Song #22: The Soul of a New Machine (1982)

In 1967 I was 10 years old, and  there was a cool television show called "The 21st Century", hosted by Walter Cronkite.

I couldn't wait until the year 2000...

Flying cars, lasers, and computers!

At my (public) middle school, "Patrick Henry Jr. High", we were lucky enough to have a Computer Lab equipped with some first generation calculators, and a Teletype Model 33 ASR teleprinter keyboard with punched tape reader and punch. We wrote programs using the BASIC programming language, and literally fed them into the Model 33 where it communicated with a mainframe computer off campus, and we waited for the results to return.

In 1982, Ira Ingber and I read "The Soul of a New Machine", by Tracy Kidder, and were inspired by this true story of the new computer pioneers. Their work resonated with our work as we toiled for hours in the darkness of the recording studio, and experimented with the new ways of music production using the MIDI protocol, and synthesizers.

One musician who was on the leading edge of these techniques was Paul Delph, and we were blessed with his sonic contributions to many of our songs. All the sounds (including drums) you hear on this track were created by Paul, except for the usual blazing guitars of Mr. Ira Ingber.

Ira and used to halfheartedly joke that in the future, we would be able to record an album on a watch.

Thirty-one years later the technological contributions of countless pioneers have brought some amazing benefits to our lives; I am writing this blog on my back porch with an iPad2, and the iPhone 5S can run 64 tracks of GarageBand.

But dammit: where's my flying car?

The Soul of a New Machine

You've got the data all behind you

You took the phone apart when you were just a child

And now all the lessons have been learned

And your imagination runs wild

Stuck in a windowless pit with the micro-kids

In silent darkness invented codes reveal

Secret veins of distance and time

And your imagination runs wild

The moon controls the tides

Synchronized program at the core of memory

The moon controls the tides

What controls the logic in the soul of a new machine

Even the experts stare in wonder

Is this mechanism corporeal

It has the human touch concealed

Cause your imagination ran wild

The moon controls the tides

Synchronized program at the core of memory

The moon controls the tides

What controls the logic in the soul of a new machine

I can't stop I can't sleep

I can't taste the food that I eat

Alone with my madness

Just like a man in love

Britt Bacon: vocals

Ira Ingber: guitars, bgs

Paul Delph: Prophet 10 keyboard

Written by Britt Bacon and Ira Ingber

©1982

Source: 1/4" analogue tape 30ips

Song #21: Don't Stop Me Now (1980)

This is last of the songs from my "burn in" time at Skyline Recording. We had allocated three days to test the newly installed equipment at the studio, by recording five songs I wrote with Damon Leigh.
Day one was devoted to recording the basic rhythm section (tracking), day two was for overdubs and vocals, and day three was for the final mix.
I wasn't confident skilled enough to engineer and produce myself while trying to perform with the band, so a prominent engineer/producer had been recommended to me.

He definitely had the credentials, and seemed amiable enough when we first met before the sessions, but the three days we spent working together were a stereotypical rock and roll nightmare.
O.K. during the daylight hours, but in the evenings, fueled by drinks and drugs, he became a monster.

I chalked it up to a life lesson, not realizing at the time that the music business was full of monsters, and maybe I was to become one too...

Time has a way of giving healing and perspective to life, and this is especially true when it comes to creations of art. The "monster" engineer/producer cleaned up his act and has a successful career, and what seemed to me at the time to be a simple passionate love song, now sounds (through a Tarentino lens), kind of "date-rapey".

Still, I still love this song. Damon's beautiful lyrics portray a more innocent time without cynicism or skepticism or scrutiny. A time when you would profess your love and passion in a song without hoping it would be re-Tweeted or posted on Reddit.

Don't Stop Me Now

After the party you came up to my room

No need to plead innocent

You lit a fire and I sang you this tune

Isn't that how it went

Juiced and seduced by the look in your eyes

Just take me as you are

Don't stop me now where there's no compromise

This time you've gone too far

No don't stop me now

Now that I've found you

There's nothing to lose

And no way around it 

No don't stop me now

Fly by the light until night is gone

Come on

Just let it go

And forget your implication there

Here for an hour or two

Don't give me reasons that I won't understand

Give me you

It's all I can say

You know what I've needed

And if you will stay

You'll come to believe it

So don't stop me now

Now that I've found you

There's nothing to lose

And no way around it

No don't stop me now

Britt Bacon: vocals, piano

Teddy Zambetti: drums

Dean Groves: bass

Alan Morse: guitar

Jamie Sheriff: synthesizer

Written by Britt Bacon and Damon Leigh

©1980

Source: 1/4" analogue tape 15ips

Song #20: Action Billed (2012)

I've now been in the post-production sound business longer than I was in the music business (that's kind of sad, but the money's been steady so I shouldn't complain: insert smallest violin here).
Still there are many parallels between both businesses.
A band, a producer, and an engineer working together creatively in a recording studio is not that much different than actors, a director, and a crew working together on a film-stage.
Both scenarios involve a benevolent dictatorship combined with presumed cooperation, that to an outsider may seem chaotic, but upon closer inspection is almost ballet-like in execution. Everyone works together with a common goal (hit-song or blockbuster) in mind.

This song was inspired by a colleague "leaving" the film business, but the song took on a life of it's own, and became a tribute to all the people who work in the film business.
It takes a village to make an album, and a big city to make a movie, and it is exhilarating, frustrating, and humbling for me to be a small part of the process.

Action Bill

On the largest sound-stage in the world

Stands an actor with a cool stark face

On the largest sound-stage in the world

It's a ballet of the human race

Behind the scenes

There's a grip with a whip, and a dolly, and a bull

Behind the scenes

There's a driver resting pretty full

Behind the scenes

There's an extra playing off the best boys

Behind the scenes

There's a trailer making too much noise

Hit the lights

Roll sound

It's action Bill

In the smallest edit-bay in the world

Sits a picture of a cool stark face

In the smallest edit-bay in the world

There's a single frame that's out of place

Behind the scenes

A trashcan overflows with Red Bull

Behind the scenes

There's an Avid bin looking pretty full

Behind the scenes

The director's starting to annoy

Behind the scenes

When the match-frame works it's so much joy

Hit the lights

Roll sound

It's action Bill

Lock it up and copy that action

One more take we'll make satisfation

Lock it up and copy that action

One more take we'll fake satisfaction

And the car spins around in the 5.1 sound

And crash and explosion's divine

As the golden hour goes into grace

I'd be lying if I told you the time

Britt Bacon: keyboards, vocals

Ira Ingber: guitars

Alan Morse: guitars

Richy Stano: guitars

Special thanks to David, Tad, Brett, Dan, Kevin, Andre, Leslie, John, John, John, Joshua, Daniel, Donnie, Drew, and Jessica for their voice-over talents.
Extra special thanks to Sam for the set jargon!

Control room picture courtesy of Ben Swets

Written by Britt Bacon 

©2012

Source: digital audio tracks 48k.