[Track: Copper Beech Carousel] [Genre: 1991 Alternative College Folk Rock, Jangle Pop, Chamber Folk] [Sound: R.E.M. Out of Time Era, Peter Buck Acoustic Rickenbacker and Mandolin Aesthetic] [Instrumentation: Rhythmic Mandolin Chops, Jangly 12-String Acoustic Guitar, Warm Melodic Rickenbacker Bass, Subtle Vintage Harpsichord and Melodic Cello Swells] [Percussion Policy: Organic Uncluttered Acoustic Rhythm, Light Snare Brushes and Wooden Shaker, No Heavy Modern Drums, No Electronic Beats] [Production: Dry Natural Room Warmth, Intimate 1991 Athens Studio Bleed, Uncompressed Chamber Air, Scott Litt Production Aesthetic] [Vocals: Michael Stipe Style Baritone, Poetic Enigmatic Delivery, Conversational Mumble to Soaring Resonant Chanting, Falsetto Harmony Backing] [Tempo: 118 BPM - Driving, Melodic Jangle Stride] [Key: A Minor to C Major] [Intro - Mandolin & Jangle Guitar Riff - 6 Bars] [Organic Acoustic Space] (A bright, percussive mandolin chops a rapid, cyclical folk riff in A minor) (A 12-string acoustic guitar rings out behind it with chiming, open arpeggios) (Warm, melodic bassline enters on the upbeat alongside light, dry snare brush sweeps) [Verse 1 - Enigmatic Stipe Delivery] (Mandolin maintains a steady, rhythmic chug; acoustic guitar jangles softly) [Solo Male Lead - Intimate, nasal baritone, enigmatic, close to the mic] Trace the perimeter, count all the copper beech, Things that we reach for and things that remain out of reach. A pocket of postcards that nobody bother to mail, The weather is turning and turning the weathercock pale. You speak in a cursive I never quite learn how to read, Planting the gravel and waiting to harvest the seed. [Pre-Chorus - Ascending Bass & Strings] (Melodic bass climbs the scale; a dry acoustic cello enters with a low, mournful drone) [Lead Vocal with Soft High Harmony] Look at the weathercock spin... Look at the mess that we’re in... [Chorus 1 - Chamber Jangle Swell] [Key Shift to Bright C Major] (Acoustic 12-string strums open and loud; mandolin trills sparkle on the high frets) (Subtle harpsichord accents ring behind the chords) [Lush Call-and-Response - Soaring, resonant lead with high tenor counter-melody] Turn around, the carousel is slowing down! Shadows stretching long across the county town! Did you leave the lantern burning by the door? We don't keep the reckonings we kept before! No, not anymore! [Instrumental Riff Break - Mandolin & Bass Feature - 4 Bars] (Peter Buck style syncopated mandolin line dances over fluid, melodic bass runs) [Verse 2 - Driving Folk-Pop Stride] (Acoustic jangle continues briskly at 118 BPM with dry, organic brush rhythm) [Solo Male Lead - Conversational, eccentric, rhythmic scansion] The radio whispers of treaties signed under the sun, Counting the casualties before the election is done. A glass on the sideboard, a ring where the water had sat, Old Sunday papers, the memory of this and of that. We pull on our sweaters and stare at the darkening hill, Nobody moves and the carousel stands very still. [Chorus 2 - Full Jangle Bloom] (Full acoustic band resonance, chiming overtones, energetic mandolin picking) [Lush Call-and-Response - Emphatic, bright college-rock anthemic feel] Turn around, the carousel is slowing down! Shadows stretching long across the county town! Did you leave the lantern burning by the door? We don't keep the reckonings we kept before! No, not anymore! [Bridge - Minor Chamber Breakdown - 6 Bars] [Dynamic Shift: Mute Drums, Cello and Mandolin Only] [Vocals: Gentle Michael Stipe Spoken Mumble to Falsetto Arc] (muttering softly) "Gather the leaves... tie up the twine... everything's fine..." (Soaring, wordless falsetto harmony rises into the air) "Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh..." [Outro - Cyclic Mandolin Vamp & Vocal Chants - 10 Bars] (Mandolin and 12-string acoustic lock into a driving, hypnotic Athens folk groove) [Lead Vocal with Rich Overlapping Harmony Backing] Not anymore... Turn the carousel around... Not anymore... (Light brush hits drop away, leaving solo chiming mandolin to ring out on an unresolved cadence) [End]
