About a Song: Empire (1)
April 9, 2008
Empire is definitely the ugliest song in this collection. Hence its inclusion.
You see, it’s a very important song to me, precisely because it’s ugly. And it has stayed with me for a long time, under various names. I eventually settled on Empire, because to me it sounds like the voice inside the head of a politician or a big corporate executive. Yet I can’t deny that this is also me — aggressive, repulsive, unrestrained, and unabashedly selfish.
On the compositional level, I am proud of this song because of its unusual chord progressions. A long time ago, I showed it to a songwriter I respected, and he marveled at how weird these chords are. The intro is in G minor, the verse is in A, and the chorus Em. That’s a lot of tonal centers to fly to and fro in the course of a 4-minute song, and the transitions seem all so seamless.
Another time, I was trying out a drummer and played this song. He told me “I have no idea how to play that.” It totally stumped him.
This is a good example of my rhythm guitar being the dominating percussive force — the drums really have to match all the pounding and the thrashing that goes on with the guitar. Imagine playing a regular rock beat against that verse riff. It simply will not work.
I am also very fond of my vocal performance in this song. It took me quite a few takes to strike the right tone and approach. If I try to be too aggressive, then it sounds trashy and cartoony. If I am too subdued, the ugliness doesn’t come through.
Tracking this song helped me realize which range of my voice is actually the strongest — the lower mids. The sound of my voice in the verses is probably my favorite of all the songs in this album. Or should I say, this sounds like the person I secretly want to be, instead of who I am.
I did have to go all out for the final bridge screaming part. But don’t expect me to recreate that live — that raspy yell blew my voice and I couldn’t speak for a day and half afterward. My voice is simply not made to do that. I wish.
The outro cacophony was a lot of fun, and quite easy — that’s me banging on my guitar with my slide bar, several takes’ worth. I studied some modern compositional technique in college, where I learned that melodies and chords — the “tonal” material — are not the only way to create music. Sometimes noises say more than any melodies can.
When I listen to that ending, it really gives me an engaging, cathartic experience. It expresses the chaos and angry cacophony of bottled up, hidden desires.
I listen to it and go “yes, that’s how it feels.”
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