There Is No Cure
Update (03/19/09): New version of the song below
So far, I’ve been providing anecdotal introductions to create a context for each song. But for this song, I’m interested in hearing what you take from it. What’s the story or picture that you get out of this song?
I started composing this song after the blog began, so for the first time, I’ve been able to take everyone’s comments into account while writing. I feel less confident with this song than with the others, but in a good way — as though I’m taking more risks and embracing more experimentation. So… any and all feedback is welcome. And for the record, let me also say that non-elaborative positive comments (i.e. “I like this song!”) are as important to me as critical comments. I’m just saying, not begging…
The instruments in this song are flute, bass clarinet, drum set, and ‘cello. My vocal performance is shaky in this recording. I wrecked my voice yelling in a theatrical performance on Wednesday night, but I don’t want to delay the posting of this song. Once my voice completely recovers, I’ll make another recording. I know, I know, I’m a perpetual apologizer…
New version:
There Is No Cure (03/19/09)
Audio has been removed.
Download Score (PDF)
Old Version(s):
There Is No Cure (02/27/09)
Audio has been removed.
Don’t be so imperious
Don’t be so derisive
This is serious
You’re so insensitive
Do you
Want it to be true
I’d like to think
You’re more mature
But you spike my drink
And now that I’m awake
I’m shaky and unsure
And just to torment me
You convince me
That there is no cure
Don’t take the test
Just let it go
It’s best
Not to know
Don’t take the test
Just let it go
Sometimes it’s best
Not to know
Sometimes it’s best
Not to know
Do you
Want it to be true
I’d like to think
You’re more mature
But you spike my drink
And now that I’m awake
I’m shaky and unsure
And just to torment me
You convince me
That there is no cure
I’d like to think
You’re more mature
But you spike my drink
And now that I’m awake
I’m shaky and unsure
And just to torment me
You convince me
That there is no cure
That there is no cure
I came up with my reaction and then as I was typing I saw that a couple of other posters had written similar things, which of course leads me to believe my reactions must be 100% correct.
No, seriously – first of all, in the silly nitpicker vein, the pronunciation of “derisive” did stick out to me as well. I have never heard it pronounced that way – I’m all for freedom of choice on that (and other things), just be aware that it may take some people’s minds out of it for a second to try to comprehend the word and/or wonder what’s up with that.
Second, I really liked the falsetto line “do you want it to be true”, and I echo Yvan that it very much sounded to me like either a second character or an internal thought of the narrator. I didn’t object to it; that was just what the shift in register, which also created a shift in timbre, led me to think.
The scenario suggested to me is that there is one character that is controlling another – whether that’s one person’s internal/external dialogue or actually two people isn’t really important, but I sense there’s a struggle and the main voice is the weak one in the dynamic.
I really like the the lyric about “Don’t take the test/just let it go/sometimes it’s best/not to know.” That’s a rather profound statement, and it’s certainly something that we all grapple with regarding our own health.
Great project, Corey! I’ll keep checking back, and look forward to the final result…
Corey replies: Thanks, Eleanor. Okay, okay, I’ll seriously consider changing “derisive” to another word that I don’t have to mispronounce in order to make it rhyme. Ah, so the falsetto is what makes it seem like a different character! I hadn’t thought of that, but of course it makes sense. Thanks for sharing your take on the “story” behind the song. And thanks for saying something about that line in the lyrics. It’s one of my favorite lines, too.
I like this one a lot, I love the cello pizzicato.
Musically, this one (much more than the other ones) sounds sort of like a “deconstructed” pop song (like maybe run through some subtractive process until only fragments of the drum part and synth lines are left) — not at all to say it’s better/worse or cliched or whatever, only to observe that it has a more immediately recognizable “profile” for the listener. I think that’s good because it will give a context, or a reference point, to the other ones (hoping that context is what you WANT, of course). I don’t think it’s just the thinner texture compared to, e.g., “Ritalin” or “What Will it be for Me”; I think there is that element (”deconstructed” pop music) in the other songs, but more than that as well — that seems like only one of the building blocks of the other songs.
One small detail….are you singing “de-RISS-ive”, and is that how that word (derisive) is pronounced? I always thought it was “de-RICE-ive” but maybe I’ve never actually heard it out loud (for the longest time I thought “awry” was “AW-ree”).
Corey replies: “DeRISSive” is an alternate pronunciation, perhaps used primarily for rhyming with words like “insensitive.”
Oh dear, maybe it’s too esoteric to sing “DeRISSive,” but it is allowed. Thanks for the comments about this song. I hadn’t thought of it as a deconstruction, but I see how it comes across that way, and I’m intrigued. I’d like to try the same thing with at least one other song.
My thoughts are again a sort of dumbed down/de-specified version of Pat’s, including the part about digging the song.
One thought: during the last reappearance of the section brought on by the flute lick in 120, I at some point wanted another instrument or two to come in and lush up the texture to build momentum till the end, which might bridge nicely to a slow song in the set, like “What Will It Be For Me?”.
Corey replies: Definitely something to think about re: transitions between songs. Thanks, Trevor!
Note from Corey: Yvan will be creating movement/choreography for the performances of Thirteen Near-Death Experiences.
Interesting re: instrumental solo for this one. I didn’t mean to suggest to make that line less like a second character. I actually kind of liked that.
Corey replies: An instrumental solo in this song might be an opportunity to pare down the texture even further than it already is, which interests me.
Note from Corey: Yvan will be creating movement/choreography for the performances of Thirteen Near-Death Experiences.
Love this song musically. Two thoughts. You’d asked about what story the song suggests…I find it extremely beautiful but simultaneously it makes me quite uncomfortable. The story I come away with revolves around waking up after being chemically coerced (drink spiking!) into a sexual encounter and not really knowing/remembering what happened. STD risks etc. The discomfort between the lyrics/story (for me) and the beauty of the music is terrifically striking.
My other thought is, it feels like the line “Do you / want it to be true” is sung by a second character(?). This is totally a personal tendency/preference for threes instead of twices, but I’d love to hear that character/line a third time.
Corey replies: Not sure I understand why thrice would make it seem less like a line from a second character… I could find a place to put in a third occurrence. I’m also thinking, as per your earlier comment, that there might be room for an instrumental solo in this song.
i think it’s real ballsy (for lack of a better term) to forgo the use of a wide-spanning harmonic instrument to tie everything together – like a guitar, piano, synth, harp, etc. i think i dig it, but sometimes it is hard to tell with midi. personally, i often find myself avoiding the flute and clarinet simply based on their midi sound, though, live, they can be soooo beautiful . . .
Corey replies: Thanks, Bill. Yeah, the MIDI is totally inadequate, but I’m hopeful that this piece will work.
I’m digging this one as well. I’m noticing a pattern–with several of these tunes I’ve started listening and think I have a clear criticism about the tune that melts away around halfway through. The beginnings of the tunes often make me think there won’t be enough to sustain my interest, but you seem to tease out elaborations and complications that keep me intrigued.
I want to take some time to listen again, but one comment that comes to mind: Several tunes have already started with a sparse instrumental intro and then a vocal entrance in unison with one of the instruments. I think you’re going to want to have more varied song opening strategies than this. For instance, what would it sound like if everyone but the drums dropped out for the first few bars after the vocal enters? Maybe that’s crazy.
Corey replies: Not crazy at all. Crazy would be what if the vocalist started to sing but then all the instrumentalists started obnoxiously singing something different in order to drown out the vocalist. I appreciate your critique of the song openings. That’s a good point.