Brandon Boyd

1. Brandon Boyd of Incubus

2. Background • Born on February 15, 1976 in Van Nuys, California to parents Charles and Dolly. • Influenced by his mother to be creative and visual in life, including the practice of lucid dreaming. • Formed the band Incubus in 1991, during his sophomore year of high school in Calabasas, California, with guitarist Mike Einziger, drummer Jose Pasillas, and bassist Alex Katunich. • Released seven studio albums, three of which have gone platinum in the United States, namely, Make Yourself (1999), Morning View (2001), A Crow Left of the Murder (2004) and two which have gone gold, being S.C.I.E.N.C.E (1997) and Light Grenades (2006).

3. A mother’s influence • An artist herself, Boyd’s mother, Dolly, was pregnant with his older brother when she thought it would be humorous to paint a self-portrait of herself as the Virgin Mary. This is the very first piece of art the Boyd remembers which currently hangs in his kitchen. As a child, the painting hung in the guest bedroom of his grandfather’s house where he and his brothers would sleep whenever they visited. Boyd recalls on a few occasions, “I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the eyes of this painting alive and looking down at me! My Mother (the Virgin Mary) in a very ominous voice would say, ‘Go back to sleep, Brandon!’”

4. Uniqueness • Boyd is an author, visual artist, environmentalist, songwriter, and vocalist • “Suspicious of religion, advertising and know-it-alls” • Named his right knee Chet and his left knee Garrison • Notorious for his tattoos • Plays uncommon instruments in Western music such as the djembe, didgeridoo, and bongos • Classified music as “alternative rock,” but states, “I have always had a hard time in describing my creative style. I find the same dilemma when asked what type of music I play. But if I had to, I would say that I am doing my best to turn my mind inside out and see what it looks like framed.”

5. Pardon Me • “Pardon Me” was released as the first single on the album “Make Yourself” which peaked at number three on Billboard’s Alternative Songs during the week of April 15, 2000. The single was inspired by an experience that Brandon Boyd had while at a bookstore. As he was scanning through an old issue of a Life magazine, he stumbled across a photograph “of a guy fried up above his knee,” as the song states. The article containing this image labeled this as spontaneous human combustion. • Spontaneous human combustion occurs when a human body begins to burn without any obvious external causes. Boyd was moved when he saw this picture and related it to his own life as he was going through some difficult moments. Boyd’s afflictions at that time are said to have come from the deaths of his grandmother and his father’s friend as well as discovering that his long-time girlfriend had been unfaithful. In the chorus he writes, “Pardon me while I burst into flames. I’ve had enough of the world and its people’s mindless games,” signifying that he feels as if he could spontaneously combust due to all the pressures and pains of life.

6. Pardon mehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXzuDXZwZtI • Intro Pardon me while I burst0:00 – 0:24 Pardon me while I burst • Verse 1 A decade ago I never thought I would be a twenty three0:25 – 0:49 On the verge of spontaneous combustion woe is me But I guess that it comes with the territory An ominous landscape of never ending calamity I need you to hear, I need you to see That I have had all I can take And exploding seems like a definite possibility to me • Chorus So, pardon me while I burst into flames0:50 – 1:15 I’ve had enough of the world and it’s people’s mindless games So, pardon me while I burst and rise above the flame Pardon me, pardon me, I’ll never be the same • Verse 2 Not two days ago I was having a look in a book1:16 – 1:46 And I saw a picture of a guy fried up above his knees I said, “I can relate,” ‘cause lately I’ve been thinking Of combustication as a welcomed vacation from The burdens of the planet Earth Like gravity, hypocrisy, and the perils of being in 3D By thinking so much differently • Chorus So, pardon me while I burst into flames1:47 – 2:12 I’ve had enough of the world and it’s people’s mindless games So, pardon me while I burst and rise above the flame Pardon me, pardon me, I’ll never be the same • Bridge So, pardon me while I burst into flames2:13 – 2:39 Pardon me, pardon me, pardon me • Chorus So, pardon me while I burst into flames2:40 – 3:30 I’ve had enough of the world and it’s people’s mindless games So, pardon me while I burst and rise above the flame Pardon me, pardon me, I’ll never be the same Pardon me, I’ll never be the same, yeah • Pardon me sounds to be in duple meter. • The time moves really fast and at first some may be lost, trying to follow the beat. • The chorus sounds sarcastic as you don’t often hear someone politely ask to be excused to explode. • At the end of each chorus you hear the scratching of the DJ which makes for a nice little break until the next verse starts. • The 2nd verse relates Boyd’s experience at the bookstore. • The rest is a repetition of Boyd asking for permission to burst his reasoning to do so.

7. Talk shows on mute • “Talk Shows on Mute” was released as the second single on the album “A Crow Left of the Murder” which peaked at number three on Billboard’s Alternative Songs during the week of July 10, 2004. The chorus of the song sings, “Come one, come all into 1984” which is based off of a novel by George Orwell in entitled “1984” during the time following Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin arose to power in 1949. The book portrays a suppressed and unhappy society in which one of the ways the government controls people is through television. Rather than people watching TV, the TV was watching them. The story reveals what the world would be like if it became completely totalitarian. • Two of the verses of the song sing of “electric sheep” which derives from another novel by Philip K. Dick published in 1968 entitled “Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep?” His book is about a world devastated by nuclear war with most animals endangered, giving a higher status to any animal owner. Eventually people turn to owning robotic animals. On this fictional planet, emotionless, advanced androids pose as humans, making it difficult for humans to differentiate between who is real and who is synthetic. • Brandon Boyd recounts the moment he became inspired to write the song while on a flight. He recalls, “I was on an airplane when a talk show began playing on the TVs. I decided to start narrating for the people, which is a really great game if you're ever bored enough. I realized a time will probably come when television will watch us if we're watching it, if that hasn't already happened, figuratively or literally. It sounded like some sort of pseudo-Big Brother nightmare, so I wrote it down." • Considering all of the influences on “Talk Shows on Mute,” the lyrics begin to make sense. The song is directed to a celebrity on a talk show which mesmerizes and dulls it’s viewers in America, as if they are being controlled by television, all for economic gain. He alludes that the hypnotized audience members are the electric sheep, longing, dreaming, and judging the celebrity. Boyd ends the song by suggesting that life shouldn’t be rooted in fame and appearance.

8. Talk shows on mutehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTZ0A5qXNUU • Intro0:20 – 0:38 • Verse 1 Take a bow, Pack on powder 0:39 – 1:12 Wash them out with buzzing lights Pay an audience to care Impress me personality Still and transfixed The electric sheep are dreaming of your face Enjoy you from the chemical comfort of America • Chorus Come one, come all1:13 – 1:28 Into 1984 Yeah three, two, one Lights, camera, transaction • Verse 2 Quick your time is almost up1:29 – 2:11 Make all forget that they’re the moth Edging in toward the flame Burn into obscurity Still and transfixed The electric sheep are dreaming up your fate And judge you from the card castle comfort of America • Chorus Come one, come all2:12 – 2:44 Into 1984 Yeah three, two, one Lights, camera, transaction • Bridge2:45 – 3:18 • Chorus Come one, come all3:19 – 3:34 Into 1984 Yeah three, two, one Lights, camera, transaction • Verse 3 Your foundation is canyoning3:35 – 4:18 Fault lines should be worn with pride I hate to say You’re so much more You’re so much more Endearing with the sound turned off • Talk Shows on Mute utilizes word art in duple meter, especially at the end. • Right at the intro you can hear the sound of the electric guitar being plugged in representing the start of the mind-numbing program. • In the 1st verse a reference to Dick’s book with the mention of electric sheep. • The chorus is an invitation to read Orwell’s “1984” to understand how people are controlled by television. • Right after the word “moth” is sung at the 1:46 mark, an electronic buzz is heard, representing the moth. • Another reference to electric sheep is heard at the end of the 2nd verse. • The bridge does a nice job of mixing things up with a easy-listening guitar solo. • The song doesn’t end with a bang as far as volume is concerned. It ends with a 3rd verse as we hear a diminuendo until it is silent right after the final phrase, symbolic of humans being turned off while the TV is on.

9. Anna Molly • “Anna Molly” was released as the first single on the album “Light Grenades” on September 20, 2006 which peaked at number one on Billboard’s Alternative Songs during the week of December 23, 2006. “Anna Molly” is a play on the word “anomaly,” meaning an irregularity or deviation from normal expectations. Some believe that the song is about a mysterious lover, some believe it is about a great spirit, while others believe that it may be about illicit drugs. Whatever the song is referring to, it states that “not one of the others could ever compare.” • What makes “Anna Molly” unique is the utilization of a marxophoneduring the introduction. Named after the Henry Charles Marx in 1912, the marxophone is a stringed instrument similar to a zither, but without any frets. It is played like a piano as the strings are repeatedly struck by white lead hammers, causing quick 16th and 32nd notes and so forth. Notes are marked numerically 1 through 15, alphabetically ranging two octaves from C to C, and in standard notation, making it a fairly easy instrument to use as it offers the performer various options of how to play it. • The beginning of the music video shows all members of Incubus in an attic during the introduction and focuses in on a tattoo of an eye on Brandon Boyd’s upper back and neck. Then a scene beautiful young woman lying still among some dirt and leafs along a trail by the sea appears. She looks as if she would dead and is by police and paramedics to the coroner. Throughout the video, the band members in the attic are shown playing their perspective instruments, but looking out the windows as if they long for her presence. When the autopsy is about to be performed she awakens. This suggests to me that Brandon Boyd was missing his long-distanced lover who was not aware of how he felt for her. But when something terrible was about to happen, she awakens and realizes how she feels about him.

10. Anna Mollyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA_xjBaXor0 • Intro • Verse 1 A cloud hangs over this city by the sea I watch the ships pass and wonder if she might be Out there and sober as a well for loneliness Please do persist girl its time we met and made, a messChorus I picture your face in the back of my eyes A fire in the attic a proof of the prize Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly, Anna-MollyVerse 2 A cloud hangs over and mutes my happiness A thousand ships couldn't sail me back from distress Wish you were here I'm a wounded satellite I need you now put me back together make me rightChorus I picture your face in the back of my eyes a fire in the attic a proof of the prize Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly I'm calling your name up into the air Not one of the others could ever compare! Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly!Bridge Wait there is a light There is a fire illuminated attic Fate or something better I could care less Just stay with me a while Wait there is a light, there is a fire defragmenting the attic Fate or something better I could care less Just stay with me a whileChorus I picture your face in the back of my eyes a fire in the attic a proof of the prize Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly I'm calling your name up into the air Not one of the others could ever compare! Anna-Molly, Anna-Molly!