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TONGUEBIRD
1. Tonguebird (4:55)
2. Tonguebird (acoustic demo) (5:19)
3. Tonguebird (noise mix) (14:03)
4. Tonguebird (instrumental) (4:55)
5. Clap Hands (Tom Waits cover) (3:30)
Music:A layer of ambience is cut through by a solid, simple rhythm on the drums with a lot of echo and delay making it sound very spacey and rather futuristic. Occasionally, during this intro, a sound which can only be described as sounding like someone tearing a piece of metal juts into the frame for 1 or so seconds before quickly receding and resuming back to the ambience and the drums that were before. After 2, short rounds of this intro, a synth and a guitar come into the frame and start playing the main melody of the song, which is tense and unusual, sounding like a mixture of “Teddy Bears Picnic” and early 90s alternative rock music, like one of the catchier melodies by Pavement or Weezer. The melody gives off an uneasy, almost creepy vibe and sounds quite robotic, despite the typical Jason Smith ambience that backs the repetitive, mesmerising drum beat and distorted guitar line in the background. This simplicity sets up the basis for almost the entire of the song. The melody is extremely catchy, despite its oddness and uneasiness, and will soon worm its way into your brain. The lyrics eventually come in after a while of the melody being played, and Jason sings it in a relatively high pitched voice, with the words being accentuated on every note of the melody. Echo plays a huge part on this song, and that is also evident with the effect it has on Jasons voice, which is distorted almost beyond recognition. It makes him sound like he’s trapped in space or underwater, and the desperation with which he sings the lyric only seeks to perpetuate that. The chorus provides a slight change of melody, with it becoming upbeat for the first couple of lines, before eventually delving back into the normal melody of the song. After the first chorus, a swirling synth sound can be heard in the background and the initial synths playing the melody are brought further up into the mix so that they are now louder than the guitar. In the background, very distantly, Jason can be heard to squawk “stave!”, but not in a typical rock or metal style. It sounds like a genuine cry of anguish and humanity, which contrasts with the nature of the song.
For the second verse, the melody continues as usual, with more and more layers of synth being gradually introduced at a higher octave, to make the song sound panicked and dynamic. However, on this verse Jason sings in a slightly lower pitch and a little quieter in the mix as well, making it sound as if it’s the result of speaking after you cry or something. The vocal melody is also different; Jason sings far more quickly and fits more syllables into each run of the melody. Things return to normal with the chorus, which is exactly the same as the first one, with a slight hint of accordion now gracing the background far into the mix. The only true melodic change in this song comes in the bridge, where the synths play a low drone as the guitar slowly plays a worn out arpeggio, which could almost be seen as a parody of Jason’s earlier work. Vocally, it returns to the second chorus, except even lower pitched, and with Jason harmonising with another mix of himself, making it sound eerie. After this bridge, Jason does one more cry of anguish and horror, which is far more audible this time, and it returns to the melody and then one more repeat of the chorus. The last segment of the song has Jason quietly mutter-singing words to himself quietly, for the first time, in a non-echoed voice as the synths play the rest of the song out and it fades back into the drums that introduced the song, before ending with an echo.
Story: "I first had the idea of Tonguebird after I quit drugs, which is unusual, because it sounds like one of the more “trippy” songs on this record. I was living in a small apartment in New Orleans at the time, and it was carnival season, you know, mardis gras and all that. I wanted to go out and celebrate with other people but I was too anxious that someone would recognise me (as arrogant as that may sound) and, you know, report me as a missing person or whatever and that I would then have to be made accountable for all my actions. I could see all the celebrations occurring from outside my window, and it pained me not to be able to join them. I wanted to celebrate. I wanted to go out again without fear. That sort of inspired the music of this song, which sounds paranoid and conflicted, and very distant and afraid at times. It builds up to a crescendo, before eventually fading away, and that essentially represents me taking my meds and calming down, going to sleep. I only had the most basic of utensils to create this song, which is why it is so minimalistic. The original demo was just a guitar and synth. I added some sampled drums, and an accordion here, but aside from that, it remains almost exactly the same as how it originally was."
Production: "I opted for a minimalist approach to this song, so it would allow the listener to create their own stories and space to go alongside it. As I have mentioned, there are only about 4 instruments here, and all are either played or sampled by me. The vocals are still the same as the day I first recorded it; it captured an intensity of such magnitude that I couldn’t bear to rerecord it. I did, however, have to distort the vocals so it would go with the rest of the song. You can hear me cry occasionally during this song and those are genuine screams of agony, on the day that this event happened to me. I left it in because, obviously, it sounds pretty damn intense and also to parody those who just want me to do screamed vocals. Here, here is your scream. Now shush and don’t complain. The guitar was a typical electric guitar that was so generic; I’ve forgotten the name of its make. All the effects were done post-recording which is why it sounds so unique and full of distortion. At the time I couldn’t find a drummer that I thought would add anything productive to the song, so I just sampled an old African record and added a shitload of echo to that and, voila, you have a song."
Lyrics:Is it wrong to fly with the tonguebird?
Spitting prose onto those unconquered?
All the little people they look like ants,
All the little people want me to make them dance.
Don’t treat me like I’m not always there,
You can be certain I will watch from afar,
That doesn’t mean I’m always there,
I’m human simulacra,
I’m simulacra.
(Stave!)
I don’t wanna be the dots on your painting,
I always admired the simplicity of the framing,
You can lock me away and throw away the key,
But you know that it’s difficult to keep away from me.
Face.
Don’t treat me like I’m not always there,
You can be certain I will watch from afar,
That doesn’t mean I’m always there,
I’m human simulacra,
I’m simulacra.
Stave me,
Pierce my heart with your own,
For it is sharp and misgrown.
Stave me,
Put me off, I’ll go home,
Just please don’t leave me alone.
YAH!
Don’t treat me like I’m not always there,
You can be certain I will watch from afar,
That doesn’t mean I’m always there,
I’m human simulacra,
I’m simulacra.
I’d advise you not to take things so seriously,
It’ll damage you in the end.
I’d advise you to drop the ball and stay with me,
Before I break and bend.
I’d accept if I were ugly,
But I know I’m so pretty,
I’m so pretty damn ugly,
I know that I will fade.Lyrical explanation:"The lyrics here are a reflection of me coming to realise what my fans truly made of me. They only know a media projected version of me, and will either love me or hate me based on that. Some of these lyrics may seem like they’re written to one particular person, but they’re not, they’re a call to everyone to sort of… I don’t even know, I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m dissatisfied with how I’ve been portrayed in the media. I deserve some of these portrayals, but it really gets me down sometimes. The first verse is, obviously, me telling people that I’m here to satisfy my own needs, not theirs and that I’m not going to make music solely for them, I will make it according to how I personally feel. Yes, there is a sense of egoism with me saying that everyone “looks like ants”, but that’s the character I play throughout the whole album, one of immense pretension and delusions of grandeur. It is only fitting that, after that verse, this façade breaks down into sadness and pleas for help. The last part of the song is of particular interest to me, because I wrote it stream-of-consciousness. It’s a war between part of me saying “yeah I don’t deserve all of this crap” and part of me saying “wait I’m a totally shitty human being” and eventually coming to the realisation that, if I don’t address these problems soon, I will just fade into anonymity and nothingness. So yeah, very happy."
Sounds like:
ooc: My first one in a while guys! Tell me what you think.
Edited by user 14 January 2014 04:55:18(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
