5 Q&A With Jeremy Aaron
What was the creative process like for this particular "The day the internet died?"
The spoken word verses were improvised while I was sitting in a bubble bath. I thought of the concept of the internet suddenly going out worldwide, turned on the voice-to-text setting in Google Docs, and said how I thought people would react. Later, I came up with a synth loop in my bedroom studio and wrote the chorus and bridge over that. It started out as just kick, snare and bass. I added in the rest of the instrumentals later. “Where did the time go” was the last part that I wrote, and I think it’s one of the most poignant lines.
What did you enjoy most about making "The day the internet died?"
I loved playing with synths in logic. This is the first time I’ve done anything with a synth-heavy production.
Can you describe the emotions or feelings you hope this single evokes in listeners?
I want every listener to experience it on their own terms. It’s tempting to tell you what to feel, but I think the song speaks for itself much better than I can speak for it.
Can you tell us more about you as an artist?
Maybe it’s saccharine to say, but my main challenge as an artist is never fitting neatly into any one genre. I grew up mostly listening to singer/songwriter folk music like Joni Mitchell, but my own writing was always too weird and experimental for rank-and-file folkies. Lately, I’ve found more of a home among experimental outsiders like Arthur Russell, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Laurie Spiegel, and Talking Heads.
Where do you find inspiration for your songs or musical ideas?
I’m inspired by the same old human themes that the ancient Greeks wrote plays about, but re-oriented on a modern tapestry and with a little arson to properly vandalize. Lately, I’ve been drawn to topics that touch on the undercurrent of anxiety and struggle in the digital world. So much of our lives are curated now, and that’s juxtaposed with our realities that aren’t always so pretty.
