dave9199

Not being into sports, but originally from Massachusetts and therefore was glad to be alive when the Red Sox won the World Series, maybe they passed their curse onto the Yankees!

My wife & I are SO GLAD this show is back on. I remember seeing the last episode & feeling depressed that there were no more. The wait is over! My life has meaning again!

Hear, Hear! I say old chap, Happy Birthday!

Ohh, I might know this. Interpolating. Can anyone verify this?

That's not Tyner, that's Jones or Garrison.

I wonder what's going to happen to Corwood Industries when Sterling Smith dies. Is someone going to continue the business?

The ranking for the 8th set of 5: KEEPERS none PERSONAL OPINION none FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY 1. The End Of It All 2. Shadow Of Leaves 3. When I Took That Train 4. A Kingdom He Likes 5. The Door Behind No surprises here, but it was hard trying to rank them. End Of It All is #1 because I liked the guitar effect and it's Sonic Youth sound, Shadow Of Leaves is #2 because of the acoustic bass, Train is #3 because I didn't have the words to read and he sounded more into it, Kingdom is #4 because some of the lyrics are interesting (though #3 & 4 might be interchangable) & Door Behind is last because of it's horrible lyrics. It's one of the worst. There's not much difference between these 5 and I take no responsibility for your choice(s).

I might print it for myself. Maybe I can be a record reviewer and this'll be my portfolio. It might be cool if a couple of people started to do the same thing here with jazz artists. Have 2 or 3 reviewers and their contrasts about the same album.

I've been curious as to what people thought of these reviews. I've never done this before & I like the way they've grown. God, these last 9 were hard! I forgot to say thanks JohnB. That should've been my first sentence here.

Well, here we are grinding to a temporary halt with album #40, When I Took That Train. This was released just a month ago and his next album is already out which is his first live show. I’ve heard it’s great so I’m keeping faith. Unfortunately, or maybe it’s a good thing, no one has transcribed the lyrics to Train yet so there won’t be much in the way of lyrics, if any. The cover is another ‘on holiday” picture, this time from England. Another first for this time Smith is outside, standing in front of a building in the rain looking like his did on the last album, but he’s far away from the camera making him dwarfed in size compared to the building around him. The new first here is there are other people in the picture; you just can’t quite see them. With great timing, the people in the picture are behind Smith in the background. You can see parts of them, but no faces since they are covered by umbrellas. Smith has his black hat on as his umbrella. Add to that the cars driving on the road; there are people in them but you can’t see them. I find that ingenious. Smith can put himself in a public place and still get a picture where no face but his appears. It would have been quite a trip to be the car next to him and look over and say, “Holy shit! Is that Jandek?” Someone from the list noted that the picture has to be at least 7 or 8 years old as one of the buildings is no longer there. How did I know if was England? There’s a double decker bus in the background. A very interesting & busy cover. What would be fun is you could cut & paste his body onto any picture & have Smith in all sorts of locales like Where’s Waldo. But what’s sad is when the covers are more interesting than the music inside. 11 songs on here between a bit under 3 minutes to a bit over 4 with one just under 6 & one just under 7 minutes. Guitar & vocals still the same. What’s sad about the better sound is there is no more room reverb anymore. No sense of depth. It’s all flat just like his current writing style. The first acoustic bass album, The Gone Wait (#35) was the last one to have any room reverb. He also hasn’t used reverb on his vocals or guitar either. A great loss. More lyrical pieces about a relationship. Here’s the titles: I Talked To You Today When I See You Again The Image Of You Close To You You Took Me For A Ride What Else Is There Wouldn’t You Agree You Made Me Know It Angel Moves Thing Called Me My Escape His vocal delivery gets excited at times as he spouts off thoughts one after the other. His vocals in general sound more into the songs, like he’s enjoying himself. I never thought about it, but maybe he’s on medication & this is what comes out songwise. It would make sense. Medication can flatten people out (again, said from experience), but it just may be where he is creatively right now. I do think as he’s aged, his desire to change or vary his songs has dwindled causing this staticness of sound that’s not as gripping anything else he’s done. If Smith keeps putting out albums like this, I’ll keep taking him to task for it. Yet even though I don’t like these albums, I’d love to know how they came about. I’d still love to be a part of a book about Smith because good or bad, it’s all completely fascinating. What’s more ironic is that on the Jandek list, almost no one has talked about these albums. On the two tribute albums that are out, no one covers anything after The Beginning (#28), though I think someone did a piece from one of the acapella albums. I think because they know they are bad, but don’t want to offend Smith in case he’s reading their posts. I wrote to Smith with my last order & mentioned the Organissimo board & this thread. I thought he might like to read the reviews. If he’s reading this, Sterling, these last 9 albums are horrible. I saw on the board that someone wrote you something about one of these albums & your response was something like, is it that unlistenable? Yes,they are! I’d rather you not put anything out than put out albums like this. I don’t want to stop buying your albums, but these albums leave me no alternative. I think that’s why people went crazy when they heard the live show. I’ll bet it’s better than these albums so I’m looking forward to hearing it.

Dealt with them a few times. Always a good transaction. Whenever I called to check on an order, I talked to a human being (Doug maybe?). He'd give me the latest update on my order even when I called on a Saturday & they weren't actually open but happened to be there.

I figured it was something like that. Thanks Chuck!

Album #39 is called A Kingdom He Likes. The cover shows the most recent picture of Smith yet; beard & mustache again, but neatly trimmed, black hat, blue shirt, sitting and looks like he’s in mid-sentence. The aging is noticeable in the eyes and he looks quite gaunt. One person on the Jandek list says she sees him in an organic food store all the time so that’s a possibility. This is another short album clocking in at 36:49. Seven songs this time with 3 of them being under 4 minutes. A couple of 4s, one 5 & the longest at 10:58. This was also his fourth release in the year 2004 which is the most he’s ever released in one calendar year beginning with Shadow Of Leaves (#36). Guitar & vocals all the same though the mike feeds back a bit throughout the album. Regardless of my opinions of the recent albums, Smith has made himself quite an unmistakable style with his guitar playing. It sounds completely improvised, but he’s done it so constantly & consistanly that I don’t think so. Maybe like jazz, he has a basic idea & improvs around it. The lyrics are more I don’t knows. Here’s a bit from the first song I Gave My Eternity: Get good machines now Don’t buy mediocrity You’ll eat your lunch now Like a low place swamp traveler Who happens upon a kingdom he likes And he will serve you now I’ll make him do that He’s at your service Real Afternoons definitely has an interesting way of looking at a home appliance (& I mean no sarcasm here): There’s only one altar That’s the refrigerator Where you keep your food Whether you slaughter human, animal, or grapes It’s your altar The table for your food Devour God’s knowledge At your altar In your food you eat Build your blocks to stand up Straight and erect Skank, you skank Leave A Windy Time might be about the meeting that set up his first live show (just a guess): A Windy Time I just met the nicest of people They only wanted to share business There were some guests in the rain Rotten windy time But we’ll be talking Forever in my day I don’t need a smoke alarm to tell me there’s a fire And I still have the sense of smell and heat and cold But most of all my intuition is leading the way I’m pleasantly surprised Sometimes I mix some things with my water on occasion The pace is quicker on this song also. Your Own Little World talks about spiders in his closet but has this interesting couplet: But I don’t want to see the other members of the family They’ve got to go This fits with his repeated theme of shedding his past. Family equals past. There must be a lot of stuff that happened there. I’ll go out on a limb and guess that the next song, Sticks In The Marsh, may be how Smith feels about his family: I got my things to do tomorrow They’re on the table They’re in my new future Tomorrow is their purpose Sticks in the marsh As I wandered through that old abandoned house I stayed in overnight, yeah I stayed there overnight, the old abandoned house I didn’t care about all the dreams that went before me in that house Maybe he had just visited family. The last song, It Rang Eleven Times, might shed some light on Smith’s gaunt look: I programmed my abdomen I don’t think about it anymore It doesn’t tell me what to do I got the network to my nerves now It’s oh so automatic I just command the boat inside the house You can’t chew well because it feels like a foreign object in your mouth This album lyrically is much better than the last album and a return to regular subject matter for Smith, though it’s not as harsh as in the past. It made it a bit more tolerable, but it’s still linked with the previous albums in terms of difficulty of enjoyment. As you can see, I don’t have much to say as most of this is lyrical quotes, but I still try to review the album. I read a review of this album recently and it said nothing about the music. It only talked about the myth and his history. That’s not a fucking album review, that’s a piece of shit! I’ve always felt reviewers should be able to review an album more than once as impressions about it change over time. I’ve edited my own as I better understand my initial impressions. That’s why reissues are good (though they can be unfortunate for the paying customer) as it gives the album another chance and another angle from someone else in contrast to the original review. If reviews could be looked at 3-6 months later by the same person and expanded upon, that would be great. I know why it’s not done (deadlines, new product & such) but don’t care. It would add a much needed human presence to writing about a creative (& again, human) art form.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=music

#38 is called The Door Behind. This album came out a couple of weeks after his first live performance (that we know of). I had heard of Jandek just as The End Of It All (#37) was released and was all into the mystery when 6 weeks later he plays out. Well, I got to enjoy it for a little bit. The cover shows a younger Smith than the last album; the picture is grainy, his hair is bushy, he’s sportin’ a full beard & mustache and he’s looking very stoic. Six songs on this one with 4 of them just over 6 minutes & 2 just under & over the 9 minute mark. Smith uses the same guitar as the last album only with no chorus. Guitar playing is the same, the vocals are the same though not as up front & it continues the theme of this relationship that seems to be going somewhere positive. The second song, Gate Strikes One is lyrically like school boy lyrics and yet they are interesting to picture this really happening. This song does appear to tell the story of Smith getting laid! To me, it says Smith’s emotional growth was arrested at a young age. Gate Strikes One She picked me from the crowd She told her girlfriends about it They told me she liked me And asked me if I liked her I said that I did Somebody asked her to dance She said yes, but it didn’t last long He told me why don’t I move over I found myself next to her The other ones were giving me eyes It seemed I liked all of them They all went to talk together When they came back they asked me if I liked her And I said yes Then she asked me if I liked her I said yes I did Her friends said bye bye, see you later Then she took me by the hand Walked me away to the other part of the place Looking for a private place We walked into the room And she shut the door We held an embrace I couldn’t remember the last time She was everything I wanted to have I didn’t care about me She thought I wasn’t finished I thought I never would be She seemed so happy That was what I wanted The mention of a private place recalls the first two lines from One Of Those Moments from The End Of It All (#37): You took me by the hand You led me to a private place It’s like he wrote about the exact same situation again. The song The Slow Burn, touches on both extremes of love in Smith’s world it seems: The Slow Burn Are you married Are you involved with another person Do you live alone I want to think about you No one comes to my house I take care of all the things I need to kill those squirrels running around in the top of my head You shouldn’t have come here It’s the place where I live You eat electricity You burn down the house So I forgot to kill you Go away and fall down dead And when you’re all gone I’ll live in peace in a house that’s not burned down You can be my princess Everything’s clear and clean and I like the temperature I turned it down to slow burn The last song, Every Sentence, really shows Smith to be a very insecure & high maintenance guy (I speak from experience): Take me in your arms And never, ever, never go away I give my everything without questions I adore the floor you walk on Can I walk the floor with you Please, please be there when I wake up I want to breathe the air around you To touch you, feel you, know you Take away the world So every sentence, you’re the subject, object, verb, and preposition You’re my words and every sound I hear Keep me, keep me Always be the thought that I’m thinking Never in existence is there any other thing to change me I stop here I open up your door And I close the door behind me And I fall down flying, flying in the air with you And love me, I love you What’s ironic about this album is that I have an idea of what he’s talking about, but they are the worst lyrics he’s ever written. Even The End Of It All’s lyrics didn’t seem this weak. It’s tough to be creative & start getting laid.

I meant the jazz connection as a joke actually. It was the only way to tie in the fact that I've reviewed 37 Jandek album on a jazz board. Now that's funny.

So Chaney, what do you think of the recent reviews? Have you listened to any of those yet?

Hmmm...I don't get it. I know the name from a Sonic Youth title. It seems Clementine has deleted his posts in this thread!

The End Of It All; the title of album #37. Some asked, “Is it?” The answer from Corwood was it doesn’t mean anything. It is a lyric from one of the songs on the album. The cover shows a close up profile of Smith, looking older than we’ve seen him before. He looks like he’s in formal-wear or it could be what he wears to his day job. He’s looking downward, but there is no expression on his face. You can’t tell if he’s thinking or looking at something/someone. The title makes the mind fill in the blank by saying he’s at a funeral & is looking at the casket. Could be...or not. He uses a different guitar on this album (no acoustic bass here). It’s sound makes me think it’s the guitar he used for his live appearance(s); an electro-acoustic. To add to the sound difference, Smith uses a chorus effect rather than reverb on his guitar. He also uses a slide & has a very Sonic Youth tuning to his guitar. The tuning they’ve used most has a tonic note of F#m. I haven’t found out if that’s the actual key he’s tuned to, but it sure sounds like it. He even gets that drumstick under the strings sound of Sonic Youth by resting the slide against strings rather than...you know, sliding it. I immediately liked the sound of the album. Their are 4 songs on this album with the first, One Of Those Moments, being the longest at 20:15. For the first 5 minutes, there aren’t many lyrics which is fine since the vocals are really up front and his vocal style has drifted back to I Threw You Away (#32) & The Humility Of Pain (#33), but it’s more toned down than those records; not as howling but he does drag out the last word(s) of most lines. Despite the music & vocal delivery sounding very much to the contrary, it sounds, lyrically, like Smith is talking about a love relationship: I expect I’ll see you again Anyway I’ll never forget the time that you were there You added a new dimension Like I said, I didn’t expect that thing to happen When I said that, you knew it happened The best part is, I don’t need any special thing But if you’re there, you’ll find about it I suppose I’m talking to the right person I know everybody comes and goes Does it have to be that way Let’s take a look at it I’d like to be in your presence Can I see you Let’s set aside the time I’ll fall into another one of those moments Will you, will you fall into that same moment I’m ready for all the different outcomes At least I hope I’m ready But you didn’t make me nervous before You told everybody you liked me You made me say I liked you All right so you had to pull me out of me I was so deeply buried I needed your air And now I feel so alive I don’t see anything different It must be you, I accept that We’ll see where it leads to If you want to touch me I wouldn’t mind It doesn’t happen too often, this kind of thing Smith definitely has a strong fear of rejection and I’ll bet takes things really hard like people are rejecting him in total rather than not feeling the same way he does about a certain situation. Projection, you say? Yes, I agree, but I’ll stick with it. The next song, Hadn’t Been There Before, is about the same topic: I Hadn’t Been There Before I hardly saw you right away But I heard about you, all good things It’s important we go in the right direction And I took all those soft words Changed all the direction of things I said that I liked you, and that was the end of it all And the beginning of everything else I hadn’t been there before, no no no no no no no no no I Hadn’t been there before, no no no no no no no no no I Hadn’t been there before I lost my rational brain I just thought everything was all right I dropped all my guard I was so happy, I still am Whatever it is that you are If what she said was right, that’s a good place to start And again in They Don’t Matter At All: But I’m trying to get to the real core of things See if that soul you got wants to be with mine Then all the other differences don’t matter at all And on the last song, I Met You: I got a world, I found you on the periphery Somehow I pulled you in Now that you’re here, tell me Is it the best place you ever know Because I’m at the best place I ever knew And it’s just after I met you This is the oddest album of love songs I’ve ever heard. And the most difficult to listen to. What is interesting is just that: it's an album of 4 love songs, but Smith voice is so lacking in any variance of emotion that the point of it all is missed. It seems as he ages, it’s harder for him to loosen up, let go & relax. This has affected all albums since I Threw You Away (#32). Had I been buying each album separately, I don’t know if I would’ve made it this far or past this album. It’s far too many difficult albums in a row.

Hmm...someone has deleted their posts? This was on page 23 & now it's on page 22. The mystery continues...

Album #36 is called Shadow Of Leaves. The cover is very interesting. It shows Smith standing outside in a wooded area (half smiling/half squinting), but it you look closely at the trees in the background you realize some of them have been cut & pasted onto another part of the picture. Maybe there was someone else in the picture originally or some identifying mark. He must have really liked how he looked in it to go through all that trouble. I wish I could find a particular link as someone graphed out all the cut & paste parts. You wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t know, but there are parts that give it away if you look. Anywho... Smith sticks with the acoustic bass on this album and it features only 3 songs including his longest song to date; the title track is 29:02. One Last Chance from This Narrow Road (#30) was longer at 29:21, but that was a spoken piece. This album is miked closer and there isn’t as much room reverb as there was on The Gone Wait (#35). Though the song is long, it doesn’t drag because Smith is starts off playing a repeated note under the lyrics (he stops a few minutes in, but this doesn’t slow the pace) which keeps it moving then does riffs in between as before. His vocals are in a higher register than the bass this time also. So what is Smith singing about for a half an hour? I don’t know. Some excerpts: Now I got lucidity And I’m clear as glass rainbow And the shadow of leaves We’re walking down the street Now it’s a hundred degrees And I’m freezing on Mount Everest I got back in my dream And I’m dreaming forever Woo, I’m awake I’m sleeping in the wake time I’m awake in my sleep I got my fingers wet There was a lot of rain It was pouring bottles And those cold bottles Got my fingers wet But I’ll bet the glass you got Puts a liquid in you And then you’re fluid I got me my mechanical produced beverage I know my liquids I guess I’ll duck in from the storm And I’ll let those bottles crash down in the street The streets of mercy Smashing all those bottles On the pavement in the rain I won’t drive my car for the rest of the day I’ll think about breathing And watch the air rustle about Bye-bye, you Sunday Listen to me please, sit over here I never felt this way And lived to say “I’m gone” to you I no longer exist, I’m on a planet But I keep thinking about time And I frequent your grave, life And you frequent mine And we’re here together There ain’t no better place to be I wonder if Find Me Again is about the unexpected visit Katy Vine paid him for an interview in Texas Monthly in 1999: Find Me Again I don’t show nothing to nobody You got to steal from me I played your game You got to change your ways You got to be real good I’ll make myself better Just need a rest here But somehow you worked real hard And you found me You got to play my game Find me again I put it up for sale I took my name away I’ll still communicate You’ll hear from here or there But I got to be dark again I came to close to the fire And now the stars and cold I’m going out of town I covered up my tracks I’m smart as a man I’ll hide far away And protect the cave Another tough album. I can't recommend one bass album over the other. None of the 3 songs on here drag, but...

Here's my ranking of the 7th set of 5: KEEPERS none PERSONAL OPINION 1. Worthless Recluse FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY 2. The Place 3. The Gone Wait 4. I Threw You Away 5. The Humility Of Pain Well, this is a first. I have no keepers on this list. The last 4 albums are really rough. None of them are as melodic as earlier albums and are as static in style & tone as the first 7 albums were, only more so. So far, I Threw You Away & The Humility Of Pain have been the hardest for me to enjoy. Staring At The Cellophane (#6-my previous least favorite) is a walk in the park compared to these two. Most people would put all Jandek albums in this section, but here's why I did it: two 10 and a half minute songs that drag (The Gone Wait), howling vocals (I Threw You Away & The Humility Of Pain) & a big sense of a creative stagnation both musically & lyrically (2-5). And also since I listed Worthless Recluse as last on my list of the acappela albums, then all of the others go below that if I included all albums. I have now edited this list about 6 or 7 times because it just didn't feel right, but I had to acknowledge what I didn't want to say: aside from Worthless Recluse which I do enjoy, I don't like these albums very much at all. But really, it's your call on this one.

The #35 album on our countdown is called The Gone Wait. The title comes from the song of the same name on Twelfth Apostle (#22). It’s cover is another front window display from Europe. This one shows just one mannequin in a wedding dress. This cover has the first legible words to appear; the word ‘sale’ is behind the mannequin & on price tags. The humorous part with it being Europe is the prices are listed as pounds, or sterling! The only reflection in the glass is of the car that was on the last album also. The song titles, again, could suggest a concept, but probably don’t: I Went To Hell I See The Open Door I Was A King I Just Might Go Now I Found The Right Change But wait...what’s that I hear? That’s not a guitar at all, why it’s...it’s...a stand up acoustic bass!!! That’s right, Jandek goes jazz, well, not really, but here’s your link between outsider music & jazz; Sterling Smith on acoustic bass. How does he play it? However he sees fit. It sounds like a free jazz bass solo with lyrics. He still plays then stops a lot while singing, but with the instrument being more subtle, his vocals are low in response to the instrument; almost like he’s responding to another persons style, adjusting his to theirs in leu of actually playing with other people. Because of this, it makes this album more listenable (in the general Jandek of things). It’s low-key so the vocals don’t have that harrowing howl that appeared on I Threw You Away (#32) & The Humility Of Pain (#33). There’s also more percussiveness in his playing since you can't help it when you play bass, and that’s a good thing. A lot of slides, slaps & little riffs between lyrics. The downside is out of the 5 songs; 3 are between 6:00-6:39 (that’s the upside), and 2 are between 10:24-10:27 (the downside). These 2 songs are just dragged out for far too long. I’ve never said anything about Smith needing to edit himself and I’m not now, I just think the pace is too slow. And what about lyrically? I still don’t know what to say, but the last song, I Found The Right Change, is the only one where his voice uses a higher register than the bass: I Found the Right Change Hey diggedy daggedy, what you been doin’ I been sittin’ in my front room Where people just pass through and Don’t spend no time It’s got the best furniture It’s got the best look It’s got your first impression Better meet them there You got a guard that keeps you out of it Hey diggedy daggedy, what you gonna do I’m gonna sit in my front room where nobody stays I need to describe what’s going to stay here and What’s going away Don’t you have a friend who can give you space It’s what you need right now I’m in this moment of giving I found the right change to take The indescribable beauty to you And it’s not mine, it belongs to you I’m sitting in the front room Deciding what stays and what goes When it’s all gone If you don’t give up all your rights You just pass along Abandon everything you wanted Of course with a lyric like “Hey diggedy, daggedy”, how could you not get caught up in a joyful reading? (And just as an aside, I hope no one thinks I’m being sarcastic. I’m injecting a bit of humor as these albums are very hard to listen to and even appreciate. It helps my appreciation of them). An interesting album because of the acoustic bass and Smith’s reaction to it. I was listening so closely to the bass playing that I overlooked the lyrics. Again, Smith brakes up the sense of monotony by introducing a new instrument. I’d like to know how be came upon getting/borrowing one. It’s not like everyone has one hanging around.

I just wanted to post this line from Chaney's posting of Saul Bellow's death. (You're working overtime today, eh? A ton of info for the uninitiated. Great job!) Like his characters, Bellow's life was an evolution from the unbearable, but comic passion of the Old World, to the unbearable, but comic alienation of the New World. Though it might not totally fit, this just screamed Sterling Smith to me. Wouldn't be surprised if he read some of him. I, myself, haven't. Maybe I will now.

Trudging onwards, album #34 is called The Place. It’s another Europe shot on the cover. This time it’s a picture of what turned out to be a bridal store window display. Three female mannequins with a reflection of the place (no pun intended) across the street in the window. It looks like a double exposure, but somewhere on the Jandek list, I believe it was Paul Condon again, said these buildings are indeed across from each other. Aside from Smith, these are the first human forms that appear on a cover. I inspected the cover closely to see if I could find Smith in the reflection. Someone is there, but his mostly hidden behind the middle mannequin’s red sleeve. You can see a car also. Very busy cover for him. This album is possibly the shortest one at 36:42. The songs titles suggest a concept, or not: The Picture The Place The Highway The Answer The Stumble From the first song, I could tell I’d like this album more. The singing is more low key on here than the last two and the lyrical delivery is more "up". The guitar playing is the same; open strumming with notes thrown in and pausing while singing. I have no problems with his guitar playing. One way to describe it would be staccato. At times it sounds like he attacks the guitar coming off of the lyrics. The title track seems to be metaphorical about releasing kept away emotions: The Place There’s a key somewhere — where did I put it Maybe it’s in the car Maybe it’s in a cabinet Is it in my pocket Is it in my case I keep thinkin’ about that key I think about the key More than what’s locked up What’s locked up in that place What’s so special about those things That I don’t want them changed I want it all like it was I left it before We all got to have something unchanged I want it all like it was,I left it before We all got to have something unchanged That we can take for granted Some place, some object, some constructed thing We made a thing, and it needs perfection Who want to be the one Who makes a change To this little place This protected spot So where’s the key I want to turn the latch Unlock that place And see what’s there How can I do what I need to do In that place with those freed-up things Laughing and joking and having fun In an unlocked, freed-up, special place Where did I put that key I know it’s someplace Where did I put it Maybe it’s here Maybe it’s there In the song The Highway, I find this part interesting: And be careful about the chasm in the road Don’t fall down there, you might not come back If it hurts bad enough, you’ll get knocked out And maybe wake up in another body, or a rock Or a lake, or a tree, or a cloud You might even not know what you are You might not be anything at all For millions of years Or for all of the time To be no thing is a dream I had I can’t tell if he means he had a dream one night in which he was no thing (that’s not a typo, that’s what he says), or he had (or maybe has) a desire to be no thing or nothing. The harmonica says hello on the last song, The Stumble. The happy sound of this instrument is so in contrast with his guitar playing & vocals. It’s such an odd pairing. It’s like when he plays the piano or organ, because of the instruments’ set up, he can’t help but sound melodic (i.e. happy, lighter), but his guitar is the same. Maybe he feels there is no difference between the two. I definitely liked this album more, though it's still not one I'd think to listen to very often. Still difficult and unmelodic.