goboymusic

[goboymusic]

J. Cole’s “1985” is my favorite diss track (aimed at Lil Pump). Ludacris’s “Bada Boom” is a close 2nd (aimed at Drake).

Rage is the emotion that fueled the first lyrics written after a seven-year musical #hiatus. “Give me that #dopamine, because without it I’m a loaded gun aiming right at me”.

The rest of this post might sound somewhat sarcastic, but I promise it’s 100% heartfelt. Mature, grownup, cheesy mode engage: while the lyrics of “Dopamine” were fueled by anger, and possibly undiagnosed depression, the creative release that came with working on music again after seven years brought about a feeling of euphoria that I hadn’t experienced before. I sobbed during the creation of this song, not out of sadness, but out of the joy of rediscovering creativity (more about the hiatus in posts 23 and 36). The combination of dark lyrics and euphoric feelings was strange.

This emotional release continued throughout songs 40-49. Long, ugly sobs for each of them.

The production quality is rough. I had to relearn how to make things sound good again after the seven-year hiatus, and I didn’t nail it here. I could go back and tweak the mix, but it’s important for my mental health to push forward with new content rather than revise old content. I swiftly turn into a neurotic mess when editing old content.

Those seven years were spent as a cog in the machine that is corporate America. There’s a quote by Henry David Thoreau that says “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This rings true to me, as most of our adult lives seem to be geared towards keeping our “superiors” happy over anything else. But hey, it’s better than feudalism.

A bass boost was added to songs 37-101 in Nov, 2021, while I was stuck at home with covid. As a result, this song feels more powerful. The bass boost isn’t a simple plugin nonchalantly added to each song, it was a process that took about 3.5 hours per song, or one whole month to complete all songs. Admittedly, I pushed the bass boost too far for some of them, resulting in too much distortion. The bass in some songs sounds like a freaking earthquake (unnecessarily pronounced low frequencies 20 - 50 Hz). Might dial that back someday. The bass boost was also applied to every song on GoBoy 6 and beyond.

#GoBoy #Dopamine #40

[goboymusic]

Every popular video game has its own internet community of passionate fans. My favorite of these communities is the #SmashBros fanbase. Contagiously passionate and positive. On the opposite side of things, you have #TheLastOfUs fanbase, who is constantly at war with one another over whether or not the sequel was good.

The song #IDontCare is 50% finished, but it was released anyway. First and (hopefully) last time that ever happens.

Like “My Love, The Robot (36),” this song was tossed together in 2012, but at that point I had lost the confidence to upload new music to the internet after the personal disaster that was “Throwback (Song 23),” which you can read about in post 23 (full story on Tumblr).

In late 2019, when getting back into music, I found this old mp3 file titled “I Don’t Care”, but not the original Logic Pro file, thus I was stuck with what I had, a 50% finished electropop song. All in all, it was still catchy enough to be released, so it was bundled up with the other songs on GoBoy 3 and uploaded to the internet.

The vocals that you hear are placeholders and were meant to be re-recorded for the final version. Hands down the roughest vocals in any GoBoy song.

In April, 2021, after realizing that many of GoBoy’s songs dragged on for too long, almost all of GoBoy 3, 4 and 5‘s songs were restructured to be under 3 minutes (preferably under 2:30), including this song. I became okay with releasing songs around the 2 min mark after realizing The Beatles and The Beach Boys had some songs around that length. In an attempt to increase replay value in this streaming era, most of GoBoy’s songs are now purposely around 2:20.

A bass boost was added to songs 37-101 in Nov, 2021, while I was stuck at home with covid. As a result, this song feels more powerful. The bass boost isn’t a simple plugin nonchalantly added to each song, it was a process that took about 3.5 hours per song, or one whole month to complete all songs. Admittedly, I pushed the bass boost too far for some of them, resulting in too much distortion. The bass in some songs sounds like a freaking earthquake (unnecessarily pronounced low frequencies 20 - 50 Hz). Might dial that back someday. The bass boost was also applied to every song on GoBoy 6 and beyond.

#GoBoy #IDontCare #39

[goboymusic]

Finally worked up the courage to watch the horror film #Skinamarink. Is it scary? At times, unbearably so. The film is up for interpretation, but from what I observed, (SPOILERS) it’s a four-year-old child’s perspective of a home intruder wreaking havoc within their family home at night. The concepts of a “home intruder,” sadism, violence, death, etc are so foreign to the child that the events are perceived and depicted in an almost supernatural, indescribable, fractured, and somewhat nonlinear way. The director does an amazing job at making the viewer feel like the child with the use of nostalgic atmospheres and camera angles that make everything look gigantic or tall. Very creative horror film.

”Blue” contains whisper singing, the only style that I had the confidence to do at this point in time as a result of the personal disaster that was “Throwback (23),” which you can read about in post 23 (full story on Tumblr).

The singing style was inspired by “4 AM” by @kaskade. The songwriting and production styles were inspired by MGMT (@whoisMGMT), whom blew up when I was in high school.

The lyrics were written when I was 21. They depict a bright-eyed, new age perspective on finding happiness. My bright-eyed, new age perspective has been obliterated, though my appreciation of happiness remains.

The instruments have a country-esque feel, taking some inspiration from that genre. Maybe this is one of the reasons Spotify’s algorithm considered GoBoy to be a country artist for the first two years of it’s existence (Spotify still thinks GoBoy is a Christian artist for whatever reason).

In April, 2021, after realizing that many of GoBoy’s songs dragged on for too long, almost all of GoBoy 3, 4 and 5‘s songs were restructured to be under 3 minutes (preferably under 2:30), including this song. I became okay with releasing songs around the 2 min mark after realizing The Beatles and The Beach Boys had some songs around that length. In an attempt to increase replay value in this streaming era, most of GoBoy’s songs are now purposely around 2:20 (excerpts from post 37).

A bass boost was added to songs 37-101 in Nov, 2021, while I was stuck at home with covid. As a result, this song feels more powerful. The bass boost isn’t a simple plugin nonchalantly added to each song, it was a process that took about 3.5 hours per song, or one whole month to complete all songs. Admittedly, I pushed the bass boost too far for some of them, resulting in too much distortion. The bass in some songs sounds like a freaking earthquake (unnecessarily pronounced low frequencies 20 - 50 Hz). Might dial that back someday. The bass boost was also applied to every song on GoBoy 6 and beyond (excerpt from post 37).

#GoBoy #Blue #38

[goboymusic]

Sleep paralysis (or the #oldhag) is the scariest natural phenomenon that I know of. It’s happened to two people that I know personally, and they both said it was the scariest thing that’s happened to them.

Ever hear an original song within one of your dreams? “Cocoa Lime” is one of those songs. Heard it in a dream, woke up, realized the song didn’t exist in reality, immediately hopped on Logic Pro and programmed it before it was forgotten.

This has happened three times: Cocoa Lime (37), Baby Blue (69), and Seattle (113). For “Cocoa Lime,” the dream provided the melodies and chord structures. I had to figure out the beat and lyrics.

Like “My Love, The Robot (36),” this song remained in my Dropbox for seven years before being released. It was produced in 2012, but at that point I had lost the confidence to upload new music to the internet, a result of the personal disaster that was “Throwback (23),” which you can read about in post 23 (full story on Tumblr).

My youngest sister convinced me to upload songs 36-39 in late 2019. The personal baggage around the act of uploading new music to the internet caused my body to tremble uncontrollably. I know that’s TMI. A bodily stress reaction was interesting (excerpt from post 36).

The original song had a third verse with “new age” spiritual lyrics. I removed it recently because I couldn’t stomach it. “New age” spirituality was an interest of mine at the time of writing this song. Those movements are efficient at improving your optimism, so I don’t dislike them, but their beliefs tend to be based on pseudoscience.

In April, 2021, after realizing that many of GoBoy’s songs dragged on for too long, almost all of GoBoy 3, 4 and 5‘s songs were restructured to be under 3 minutes (preferably under 2:30), including this song. I became okay with releasing songs around the 2 min mark after realizing The Beatles and The Beach Boys had some songs around that length. In an attempt to increase replay value in this streaming era, most of GoBoy’s songs are now purposely around 2:20.

A bass boost was added to songs 37-101 in Nov, 2021, while I was stuck at home with covid. As a result, this song feels more powerful. The bass boost isn’t a simple plugin nonchalantly added to each song, it was a process that took about 3.5 hours per song, or one whole month to complete all songs. Admittedly, I pushed the bass boost too far for some of them, resulting in too much distortion. The bass in some songs sounds like a freaking earthquake (unnecessarily pronounced low frequencies 20 - 50 Hz). Might dial that back someday. The bass boost was also applied to every song on GoBoy 6 and beyond.

#GoBoy #Cocoa #Lime #37

[goboymusic]

#CarlPanzram is the closest thing to a real world Heath Ledger-style #Joker that we’ve ever had. An intelligent, criminal agent of chaos.

”My Love, The Robot (36)” was produced in 2012, but remained in my Dropbox for 7 years before being released, a delay that resulted from losing the confidence to upload new music to the internet. That lack of confidence was a result of the personal disaster that was “Throwback (23),” which you can read about in post 23 (full story on Tumblr).

My youngest sister convinced me to upload “My Love, The Robot” in late 2019. The personal baggage around the act of uploading new music to the internet caused my body to tremble uncontrollably. I know that’s TMI. A bodily stress reaction was interesting.

The reception of this song on Facebook is what convinced me to create new music for the first time in 7 years, which ultimately kicked off GoBoy, the musical journey that I’m on now.

During the seven-year hiatus I suffered heartbreak, worked twelve-hour shifts as a machine operator for a few months, renovated an industrial plant for a year, went on two cross country road trips, worked as a sound editor in the film industry in Los Angeles for sixteen months, did one-off experiments with different drugs just to experience them, lived as a traveling nomad out of my car for sheer adventure (one of the funnest periods of my life), became one of those running-fanatics where I ran seven miles per day for a period of time, helped manage a family owned industrial company, hired and fired people, reached a low point where I seriously contemplated suicide for a few months and developed a fool-proof suicide plan, spent three years developing websites / apps that failed to gain traction, and that’s just about it. A mixture of failures and successes, positive experiences and negative.

The song title “My Love, The Robot” was inspired by a short-lived electronic band of the same name that consisted of high school classmates. They blew my fucking mind.

Musically, this song was inspired by MGMT and The Postal Service (the band, not USPS).

Regarding the cause of the hiatus between GoBoy 2 and 3: “Throwback” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #MyLove #Robot #36

[goboymusic]

Watched the original #Chucky film Child’s Play (1988) for the first time. Crazy that it led to a massively successful media franchise with sequels and merchandise. It’s really entertaining, but I wouldn’t have expected it to blow up the way it did.

Upon release, “Captain Red’s Voyage” was my least favorite song on GoBoy 2, but to my surprise, it has proven to be one of the more popular songs on the album, having the 4th best streams per listener ratio. This has happened a number of times, where a release that I’m not fond of ends up performing well. For example, I didn’t like “In Love (84)” when it was released, but it swiftly became one of GoBoy’s top songs. Inversely, songs that I feel very passionately about often don’t jive with listeners, and fall flat. You never quite know how the audience is going to react.

The dueling guitars at 2:12 were inspired by the original #Pokemon anime that I watched as a child. It has a bright-eyed, youthful, optimistic, “gotta catch ‘em all” vibe.

I really don’t like my vocals in this one, but others don’t seem to mind. I say “code red, grab a weapon of choice” multiple times between 1:39 - 2:12, and it just sounds too amateur to me.

This is a filler track. 12 songs was a self-imposed requirement for GoBoy 2, so “Sexy Lady” and “Captain Red’s Voyage” were quickly tossed together to meet that quantity. That said, both filler songs are pretty good, and they rank well among the others in terms of stream counts, especially “Captain Red’s Voyage” (excerpt from post 34).

For “Dank Sinatra (Song 30),” a synthesizer was tweaked until it sounded like a guitar. The results were so pleasing that the same synth has been used in numerous songs since then, the most recent being “Wayne Henley (123)” Since I can’t actually play this song on guitar, writing the solo was a slow process of programming each note one by one in Logic Pro (excerpt from post 31).

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #Captain #Red #35

[goboymusic]

I think it’s safe to say #hiphop / #rap has the most passionate music culture in the US right now. While there are a few dozen top dogs in hip hop at any given moment (currently #KanyeWest, #Drake, etc), there are hundreds of underground hip hop artists with rough production quality that easily pull millions of monthly listeners. You don’t often see that kind of love for underground artists in other genres.

This song is an ode to attractive women over the age of 40. Everyone loves an attractive older woman. Excuse me while I use the hashtags #milf #cougar #matron

Musically, this song is inspired by @ratatat and @kidcudi.

This is a filler track. 12 songs was a self-imposed requirement for GoBoy 2, so “Sexy Lady” and “Captain Red’s Voyage” were quickly tossed together to meet that quantity. That said, both filler songs are pretty good, and they rank well among the other songs on GoBoy 2 in terms of stream counts, especially “Captain Red’s Voyage.”

There’s not much to say about the writing or production process for this particular song. Logic Pro was opened, experiments were made, and eight or nine hours later, a song was finished. Only way a GoBoy song could be completed that quickly is if it’s instrumental. Vocals usually take multiple days, weeks, or on rare occasions, months to mix.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #SexyLady #34

[goboymusic]

People want a faster paced “Wayne Henley,” so I’m cranking the tempo up to dance / mosh level (+15 bpm), releasing a 2nd version, and seeing how it goes.

“We Came For #Blood” has the highest streams per listener ratio of any GoBoy song, at about 6.8. While the streams/listener ratio is healthy, the total listener count is less than GoBoy’s poppy stuff. The peeps who like this song are a small, passionate group.

The vocals in “We Came For Blood” were inspired by the vocals at the start of “Diamonds Aren’t Forever” by @bringmethehorizon. I found myself listening to the intro of that song again and again just to continually hear the intro vocals. My intention was to come up with a similar chant that could be looped over some dubstep breakdowns and EDM beats.

The vocals were recorded in my first car, a hatchback Toyota Yaris, along with most of the screamo vocals on this album. I constructed a makeshift mobile studio and drove to an area where no one would hear me scream my guts out (excerpt from post 26).

Some of the wobble bass rhythms are inspired by the artist Feed Me.

At the time of making ”We Came For Blood,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “We Came For Blood,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for ”We Came For Blood,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #Blood #33

[goboymusic]

I’m releasing vocal tracks of GoBoy songs over the next few weeks. Anyone can use the vocal tracks commercially in their own music without my permission as long as they add GoBoy as a featured artist.

The song title “Leave the Gun, Take the #Cannoli” is taken from one of the most famous lines from The #Godfather (1972 film), a film that everyone should have on their watch list. It’s also the only reason many of us know about cannoli.

This song was an attempt to sing again after dealing with the personal disaster that was "Throwback (Song 23),” which ultimately resulted in a seven-year musical hiatus (more on that in post 23). I was so insecure about my vocals that I added a plug-in that lowered the formant of the vocal tracks in this song, thus making them a little less recognizable.

The chorus was inspired by @Deadmau5, and the verses were inspired by #metalcore music (a genre that consumed my life in high school).

I remember my older sister stumbling upon this song on a burned CD that was left in a family car, and she left me a voicemail afterwards saying something like “is this song made by you? It’s surprisingly good, and you should probably try to sell it,” a compliment that’s uncharacteristic of her. It’s moments like that that confirm I’m not a complete lunatic for producing music, and that I’m actually pretty okay at it.

The chorus of “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” is stellar, but the dubstep breakdown is kinda meh. Inversely, the dubstep breakdown in “Meet Spartacus” is stellar, but the rest of the song is kinda meh. I wish I had combined the dubstep breakdown in “Meet Spartacus” with the chorus in “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” to create a superior song, but that idea wouldn’t arise until years after both songs were released, and after I had lost the Logic Pro files for both of them.

The chorus melodies were eventually reused for "Listen Closely (Song 46).” I always liked the back and forth between the synth melody and vocal melody in the chorus, but always felt they weren't utilized well enough. "Listen Closely" really focuses on those melodies in a way that "Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli" doesn’t.

At the time of making ”Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for ”Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #Cannoli #32

[goboymusic]

I want to see a dark #Mario game where he struggles with PTSD and crippling paranoia as a result of continually defending his girlfriend from a murderous, serial-kidnapper, 10-foot-tall, dragon-turtle.

“Song of a Thousand Guitar Solos” was inspired by #AvengedSevenfold’s one-minute long guitar soloing segment in “#BatCountry”, which is arguably the best part of the song. My only issue with “Bat Country” is that the guitar soloing segment isn’t long enough, so I decided to make a 2+ minute song of only guitar solos to scratch the itch to hear more.

For “Dank Sinatra (Song 30),” a synthesizer was tweaked until it sounded like a guitar. The results were so pleasing that the same synth has been used in numerous songs since then, the most recent being “Wayne Henley (Song 123).” Since I can’t actually play a competent solo on an electric guitar, writing the solo was a slow process of programming each note one by one in Logic Pro.

In GoBoy 2, the distorted guitar synth that was developed for “Dank Sinatra” was used again in “Song of a Thousand Guitar Solos,” “We Came For Blood” and “Captain Red’s Voyage.”

The segments with #duelingguitars consist of 2 synthesizer tracks harmonizing with one another, one panned slightly left, and the other panned slightly right.

I think dueling guitars can be classified as “sexy,” the same way an exotic sports car can be sexy.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #GuitarSolo #GuitarSolos #31

[goboymusic]

I’ve been peripherally watching a #ResidentEvil 4 Remake playthrough while working on song 125, and it is hands down the most visually entertaining game I’ve ever watched. Horrific and bonkers epic.

This song rotates between 3 distinct styles: #techno (starts at 0:14), #metalcore (starts at 0:42), and #duelingguitars (starts at 1:09).

The intro does what many intros do: set the key and tempo. That way the listener isn’t scrambling to figure out what they’re hearing when the meat of the song begins.

About the techno segment at 0:14 - the synth melody was taken from the bridge in “Partycore (song 18).” Once in a while I’ll reuse old melodies if I don’t think they were utilized well enough the first time around (i.e. reusing the verse melody of “Sex Song” for the verse melody of “Guess How Much I Care”). The rhythm synth underneath the melody was inspired by Darude’s “Sandstorm”.

About the metalcore segment at 0:42 - needless to say this segment was inspired by the metalcore genre (which consumed much of my life in high school), with the aggressive double kick drumming and bass / rhythm synth landing on each kick. I was part of a metalcore band during my teen years and had some experience songwriting in that genre. The “and here we go bitch” and “suck my dick” vocals are mine with a plugin that drops the pitch and formant.

About the dueling guitar segment at 1:09 - the dueling guitars were inspired by DragonForce and Avenged Sevenfold, two of the best dueling guitar bands out there (August Burns Red is also amazing at it). Surprise surprise, this song doesn’t use guitars. Instead, a synthesizer was tweaked until it sounded like a guitar. The results were so pleasing that the same synth has been used in numerous songs since then, the most recent being “Wayne Henley.”

"Justin Timberbaked" or "Dank Sinatra.” The title was a toss up between the two, both of which combine a celebrity name with cannabis lingo. Typical late teen / young adult humor of the early 2010s.

“Dank Sinatra” has consistently been the 3rd most popular song on GoBoy 2, with "Zombies vs. Aliens" in 2nd place and "We Came For Blood" in 1st.

At the time of making ”Dank Sinatra,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Dank Sinatra,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “Dank Sinatra,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #DankSinatra #30

[goboymusic]

The docuseries #TheJinx on HBO Max has one of the biggest “oh shit” mic drop moments at the end of the last episode that I’ve ever seen in a piece of media. Definitely worth watching.

The #MelGibson film #Apocalypto inspired the song “I Am Jaguar Paw,” in which the main character's name is Jaguar Paw. Sadly, that movie flew under the radar because of its subtitles and mixed critic reviews. In my opinion, it’s one of the most gut wrenching, intense films ever made, and it deserves to have been seen by everyone.

The intro of “I Am Jaguar Paw” sets the stage of someone on their last legs. The heavy breathing is mixed with machinery audio to make it sound more disturbing (diverging from the historic setting of Apocalypto, but staying true to its focus on the struggle to survive). Clearly, with sounds of machinery / computer equipment, this person is being assisted in survival.

The intro is around 40 seconds, which is a good way to lose listeners before the song begins. Nonetheless, this has remained one of the more popular songs on GoBoy 2. Had the intro been removed, maybe it'd be the most popular.

The breakdown at 1m 15s represents a different scenario. It's loud and violent, representing an able-bodied person fighting for their life. Against what? An animal? Serial killer? Heavy object that has crushed their legs? That's up to the listener.

Musically, this song is meant to cover a wide spectrum of styles, from the sound design intro, to the violent breakdown, to the calm piano and synth segment at 3m 34s. A journey of sorts.

Most of the screamo vocals on this album were recorded in my first car, a hatchback Toyota Yaris. I constructed a makeshift mobile studio and drove to an area where no one would hear me scream my guts out (excerpt from post 26).

At the time of making ”I Am Jaguar Paw,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “I Am Jaguar Paw,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “I Am Jaguar Paw,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #JaguarPaw #29

[goboymusic]

Went down the rabbit hole of #emorap over the past few days, an enormously successful genre that I hadn’t explored deeply before. While I prefer the genres of pop-punk, metal and electropop, the artists behind emo rap are easily the most interesting people in the music industry in recent years (#JuiceWRLD, #XXXTENTACION, #LilPeep, to name a few). It makes perfect sense to me that the genre has exploded the way that it has, given the artists’ personalities, backstories and aesthetics.

During the creation of “Meet #Spartacus,” I was watching Spartacus (Starz TV series). The series influenced the song title and the "FREEDOM!!" chant heard before the breakdown.

#AndyWhitfield, who portrayed Spartacus, almost turned me gay. Dude died of cancer after season 1 and was replaced for season 2. What an amazing actor. RIP.

The guitar riff at 1:29 has a stoic and heroic feel, fitting the portrayal of Spartacus in the series.

The guitars and double kicks are inspired by the metalcore genre, which consumed my life in high school.

The dubstep breakdown in “Spartacus” is stellar, but the rest of the song is kinda meh. Inversely, the chorus of “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” is stellar, but the dubstep breakdown is kinda meh. I wish I had combined the dubstep breakdown in “Spartacus” with the chorus in “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” to create a superior song, but that idea wouldn’t arise until years later.

At the time of making ”Meet Spartacus,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Meet Spartacus,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “Meet Spartacus,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #Spartacus #28

[goboymusic]

I’m uploading a new version of “Wayne Henley” in a few minutes where the chorus starts at 0:12 rather than 1:08. The new version also has a bass boost. I think “Wayne Henley” is really special, and is easily GoBoy’s best song. Everyone loves the chorus, so why not jump into it as quickly as possible?

”Song You Play After Sex” attracts the attention of new listeners because of its title. Why would one play this song after sex? You’ll have to find out. Click it. Do it.

The original song title was something like “Use Your Chainsaw,” but the repetitive “yeah” chants made me think of this title. When I hear the chants, I often imagine a comedic condom commercial where some guy struts down the street, smiling ear to ear, chanting “yeah” in unison with everyone around him, because he just had sex.

The dance/techno sections are inspired by @Deadmau5.

The guitars and double kicks are inspired by the metalcore genre, which consumed my life in high school.

At the time of making ”Song You Play After Sex,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Song You Play After Sex,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “Song You Play After Sex,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #SongYouPlayAfterSex #Sex #27

[goboymusic]

#XXXTENTACION and #LilPeep blew up, impacted the music industry, and died during a period of my life where I was not listening to music (between GoBoy 2 and 3). Crazy. I completely missed the “SoundCloud emo rap” thing. Very interesting to catch up on these guys.

#Muse + #Ratatat + #metalcore + #dubstep = “Scarecrow Wants Brain (Song 26)”

#GuitarHero introduced me to “Uprising” by Muse when I was in middle school. I loved it enough that I wanted to pay homage to it with this song. If you compare “Uprising” and “Scarecrow Wants Brain,” you’ll notice similarities.

The lyrics “WHAT DO YOU LIVE FOR?!?!” were recorded in my first car, a hatchback Toyota Yaris, along with most of the screamo vocals on this album. Constructed a makeshift mobile studio and drove to an area where no one would hear me scream my guts out. The screaming wrecked my vocal cords for about a week.

“Brain” is slang for blowjob. Scarecrow wants a blowjob.

At the time of making ”Scarecrow Wants Brain,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Scarecrow Wants Brain,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “Scarecrow Wants Brain,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #Scarecrow #26

[goboymusic]

I don’t know how the YouTube algorithm determined I would want to watch “wild hog trapping,” but it did and I’m fascinated.

#Dubstep + #Metalcore = Zombies vs. Aliens. While my love for dubstep has faded in time, metalcore is a genre that I often revisit.

There’s a group of people on the internet that want me to go back to the style of music of “Zombies vs. Aliens,” and to them I say where the heck were you in 2012? The album GoBoy 2 has a passionate, microscopic fan base that seemingly didn’t share it with anyone (evident by the “streams to listeners” ratios of 6:1). If you like something that somebody makes, share it.

I was introduced to the concept of aliens by watching E.T. as a child, and it scared the shit out of me. To this day, a glimpse of E.T.’s face gets my blood racing. As for zombies, my love for them arose after watching Dawn of the Dead (2004 film) on my friend’s iPod. It was my introduction to the zombie genre, and similarly to E.T., it scared the shit out of me, especially after watching the post credits scene in which all of the surviving characters that we had come to know and love over the course of the film are killed by a horde of zombies. No one is safe in the zombie genre.

At the time of making “Zombies vs. Aliens,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Zmovies vs. Aliens,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “Zombies vs. Aliens,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).

The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.

Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

#GoBoy #Zombies #Aliens #25

[goboymusic]

Are food delivery services the best thing to arise from covid? I’ve used #grubhub every day for a week.

Ambient electronics and calm piano. The brief instrumental phase (songs 24-35) begins with #LucidDream.

“Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet.

To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).

After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).

“Lucid Dream” was originally produced and released as part of Drop Out University, an album that consisted of songs 18-22, in addition to remastered versions of “Emily” and each song of the N3RD EP (songs 10-15). It was meant to be an interlude of sorts, serving as a peaceful break from the loud ruckus of most of GoBoy’s songs. The reason “Lucid Dream” is song 24 is because the final version was’t completed until after “Throwback,” for GoBoy 2.

The songwriting was inspired by a short-lived electronic band called My Love, The Robot that consisted of high school classmates in #MetroDetroit. They had a song that consisted of the same chord structure and feel.

“Lucid Dream” is meant to be one of those songs that you listen to while driving at night on an empty, country road.

#GoBoy #LucidDream #24