It's been a few years since we've held down steady, traditional jobs. While we love what we do and the freedom that comes with living on the road, sometimes it's nice to punch somebody else's clock for a couple days. Which is why when our friend Kristie asked us to come make meal kits at My Veggie Chef, we jumped at the chance to stand in a commercial kitchen with some friends and scoop vegetables into plastic bags.
Yesterday was Mallory's day to be at work. Which meant that Scott and Puddle were going to hang out all day. They made a list of things to get done; haircuts, long walks, trips to the grocery store, treats. It was gonna be a productive day and Mallory was gonna be so impressed with how much got done while she was bringing home the vegan bacon. But in the midst of their big plans, a loneliness appeared and it took the form of restlessness, and they spent the day pacing around the camper, taking joyless walks, and pawing at the front door. Puppies and Co-dependant spouses, you see, are very much the same.
It was a day like this a few years ago that inspired "Cohabitation Physics." Scott was pondering the complexities of the universe and his inability to get off his butt and write a song, as he often does when left alone. He knew it wasn't his fault, as an object will remain at rest until it's acted on by another object (Newton's 1st Law of Motion, people!) And so he just remained at rest there in his chair, guitar on his lap, unable to write a song. He might have dozed off, but at some point, there was a pang of loneliness in his heart and it moved him to begin writing about what it's like to spend all day every day with someone you're head over heels for and then have to be separated from that person for hours at a time for something as lame as work. Doesn't seem worth it, somehow.
"Cohabitation Physics" was a last minute edition to the album and was so fun to record because once you realize that the song you're recording is a scientific explanation of puppy love, the song becomes an open ended invitation to try a bunch of stuff you'd never put on a serious love song. That's how you get a kazoo/mouth trumpet duet.
Be sure to check out the Spotify playlist as well, called "When You Gonna Get Back From Work?"