Here it is. The part I skip every single time.
But before we get to that, let me explain what it was supposed to sound like:
Does that sound vaguely familiar? I hope so. And here’s best part: That Aphex Twin song was released three years after the Parade, so no, the garbage I wrote is not just a poorly executed copy.
The original idea for that section was a drum circle, specifically one where some asshole shows up with a super long extension cord, a Roland TR-505 and TB-303, and a 1000w amp. (This may or may not have actually happened.)
Let’s start with what’s wrong.
- Sloppy timing. This was partially intentional, and was supposed to add a little drum circle vérité.
- Too long/Too repetitive. (Again, drum circle vérité.)
- Lazy. There’s a sound that comes in right around the 4 minute mark, like someone hocking up phlegm while playing a rainstick (drum circle) that morphs into a ripping, burbling, phased synth. It’s a cool noise, and it ping-pongs in stereo on each retrigger. But all of that interesting stuff is totally lost if you’re not listening closely on headphones, so what you get instead is, “Is he just stabbing the same synthesizer key over and over again? How fucking long does this section go on for?” This is a classic synth-nerd problem: I made a cool sound, now I’m going to play it until it’s not cool anymore.
- Bad transition. Not as bad as PowerLucy, but close.
Are there good parts? Nope. PhlegmRainstick is a nice patch, but used badly. When working with the organ sample, the bass sounded a little bit like someone was saying “bom” so I added a little vocal “bom” on top. It’s unusual, I guess.
I also made the mistake of putting my signature in this section. That’s the part where the drums drop out, and there’s a noise wash (2:43). It’s the audio version of playing in the street and someone yells, “car!” Once the car passes, we can play again. It makes me happy, so I use it a lot.
If you feel like torturing yourself with it, here it is:
The good news is that’s the end of the bad sections…