Lee Barry Composition Diary

    What I still find remarkable every time I write songs is the evolution of them. This piece started in 2015 under another working title and went through many different phases. My new way of working on songs is to do them in standard notation where I can work out the song arrangement in detail, then use that as a blueprint (or a very elaborate "click track") for the recording. "Dying To Connect" was a random title that I applied to it, then wrote lyrics based on it. It's about the lengths we go to stay connected--in a time where connection is ostensibly easy yet ironically more difficult as the social media landscape changes. But the sense of urgency can remain. The found voice at the end swimming in reverb delays uses the "Amy" TTS voice: The docking station will close in 30 minutes and we will be accepting no more passengers. Say goodbye to loved ones as soon as possible.   I know that sounds like bleak, but when I was working on the track I lost s...

  Usually alternate versions occur after the song is written, but in this case a song with lyrics was derived from an instrumental. The lyrics are inspired by how downtowns are getting slathered with vinyl appliques, in which stores put their back to the street, perhaps a presage of life in the metaverse where everything will be in the uncanny valley, making the experience of being in a place flat, cold, and one-dimensional.  We now have a Wild Fork (occupying the space of a former Gap store), which I think is creepy, with everything shrink-wrapped and in freezers. In the future, perhaps the wrap will be a flexible screen or something you interact with in a VR space.

  The Video 45 score: