Duration: 10:18
Keys: E minor
Subcollection: Mars suite, foundational pieces, guitar pieces
Story sound clip: water boiling, rocket landing
Main theme:
This is the first piece of the Mars suite, which is composed of all the stories that take place on Mars. All of these Mars pieces are unified musically in a few ways, including the key of E minor, the "Mars winds" effect, and recurring/intermixing of musical themes. Read more about the Mars suite on the subcollections page.
Story
This story is about a future in which black people have been excised from the Earth and relegated to Mars. I begin the music with a calm mood (and the same chords as are found throughout the remaining sections; see below) which represents the peaceful life that the inhabitants of Mars had established, complete with Hattie's pot of boiling soup. Then, around the 1:50 mark, things start to pick up as Willie goes around stirring up trouble prior to the arrival of the Earth craft.
The rocket approaches and lands at 5:43 and everyone is shocked into quiet as they hear from the white man about the demise of their home planet due to irrational war (is there any other kind?). The music settles into a somber mood as we hear a piano playing the same chords (see below) which had previously been used to incite trouble. We also hear the entry of a flute and a new melodic theme at 6:33 which will turn out to be the main theme from "The Visitor" - included here to mark this story's visitor. (Additionally, the piano figure at 6:43 and 6:51 is the main theme from "The Exiles" - included here to mark the exiled nature of the blacks.)
As with the story, things turn out relatively happily and so we have the earlier music return, but in G major instead of E minor. There is also a new section introduced (first at 8:44) which is intended as a celebration of the acceptance of the whites by the blacks. This culminates in the group clapping heard at 9:44.
Music
Musically, this piece was crafted around a particular E minor chord which I discovered on my guitar while at Grand Valley State. It consists of a B - G - B, which gives the chord quite a good spread and an open-sounding quality. This was put together with similarly structured chords (A - F# - A, F# - D - F#, etc.) and a strumming pattern that seemed to fit to create the main verse sections. (My wife has said that the verse strumming reminds her of Michael Jackson's chant from "Wanna Be Startin' Something.") These chords form the basis of the introductory section, the verses at the beginning and end, and the piano interlude in the middle. It is also these chords that are incorporated into other pieces from the Mars Suite to refer back to "The Other Foot."
With regard to form, after the introduction there is a fairly clear verse/chorus structure. However, when these verses and choruses return at the conclusion of the piece we find that the real chorus is the G major section which is first heard at 8:44. So what we previously thought was a chorus (the B minor section) is in fact merely a pre-chorus.
From the second verse onward, I used a reverse guitar effect quite often. I felt that this effect was appropriate, not only because it fit well with the soundscape that I had established thus far, but because the story is about the roles of majority and minority peoples being inverted or reversed. It was also a way for me to pay tribute to "Give it Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The "bridge" section (4:24 - 5:15) did not turn out as well as I had hoped. I do like that it incorporates the main chords of "The Other Foot" in a different way, it gives room for the reverse guitar to be active, and it represents a feeling of building up and anticipation. But it just doesn't sound as good as it did in my head prior to recording.
I was really happy with the bass part in this piece - often times I neglect bass parts in my instrumental music, but it is well represented here. I didn't want to put it way out front because I wanted it to be more of a cool little gem when listeners find it. You can listen to it almost all the way through and hopefully have a good time. Also, with the piano part that is tucked behind the guitar you can hear an example of what I think of as "reflection symmetry." During the first pre-chorus (2:30), the piano is playing various arpeggios (often the three note theme from my earlier album Songs Left Unsung) whereas during the second pre-chorus (3:42) the piano is playing walking octaves. Then, toward the end of the piece, the piano does walking octaves during the third pre-chorus (8:19) and arpeggios during the fourth pre-chorus (9:26). Taking them all together, we have vertical reflection symmetry -- AO|OA.
Finally, I would like to return to the beginning. I finished recording this piece in June 2006, before The Mars Volta's album Amputechture was released. And in my opening I have a slow, swelling (mono) guitar which then takes on a full stereo presence all of a sudden (at 1:40). The Mars Volta employed a similar recording technique and musical effect in their opening track "Vicarious Atonement". I was very excited when I first listened to their album in September 2006 and heard that I had independently come up with an idea similar to one of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's. (There was a similar occurrence with "Kaleidoscope.")
Tidbits
The water boiling at the beginning partners with the witch's brew in "The Exiles".
The introduction was written in the basement of Jim and Chris Scott's house in Allendale, MI.
The looped fret noise beginning at 1:42 was inspired by The Mars Volta's Scabdates live album.
My snapping can be heard through the entire first section.
The strumming during the chorus sections was in tribute to "Venice Queen" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The the piano during the calm, reflective section was recorded in one take and largely improvised.
The clappers near the end of the piece are myself and my brothers Isiah and Drew.
Composer Trademarks
(meter/phrasing change-up) an added measure before the first and third pre-chorus (e.g., 2:28) which is not there before the second and fourth pre-chorus; the guitar chordal ascension from C to D+4 to Em takes on different durations (e.g., 2:59 vs 5:27 vs 9:32); and at the end the second real chorus uses A+2 - C7 instead of C7 - A+2 as the first one did.
(motif pile-on) the final chorus at 9:43 contains the strumming guitar and the piano as well as the return of the chorus effect from the middle section and the reverse guitar.
My Favorite Moments
Full stereo chord at 1:40.
The bouncing piano during the first part of the second verse.
The bass part throughout.
The wall of sound at 5:15.
The acoustic entrance at 9:27.
The high piano at 9:53.