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Scott: I wanted to write a song with a fast hardcore punk beat like early Minor Threat, Bad Brains, or one of the faster Ministry songs of the time and combine that with a more Floyd-ish down-tempo part.
I wrote another sing-songy keyboard part which ended up sounding less Floyd-ish and more like something out of a John Hughes movie. It was the '80s, after all. In my mind, the fast part of this song was pummeling and relentless (as all the songs were supposed to be), followed by the didn't-see-it-coming slower part with dual vocals which was going to be a monolithic wall of sound, but it didn't really work out that way in the studio. We rehearsed quietly in garages and living rooms with little practice amps... I really did not know the first thing about how to produce a wall of sound outside of my imagination. It did work live, though it's a shame we never tried the dual-vocals at a show.
Amy: Reading Scott's comment, I found it interesting that he conceived the song with a dual vocal in mind; I don't remember knowing that at the time. Perhaps he asked me if I could pull it off. I thought it was my suggestion, but, then again, I've always loved singing harmony to any melody I hear. In any event, I was very happy with the vocal blend. Reflecting upon more recent listens, I think the dual vocal does indeed achieve a wall-of-sound effect, especially with its intentionally blunt monotone…although, if I had performed it with Scott live, it might not have protected my intense adolescent self-consciousness enough!
Perhaps more than any other on the recording, this song captures the irony that ran through Scott's music. A sing-songy keyboard line buffeted by a major key, juxtaposed with lyrics about maddening anxiety, our signature doleful keyboard timbre, and melody lines moving down, down, down. Not to mention the fact that this section brackets a ska-on-meth interlude of angst that finally succumbs to a machine-gun round…the sweet hard candy surface masking a bitter core. "Hiding from the rain…hiding in the rain." Incorporating its opposite only heightens the tragedy.
Deron: The kick in after the machine gun drums still astounds. Very effective. At first I was kicking myself for my poor timing during the fast break, but it's still hard to nail even now.
It's true! Amy came up with the idea for the dual vocals, not me. I had totally forgotten until I saw her comments. We never tried it live because the idea came up in the studio... I think. Wow, my memory is fuzzy. I do remember trying to write a song with dual vocals for Amy and I, but it wasn't this song. I had some lyrics and everything, but it never got past the 2-riff stage.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to form a "The Comedian" tribute band.
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