I’ll explain the title in a second. First off, this is not a “song” at all – kinda like the last one, and arguably some other ones, it’s just a mood that doesn’t go anywhere. It’s like background music of some dramatic moment on a TV show.

This one is important because it’s the first output from the mighty Reason 3, which I managed to obtain through the venerable BadServo. This mp3 was essentially me just creating sounds that should not be able to happily coexist on the average speaker setup without causing unbearable static. This was a deliberate experiment to futz with Reason’s new mastering suite, which promises incredibly lush and – loath as I am to use the term – phat sounds, without them stepping on each other’s toes. That is where the title comes in.

In the audio production world, as I understand it, static that comes from overlapping frequencies (essentially loud sounds that have not been very well equalized and given their own space) create static and dissonance called clipping. Reason in fact has a handy little LED that lights up when it detects audio clipping. Audio clipping is the enemy of clean, pure sound. This file, as I said, was essentially random notes hit in some synth arrays that I designed specifically to create massive amounts of clipping.

However, true to its touting in the preview materials for 3.0, the new MClass mastering suite makes clipping its bitch in a way that would be sad if it weren’t so beautiful.

So, this file has been run through said mastering devices, and while I am still learning how to use them, so I’m sure it is far from perfect, the fact is, these sounds would not coexist for me before. This would have been a dissonant nightmare – but despite the forcefulness of the bass, and the reverb on the choral sound, and the clarity and high pitch of the whatever you call it echoy sound, there is simply no clipping, at least on the two speaker setups I’ve listened to it on.

That’s where the title comes from. In the 3D game design world, walls that are considered “solid,” i.e., the player cannot walk through them, are called clipping planes. Long ago, in a little game called Doom, the developers needed the ability to specify clipping planes, but for quickness in meandering through the game world, also needed the ability to ignore these rules of “physics.” So, a developer code was written for a “no clipping mode,” so they could essentially walk through walls. I’ll spare you all the hillarious and insane story of the origin of the code’s name (google it if you must,) but in all versions of the original Doom I’m familiar with (even Ultimate Doom, but not Doom II) the no clipping code is IDSPISPOPD.

I knew this from memory, because I am a huge nerd. I double checked it anyway, and found the list of codes for Doom, and had a bizarre memory surge.

So, that’s where the title comes from. No clipping, get it? It’s like 3 levels of nerd all rolled into a horrible groaner of a pun. It’s quite possible that will land me in the unpopular, wedgie-heavy section of hell.

[degreelessness biatch]

It’s simple. I like the title. That’s it.

[and on to the canvas]

Well, sorta. A crappy “this is the even-more-unpolished crap you guys never hear” song I gave up on and decided to add an explosion sound effect to and release as a gag.

the rage box – helicopter rescue gone awry.mp3

I got back home from Roswell this afternoon and sat down to doodle with music – which I did for like 3 and a half hours, and all I got was this piece of crap and another song I’m even less happy with. Its only promising part is this loop, which I may just use in something else.

Sad use of time.

[it delivers what it promises]