This is an actual image of a failed scan I took of graphite at near-atomic resolution. During the scan, the probing tip scraped across the sample’s surface, creating all of the lighter color areas. The dark spots are from the probing tip being too far away from the sample. All together, the tip scraped and hopped in a jarring and unpleasant manner, much like how the sound is excruciating and sweeps for a short duration. It’s an unpleasant result in the lab and I wanted the sound to reflect the feelings that were invoked after hours spent at the machine trying to get a good scan and failing miserably, and the title to reflect that in some way as well.