A Joke I Didn't Understand

This tune is another example of a lyric directly inspired by a Metafilter comment. Shortly after reading the comment, I wrote the lyrics, and posted them in that same thread. Got around to singing it (well, it's half sung, half intoned, actually) the other night. Video here.

Recorded live at Waseda SABACO, Tokyo, on December 9, 2010. The pattern you hear is something I made on my JUNO 60 analog synth. I'm blowing a pitch pipe.

A JOKE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND

I've internalized a joke
that I don't understand
I feel like I'm a member
of some total stranger's band
I'm holding onto wisps of smoke
I need to hold your hand
I've internalized a joke
that I don't understand

the captain stepped right up to me
and threw me overboard
you're just a joke
he screamed to me
a joke I can't afford
so once again I'm set afloat
again I'm all at sea
all this water, that's the joke
that's gonna swallow me

sharks are circling all around
I know my time ain't long
but here I am as usual
with another stupid song
and I think about the captain
his wish was my command
when I internalized a joke
I didn't understand

copyright P & C Samm Bennett - all rights reserved

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posted by flapjax at midnite (8 comments total)

Wow I totally missed this in that thread. You've totally made my day!

Really its even two days, I'm about to work through the night on a paper
posted by Blasdelb at 8:11 PM on December 11, 2010

I always appreciate your ability to make songs out of the barest possible elements.

Poot. Pwant. Poot. Pwant.

This one's like a cross between Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Tinklers. I like it.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 12:46 AM on December 12, 2010

I really liked this. There are some differences between the sung vocals and the written ones. The sung version:

I've internalized a joke
that I don't understand
I feel like I'm a member
of some total stranger's band
I'm holding onto wisps of smoke
I need to hold your hand
I've internalized a joke
that I don't understand

the captain stepped right up to me
he threw me overboard
you're just a joke
he said to me
a joke I can't afford
so once again I'm all alone
again I'm all at sea
and all this water, that's the joke
that's gonna swallow me

sharks are circling all around
I know my time ain't long
but here I am as usual
just singing some stupid song
and I think about the captain
his wish was my command
when I internalized a joke
that I didn't understand
I didn't understand

I didn't understand
I didn't understand
I didn't understand
I didn't understand
posted by Apoch at 5:46 AM on December 12, 2010

Very interesting and highly atmospheric piece. Shades of Tom Waits to my ears (that's a compliment btw). And the lyric has echoes of Coleridge. It'd be interesting to hear this with a little more moduation and colour in the background - something swirling and swooshing around in a menacingly watery kinda way............
posted by MajorDundee at 9:57 AM on December 12, 2010

Wow, man, that's another inspiring performance and thanks for continuing to post the vids. Very cool stuff!
posted by snsranch at 4:46 PM on December 13, 2010

Your voice sounds great on this, Flapjax. It has a really nice reverb on it -- what is that?
posted by unSane at 6:45 PM on December 13, 2010

Thanks for listening, and for your comments, friends!

Video now on Vimeo, too.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:31 AM on December 14, 2010

unSane, there are actually two verbs combined here: one is the reverb I usually use for live shows, which is built into the Behringer mini-mixer that I route vocals and instruments through. It's a small room reverb. It's not the greatest or anything, but I prefer it to being at the mercy of whatever reverb happens to be at the venue, cause at least I know it and I don't have to take time at soundcheck trying to get something decent. So, there's that, but then I took the 2-track master (recorded from a line out of the mini-mixer) and added some nice sounding reverb from a Lexicon plug in. I forget exactly what it was: some kind of medium room that I messed around with a bit and threw onto the mix.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:39 AM on December 14, 2010