Shoebox Full of Tapes

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Hey! New song!

This one’s been slowly stewing for a while, and I’ve slowly been realizing that it owes a big debt to Sufjan Stevens — and not just ’cause of the place names. I didn’t always write these collage-y kinds of lyrics. (Also, I think that my roommate, who plays drums and guitar and who helped me record this tonight, wishes that I were more rhythmically creative. She’s not so much into this steady-eighth-notes thing, but I just keep coming back to how my favorite songs on Illinois are the ones with the really simple and predictable rhythms. It’s not that I don’t appreciate cool rhythms — it’s that I don’t want the lyrics to have anything to hide behind.)

Alert listeners may recognize the songs that get namechecked here and/or the Lindsey Kuper Experiences to which they correspond. Or maybe not.

So what are yours?

Snowflakes on the windshield
as we drove north from Champaign
Falling asleep in the front seat
Charms and feigns

The summer I lived in Austin
The night that Shearwater played
Scrawling a note in the front row ’cause
I can’t wait

Sterile and echoing hallway
Close off the windows and doors
If you need me, I’ll be with
The only living boy in New York

So what are yours?

Posted on Sunday, July 16th, 2006. Comments are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.