Here’s a Soundcloud playlist featuring tracks I’ve stitched together from a mixture of samples and loops using Sony’s ACID Music Studio.
Not all of the tracks have lyrics but those that do are listed below. Just click the title to see the lyrics and any notes that accompany the track.
The speed of light is 299,792,458 metres per second
No material object can move faster than light
“Nothing in physics prevents you from travelling as close to the speed of light as you like
99.9 percent of the speed of light would be just fine
But no matter how hard you try, you can never gain that last decimal point”
~ Carl Sagan
Light travels almost 9.5 trillion kilometres in the course of a single year
The nearest star to the sun is about 4.5 light-years away
With today’s technology, it would take us almost 20,000 years to get there
It’s a long way to go, but I hope one day we will get there
As long as we don’t wipe ourselves out first
Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared
Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared
Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared
Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared
“Nothing in physics prevents you from travelling as close to the speed of light as you like
99.9 percent of the speed of light would be just fine
But no matter how hard you try you can never gain that last decimal point”
~ Carl Sagan
© Alex Matheson 2010 (except for the quoted bits, obviously)
Notes
This one is pretty much about the speed of light and our efforts to travel into space. I had help from such luminaries as Carl Sagan and some bloke called Einstein with this one. Not forgetting Bill Hicks for providing a way in which our dreams of exploring the galaxy could be realised.
There’s oil on the water
Oil on the shore
Stealing life from the sea
Poisoning life on the land
Blown by the wind
And drawn by the tide
To where it was not meant to be
There’s oil on the water
Oil on the shore
Spreading like wildfire
Because somebody had to have more
There’s oil on the water
Oil on the shore
Shutting out the sunshine
That warms the ocean floor
Oil on the water
Oil on the shore
Nothing left for anyone
There’s wood on the river
Wood in the floor
Stealing life from the forest
Leaving nothing but sand
Blown by the wind
And drawn from the place
Where it is supposed to be
Oil on the water
Oil on the shore
Nothing left for anyone
Nobody get’s any more
© Alex Matheson 1993
Notes
These lyrics have never been permanently set to music though I have made a few failed attempts to find something that worked. Nothing I tried seemed quite right – apart from a keyboard piece that almost captured the feel I wanted. Then when working on this loop, which was initially titled “Drift”, I thought I’d add some words as an experiment. The search for suitable words led me to the lyrics above and I decided to experiment.
To push the bounds of experimentation further I also decided to use a text-to-speech generator to say the words rather than have me singing them. I used the MARY Text-To-Speech System which I think has created a suitable effect. It sounds a little jarring but I feel that works well with the subject matter even if it is quite a departure from the way I originally saw the words being used.
One day I’ll redo it as a piano and vocal only arrangement. But first I’ll need to get a piano.
politicians lie
to suit their cause
expenses sleaze
tuition fees
politicians lie
left or right
whichever wing
the middle ground
there’s no such thing
black and white
or plain as day
we think it’s clear
but their shade is gray
politicians lie
as a matter of course
budget cutbacks
oil prices tax
politicians lie
left or right
whichever wing
the middle ground
there’s no such thing
black and white
or plain as day
we think it’s clear
but their shade is gray
politicians lie
when they move their lips
write manifestos
to massage egos
politicians lie
black and white
or plain as day
we think it’s clear
but their shade is gray
© Alex Matheson 2011