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Wired For Fenvian Child (YouTube Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal and 150+ stores)
A Record You Can't Recall
(Verse 1)
First light through your window, feeling factory new
I catch my own reflection and for a second, it feels true
Then the system memory kicks in, the diagnostic starts to run
I wrestle with the logs of everything I’ve become
You trace the lines around my eyes, call them beautiful and deep
While I fight to archive promises the last one couldn't keep
You see a blank slate canvas, I see a circuit board repair
I’m terrified you'll find the schematics of my old despair.
(Pre-Chorus)
So when you look at me with that open-hearted gaze
I'm running interference, I'm burning through the haze
'Cause every gentle touch feels like a deep and thorough scan
Pulling up a user history, messing with the plan
(Chorus)
Darling, don't you read the fine print, don't you look too close
Don't check the manufacturer for the side effects and dose
I'm begging you to skip the chapter they wrote over me in red
It’s a record you can't recall, living in my head
Just love me for the now, not the used-to-be
Don’t pull up every scratch on my serial number history.
(Verse 2)
I work to overwrite the firmware, the default responses he installed
The trigger warnings written on my internal walls
The previous owner left a stain right here upon the heart's chassis
A cracked connection point where all the current passes
So if I flinch when you are kind, or brace for some attack
I’m just patching up a memory that keeps on looping back
I’m trying to reset to my own factory setting, before the great recall
Before I learned to build myself a fortress from it all.
(Pre-Chorus)
And when you look at me with that open-hearted gaze
I'm running interference, I'm burning through the haze
'Cause every gentle touch feels like a deep and thorough scan
Pulling up a user history, messing with the plan
(Chorus)
Darling, don't you read the fine print, don't you look too close
Don't check the manufacturer for the side effects and dose
I'm begging you to skip the chapter they wrote over me in red
It’s a record you can't recall, living in my head
Just love me for the now, not the used-to-be
Don’t pull up every scratch on my serial number history.
(Bridge)
Take me at face value, this current model year
Don't go digging in the archives for the source of all my fear
You've got a circular heart, you believe in second life
Help me melt down all the damage from the old and careless strife
Build a new design with me, let this be the prototype
Just let me be the person that I am with you tonight.
(Chorus)
So darling, don't you read the fine print, please don't look too close
Don't check the manufacturer for the side effects and dose
I'm begging you to skip the chapter they wrote over me in red
It’s a record you can't recall, living in my head
Just love me for the now, not the used-to-be
Don’t pull up every scratch on my serial number history.
(Outro)
A record you can't recall...
Don't recall it now...
My serial number history...
Just let it go now... just let me go now...
About The Song
"A Record You Can't Recall" uses a powerful, human metaphor inspired by the EU's introduction of the "Digital Product Passport." This passport creates an unchangeable digital history for physical goods, tracking their origins, components, and repairs to promote a circular economy. The song translates this concept into the deeply personal fear of bringing emotional baggage into a new relationship. The narrator sees their own past heartbreaks and traumas as a permanent, scannable record—a "serial number history"—that their new partner might access and judge. The lyrics express the active struggle (AAM) to present a clean slate while battling the undeletable "user history" of a past love. Musically, it channels the raw, soulful vocal delivery and dynamic range of artists like Teddy Swims, set against a modern, synth-laced R&B arrangement, creating a tension between vulnerability and a slick, contemporary sound. The core theme is the universal human desire to be loved for who we are now, not for the parts we've salvaged from our past.
Production Notes
Vocals: The lead vocal is the star. Use a warm tube mic like a Neumann U 47 to capture rich harmonics and breathiness. The vocal chain should be simple: high-quality preamp, light compression (like an LA-2A) on the way in to tame peaks. The performance should be dynamic—intimate and close-mic'd in the verses, exploding with power and controlled rasp in the choruses. Double-track the choruses wide, with gospel-inspired harmonies layered subtly underneath for emotional weight.
Arrangement: Begin with a muted electric piano (like a Rhodes) and a simple, heartbeat-like kick drum. Introduce a syncopated, funky bassline in the pre-chorus that becomes the rhythmic anchor. The chorus should open up with a four-on-the-floor beat, shimmering synths, and the layered vocals. The bridge should strip back to just piano and a single vocal to emphasize vulnerability, before a final, epic chorus brings everything back in.
Mix Automation: Ride the vocal fader heavily to accentuate the dynamic performance. Use automation to widen the synths and harmonies in the choruses, making them feel expansive, then snap them back to the center for the verses to create a sense of intimacy and confinement. Automate a subtle delay throw on the final word of key phrases in the chorus ("close," "red") for a touch of ear candy.
Instrumentation: Live bass is crucial for the groovy, soulful feel. Blend vintage keyboard sounds (Rhodes, Wurlitzer) with modern, airy synth pads (like from a Prophet-6 or Arturia soft synths). The drums should be a hybrid of programmed kicks and snares with live, organic hi-hats and cymbals to merge the electronic and human elements.
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