Ball of Wax 33 Songs: Peter Colclasure – “Three Minutes Thirty Seconds Is the Only Salvation You Can Expect, Alexander”

Peter Colclasure – current resident of California and erstwhile key-tickler for Ball of Wax friends Smile Brigade and The Foghorns – certainly wins the (nonexistent) prize for the 33-iest song of this intermittently-themed volume. When he first sent the rather involved description of all the 3s and 33s in this song* I thought it sounded cool, but that the music itself might have ended up being a bit overworked, more math than soul. I needn’t have worried. Peter used these prompts and restrictions to craft a gorgeous piece of baroque pop packed with wit, melody, and layer upon layer of rewarding musical tidbits. More please, Peter!

*”It’s about Alexander the Great, Jesus, the number of miracles in the Bible, the number of vertebrae in the human spine, and precious metals. . . . It’s all in phrases of three, three different sections, with two of them occurring three times, 3/4 time with triplets laid on top for the melody, etc. And it’s exactly 3:30.”