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404

Greetings, earth human – it is I, Ian Freud. You have been summoned here to bear witness to my latest waxing. Settle back for around 3 and a half of the time units you know as ‘minutes’, and I will see you “after the jump”, as I believe you say in your culture.

Lyrics

Where is this place I was looking for?
I followed your every direction.
Did I do the right thing?
Did I do the wrong thing?
Or is it just the connection?
It’s not a 301 – it’s just a 404
And now I can’t find the thing that I was looking for

I know what I want I don’t know how to get it
I know what I want I don’t know how to get it

What is this thing that I’m looking at?
It looks just the same – but unfamiliar
Am I in the right place?
Or is this the right time?
You promised to help me but will ya?
It’s not a 301 – it’s just a 404
And now I can’t find the thing that I was looking for

I know what I want I don’t know how to get it
I know what I want I don’t know how to get it

It’s not a 301
It’s just a 404
It’s not a 301
It’s just a 404

Thoughts

Despite really liking this song, I don’t have huge amounts to say about it. It’s a basic, 4 to the floor rocker with a pleasingly shouted melody and words that are about the 404 ‘page not found’ errors you get on websites. I’d like to think it’s vaguely, metaphorically, about not being able to find what you want from life, but really it’s a pretty shallow song. We used to play it with the band I was in to start the set and it always seemed to go down well.

Recording wise, it was slightly tortuous on several fronts. Firstly, getting the balance right was a right pain in the tits, frankly. And even now it feels like the bass is a bit too boomy. The guitar solo took far too long to record. Originally I was hoping to have my mate – a proper guitarist – play it, but he’s been suffering with his health and so a couple of months after I’d recorded everything else I sat down for a night or two and played lines over and over until I’d structured something that sounded in keeping with the rockiness of the track. Like all my guitar solos, there’s nothing spontaneous about it (I fall to bits if asked to improvise) and even in this final, reheared-a-thousand-times version I’m clinging on for dear life throughout. No, sir, you will have to look elsewhere for a guitarist.

The other annoying thing is that I still don’t know how to get the virtual drummer to emphasise the riff at the end – which should have the same kind of swing as the end of Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide by David Bowie. As you can tell, it doesn’t. I’ve lost patience with that side of things now, and am slowly giving up on ever finding a drummer.

Anyway. That’s about it. It’s a thudding rock tune that I quite like, and perhaps you do too. Or perhaps you don’t. And that too is fine.

Splundigg vur thrigg.