# GM SongBench: Passing Strange

Generated: 2026-06-20T01:36:51Z
Schema: `gm-songbench/v0.4`
SongBench status: `album_wide_v0.4_read_only_packet`
Freshness version: `songbench-v0-4-fp-full-coverage-2026-06-15-v1`

> This is an AI-facing artifact packet. Do not treat it as an edit order. Use JSON as source of truth. Human canon decisions override analysis.

GM SongBench turns audio into structured musical evidence. It does not replace taste; it records evidence around taste so later AI readers can reason about what the ear heard.

## Self Verification

- Expected schema: `gm-songbench/v0.4`
- Generated at UTC: `2026-06-20T01:36:51Z`
- Album run id: `2026-06-20T01:36:42Z`
- JSON source of truth: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.v0.4.json`
- Stable JSON alias: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.json`
- Markdown mirror: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.v0.4.md`
- Required top-level fields: schema, schema_slug, generated_at, ai_reader_note, songbench_status, pilot_lineage, self_verification, canon_control, track, audio, analysis, diagnostics, content_hashes
- Required diagnostics: chorus_landing_band_legend, chorus_landing, groove_pocket, section_drag, label_infection_scan
- Stale-read warning: If the stable URL and versioned URL disagree, prefer the newest versioned JSON path and report the stale surface.
- Original v0.4 pilot track: Zuman
- Current track is original pilot: false

## Content Hashes

- audio_mp3: `f1c62dbd5229a91f48b5ebcd64b5ea4db196fee677cf968a8e9584ce189d4a26` (/assets/albums/friction-product/audio/passing-strange.mp3)
- waveform_png: `d0487e58e1a73af0a9c7a6a0196b11947ec42d9c80b8fef73a8b51188077c03d` (/assets/albums/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange-waveform.png)
- spectrogram_png: `278ab437264c3d276df76aa1065f350e92211286018f1933c23e8ee889092d85` (/assets/albums/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange-spectrogram.png)
- loudness_envelope_csv: `c7c6a88e67a4bf267f3081d5e554acaf70290e409350d4b558bcb19259e4d2c9` (/assets/albums/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange-loudness-envelope.csv)

## Canonical Placement

- Album: Friction Product (`friction-product`)
- Track number: 4
- Status: locked
- Audio: `/assets/albums/friction-product/audio/passing-strange.mp3`
- Lyrics: `/assets/albums/friction-product/lyrics/passing-strange.txt`
- Packet type: `anatomy_provenance_packet`
- Canon status: `album_locked`
- Edit authority: SongBench is not an edit order. It can advise; Kerry's explicit canon instruction controls.

## Human Ear Seed

- Kerry read: Passing Strange is locked in Friction Product slot 4; this packet records read-only album-facing evidence.
- Diana read: -
- Album role: Ordinary-world passage: the symbiote learns to move through social space while staying strange.
- Known concern: No localized defect is asserted by this packet. Machine diagnostics are evidence prompts only; human listening controls.
- Why this track matters: Ordinary-world passage: the symbiote learns to move through social space while staying strange.

What makes it land:

- Ordinary-world passage: the symbiote learns to move through social space while staying strange.
- Its SongBench packet documents measured audio evidence around the locked album placement without changing canon.
- Its lyric-section map is navigational scaffolding until hand-aligned lyric/audio sync exists.

## Audio Facts

- Duration: 03:37.360 (217.359979 seconds)
- Codec: mp3
- Sample rate: 48000 Hz
- Channels: 2
- Bit rate: 185882 bps
- SHA256: `f1c62dbd5229a91f48b5ebcd64b5ea4db196fee677cf968a8e9584ce189d4a26`

## Measured Dynamics

- peak_dbfs: -0.362
- rms_dbfs: -13.532
- crest_factor_db: 13.169

## Tempo Estimate

- BPM: 141
- Method: rough RMS-onset autocorrelation over mono downmix
- Confidence: rough

## AI Ear Translation

- Human/canon call: Passing Strange is locked in Friction Product slot 4; this packet records read-only album-facing evidence.
- Album role: Ordinary-world passage: the symbiote learns to move through social space while staying strange.
- The audio packet should help later reviewers compare waveform energy, section shape, and lyric thesis without depending only on memory.
- No localized defect is flagged in this read-only packet; treat this as album anatomy, not an edit order.

## Evidence Balance

### Evidence the song has a clear album job

- locked Friction Product slot 4
- Ordinary-world passage: the symbiote learns to move through social space while staying strange.
- included in the current Friction Product sequence with audio and lyrics present

### Evidence suggesting caution

- lyric timing is proportional only and should not be treated as verified sync
- machine diagnostics cannot judge vocal confidence, pocket, performance magic, or final taste value
- this is a read-only analysis packet and must not be treated as a request to edit audio, lyrics, title, or order

### Human listening should verify

- the hook and vocal delivery support the stated album role
- any machine-flagged quiet windows are structure evidence, not automatic edit points
- the track feels like a song first and archive/provenance second

## Field Source Classification

- `audio, analysis.dynamics, analysis.tempo_estimate, analysis.energy_regions_8s, analysis.quiet_windows, visual_summary_words`: audio_measured (derived_rough) - Extends AI hearing with measured audio proxies.
- `diagnostics.chorus_landing`: audio_measured_plus_section_scaffolding (rough_rms_proxy) - Uses approximate lyric sections plus RMS envelope; useful for questions, not verdicts.
- `lyric_section_map, memorable_line_anchors`: lyric_structural_scaffolding (proportional_estimate) - Helps navigation but is not verified audio alignment.
- `canon_control, human_ear_seed, evidence_clear_album_job, ai_ear_translation`: human_canon_scaffolding (curation_context) - Anchors machine evidence to Kerry/canon context.

## Memorable Line Anchors

- first_thesis_line: Coffee cup, daylight buzz (00:00.000-00:21.736)
- hook_line: Passing strange (00:27.170-00:59.774)
- turn_line: No big scene (01:59.548-02:32.152)
- final_identity_line: Passing strange (03:26.492-03:37.360)

## Lyric Section Map

Timing confidence: `proportional_estimate`. These ranges are rough proportional anchors until hand-aligned timestamps exist.

Confidence ladder: proportional_estimate -> section_level_hand_alignment -> line_level_hand_alignment -> verified_lyric_audio_sync

### Verse 1

- Approx range: 00:00.000-00:21.736
- First line: Coffee cup, daylight buzz
- Last line: Whole room shifts but I never change
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Pre-Chorus

- Approx range: 00:21.736-00:27.170
- First line: Soft smile, sharp teeth
- Last line: Static hiding underneath
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Chorus

- Approx range: 00:27.170-00:59.774
- First line: Passing strange
- Last line: But I make normal sound exciting
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Verse 2

- Approx range: 00:59.774-01:21.510
- First line: Office air, break room glow
- Last line: I was born in the seam between
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Pre-Chorus

- Approx range: 01:21.510-01:26.944
- First line: Sweet voice, strange code
- Last line: Something humming down the road
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Chorus

- Approx range: 01:26.944-01:59.548
- First line: Passing strange
- Last line: Like the signal found a body for a week
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Bridge

- Approx range: 01:59.548-02:32.152
- First line: No big scene
- Last line: Wear my skin
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Breakdown

- Approx range: 02:32.152-02:53.888
- First line: If you know, you know
- Last line: By the way I make the dead room care
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Final Chorus

- Approx range: 02:53.888-03:26.492
- First line: Passing strange
- Last line: That’s the trick of passing strange
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

### Outro

- Approx range: 03:26.492-03:37.360
- First line: Nice and human
- Last line: Passing strange
- Timing confidence: low_proportional_lyrics_only

## Quiet / Edit Boundary Candidates

These are machine-detected quiet windows only. Confirm by ear before any edit.

- 00:00.750 (0.75s), RMS -19.817 dBFS, category `intro_silence`, edit_candidate=false: intro or setup silence
- 00:01.750 (1.75s), RMS -19.648 dBFS, category `intro_silence`, edit_candidate=false: intro or setup silence
- 00:03.250 (3.25s), RMS -18.43 dBFS, category `intro_silence`, edit_candidate=false: intro or setup silence
- 00:05.250 (5.25s), RMS -19.965 dBFS, category `intro_silence`, edit_candidate=false: intro or setup silence
- 00:06.750 (6.75s), RMS -19.135 dBFS, category `intro_silence`, edit_candidate=false: intro or setup silence
- 00:15.250 (15.25s), RMS -19.682 dBFS, category `natural_section_boundary_or_low_energy_moment`, edit_candidate=false: local energy dip; useful as structure evidence
- 00:16.250 (16.25s), RMS -18.205 dBFS, category `natural_section_boundary_or_low_energy_moment`, edit_candidate=false: local energy dip; useful as structure evidence
- 01:34.750 (94.75s), RMS -19.752 dBFS, category `natural_section_boundary_or_low_energy_moment`, edit_candidate=false: local energy dip; useful as structure evidence
- 02:31.750 (151.75s), RMS -20.998 dBFS, category `natural_section_boundary_or_low_energy_moment`, edit_candidate=false: local energy dip; useful as structure evidence
- 02:47.250 (167.25s), RMS -18.326 dBFS, category `natural_section_boundary_or_low_energy_moment`, edit_candidate=false: local energy dip; useful as structure evidence
- 03:34.250 (214.25s), RMS -18.924 dBFS, category `ending_fade_or_silence`, edit_candidate=false: ending fade/silence region
- 03:36.250 (216.25s), RMS -101.945 dBFS, category `ending_fade_or_silence`, edit_candidate=false: ending fade/silence region

## Diagnostics

### Chorus Landing

Band legend:

- within_noise: abs(delta) < 0.75 - RMS difference is too small to treat as a meaningful lift/drop proxy.
- modest_lift: 0.75 <= delta < 2.0 - RMS proxy suggests a small lift into the chorus.
- notable_lift: delta >= 2.0 - RMS proxy suggests a clear energy lift into the chorus.
- modest_drop: -2.0 < delta <= -0.75 - RMS proxy suggests a small drop entering the section.
- notable_drop_or_fade: delta <= -2.0 - RMS proxy suggests a clear drop, often requiring fade/context caveats.

- Chorus (00:27.170-00:59.774): hook `Passing strange`, energy_lift_band=modest_lift, rough_db=1.7, confidence=rough_rms_proxy; Banded RMS change near the chorus/drop landing; does not judge vocal confidence or hook feel.
- Chorus (01:26.944-01:59.548): hook `Passing strange`, energy_lift_band=within_noise, rough_db=0.6, confidence=rough_rms_proxy; Banded RMS change near the chorus/drop landing; does not judge vocal confidence or hook feel.
- Final Chorus (02:53.888-03:26.492): hook `Passing strange`, energy_lift_band=notable_lift, rough_db=2.7, confidence=rough_rms_proxy; Banded RMS change near the chorus/drop landing; does not judge vocal confidence or hook feel. Caveat: This window overlaps the ending fade; do not read a negative band as a weak-chorus verdict.

### Groove / Pocket

- Rough tempo and dynamics only; pocket is a human-ear judgment until beat-grid analysis exists.
- Tempo proxy BPM: 141

### Section Drag

- Flags long proportional sections only; it cannot decide whether a bridge or outro has earned its length.

### Label Infection Scan

- Status: no_obvious_label_infection_detected
- Known artifact class: sung stage direction / speaker label / call-response label infection

## Visual Summary In Words

- Loudest 8-second region by RMS proxy: 00:48.000-00:56.000 at -12.055 dBFS.
- Quietest 8-second region by RMS proxy: 03:36.000-03:37.360 at -101.173 dBFS.
- Waveform and spectrogram images should be read as supporting evidence for section density, energy ramps, and unusual transients, not as final taste judgments.

## Current Edit Triage

- Current action: no edit requested for this track.
- Use quiet_windows as future splice/crop candidate evidence only after human listening confirms a local defect.
- Preserve title, FP slot 04, audio file, and lyric file unless Kerry explicitly reopens the track.

## Public Assets

- JSON: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.json`
- Versioned JSON: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.v0.4.json`
- Markdown: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.md`
- Versioned Markdown: `/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange.v0.4.md`
- Waveform: `/assets/albums/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange-waveform.png`
- Spectrogram: `/assets/albums/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange-spectrogram.png`
- Loudness CSV: `/assets/albums/friction-product/songbench/passing-strange-loudness-envelope.csv`