The Scientific Method

Most of the time, our working process is: we get on the phone and Google Drive at the same time, and talk through the creation of a lyric while typing it out / editing it in real time (usually trying to make each other laugh.) Other times, we grab inspiration wherever it strikes.

We had been talking about a song for Kelly & Rikki around the spot in the show where they go investigating in the basement for the first time. We knew the song would be about Kelly’s approach to things (you have to go poking around in order to discover things), and that the dramatic action would be Kelly persuading Rikki to come along on her reconnaissance mission — and Rikki & Kelly becoming closer friends. Beyond that, though, we didn’t know.

I (Rob) do a lot of thinking when I’m walking; last week, I was walking and thinking about this song — thinking that we’d want to structure it around a punchline — when you use the scientific method, sometimes things explode. So it started with “It’s the scientific method…” as the first line of each section, and “sometimes things explode” / “sometimes things go boom” as the punchlines.  I originally was trying to make “catch on fire” / “go up in flames” work as a punchline, but they didn’t pan out. Partly because “fire” and “flames” aren’t percussive punchy words — but also I thought of the last line being interrupted by Hannah when she catches the girls snooping.

So from there it was just working inward from the first line and backward from the last line … a rhyme for explode, a rhyme for boom, etc.

The lyric took shape in my head and I ran home and typed it out. Interestingly, usually when I come up with a lyric (and almost always when we co-write lyrics), there’s a groove or model song that we have in mind for the song. For this one — I didn’t know at all.

Luckily, Katie took a look at the lyric and had an immediate sense of what the music would be — so she sang it into her phone and posted that sketch. Then I transcribed it to sheet music and created a track, adding harmonies and a couple modulations (key changes.) And voila … a fun song.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD lyric sketch (this came to me on a walk today)

KELLY (with RIKKI at certain points) (While they explore the basement finding the AC unit)
It’s the scientific method
Ask a question
Form a hypothesis
See where it leads you
Explore the road
It’s the scientific method
When you test your hypothesis
Sometimes
Things explode.

With the scientific method
You’ll discover
New ways of reasoning
Make a prediction
But don’t assume
With the scientific method
When you test your hypothesis
Sometimes
Things go boom

(Probably dialogue in here where they realize the AC unit has been tampered with.)

You experiment
You fail
You try again
That’s the process and it’s sometimes slow
You don’t do it for a grade
You don’t do it to be right
You go to find the answers and the answers raise more questions and you go to find the answers and the answers raise more questions
And you know:

You have the scientific method
Making progress
Making discoveries
Making a breakthrough
If it all goes well
It’s the scientific method
And we’re not afraid of failing
Cause things sometimes go to–

HANNAH: Hell-o, girls. Looking for something?