This song got it’s start in 2007. It is currently slated to be track 5 on “Hindsight”.
(The following was originally posted in a track by track breakdown on the Reinvision Substack page on Jan 31, 2023. Original post here Disregarded – Substack Track Breakdown Entry)
Background
This song came to life in late summer of 2007. It was the next complete song that I came up with after “Look Around You”, so I kind of lump these two together in my head as being of a similar time and vibe. While this one is slightly less technical than “Look Around You” in terms of structure, timings, and tempos, it is no slouch in terms of crazy bits, especially for guitar and bass! As a matter of fact, this may be the most complex piece on the album in terms of guitar playing.
Also similar to “Look Around You”, this song was a result of a very specific sequence of events with a person, that basically resulted in me being ghosted; before that was the universally agreed upon term for it. I had just met someone that I was initially excited about, probably more than I should have been that quickly honestly, and as such, I inadvertently set myself up to get hurt right out of the gate basically.
So, musically I was trying to capture that kind of sequence of events, and the rollercoaster that accompanied it. Though the subject matter was clear all along, I didn’t actually write lyrics for this one at the time, though I probably should have. I didn’t start to write any sort of lyrics for this until 2022.
As I recall, most of this song came together fairly quickly. I can’t exactly recall the order I came up with the bits for it, but I do think it kind of fell together mostly in a sequence, like a number of my other songs. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!)
For the verses I was thinking about a Symphony X kind of neoclassical vibe, leaving space for vocals.
The pre-chorus riff is something that was kind of new in my arsenal around that time. I had a few different variations of that style of riff, which worked it’s way here, into some songs for other projects, and even some other unfinished song ideas I’ve had kicking around. I guess it’s inadvertently turned into one of my “themes” of sorts.
The riff that comes after the first chorus is something that I had come up with in early 2004, around the same time I came up with the initial “Under The Knife” riffs. It was originally kind of a slow almost dirge-y kind of thing. That’s the only part of this song that came from something I had earlier. Everything else was fresh new composition.
For the solo section, I was going for a kind of Muse type riff, arpeggiated like a keyboard riff they might do, but on guitar. Even though that riff is a busy riff, I do think it still works together underneath the solo, being almost more of a “textural busy”. (There’s the descriptor of the day!)
For the second half of the solo I was going for a Dream Theater-y majestic type vibe. which I think I captured pretty well.
Even though this song was completed while Reinvision was still in “almost” band mode, for whatever reason, this was not something that we ever played together. This song basically sat on my drives from 2007 until 2022 when I started the “Hindsight” project.
Demos
Interestingly the earliest recording I have of this song is a long run-on recording of me just jamming out for about 16 min or so, and in that file, I think every riff of this song is touched upon in varying degrees of completion. I can’t recall now how much of that was improvised during that recording, or that maybe I had come up with a lot of it beforehand, and that was just me recording the ideas. Too long ago to remember exactly! That file was from September 11. 2007.
I do have a few very early run throughs, one titled “skeleton” and one titled “rough”. These seem to be the same, with the “rough” one adding in bass. The rhythm guitar on these is seemingly comped together from bits and pieces, presumably from the 16 min file. These were both recorded, or at least compiled, on September 16, 2007.
These contain BFD drums, just like the original demo of Look Around You. The bass is actually James’ friend Gati’s Warwick Thumb 5. It was around, and it was more convenient than restringing my Steinberger with a low B string, as I often did for these early demos.
For the torture of your ears, here is “Disregarded (rough)”:
Everything else I recorded for this track after this rough version ultimately turned into the 2022 Hindsight Demo. Like the other songs, I updated the drums a bit circa 2012/2013 from the BFD I was using originally, to Reason, and then in 2022, I did some re-EQing of the guitars to match tonally to the other Hindsight demo tracks.
Lyrics
As I mentioned, while I had the lyrical concept in place since I started the song, (heck it inspired the whole thing!) I didn’t actually write anything until 2022, when I decided it was going to be part of “Hindsight”.
I’m not exactly sure why I didn’t write lyrics for it at the time, though I know I procrastinated it partially on the idea that I remembered exactly what my mindset was and how I felt, so I was confident that I could tap back into that when necessary. But I also think that perhaps subconsciously, there was maybe a degree of not wanting to re-live those feelings right away either. I guess 15 years was a long enough buffer to get over that though.
I think the biggest challenge with these lyrics was that musically there was space for a lot of words, and I almost felt like I was running out of ways to say the same kind of things. While the particular feelings that accompany this subject matter can be intense, they are not necessarily all that complex or complicated. That said, I think I balanced it all out pretty well.
Disregarded – Lyrics:
You came along from out of nowhere
And opened up my eyes
How would I know they’d see a world of lies
It felt like time was standing still
Never thought I’d feel this way
But if I knew the truth, I’d turn and walk away
No one gave me any warning
So I tried to play my hand
I laid it down before I’d understand
I played it cool, I played my part
Made sure to keep the pace
I didn’t know you’d put me in my place
Why did you just disappear?
Like I was never there
Was I so unfair?
Searching for the answers
If you only knew the questions
I’ll be listening for your footsteps
So please don’t let me down
Hoping nothing passed me by
As I sit alone in silence
I fear that I won’t see you
I hope that I’m not Disregarded
Another night spent all alone
Was hoping maybe this time
Why do I fall for the constant lies
I should have read between the lines
I should have walked away
I should have known that you’d have nothing to say
I know that there’s no answers
To questions never spoken
But how can we move forward
If you think nothing’s broken
I never asked for preference
Or tried to get my way
Still you treat me like I’m a million miles away
Still I’m waiting in the darkness
For you to let me down
Hoping that it’s just this time
I’m here alone in my silence
I know that I won’t see you
It feels like I’m Disregarded
What did I do?
Where did I go wrong?
Why would you leave it this way?
Repeated excuses
So perfectly timed
You try to convince me
With continued lies
You promise me this time
While I wait some more
There’s always another
Next time for sure
Forever waiting in the darkness
You only let me down
I know now that it’s every time
Always left alone in silence
I was never meant to see you
I realize I’m Disregarded
And you’ll never have to deal with me (again?)
Links
Here are some links to hear the 2022 demo of “Disregarded”: