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This was one of the first songs David ever wrote, but it was never really finished for a long time. It underwent significant changes by the time it was revisited years later. It’s a quiet song with some Modest Mouse-inspired guitar work and an explosive chorus. David remembers writing the loud part of the song on his old equipment in his brother’s room when the electronic drum set was in there. The main riff was written by Ella Thurston from Pelicanesis, another local band Ashleigh is in. Nobody in the band really knows what the lyrics are about, but they did change a lot. It’s the first song over 6 minutes we ever played together and also the hardest to play.
This one will likely never be released, even though the band’s opinions on it are relatively positive. We ended up using the title for the EP instead, since we figured this song was never coming out. We really liked the title and felt like it fit well with the themes of the EP. Maybe we’ll end up using pieces of this song for another one someday.
There are a LOT of versions of this song, and a few recorded full demos. Keegan and David wrote the final lyrics together in David’s backyard in April 2019. This was originally going to be track 3 on the EP when we went into the studio back in 2020, but we ended up scrapping it. It was never recorded, but we initially planned to.
It was likely influenced by Spitting Venom by Modest Mouse.
Ryan says: “Film Run Backwards was definitely the most challenging song for me, but I learned a lot about time signatures while writing it.”
Here’s a tab David made a long time ago for the intro:
Final Version
[Verse]
The present is the present and the past is the past
I’ve seen what’s there
A dusty catalogue of deals that we’ve amassed
That went nowhere
Spend far too long contemplating while we stand by
While rushing around without a reason or rhyme
Negotiating all the epitaphs
Of ancestors we’ve borrowed from
While we decide the lifestyles of all
Our ancestors yet to come
[Chorus]
The burden that we carry
Emotions that will vary
Who knows if we will look back fondly
Thinking clearly about nothing
We’re cautiously confronting
Mankind depends on how we’re feeling
The cost of the ideas we have shot down
Is greater than the ones we stole
Time’s beginning to feel like a film run backwards
I need a new loophole
[Bridge]
Back against the wall
Hurtling through the skies like a glass cannonball
We see a sign that reads our name in a scrawl
Back against the wall
Back against the wall
Original Version
[Verse]
The present is the present and the past is the past
I’ve seen what’s there
And the present is presently wondering what I asked
I won’t care
What makes things worse is how we calculate time
We all rush around without a reason or rhyme
The rooftops are rife with reminders
Of the days and nights before
My eyes will waver then pick up focus
I can’t see the sky anymore
[Chorus]
The ones and zeroes carry
Emotions that will vary
Based on the common knowledge I have that day
Thinking clearly about nothing
Is better than the something
I’ve been thinking about for some time right now
Use soda to wash the pill on down
But it still won’t go
Time’s beginning to feel like a film run backwards
I need a new loophole
[Bridge]
Back against the wall
Hurtling through the skies like a glass cannonball
I see a sign that reads my name in a scrawl
Back against the wall
Back against the wall
This is a demo David made in June 2019. Much different from the final version in 2020.
This is a recording David made of the guitar solo at the beginning of the song.
This is a performance of the song from 2-27-20. Probably the best recording we’ll ever get of this track. At the time, we were hoping to play this one at one of our upcoming shows. We probably would have if Covid didn’t happen.
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This has never been played live and very likely never will be. Sorry to anybody who likes this one.