"Strainmachines sole purpose is to convince the listener that something as organic as a human brain can indeed be synonmous with machinery ...or even be a machine itself".
-mae-
The opening (also titletrack) opens with mae insisting"you lube ya strainmachine too much until you start slippin, Im oil resistant..a shoe in fast foods kitchen" in this line we find mae at his metaphorical best, insinuating that the brain is a machine and that the average daily stress one endures can be translated to machine oil. Quite obviously...too much oil can prove faultworthy for a car as the same with stress on ones brain. Being flooded with stressfull thoughts can make a person feel as though they are "slippin" or falling behind. Would strain have even existed?
It seems that being employed at SCTC had a direct influence on strainmachines output. I can imagine how being surrounded by a 360 visual of moving parts could affect someones dalily mental makeup(fancy way of saying outlook on life) Seems safe to say that every machine fell victim to maes imaginitive wrath within "a year 1/2 or so".repetetive motions in work became metaphors for mans whole existance. Mae was convinced that life is literally nothing but a never ending cycle of (eatsleepshitworkdoitagain) type of life.....thus sending oneself into "robotmode".
Maitenance of ciggarette machines became symbols of cleaning or upkeep of ones mind.note:....accurate placements of oil keep the machine running smooth as a nut, similar to meditation in which one focuses on certain chakras or points in the body to aleviate pressure) -editor michael roberts- Rhymes & Reason for Tracks:by mae himself
Mae here...there were a lot of meaning full things going on with that there tape. Guess to make things easy i will go right down the line.
Strainmachine: i simply converted every thing i seen and done at that job to daily life. My mind was a machine that ran constant..my rhymes were the daily quota. Overall im sad at todays society...maybe its not our fault maybe it is, but it seems that man has been trained to use even less than 10% of their brains nowaydays(no scientifical proof here but im willing to bet) I believe half the inventions today juss make people either lazy or idiotic......dont get me started...
T.S.O.S.N. ahhh richard my uncle..i remember you said a joke to me one night about sweet nothings. I never really knew what it meant but i liked the phrase nontheless. The Sound Of Sweet Nothings is overall a cut where i neatly lay out my problems/passions/gutfeelings and suggestions and address them equally. first verse is a very monkish result. After moving out here to sheltown being without rapper friends honestly took its tole, i really did hear sweet sounds of nothing...no phone calls from homies...no myspace choppage..and worst of all no recording.i was soloDolo. Second verse: self-explanatory for the most part.... a sincere apology to the fam...my fam"dont be mad at me i spent years workin on this syllable mastery so naturally it has its apathy"a lot of time and effort goes into being a lyrical wizard, sorry...if it seems im always in a self-involved state and appear so distant all the time, its cuz i am...haha im astro travelin shouts to sunra & quas.
Last verse:gut feelings tellin me alot of people hate on the fact ive mastered my "self" wether it be confidence or my style of rhyme.... I dont consider myself cocky at all. This is my intelligent swag at work.
Target Practice: this is most likey my favorite verse on here.....i went off son! My brother P was my partner in rhyme...always a blast to record with him(we know each others style and we mesh quite well on track together.....Always!... target practice was me turning the vocal booth/studio into a shooting range. Never forget, my 16s are loaded ar clips. When i get in the booth i commence to lightin shit up. Maybe i will have michael the editor give an overview of Ps verse later in life who knows. All i know is that P reeks of style eewww!............this just in, its been determined by michael the editor that P has a plethora of swaggish mannerisms...while mae is dope, hes simply too technical to be considered a model for swag....maes technical approach gently contrasts with P's radiant presence on track (note: listen to any of Ps solo efforts for details)
Strains Pain: Quite proud of this one. I like to think that only I could make a song like this.......actually in school, i always liked personification so it seemed very natural for me to give marijuana human charhacteristics.intimidating concept but was one of those that came to me easy. I start with the planting of the seed and by the 3rd verse the plant/person has come to his demise....due to obvious results (creamation baby) good song.....but my uncs video brings it to life in a comedic and fluid way......great video by the unc for a first time video!(Note: see life of a marijuana plant via youtube)
Untitled: dont think that because there is no official title that this song isnt fire! Dont sleep! This song contains 2 lyrical wizards that brought their spells to the beat.both myself and Sikk Mc.im doing my thing, another verse from me that i felt can hang with the best of em. Its a total vomitspit of the "strain that inhibits the brain" trust me folks a lot of doublespeak going on in this verse....i was on my C Rayz Walz tip(he does shit like this all day)"the world is a bank of wealth,but we withdraw from life till the accounts closed save yourself deposit truth and gain interest in the midst of the rain lazyness outcomplains fitness" need i say more???? I swear even i wonder where i get this stuff sometimes.Its verses like this that make me my favorite wordsmith with the exception of a few masters older than me. Sikk Mc......man! I love your ass.
Blame it on multiple reasons.......our genetical makeups? Our astrological signs? Is it the hrs plus convos that we used to have on art religion and science? Whatever it is Sikk and I posess the uncanny ability to present ideas to each other and then materealize them with dizzying efficiciency. I gave this dude my strain theory and he adopted it momentarily....long enough to produce a verse that only he can pen. Sikk is one of those people that you only meet through fate. Its actually very awkward to be in the same room with someone who can relate to everything music wise going on with myself while at the same time being a diverse individual that i honestly can steal gems from(im not telling hehe) Trust me Sikk you a dangerous man indeed....oh yeah i hate your versatility....(to myself:how can a nigga make a track for the beezees, turn around and make some of the dopest ryhmes schemes ever that got you juss uggh! With the headphones on......./whiney voice/ i wanna do that tooo! No fair haha love you man. P.s i need intelligent conversation....(looks around) where you at?
Closing Statements::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
By michael the editor
I know mae...hes pretty much myself...but with few exceptions,reason being why i am holding down the closing statement. Im sure no one knows this but strainmachine had about 4 to 5 more tracks that diddnt make it(not because of lack of quality...you trippin?) Simply because they diddnt get recorded the day strain was recorded......Its was at lil j's house...and he recorded 5 songs straight through. Im glad you kept up wit him J! Mae swears the project took an embarressing 2 yrs to write but it was totally off and on productivity...hell he diddnt even have a studio of his own hence going to the city and spewing all over dudes microphone. He had a lot to get of the chest and upon finishing im sure he felt 50 lbs lighter. Strainmachines lack of songs is its strong suit...take another look and you will find that an albums worth of material was compresssed into a 5 song ep. Remember mae is a thoughtfull dude..he diddnt want to overwelm audiences with a 20 song cd when he could overwelm you with 10...so he went 5 fair enough?
REMINDER.......
Additional info may follow in a later time in life so stay tuned
Michael the editor.sep 30 2010
