I don't know how it is out there with the rest of you married and partnered FAWMers, but around here things can sometimes get, shall we say, a little rocky? Every February. Something to do with my avoidance of all familial and marital responsibilities in pursuit of an obsessive goal with no discernible tangible benefit, maybe?
Anyway, last night was date night, so we tried something different and spent it in the attic studio after the kids bedtime. I think we might be onto something here.
No short story this time, because this song was inspired by a couple stories I've read recently, Ted Chaing's "Exhalation" and AmalEl-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's "this is How You Lose the Time War", both of which posit the existence of parrallel alternate realities that split off from our own with every decision we make (sort of) And it was just me and my wife's 'meetiversary' so we both got to thinking about all the little things that could have gone differently that night we met at a bar on the Lower East Side. So.
Picture a world where we're upside down
the threads of our lives strewn across the ground
Napoleon won and you stayed home
just when I waited for you
Roosevelt walked and you turned your head
just when I might catch your eye
Barbarians ruled, with Rome overran,
the phone by your bed it just rang
If we could jump sideways and change our world
what would it be?
I think I'd still stay here and thread with you
The pyramids fell and Atlantis rose
Edward kept his throne, and Hendrix grew old
The night that we met, you forgot your phone,
train stuck underground, we went home alone
The Queen disappeared, it was De Gaulle who attacked
Columbus got lost, Red Cloud took it back.
Sometimes I still think, what would it be
if life went so differently
I swam through it all to find the thread that you're on
I swam through it all, to find the thread
@nancycunning Mar 2022
Wow. That's a great date night. I love the image of "thread with you" The harmonies are just right. Have you guys read Joshua Ferris's short story A Night Out? that starts out with a couple in Brooklyn asking each other what they want to do, and then spins through one possibility after another.
@sync Mar 2022
So good y'all! Great lyrical concept. Nice to hear Mrs Eargoggle - Ms Sync won't do it. :( Really dig the surfer guitar and guitar lead @ the end.
@mardeycranbleson Feb 2022
Dang that is a killer groove! Got me right away. Love the synth and the bass interplay. I like the spacey effected vocals also, fits the song perfectly. Really cool chorus too.
@burrsettles Feb 2022
synclavier, huh? i think i need to try that one next... i read a collection of ted chiang short stories maybe 7-8 years ago, but i don't remember if "exhalation" was among them. anyway...
nice collab to both you and the mrs! the harmonies are really cool. the arpeggiated groove of this is pretty sweet. i like "thread" as a verb in this chorus... i think it's an apt metaphor, too...
@cblack Feb 2022
Love the lyrics. That synth running through is nice. Glad to hear date night went well. :)
This is an engaging song. Really well done!
@spazsquatch Feb 2022
I loved the sonic aspects of the song, but I didn't get this on the first listen while reading the lyrics. After getting through the liner notes and a second listen, wow. Really great and strangely sweet.
@thedutchwidows Feb 2022
This is all kinds of great. Lyrically and melodically super interesting, set against an almost robotic beat and 80s. The vocals in the chorus are particularly great - they work really well together, and it asks some great questions. Am a big fan of the collaboration!
@standup Feb 2022
The worst is "the night we met" and all went wrong.
I mean, Columbus got lost, so what? But Hendrix as an old guy would have been cool.
Nice harmonies! Maybe y'all should do this more... Or let her learn drums, which is what worked for me.
@bachelorb Feb 2022
This one hurt my head, in a good way. I love your storytelling way, so I spent a good bit of time trying to figure out your metaphors.
I thought your two voices blended well, and really enjoyed the synthesizer since I’m trying to learn that right now.
@guatecoop Feb 2022
Oh my!! You guys have joined in on the fun! Welcome. We enjoy doing a few songs each year and we are doing on right now. Your song is great! Moody, groovy, tons of atmosphere. Your voices sound great together and I like the song a lot. That synth with the heavy beat behind it is a perfect base and the additions are just right for the intrigue. Well done!
@elainedimasi Feb 2022
I think this is really super! From the first "Picture This" we have the Princely funk, and the vocals stay Fagan-sly the whole way through.
"If we could jump sideways and change our world" is an awesome line. Frankly, it's an awesome question.
The combination of synths and guitars sound great. In fact, I hope I do a track that is my own try at it :-)