Cosmic Cat: A Musical Suite

Cosmic Cat: a Musical Suite (Liner Notes)

When I first set out to make a video version of my Cosmic Cat book, I knew I'd need original music. Therefore I bought a MIDI keyboard for use with Apple's impressive GarageBand software and began to fool around. At first my intent was simply to play some eerie, spacey chords to set the dreamlike mood of the story. I soon noticed that my efforts were sounding more like music and less like random sounds. I decided to try more ambitious music, recording tunes I'd been carrying around in my head for many years, and also writing new pieces for specific scenes of the video. Even though I have no musical training (and no doubt a professional musician could do a better job of arranging and playing these pieces that I have), I always thought I could be a good composer due to the ease with which my mind devises original music. Sometimes my dreams come with original musical scores!

The resulting music, not all of which is used in the video, would be a good accompaniment for stargazers of any level of expertise (but not in public...not everyone will like it), and also good for imagining your consciousness careening through space on its own voyage of discovery. Others may feel this is the kind of music they would expect to hear while coming out of general anesthesia.

Title
Time
Notes

1
Cosmic Cat Ambience
1:44
This was the first piece I composed for the video, and the one closest to my original intention of just playing a succession of spooky chords.

2
Cosmic Cat Theme 1
2:28
The first appearance of the Cosmic Cat Theme, which is based on a few notes which have been echoing in my skull for many years, always in connection to the stars. This is the slowest version, which seems to move at the stately pace of the planets moving across the sky.

3
Cosmic Cat Theme 2
0:46
This short version of the theme is faster, more upbeat and aggressive, and more percussive. It's also the primary ring tone on my cell phone. :-)

4
Cosmic Cat Theme 4
1:53
What happened to Theme 3? It didn't work out very well. This version is among the dreamiest.

5
Lady Moon
4:46
This is music for the poem "Lady Moon" by Lord Houghton. It's a dialogue between an admirer of the Moon and the Moon herself. Here's part of the poem, slightly altered to fit my melody:

Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?
Over the sea, over the sea.
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?
All who love me, all who love me.

As someone who loves the Moon, I always loved these lines as well. I devised the melody at the Grand Canyon, and I remember walking along the canyon rim singing the song. Good thing nobody could hear me.

6
Endurance Light
2:38
Endurance is one of my fictional characters, an immortal man who has witnessed all of human history. This melody has represented him and his long, melancholy life for as long as I can remember.

7
Poignant Fugue
5:38
This was the result of fooling around wth something new, and represents my usual way of working, starting with a few notes or a very simple melody, and then adding to it and building upon it, playing track over track, always trying to enrich the entirety. I'm sure this isn't a fugue in the technical sense, but the interaction of the tracks made me think of some real fugues, thus the title.

8
Misty Mountains
7:00
This is music for the song sung by the Dwarves at the beginning of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. You know, the one that starts out like this:

Far over the Misty Mountains old
to dungeons deep and caverns old,
we must away ere break of day
to seek the pale enchanted gold.

This is a distinctly eerie version of that song. I think of it as a version Bilbo might have heard while experiencing a fever dream.

9
Tonga
4:31
The title comes from the name of the primary instrument I used to play it in Apple GarageBand, Tonga.

10
Lady Moon 2
2:01
This short version features some musical variation in Lady Moon's replies from one verse to the next.

11
Laura
6:42
For many years I heard this music whenever I thought of a particular woman named Laura. It was a privilege to take these sounds out of my head and put them into a form which could be heard by anyone in the world outside my skull. My interest in Laura has since ended (it died hard), but at least I still have the music. The track is peaceful and gentle, with each repetition of the theme growing a little richer until everything falls into darkness, but ending on a few notes of hope.

12
Endurance Dark
2:02
This more somber version is closer to the original tone and feel of the melody as I actually heard it in connection to Endurance.

13
Mary Theme
1:48
I needed music to introduce the character of Mary in my video. The real Mary (the girl who posed for the character) is generally happy and self-confident, so this sad, thoughtful music isn't meant to represent her. The Cosmic Cat theme is briefly heard.

14
Rising Light
1:38
Composed for a scene in which something amazing appears on Mary's windowsill, this version of the Cosmic Cat theme is quicker and wilder than the others, and makes use of a huge vocal chorus which was very expensive to hire and record. Or would have been, if they weren't actually synthesized in GarageBand.

15
Cosmic Cat Theme 5
3:24
This is the longest and most fully realized version of the theme. It's like a quiet night breeze which happens to whisper the song of Cosmic Cat.

	Title	Time	Notes
1	Cosmic Cat Ambience	1:44	This was the first piece I composed for the video, and the one closest to my original intention of just playing a succession of spooky chords.
2	Cosmic Cat Theme 1	2:28	The first appearance of the Cosmic Cat Theme, which is based on a few notes which have been echoing in my skull for many years, always in connection to the stars. This is the slowest version, which seems to move at the stately pace of the planets moving across the sky.
3	Cosmic Cat Theme 2	0:46	This short version of the theme is faster, more upbeat and aggressive, and more percussive. It's also the primary ring tone on my cell phone. :-)
4	Cosmic Cat Theme 4	1:53	What happened to Theme 3? It didn't work out very well. This version is among the dreamiest.
5	Lady Moon	4:46	This is music for the poem "Lady Moon" by Lord Houghton. It's a dialogue between an admirer of the Moon and the Moon herself. Here's part of the poem, slightly altered to fit my melody: Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving? Over the sea, over the sea. Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving? All who love me, all who love me. As someone who loves the Moon, I always loved these lines as well. I devised the melody at the Grand Canyon, and I remember walking along the canyon rim singing the song. Good thing nobody could hear me.
6	Endurance Light	2:38	Endurance is one of my fictional characters, an immortal man who has witnessed all of human history. This melody has represented him and his long, melancholy life for as long as I can remember.
7	Poignant Fugue	5:38	This was the result of fooling around wth something new, and represents my usual way of working, starting with a few notes or a very simple melody, and then adding to it and building upon it, playing track over track, always trying to enrich the entirety. I'm sure this isn't a fugue in the technical sense, but the interaction of the tracks made me think of some real fugues, thus the title.
8	Misty Mountains	7:00	This is music for the song sung by the Dwarves at the beginning of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. You know, the one that starts out like this: Far over the Misty Mountains old to dungeons deep and caverns old, we must away ere break of day to seek the pale enchanted gold. This is a distinctly eerie version of that song. I think of it as a version Bilbo might have heard while experiencing a fever dream.
9	Tonga	4:31	The title comes from the name of the primary instrument I used to play it in Apple GarageBand, Tonga.
10	Lady Moon 2	2:01	This short version features some musical variation in Lady Moon's replies from one verse to the next.
11	Laura	6:42	For many years I heard this music whenever I thought of a particular woman named Laura. It was a privilege to take these sounds out of my head and put them into a form which could be heard by anyone in the world outside my skull. My interest in Laura has since ended (it died hard), but at least I still have the music. The track is peaceful and gentle, with each repetition of the theme growing a little richer until everything falls into darkness, but ending on a few notes of hope.
12	Endurance Dark	2:02	This more somber version is closer to the original tone and feel of the melody as I actually heard it in connection to Endurance.
13	Mary Theme	1:48	I needed music to introduce the character of Mary in my video. The real Mary (the girl who posed for the character) is generally happy and self-confident, so this sad, thoughtful music isn't meant to represent her. The Cosmic Cat theme is briefly heard.
14	Rising Light	1:38	Composed for a scene in which something amazing appears on Mary's windowsill, this version of the Cosmic Cat theme is quicker and wilder than the others, and makes use of a huge vocal chorus which was very expensive to hire and record. Or would have been, if they weren't actually synthesized in GarageBand.
15	Cosmic Cat Theme 5	3:24	This is the longest and most fully realized version of the theme. It's like a quiet night breeze which happens to whisper the song of Cosmic Cat.