I originally posted this audio collage in 2016, although I feel like I created it before that. I randomly came across the original post, noticing the audio file was missing. I’m not sure where it went. I think Github started refusing large files since my original post, so I might have stripped mp3s out of the repo, then later adjusted my rsync command to delete files on the server not on my local system. I’ve started over on a couple computers since then, starting with a fresh git clone, only getting what’s on Github.
Regardless, I found the original audio on my external hard drive. There were a number of iterations, saved with the infamous “Danny-1”, “Danny-2”, etc filenames.1 I wasn’t happy with them, and tried to open the associated Audacity file for the latest version, but that didn’t work for reasons. I decided to start over with a different version of the original Donnie Darko clips. Then I went up a directory and found a folder containing stems from Beautiful and Tragic.2 I used a keyboard track and a guitar track, adding distortion to the keyboard. They did not line up, but I liked how they irregularly passed the musical line back and forth, just like the movie clips start off stepping over each other.
The through-line of Donnie Darko represented in these clips is why it has remained one of my favorite movies. Donnie discovers that his life contains multiple plots and that each one embodies pain, absurdity, and meaning in equal measure. He chooses the one that saves others’ lives while sacrificing his own. He does die alone, laughing at it all.
I do not get to write or produce music anymore, but these small experiments scratch my creative itch just enough to give me hope.