Shaw for the 'Delectable Machinery' session. Lyrics: From the time that I was young I made the day count, while you would just hit the town Mine is a story that will last But I'm growin' up too damn fast As you wish away your wishing well, wish away your wishing well Mine is a story that will last And I'll never not be aghast As you wish away your wishing well, wish away your wishing well From now until you grow old The seconds are gold, don't act like they’re bought and sold Mine is a story that will last But I'm growin' up too damn fast As you wish away your wishing well, wish away your wishing well Mine is a story that will last (my story it will last) And I'll never not be aghast (my story it will last) As you wish away your wishing well, wish away your wishing well Mine is a story that will last (my story it will last) But I'm growin' up too goddamn fast (my story it will last) As you wish away your wishing well, wish away your wishing well (watch your dreams die) ____________________________________________________________ "Hoc Quoque Manebit" (drum transcription) When I started shedding vocals again, I learned how to generate the lower, more ‘guttural’ screams that are commonly associated with death metal. “Hoc” was written as a vehicle to further develop and express this technique, along with the pitched fry scream. I was reading boat-loads of Lovecraft at the time, and had a small list of interesting, evocative, obscure words to perhaps utilize lyrically. This ended up being the most difficult piece to execute on drums, yet the easiest on vocals—funny how that worked out. Lyrics: You should probably take a minute Determine if your skin's in it Noxious products induce vomit Friable, your soul must pay my Toll Gaunt and frail, pallid, stale, assail Boreal, marmoreal, riven sentinel Sable, hippocephalic, demonic evil I wish you could burn memories alive, coterminous tithe (et te nolite insanire, moram perturbation nem, et te nolite malum) STRIFE ____________________________________________________________ "Redrum" (drum transcription) The exaggerated “something broke in my brain…” lines were taken down in a voice memo to myself some months before I started composing DD2. I filled out the rest of the lyrics during composition mode, and noticed that the ‘character’ has an arc similar to Jack from The Shining. Thus, the first half of the verse is fairly ‘character-less’, as ‘Jack’ hasn’t yet begun to transform, hehe. I layered some guitar on this tune (along with “Losing Ground”) with an ESP LTD EC-256, which was very generously given to me by my band mate Mike Schleibaum. The bridge contains synth solos that trade off between the lovely GeoShred and Animoog; I simply set the scale to gel with the other instruments and improvised a couple of passes. Too much fun! Lyrics: I had one of those dreams that wipes your mind clean Takes a whole lotta meat and puts it to sleep I don't know what I want, but I know what I need I wanna see your pretty face so I can put it in its place Something broke in my brain, now I've gone insane I do what I want, yeah I do what I want Something broke in my mind, dainty yolk of life (fuck it) I do what I want, yeah I do what I want Yeah I do what I want, I do what I WANT I had one of those dreams that erases the slate Takes the matter of gray and defrays the day's weight I won't know what I want until I can think straight I wanna see your pretty face so I can put it in its place Something broke in my brain, now I've gone insane I do what I want, yeah I do what I want Something broke in my mind, it was my design (fuck it) I do what I want, yeah I do what I want Yeah I do what I want, yeah I do what I Attention ATTENTION ____________________________________________________________ "I Quit (Dither and Waffle)" (drum transcription, percussion overdub transcription) This is another tune where a few of the hooks (“you must complete…”, “dither and waffle”, “louder in the back, please”) were voice memo’ed several months before composition began. The vocals in the verses are supposed to strike a balance between disinterested and nagging—a boss that doesn’t give a fuck about their job yet loves bossing people around. The violin is sampled from a melody played by Sophia Uddin for an upcoming (unreleased, as of now) solo record; the tempo was nearly the same and I just chopped it up and moved it around in Pro Tools. Lyrics: You must complete the task at hand Or you will face the past demands Dither and waffle and dither and waffle and (etc.) You must complete the task at hand If you shirk the plans you're canned The boss is in today and they have no sway I'll put you in your place Fuck this rat race Yeah Eventually you'll see, the fruitless monotony To them I won't appease Louder in the back, please Dither and waffle and dither and waffle and (etc.) You must complete the task at hand If you shirk the plans you're canned Your reality is tethered to a fluorescent luminosity The boss is in today and they have no sway It's so easy to say Fuck you today YEAH Yeah ____________________________________________________________ "Losing Ground" (drum transcription) Nearly all of the lyrics (including the vocal approach) came to me in a flash one day, after I had begun composing DD2. I had stumbled onto the simple opening bass lick a few months prior and felt that it’d make for a cool intro riff. I had also purchased a santoor in early 2021 with plans of utilizing it on ‘Silly String III’, and decided to use it to double said riff. Definitely attempting to channel the music of my adolescence with this one. Lyrics: What do I do to get through to you What do I say to balance the weight How do I dream when it stings to sleep What do I say when the facade melts away And I'll try to figure out what it's all about Think I've got the notion, and it spirals into doubt Don't know what I could do to get through to you You're proud and disavowed, and my head is in the clouds I want you, I want you, I want you to go away How do I think when I'm on the brink Who do I love when it's you I'm sick of When should I leave, what if I misperceived What do I say when it's all just a waste What do I do to get through to you What do I say to balance the weight How do I dream when it stings to sleep What do I say when the facade melts away And I'll try to figure out what it's all about Think I've got the notion, and it spirals into doubt Don't know what I could do to get through to you You're proud and disavowed, and my head is in the clouds I want you, I want you, I want you to go away How do I think when I'm on the brink Who do I love when it's you I'm sick of When should I leave, what if I misperceived What do I do to get through to you What do I say to balance the weight How do I dream when it stings to sleep With you I’m bound, even if I lose ground ____________________________________________________________ "Tanya Pith" (drum transcription) “Tanya” was my attempt to continue to develop the fry scream technique, at least in terms of pitching it accurately. The opening drum lick was written around the time I had begun composing DD2, and the opening bass tapping riff several months prior. I am particularly fond of the chord progression in the second half of the tune, both harmonically and rhythmically. The title is an anagram of ‘antipathy’. Lyrics: I don't know what you want from me Does this feel real, or a quarry Don't cry to me when the boy ain't seen I'm not your fucking therapist Circumlocution, chitchat pollution Brought us here thanks to you Desiderate, your life's irate You can fuck the fuck off

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