Track by Track- Time
So I think “Time” can be looked at as the reversal to “Attention” or the reversal to “Gut: Yummy.” Either way, it represents the polarity of how thoughts sometimes occur in my mind. It’s the opposite of “Attention” because when I do feel like begging for attention from a boy, there is Cassie very loudly refuting that idea. Chasing around boys lines up with Cassie’s agendas very infrequently. I wanted to explore in “Time” how Cassie generally treats love and romance and the answer is as something not worth much of her time. With Isabela demanding we spend all our time on the object of our affection and Cassie demanding we spend none, it gets more than a little confusing inside my head. Even though Cassie claims she tones Isabela and Yummy down, Cassie and Isabela are very often the two extremes that need to be mediated.
On the other hand, “Time” can be interpreted as the opposite of “Gut: Yummy” because though “Time” ultimately became a love song it wasn’t actually inspired by a boy. It was inspired by some social drama I was experiencing with girls. So when bullshit with girls happens there are definitely two sides of me that come out. There’s the side of me that’s like “Bitch you got something to fucking say???” which is more Yummy and Isabela’s preferred way of operating and then there is Cassie’s rise above way.
Though she wouldn’t express it this way, Cassie is much more like “I do not give a fuck about none of these bitches.” Cassie is focused on her own success. She does not have time for the drama, for the bullshit, for any of the cattiness. As far as Cassie’s concerned whatever these girls got going on has nothing to do with what Olivia got going on so she is not spending a moment looking in that direction. She’s not even going to bother making her song about them. She’s going to extract whatever ideas and inspiration she can from the situation, mold it, and ensure that the concept is crafted to the narrative she wants to present, thus reinforcing how little time she has for these bitches.
I really hope Psychics enjoy “Time” because I think of all the songs on the project, “Time” is the biggest “second look song.” While I was writing it, it occurred to me as a B-song but I think that’s okay and even appropriate for the character. There are many songs that you don’t notice much on an album during the first listen. They’re songs that may get overshadowed by other more extravagant songs but provide a much-needed backbone. When you listen to the album a second time after binge listening to your first favorites, you can listen to these “second look songs” with new ears. I can think of many songs which I didn’t think much of on my first listen of a project that later became songs that I relied on heavily through difficult times, that fit a stage of life I was in perfectly, or that I simply later appreciated as an overlooked gem. I hope that “Time” can be that for Psychics.
Personally, I really love the round at the end of the track and the warmth of the acoustic piano that Viiq played for the song. I felt really proud of myself during this recording session. Most of the production and engineering for this project took place “in-the-box” meaning I worked largely in my computer, using synths, and didn’t have to worry about too many wires and cables or use the big scary board that you may have seen in pictures of recording studios. However, I wanted some live instrumentation so I asked my friends Viiq and Dom to perform piano and guitar for certain songs (Attention, Time, El Dorado). I ran the whole session myself and was able to use the board and set up all the cables properly and I felt really enthusiastic about my progress going from someone who didn’t know what a producer was to someone running a whole instrumental recording session, doing nothing but producing and sound engineering, by herself with little to no hiccups. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 Go Olivia!
With regards to the vocals, I knew I wanted to the round at the of the song because of the way Cassie processes my thoughts. There seems to be thoughts flying in from many different directions, swirling around constantly, and often repeating themselves in my head. Cassie's job is to stay on top of all of it and manage the chaos. So to have this line repeated and coming in from multiple directions vocally it felt like the way to demonstrate all that Cassie is constantly processing.
Lyrics
Baby this story’s tired
I can’t read one more page
Baby this love’s expired
Baby, it’s past it’s date
Maybe I’m not inspired
Round and round we’d go
Two hands on the clock
Point you to the door
I don’t need your distractions
I just need to take action
Cassie has a specific to do list and you are not on it!
Can’t have you in my head taking space
Can’t do the melodrama
Won’t be a primadonna
These lines are specifically to position Cassie as the opposite of Isabela who is a primadonna
But whatever’s on your mind will have to wait
I don’t have the time
Too much on my mind
Can’t worry bout what’s on yours only on mine
Cuz I don’t have the time
Boy, we don’t have a future
No past, no present here
Boy I shoulda quit you sooner
You need to disappear
You’re still caught up in this mess we made
Baby sorry I just can’t relate
When Cassie and Yummy are done they’re done
I don’t need your distractions
I just need to take action
Can’t have you in my head taking space
Can’t do the melodrama
Won’t be a primadonna
But whatever’s on your mind will have to wait
I don’t have the time
Too much on my mind
Can’t worry bout what’s on yours only on mine
Cuz I don’t have the time
Too much on my mind
I don’t have the time
Some of the studios I worked in throughout PSYCHE:
