Singled Out: Bubbles Erotica's Cicada Arcade

Chicago rockers Bubbles Erotica are gearing up to release their new self-titled album and we asked bassist Colin Stone to tell us about the lead single "Cicada Arcade". Here is the story:

Every now and then, I will have a moment that is similar to Trent Lane from Daria, where I have to stop everything I am doing and write the song I am hearing in my head. For Cicada Arcade, it was one of those moments. It was the middle of the night, and I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, and all of a sudden I start to hear a Dick Dale surfer rock riff in my head. Now, I am not a guitar player, but I knew if I didn't pick up a guitar and try to figure it out right then and there, it would be lost forever. So I grabbed the out of tune guitar I have sitting in the corner of my room, which is literally there for moments like these, and I hummed out the notes and then matched them on the guitar. I recorded it on my phone very quietly so as not to wake up my girlfriend. I had the riff. It wasn't flashy, and I wasn't sure if it was of any worth, but I had it. The next day, I woke up and re-recorded it onto Logic. I then figured out the main progression and vocal melodies and essentially demo-ed the song. Typically one of us will demo a song on Garageband, and then bring it to the rehearsal space to work on together.

Often times, I will create a song title before actually writing the lyrics. It can be a counterproductive element to our song writing, but sometimes it can make for some really interesting lyrics. I gave the title "Cicada Arcade" just because the buzzing guitar sounds in the beginning reminded me of the sounds of a cicada. I had no intention of actually calling the song that, but the rest of the guys really liked that title, so I kept it. I then was presented with the task of somehow making a full coherent song that connects to that title. I was stuck for a while. But it wasn't until Colin told me his interpretation of what a "Cicada Arcade" is that I was able to really find the lyrics. He asked me, "What would it sound like if a bunch cicadas were confined in a room? It would be extremely loud, and distracting, and just overall mayhem". To him, that sounded like our culture centered around social media. That statement was the jumping-off point for the lyrics.

Cicada Arcade took a very long time to solidify just because it was such an ambitious song for us as far as the different genres we were incorporating. The song moves at a very fast pace: changing styles drastically and abruptly. We blend rock and roll with reggae and hip-hop and add an aggressive breakdown with a Middle Eastern synth line rolled in. It's chaos, a lot like the subject of the lyrics. We really felt that this song was the best representation of what we have set out to achieve with this album.

Then we sent the song over to Ali to create a music video. Ali is a close friend of the band. This is the second music video he has created for us. The first was for our single "Super Unnatural". When he did that video we felt that he really understood what we were trying to say in our lyrics, and elevated the message visually. So we knew right away with Cicada Arcade, that we wanted him to do another one for us.

Ali on the idea behind the music Video for Cicada Arcade: It's about wanting to get away from the constant noise and distractions that everyone is making in order to create and project their own false realities. And none of the false realities that are being thrown out there are original or unique, but are just based on recycled thoughts and beliefs that are being fed to them. Then the main character goes through a thought process that eventually ends up with him recognizing that he's not any different and his own existence and reality is based on those very same noises an distractions. But as he's coming to this realization, it's too late as he's actually fully immersed and drowning in the waste from his own false reality.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

Bubbles Erotica Music, DVDs, Books and more Bubbles Erotica T-shirts and Posters More Bubbles Erotica News Share this article Related Stories � Singled Out: Bubbles Erotica's Cicada Arcade � Bubbles Erotica Release 'Cicada Arcade' Video More Stories for Bubbles Erotica Bubbles Erotica Music