"Pagliacci (A Most Memorable Case)" ("I've Been Thinking..." THOUGHT PROCESS SERIES 5/12)

“I've Been Thinking...” behind the songs “THOUGHT PROCESS SERIES”

My latest full length album, “I've Been Thinking...” released on the Savannah based label DopeSandwich Records and Tapes May 3^rd is a collection of concepts and narratives that I've written over the last few years featuring instrumental contributions from coast to coast and outside of the country as well. Looking over the collection I'd opine that it is some of my finest work to date (one would hope). What have you been thinking? Over 12 days I'll be releasing a behind-the-music sort of blurb for each track! If there are any questions or comments regarding the songs please submit them and I'll do my best to answer and fulfill them! I hope this series is of interest and that the music does something for you!

Track 5: “Pagliacci (A Most Memorable Case)”

     "Pagliacci (A Most Memorable Case)" is one of the first songs I recorded for this record, it is masterfully produced of many interwoven chopped and screwed jazz samples by UK rapper/producer Sik Sense and it is the first true/direct narratives on the album. (Although sort of think of "Zoom In (There's Life Here)" as a narrative study on a setting).  The song is an adaptation of a "joke" told by the character of Rorschach in the genius British writer, Alan Moore's iconic graphic novel "Watchmen".  There is an included sample of Rorschach telling the "joke" from Zach Snyder's excellent film adaptation of the same name that closes out the song.  When I first saw the film, and later read the book, I was struck by this small moment and loved its brilliance and its message.  I wished that I wrote it.  At that point, I had already written my adaptation of the Sydney Barringer vignette from the Paul Thomas Anderson film "Magnolia" and enjoyed that challenge and experience and was excited about the prospect of doing so again. (LISTEN TO THE CASE OF SYDNEY BARRINGER HERE)

WHY THIS STORY AND APPROACH?

For me, telling the story wasn't exactly enough, I wanted to draw a bit of a moral from it, or understand the meaning for sharing the tale.  The tale spoke to me as the sort of irony that it's hard to see where you're at when you're in the midst of it. Also, if a clown (someone who revokes or distracts from everyone's sadness) doesn't have a way to remedy their own sadness, it reminded me of the issue of it being easier to give advice than take it.  Pagliacci's ironic tale seemed the apt vessel to communicate the idea that we often search for the key to our happiness, not realizing it is up to us to manufacture it for ourselves all along.  I really liked the challenge of drawing a lot of detail and content out of such a brief but of intense swatch of inspiration.  Deciding to tell it in first person perspective was the first choice, it felt more interesting and emotive that way.   Also, the origin material told it from 3rd person so I liked that switch as well for my own stamp on it. It also felt good for some reason to have the In most narratives I tend to think of the chorus as an afterthought, but I definitely wanted the structure to have the verses be almost "in the narrative" and then to revert to an external perspective in the chorus feeling like the thesis of the song (which I often feel is the purpose of the chorus in a song anyway).  I also wanted a sort of "crooner" feel in the chorus, which I sort of put my own degree of influence and interpretation on it.

     How appropriate is it also that a British producer did the beat for a song inspired by a piece adopted by a British writer?  When Sik Sense sent me this instrumental, the cool jazzy vibe of it that was also very driving, felt so right to me and I worked with him to manipulate the structure to have this other transition perspective (The "oh I'm violating a confidence, GOD FORGIVE THE ERROR OF MY WAYS! Can I justify it as there might be a necessary lesson to be taken?"). Pulled from the final lines of the first verse.  These lines bring up a sub-theme of the song.  While the conundrum of Pagliacci, the character is one theme, a secondary theme of this song is the therapist's moral quandary that is similar to the famous "TROLLEY PROBLEM." with his issue of "Do I break professional confidence of one patient to potentially help many?  He has trouble with this throughout the song, as well as guilt of having assumed he knew a person's solution, when in fact he was at a loss all along.  I like the idea that him using his past folly as a redeeming example in the future, but this strategy being of dubious nature dude to his breach of confidence.

   While in the studio, I ended up deciding upon a typical barroom heckler who would nudge people and just obnoxiously belligerently ask questions, so I popped gum in my mouth and recorded my own little movie sample style clip for the onset of the song.   In January I got together with my talented videographer friend Jonathon Greco and DJ BMO to film a live performance of this song for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series.  You can view that above!  Stay tuned tomorrow for a breakdown on Therapy Sessions.

Sincerely,
-Bruce "AllOne" Pandolfo

Come to therapy with Sik Sense, Alan Moore and I at

www.allonevoice.bandcamp.com/track/pagliacci-a-most-memorable-case