Song Bios for The Complex

Track 1: Above
This serves the same role as “TV Song” on our first record. It’s a short song that introduces many of the instrumental voices used on the album a few at a time. It starts with just the Hammer Dulcimer, then the Drumulum joins in and before long there’s lots of percussion. Finally, the electric guitars and bass enter and the song really kicks into gear.

We call the song “Above” because in our minds we picture the album beginning with the Blue Man standing on a tall roof top looking down on the city from above. He is drawn to the roof top because from there he can observe this giant, man made super organism while still having access to the sky, to something more primordial and transcendent.

We imagine that the Blue Man is observing our culture, the way we interact, and the things we value. He also sees people staring out of their windows. He can tell that these people feel alone but this is puzzling to him. How could so many people living so close together feel alone?

Track 2: Time to Start
This song introduces the theme of exploring the rituals of the rock concert experience including “the basic head-bob,” “the one-armed fist pump,” and “the up and down jumping motion.”

Track 3: Sing Along
This is a collaboration between Blue Man Group, Dave Matthews and Dan the Automator. It's easy to identify the influences of everyone involved, but the final result stretched us all into new territory. The main vocal refrain, “If I sing a song, will you sing along or should I just keep singing right here by myself?” means a lot to us. It kind of captures the vibe of both the character and the album. After the fact, it occurred to us that it also sums up how we feel about having singing on the album. We’re excited about it, but some of our fans can only picture Blue Man Group making instrumental music. We hope that once they hear it they’ll sing along, but you never know. Rick Nelson said it best when he said, well, you know what he said.

Track 4: Up to the Roof
This song depicts a woman who’s fed up in general with societal pressure. In our mind, she might also represent an artist who’s frustrated with the vapid and demeaning nature of what Joni Mitchell called the “star-maker machinery.” The woman says, “Tried to go the way you told me, but each time I got lost. The stairs didn’t lead me anywhere.”

So now she’s ready to find her own route, one that can get her to a place where something meaningful and authentic can be expressed. She’s going to take the fire escape up to the roof. This is a writing tool that we invented. We call it a “metaphor.” Pretty soon, everyone will be doing this, but that’s ok, we’re used to getting ripped off.

This is the first of two guest vocal appearances by Tracy Bonham.

Track 5: Your Attention
This song is the latest chapter in our ongoing fascination with information overload and postmodern “Fragmentia.” At one point in the song three voices speak simultaneously. The voice with the low self-esteem (“Do not listen to my voice…”) is performed by Spalding Gray. This song also contains the first of two guest appearances by turntablist Rob Swift from the X-ecutioners.

Track 6: Persona
We looked up the definition of the word Persona in the dictionary and here’s what it said:

“The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one’s public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self.”

Josh Haden (from the band Spain) provided the vocals. We thought that the deep, haunting resonance of his voice would be perfect for portraying a person who is trapped behind his own cultural mask.

Track 7: Piano Smasher
The title of this song refers to one of our most frequently used “modification” instruments: a piano that has been stripped down to its metal frame and sound board and is smashed with a giant mallet. The percussionists really carry the load on this one.

Track 8: White Rabbit
Esthero was the guest vocalist on this one. Her seductive and enigmatic voice creates a dreamy atmosphere, but it’s never quite clear whether this is a fun dream or a nightmare. Lyrically, although the psychedelic drug aspect of the song seems uniquely late-sixties, the surreal Alice in Wonderland imagery still resonates in our Internet era where people routinely travel down the rabbit hole of the World Wide Web. It always seems like a good idea until you have a “bad trip.”

Track 9: The Current
This song takes place in the subterranean portion of the urban complex. It’s the place where all the phone lines, electrical wires, and Internet connections snake out of sight to their destinations. We wanted to capture the modern paradox of having access to millions of people through electrical current but still being cut off from any real human contact.

It’s also about getting stuck in a pattern, becoming a slave to one’s job or perhaps more specifically, a slave to technology. Musically, we wanted to express the kind of quiet rage that can build up over time when people feel trapped, alone and unable to control their own destiny. To really play up the “Man verses Machine” vibe, we decided to use synthesizer loops and drum machines in the verses. Real drums and guitars interrupt for a moment but then get sucked away and it’s back to the cold, mechanistic sounds. At the chorus, when the protagonist fantasizes about getting away, the guitars and drums finally explode and become the dominant force. But again, it doesn’t last. They never quite break free. The song ends with the machines back in charge.

Track 10: Shadows Part 2
This song contains the second performance by turntablist Rob Swift who trades riffs with a Blue Man playing an Airpole. The Airpole is another of our invented instruments, although “found object instrument” might be a better term because it’s just a flexible boat antenna that the Blue Man uses to slice through the air. We were looking for a song where we could compare the sounds of an Airpole with a scratching performance, and when “Shadows Part 2” started to emerge, we knew that this would be the one. It seemed perfect because in a way, the two parts are musically shadowing each other, struggling to become “one and the same.”

Tracy Bonham delivers her second vocal performance here, showing her range and versatility with her ethereal three-part harmony.

Track 11: What is Rock
This is the album’s only vocal duet, and it features Peter Moore and Arone Dyer. We wanted to capture the significant and yet fleeting unification that can take place in the rock concert experience: “Once the song’s begun the group is one, but once the song is done the group is gone.”

Track 12: The Complex
Here are a few of the definitions of the word Complex:
• Having many varied interrelated parts, patterns, or elements and consequently hard to understand fully.
• A whole composed of interconnected or interwoven parts.
• A building or group of buildings with housing related units.
• A combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behavior.

This is Peter Moore’s second vocal contribution to the album.

Track 13: I Feel Love
One of the reasons we wanted to cover this song was because our Tube instrument does a great imitation of the fast synthesizer arpeggios found in techno music. We thought it would be interesting to take one of the first entirely electronic songs and redo it with real acoustic instruments. The idea was to do a version with lots of human feel, replacing drum machines and synthetic sequencers with real drums, our Tubulum instrument and some good old-fashioned thrashing guitar.

Annette Strean from the band Venus Hum sang on this track and her band mates Tony Miracle and Kip Kubin did the production effects on her voice.

Track 14: Exhibit 13
For information on Exhibit 13, go to exhibit13.com.