OPUS 9: UP NIGHTS PONDERINGAs NASA's New Horizons probe approached Pluto at a speed of 36,373 miles per hour, we very much wanted to record our musical impressions of the historic event. We produced tracks 01 and 09,"Ceres" and"Oort," on June 30, 2015. (Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt, was itself thought to be a planet when it was first discovered in 1801; and Oort is a cloud of icy particles way, way out there.) Then on July 14, the actual day of the flyby, we performed tracks 02 through 08 commemorating Pluto, its moon system, and distant Eris (more massive than Pluto, but apparently slightly smaller in diameter). As is our SOP, these musings were recorded directly to 2-track without overdubs.The story behind"You Will Always Be A Planet To Me" is far too involved to relate here. Suffice it to say that, in addition to being a riotous bit of fun, it proved to be a very complex recording, totaling more than 100 tracks by the time we mixed down. Oh, and the truth be told, Ozzie Snik and his orchestra (A.K.A. The Clervoyeurs) all the way from the Elks Lodge in Clermont, Iowa, is in fact a Nom de Disque for SH[eye]N (an aural construction of Bill playing Roland Fantom G8 and Nord G2 synthesizers in addition to stick, with Ralph on layered percussion). Like we said, it's complicated. Although Plutophiles, we recognize that the classification of celestial bodies is an ongoing process. It's just that the lyrical and stylistic possibilities presented by the premise of our"Bonus Track" were too delightful to pass up.Onward, upward, outward — and yes, inward, too ...