Anatomic Reaction

Indicia Written: music early 2014? lyrics mostly 2010-03-08 (see /archive) Recorded: just before SRS -- a week or two, I think? I wanted to finish the song before doing the thing, since it's clearly from the POV of someone who is going to but hasn't yet. Listen on SoundCloud or over here → The vocals need redoing, though.

Demo Recording

This was my first recording since beginning transition and also my first recording using only open-source tools (I used Audacity running on Ubuntu MATE instead of CoolEdit Pro running on Windows XP). There are a lot of things that need to be fixed, but I had to stop myself in order to get it mixed and posted before the event. The Fender Rhodes in this recording is actually a digital piano; I have a Fender Rhodes, but it's buried under boxes and there just wasn't time to dig it out.

When the idea for this song first came into my head, my reaction was "OMG, I couldn't possibly write a song about that; people don't want to think about it, it's gross" and so on -- but it just kind of sat there on a tree-branch and tossed ideas at me until I had to write it down (but I still didn't post it publicly). Three years later, people are talking about this stuff a lot more and it doesn't seem nearly as bizarre a topic.

Lyrics

Things never really seemed right on the front of me

It seemed a cruel distortion of humanity

An accident – erroneous ontogeny

And that is why I'm changing my anatomy.

Sometimes the cells divide into calamity

Sometimes I think I must need a lobotomy

Who wants to be a freak from a laboratry

But even so I must change my anatomy.

Ohh... maybe it's best to let it go...

Sometimes the things you think you want are no better than the things you know.

Ohh... if you think things over long enough

you'll begin to wonder whether up is down.

Brains don't always match up with biology

You can't make everything right with technology

But leaving things unchanged just makes a sadder me

So that is why I must change my anatomy.

(solo - 2 verses)

Ohhh... that I could wake up in a different universe

Maybe it would be better, though possibly it could be worse

Ohh... if you doubt yourself hard enough

you'll begin to wonder whether up is down.

I never really wanted to make progeny

I've had more than I wanted of ontogeny

It's time to undo the things that shatter me

And that is why I must change my anatomy.

solo playout - 2 verses

verse chords:

Dm . . Dm7

Gm7. .

A . A7.

Dm . . .