Aqueous Transmission: An Eclectic Analysis (work in progress)

This is my eclectic analysis of the song Aqueous Transmission by Incubus. As practiced in class, I have chosen to do the open listening before the historical background. I felt this was necessary especially because I had never heard the song before and I wanted to approach it from a completely fresh and unbiased angle. I listened to the song openly a number of times before proceeding with the analysis. The song is from the album "Morning View," which I downloaded on i-tunes. This analysis is of the song as it appears on the album, however there are a number of versions on youtube including live performances by Incubus as well as other people's videos and video mash-ups set to this song. Before reading this analysis, I recommend listening to the song as it appears on the album, but if you don't own it yet, here is a link to one of the youtube videos that plays the song and just shows the album cover.

1) Open Listening

The first thing I thought when I heard this pieces for the first time was, "This is the most beautiful song ever written." It captivated me with the first five notes. An instrument that sounds kind of like sitar plays an ostinato, the line ascends melodically, pauses, then descends. The ostinato is consistent throughout the piece up until the beginning of the last minute. The strings enter with a glissando, reminiscent of something one may hear in an Asian song. A breathy wood flute enters with a freely flowing solo that utilizes a large range of the instrument. Bells begin to keep the beat, as in Native American dance. A basic scratch on turntables usher in a drum beat comes that gives a slow simple beat also reminiscent of the Native American traditional music. The beat is simple and heartbeat-like. The flute solo is very lyrical, telling a story about beautiful and natural things and emotions. The strings fade in with harmonics, creating an atmosphere that evokes the serenity of untouched nature. The flute and strings drop out and a single male voice comes in over the ostinato and drum beat. His voice is very easy and soft. The first words are, "I'm floating down a river." The first verse ends with "I marvel at the stars and feel my heart overflow." After "overflow" is sung, the strings come in starting in unison then gradually some of the strings glissando up to build dissonance. The dissonance creates an emotional rush that leads into the first chorus. The chorus consists of the phrase, "Further down the river," repeated four times. On the second and fourth repetitions, the word "river" is colored with glissandi that emulate the motion of a wave. In the second verse, the voice sings "I'm in this boat alone," which is followed by a short solo flute response, suggesting that the flute symbolizes the man. Later in that verse, the voice revers to the river, singing, "floating down a river named Emotion," suggesting that emotion, like a river, is windy, constantly in motion, and alternates between being predictable and unpredictable. The verse ends with, "Will I make it back to shore or drift into the unknown," which is followed by a break in the ostinato where a cello enters with a pedal tone and we hear bird calls. The last verse begins with "I'm building an antenna," and sounds of indecipherable words, like a transmission, can be heard in the background amongst the natural atmospheric sounds created by the high string harmonics, the low string pedal tones, the ostinato, and the drum beat. The last phrase of the verse is, "Maybe we can meet again further down the river to see what we both discovered and revel in the view." After "revel in the view," plucked strings in octaves and unisons take over the ostinato, a cello pedal tone enters after the antecedent phrase, the consequent phrase is altered to form a second antecedent phrase, which is then answered by a contrasting arco consequent which produces an even stronger emotional rush that leads into the final chorus. After the chorus, the phrase "I'm floating down a river" reappears, echoing the first line of the song. This phrase is repeated a number of times and eventually fades out as the strings overlap increasingly more layers and seamlessly replaces the vocals. The string layers interact with one another like ripples and waves and turns in the river. On top of this rippling string texture, one flute comes in with a melody in the same simple and free-flowing style as the other intermittent flute solos, then second flute joins in in the same style, like the two are "meeting again further down the river." The two flutes play off of one another and add to the full texture of the strings, ostinato, drum, and bells. This full texture lasts briefly, then the many voices gradually drop out. The string voices drop out one-by-one, revealing less and less complicated phrases. Eventually all of the strings drop out, and finally the ostinato drops out. We are left with the two flutes weaving in and out of each other over the drum beat and bells. Then the two flutes become one flute, the bells drop out, the drum beat stops, and the flute makes a last small gesture that ends with a relax in pitch as the sound of many frogs chirping fades in. The frog chirping lasts for a full minute and fades out.

2) Historical Background

Incubus is comprised of Brandon Boyd (vocals, guitar, percussion), Mike Einziger (guitar, backup vocals, piano), Jose Pasillas II (drums, percussion), Chris Kilmore (turntables, keyboards, samples, decks), and Ben Kenny (bass, backup vocals). Chris Kilmore replaced the original DJ, Gavin Koppell, in 1998, and Ben Kenney replaced the original bassist, Dirk Lance, in 2003. The band was started by Boyd, Einziger, and Pasillas when the three were in high school in Calabasas, California.

3) Syntax

4) Sound-in-Time

5) Textual Representation

Instead of looking up the lyrics and copying them into my analysis, I transcribed them first and then verified them. In addition, I tried to capture Brandon Boyd's sung rhetoric in my transcription so as not to lose meaning which may only make itself known through this rhetoric. I accounted for breaths in phrases with a hung indent, such as in "Lying face-up on the floor of my vessel." I tried to articulate his embellishment on the word "river" in the choruses as well. There is one unsolved discrepancy in the second line of the first verse. I originally heard the word "homes," but most other sources claim that it is "holes." A few sources posit "holds." I was unable to locate the official lyrics. I will discuss this discrepancy later in my meta-critique. Without further ado, here are the words:

I'm floating down a river Oars freed from their homes/holes/holds long ago Lying face-up on the floor of my vessel I marvel at the stars and feel my heart overflow Further down the river Further down the riveaaaaah Further down the river Further down the riveaaaaah Two weeks without my lover I'm in this boat alone Floating down a river named Emotion Will I make it back to shore or drift into the unknown Further down the river Further down the riveaaaaah Further down the river Further down the riveaaaaah I'm building an antenna Transmissions will be sent when I am through Maybe we can meet again Further down the river 'n' share what we both discovered and revel in the view Further down the river Further down the riveaaaaah Further down the river Further down the riveaaaaah I'm floating down a river I'm floating down a river I'm floating down a river I'm floating down a river I'm floating down a river i'm floating down a river i'm floating down a river

And here is my literal translation of this metaphorical scenario:

I am letting life take me where it will
I have stopped trying to influence and control the natural course of things
I am observing the world outside of my own ego, and the realization that I am a small part of the magnificent universe causes me to feel innumerable emotions simultaneously. The combination of emotions is so intense and powerful that I experience them viscerally.

Later on in life
Later on in life
Later on in life
Later on in life

I've been without my lover for two weeks.
This is the natural course that my life alone has taken.
Being on this natural course alone causes me to experience many different, conflicting, and constantly changing emotions.
There is so much uncertainty. I don't know if this course and these emotional experiences will help me to better understand the implications of my existence in the world or if it will just lead me to more existential questions.

Later on in life
Later on in life
Later on in life
Later on in life

I'm trying to use the things I am learning about myself and the world on this natural course to understand what my particular role in the world is.
Eventually, I will have an affinity with the world that will be reflected in everything I do and will allow me to continue to follow my natural course and answer my natural callings with less internal struggle.
Maybe, when this happens, your (my lover) natural course will lead you back to me. Maybe, if I can figure out my own life, I can be your natural calling and we will be together again. We can share with each other these essential things we've discovered about ourselves and the world and revel in the beauty that is Life.

Later on in life
Later on in life
Later on in life
Later on in life

I am letting life take me where it will
I am letting life take me where it will
I am letting life take me where it will
I am letting life take me where it will
I am letting life take me where it will
i am letting life take me where it will
i am letting life take me where it will

6) Virtual Feeling

7) Onto-Historical World

8) Open Listening

9) Performance Guide

10) Meta-Critique