During the fragments of my musical life when I would need to make down-and-dirty charts for percussionists, I picked up a few basic terms. "Stop time" meant that the tempo proceeded apace, but the drummer would temporarily suspend whatever percussion pattern had been established. Stop time allows something else to come into focus briefly - vocals, keyboard, bass, etc - before returning to business as usual.
As the name of the blog suggests, I am currently obsessed with all things time-related. The drumbeat that is life pushes us on, for better or worse, and I certainly don't wish for a full stop. I just need for the beat to silence itself periodically. The tempo moves on, but the urgency dissipates, and the pulse floats by on the air.
