Thank yous - Carver Cordes, Jean, Les, Laura, and Jeff Arnaudo, Mel Sanders, Momo Costello, Mountain Camp, Madeline McClelland, Emily Rohrer, Alyse, Harold, Liam Hamill, Marshall Biever

Mastered by Cefe Flynn - 13/8/23

About the Album

For my first album in this genre, I described the album as “Children’s Music”, probably mostly to draw a distinct line between what I was doing, hair metal, and what I was doing then. I no longer think that “Children’s Music” is the best descriptor, I think it was short sighted of me to have branded myself that way. Recently, I was going to play some music and a friend asked “Oh the real songs or the silly stuff?” I caught myself snapping back “what’s the difference?”

Cuz that’s how I feel now. These songs are definitely silly, more Weird Al than Radiohead, but both can have meaning and even important political points. It wasn’t like I was writing Radiohead anyway.

This album is maybe more political. I think it’s impossible to write out of context, so that was bound to happen. Although I like to have those places where I can escape politics, especially in this past year, and even though this would seem like a perfect venue for it, it just couldn’t happen. Bob Dylan “doesn’t write protest songs”, but it certainly sounds like it. Twisted Sister's “I Wanna Rock” certainly has a disestablishment sentiment. Mika’s “Love Today” will have overtones of gay rights.

The only way to write apolitical sounding songs, I think, is to write things that are the classic subjects of rock and roll. Specifically, sex, drugs and rock n roll. Which are the principal things I wanted to not write about. Because I didn’t think I would be good at it? Or I just didn’t feel the need to? Or just because I wanted to do something different.

Of course those three things could all be recontextualized as sexual freedom, drug culture, and rebellion. All of which have pretty strong political messages. So I guess I didn’t do anything different after all.

Many of these were shaped by my time at summer camp. I played more music there than I have since I was learning guitar. In fact, while I had thought that I might’ve written an album over the summer, locking myself away somewhere, instead of going to camp, I think that going to camp and having that experience accelerated making this album. Camp also gave birth to my first “tour”, playing three shows across Pennsylvania. I think I owe a lot to Mountain Camp.

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Lullabye – When I was working at camp I was having this problem. Kids, turns out, often have more energy than adults, and don’t need to or want to go to bed. Especially not everyone at the same time. So while I struggled for half the summer, eventually I picked a guitar and started playing everyone a few bedtime songs each night. The kids were more receptive to bedtime and also they came to like me more in the daytime as well. I actually learned this trick from my own counselor, who played for us high schoolers on mission trips.

Moon Soon – This is just the Crazy Train riffs altered a bit. I missed playing metal when I only had an acoustic guitar at camp so I just fiddled on the verse riff all the time. Partially inspired by looking at the moon while calling home from Australia. I watched the moon rise over the Pacific, and I literally didn’t know what it was at first. I thought it was some kind of huge round ship? I described it to my friend on the other line, she was pretty sure it was the moon. But I didn’t believe her until it has risen and separated from the tide. It was just too big, it must have taken up 30% of the horizon. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but the phenomenon is real and my cursory research at the time told me that people don’t know why the moon looks so big at the horizon, they just know that it does.

Peanut Butter Sandwiches – A true story also originating from working at summer camp. Because peanut allergies are pretty serious, and because peanut butter is pretty standard kid food, we had to eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches away from most of the campers. You would go up the deck, and have your sandwich on a bench, giving ample space from any potential allergician.

This doubled as a place to kind of get away from your normal predetermined table. You could hang out with anyone up there (as long as they could survive peanuts). That’s where I would hang out with Mel and catch up. I mean that’s pretty explicit in the song, I don’t know why I’m telling you that here. We (maybe more just me) would also try new combos of PB sandwiches. My new fav after leaving camp is Peanut Butter, chocolate syrup, and chia seeds.

Polarized – I used to play this game with two friends in high school where you would tap the shoulder of the other person, and then if you were wearing sunglasses as they turned to you, you would shout “POLARIZED” at them. Cuz you know, sunglasses are polarized and it kinda sounds like “Freeze!” or “Gotcha!” Some kinda low level moose game.

This is probably the most obviously political. If you’re dense, this song is about climate change. And puns. Polarized like the electromagnetic phenomenon, polarized like being divided between issues, and polar ice because it's a near homophone. I could write a song genius article on this one.

Once He Did Though – The addition of drums and weird time signatures is the clearest sign of progression from the first album. Not that those things make music better or progressive, but this one breaks format the most. I didn’t know I’d end up living in an apartment with a studio and a drum kit but I’m so glad I did. This was first written way back when I got Harold, and was possibly going to be on the first album. I was super high and just fascinated with how you could rearrange these four words in any order and always make a coherent sentence. I still am. The 7/4 time signature came as a result of the natural rhythm of “Once he did though” with the answer “He did though once”.

Alyse Alyse – Is this even on the album? I haven’t even decided yet. This is the least album oriented song. It’s a tale about a crush. But it’s heaps of fun to play and sing.

Every Twelf Coffee - You know how sometimes you’ll have a coffee and you’ll end up sleepier than before? This is about that.

Bunyip - This song is bicoastal! I recorded half of it in Brisbane’s public library’s recording studio, which by the way, go get a library card, support your local library, and vote for people who improve libraries. A recording studio is expensive to build and maintain, so sourcing that cost out and letting anyone use it is an awesome idea. A community could do this for any number of large/expensive projects, including gardening, aquariums, workshops, and even things I’m not necessarily interested in!

The Bunyip is an Australian mythological creature that lives in the water. I heard about it while working at a scuzzy forex brokerage in Melbourne, they got in trouble with the Australian version of the SEC,I peaced out a few months before then. What always fascinated me was that the bunyip doesn’t have a consistent description. It lives in the water, but could look like a bird or a giant dog or a walrus, I mean the descriptions are all over the place.

I feel conflicted about this song because I am like 2 degrees of separation away from the culture about which I’m writing. Like, I’m not Australian and I’m not Aboriginal, I’m an outsider, so what right do I have to make this my subject matter and even make fun of it a little?

To answer my own question, I’d say that I’m appreciative to have visited that part of the world and wish to return, and also to learn more about the different Aboriginal peoples. Me writing a song about the Bunyip is just a manifestation of that curiosity.


Cars are Glue - This was written and recorded back for the first album, I Pet A Dog, but I had felt like it needed drums and it wasn't quite ready in time. So it has since been ported to this album.

I don't know what to tell ya this song is just a simile without "like or as". Cars are similar to glue, the fill in the spaces of things that I do.

RIYL: Regina Spektor, Presidents of the United States of America, They Might Be Giants