By Robert J! Lake
IN ITS FIRST HALF, IT’S A BOOKEND TO THE TITLE TRACK! RJ’S WEIRD ETHEREAL, BREATHY VOCALS ONCE AGAIN FIND A GOOD FIT! THEN, AFTER ALMOST A FULL MINUTE OF DEAD AIR, HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE THINGS START TO HAPPEN!
THE SONG BETRAYS THE DARK UNDERPINNINGS THAT INSPIRED THE CARTOON SQUIDS, OF COURSE (NO BETTER WAY TO CLOSE IT OUT, I THINK)! THIS ALBUM CAME OUT MONTHS BEFORE THE MEMORABLE FLASH THAT FEATURES THIS SONG! IT’S REMARKABLE HOW WELL THE ART AND THE SONG FIT TOGETHER: A COMBINATION OF MR. ROGERS AND H. R. GIGER!
By Robert J! Lake
JUST THE THOUGHT OF GANGSTA SQUIDDLES IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME LAUGH! MAYBE PLUMBTHROAT’S PISSED OFF AT THEM BECAUSE THEY BLEW HOLES IN HIS BOAT IN A SWIM-BY SHOOTING! OCEANSIDE, MOTHERFUCKER!
AND THIS SONG’S SEEN A SURPRISING AMOUNT OF RECENT ATTENTION: ASTRO KID CUT A REMIX FOR LOFAM 3, AND RJ JUST KICKED OUT A NEW REMIX YOU CAN FIND HERE!
By Robert J! Lake
It’s a little more melancholy than you might expect for an opening track. That’s not to take away from it, though: the first half’s gloomy and brooding, and the second half picks it up into something a little more frantic.
Image source: MSPaint Adventures.
I imagine the gravity of his predicament is really setting in at this point. Not only is he stuck in jail, but he’s subject to the whims of a manic command prompt. Pumpkins phase in and out of reality randomly. There will be blood.
By Robert J! Lake
The main riff’s drawn from Arcade Thunder off of Volume 8. I like this tune better, though: there’s a great, rushed energy to it, where Arcade Thunder’s a little more mellow. And it’s as chiptune as a song can be. Have a listen starting at 1:10 or so: if it were any more electronic, it would have been composed procedurally in BASIC. My top track for the album.
Image source: MSPaint Adventures.
Prisioner #2’s emotional high point in the comic. Things will go downhill pretty quick, after he’s shot by (and then, later, shoots himself with) a harpoon gun.
By Robert J! Lake
A slow-paced remix of Softly, off of Volume 5. It’s surprising how many unique ‘instruments’ RJ manages to coax out of a limited palette: thumping bass, white-noise percussion, and a couple of triangle- and pulse-waves that carry the main melody.
Image source: MSPaint Adventures.
Jailbreak, the prequel. So many unanswered questions. Why is he wearing a boot on his head? How did they die, with the conspicuous absence of any stumps in the room? Is the handgun just another key, and are the three keys actually just other, assorted firearms?
UPDATE: sometimes the scope of this loosely-bound series of comics boggles my mind. It turns out that some of these questions have been answered.