Treadmill Of Time
ⓘ This lostwave is classified as solved. | |
| Treadmill Of Time | |
| |
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Artist(s) | Memorybank |
| Genre | Post-Punk/Synth-Pop |
| Length | 4.39 (record) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Status | Solved |
| Original poster | CharlieMillesManson |
| Search duration | 2002 - 2024 |
| File:Treadmilloftime.mp3 | |
Treadmill of Time (also known as "Slow Down" and "Not Sure Of It All Anymore") is a solved lostwave misattributed to Depeche Mode under the name "Treadmill of Fire", with the false claim that it was a 1981 demo by keyboardist Alan Wilder.
In September 2024, after three years of the claim requiring verification, the song was identified as "Treadmill of Time" by Memorybank, after the band's founder Tim Addy posted a cassette inlay containing the album's tracklist.
Background[edit | edit source]
The song was first mentioned on the internet on April 25, 2002 on depechemode-sk, a Slovakian Depeche Mode fan site.[1] It was labelled as a fake song because it appeared on a 2002 bootleg Depeche Mode album called "On Solo Ways...".[2]
On September 8, 2010, YouTube user CharlieMillesManson reuploaded the song to YouTube under the mislabeled title "Depeche Mode - Treadmill Of Fire (Demo Version)", along with numerous other rare Depeche Mode songs.[3]
On October 15, 2019, the song was posted to spiritofradio.ca, claiming that it, along with two other songs from the bootleg album, Chart Rundown and Here to Have Fun, were originally sourced from a radio broadcast from the mid-1980s or early 1990s, with the DJ or host claiming Alan Wilder as the creator.[4] The broadcast also included "Disco Hell," an actual early track from Wilder's band, "Daphne and the Tenderspots".[5] The station and broadcaster remain unknown.
In September 2020, the song first gained attention in the lostwave community when Discord user Bluey G. Wulfsy posted the song "Chart Rundown" in the server for The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet, after discovering it while listening to unsolved tracks on Spirit of Radio.[6]
Discovery[edit | edit source]
In March 2021, a YouTube user named Nik Lawrence commented on a response to the original YouTube upload of the song, confirming that the band is not Depeche Mode and that he knows the original creators of the song.[7]
In August 2021, Lawrence was contacted by Discord user humanracer, who confirmed that a band he was in, "Memorial," which was founded in 1988 by T Addy and J Lewis, were the creators of the lost song. Lawrence advised humanracer to get in touch with Tim Addy, the song's producer, for a higher quality copy of the song.[6]
In February 2023, Tim Addy finally responded to humanracer's messages, confirming that the band was actually called Memorybank, and that they recorded an album in the summer of 1988 called "Key To The Door", which contained the song. Jonathan Lewis was confirmed to be the lead songwriter and vocalist, with Tim handling production and drum programming.[6]
On September 20, 2024, Tim Addy would provide Reddit user gksvevo with a photo of the cassette inlay for Memorybank's 1987 album "Key To The Door", which included the lost songs Treadmill Of Time, Here To Have Fun and Chart Rundown as well as unheard songs such as The High Ridge, The Golden Age, Suburban Empires, and Photographique (which was previously eluded to by Lawrence[6] and Addy,[8] who claimed that the band recorded a French cover of Depeche Mode's song Photographic).[9]
Despite not receiving a master copy of the song from Tim Addy, who is no longer in possession of it,[10] the lostwave community declared the song solved on September 27, 2024, citing overwhelming evidence.[11]
Leads[edit | edit source]
Debunked[edit | edit source]
- Deca Dance: Australian band investigated due to similar style and vocals[12]
- Minimal Compact: Israeli band investigated after another fake Alan Wilder song, "Postulate," which appeared on the On Solo Ways... outfake album,[13] was revealed to be an alternate version of the Minimal Compact song Clock Bird.[14]
- The Hitmen: British band featuring Alan Wilder on keyboards; some believe the lead singer Ben Watkins' voice is similar to the lost song.[15]
- Voyagers: Turkish band investigated due to similar style and vocals, confirmed to have not made the song.[16][17]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
| [Chorus]
I want to get up now I'm trying to learn how Why can't it just slow down Slow right down Not sure of it all anymore [Verse 1] Tied to the treadmill of time Climbing up an endless stair Slide with no reason or rhyme Headlong into who knows where There was once a time When everything was fine And water towers seemed living entities I believed in all kinds of absurdities How strange The thoughts of innocence Time has changed I've lost that hidden sense [Chorus] I want to get up now I'm trying to learn how Why can't it just slow down Slow right down Not sure of it all anymore [Verse 2] Hands on the clock face turn 'round Getting older, moving fast Sands in the hourglass fall down Letting go of times passed There was once a dream I had in which it seemed A rosebush grew in the house where I used to live I suppose I know those are days I can't relive How true The thoughts I've pushed aside I wish I knew They could simply be denied [Bridge] I've been waiting for I've been waiting for The key to the door The key to the door And freedom galore And freedom galore I seem to want more I seem to want more I've been waiting for I've been waiting for The key to the door The key to the door And freedom galore And freedom galore I seem to want more I seem to want more [Chorus] I want to get up now I'm trying to learn how Why can't it just slow down I want to get up now I'm trying to learn how Why can't it just slow down I want to get up now I'm trying to learn how Why can't it just slow down Slow right down Not sure of it all anymore Not sure of it all anymore |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://www-depechemode-sk.translate.goog/magazin/clanok/zaujimavosti-o-depeche-mode-1-cast?_x_tr_sl=sk&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
- ↑ https://forum.klix.ba/muzika-f19/depeche-mode-t59965.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrOdQFm_ZRI
- ↑ https://spiritofradio.ca/SongComments.asp?SongID=3190
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1FBLAfawIQ
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 https://www.reddit.com/r/TreadmillofTimeSong/comments/1frjppy/timeline_of_search/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrOdQFm_ZRI&lc=UgxBKERsK1U3PdlAtcB4AaABAg.9CIJ4RtdJHU9Kktj_n1I6l
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1flj38i/comment/lo4duhu/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1flj38i/big_memorybank_discovery/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1flj38i/comment/lo3bw2b/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1fqxqom/memorybank_songs_edge_of_a_dream_and_words/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1aypp3w/posible_lead_to_treadmille_of_time_decadance/?rdt=45597
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARju6V9qyMc
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXF_BzS2B8s
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/18lu1fk/comment/ke467d1/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1cxw50z/comment/l5mywev/?share_id=CiwA0Kiv3g2nU16QwxjQf
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/23196533715/permalink/10160042603513716/?comment_id=10160044934578716