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diff --git a/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml b/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml index 9691f89..663469b 100644 --- a/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml +++ b/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml @@ -374,12 +374,19 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Another Jungle - Purple1222119 (flash version).mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> - Before this track was used in Homestuck along with Beatfox's "A Taste for Adventure", it was actually made for a nearly 3-year-old defunct fan project. Housetrapped was a story about an alternate Sburb session and "Another Jungle" was a the-same-but-different theme for the loading screen of that universe's Sburb client. Sound familiar? - When we shifted into gear to create new Homestuck music following the start of Act 6, I was asked to refurbish the forgotten 40-second theme I'd written as the theme to Sburb Alpha. "Another Jungle" is thus the alpha equivalent of "Sburban Jungle" which I had written back when Homestuck began - structurally both songs are very similar, but each with their own melodies and sound choices. + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer) + + Before this track was [[flash:4665|used]] in Homestuck along with Beatfox's [[track:a-taste-for-adventure|"A Taste for Adventure"]], it was actually made for a nearly 3-year-old defunct fan project. Housetrapped was a story about an alternate Sburb session and "Another Jungle" was a the-same-but-different theme for the loading screen of that universe's Sburb client. Sound familiar? + + When we shifted into gear to create new Homestuck music following the start of Act 6, I was asked to refurbish the forgotten 40-second theme I'd written as the theme to Sburb Alpha. "Another Jungle" is thus the alpha equivalent of [[track:sburban-jungle|"Sburban Jungle"]] which I had written back when Homestuck began - structurally both songs are very similar, but each with their own melodies and sound choices. + "Another Jungle" has the benefit of years of experience with production I did not have when Homestuck began, and to me the fidelity difference really shows. Since writing "Sburban Jungle" I'd become far more familiar with automation, recording, eq, mixing, mastering, and all the techniques that polish a music project. "Another Jungle" is far more dynamic than its predecessor, with each subsequent section of the song having its own unique way of using the instruments and sounds in the project. - My favorite touches to this one are all the very mellow sounds that contrast with the brisk pacing of the track - the various pads, the wah-wah guitar, the echoing melody, all of it underlined by drums and brute synth loops. The sudden change in energy when the guitars duck out in the middle and the melody of "Showtime" whispers in is a favorite moment of mine. The very pop ending with its retro house sound was another choice I wouldn't have seen myself making three years back. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I do. - The art for this track is by Richard Gung. + + My favorite touches to this one are all the very mellow sounds that contrast with the brisk pacing of the track - the various pads, the wah-wah guitar, the echoing melody, all of it underlined by drums and brute synth loops. The sudden change in energy when the guitars duck out in the middle and the melody of [[track:showtime-original-mix|"Showtime"]] whispers in is a favorite moment of mine. The very pop ending with its retro house sound was another choice I wouldn't have seen myself making three years back. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I do. + + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=1965), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + And then Homestuck Volume 9 - oh my god, I can't believe I busted my ass so hard back then... I have Another Jungle, which was more stuff in the style of [[Sburban Jungle]]. I think it's more evolved as a piece, I really love the way it progresses, and it's less copycat from section to section. Just a moment of great composition, if I dare say so myself. --- Track: GameGrl (Original 1993 Mix) Artists: @@ -480,29 +487,51 @@ Lyrics: |- (Awesome! That was totally rad to the max! I could just keep doing this all day... NOT! I've got games to play, and if you think I'm gonna slow down just to talk to a bunch of amateurs, then you need to seriously blow the dust out of your cartridges. But hey, girls, whenever you need to show those creepy boys who's boss, just remember that GameGrl's got your back. Look for me on specially-marked boxes of Betty Crocker brand snacks and have an adult call the toll-free number to subscribe to the exclusive girls-only GameGrl Magazine. Alright, check you later girlfriends!) Commentary: |- - <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> - Originally we'd planned on doing a Homestuck album that was devoted entirely to the Sburb Alpha kids and their session, all of us doing tracks that would parallel earlier tracks in a same-but-different fashion. While this album became Homestuck Vol. 9, a lot of analogous tracks remained from the original concept, including this track as an alternative to "GameBro (Original 1990 Mix)" from Homestuck Vol. 6: Heir Transparent. + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer) + + Originally we'd planned on doing a Homestuck album that was devoted entirely to the Sburb Alpha kids and their session, all of us doing tracks that would parallel earlier tracks in a same-but-different fashion. While this album became Homestuck Vol. 9, a lot of analogous tracks remained from the original concept, including this track as an alternative to [[track:gamebro-original-1990-mix|"GameBro (Original 1990 Mix)"]] from Homestuck Vol. 6: Heir Transparent. + While we can only imagine what the set-decorating GameGrl magazine from Jane Crocker's bedroom might actually be like, it's pretty easy for me as a child of the 90's to imagine how the magazine might have looked in the era of the Burger King Kid's Club and Lisa Frank. With GameGrl I attempted to capture a lot of the basic messages perpetuated to girls by children's advertising in the 90's: + - Boys are gross and need to have their butts kicked - Girls are cool and should pretend to understand pop culture - Clubs must be started in tree-houses and couch forts to keep boys out - Parents suck and will never understand - You can trust corporate America + The music was a hodge-podge of a lot of things - the production style of early 90's house music (Deee-Lite and Cathy Dennis were my main references) was coupled with the intentionally insipid rap vocals in a time in which many game commercials [had](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkWYP95WbbY) [awful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m__j99flW9w) [raps](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7FN5B02YEo). The lead vocals are performed by Tavia Morra, whose voice I discovered sounds scarily childlike when sped up slightly. We played the backup track at about 75% speed and had her rap over it to create the vocal comp before speeding it back up to create the cringe-worthy little girl voice. I did a digital process to lower my voice to create the [Pokérap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0LoHA_FPAs)-style breakdown towards the middle of the track and then asked Erik Scheele to play a painfully retro midi guitar solo. + For the track art (lovingly created and posed for by Tavia) among our many references were Alex Mack and The Olson Twins. The big deal-breaker for us was getting a pair of overalls, a garment seemingly synonymous with the 90's. We spent nearly three hours hunting for a pair in Austin coming up short at Wal-Mart, Academy, Sheplers, Cavender's Boot City, Goodwill, a costume store, a paint store, and a plumbing store before finally finding a wearable piece 17 miles out of town at a farm supply store. Apparently humanity had the good sense to wipe that fucking hideous fashion travesty off the face of the earth at the end of the decade (I knew the y2k bug must have done something!) and now only people who actually need them wear them. + We took our pictures at the Japanese-style game center Arcade UFO. Outtakes can be found [here](https://seeyoutmorra.tumblr.com/post/24983253249/some-of-the-other-photos-from-the-gamegrl). - <i>Tavia Morra:</i> + + <i>Tavia Morra:</i> (vocalist, track artist) + I don't even know where to start. + One day Bowman and I discovered that if we pitched my voice up a little higher than where it normally is, then I sounded like a 12 year old girl. The idea for GameGrl came up later and he proceeded to write lyrics that would make any 90's kiddo cringe at the nostalgia of their childhood and want to do it again. + I had way too much fun recording it to the point that I knocked over a music stand from dancing too much. Bowman was a fantastic coach. It's always a pleasure to work with him. + The track art has more of a story to it than I would have cared for, but Bowman and I both knew we had to go all the way with the track art. And so begun our quest for the GameGrl outfit, which we found all of the clothing elements for except for the overalls. + We figured we were just going to go around the corner to the Goodwill, find a pair of overalls, slap those suckers on and get the track art done within about an hour tops. + But no. + No, no, no. + We ended up shopping for three hours at nine separate stores before we found those goddamn overalls. Bowman livetweeted our journey: + <img src="media/misc/overall-quest.jpg" width="331"> + Eventually we got the overalls and proceeded to take the most fantastic pictures ever. I'll be posting up some other photos from that day later on so keep your eyes peeled! + All in all, this track is probably the most involved I'd been on a Homestuck album and am so glad it was this one. I had a blast! + + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=1988), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + The GameGrl rap - I loved Erik's [[track:gamebro-original-1990-mix|GameBro rap]], and I thought that - when the idea of there being a GameGrl magazine was introduced - that it would be funny to write a rap and have Tavia perform it. That was based around the idea of there being a gamer girl, as it was, in the 1990s. I think we did a really good job imitating all the, like, nuances of how this girl in overalls with a backwards hat represented the ideals that were being marketed (laughs) through toy commercials, and otherwise, to girls back then. If you think it's cringy, that was the intended effect. --- Track: ASSAULT Artists: @@ -676,14 +705,29 @@ Cover Art File Extension: jpg Art Tags: - Maplehoof Commentary: |- - <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer) + I get the feeling that down the line there will be an explanation for why exactly there's a tiny Maplehoof on Dirk Strider's desk and it will be one of the biggest plot revelations in all of Homestuck. For me it was a cue that there needed to be a Sburb Alpha universe parallel for the song [[track:maplehoofs-adventure]], which in itself was a spiritual sequel to [[Pony Chorale]]. It's sort of a reality check to realize that I have written not one, not two, but three songs for cartoon ponies now - I guess that's part of this disease we call the Internet. + As with the previous installments, I used a sample of Tavia Morra saying "neigh" to punctuate phrases, this time sped up to about double speed to have that chipmunk-esque effect. Everything about this song is a bit faster-paced and squeakier to reflect the stature of the tiny horse. The orchestration was largely inspired by my last trip to Disneyland - the whistles are arranged to sound a bit like the teapots from Alice in Wonderland, and the horn synths were selected because of their resemblance to a merry-go-round organ. + Along with recent tracks like [[track:another-jungle]] and [[track:elephant-gun]], this song represents one of my attempts to stick less closely to a predictable song form. The key signature moves up a whole step around 32 seconds in and never comes back down, and the main repeated refrain that ties the song together is the little cadence that shows up at the end of each section. I stuck to my guns as a high school music theory student on this one, mostly drawing from Mozart and Sousa - it's an overstimulating mess of counterpoint, and my main goal was to see if it would annoy composition major Erik Scheele (it worked). + Out of all the tracks for Volume 9 I worked on, this one was a real breeze. I was on such a roll that I considered making it ten minutes long just to piss off everyone, but I knew that I'd most likely be asked to cut it down if I'd gone to that kind of excess, and I had other tracks to work on. + The track art was done by Tavia Morra. - <i>Tavia Morra:</i> + + <i>Tavia Morra:</i> (vocalist, track artist) + Bowman and I quickly settled on the idea of a picture emphasizing the size of Minihoof, but couldn't decide on a specific way to show it. Maybe put a magnifying glass over the little pony? Having her next to Dirk's hand while he typed on the computer? The energy of the track made us think of little Minihoof running through an obstacle course Dirk set up for her on his desk, thus the stapler, the tacks, the brads, the pencils, and the GameBro Magazines. This was a super fun one for me since I had such a personal investment in it. + + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2028), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + Oh, Minihoof's Adventure - that was another piece of pony music. That was another thing where I was like, really on a roll, and like, writing beginning to end. I feel like I could have written, like... an hour of that, if I wanted to. It's just like, once your palette is figured out with like, the kind of carnival environment that it was supposed to sound like, it was just so easy to just be like - let's have something different happen here, and let's have a little breakdown, and... I could write hours of pony music if I wanted to. (laughs) I don't know why I would, but I could! + + *([From the Q&A section](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2893))* + + "What song on the Homestuck soundtrack did you have the most fun making?" I'm gonna say Minihoof's Adventure. I hate to say it, but like, every second I was working on that, there was a smile on my face. --- Track: Encore Artists: @@ -769,29 +813,33 @@ Art Tags: - Jake - Tavros' lusus Commentary: |- - <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer) + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/kitten-burrito/25391031646/iambowman-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know), around 6/18/2012) This is pure Jake strife music - I started this project with the definite goal in mind to make something that sounded purely like video game music for a battle. Jake English is sort of the archetypal Roosevelt-type swashbuckler with all the bravado of a turn-of-the-century primitivist. For him, the palette of sounds is instantaneous: heavy percussion rumbling at a breakneck pace. I threw in chimes, timpani, xylophone, glockenspiel, cymbal crashes, and an uncompromising drum machine to get the atmosphere I wanted. - I had a nice, retro-sounding portamento synth as a lead, a quick little intro, and a couple of smart little themes going on right at the beginning, and I was all set for this to be one of those simple, memorable themes not unlike one of the previous Strife themes ("Beatdown", "Showtime"). Then, at 44 seconds in, something snapped - I suddenly decided that what I was writing was boring and that nothing could be normal from that point on. Inspired by a few listens to "Rollo Interior", I wrote a rhythmically unconventional breakdown followed by the whole song shifting into "Zappa chords" for a little while. + I had a nice, retro-sounding portamento synth as a lead, a quick little intro, and a couple of smart little themes going on right at the beginning, and I was all set for this to be one of those simple, memorable themes not unlike one of the previous Strife themes ([[track:beatdown-strider-style|"Beatdown"]], [[track:showtime-original-mix|"Showtime"]]). Then, at 44 seconds in, something snapped - I suddenly decided that what I was writing was boring and that nothing could be normal from that point on. Inspired by a few listens to ["Rollo Interior"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAZD1VCl5EU), I wrote a rhythmically unconventional breakdown followed by the whole song shifting into "Zappa chords" for a little while. + + What was excellent about working on this track is it's one of the first instances in a while where I had really freed myself from any preconceived goals for the song's form and just decided to write a track from start to finish and see what felt right. I ended up at sort of the golden length - the song begins to loop at 2:15, making it still functional as video game music, and fades out by 2:39. [[artist:tavia-morra|Tavia]] pointed out to me that pop songs that run a bit short of 3 minutes tend to be incredibly satisfying, especially for a first time listener, as they ask for your attention for an amount of time that doesn't wear you down. Out of all my tracks for Vol. 9, this is the one I find the easiest to listen to on a loop. - What was excellent about working on this track is it's one of the first instances in a while where I had really freed myself from any preconceived goals for the song's form and just decided to write a track from start to finish and see what felt right. I ended up at sort of the golden length - the song begins to loop at 2:15, making it still functional as video game music, and fades out by 2:39. Tavia pointed out to me that pop songs that run a bit short of 3 minutes tend to be incredibly satisfying, especially for a first time listener, as they ask for your attention for an amount of time that doesn't wear you down. Out of all my tracks for Vol. 9, this is the one I find the easiest to listen to on a loop. + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2059), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) - The track art is by 8bitkitten. + Elephant Gun, I think that one was a bit Frank Zappa influenced. I like the weird breakdown on it that's jumping around. I think if I were playing a game and I had to do a little battle, and (gesturing) press my buttons and pick my attacks while that was playing, I would be pretty hype, and not get, like, bored and driven crazy, the way that sometimes you can be in an RPG. - <i>8bitkitten:</i> (track artist, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/25391031646)) + <i>8bitkitten:</i> (track artist, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/25391031646), 6/18/2012) I was thrilled to get the opportunity of illustrating your music. It’s always so gosh darn fun. =3 - <i>8bitkitten:</i> ([Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24979824333)) + <i>8bitkitten:</i> (track artist, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24979824333), 6/12/2012) After listening to this energetic strife theme, I imagined Jake English is hunting down a pesky Tinkerbull. >:3 - <i>8bitkitten:</i> (alternate artwork, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24979824333)) + <i>8bitkitten:</i> (alternate artwork, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24979824333), 6/12/2012) <img src="media/misc/elephant-gun-bonus.jpg" width="300"> - <i>8bitkitten:</i> ([Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24982629793)) + <i>8bitkitten:</i> (track artist, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24982629793), 6/12/2012) + + <b>Elephant Gun post edit</b> So upon browsing Volume 9 on Bandcamp, I noticed my first version of “Elephant Gun” was used which is why I posted that one, but it turns out the edited version where I gave Tinkerbull a nose ring was the one included in the album download? @@ -931,13 +979,11 @@ Lyrics: |- Commentary: |- <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> - This track was an attempt to try something in the same vain as the soundtrack to Jet Set Radio Future which was recommended to me by friends Erik Scheele and Richard Gung. Composer Hideki Naganuma has created some of the most intricate and engaging pieces of dance music I've ever heard - his signature approach is his construction of entire songs around only a handful of samples (check out "Funky Dealer" for a good example). + This track was an attempt to try something in the same vain as the soundtrack to Jet Set Radio Future which was recommended to me by friends [[artist:erik-scheele|Erik Scheele]] and [[artist:richard-gung|Richard Gung]]. Composer Hideki Naganuma has created some of the most intricate and engaging pieces of dance music I've ever heard - his signature approach is his construction of entire songs around only a handful of samples (check out ["Funky Dealer"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpAF8bGm-MM) for a good example). - Going off of the notion that there aught to be some music dedicated to the 3 years that John, Jade, and Davesprite spend by killing time in Ghostbusters 2 MMORPG, I recorded myself singing the famous exclamation uttered by Ray Parker Jr partway through the legendary 1984 single. What is the deal with that line, really? Apparently chasing ghosts isn't just a public service for Mr. Parker - it gets him off. + Going off of the notion that there aught to be some music dedicated to the 3 years that John, Jade, and Davesprite spend by killing time in Ghostbusters 2 MMORPG, I recorded myself singing the famous exclamation uttered by Ray Parker Jr partway through [[track:ghostbusters|the legendary 1984 single]]. What is the deal with that line, really? Apparently chasing ghosts isn't just a public service for Mr. Parker - it gets him off. - The majority of the track is driven by drum and crowd samples with some very funky but intentionally primitive synths on top. I liked the idea of building up to some big climactic house beat, and the climax of the song is sort of an homage to Kalibration and his EDM project Screamcatcher (albeit missing all the cool). - - <!-- The art is by Victoria Grace Elliott. --> + The majority of the track is driven by drum and crowd samples with some very funky but intentionally primitive synths on top. I liked the idea of building up to some big climactic house beat, and the climax of the song is sort of an homage to [[artist:kalibration|Kalibration]] and his EDM project Screamcatcher (albeit missing all the cool). <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (Bowmantown Discord, excerpts, 9/11/2017) @@ -949,6 +995,10 @@ Commentary: |- Neil is fantastic though, if this is great minds thinking alike I'm honored I think he understands a generation so crystal clearly though in a way I'm still never going to. They'll look at him like Andy Warhol someday. He's the next great voice in pop art after him, certainly. They want to give that honor to Banksy or some other pretentious counterculture figure but I think Neil looks up to kitsch rather than down to it. That makes all the difference, like comparing Dan Harmon to Seth McFarlane. Parody should honor its subject, not condemn it + + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2082), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + (gasp) Busting Makes Me Feel Good! Now that's a piece where I have to say... I beat Neil Cicierega to the punch on that! I'm just saying! He did that [Bustin'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdyU_gW6WE) thing years later. I beat him to the punch. I'm not - no, I'm not sore about that, you know. Parallel thinking. Everybody wanted to make fun of Ghostbusters. It's a weird line. I mean, "busting makes me feel good"... you know, there's entendre built in there, you know. --- Track: Everything is Something to Somebody Artists: @@ -992,9 +1042,11 @@ Commentary: |- My demo fused the Spanish sounds associated with Tavros and the electric lead guitar associated with Vriska. The result was just over a minute of power-flamenco silliness which I planned to expand upon heavily until suddenly Tavrisprite exploded less than an hour after I uploaded the demo. I decided the song aught to be short and sweet as well, so I asked Thomas Ferkol to play some additional metal guitar at the end before dropping in an explosion effect and a distantly echoing "honk" from a certain codpiece-wearing merchant. - The track art is by 8bitkitten. + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2104), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + Oh, iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE, I was so happy with that one. I would have liked to have seen the, uh, the [attempted merge](https://www.homestuck.com/story/4829) between Tavros and Vriska go on longer, and wrote it as soon as I saw it happen - wrote, like, the first chunk of it before the additional guitar with Thomas Ferkol on it. And then when they updated the comic and the two of them [immediately blew apart](https://www.homestuck.com/story/4837), I had no choice but to cap it off with the sound of, you know, the whole thing (pfwhoosh) popping apart, and a random honk in, just for the sake of keeping you all on your toes. (dramatic honkscare) - <i>8bitkitten:</i> (track artist, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24981766963)) + <i>8bitkitten:</i> (track artist, [Tumblr](https://kitten-burrito.tumblr.com/post/24981766963), 6/12/2012) I wanted to compliment Bowman’s rockin’ Tavrisprite theme. }::::) --- @@ -1019,19 +1071,64 @@ Art Tags: Referenced Tracks: - track:im-a-member-of-the-midnight-crew Lyrics: |- - I hate a moral coward, one who lacks a manly spark<br>I just detest a man afraid to go home in the dark<br>I spend my every evening where there's women wine and song<br>But like a man, I always bring my little wife along! - I'm a member of the Midnight Crew<br>I'm a night owl, a wise bird too<br>Home with the milk in the morning<br>Singing the same old song!<br>Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun<br>Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun<br>Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you<br>Make her a member of the Midnight Crew! + I hate a moral coward, one who lacks a manly spark + I just detest a man afraid to go home in the dark + I spend my every evening where there's women wine and song + But like a man, I always bring my little wife along! + + I'm a member of the Midnight Crew + I'm a night owl, a wise bird too + Home with the milk in the morning + Singing the same old song! + Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun + Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun + Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you + Make her a member of the Midnight Crew! + (Make her a member of the Midnight Crew) - The fun it doesn't stop 'til 12 on happy old Broadway<br>So what's the point of going home, until the break of day?<br>Now, something confidential, whisper not above a breath<br>I once went home at 2 AM, and scared my wife to death! - I'm a member of the Midnight Crew<br>I'm a night owl, a wise bird too<br>Home with the milk in the morning<br>Singing the same old song!<br>Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun<br>Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun<br>Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you<br>Make her a member of the Midnight Crew! - I never shall forget the night I made six robbers run<br>Although I did not have a knife, a blackjack, or a gun<br>I proved myself a hero of a very high degree<br>I ran for home, and six of them, was running after me! - I'm a member of the Midnight Crew<br>I'm a night owl, a wise bird too<br>Home with the milk in the morning<br>Singing the same old song!<br>Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun<br>Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun<br>Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you<br>Make her a member of the Midnight Crew! + + The fun it doesn't stop 'til 12 on happy old Broadway + So what's the point of going home, until the break of day? + Now, something confidential, whisper not above a breath + I once went home at 2 AM, and scared my wife to death! + + I'm a member of the Midnight Crew + I'm a night owl, a wise bird too + Home with the milk in the morning + Singing the same old song! + Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun + Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun + Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you + Make her a member of the Midnight Crew! + + I never shall forget the night I made six robbers run + Although I did not have a knife, a blackjack, or a gun + I proved myself a hero of a very high degree + I ran for home, and six of them, was running after me! + + I'm a member of the Midnight Crew + I'm a night owl, a wise bird too + Home with the milk in the morning + Singing the same old song! + Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun + Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun + Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you<br>Make her a member of the Midnight Crew! Commentary: |- - <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> - One of the things I'd always felt was curious about our re-appropriation of the hundred-year-old vaudeville track by Eddie Morton was the complete contrast between its cheerful mood and the sinister nature of the characters it represents. The Midnight Crew, while fashion-savvy, are cold-blooded murderers, and I'd been curious as to what a darker version of their signature song might sound like. - The inspiration for this "post-punk" arrangement comes specifically from the Iggy Pop track "Nightclubbing", which was produced by David Bowie during their stay in Berlin in 1977. The Iggy Pop and Eddie Morton tracks are very different takes on a night on the town, and I was utterly fascinated by the thought of injecting the old ragtime track with the same seedy atmosphere of Iggy's sardonic croon. + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer) + + One of the things I'd always felt was curious about our re-appropriation of the [[track:im-a-member-of-the-midnight-crew|hundred-year-old vaudeville track]] by Eddie Morton was the complete contrast between its cheerful mood and the sinister nature of the characters it represents. The Midnight Crew, while fashion-savvy, are cold-blooded murderers, and I'd been curious as to what a darker version of their signature song might sound like. + + The inspiration for this "post-punk" arrangement comes specifically from the Iggy Pop track ["Nightclubbing"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVqag7tN8k8), which was produced by David Bowie during their stay in Berlin in 1977. The Iggy Pop and Eddie Morton tracks are very different takes on a night on the town, and I was utterly fascinated by the thought of injecting the old ragtime track with the same seedy atmosphere of Iggy's sardonic croon. + I'd been playing this particular arrangement live at live shows for a while, and for this recorded version I brought in bandmates Erik Scheele and Marcy Nabors to record their respective parts. Erik delivers the excellent jazz piano, while Marcy added some amazing textures by playing theremin and accordion. I made full use of the wah pedal on my guitar to deliver the very textured guitar performance, and copied Iggy's beloved drum machine loop for the main percussion. - The track art is by Cari Garafalo. + + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2143), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + My version of the Midnight Crew song - I called it the post-punk version because it's modeled after [Nightclubbing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVqag7tN8k8), from the Iggy Pop album The Idiot. I suppose he was post-punk at the time, but, you know, 1977, let's be real, Sex Pistols and all that stuff, it was really the breakout of it as a commercial genre. + + I've heard that people say I sound drunk on the song...? I don't know, like, where people got that idea. The idea of the intonation there was to make it a little sinister, a little seductive, a little creepy, you know... It is about some villains that wander around, ostensibly being gangsters - what do the Midnight Crew even do in the comic? I forget. + + I was really satisfied with that one. And that was a great collaboration, Erik on that once again... *(Caption in post: "Erik Scheele - piano, Marcy Nabors - theremin / accordion") --- Track: Three in the Morning (Aftermath) Artists: @@ -1681,10 +1778,15 @@ Art Tags: Referenced Tracks: - Another Jungle Commentary: |- - <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> - I've mentioned a few times that Homestuck Vol. 9, in its early planning stages, was conceived as an album that would be dedicated to the new session of Homestuck, and most of the tracks would mimic older songs re-imagined in the new universe presented in Act 6. "Another Countdown" was thus the sister song of "Sburban Countdown" - both are brief arrangements of their parent songs ("Another Jungle" and "Sburban Jungle" respectively) meant to crescendo towards a major climax. + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer) + + I've mentioned a few times that Homestuck Vol. 9, in its early planning stages, was conceived as an album that would be dedicated to the new session of Homestuck, and most of the tracks would mimic older songs re-imagined in the new universe presented in Act 6. "Another Countdown" was thus the sister song of [[track:sburban-countdown|"Sburban Countdown"]] - both are brief arrangements of their parent songs ([[track:another-jungle|"Another Jungle"]] and [[track:sburban-jungle|"Sburban Jungle"]] respectively) meant to crescendo towards a major climax. + "Another Countdown" was retooled from its parent track to be far mellower at first - the bass and drum comping is a bit latin in flavor, and much of the song's first half is almost completely quiet until the explosion that finishes off the track. When the concept of the record was changed, it was decided that this relatively short song would be included as a bonus when you purchase the full album. - The track art is by Emery Ferguson. + + <i>Michael Guy Bowman:</i> (composer, [Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music](https://youtu.be/85VXWZTg-vo?t=2192), adapted to text, 7/20/2024) + + Oh, Another Countdown, of course I put a little cap on the [[Another Jungle]] thing, with a revisitation of Mark Hadley's [[Sburban Countdown]]. --- Track: Frustracean Artists: @@ -1704,6 +1806,9 @@ Sampled Tracks: - Snake Eyes - Leaving Las Vegas Lyrics: |- - That was the plan, to give you a boner<br>And you GOT ONE + That was the plan, to give you a boner + And you GOT ONE + Ha-HAA + boner |