Absolute Zero: the tunes
Absolute Zero wrote and recorded around a dozen original songs between 1985 and 1989. They were mostly recorded in our basement practice space in Harkness House in vintage low-tech fashion. (We basically put a boom box in the room and pushed the "record" button). As a result, many of the surviving recordings don't have the best sound quality.
In 1988, however, our good friend John "Admo" Adcock was kind enough to loan us his four track recorder, which we used to produce our only album, Frequency Division Multiplexing. Most (though not all) of the songs featured below were recorded on the four track and sound reasonably decent. They would have sounded even better had we not recorded them in haste, over the course of several afternoon sessions, perilously close to finals (here and there things got a little sloppy and there's too much reverb throughout). Still, the recordings give a decent impression of what we were pursuing musically.
In the spring of 1989, Brian was able to secure some time at Brown's recording studio to help us record a single song with something approaching professional sound quality. This was "Oak Tree," which sounds a whole lot cleaner than all the other tunes below. It's a shame we never were able to take the time and record all our songs as meticulously (and layer in numerous guitar and vocal tracks, as we did on "Oak Tree"). If we were twenty-five years younger and playing in college today, we would have benefited from the digital revolution and simply done the necessary editing work on laptops in our dorm rooms. Alas, we came too soon. Of course, had we come later, our songs would have been influenced by entirely different bands....
But we grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and so our songs displayed the influence of the era's many bands, most notably: Rush, the Police, U2, and REM. We also strove to incorporate elements of funk, reggae, and acoustic folk. Brian and Ed can comment more directly on their guitar and bass lines, while I comment briefly on the songwriting process in the "lyrics" section of this site.
Gavriel Rosenfeld
Oak Tree (1989)
This was our bluesiest tune. It also has the best sound quality, as it was recorded at Brown's music studio with equipment that allowed us to use multiple guitar and vocal tracks. The lyrics are an afterthought. But I think was trying to channel Jim Morrison in "The End."
This is Ed....I will put some italicized comments after Gav's. It should be known this is the only tune without our usual drummer. Since Scott played a little more sparsely than Josh, I occasionally threw in some bass chords during the choruses.
This is Ed....I will put some italicized comments after Gav's. It should be known this is the only tune without our usual drummer. Since Scott played a little more sparsely than Josh, I occasionally threw in some bass chords during the choruses.
Another Time Another Day (1988)
This is essentially an instrumental jam in 7/8 time that Brian and I added nonsensical syncopated lyrics to. I don't think we ever sang it the same way twice.
Rush-like tune. Part C reminds me of the second part of Natural Science with the bass and guitar together. Love Bri's short choppy clean chords. And thanks to Brian and Gav for all yelling "stop" at the end, seems a little corny now but I loved it then (and I think I made them do it!)
Rush-like tune. Part C reminds me of the second part of Natural Science with the bass and guitar together. Love Bri's short choppy clean chords. And thanks to Brian and Gav for all yelling "stop" at the end, seems a little corny now but I loved it then (and I think I made them do it!)
Happy Flotsam (1988)
Happy Flotsam was one of the many melodic, semi-dissonant songs we recorded. It's about the absurdity of failed relationships. And for those who are wondering, the line about "flotsam and jetsam in my mind" was a yanked directly from one of the chapter titles of Lord of the Rings. There, I said it. (If Zep and Rush can be influenced by Tolkien, why not AZ?)
I didn't know it was about failed relationships....the song sounds so bouncy. Excellent solo, Brian's chords really allowed Josh and me to build; I think as a band we did a really good job of listening to eachother and playing accordingly. With Gav as lyricist, each song was like a little vocabulary review for me ("imposed emancipation"). And Old Ma Bell will likely never be mentioned in a song again.
I didn't know it was about failed relationships....the song sounds so bouncy. Excellent solo, Brian's chords really allowed Josh and me to build; I think as a band we did a really good job of listening to eachother and playing accordingly. With Gav as lyricist, each song was like a little vocabulary review for me ("imposed emancipation"). And Old Ma Bell will likely never be mentioned in a song again.
Another Oval Hypocrite (1988)
I wrote the lyrics to this song while stuck in the Cleveland airport in January of 1988 while trying to get back to Brown from Indiana. I was sitting in a cafe eating a lame salad, when a completely tasteless black olive (you know, the canned kind), somehow inspired me to jot down the lines that later turned into this melodic tune. Brian's chords at the song's beginning are among my favorite. He also came up with the line about being "alone again for the first time," to which I melded the airport lyrics. There are a lot of Police influences in this tune. And Ed's bass work is about his bounciest ever, especially at the song's beginning and end.
I thought the transitions in this song went really well, part B into A, and then part B into C where we had to change to a reggae-ish feel sounded very smooth. Again awesome solo (BTW, a shout out to Brian, probably the best guitarist I've ever played with, and a helluva guy). Great harmony. Vocab word of the song:" harbinger."
I thought the transitions in this song went really well, part B into A, and then part B into C where we had to change to a reggae-ish feel sounded very smooth. Again awesome solo (BTW, a shout out to Brian, probably the best guitarist I've ever played with, and a helluva guy). Great harmony. Vocab word of the song:" harbinger."
Arrows in the road (1988)
When everyone was in sync playing this song, it really grooved. Ed's bass licks drove it forward with bouncy aplomb and it reached a crescendo with Brian's Mach 5 guitar solo. (Compare with his equally speedy solo in Hook Line and Sinker, below). The lyrics deal with status anxiety, glass ceilings, and twenty-something ennui.
Love this tune. Brian sounds like The Edge at the start, which slowly and tantalizingly builds to a soulful peak. Love Gav singing the first verse an octave lower than the rest.
Love this tune. Brian sounds like The Edge at the start, which slowly and tantalizingly builds to a soulful peak. Love Gav singing the first verse an octave lower than the rest.
Upside down to Red (1988)
AZ's only historical/political song -- perhaps subliminally influenced by U2's politically inflected songs from the time period -- drawing on my visit to East Berlin in the summer of 1987. Brian had moved into his acoustic folk phase, right Brodsky?
This song is pretty much U2's Bad, one-four chord progression and all. Probably went on a little too long, the quiet part at the end was likely not really necessary. But the tune does have a lot of feeling.
This song is pretty much U2's Bad, one-four chord progression and all. Probably went on a little too long, the quiet part at the end was likely not really necessary. But the tune does have a lot of feeling.
Trapped in Nonsense (1987)
Like "Arrows in the Road," but even more so, this song got the mosh-pit into a frenzy back in the day. Ok, there was no mosh pit. But this song's driving bass line and speedy-crunchy guitar riffs had 'em dancing in the aisles every time we played it. It's another song about the absurdity of relationships, epitomized by the notion of dripless sieves. Unless I'm mistaken.
I really liked playing this song cuz it was fun to dance to (though I myself suck at dancing.....). Nice of us to throw a key change in there for the guitar solo. Excellent drum fills at the end. Creative paradoxical lyrics.
I really liked playing this song cuz it was fun to dance to (though I myself suck at dancing.....). Nice of us to throw a key change in there for the guitar solo. Excellent drum fills at the end. Creative paradoxical lyrics.
Dark At three (1987)
This song has REM written all over it. Another gloomy meditation on imperiled relationships, inspired by a prematurely dark afternoon in Providence, whose skyline I was gazing upon while procrastinating in the Sci-Li.
This was actually my least favorite AZ song at the time, though now I like it (as I age).
This was actually my least favorite AZ song at the time, though now I like it (as I age).
Barking dog at night (1987)
I still don't know how we came to paraphrase the immortal lines about a watchdog barking in the night by Eddie Murphy's SNL character Tyrone Green in this song, which -- in a major twist -- is about the frustrations of relationships (this time, trying to get into, rather than out of, one). Brian really screamed out his lines in the song's climax.
This is my favorite AZ tune (not just because of the bass solo!). The second part is probably the most rockin' of any of our songs. Despite the silly lyrics, the back and forth vocals at the end are great. Sweet drum rolls as well.
This is my favorite AZ tune (not just because of the bass solo!). The second part is probably the most rockin' of any of our songs. Despite the silly lyrics, the back and forth vocals at the end are great. Sweet drum rolls as well.
Today's Gift (1988)
Ed evokes The Pretenders with his groovish bass line in this song about the AIDS crisis. Brian will have to explain his thinking at the time....
Love the lyrics. Love the harmony, just too bad the mix is so bad. Josh sound great with the bell of the cymbal carrying the chorus.
Love the lyrics. Love the harmony, just too bad the mix is so bad. Josh sound great with the bell of the cymbal carrying the chorus.
Fire Escape (1987)
Another song driven by a syncopated bass line and cooler-than-thou chords. It's about not liking your ex-girlfriend very much. Or at all. Or maybe you do, but can't admit it. Or something like that.
This was one of our first originals. Tried to keep the bassline pretty simple. Back up vocals great. Vocab word of the tune: "conflagration".
This was one of our first originals. Tried to keep the bassline pretty simple. Back up vocals great. Vocab word of the tune: "conflagration".
HOok line and sinker (1986)
Fish are too stupid (or hungry) to pass up a free meal on a hook. So are love-hungry people, apparently. This tune is our successful (?) attempt at reggae-metal. Both parts of the song work well, though I'm not sure they work well together. Brian's solo is pretty virtuouso.
Except for the guitar, the reggae just did not work in this tune.
Except for the guitar, the reggae just did not work in this tune.
Pass/Funk (1988)
It's an instrumental, so it's not about failed relationships.
I tried to have the bassline reflect failed relationships. This song has the "slap and pulll" bass technique, which is my favorite thing to do on bass. However, it sounds much better when the bass strings are new, which occurred very rarely on a college student's bank account. Still this was the funnest song for me to play, the guitar solo when Bri and I play together really moves.
I tried to have the bassline reflect failed relationships. This song has the "slap and pulll" bass technique, which is my favorite thing to do on bass. However, it sounds much better when the bass strings are new, which occurred very rarely on a college student's bank account. Still this was the funnest song for me to play, the guitar solo when Bri and I play together really moves.