There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call the Twilight Zone. It is also a place where old songs come from. BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!!
I’ve just spent the last three weeks re-recording and mastering a song I wrote in 2007. Which was about three times as long as it took me to write, arrange, and record it in the first place. I never liked the way the old recording sounded, so it was one of the first I wanted to re-record now that I have better equipment and know a little bit more about the recording process.
The song is Punctuated Equilibrium, off of my self-made album “This is Not Jazz!! “ This is another one like Driving to Atlantis; a kind of pseudo-jazz rocker with everyone taking turns to solo. Way back in 2007 I played various songs I had written for a friend of mine. One night I played her a solo I had written for a song years earlier. The solo starts off kind of haltingly, then gets faster, then faster, then, when you think it can’t get any faster, IT DOES!! And she got so exited! She said “That was so different from anything else you played for me!” So that got me thinking that I didn't have any songs where I really get to show off, so I started writing one. I recently came across an old description of Punctuated Equilibrium in an email I wrote when I wrote the song. I completely forgot about the fact that I had to record the song twice, because something stupid happened and the song got erased when I was about half-way done with it. Kids, always save your work! I wrote that I was kind of bummed out for a month or so, and I didn’t feel like doing all that work again, since every part is built on the part that goes before it, and nothing stays the same through the song. I wrote that it was “a pain to record.” Funny. I don’t remember that! But I do remember that it was one of the few songs that I wrote all the parts in the order in which they appear.
Punctuated Equilibrium starts out with a tiny little drum kit, playing tiny little drum kit sounds. I originally had it in 6/4 time, but felt that was too repetitious, so I changed it to 6/4-7/4 for a little variation. For the non-musical minded out there, that means basically that one measure gets a count of 6 beats, followed by another measure with 7. (Actually, because of the phrasing of the melody, it’s more like 13/4 time, but as long as everyone is counting at the same time, it doesn’t really matter....) The tiny little drum kit sound rhythm inspired the rather aggressive-sounding piano part, which, in turn, inspired the bass part that carries most of the song. Most songs I write start with the idea for the verse or the chorus, one usually inspiring the other. Punctuated Equilibrium was written pretty much in the order that you hear. It’s always fun trying something different from time to time. At 0:26 the real drums come in, and the idea was to have two drummers playing, ala King Crimson’s 5th incarnation (1994-1997, with Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto on drums). One on a basic trap set, and the other playing cymbals and toms. At 0:36 the organ comes in, doubling what the bass is doing, then adding an octave on top of that. Finally, at 0:55, the organ says “this is getting boring” and mixes it up a bit with the upper octave offering a different rhythm and melody, finally taking us to the first solo, the guitar, at 1:13, which changes to a 5/4-6/4 time signature. I’ve got to say, I love the guitar solo! As far as I remember, it was in my head, and I played it the way it is first try. I love it because it’s so bizarre, and so non-melodic and melodic at the same time. A while back I was talking with a bass player I had met, who had given my a cd of his band The Boogers. (Seriously, all the good names are already taken. And apparently some of the worst ones.) He was telling me about a bass part he played in one of the songs, and was talking about how cool it was. I don’t think it was until then that I realized how strange that could sound to a non-musician. It had been years since I talked to other musicians about music, and I could hear that from an outsider’s perspective. It might sound a bit egotistical for a musician to say “Wow! I just played a killer guitar part!!” But, as all musicians know, so much of playing music is serendipitous and fleeting and, yes, accidental, and we’re constantly surprised by our own good playing as well as bad.
Anyway, after a transition of a 5/4 measure and a couple of 4/4 measures, we enter the realm of the piano solo, and the original count of 6/4-7/4. Most of my piano solos tend to begin with notes going up in succession; this one starts with a cascade of notes falling, one on top of the other, until they crash into a big crash of a bunch of falling notes. Sorry. Couldn’t come up with a good visual metaphor. What makes this piano solo stand out for me is, at 1:52, I do a little double-handed playing to add a little variation. I’ve never had any problems with independent-hand playing, which helped when I used 5 or 6 keyboards on stage back in my rocker days, sometimes having to play behind my back on a keyboard behind me due to lack of space on stage. So, as part of my desire to write a song where I get to show off, I decided to do something with my abilities here.
At 2:01 we go back to the impatient organ part of 0:55, which again goes into the dissonant piano part (2:13), which is arranged just a bit different than the first time around (at 1:04). At 2:29 the organ takes over in the bass to let the bass guitar take a solo, as we switch once again to a 5/4-6/4 time signature. Again, I really like this solo, and I think it was a one-take deal. It’s nothing fancy, but the timing’s a little sideways, which I think sounds pretty different. The bass carries on at 2:45, where, if you will be so kind, NOTICE THE DRUMS! NOTICE THEM! NOTICE THEM!! I love that part!!! While the bass plays the same thing, the drums are different each time. When I wrote the drum part, I wasn’t really thinking about it too much, but that’s one of my favorite parts in this song. Again, it’s fun to listen back to something you wrote on the spur of the moment, especially if it’s something you might not have written if you had over-analyzed it.
At 2:53 the time signature changes to 6/4 and the organ comes in to take a solo. And no, I didn’t really need to do all those fast runs over the keyboard; I was just trying to show off. But it does sound pretty cool. At 3:27 we once again visit the part from the bass solo at 2:45, albeit a little quieter this time, and played by the organ. And then, at 3:36, HOLY CRAP!!! THERE’S A BIG EXPLOSION AND THE BASS IS PLAYING ALL OVER THE PLACE LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!!!! Again, just needed to show off. This abrupt change is in 7/8 time, and the bass is eventually joined by a rather bluesy organ, determined to play in a slow, plodding 6/4 time over the bass’ 7/8. The drums decide that they like the mellow 6/4 time signature better, and join in with the organ. The guitar, having sat out for the last 2 minutes and 28 seconds, thinks “Hey, I haven’t done a single thing for the last 2 minutes and 28 seconds. I’m just going to make some more noise here!” Then, on top of all this cacophony, the piano comes in with a crashing chord. But the piano, being the calming voice of reason in all this discordance, subtly changes to a 3/4 waltz-time signature and all the noise and stress leaves us as the piano carries on by itself until it’s joined by the drums. Because drummers just never know when to shut up. They think they have to play ALL THE TIME!!! You know, a little time left alone with another instrument is a good thing. PEOPLE DON’T NECESSARILY WANT TO HAVE TO LISTEN TO DRUMS ALL THE TIME YOU KNOW!!
Sorry. Personal baggage....
At 4:37 we begin at the beginning again, and visit the whole song again. From the beginning. Or, “from the edge” as those hipster musicians of yesteryear would say. Until 5:42, when we have yet another (unexpected) explosion which ends the whole thing. Or does it? For way off in the background, far from the in-your-face posturing of the other instruments in the song, the piano is heard, waltzing along in 3/4 time, to eventually be joined by a church organ. And drums. Damn those drummers! Always playing, playing, playing. YOU DON’T NEED TO PLAY ALL THE TIME YOU KNOW!!!
Here’s a run-down of all the time-signature changes in the song:
“Intro and Main:
6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-
Guitar Solo:
5/4-6/4-5/4-6/4-5/4-6/4-5/4-6/4-5/4-4/4-4/4-
Piano Solo:
6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-
Bass Solo:
5/4-6/4-5/4-6/4-5/4-6/4-5/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-
Organ Solo:
6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-
Frantic Bass Solo:
7/8-7/8-7/8-7/8-7/8-7/8——
Piano:
6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-6/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4
Intro and Main:
6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-6/4-7/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4-3/4...”
The Name
I originally wanted to call this “Indicipline,” after the King Crimson song. Which seemed appropriate since it doesn’t have a regulated verse/chorus-type of structure, and all the different parts flow out of what came before. But I was listening to it while I was really tired one night (which makes me experience music more visually) and I kept picturing a kind of evolutionary progression going on, with all sorts of little creatures (especially when the bass really takes off). So I called it "Punctuated Equilibrium."
Punctuated Equilibrium
"Punctuated Equilibrium” is a term used in evolutionary theory. The hypothesis is that a species experiences little genetic change over a long period of time (for instance, millions of years), as evidenced in the geologic record. Then, during a relatively short period (hundreds to thousands of years), new species will suddenly evolve.
The song begins as microscopic life forms evolve out of the primordial ooze. From there life forms stabilize and carry on with very little change over time, illustrated by the doubling of the bass guitar in the lower register of the organ, and again in the middle register. At 0:55 the first sign of life’s evolutionary process appears, and we have new species, as old species die and new ones evolve out of the old. 1:13 represents the carnivores; scary predators and just one more thing to make life difficult. The piano at 1:33 introduces us to the fish, swimming around and around in their watery lair, trying to evade predators and to pick up chicks. And eat.
At 2:28 we have a quick reminder of the Permian extinction, which led to the dying off of 95 percent of living species. Then the dinosaurs appear! The organ represents all the dinosaurs that we all know and love, cavorting and playing and eating one another. Uh oh. At 3:35 the big meteor hits and the Cretaceous extinction results in the dinosaurs and 75 percent of all other living species coming to an end.
But all is not lost. With the loss of biodiversity came the opportunity for new variations, and the little mammals begin to take over! Wow! Listen to ‘em runnin’ around. Evolution takes its hold once again and time goes by to bring ecological change. As environments change one of three things happen with all life forms. The first is, if they can’t adapt to the new environment, they die. The second thing is, they move to somewhere more hospitable. The third; they evolve to fit their environment. From 3:55 or so in the song to where the piano finally emerges with an orderly rhythm and melody, the music illustrates variations on myriad life forms which fail to exist in their particular environments, and the results are the particular variation of life forms we have today.
At 4:37 the song again represents the eponymous punctuated equilibrium process. Once it gets going, say at 5:05 or so, this time it’s the humans, eventually competing with the neanderthal for precious space and food. Oops. We win. Sorry. The explosion at 5:42 this time represents an attempt at an orderly civilization, and then here comes the Church; represented, naturally, by the church organ, as they attempt to sweep our knowledge of science and the evolutionary process under the rug with their hopelessly outdated and quite silly version of the incredible and truly mind-boggling history of all things that is life on our planet and us.
Don’t worry. I might write a sequel one day where the knowledge of science wins out over ridiculous superstition. I just gotta think of a catchy name for it.