“In the Cooler” – Careers in Science track #3

[In the coming weeks, before The Longwalls release "Careers in Science" on Tuesday, March 1, we will be posting short notes on the concepts behind each song on the record. For the most part, we each had very clear ideas in mind before beginning to write. Each song has a little story to tell, and we'll do our best to explain them each leading up to the release.]

"if you smoke, that's a day in the cooler"

Concept:

On the TV, two men are in a cafeteria in prison. One knocks out a beat on the metal picnic table with his hand and a coin, the other sings about the regrets of his sentence and the powerlessness that he feels in prison. It was maybe 15-20 seconds on the screen, but I had the image in my mind for weeks afterwards. No real hope, no chance for immediate redemption, and any resistance will lead to a longer sentence. It’s childish of me to think in these terms, but the song ends up feeling like a song of teenage rebellion, not to diminish the seriousness of prison life in America, but I suppose it’s the only way I can relate to such a stark and bleak existence – being a kid and not having your life be your own. Maybe a prison metaphor is a little dramatic, but there you have it. The song is also about having a choice to make, whether I will be the best person I could be, or, as I have done so myself at times, choose ease, anger, thoughtlessness. Rebelling against my own better judgment to prove I belong in mental lock up.

Music:

I wrote the music, at least in part, a couple of years ago and had shelved it, not fully realizing the subject matter and the opportunity that it had with The Longwalls. While gearing up to put a track list together for “Careers in Science“, Brandon mentioned that it might be a great fit. I jumped at the opportunity and put down the basic guitar/rhythm/vocal tracks and gave a copy to Kurt, asking him to drop in some noise and keyboards which he had so expertly used in his last solo record, “Pyramid“. He returned a week later with some of the most subtle and cool work that I have heard from him. I’m proud of this track for the collaborative elements that it has, and how well it blends both Kurt and my style of writing.

First, here is the original demo from 2006, I used this great Korg B200 with about 12 broken keys to play the bell sounds. I still use the B200 when doing demos, its a lot of fun, even with the backflips I need to do to play chords with all the missing notes.

Some of the changes to the song from demo to final recording:

> Keys, aimed as accompaniment  in the way I recorded the demo, more enviromental when Kurt took the reins, which I think worked out great.
> The album version also has a steady crescendo, starting with just kick, guitar, and vocals, and adding in more percussion, keys, and guitar as the song moves along

And here is the album version. Obviously polished up, but so much more of a collaborative effort… l love the crackly bits that Kurt put in under the guitar solo…

Lyrics:

Your kit
is a hand
and a quarter
or a slug
I can’t be sure which one
I can’t be sure which one
I can’t be sure which one
I can’t be sure which one
If you smoke
that’s a day
in the cooler
or a strike
I can’t be sure which one
I can’t be sure which one
I can’t be sure which one
I can’t be sure which one