Ash and Rose: While somewhere on the road, I picked up a book called The US Guide to Surviving Terrorism. This was in the first couple years after 9/11. It was a serious, government-issued book on how we should deal with the threats that we might encounter going about our lives. My favorite section was about what to do if terrorists boarded the plane you were on. It said, if terrorists board the plane, do not try to deter them, lie down on the floor and wait for further instructions. A page or two later it said, if US Marshalls enter the plane to attempt to apprehend the terrorists, do not try to help them. Lie down on the floor and wait for further instructions. So basically, no matter who is doing something, we're just sheep whose job is to mutely lie there while other people tell us what to do. Sounds fun.

Now, I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason this whole thing made me think of the children's song Ring Around the Rosie. You know, ashes ashes we all fall down? As you may or may not know, that song is about the bubonic plague- ashes ashes, we all are going to die, so let's sing and dance in the meantime. These two ideas fused together into this song.

I really enjoy the somewhat Indian elements of this song. We had a few percussionists play on this song, Daniel Sadownick played a whole number of percussion instruments, and Tina Sugandh played the tabla. Having guest musicians come in and record has always been an interesting experience for me. On one level, its exciting that this new person is bringing a new sound and personality into the mix. On another level, you don't really know what they'll do, or how best to communicate with them. But when somebody comes in from the outside and plays something that's a perfect fit, it's an exciting moment.