The Mighty Measure
Deep in the wilds of America somewhere..
RM Gunslinging Greta and the Calculator Kid venture off into the unknown.
Their Destination: The Hardware Store.
Their Bounty: Stanley “The Mighty Measure”.
With the most galant and trusty steed Clip Clop Kevin in tow they press on knowing the journey is a long and dangerous one.
The Calculator Kid takes stock of each passing number on the journey.
Seeing the patterns woven within the mystery of space and time seldom revealed to others.
Stanley may have finally met his match..
Opening credits roll -
“The Mighty Measure”
At least that’s how I imagined it when RM Greta first shared a note saying that she took her kid to the hardware store to look at tape measures because they really loved the numbers.
It inspired me on a few levels and I will try and explain them as best I can here.
First of all, that’s top tier cool Mum stuff.
It reminded me of going on adventures with my single Mum and all the time she spends trying to support me as a person, as well as all the strange fascinations kids find as they are growing up.
In a world that is trying to shape people into a mould, actively supporting a child’s independent view and taking steps to try and share in their experience is one of the most powerful and loving things you can do.
The fact that interest happens to be numbers in this case was even cooler..
Numbers are one of the strongest ways to conceive of and understand the world, and the tape measure is not only an excellent way to see a lot of them but it also defines space.
An obsession with numbers isn’t just loving math, it’s being obsessed with the fundamental measurable nature of reality.
Everything can be broken down into numbers and space and the internal patterns can be revealed.
Numbers are so woven into music they have become its common language. We talk of high and low notes, intervals, time signatures, arrangements, speed, length, and measures.
They are not only one of the rudimentary ways I use to understand music but they are music.
Music is vibration in space.
Measurable movements in amplitude and frequency travelling through air shaped into patterns.
So I guess my favourite thing is numbers too.
I also have a feeling that the same fear of inadequacy that makes some people seize up when numbers are mentioned is very similar to the fear that makes people say “I can’t do music”. One of the key mindsets that I am trying to fight with Drip Fed Music.
Obviously I loved this story a lot and when Stanley/Buddy the tape measure was found in a drawer while moving house, all the pieces had fallen into place for a coffee fuelled frenzy of creation..
The Mighty Measure
Six feet and then six feet again,
Three point five metres tall,
This man stands up nice and strong,
This man won’t ever fall.
His name is Stanley
The Mighty Measure.
He’s got a pistol grip,
Pocket size, no need for clips,
Little grip their on the tip,
So he don’t ever slip.
His name is Stanley
The Mighty Measure.
(Go on roll it out there Stanley)
He rumbles when he rolls,
Got a blade that never folds,
I found him in a drawer one day
where he’s been well I don’t know.
His name is Stanley
The Mighty Measure.
He’s known as Buddy to his friends,
He’ll size you up from end to end,
Don’t get on the wrong side of him
Or else you’ll start to bend.
His name is Stanley
The Mighty Measure.
Measure em up now Stanley
Roll it out
Roll it in
The Mighty Measure
Production Notes
I can’t really remember all my thinking when creating this as it all came together so quickly. Time flies when you are having fun I guess.
Massive thank you to Aoife Casey for providing some backing vocals and creative support.
RM Gunslinging Greta also provided an incredible avante garde tape performance that would make Steve Reich proud. This is heard in the whip crack sounds in the chorus as well as the closing moments of the track.
The big man Stanley did all the drumming on this one and the entire percussion track was made from sounds I collected and arranged from him. I think I made a thud on the table for the kick, used the sound of the measure snapping closed as the snare and the sliding blade for the hi-hat sounds.
The slap-back echo on the vocals may or may not be a reference to Elvis..