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I'm a Member of the Midnight Crew (Post-Punk Version)

track cover

By Michael Guy Bowman bowman Bandcamp YouTube YouTube mguybowman Twitter michaelguybowman.com Other mguybowman Instagram ← iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE Previous track by this artist → Another Countdown Next track by this artist.
Cover art by Cari Garafalo endofinfinity.com Other.
Released 6/12/2012.
Duration: 3:50.

Listen on Bandcamp or YouTube.

Read artist commentary.

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Lyrics:

I hate a moral coward, one who lacks a manly spark

I just detest a man afraid to go home in the dark

I spend my every evening where there's women wine and song

But like a man, I always bring my little wife along!

I'm a member of the Midnight Crew

I'm a night owl, a wise bird too

Home with the milk in the morning

Singing the same old song!

Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun

Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun

Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you

Make her a member of the Midnight Crew!

(Make her a member of the Midnight Crew)

The fun it doesn't stop 'til 12 on happy old Broadway

So what's the point of going home, until the break of day?

Now, something confidential, whisper not above a breath

I once went home at 2 AM, and scared my wife to death!

I'm a member of the Midnight Crew

I'm a night owl, a wise bird too

Home with the milk in the morning

Singing the same old song!

Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun

Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun

Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you

Make her a member of the Midnight Crew!

I never shall forget the night I made six robbers run

Although I did not have a knife, a blackjack, or a gun

I proved myself a hero of a very high degree

I ran for home, and six of them, was running after me!

I'm a member of the Midnight Crew

I'm a night owl, a wise bird too

Home with the milk in the morning

Singing the same old song!

Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun

Early to bed, and you'll miss all the fun

Bring your wife and trouble, it can never trouble you
Make her a member of the Midnight Crew!

Artist commentary:

Michael Guy Bowman: (composer, via early commentary collection, excerpt)

One of the things I'd always felt was curious about our re-appropriation of the hundred-year-old vaudeville track by Eddie Morton was the complete contrast between its cheerful mood and the sinister nature of the characters it represents. The Midnight Crew, while fashion-savvy, are cold-blooded murderers, and I'd been curious as to what a darker version of their signature song might sound like.

The inspiration for this "post-punk" arrangement comes specifically from the Iggy Pop track "Nightclubbing", which was produced by David Bowie during their stay in Berlin in 1977. The Iggy Pop and Eddie Morton tracks are very different takes on a night on the town, and I was utterly fascinated by the thought of injecting the old ragtime track with the same seedy atmosphere of Iggy's sardonic croon.

I'd been playing this particular arrangement live at live shows for a while, and for this recorded version I brought in bandmates Erik Scheele and Marcy Nabors to record their respective parts. Erik delivers the excellent jazz piano, while Marcy added some amazing textures by playing theremin and accordion. I made full use of the wah pedal on my guitar to deliver the very textured guitar performance, and copied Iggy's beloved drum machine loop for the main percussion.

Michael Guy Bowman: (Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music, adapted to text)

My version of the Midnight Crew song - I called it the post-punk version because it's modeled after Nightclubbing, from the Iggy Pop album The Idiot. I suppose he was post-punk at the time, but, you know, 1977, let's be real, Sex Pistols and all that stuff, it was really the breakout of it as a commercial genre.

I've heard that people say I sound drunk on the song...? I don't know, like, where people got that idea. The idea of the intonation there was to make it a little sinister, a little seductive, a little creepy, you know... It is about some villains that wander around, ostensibly being gangsters - what do the Midnight Crew even do in the comic? I forget.

I was really satisfied with that one. And that was a great collaboration, Erik on that once again... *(Caption in post: "Erik Scheele - piano, Marcy Nabors - theremin / accordion")

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