As with previous years, don’t expect this post, or any of the ones that follow for the rest of the month, to deal with what the song is about. That’s up to you to decide. In many cases, even what I think they’re about changes over time.
That said, this song does an excellent job of capturing my overall state of mind these days. Melodically, sonically, lyrically, it landed pretty squarely on target. It’s vaguely sad, melancholic, and nostalgic, dripping with ennui.
- Noise in the Signal Ray Toler 4:34
- Noise in the Signal Ray Toler 4:34
It’s not terribly hard to discern meaning, especially given some of my recent writings, but I’ve found with repeated listens that it’s much broader than I initially thought. It also changes through different lenses, and for that reason I’m generally happy with it. I don’t know that I was happy with it when I hit upload on the final master, but after a few more times through it, I think it’s solid. Certainly worth further polishing and refinement.
This is the first time I’ve sung in a year, and given that I only sang one song last year, it’s probably more reasonable to say that I haven’t sung in two years. The vocals will be the first thing to get fixed after the month is over. They’re not awful, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at that, but there are a couple of places where I can only hear “yeah, you were kind of pitchy, dog…” in the back of my mind.
Production-wise, it’s a very straightforward piece. The kernel of the track was the guitar patch that starts it off. This came from a new sample library I’d purchased just a day or two before, and one for which I have mixed emotions. What’s there is excellent, but there just wasn’t enough of it for the price. I expect to hear these sounds everywhere within a year or two, and so I may end up having to redo those guitars with something else, which is a shame. I’m a preset-jockey, and definitely no purist when it comes to using them in finished pieces, but on most of my other software and hardware synths, there are hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands to choose from. The likelihood of having the same sound that was used on that __________ track is relatively low. Not so with this one.
There are three simple drum loops in the background, a deeper bass tone, and that’s about it. No muss, no fuss.
Lyrics
Chew it into paste Swallow it, don't let it go to waste Slow exhale Teeth sink into my own tail Noise in the signal Noise in the signal Losing your transmission I'm losing your transmission Noise in the signal Noise in the signal The words aren't making sense anymore Chew it into paste Choke it down, ignore the taste Noise in the signal Noise in the signal Losing your transmission I'm losing your transmission Noise in the signal Noise in the signal The words aren't making sense Your words aren't making sense No you're not making sense anymore Wash it down Until I drown Copyright © 2021 Ray E. Toler, Jr. All rights reserved.
Colophon
- Guitar: Spitfire Contemporary Drama Toolkit
- Drums: Stylus RMX
- Bass: Omnisphere
- Effects: Valhalla Delay
- Microphone: Neumann TLM-103 > Behringer ADA8200
- Mastering: Ozone 9