Thoughts On Entropy

Thoughts On Entropy
Here is a ridiculously long-winded discussion about my intentions in the poem entropy (box after box) and the song Entropy (Box After Box). This is only my own interpretation; you may have a much different interpretation, and that is absolutely all right.
First a little about the music.
I was fooling around in GarageBand with the "Twangy Strumming" Guitar synth from JamPack3. You hit one note on the keyboard, and this big six string chord comes out. Depending on what octave you play, you get different chords. You can get major, minor, sevenths, maybe some others...
Due to Analogapalooza, I was listening to my old tapes and was reminded of a method I used to play around with years ago. You can for instance play an Em on one guitar while you play a C on another guitar. The result is this fuller sounding Cmaj7.
So, using "Twangy Strumming" I did just that. (If you listen on headphones you'll find the minor chords on the left, and the major chords on the right.)
Building on that, I modified a walking bass loop to fit my chords. I also modified a steel drum loop to fit the chords. I made up the little piano line. Finally, I used the JamPack2 Remix Reverse Vocal FX loop and pitch shifted those to the chords. Several drum kits and drum loops were combined to form the rhythm tracks.
So I had complete loop ensemble at that point.
I created a song by slowly bringing in each element of the ensemble, finally ending on that big chord at the end.
That's where it stood for a while.
Because of the mention of "voice over music" in Unstuck In Time I decided to look over my old poetry for a possible melding. entropy (box after box) seemed like a good match. I recorded an initial reading just to try it out, and amazingly, it fit pretty well both in total time and in stanzas lining up with loop iterations.
Lots of tweaking later, here's the song. I significantly changed around the way the ensemble elements come in and out to fit the mood of the words.
Now some nonsense about the poem and a few notes about how the music fits in.
Section One
The music starts out with only the minor chords and drum brushes from the loop ensemble. The minor chords are Abm, Cbm, Dbm, so it sounds like the key is Ab minor.

the problem basically is that i don't want to do this the dank basement is full of box after box of deteriorating memories

These boxes may contain old letters or other memorabilia. Here, the focus will be on photographs to stand in for the memories they represent.

i haven't the heart for execution to dispose of someone else's treasures

This indicates the narrator is an executor, in the sense of carrying out the directions of a will. Someone has died. The narrator is dealing with the deceased's belongings. And from the opening stanza, we know the narrator is uncomfortable with this role.
Incidentally, the large gaps in the fragments of each stanza invite misinterpreting them as each line arrives. The audible gaps mostly go with the line breaks. For example, here:
"i haven't the heart for execution"
"i haven't the heart for execution: to dispose of someone"
"i haven't the heart for execution: to dispose of someone else's treasures"
Even though we are talking about disposing physical belongings - we are also talking about disposing of the person's essence.

likely in there i am somewhere in those boxes

The deceased is a relative, a parent or perhaps a sibling.

so in a way i am erasing a bit of myself

There is this notion: our essence is not only the thoughts, behaviors, and memories contained within ourselves. Part of our essence is also contained the memories and expectations of our behavior housed within other people's minds. In a sense, our identity is a cloud, mostly in our own mind, but also spreading out into the minds of our friends and relatives.
So, when someone you know dies, part of your cloud vanishes. Part of you dies with them.
Here, the disposal of boxes is part of the removal of the essence of the deceased, and by extension, a removal of part of yourself.
More of the percussion parts are fading in. A "harmonics" acoustic guitar synth has faded in which is playing E and B, which is not confirming the key of Ab minor - and presaging the real key: E major.
The major chords are beginning to enter around here. They are E, G, A. Combining with the minor chords, they will form EMaj7, GMaj7, AMaj7.
The minor chords begin to fade back just a bit starting here.
Section Two

in the darkest corner of the basement is a small separate room

Starting from "in the darkest corner" until "giggling" could be a guided meditation induction. It could be the imagery or visualization that you tell yourself to help you slip into a meditative state.

and in that room through a dilapidated door is a closet and in that disconnected closet a hidden door lies

The previous stanzas could be a nesting of spaces, as part of either a meditation induction, or a literal description of a real place in the basement.
This could also be a deeply suppressed memory. Maybe the narrator harbors some bad previous experience here. The word "lies" could also stand on its own meaning deception of some kind, perhaps self-deception, or denial.

without a thought i am again opening that surreptitious door

Somehow going through these boxes is bringing back these suppressed memories?
By now, the major chords are fully faded in, the minor chords are in the background. The walking bass has faded in, and reinforces the real key: E major.
Depending on when you notice it, the key just sort of spontaneously flips, like a Neckar Cube.
Section Three

the passage is always difficult deeper it leads down crisp echoes my shuffling groping towards a distant glow eventually i emerge

This could be an allusion to one's own birth, or re-birth. Or perhaps the slow dawning of a realization about oneself.
The piano melody starts here. It's meant to symbolize this emerging "self" image of the narrator. The percussion is moving past, perhaps like moving down a hallway.

in the verdant glen there is the sound of gently murmuring water sun softly dappling the moss silken light pervading this wordless room now i can hear a young couple giggling

Here we have slipped into a description of a kind of contained space. The following stanza will indicate that we have found ourselves looking at a photograph. (The containment might be the frame of the picture.) Perhaps all of the previous meditation induction was some kind of psychological reaction to seeing the image.
This could also be an extension of one's own birth: the events immediately following being born. "now i can hear" could be the first experience of sound heard directly through the air. The couple could be the parents.
Or perhaps this image actually describes the circumstances in which the narrator was conceived ("a young couple").
The steel drum portion of the loop ensemble fades up during this section to suggest there is something of a tropical paradise here.
The major chords drop back a bit, and the minor chords fade back up. We are in a limbo between keys.
Section Four

nothing is written on the back

Most of the loop ensemble drops out as this section starts.
Snapping back to reality. The narrator is merely looking at one of those photographs from one those boxes.

no date no place no name another unknown photograph another unrecalled memory another ungrasped moment

The triples here could also be something like a hypnotist counting to three to bring the subject back to full conscious awareness.
The major chords fade back up and the walking bass reconfirms we're in E major. The reverse vocals show up here singing a downwards E, D, B.

i feel unauthorized to contemplate these things

Now a mix of denial, and maybe embarrassment enters. The narrator might feel that this picture was too private and personal. Maybe the deceased never meant for some of these things to be seen by anyone.

box after box

And it's more than just this one picture.

yet in a way i am forgetting a bit of myself

Another game with fragment misinterpretation: "yet in a way i am" might mean "yet in a way i am authorized". There's a big gap after "i am". Perhaps the narrator is reassuring himself that he won't lose his essence through this ordeal: "i am".
The music punches out the last chord, EMaj7 - both major and minor in equal proportion. Sort of bittersweet.
But, here's that idea again, "forgetting a bit of myself", the notion that one's cloud now has a missing piece.
The piano is still playing the "self" theme way in the back.
(c)2007 by Bill Grundmann

poem: entropy (box after box)
song: Entropy (Box After Box)

Thoughts On Entropy Here is a ridiculously long-winded discussion about my intentions in the poem entropy (box after box) and the song Entropy (Box After Box). This is only my own interpretation; you may have a much different interpretation, and that is absolutely all right. First a little about the music. I was fooling around in GarageBand with the "Twangy Strumming" Guitar synth from JamPack3. You hit one note on the keyboard, and this big six string chord comes out. Depending on what octave you play, you get different chords. You can get major, minor, sevenths, maybe some others... Due to Analogapalooza, I was listening to my old tapes and was reminded of a method I used to play around with years ago. You can for instance play an Em on one guitar while you play a C on another guitar. The result is this fuller sounding Cmaj7. So, using "Twangy Strumming" I did just that. (If you listen on headphones you'll find the minor chords on the left, and the major chords on the right.) Building on that, I modified a walking bass loop to fit my chords. I also modified a steel drum loop to fit the chords. I made up the little piano line. Finally, I used the JamPack2 Remix Reverse Vocal FX loop and pitch shifted those to the chords. Several drum kits and drum loops were combined to form the rhythm tracks. So I had complete loop ensemble at that point. I created a song by slowly bringing in each element of the ensemble, finally ending on that big chord at the end. That's where it stood for a while. Because of the mention of "voice over music" in Unstuck In Time I decided to look over my old poetry for a possible melding. entropy (box after box) seemed like a good match. I recorded an initial reading just to try it out, and amazingly, it fit pretty well both in total time and in stanzas lining up with loop iterations. Lots of tweaking later, here's the song. I significantly changed around the way the ensemble elements come in and out to fit the mood of the words. Now some nonsense about the poem and a few notes about how the music fits in. Section One The music starts out with only the minor chords and drum brushes from the loop ensemble. The minor chords are Abm, Cbm, Dbm, so it sounds like the key is Ab minor.
	the problem basically is that i don't want to do this the dank basement is full of box after box of deteriorating memories
These boxes may contain old letters or other memorabilia. Here, the focus will be on photographs to stand in for the memories they represent.
	i haven't the heart for execution to dispose of someone else's treasures
This indicates the narrator is an executor, in the sense of carrying out the directions of a will. Someone has died. The narrator is dealing with the deceased's belongings. And from the opening stanza, we know the narrator is uncomfortable with this role. Incidentally, the large gaps in the fragments of each stanza invite misinterpreting them as each line arrives. The audible gaps mostly go with the line breaks. For example, here: "i haven't the heart for execution" "i haven't the heart for execution: to dispose of someone" "i haven't the heart for execution: to dispose of someone else's treasures" Even though we are talking about disposing physical belongings - we are also talking about disposing of the person's essence.
	likely in there i am somewhere in those boxes
The deceased is a relative, a parent or perhaps a sibling.
	so in a way i am erasing a bit of myself
There is this notion: our essence is not only the thoughts, behaviors, and memories contained within ourselves. Part of our essence is also contained the memories and expectations of our behavior housed within other people's minds. In a sense, our identity is a cloud, mostly in our own mind, but also spreading out into the minds of our friends and relatives. So, when someone you know dies, part of your cloud vanishes. Part of you dies with them. Here, the disposal of boxes is part of the removal of the essence of the deceased, and by extension, a removal of part of yourself. More of the percussion parts are fading in. A "harmonics" acoustic guitar synth has faded in which is playing E and B, which is not confirming the key of Ab minor - and presaging the real key: E major. The major chords are beginning to enter around here. They are E, G, A. Combining with the minor chords, they will form EMaj7, GMaj7, AMaj7. The minor chords begin to fade back just a bit starting here. Section Two
	in the darkest corner of the basement is a small separate room
Starting from "in the darkest corner" until "giggling" could be a guided meditation induction. It could be the imagery or visualization that you tell yourself to help you slip into a meditative state.
	and in that room through a dilapidated door is a closet and in that disconnected closet a hidden door lies
The previous stanzas could be a nesting of spaces, as part of either a meditation induction, or a literal description of a real place in the basement. This could also be a deeply suppressed memory. Maybe the narrator harbors some bad previous experience here. The word "lies" could also stand on its own meaning deception of some kind, perhaps self-deception, or denial.
	without a thought i am again opening that surreptitious door
Somehow going through these boxes is bringing back these suppressed memories? By now, the major chords are fully faded in, the minor chords are in the background. The walking bass has faded in, and reinforces the real key: E major. Depending on when you notice it, the key just sort of spontaneously flips, like a Neckar Cube. Section Three
	the passage is always difficult deeper it leads down crisp echoes my shuffling groping towards a distant glow eventually i emerge
This could be an allusion to one's own birth, or re-birth. Or perhaps the slow dawning of a realization about oneself. The piano melody starts here. It's meant to symbolize this emerging "self" image of the narrator. The percussion is moving past, perhaps like moving down a hallway.
	in the verdant glen there is the sound of gently murmuring water sun softly dappling the moss silken light pervading this wordless room now i can hear a young couple giggling
Here we have slipped into a description of a kind of contained space. The following stanza will indicate that we have found ourselves looking at a photograph. (The containment might be the frame of the picture.) Perhaps all of the previous meditation induction was some kind of psychological reaction to seeing the image. This could also be an extension of one's own birth: the events immediately following being born. "now i can hear" could be the first experience of sound heard directly through the air. The couple could be the parents. Or perhaps this image actually describes the circumstances in which the narrator was conceived ("a young couple"). The steel drum portion of the loop ensemble fades up during this section to suggest there is something of a tropical paradise here. The major chords drop back a bit, and the minor chords fade back up. We are in a limbo between keys. Section Four
	nothing is written on the back
Most of the loop ensemble drops out as this section starts. Snapping back to reality. The narrator is merely looking at one of those photographs from one those boxes.
	no date no place no name another unknown photograph another unrecalled memory another ungrasped moment
The triples here could also be something like a hypnotist counting to three to bring the subject back to full conscious awareness. The major chords fade back up and the walking bass reconfirms we're in E major. The reverse vocals show up here singing a downwards E, D, B.
	i feel unauthorized to contemplate these things
Now a mix of denial, and maybe embarrassment enters. The narrator might feel that this picture was too private and personal. Maybe the deceased never meant for some of these things to be seen by anyone.
	box after box
And it's more than just this one picture.
	yet in a way i am forgetting a bit of myself
Another game with fragment misinterpretation: "yet in a way i am" might mean "yet in a way i am authorized". There's a big gap after "i am". Perhaps the narrator is reassuring himself that he won't lose his essence through this ordeal: "i am". The music punches out the last chord, EMaj7 - both major and minor in equal proportion. Sort of bittersweet. But, here's that idea again, "forgetting a bit of myself", the notion that one's cloud now has a missing piece. The piano is still playing the "self" theme way in the back. (c)2007 by Bill Grundmann poem: entropy (box after box) song: Entropy (Box After Box)