Episode 67 How To Be Human Part 2 1 Nate: Welcome back to the How to Be Human series. No, that is not some sort of plan to become a better person, that is Matt McDonald’s new album for his band The Classic Crime. But this is a podcast doing the commentary on each song off the new record which is called How to Be Human. And this is part 2 of a three part series where we discuss tracks 5-8 on the record. Matt: Yes, and if you’re a patron of this podcast, you’ve likely already heard this, because we’re posting the series early on our Patreon. And if you’re interested in getting early podcasts and bonus content like our Troll Talk podcast, go to patreon.com/dontfeedthetrolls and pledge at least a dollar month to support our podcast and you’ll get a bunch of cool stuff, right Nate? Nate: Yeah, people’ll have been coming on board. We’re getting lots of people who want that extra BOCON, that extra episode. This summer we’re actually going to be taking a break from the podcast, but we’re not going to be taking a break from the actual Patreon Troll Talk episodes, right? Matt: Yeah, Don’t Feed The Trolls might take a break while I’m on the road, but we are still going to be chatting and doing Troll Talks. It’s an unedited podcast by Nate and I, where we just talk about things our patrons would like us to talk about. It’s been really cool, people have been engaging on the comments on our Patreon there and giving us reactions to certain things we say. Whether they be stupid or smart. So we love the community we have on Patreon. We love all of our Patrons. If you want to be a part of that, go to patreon.com/dontfeedthetrolls. Check it out. Awesome. Nate: Alright, Matt. Let’s start on track 5 of the new record. Can you tell us a little bit about “Driftwood?” Matt: Yes. “Driftwood” is a different song than we’ve done in a lot of ways, you know, compared to our previous records. For one, the rhythm is really static. It’s a shuffle, it really doesn’t change much throughout the song. A lot of the stuff we’ve done in the past has been pretty big contrast. Pretty dynamic. So, we’ll kind of be down for the verse with a different rhythm and then the chorus hits and it’s this completely big anthemic different rhythm. And this is a song that keeps the same rhythm all the way through, which is different. So it’s this Latin two-step, this kick, kick, snare. Where the kicks are on the one and the “and” of the two – if you guys know how to count rhythm – (laughs) and the snare on the four. I felt it was groovy, it was like, do, do, gah! Do, do, gah! Do, do, gah! That’s the Latin two-step, right? It’s in the club music a lot now. But I was – Don’t Feed The Trolls Podcast Episode 67 How To Be Human Part 2 2 Nate: How do you go about thinking about your older songs versus your newer songs? Do you like your older records more or new records more? How does that work for you? Because I know some bands are all over the map, but is this your favorite record? Matt: Whatever I’m doing right now is my favorite because this is the culmination of all those experiences. I see every record as a stepping stone to the next one. We had to do Vagabonds in 2010 to get us to Phoenix in 2012. I just feel like they are stepping stones, and so whatever I’m doing right now, is a stepping stone that will be to something greater and different and interesting for my future self to explore and discover. I’m really liking this record as far as the rhythms and the grooves and everything. And since I was playing with the drums first, when I was writing these songs, I thought, “Let’s make it interesting.” For “Driftwood” I introduced a B part to the verse, which is kind of like the prechorus by cutting a beat every other bar. So it gave it this 7/4 feel. And when you’re just playing with drums, you like, “How do I make this feel interesting?” because I’m not thinking about anything else, I’m just thinking about only the drum and base parts and kind of the rhythm section. This song, it’s funny, it starts out 4/4 and then it gets this 7/4 feel and then it’s back to 4/4. Then when I brought Skip in – The Classic Crime’s drummer – to prepro the song, that’s preproduction where we go through it and we kind of figure out all the parts and how the transitions – Nate: Yeah, you’ve just lost so many people already, Matt. Matt: I know, prepro. (laughs) Nate: But keep going. Matt: Well, this is the behind the scenes look. Nate: Well, no, 7/4, 4/4, let’s start with the – (laughs) Matt: I know, I know. Some people understand it. If you don’t, that’s fine, you can learn a little bit. But then Skip stats playing the bridge on this song, and he just kicks into – he’s got this muscle memory of a 6/8 feel. Which is a waltz. It’s a three step. Do da-da, do da-da, do – so he starts playing that in the bridge and I was like, “Well, that’s off. You should be adding a beat or subtracting one, but you shouldn’t be doing that.” Don’t Feed The Trolls Podcast Episode 67 How To Be Human Part 2 3 And then he was like, “Well, I kind of like it.” I was like, “Okay.” So now we have three time signatures on this song. (laughs) And it’s all rhythm, it’s all about the rhythm, which I love. Another thing you can do when you’re listening to this song as we play it – pretty soon here – is listen for the RV-6. It’s the pedal from the introduction to the record that we showed in the first episode. And you can hear it shimmering basically all the way through this song. It gives this layer or this texture that is kind of creepy, and kind of gives some space to the song. Lyrically, Nate, this song is for you. This song is for enneagram 4’s. Because I’m singing from a perspective of someone who is discovering beauty in a uniquely broken individual. The metaphor is driftwood, like a woodcarver would see a piece of driftwood. Something undiscovered or discarded, that’s been on its own, and see that thing as a source of inspiration for a new carving. See it for what’s inside of it. And that’s the concept. So, you might think your life is driftwood, but beneath it all is beauty and meaning worth being discovered. And that’s the whole point of this song. Nate: Yeah, as a 4, enneagram 4, I relate to this. It almost takes somebody else outside of yourself to say something to you and go, “Hey, you’re good at this, or you’re talented here. You’re smart and funny.” You know what I mean? It’s like you kind of crave other people seeing the good parts of you. Matt: The unique parts of you, yeah. Nate: Yeah, because you really can’t see them yourself because you’re kind of in this negative mindset a lot. And that’s interesting. I like that. Matt: Yeah, we go around judging books by their covers all the time. I think in more nuanced and perhaps a more inspired view is to see beneath the surface. That’s what I hope other people do for our music too. Don’t just take a word off the top and say, “That’s bad,” or “That’s stupid.” To really dig into it and engage with it and find the beauty that’s in it because I really do think there’s beauty in it. Naturally I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it was beautiful at its core. Nate: Totally. Matt: Yeah. So without further ado, here is “Driftwood.” Nate: Yeah, we hope “Driftwood” gave you a large boner, because that’s how good that song was. Matt: (laughs) Way to scare everyone off with your vulgar language. Don’t Feed The Trolls Podcast Episode 67 How To Be Human Part 2 4 Nate: I’ve seen the dudes at The Classic Crime shows just raising their fists in the front row. They just have a little thing, you know. They get this surge of energy from The Classic Crime. I’m just carrying out the theme of “Driftwood.” Matt: Alright, fair enough. Nate: If “Driftwood” gets you excited, you’re going to be real excited about this next song, “Wonder.” Matt: I just have, I’m just picturing Pinocchio lying. (laughs) Well, this song, “Wonder,” is a song that was, there has been some controversy over, but I’ll get to that. This is a song written from a dark place. And I’ll be honest, I was at a stop in my personal journey where I thought I’d lost kind of everything.