A: One of my favorite bands (PHiSH) started a tradition known as a musical costume on many halloween occasions. Rather than physically dressing up, they musically assume the form of a different band and perform one of their classic albums. More info here.

A: This year isn't like other years. Most children and adults will avoid their normal halloween traditions because of the pandemic. There will also be a lack of new or live music being performed on this historically creative night. I've been performing virtual live concerts and releasing home-recordings and video performances since the start of the pandemic to help myself and my friends and family enjoy some live-ish music as a distraction from all things 2020 and to help us feel more "together". This felt like a logical next thing to do this year. The video visuals will also function as a form of costume.

A: For starters, the album lends itself perfectly to live looping. I also happen to be very fond of it. James Murphy describes the recording of the album as a detour that helped pull him out of a deep depression he was in during the middle of recording their monumental album "Sound of Silver" (as documented here). I suspect many people (myself, included) may be dealing with above-average mental health ailments this year. "Someone Great" from "Sound of Silver" ended up being based on the 3rd track in 45:33 (I chose to sing the "Someone Great" lyrics in my interpretation). This blogger describes "Someone Great" as the greatest song ever written about loss. I think a lot of people may have lost someone they love this year and will find significance in this song. The 4th track ends with the lyrics "That day you gave a new faith In how people can save one another, instead of always putting out their hands To crush". I feel the world needs more of that.

A: With 1 small exception, the entire thing was performed live, in 1 take (after countless failed attempts)! The entire performance is a seamless "continuous mix", making it impossible to overdub anything. Because of this, there are a few minor mistakes / things I may have done differently, but I wanted to perform a true live performance (even if it was pre-recorded). I considered doing this as a typical "Facebook Live" performance, but I've noticed that the audio and video quality end up being much better if I record it ahead of time and upload it vs live streaming. Additionally, Facebook has recently started to crack down on live performances of cover songs and I didn't want the performance to be lost because it was blocked for copyright reasons. The 1 small exception I alluded to is the very first synth melody (the intro). I DO perform 1 "take" of this live, but after that I trigger aversion of that same synth melody that I had previously recorded and then manipulated by adjusting the tempo to create the effect of it being sped up and slowed down (here's a video of me doing that). I pre-recorded this 1 melody because the process of changing the tempo/speed is something that is impossible to do well while simultaneously recording other parts like the piano and bass which occur during those tempo/speed-changes. Also, weird stuff happens if you mess with the tempo while recording :)

A: Here's a video where I describe all the bells and whistles involved in making this.

A: Here are a few options: Listen to it! Work out! It was originally recorded to be part of a "Nike+ Original Run Series". "Work out" with your partner ;)

A: No, I just used a chroma-key/green-screen approach to have background videos. I downloaded some royalty-free stock psychedelic backgrounds that I thought would match the... I mean... nevermind. Yeah.. I'm like totally a hologram now... does that make me immortal 🤔 ?

A: No, it doesn't.

A: I chose to omit the final track, so my version is only 36:38, but that last song is mostly just robot voices, right? It also makes for a more-cohesive continuous mix.

A: I was hoping no one saw that 🤦

A: Optimist, I think?

A: That wasn't a question, but I'll try this: If there wasn't a pandemic, this costume performance probably wouldn't exist. As wouldn't an unbelievable and unique amount and variety of outpouring of love and creativity in the world. I hope when we defeat covid 19 it will be like the end of movies like "Independence Day" where the world feels unified after defeating a common enemy, but the journey has been paved with incredible adaptations thus far, making it not only bearable, but inspires optimism in the human race. How's that for optimism? Yeah, I think I'm probably an optimist.