Song writing Chat: 

“Ipso Facto Recoil”  

Hello folks!  Well, I decided to include an insight to writing the song I just released yesterday “Ipso Facto Recoil.”  It’s not likely many really give a darn about songwriting or the steps I’ve taken… but perhaps my 3 loyal readers might enjoy some insight.  It’s a scary place… up there in my brain.  But, anyway…

The Title: Ipso Facto was an interesting expression   I had once heard on an old science fiction movie somewhere. Dictionary term: by that very fact or act: as an inevitable result. Seems when some scientist wants to sound all science-y, they utter something like, “Ipso Facto, Cogito, ergo sum.”  (Literally: by the very fact I think therefore, I am)…  I mean, that sounds impressively scientific, right?

Well, I like the idea of the word and how it sort of slips off the tongue, so I thought I might use it somewhere… a story or maybe a song.  Because I love to play with words, I have found you can combine expressions or words that usually not found together to create a new thought.  For example -  Vicious Pudding (an old friend’s band name) or Ball Peen Sandwich. 

So, I thought to myself one day… Ipso Facto Recoil. 

Originally, I thought it would be a music-only song.  I had a melody at least and wanted it to be acoustic guitars…not much else.  The more and more I played the chords over the melody, I started getting words in my head. 

Now, the words came from the fact I did a bad thing one night by watching the nightly news…and I am just exhausted by all the bad stuff.  Seems like we are really entertaining the idea of nuclear war.  Something just horrifying, and yet we seem to be getting comfortable with the idea of war so terrible, they made horror movies about it. 

I had very mixed feelings about the song as it developed.  I have talked to several songwriters of note and others about writing what was essentially, a “protest song.”  In today’s world where it’s really all: US AGAINST THEM in almost every aspect of life… it seems a pretty big gamble.  Their resounding response to “should I do this” was a universal “Hell, no!” 

I mean, if you were Bruce Springsteen for example… you can get away with writing a song that may piss of one faction or another.  But if you’re just some no-account git with one whole gig to their entire show line-up, you want people…as many as possible…. to at least respect your work.  And at least enough to see the show or buy the CD someday. 

It’s safer to write songs with a good beat and especially more relevant topics like: drinking on a Saturday night and heartaches and getting down in da club.  I’m not against songs like that…and I have a few on this project, if fact. 

Also, I did not want this song to become just another anti-Trump rant.  Frankly, that’s just too easy.  And my political ire is not just directed at one President, or one party.  Bad actors of both sides of the isles are we were are in the funk we are in…  the nice guys are too ineffective and the bad guys just act for themselves. 

So, I wanted the lyrics to cut both ways if possible.  I did, however, get in a big dig about the WALL.  To me (in my opinion), the Wall represents the apex of political idiocy.  Personally, I think maybe people are somehow conditioned by watching “Escape from New York” 

to think… well, yah…. We’ll build a big ass wall and keep out all the bad people.  Of course, something like that wouldn’t just be overwhelming expensive and ugly, but it runs counter to the idea that our nation welcomes all people.  Yes, even some the worship differently than you or me.  (And no, that’s not giving a pass to those that want to do harm or destroy us or kill innocent people). 

Yet, the idea that the “old, grey men” which STILL rule this world is an indictment on humanity ever growing past its violent and ugly history.  We are still stuck in the 1600’s, full of fear and anger and greed…. When we should be diggin’ the jams and flying in our self-driving cars. 

In any case, it’s hard to fit all that into a few lines in a song… so I tried to be as double-entrée as I could.  “Watch as they dance in front of us.  Grey, Donkey Ass.  Slow-moving Elephants.” 

Also, the line “push the button” comes from a co-worker friend of mine which seemed appropriate.  Visions of the scene in “The Dead Zone” dances in my head while I wrote that line…  

I also deeply debated the gunshot to start the song.  I had actually wanted to use someone shouting “I command you to STAND for the NATIONAL ANTHEM!!”  followed by the click-click of rifles as in a firing squad.  This would repeat three times before the first notes of the song began.  First, any shouting I did just sounded like ME…. I wanted a more authoritative voice giving the commands…  you know, like a drill sergeant would sound.  I scoured the internet for the right sound file for that, but had no luck. 

Same thing with the click-click of the rifles.  I could find plenty of sounds, but nothing that had the right sound for me. 

Then, I didn’t want people to get too confused by inserting another theme into the song, even before the song started.  Finally, I didn’t want people to think that I’m necessarily siding with the players for protesting the National Anthem. 

My take?  I believe the players have a right to protest and have their say.  However, like so many other things in our hyper-media society, their message of equality has been largely lost.  Now, it’s “You don’t respect the flag,” which has gotten in the way. 

I’m sorry, but I happen to love this country and I think it’s the right thing to pay respect to the flag and the national anthem.  Now, the players message has not only gotten lost, they look like a bunch of overpaid, muscle-bound babies that don’t even love their own country (which allows them the freedom to be exactly that). 

Now… again, I don’t think people would have understood the message I wanted to send: which is - I stand for the national anthem because I want to.  But, to stand for the national anthem at gunpoint and at command is the most un-American thing ever. 

That’s too much for the first 10 seconds of a song.  So, I opted for a sound of a gun going off. 

The ending was always going to be a nuclear explosion.  But, I book-ended it with that same gunshot sound (perfect sound bit by the way).  I wanted the nuclear explosion to be the absolute reverse of the very ending of the movie “Fail Safe.”  (1964 movie with Henry Fonda and a very young Larry Hagman).  

In the movie, the American pilot drops the nuclear warhead on NYC, injects himself with a poison, and as the bomb drops he dreams of “the matador” as the crowd cheers on (Ole!), before the bomb hits.  Here, the over-the-top explosion fades as the crowd cheers on.  This is what I like to think of as the perfect cynical ending; the world ends as the people cheer.  Sounds about right, don’t it?

Unfortunately, the way I have the project scheduled, the next two songs are really “Debby Downers” too.  I’m trying to work on two at the same time, in an effort to try and speed up the process.  (Ipso Facto Recoil has taken about 6 months to develop and produce… at that rate my project will be finished around the next decade or so….Ugh). 

These next two songs are very political too:  “It wasn’t the Fault of the Gun”  which should come together quickly… It’s more a march than anything..  not too much production.  This one I think will be short and not-very-sweet.  And damned dark.  Really dark. 

Aside  (sorry, sweetheart...I know you want me to write happy songs.. but this is what I got.  I promise they won't affect the usually sunny personality...) 

Then, my tribute to the late Waylon Jennings - a stripped-down and old country-fied version of a song (the lyrics I mostly wrote years ago) called On the 3^rd Day of My Sobriety.  The downside of how much we love the drink and some of us need it more than we think. 

Then, thankfully…  back to some happier and dance-ier songs that I have not developed yet:  It Would Have Been Better With Me, and Get the Rock Out.  

They are still in the writing writing phases yet… but, at least I know what I want them to be when they grow up.

After that… I’m going to tackle my very first gospel outing in “In the Garden”. 

Somewhere in that time, I’m going to release the “Pocket Full of Lonesome Part 2” (you know how we love sequels!) where there will be parts of number 1 plus remixes and a few new songs too.  And I'm considering ANOTHER version of "Stand Up! (and Rock n' Roll)" to be included on that as well. 

Then, finally… finally the last few songs!  The Naked Celebrities song is another politically charged song.. about how we seem to worship these people.. yet, they are as human as we are…  sort of.  And given the recent atmosphere we live in… it’s starting to look really creepy for so many of our “idols.”