Influences
Jam and Spoon, “Odyssey to Anyoona”
Goldie, “Sea of Tears” (in having the half-time acoustic guitar show up in an otherwise fast song)
Story
I’ve long been fascinated by hearing popular love songs, and other emotional songs, in businesses while you’re shopping. Around 2007, a Romanian (I think) company contacted me on Garageband.com (back when that was an independent music review site, not a music software site) to see about sourcing my music to put in malls over there; they were trying to collect independent artists because it was cheaper. So I’ve gotten a weird glimpse into the world of business music sourcing.
And the oddest thing about that is that the more emotionally resonant the song, the more popular it is – which means it will show up in more and more places. And the more places it shows up in, the less fitting it is for those places. You’ve got Adele, in all her humanity, pouring herself out regarding finding someone like me, and I’m choosing between oatmeal variety packs. Ultimately, these songs become less about their content and more about ways to signal what era of customers they’re catering to.
I wrote the first half of these lyrics in a Toyota dealership in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as they inspected my brakes. “3 Strange Days” by School of Fish – a fine alternative song from 1991 that’s a medium-deep cut – came on, and I felt like I belonged in a space I don’t normally feel like I belong in. But that’s when it hit me: they want me to belong because I am of an age where they want me to bring my Toyota into their dealership to pay them money. If they were looking to court 70-year-olds, they’d play something from their youth instead. It’s not about an appreciation of School of Fish’s self-titled debut album; it’s about giving me an experience more likely to separate me from my money.
So there are two reductions in play: one of an artist’s self into a single song, and the other of that song being reduced to a cultural token – agreed upon by the shaping of generations through culture – for businesses to signal generational acceptance with. To express both these things, I read up on melt spinning. It’s a polymer extrusion method used to turn metal into thin strands. They take hot liquid metal and rapidly cool it while running it through a series of holes; it’s a bit like a pasta maker. The contrast between warm and cool and being fashioned into something that is you but also not you intrigued me, so that’s where the lyrics are coming from.
For the record, I don’t fully share the perspective of my own song here. In general, I find my written/recorded expressions of myself to be realer than the in-person me, thanks to sensory processing issues and related struggles to express myself in real time. The ability to curate myself and polish my communication means I’d rather point to content like this and say, “yep, that’s me” than have you come up on the street and ask me about the same things – just because I might be too dysregulated when approached to give you an answer as good as what I composed. But I do think this cultural phenomenon deserves its own song – it deserves a discussion.
How all this got fused to Eurodance is anybody’s guess. I had a fast organ piece pre-lyrics that didn’t link to anything, and when I started developing it with these words, a few of my early decisions came out Eurodance and I just rolled with it. I do think Eurodance is an interesting genre for this because of what I throw into the mix, such as:
- A beatboxing breakdown (the beat before the acoustic guitar is heavily processed me); and
- A kick drum that is panned randomly in a repeating 27-step sequence
- Harmony vocals (which are rare for me) that honestly sound a bit country to me
Because of those extra elements, and how the subject matter is philosophical while the music is based in a genre known for its happy tunes, I genuinely can’t tell if the song comes off as happy or sad. But I think that is absolutely fitting for the song’s message. If you scored a great deal on some pants while the world’s most emotive breakup song is playing above you, what are you supposed to feel?
Lyrics
I am molten metal on something way too cool for me
I get poured out for usability
All my liquid substance, when run through life, becomes
A sociocultural scarab and a lackadaisical requiem
Every generation, in sync, gets mass melt spun
Aesthetic definitions hardening ’round 21
And so my travel edition – the short sleeve my heart was on
Is mainly used to welcome customers to sale-a-thons
You get a part of my tiny heart captured in art
As you start to steer the cart at the megamart
What you hear and see is only me to a fraction of the degree
Of when I was warm and not yet formed – you hold cold ash from my firestorm
[Do you want to count the beatboxing as lyrics? Discuss amongst yourselves.]
You get the lore coming from my core – just that and no more
As your chores start to bore at the outlet store
What you hear and see is only me to a much lesser degree
Of when I was warm and still unformed – you hold cold ash from my firestorm
Nobody knows my firestorm
Some press about it
““Melt Spun” features sophisticated, almost sound design elements that develops into a danceable groove. The introduction of acoustic guitar halfway through adds an unexpected psychological comfort before the beat comes back, keeping the tune in its original rhythm.” – Skylight.gr
“Around Isleib’s intimacy cured vocals, the track continued to surprise and wrong foot but equally reinforce its magnetic virulence and charm[.]” – Ringmaster Review
And now, consume a chilled Virginia’s Peach Party Loaf, with Two Walnuts
restlessmosaic.com 