אהרון פריד |
Aaron FreedKătēgorĭkḗ ăpologĭ́ā |
“Ambush in Rattlesnake Gulch (metal remix)” is composed by Brian Boyko & Aaron Freed, with lyrics excerpted from “Diēs Īrae” (author unknown, traditionally attributed to Thomas of Celano).
All other songs are composed by Aaron Freed, with a few interpolations of brief parts of other works:
(Mick Jagger & Keith Richards)
Borrows chord sequence, since this is just a crude demo of time signature modulation
(Eric Clapton & George Harrison)
I interpolated the main bass riff once purely for the lols
(Tuomas Holopainen)
I adapted the chord progression from 2:26-2:44 from “White Lands of Empathica”
(Thierry Amar, David Bryant, Aidan Girt, Timothy Herzog, Efrim Menuck, Mike Moya, Mauro Pezzente, & Sophie Trudeau)
I adapted the chord progression more or less wholesale
(John Lennon & Paul McCartney)
Due to its similar tempo and overall mood, I threw in a few stylistic references to it
(Tuomas Holopainen)
Heavily inspired by the main melody & harmony of “Four Point Six”
This album’s origins necessarily made it a bit of a hodgepodge. Its tracks fit in three broad categories.
| Why Tracks Were Held Over | |
|---|---|
| Track | Reason |
| “Ambush in Rattlesnake Gulch” | not primarily my composition |
| “Sympathy for the Time Signature” | demonstration of time signature modulation, not a proper song; chords are from the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” |
| “Polyrhythm Demonstration” | not a song of any sort |
| «Κοιμητήρῐον» (drone only) | stripped-down mix of «Κοιμητήρῐον» (Ka’het attack) |
Miscellaneous bonus tracks from and , this album’s predecessors. Since I strictly limited each album to two audio CDs in length, four contemporaneous tracks didn’t fit onto either album for various reasons. I’ve thus collected them here for listeners’ convenience (as a great band once said, give me convenience or give me death).
| Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down | |
|---|---|
| Original | Flipped |
| “Above Cloud City” | “Below Cloud City” |
| «Οἶκος κεκλεισμένων θῠρῐ́δων, ᾰ̓κρόπολῐς σῑγῆς» | «Οἶκος ᾰ̓νοικτῶν θῠρῐ́δων, ᾰ̓κρόπολῐς ῠ̔́μνων» |
| «Πλέοντες ἐν τῷ αἰθέρῐ» | «βυθῐ́ζοντες εἰς Ἔρεβος» |
| “Blood on the Sequencer” | “Blood Beneath the Sequencer” |
| “Cursor sīcārum” | “Sīcae cursōris” |
I’ve also begun experimenting with inverting existing compositions’ pitches. I expect to give these their own album when I’ve made enough of them, but for now, they’re this album’s next five tracks.
As of this writing, my newest songs (in varying stages of completion) close out this album.
I eventually plan to organize this album a bit better (as I said, the pitch-flipped songs may get an entirely separate album when I’ve made enough of them), but I doubt I’ll have the mental energy to do so until I finalize the mixes for and .
For now, I emphatically recommend that listeners new to my music start with something else (ideally, , , or ). Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this album. (If you must start here, at least start with the new songs, but even many of those are mere sketches.)
Κᾰτηγορῐκή ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ (romanized Kătēgorĭkḗ ăpologĭ́ā) is deliberately ambiguous Attic Greek.
Take your pick. Accusatory Apologia’s alliterative paradox appeals to me, but it’s not my official translation; ambiguity appeals to me even more. This is one of several reasons I used this title.
Another is that κᾰτηγορῐ́ᾱ (romanized kategoria; modern form: κατηγορία, romanized katigoría) and ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ (romanized ăpologĭ́ā; modern form: απολογία, romanized apología) are antonyms. This paradoxical juxtaposition therefore felt especially pleasing.
I likewise find it pleasing that, beyond all the above meanings, this title could also figuratively mean defensive apology, defensive defense, prosecutorial defense, conditional apology, or unconditional apology. This leads to the question of “Which of these meanings is the intended sense?” I’m sure you’ve already predicted my answer, but if you need a hint, it’s a single three-letter word.
Incidentally, our words categoria, category and categorical descend directly from κατηγορία and κᾰτηγορῐκός (romanized kătēgorĭ́kós; κᾰτηγορῐκή’s root form), though category and categorical didn’t inherit their ancestors’ respective senses of accusation and accusatory; likewise, apologia and apology descend directly from ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ.
In conclusion, language is a land of contrasts.
| Translations of Ancient Greek song titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Greek | Romanized | English |
| Κοιμητήρῐον | Koimētḗrion | Graveyard |
| Οἶκος ᾰ̓νοικτῶν θῠρῐ́δων, ᾰ̓κρόπολῐς ῠ̔́μνων |
Oîkos ănoiktôn thŭrĭ́dōn, ăkrópolĭs hŭ́mnōn |
House of Open Windows, Castle of Songs |
| Βυθῐ́ζοντες εἰς Ἔρεβος | Buthĭ́zontes eis Érebos | Sinking into Erebus |
| Translations of Latin song titles | |
|---|---|
| Latin | English |
| Sīcae cursōris | The Runner’s Blades |
| Nōtiō nivālis | Snowy Notion |
| Caput mortuum | Deadhead |
| Hae eunt ad ūndecim | These Go to Eleven |
| Sexāgintā quattuor | Sixty-Four |
| Digitī | Digits/Fingers |
| Omnēs viae Sōlem dūcunt | All Roads Lead to Sol |
| Celeritās Deī tibī̆, imperātor fusce | God’s Speed to You, Black Emperor |
| Quattuor pūnctum sex miliardum annōrum | Four Point Six Billion Years |
| Vīdī rēs vōs hominēs nē crēderētis | I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe |
[Instrumental]
[Instrumental]
| Latin Lyrics (Lyrica latīna) | English Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Viāvī omnis circum astra Vidē nāvēs fervēntes in Ōrīōne Trabēs C ad portam Tannhäuser Mōmenta erunt perdita in tempore Sed post omnia quae vidēbam Ac post omnia quae faciēbam Prīmae vēritātēs quās cōnstābunt Omnēs viae ad sōlem dūcunt |
I’ve voyaged all around the stars I’ve seen ships on fire in Orion C-beams by the Tannhäuser Gate Moments will be lost in time But after everything I’ve seen And after everything I’ve done The first truths will stay constant All roads lead to the Sun |
||
|
Post īnsidiās Strauss et MIDA Ac rampans ignis ferrum cūdit Nōs vīcerimus mangōnibus Ac ballō Ūnā Obscurā Ac vīsimus ad astrum vagum Sciō nec quamdiū viābō nec quem fiām Sōlum dēstinātiōnem meam Omnēs viae retro sōlem eunt |
After Strauss and MIDA’s machinations After rampant fire forged a sword After we’ve won the war with the slavers After I’ve danced with the Dark One And after we’ve visited the rogue star I know not how long I’ll travel nor who I’ll become I know only my destination All roads lead back to the Sun |
| Attic Greek (Ᾰ̓ττῐκή Ἑλληνῐκή) | Romanized (Rhṓmēĭsméni) | English Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ᾰ̓πᾰντήσομεν ἐν ὠχρῷ σελήνόφωτῐ́ Ἐν κήπῳ εἰς γένεσῐν κόσμου Μᾰχώμεθᾰ ἤ ἔρωτευώμεθᾰ Ᾰ̓πό νῷν αἰωνίου χοροῦ Καί εἰ πᾰ́λῐν σύμβῐβᾰ́σοιμεν Πᾰ́ντες τῠ́ρᾰννοι ὀφείλωσῐ δείσειν Δῐκαιοσῠ́νη καί ἰσότης νῑκήσουσῐν Πᾶσαι ὁδοί ἡγέονται εἰς ἥλῐον! |
Ăpăntḗsomen en ōkhrôi selḗnófōtĭ́ En kḗpōi eis génesĭn kósmou Măkhṓmethă ḗ érōteuṓmethă Ăpó nôin aiōníou khorôu Kaí ei pắlĭn súmbĭbắsoimen Pắntes tŭ́rănnoi ofeílōsĭ deídein Dĭkaiosŭ́nē kaí isót̄es nīkḗsousĭn Pâsai hodoí hēgéontai eis hḗlĭon! |
We’ll meet in the pale moonlight In the garden at the world’s birth We may fight, we may fall in love From our eternal dance And if once more we should unite All tyrants should beware Justice and equality will prevail All roads lead to the Sun! |
|
—Aaron Freed
Tallahassee, FL
January 25, 2025 — April 5, 2025
| # | Note |
|---|---|
| Compositions 2023-2024’s second bonus track, «La fille qui volait les astres», is also Mūsica ex tempore malōrum’s opening track and has thus been excluded. | |
| “Yes.” |