Archive - Commentary
2.8k words across 76 entries.
Archive Archive (album commentary) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube (playlist), Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Extraneous tracks from 2012-2016 presented in reverse chronological order. Tracks 1-4, 12-13 are commissions from various projects, including "Jungle Boogie", an outtake from Homestuck Vol. 10. Tracks 5-11 are single tracks off of Soundcloud selected from 2013. Tracks 14-30 were created by request as rewards for my Kickstarter from 2012. Tracks 31 and 32 are remixes by a couple of friends of tracks off of Ithaca.
Quasar Nebula: (wiki editor)
Archive was originally released on Bandcamp on . Due to a copyright claim on the stock cloud photo in its cover artwork, that release was taken offline in July 2018. After workshopping a new cover made from original assets, Bowman worked with Hadron to create the final artwork for a rerelease on or around .
Although all 32 tracks remained present, the 2018 track order was quite different.
2018 track list details
The first 22 tracks were public on Bandcamp and also listenable on streaming platforms:
- Awake (2012 Version)
- Got It?
- Airwaves
- Mad Science
- Millennium Bug
- Far Away
- Gondwanaland
- Diamonds and Diamonds and Diamonds
- Bandages
- Electroverture
- Emery's Theme (née "Crimesters Credits")
- Know That You're Mine
- Just Destroy It
- In The Marching Band
- Make It Bounce
- Explosion Force (They Do It Right)
- The New Window
- Polyominoes
- Slow Bay
- This Sunset
- Jungle Boogie
- Awake (2013 Version) (née "Awake")
The remaining 10 were exclusively available as bonus tracks from Bandcamp:
In October 2024, Bowman restored the track list of Archive to its original 2016 order - making all 32 tracks public on Bandcamp and available on streaming. Retained from the 2018 release, Awake (2013 Version) remains named so, rather than just "Awake" as it was originally called. The 2018 release's cover artwork was also kept.
Bowman shared some background for the album, and the motivation for these changes, in the Bowmantown Discord server:
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bowmantown Discord, excerpt)
I'd like to talk about something I'm mulling over which is restoring Archive back to its original track listing.
When I originally put out the album I was making up for the fact that so much material had been shuffled off to random corners of the Internet with no real plan for a formal release. I'd held onto that stuff for so long because it didn't really form a coherent album and I think I was being fairly protective of there being some image involved here.
That said, it looked like the culture of the Internet had gotten so oriented toward just churning out and dumping content that I felt like maybe I was being too precious by not putting it all out there. Considering things like C148's mega-long albums of just random scraps or people like Andrew Huang and Jonathan Coulton I felt weirdly like the dark horse trying to do the classic album cycle recording process.
So I went ahead and just compiled all that stuff from 2012 to 2016 that had been finished to some degree and released it as one album.
Looking back I think it was basically the best solution to the problem of having "unreleased" material that people were already semi-attached to. But I think the neurotic feeling that it was somehow a botched release got to me and rearranging it was meant to make it more programatic.
But creating a situation where 10 tracks were completely behind a paywall never to be streamable on so many different platforms, especially now that streaming is basically the main way people listen to music, seems incredibly short-sighted.
Also seeing the confusion it's created for the homestuck music wiki really gets me!
So here's I'm considering doing ASAP
- The album will go back to its original running order with no bonus tracks - Bandcamp customers will be able to download the album in its restored format as soon as it's available if they so choose.
- The new album art will remain in place due to the copyright claim on my original art, personally I think it's superior work anyway and I'm satisfied with what Hadron was able to cook up for me.
- "Crimesters Theme" and "Crimesters Credits" will have their titles restored.
- "Awake (2013 Version)" and "Awake (2012 Version)" will remain labeled as such, I think choosing one version over the other to not have a dated version behind it would overemphasize one or the other which doesn't really make sense.
- It will be re-distributed to platforms, replacing the currently uploaded version. This may create some issues with playlists, but I'd rather have one single complete edition of the album available rather than competing versions.
Quasar Nebula: (wiki editor)
From when Bowman's discography was first added to the wiki (February 2021), the sole album entry for Archive had been based on the 2018 release. Later on (around April 2024), we learned about the original 2016 release. Because of the differences in track order and cover artwork, we decided to represent both versions of Archive on the wiki - but practically speaking, this made Archive look like as though it was two albums.
From later 2024 on - following discussion in Bowmantown about the presentation of Archive, and various wiki concepts - these two entries are consolidated as a single album on the wiki. We reflect the track list from 2024, with tracks Crimesters Theme, Crimesters Credits, and Awake (2013 Version) getting their earlier-release names as "additional names". Commentary from the various releases and platforms is all here, too.
Michael Guy Bowman: (original artwork)
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bowmantown Discord re: artwork for 2018 release, excerpts)
I've been playing with some ideas for a new version of the cover, I wanted to see what you thought.
Here's a really rough one I put together a few days ago:
Unfinished "Archive" 2nd edition cover.
oh wow that’s really cool too
that could be pretty sick
although I don’t know how well it fits the calmer songs like awakeInteresting, is the EYE too abrasive?
I've considered versions with an all-seeing Illuminati-esque eye on the screen.
What do you think of using a laptop
It's the actual one I used until 2012 so it has special significance.
It's been shopped a little to make it more symmetrical, just like the old picture.
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bowmantown Discord, excerpts)
@Hadronus did great work on the new art and gave me way more than I expected from the new computer he rendered
The hand was his idea
The clouds are not mine but are purchased with a royalty-free license
I added the same gradient map as beforeIt should be on Spotify soon and I’ll make a new “best of” playlist
This has been hanging over me for a while so I’m glad to get this done
Quasar Nebula: (wiki editor)
2024's Bandcamp about and credits blurbs are mostly based on the 2016 release's, although there are slight differences. The 2018 release had only a short about blurb.
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb) captured 8/2/2016
A compilation of non-album tracks going back a few years presented in reverse chronological order. Tracks 1-4, 12-13 are commissions from various projects, including "Jungle Boogie", an outtake from Homestuck Vol. 10. Tracks 5-11 are single tracks off of Soundcloud selected from 2013. Tracks 14-30 were created by request as rewards for my Kickstarter from 2012. Tracks 31 and 32 are remixes by a couple of friends of tracks off of Ithaca.
There's a lot of jingle length stuff on here, so individual tracks less than a minute long are pay-what-you-want. Enjoy!
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Commissions, novelty tracks, experiments in electronica from 2012-2016. Download features 10 bonus tracks.
Jungle Boogie Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Outtake from Homestuck Vol. 10, 2016
Crimesters Theme Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Commission for Emery Ferguson, 2015
Crimesters Credits Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Commission for Emery Ferguson, 2015
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bowmantown Discord, excerpt)
Emery Ferguson (who did track art for Another Countdown) was working on a podcast that never came to fruition and commissioned those. I've got some music in his current thing called "The Museum of Natural Mystery"
Just Destroy It Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Commission for Lindsay Hejl, 2014
Got It? Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
Feeling very electric.
Awake (2013 Version) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
A new version of "Awake" which I'm very fond of as far as songs go.
Polyominoes Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
Little blocks stacked together.
Airwaves Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Gondwanaland Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
Continents drifting together and apart - hundreds of millions of years of geological history illustrated in a few minutes.
Slow Bay Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
Another calm piece. This might become a thing for me.
The New Window Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Soundcloud, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
Something short for all the daydreamers.
Electroverture Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Commission for Cari Garafalo, 2013
Aba Daba Honeymoon Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Commission for Chris Sweet, 2013
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
As commissioned by Chris Sweet for Effing Decaf's Transdimensional Mormon Summer Vacation!
"Aba Daba Honeymoon" is a classic song by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan from 1914. This particular butchering is an assault on the senses with the whimsical sci-fi flavor we've come to know and love from the many adventures chronicled in Effing Decaf, specifically a recent episode concerned with a variety of magic words. Enjoy!
READ THE COMIC: effingdecaf.blogspot.com/
Chris Sweet: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Valentine To Sarah From Julian Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Julian Low (dedicated to Sarah), 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
New commission: a love letter from fundraiser backer Julian Low to his girlfriend Sarah. In it I recount the story of their relationship as Julian recounted it to me.
This track is so saccharine that I was almost too embarrassed to upload it. It's based around a sketch I wrote back in 2009 which just laid around on my computer as "sandpaper.flp" for the longest time. Now it's got me doing scat on it.
Hope you enjoy it, Sarah! Julian cares for you deeply and I hope it comes across in this song.
Make It Bounce Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for McKinley Freeman, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
Commissioned by McKinley Freeman. The request was simply "Butts". When you listen, imagine all of humanity twerking as one in perfect harmony.
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Diamonds and Diamonds and Diamonds Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Michael Orr, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
Commissioned by Michael Orr for the fundraiser and all that.
Here's the request: "A song about... space? More specifically black holes, dark matter, objects slipping beyond the horizon of the visible universe. Things we observe without seeing, and things we will never be able to observe."
Michael Guy Bowman: (artwork, SoundCloud)
Awake (2012 Version) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Kaolin Maia Cash, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/25/2015
Commissioned by Samuel Bennallick. Cello by Clark Powell.
Request was as follows: "...the confusion one feels upon waking up from a particularly intense dream; good or bad. The struggle to come to terms with some shocking imagery or, if it was a particularly good dream, the realisation that you're not in that euphoric state you dreamt about and waking up into the dull monotony of life."
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Mad Science Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Nich Maragos, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
Another commission! This one was requested by Nich Maragos and celebrates a certain legendary character trope.
Request was as follows: "I would like a song celebrating mad science. Those fools at the institute said it couldn't be done! But you'll show them! Ahahaha!"
This Sunset Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Leigh-Ann Peach, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
This is a chill-as-ice spoken word track commissioned by Leigh-Ann Peach called "This Sunset". If "Awake" is my ode to dawn, this is my ode to dusk. The original request is as follows:
"I'd like a song about being happy for the sake of it, featuring blue skies and space. Because those two things are cool. anything hopeful and would cheer people up if they were sad too."
Enjoy.
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Millennium Bug Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Sixar, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/25/2015
Another commission! This one is a full-length instrumental requested by Sixar for use in a forthcoming project.
Request is as follows: "I'd like you to write a theme for one of the worlds that features prominently in a project I've been working on behind the scenes. It'd serve as a theme song for both the planet in question and maybe the project in general..."
"...Basically, I'd like something adventurous, perhaps a little dark, and a bit sci-fi. Instrumental would be fantastic."
Better than a music video, here's the fantastic projection-based Christmas display Yuletide Lights by Pollyck: youtu.be/8yAoG1wbonw
Know That You're Mine Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Kalen Boley, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/25/2015
A delightful little song commissioned by Kalen Boley for my SXSW fundraiser.
Request is as follows: "Something kinda romantic or nostalgic, about stargazing with a sweetheart?"
Far Away Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Jon Drobny, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/25/2015
Another dang commission from my fundraiser. This one, called "Far Away" is a jingle commissioned by Jon Drobny. Original request as follows:
"I was thinking about space exploration - something about being farther away from one's home than anyone's ever been before."
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Ismelda The Bearded Mermaid Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Brad Griffin, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
Commissioned by Brad Griffin for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser. Featuring the piano stylings of Erik Scheele.
Request: "I have no preference as far as topic, but something in 6/8 time would be awesome."
Bandages Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Colin "Bandages" Burns, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
The personal anthem of Colin Burns, known as "Bandages" on various forums. Commissioned for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser.
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Get Start! Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Alex Coady, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
Commissioned by Alex Coady for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser. Featuring vox and additional sequencing by Astro Kid.
Request was to make a 1-2 minute song that was "upbeat, melodic, and happy".
You Are The Birthday Girl Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Jeremy Iamurri, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
This is a birthday song you can sing whenever wherever - I don't care if it's in a movie or any derivative work of any kind! Let the jerks that own "Happy Birthday To You" go straight to hell!
PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS: Play either this song or its alternate version, "You Are the Birthday Boy" and then say their name at the end after "Happy Birthday to..."
Commissioned by fellow MSPA musician Jeremy Iamurri for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser whose birthday was a couple of days ago and for whom I attempted to make this birthday jingle.
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
You Are The Birthday Boy Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Jeremy Iamurri, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
This is a birthday song you can sing whenever wherever - I don't care if it's in a movie or any derivative work of any kind! Let the jerks that own "Happy Birthday To You" go straight to hell!
PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS: Play either this song or its alternate version, "You Are the Birthday Girl" and then say their name at the end after "Happy Birthday to..."
Commissioned by fellow MSPA musician Jeremy Iamurri for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser whose birthday was a couple of days ago and for whom I attempted to make this birthday jingle.
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
In The Marching Band Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Mason Herschberg, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/27/2015
Commissioned by Mason Herschberg for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser.
Original request as follows:
"Marching Band really changed my life in 2011 so I figured a neat little jingle about Marching Band would be a fun thing to use as a ringtone and show my friends that also know about your music! I'd like like it to be funny and lighthearted."
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Explosion Force (They Do It Right) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Jeremy Geist, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/26/2015
Commissioned by Jeremy Geist for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser.
Original request as follows:
"I and some of my friends at college enjoy playing a game called 'Hunter: The Vigil'. It's a tabletop role-playing game where you're a bunch of hunters attempting to take down the assorted horrors of the night. Our characters are members of VASCU, a secret section of the FBI dedicated to taking down supernatural serial killers.
Our cell name is 'Explosion Force'.
If you couldn't tell, we quickly shifted the tone of the game from 'Supernatural' to 'The A-Team'.
The characters are:
-Arthur Spencer, a hardboiled detective with nothing to lose.
-Felix Gant, a graduate student investigating the disappearance of his father. A vengeful spirit named Alan lives in his arm.
-David Bramble, an ex-military agent who enjoys guns, threatening people, and throwing his weight around.
-Brian McLane (my character!), a grizzled fellow who joined WitSec after VASCU put the blame on him in order to cover up mass Meso-American mummy murder. Both the team driver and the team drunk.The Explosion Force drives around in the Explosionmobile, a large van with the most bitchin' van art of all time: On the left side, a wizard plays guitar that shoots blue lightning, while on the right, a bear plays guitar that shoots green lightning. The lightning bolts meet in the back of the van and cause an explosion. The van also has a giant laser cannon under the hood.
Every team needs a faceless, shadowy organization to fight, and in this case it's the Cult of Scars, full of people who love scars and/or human experimentation.
Long story short, we've all chipped in for you to write the Explosion Force theme song (as if it were a weekly TV show). Do cheesy, yet inspirational '80s rock like 'Eye of the Tiger' or 'The Touch'."
Michael Guy Bowman: (alternate artwork, SoundCloud)
Conro Corp Anthem Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Kickstarter reward for Connor Norris, 2012
Michael Guy Bowman: (SoundCloud description) captured 7/25/2015
Commissioned by Connor Norris for the "Send Bowman and His Band to SXSW 2012" fundraiser.
Original request as follows:
"For a series called 'untitled' about some guys who have a magic office building with an elevator to other universes. There'd be a lot of video game stuff referenced. They all work for a company called Conro Corp which is an actual group that will make games and other things. Pretty much I would like a jingle that could function as the Conro Corp jingle both in the show and in actual things, the theme for the show, and has a 8-bit like vibe to it. If it could be instrumental, great."
Archive
Track list (1–32)