Ball of Wax 42 Songs: Christopher Kelley – The Meaning of Life

As you might have heard, Volume 42 of Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly will be composed entirely of songs titled “The Meaning of Life.” I was delighted by how many submissions I received, and I think you all will be as well. As per usual, we’ll be posting the tracks one by one between now and the release date. (December 3rd! Mark your calendar!)

We begin with a fine new song from our Providence pal Christopher Kelley of Invisible Hours* His take on the theme has this wonderful feeling of build and anticipation that I find makes for a great opening to this 19-track exploration of the meaning of life. An acoustic guitar chugs along with a steady 1/8 note rhythm, backed with synth and simple percussion, while Christopher delivers the most succinct story of the Earth and humanity I think I’ve heard. There’s no chorus here, no repeating hooks, and no big epic conclusion. Kind of like life, now that I think about it – if life ended with a guitar solo, that is.

*I must mention here that I’ve been occasionally confused as to whether they are “The Invisible Hours,” as their Facebook and Bandcamp pages suggest, or just “Invisible Hours,” as they have always referred to themselves in communications with me. A similar issue has come up with some of our BoW 42 artists, who have attempted to title their songs “Meaning of Life,” rather than “The Meaning of Life,” as instructed. I’ve come to the conclusion that some people just don’t care as much about articles as I do.