Deconstructing Year Four: And the Children Shall Lead

Sometimes the lesser episodes can be the most fun to write about. A case in point is the track we concocted for (if I may be blunt, a turkey of an episode) “And the Children Shall Lead.”

Don’t get me wrong; there are some fun and funny scenes throughout this segment of the series, but the Enterprise crew and Kirk in particular are pretty much just going through the motions. The children referenced in the title are a group of youngsters whose parents have been killed off and are seemingly left to their own devices. They cry and scream when they don’t get their way; the overblown bratiness makes it difficult to identify much with the kids, despite their apparent loss. It turns out the true villain of the piece, the character we refer to in the song as a “creepy angel,” is laughably silly.

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As anyone can tell you, I have a keen sweet tooth, so the one redeeming element of this episode that stood out for me was the ice cream.

The song kicks off with a brief keyboard intro meant to simulate the sound of an approaching ice cream truck. From there, it takes a decidedly post-punk/new wave turn, allowing me to fill in one of the musical gaps left in the FYM repertoire to date. I make musical reference to the heyday of artists like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson, but at the heart of the piece is my love for (the criminally underrated) XTC. From the sputtering drums to the booming, busy bass to the wirey guitar noises, we did our best to evoke Black Sea-era XTC. I also performed my best Andy Partridge impression – which Partridge himself once described as “a walrus with prostate problems.” Yes, in this scenario, I am the walrus.

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There are many fun musical bits; whirring keys, group chanting, the most angular-sounding solo I could conjure, and some additional twin guitar harmonies that teeter on the brink of chaos.

All in all, “And the Children Shall Lead” was probably the most fun I had during the making of Year 4. I hope everyone listening has just as much fun with it!


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Five Year Mission
Year Four
And the Children Shall Lead
Written by Patrick O’Connor

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