FAWM: "★5★ philosophy bomb"

★5★ philosophy bomb

4 days ago by @burrMod

★5★ philosophy bomb

burr

00:00

Liner Notes

#LoFi #BedroomPop #Cassette #Casiocore #Funk #Rhodes #Llama #Feast

i enjoyed writing a 4-song EP in FAWM week 1. so after a creative drought in week 2 where i hated everything i did, i decided to try it again...

this time i asked 🦙🤖 llama 3.3 (open-source chatgpt alternative) to give me a "roadmap" for a 5-song EP, suggesting BPM, time signature, song structure, chord changes, and which instruments to use (out of a handful of options i provided) in a lo-fi 4-track cassette recording.

amazingly, it mostly understood what i was asking 🤯, so i used its output to guide the creation of these 5 songs.

the original AI output is below, but i did take some liberties. i built these up in a passes (track 1 for all songs, then track 2, then 3+4, then mixing). i'll post them as i finish mixing them...

==== SONG-SPECIFIC NOTES ====
the vibe of the old yamaha preset i used felt like a sort of "socially conscious" 70s funk, and that is waaaaay outside my wheelhouse, but i did try to go in that direction. i used the burroughs "cut up" method from a few think pieces to get lyrical ideas, so if it feels like a random jumble of thoughts and critiques of our current times, well, there's a reason for that. 😅 "philosophy bomb" came out of it and i liked that as a title. i'm not a keyboardist, so that's hunt-and-peck.

i think the demo is the weakest of the 5 songs on the EP, but i was tired.

==== ORIGINAL LLAMA 3.3 OUTPUT ====
Song 5: "Morning Dew"
BPM: 120
Time signature: 4/4
Song structure: Intro-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Outro

Chord progressions:
Intro: Dm−G−C−A
Verse: Dm−G−C−A−Bm
Chorus: G−C−A−Dm
Outro: Dm−G

Track assignments:
Track 1: yamaha PSS-480 (backing track)
Track 2: electric guitar
Track 3: vocals
Track 4: rhodes

==== ALL THE SONGS IN THIS EP ====
1 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312138
2 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312151
3 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312163
4 ◄ https://write.fawm.org/songs/312192
5 ◉ THIS!

Lyrics

a shared illusion, baiting the switch
high flying helicopter politics
eggs are expensive, the nasdaq soars
we're busy watching cancel culture wars
corporations are people, so what about us?
in god and the mega-supstructure we trust
falling in step with a new regime
wake me from the factious fever dream

we're worldly conscious but trendy too
alienation is a point of view
time to show off that new tattoo
roll up our sleeves, we've got work to do

saving labor the old fashioned way
shipping overseas or to a silicon brain
paving paradise for a parking lot
but look at this stuff with free shipping i got!

we're worldly conscious but trendy too
alienation is a point of view
time to show off that new tattoo
roll up our sleeves, we've got work to do
no matter what you'll feel like a hypocrite
if you ever really stop to consider it
so stand up straight and dare to go rogue
if growing a spine falls out of vogue

Comments

@codeenergy 2d

When the lyrics get too real! Good job on keeping this so clean but still lofi. Sounds like you're getting your groove back

@jerrypettit 2d

Ah, you have an interesting methodology somewhat akin to mine to prevent the old "writer's block". I've got a spreadsheet of Titles that I collect, and another spreadsheet or two of songs whose chord structure I'll "steal", and another one where I'll randomly select a song I like and try and reconstruct the arrangement (to the previously selected random chord progression). My Amazon Echo collaborates with me. "Alexa, give me a random number between 1 and 500.." Anyway--works for me. (I think you and I are both math guys, if I'm remembering correctly--or maybe we're just...random). Great song, by the way! ❤️

@apersonnamedrose 3d

oh!!! PSS-480 - my friend roxanne owns the tiny version of that, the 470. they've both got very fun sounds while still not being toooo cheesy to use (though i have yet to encounter such a thing myself!) and it works perfectly as a musical base for this. great stuff, i love the last 4 lines in particular but the whole song is great lyrically. digging the rhodes, too!

@eargoggle 3d

Cool process. And I like these lyrics that came out of it, is it a factious fever dream or a facist one?? Gosh, I wonder. I like the alienation is a point of view too. And I'm a sucker for well-done tape production, which is, so I like it

@gregscheer 3d

There's something inspiring about limiting your choices. You get a great sound from a four-track and the songwriting is strong, too. Most delicious rhymes:
rogue/vogue (obvious, but perfect)
hypocrite/consider it (did not see that coming!)

@nancycunning 3d

Woah, what an interesting process. It reminds me of Comments First songs, which scare me. I like the idea of just throwing the digital dice and leaning in to what comes out. I like the words a lot. The rhymes are interesting and the way the individual phrases make so much sense. Makes me think of REM and Jesus Jones songs. The way you describe the process reminds me of writing GREP poems in the early days of email by grepping all the lines with a word like butterfly - I was so intrigued by what came out. I feel like that here, like you cowrote with R2D2. I'd been assuming I felt snooty about AI generation in songs, but now I'm just thinking, oh, that's cool.

@theodamus 4d

I feel like the collage lyrical approach is really evocative of where we are at, and the chorus is such a neat summation - get ready with me while we drown in think pieces and tell the people who largely agree with us they’re wrong. Love the line “alienation is a point of view”.

Fits perfectly with the yamaha sound, you’ve blended the guitar and other elements into the feel really seamlessly and I also really like how the chorus isn’t a massive melodic jump so it runs straight on with the stream of consciousness but gathers and focuses the energy. I’m still humming it!

Happy to hear you’ve found a songwriting approach that feels fun, much needed as we start to get tired!

@sheslin 4d

Funky indeed! Love the intro. Great production and panning, and so nicely balanced. Great listen in headphones. Love that wah wah synth in the middle that goes throughout the song. You have really nailed what is going on today. Love these lines:
"saving labor the old fashioned way
shipping overseas or to a silicon brain
paving paradise for a parking lot
look at this stuff with free shipping i got "
The first 2 lines are soooo good, and the nod to Joni's classic song which still holds up today is perfect.

So creative and cool, great melody and vocals, and the lyrics sting in just the right way and are so well crafted. I am on my 3rd listen!