What to Do When You Are Dead
Encyclopedia
What to Do When You Are Dead is the second studio album
by American rock
band Armor for Sleep
, released February 22, 2005 on Equal Vision Records
. It is a concept album
, with each song telling the story of the protagonist's suicide as well as his journey through the afterlife.
, a monologue spoken by the album's protagonist discussing his thoughts and feelings before he commits suicide. The track fades into the first track, "Car Underwater", describing how he plunges his car into an unnamed body of water, as a result of a straining relationship with his significant other (their status was not discussed at any point).
The remaining tracks feature moments of personal introspection at the positive and negative aspects of his life, while he quietly stalks around important locations of his past life (such as his girlfriend's home) without disturbing anyone. Analyzing the lyrics of each track, you can see him progress through the Kübler-Ross 5-stage model of grief management
as he initially denies his situation, then wishes for a reversal, and finally, accepting his fate.
The album ends with the character finally coming to grips with his decision, and his spirit continues on, having completed his business in this life.
came with a bonus DVD
that featured live footage of the band, as well as music videos for the tracks: My Town and Dream to Make Believe. It also included a "Making of This CD" documentary
as part of the DVD. Finally, a little booklet was included, entitled What to Do When You Are Dead: A Comprehensive Guide to the Afterlife. It features (satirical) ways to cope with death should you unexpectedly perish.
; music composed by Armor for Sleep.
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Armor for Sleep
Armor for Sleep
Armor for Sleep was an American rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001 and disbanded in 2009. The final lineup consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Ben Jorgensen, lead guitarist PJ DeCicco, bassist Anthony DiIonno and drummer Nash Breen....
, released February 22, 2005 on Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....
. It is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, with each song telling the story of the protagonist's suicide as well as his journey through the afterlife.
Concept
The album begins with a hidden track in the pregapPregap
The pregap on a Red Book audio CD is the portion of the audio track that precedes "index 01" for a given track in the table of contents . The pregap is typically two seconds long and usually, but not always, contains silence...
, a monologue spoken by the album's protagonist discussing his thoughts and feelings before he commits suicide. The track fades into the first track, "Car Underwater", describing how he plunges his car into an unnamed body of water, as a result of a straining relationship with his significant other (their status was not discussed at any point).
The remaining tracks feature moments of personal introspection at the positive and negative aspects of his life, while he quietly stalks around important locations of his past life (such as his girlfriend's home) without disturbing anyone. Analyzing the lyrics of each track, you can see him progress through the Kübler-Ross 5-stage model of grief management
Kübler-Ross model
The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying....
as he initially denies his situation, then wishes for a reversal, and finally, accepting his fate.
The album ends with the character finally coming to grips with his decision, and his spirit continues on, having completed his business in this life.
Initial Release
Initial copies of the CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
came with a bonus DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
that featured live footage of the band, as well as music videos for the tracks: My Town and Dream to Make Believe. It also included a "Making of This CD" documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
as part of the DVD. Finally, a little booklet was included, entitled What to Do When You Are Dead: A Comprehensive Guide to the Afterlife. It features (satirical) ways to cope with death should you unexpectedly perish.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Ben JorgensenBen Jorgensen
Ben "Slork" Jorgensen was the lead singer and guitarist of the New Jersey band Armor for Sleep. He wrote the first Armor for Sleep songs during the summer after his first year in college, and recorded them as a demo cd for $100 at a local recording studio, playing all the instruments himself. He...
; music composed by Armor for Sleep.
- "One Last Regret" (pregapPregapThe pregap on a Red Book audio CD is the portion of the audio track that precedes "index 01" for a given track in the table of contents . The pregap is typically two seconds long and usually, but not always, contains silence...
hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
) - 1:17 - "Car Underwater" - 3:48
- "The Truth About Heaven" - 3:30
- "Remember to Feel Real" - 3:21
- "Awkward Last Words" - 3:46
- "Stay on the Ground" - 4:30
- "A Quick Little Flight" - 2:12
- "The More You Talk the Less I Hear" - 4:04
- "Basement Ghost Singing" - 4:36
- "Walking at Night, Alone" - 4:14
- "I Have Been Right All Along" - 3:46
- "The End of a Fraud" - 5:11
Personnel
Band- Ben Jorgensen - vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, art direction - P.J. DeCicco - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Anthony Dilonno - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Nash Breen - drums, percussion
Production
- Machine - productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Jakob Nygard - Additional engineering
- Will Quinnell - masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Dave Hill - photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...