Invisible Biscuit – Ray Toler

I’m behind on blogging again – this post is being written on the 24^th, so the next few entries will probably be a bit short. In part, this is due to the natural fading of memory, but it’s also because some of the next few days feature music where there’s really just not a lot to say about anything.

Today’s track is apparently the third thing I tried to write. I opened the two aborted projects to see how I felt about them now. The first may actually have some potential, but I know I dopped it because it was too late in the day to do everything I knew I’d need to do. It’s a decent hook, but will require some significant programming. There’s a chance we’ll hear it in week 4, I suppose.

Invisible Biscuit Ray Toler 2:06

Last year, I had some reasonable success with my “Lo-Fi” experiments. From a Song-A-Day perspective, they’re attractive because they’re almost uniformly about two minutes long, only require 4-6 sets of 8 bars and one melody hook. The formula is something I’ve learned by listening to Lo-Fi streaming channels. It’s almost entirely disposable music, the kind we used to derisively call “muzak” because it sounded like the syrupy elevator and grocery store music from that service.

I’ve come to appreciate Muzak over the years – there are actually some nice arrangement – but also because the concept of wallpaper music fits Eno’s definition of ambient in the general “as interesting as it is ignorable” sense. None of my Lo-Fi pieces are works of art, but they are fit-for-purpose. They’re nice in the background while you’re hanging with friends, or cleaning the house, or reading something.

My approach¹ is very similar to how I used to write papers back in high school. The explanation for that is longer than it may seem, but it will make sense. And it will also allow me to rant a bit about trivial things, which I do love to do. Important: If you don’t care about the background or rant, skip to the Are You Still Getting On With It? heading.

MBTI and Me

In the MBTI² classification system,³ I’m an INTP. These days, I’d most likely be classified as having some form of ADD, but bear with me because I think the explosion in so-called neurodivergent diagnoses is really just an upgrade to a long-running division between ways of processing the world.

A Little Night Reading

There’s a ton of back-information that is incredibly interesting, but would require a lot more text, so let’s just shortcut to this. There are four dimensions in Meyers-Briggs types:

Extrovert/Introvert (E/I) – do you derive energy from being around people or being alone?
Sensor/Intuitive (S/N) – sensors are hands-on learners, intuitives work things out in their heads.
Thinking/Feeling (T/F) – is logic or emotion the primary driver in your decision making?
Perceiving/Judging (P/J) – How we organize our lives and deal with time

Yes, I know those are gross generalizations, but that’s all we need at the moment, since we’re going to now look at two cohorts: the SJs and the NPs. Sensing Judgers (SJs) see time as finite, precise, and inviolable. They also generally work in methodical steps. A, then B, then C. These are the worker-bees that thrive on routine, planning, and schedules.

Intuitive Perceivers (NPs), on the other hand, see time as fluid and generally work in chaotic leaps. These are the procrastinators that appear to be doing nothing and then all of a sudden have a finished product. They also tend to be pattern identifiers and problem solvers, but sometimes need additional guidance to stay on topic.⁴

SJs and NPs seem completely alien to each other. They are diametrically opposed in terms of how they work and see the world. To an NP, an SJ is unnecessarily bureaucratic and so obsessed with the schedule that it impedes work. To an SJ, an NP is a slacker and completely screws up the plan. It’s about as serious a divide as the one between libertarians and collectivists.

Now, here’s the pertinent bit for this post: SJs make up around 60% of the population, NPs being the minority with around 40%. However… SJs overwhelmingly make up the K-12 teaching population. Like, top quartile. I’ve seen some claims as high as 90%.⁵ You’re probably starting to see the issue now.

So, we have almost entirely SJs, who don’t really understand how NPs work, responsible for all primary education. You’ve undoubtedly heard something on the order of, “you have two weeks to do this. If you write just three sentences every night you’ll be finished by the time it’s due.” This is entirely an SJ way of operating. This is entirely an SJ way of looking at a task. Eat the elephant one bite at a time, and it’s easy!⁶

Of course, 40% of us think that’s a lovely theory, but that’s not how our brains work. Sadly, we’ve decided that rather than address how we work differently, it’s much better (for the SJs, anyway) if we diagnose the NPs as somehow defective and medicate their behavior right out of them. Do I have ADD? I suppose it’s possible. It’s also possible that some well-meaning people have created a disorder that magically describes anyone who doesn’t think like they do. I’ll stick with my coping mechanisms and just feel bad for the kids who think they’re defective.

Get On With It!

Right. So, how does this Lo-Fi track have any bearing on the tyranny of SJ K-12 teachers? Well, back in school I had a particularly uptight teacher with some Absolute Rules™ about how work was to be done. She assigned a five-point theme⁷ with the following requirements: it had to be handwritten in cursive, and we were required to hand in a first, second, and final draft, with each subsequent draft incorporating edits based on her markup of the previous draft.

After the class where she assigned it, I went up and asked if I could type mine instead (my cursive was mostly illegible, and my normal handwriting was almost entirely all-capital printing). Naturally, she said no. She changed her mind when I handed in my first draft and let me type everything afterward.

But I’d been teaching myself word processing on my massively powerful Commodore 64 computer. Editing on a word processor is a lot more NP in its approach. You keep on revising as you go until the product is perfect. This is how NPs do a lot of their work – the thoughts are going on in their heads until they’re ready for output. When we write a paper the night before it’s due, that doesn’t mean we weren’t working on it – you just couldn’t see us doing our work. This drives SJs crazy.

To me, writing a first, second, and final draft was stupid. I edited as I went. And I didn’t even start until I had a pretty good idea what I was going to do. But my grade would be based on first, second, and final drafts. The end result isn’t good enough, you need to… say it with me… SHOW YOUR WORK!

So I ended up working in reverse. For me, the final deadline was actually the day the first draft was due. I’d write my final paper, then save off two additional versions. I’d throw in some random misspellings and grammar errors, omitted sentences, and even moved paragraphs around so she’d have something to mark up. To clarify – I wrote my final draft first, then made two progressively worse versions entirely to satisfy her workflow requirements.

Are You Still Getting On With It?

I am. This Lo-Fi track followed the same basic principle: write the full bit first, then pull things out to make the other sections. It is my sincere hope that this process isn’t exactly like the way I wrote papers in high school, because I’d hate to think that I’m making the non-hook parts somehow worse, but the general approach is the same.

Soloing is something that I’m not super comfortable with. Were I to be on a major label deal, I’d be one of the musicians who largely works out what the solo is going to be ahead of time, making it another melody part, instead of someone who achieves that through improvisation. I don’t think one is superior to the other, but I do admit to being envious of those who have practiced enough to be able to do that on the fly. Maybe that’s a stretch goal for next year.

It may seem like I’m negative about this piece – I’m really not – it’s perfectly functional for what it is, and it satisfies the primary directive of Song-A-Day. Write every day. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. In all likelihood, it won’t be a masterpiece, but that’s not the point. As far as interesting tidbits, this one does highlight that I’m really happy with my software from u-He. In this particular case, the only things not being provided by the excellent Diva soft synth are the drums, funk bass, and electric piano.

This turned into a much longer post than I’d intended, but that’s part of why I do this blogging. I’m getting a lot of my stories⁸ written down in case there’s anyone who may be interested in them. I suspect they’re less interesting than I think they are, especially since learning the word “sonder,” but… you know… just in case…

Colophon

Instuments & Samples

XO, Minimonsta 2, Keyscape, Diva

Mixing, Mastering, & Effects

Fabfilter, Gullfoss, PanMan

Notes

1
And I’ve likely described it before, but if I can’t remember, you probably can’t either, if you even read the previous place I described it, which is a long shot.
2
Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator
3
Yes, I know most people don’t know how to use it and that it’s not the most precise instrument, but it’s very handy to describe generalized buckets of behavior and help understand a person’s priorities and probable work habits and interaction styles
4
Spoiler: This might sound a bit – ok, a lot – like the modern “I have ADHD” crowd, which is the point I will be making shortly.”
5
Interestingly, this number starts to flip when you get to the collegiate level
6
/s (You probably knew that)
7
Actually three points but also with an intro and conclusion that formulaically repeated what the three points said.
8
If you’ve had more than zero conversations with me, you already have heard at least one of “my stories.” Poor Mary has had to endure hearing them for over 30 years now, so consider yourself lucky if this post is the only experience you have with them.