(Copyright 2009) Written by James Y. Giguere and Zach Forsberg-Lary. Performed by Isthmus and the Lisps (James Y. Giguere, Zach Forsberg-Lary, and Erika Young). Recorded by Isthmus and the Lisps at 42 Fairway Rd. in Newark DE.
This was a highly conceptual album. Jim and I have had conversations about rock-operas, albums that gain deeper meaning if listened to in their entirety (rather than as individual songs), concept albums, what makes them good or interesting and what causes them to fall short of their potential. This “Trip-Hopera” is an experiment in storytelling and in song-writing for both of us. We came up with the concept and the narrative arc over lunch one day and the whole project snow-balled and consumed our free time until it was finished. We may never try anything like this again, but it was a good experience (for me anyway).
Remnants: A Trip-Hopera by Isthmus and the Lisps
I. Final Broadcast
A satellite geosynchronously orbits Earth. Its attention is fixed on a sliver of biological existence. Information is received and transmitted. Millions of signals are processed each second. Its function is according to its design. The satellite fulfills its purpose coldly, mechanically, perfectly. Without warning, a near-unanimous agreement of signals overpowers the cacophony. An overlap of electrical data on this scale is highly anomalous. The content of the broadcast is urgent; it echoes with importance. Earth will soon cease to support life. The satellite transmits the news to billions of computers, televisions, radios, and phones with mundane clarity. In the brief silence after the transmission ceases, the satellite casts its steely gaze upon the inscrutable blue orb; the focus of its daily revolution. Panicked telephone calls soon replace the silence.
II. Calling Out (Searching for Contact)
A man is alone. He reacts to the news as a spider casting a web. He attempts cellular reconciliations with those he has abandoned and those who have abandoned him. His voice becomes a digital signal, which is interpreted by an orbiting satellite, which then re-directs the transmission to another cellular device. However, this particular voice is never re-converted into sound waves by the end users. This voice will remain stored on a remote server as digital data for centuries. It will remain as such even after every living body on the earth has decayed. The satellite does not understand. It has not been programmed to consider human interactions or the meanings behind them. The man thinks he might understand.
III. Disquiet/Desperation (Meaning in a Bottle)
The man has exhausted the combinations of digits that represent people that represent distractions from his thoughts. He makes a drink. Only one television channel continues to broadcast. Men stand at pulpits, frothing and raving about heaven and hell. He makes another drink. He chooses to ignore the 7:00 PM curfew. He walks alone through a city that he has never seen so empty. He brings his drink. He visits places that hold meaning. Their significance will perish with the people that made them so. He finds a piece of chalk. He lies with his cheek to the pavement, scribbling. His bottle is empty. He decides that only drugs will sufficiently slow his mind. Strong drugs. He uses his cell phone one last time before chucking it down a storm drain. He sends a message to an acquaintance: “meet me at the park now”.
IV. Transmission Error (Metal Intention?)
A satellite geosynchronously orbits Earth. It receives a series of characters. The satellite pauses. It transmits the message. A woman receives it. The sender is unfamiliar to the recipient. She pauses. Some force pulls her from her home. She chooses to leave her parents and siblings. They are huddled together, watching the glow of the television. She jots a note and tacks it to the door. She slips out through the garage. Does the satellite miscalculate? Is it overwhelmed by the multitude of communications being sent? Why this particular error? Does this elaborate mesh of circuits and steel have the power or will to affect a world that it has merely observed for decades?
V. Meeting (Sleeping)
A woman walks alone in the public park. She is not certain whom or what she expects to find. There is a man on a bench, head in hands. He is startled by her approach. They speak, though they have never seen each other before. Secretly, they are both thankful for the mis-delivered message. They walk together through the park. They walk together through the city. They pass deserted gas stations, markets, and homes as the sun rises. The feelings of comfort and attraction they are sharing toward each other are magnified by looming apprehension. Perhaps the trajectory of their relationship is accelerated by doomed circumstances. They intend to remain together for the final day of Earth’s existence. They move through the city.
VI. Departure (They Stumble that Run Fast)
A man and a woman are no longer alone. The man is reinvigorated. He intensely feels emotions he had thought were dead. He accepts the fate of this planet. In the fading sunlight of the only day the two have spent together, the finality of the immediate future overwhelms the woman. She begins to fear that her feelings are nothing more than the product of a frightened and confused soul. She decides to return to her family. They separate.
VII. Reflection (It’s Coming)
The man lies on his roof. The streets flood. The Earth groans. He looks toward the stars, visible as never before from within this darkened metropolis. One seems brighter than the others. It remains fixed overhead while the others shift with each passing hour. All life on Earth gradually perishes.
VIII. Remnants (Searching for Contact)
A satellite geosynchronously orbits the Earth. It watches the slow extinction of the lives that created it and gave it purpose. Stray electrical signals will continue to be received and redirected until gravity overcomes inertia and the machine crashes into the sea. Static, bits of voice, music, sirens and blips. Other electromagnetic waves continue to travel past the satellite, beyond the solar system toward distant reaches of explored space and beyond. They are the remnants of a deceased species.
