Mike Peterson

and his

Virtual Progressive Rock Band

Chicken And A Light

Words and Music

Mike Peterson

Notes

I once designed control systems for Walt Disney Imagineering. At the time, the standard philosophy was to use big, centralized controllers. I advocated and designed small, local controllers. An example I used when pitching my concept was "what if you only wanted to control a chicken and a light".

I came up with the basic idea for this song while eating a very late dinner, in the parking lot of Burger King, in Orlando Florida, after drinking way too much beer.

Heavy rock continues to be a challenge for composers using virtual instruments. The distorted electric guitar is a surprisingly difficult instrument to sample, and sample libraries have so far proven inadequate. The synthesized guitar on this song is based on physical modeling. Although it does not really sound like a guitar, it's a kind of a cool guitar-like sound, and I believe that in the future, this approach will succeed.

Update...The Prominy SC Guitar used with Native Instruments Guitar Rig is now a MUCH better sound.

Lyrics

You live inside
A tiny cage
With millions of your neighbors
Lined up on the left
And on the right

And on the wall
A little light
A temperature controller
Blinking as it's working
Through the night

You're nothing but a chicken
Pecking at a light
Nothing but a chicken
Pecking at a light

Your tiny brain
Will never know
Any of the answers
Hidden in the pattern
Of the light

It blinks again
You turn your head
You try to understand it
And you know you never
Will be right

You're nothing but a chicken…

And then one day
Your time has come
The farmer swings his hatchet
And your head goes rolling
In the light

You lived your life
In ignorance
Now you're Sunday dinner
A tasty
Gastronomical delight

You're nothing but a chicken...