Who Was The Witness
Liner Notes
I’d been sitting on this beat—borrowed straight from Bowie’s Blackstar—but after three failed writing attempts, I almost gave up. FAWM gave me the push to try again. For the chorus groove, I swiped Kenny Aronoff’s Jack & Diane beat after watching a fresh Drumeo vid on it. I leaned as hard as I could into the Blackstar vibe and let it take me somewhere new.
Lyrically, I started with a different idea but had already covered that topic this year. Instead, I landed on ‘Caught in the furor of the machine.’ But what machine? The court system. I’d just finished, "The Knockout Queen," which dives into its darker side, and that stuck with me.
I had a lot of fun layering all the guitars. 2 more to go! #rock #experimental #guitar #keyboards #groove #vocals
Lyrics
Verse 1 Caught in the furor Of the machine I’m sworn as a juror To share what I think
But the message is filtered Through millions of screens He is sold as a killer And the data is weak
Chorus Who was the witness Nobody saw it All seems so flimsy Subject to whimsy
Searching for answers Inclined to slander Weight of the verdict Feels so perverted
Verse 2 There’s a flaw in the motive It doesn’t feel right Arguments are explosive And tensions are high
It’s a process of pressure Choosing death over life It’s a painful endeavor Which grinds very fine
Comments
![[avatar]](https://fawm-avatars.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fawm2023/3613.png){kind=avatar}
The energy and layers here are infectious af. And what a novel topic--jury duty! Well written, well sung, well played, well done.
![[avatar]](https://fawm-avatars.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fawm2025/8353f037-0a5b-4b03-ad61-7c52497a6e79.png){kind=avatar}
Great movement and contrast throughout your arrangements. All the tempo changes kept me engaged and ready for that driving, danceable chorus to come back. Lyrics show a good amount of restraint, where getting heavy-handed or literal would be irresistible to many. You do a great job of showing enough of the story without 'telling' it, and keeping focus on that inner conflict. Listeners can fill in the details. I'm getting flashbacks to my own horrible jury duty experience!
![[FAWM]](/static/img/slothcore.svg)
Compelling vocals, intriguing theme, and the story is well told - concise and cohesive. I especially like the catchiness of the chorus, and that very nice solo afterwards.