Writings
Fortune, song by song
“Fellow Travelers”
as recollections of the 2000 presidential election dissolve into a hazy, melancholic fugue, they stopped to wonder if it had all really happened that way: was our country really given away to a small coterie of unprincipled Fortune 500 acolytes, men who collected their seven figure “retirement bonuses” before assuming power and slavishly delivering our nation's accrued wealth to the doorsteps of their corporate masters? were these men really assisted in their ascendancy by a group of so called “liberal activists” whose self aggrandizing exercise in alleged “protest” helped set the real cause of progressive politics back forty years? it seemed so unbelievable in retrospect…and who will ever have enough money to buy our country back now? additionally: wasn't that the year my every aspect of the social and emotional fabric of my life unraveled utterly? could it be that this is more than a coincidence? i have a bad feeling this might all be my fault…
“Faithful Brother (Scourge Of the Land)”
when they were in greece many people remarked to them: “i like very much your music. but what is wrong with your country?” it was understandable, but a little unsettling. Demtrius said: “i used to think america was the best place i could possibly visit. but you see it is not a good place anymore…”
when new york city shut down it was impossible to find one another—the subways weren't running, the phone lines were tied up, the bridges were closed. you never expected to feel so stranded and estranged when the reality was you were really so close by.
“Before I Hit the Wall”
who doesn't want a car?!?? who doesn't want one of these giant, loud, abusive vehicles which fit all your amps and guitars and which would, at top speed, deliver you directly over a high cliff and gracefully into the yawning, blissful deathtrap of a rocky ocean vista. during his tenure working at the offices of a renowned international news agency, steadfastly covering a “crime of the century,” Pete would call Timothy during his lunch hour and say: “we have clearly reached the denouement of the american experiment…”
“It's a Long Line (But It Moves Quickly)”
for every sick, bedsit twit that ever wondered what “Big Boys” or “Bitch” would sound like coming from a woman's consciousness—for everyone who ever wondered if they were hurt by all that tough boy talk—the definitive answer is: no.
Ms. McArdle would like to see you form a nice orderly line. please gather at customer service. name, rank and serial number. she hasn't got all day.
“Let's Not Talk About It”
did you ever experience the eerie quiet of 200,000 people shouting in a city center? the polltests said it was bad for ratings, and besides, don't you know, we're already at war…
“An Architect's Eye”
on the plus side, this does all lend a little perspective. sure she's insane, but at this point what do we got to lose? after the dread they called it “terror sex”—a little inelegant i'd say. anyway Prince wrote it better than us (“party over, oops—out of time!”) but ain't no one ever suggested we was as good as Prince!
“Metro Pictures”
on the last day before the city burned he walked with his wife to a place by the shore where they had been after first falling in love. when she told him she didn't love him anymore he was not surprised—he had seen this sort of thing on cable. it was his good fortune that he wanted to die that day, though he was somewhat disappointed to realize they were all going to die. there was a bright flash and he saw news reels, his child's face, his wife's eyes. the Mendoza Line's long threatened, never previously executed tribute to Van Morrison's “Veedon Fleece” album.
“They Never Bat an Eye”
there is the ugly american, “a useless tourist a walking target” (thank you Mr. Eitzel) bumbling and stumbling around uninvited, a general nuisance. he ogles at the people and disrespects the culture. and then there is the calculated voyeurism of you who visit here. you eviscerate the culture and undersell the people. not every one of you of course! hey let's not talk about it.
“Tiny Motions”
love in the age of hidden crimes. climb out of that spider hole, i'm going to make an honest woman of you…
“Flat Feet and Western Style”
they were sent from korea to get an education on the modern, technical world. the fortune teller promised she would take an english husband and she did. when he went back his feet were too flat and he couldn't join the army. he was no kind of man, and she was no kind of woman, and you can't go back home again. but then you can't really stay there can you???
“The Road To Insolvency”
a love song from a man to his country after his country just told him their pre-nuptial agreement was null and void.
“Will You Be Here Tomorrow?”
the saddest most comical part is that they dream they will be remembered. they don't even remember the songs—why in the world would anyone else? make every day count, even if it can only count to three.
“Throw It In the Fire”
so you just stare through the window and forgive everything you can. this can't go on forever and you'll never change the past…
