5090 by FAWM: "Exit Strategy"

Exit Strategy

4 weeks ago by @headfirstonlyMod

Exit Strategy

headfirstonly

00:00

Liner Notes

Yes, this song is about the former Tory Prime Minister who resigned as party leader earlier today. Which is a pity; I was rather looking forwards to seeing him humiliated in having to assume the role of Leader of the Opposition. I'm sure he won't be shedding any tears; this "man of the people" is worth roughly £750 million...

And for overseas friends wondering what the hell that #lettuce reference is about, The Atlantic has you covered.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/why-liz-truss-resigned-britain-political-instability/671805/

I wanted an off-kilter vibe, so there are some interesting melodic choices, and the piano is being dropped into my Eventide H90 and Chase Bliss Mood Mk2 with their weirdness controls turned up as far as they could go. And yeah, I went down the #fullproduction #orchestral route with Spitfire Audio's Abbey Road ONE and BBC Symphony Orchestra libraries. Fun!

Lyrics

Humiliation standing in the rain
We knew it hurt; you let it show
They blew the whistle on your final game
Just jack it in, it's time to go

prechorus:
You're the saddest person in the room
Already missing the applause
Everything has turned to bust from boom
And it's you that is the cause

chorus:
This is a lesson you deserved to get
Yesterday you were a superstar
Your career might not be over yet
But make a note of where the exits are

Moral authority, respect, and trust
Some things, your money cannot buy
And as your scheming crumbles in to dust
You still can't see the reason why

bridge:
I don't mean to gloat, but I can't forget this:
Your predecessor was outclassed by a lettuce

I bet job offers aren't a thing you lack
A cushy number overseas?
But should you ever think of coming back
Make sure you never do so, please

Comments

@neverquitjeff 1w

Eerie chord progression. I was half expecting a nightmare building collapse with detuning by the end. Maybe you’ll get another comedian PM, eventually. Maybe before Houellebecq is translated into the English?

@ttg105 2w

Really great production ... love the strings, etc. They really enhance the dark mood. I like the piano-in-space sound and the clever lyrics and the damning vocal!

@toms 2w

Gorgeous. Love the piano sound. Funny how this seems like a long time ago now, rather than just a couple of weeks.

@swampjaw 3w

Sounds fantastic, and has a great creepy vibe. The piano is cool, and matches up with the atmospheric vocals. I'm watching the Brit political situation from a distance; what we've got here in the US is also horrifying. Good times, good times.

@davidtaro 3w

Definitely hitting the 'off-kilter' part of the brief. Loving the sound of that piano through those mega pedals. And, of course, absolutely loving the subject matter. I find him an oddly fascinating character - as soon as the thing was over, he was really rather sympathetic, as if a weight had been lifted, but that made all the gaslighting and tetchiness and lies that came before even more inexcusable. Awesome song, a very cathartic listen.

@sbs 3w

That piano is freaky good! Vocals work super well with it.

@odilongreen 4w

I know very little about the UK political scene, but that doesn't affect my enjoyment of this track in the least. The meaning is perfectly clear through the articulate, bitter lyrics, and the portent of the dramatic music drips from my speakers. Compelling stuff!

@philkmills 4w

Grabs attention right from the first few notes...and holds it. "make a note of where the exits are" is a fine word-to-the-wise kind of statement that I like as a summation.

@gm7 4w

Only 750million...poor baby. That deep bass sound...so ominous.
This is a Good bye song or maybe a Good riddance song!. Cool

@timfatchenMod 4w

[And we have whole wet lettuce thing restarted by cartoonist Johannes Leak on the Australian scene] Yes, having been watching the Brit Descent, it's all a fair enough statement on uselessness. Now into a new nightmare. Thumping majorities mean insufficient pie prize to go around! As always, I boggle at your production capabilities!

@marilisa 4w

Came for the lettuce hashtag, stayed for the excellent song. Off-kilter is definitely the mood of the moment and you have captured it so well. Also that bridge is everything. 😀

@barkstales 4w

Wow, foreboding music. Powerful lyrics. I felt a lot feels listening

@atitlan 4w

Really dark, menacing mood. Nicely pointed lyrics. Really like the way you've inverted the usual relationship of verse and chorus by having a higher vocal in the verse and going lower in the chorus.

@candle 4w

Musically, I love the mood you've created with all those lovely layers. And lyrically, you're right on the mark. The winds of political change seem to be blowing across the democratic world - for better or for worse. I guess we'll see where it'll lead us all next. Still, I can't help but think of the lyrics from The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again…

Great track, as always, Chris!

See You In The Shadows…

@coolparadisoMod 4w

i like how it always seemed to rain on him! at least he did out last a lettuce not that it was necessarily a good thing and we see money couldnt control the weather! I think you will have millions who agree with the last line - but that might go for 250 others of them! yet its not as joyous as a song might have been in 1997 - tough times! Well said and done

@andygetch 4w

Agreed that the pointed effect of the keys does a super job of supporting the weight of the lyrics.

@l_j 4w

Woah, sounds dark! not wrong about off-kilter - has a strange eeriness/creepy feeling - like the song is entering through the gaps of the doors. Very visual - can really feel the space! Fantastic!

@billwhite51 4w

now this is a good political song, although i had to research the references to get a fuller picture since you didnt name any names. but the song could apply to any of a hundred world leaders or wannabe world leaders. not one head of state is worth a head of lettuce. i am glad, however, tht the tories lost the election. the music is so ominou that i can imagine this as a scene from a musical in which the devil mocks a disgraced politician.

@aeye 4w

That piano is everything here. It sets the mood, keeps it going and really just oozes the off kilter feeling you’re going for. (Listening on my iPhone speakers while grilling, but it comes through super clear) also I’m glad your election went a good way. (My sanity is not gonna survive the cycle here)

Command Center

Exit Strategy

Liner Notes

Lyrics

Comments

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