Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Archives for September 2000

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the fields are falling silent and the house is going quiet and the dark stealing in the cracks the back stairs creaking just the wind it makes a sighing feels like crying or like rising off the bed/ my head spins i twist the sheets the attic throwing too much heat and jodi in the bunk above i love it when she finally falls asleep i creep out into the yard and i go running up the hill check me out – hey hey hey i will, i will i tell the trees as they are bending at the knees and as i rise in their embrace my face is flushing up with blood and it is good to be so scared as i go whistling to the stars/ and as far as the eyes can see nobody ‘tween the moon and me the yard a little green square i dare you to be brave as this and kiss the night and let it take you where i been since you all fell asleep check me out – hey hey hey i love the leap i love the rise and fall and autumn breezes as the call the name that i won’t tell you ’bout because you’d shout and then you’d say i hafta tell you why and i would lie and say that grandpa told me how/ and now there is something just beyond the stream that goes beside the woods in back of suzie’s yard it’s hard to see i try and try ’cause why would they hide what i believe that they got hidden there check me out – hey hey hey my hair gets up in my face i try to trace the path i think it took but when you look it’s gone it’s been so long that i been coming out this way to stay until i’m sure it must’ve got away/ today i told sarah how to get there but i bet that she forgot it’s not the way you go it’s just the place you are the stars are bright and tonight i think we’d find it if we put our heads together check me out – hey hey hey ~peter mulvey

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There’s this one song on the Trouble with Poets that’s called “Check Me Out (hey hey hey).” Depsite the impression you might get from the title, it’s one of the most verbose songs that Peter Mulvey has ever written. Aside from the obvious guitar pyrotechnics, he is definitely one of the most literary songwriters i know of. There are not only his detailed narratives, but his witty side references that take you months to pick up on but add layers of personal depth to his songs.

I’ve seen Peter perform quite a few times within the last year, and on many of those occasions he performed and spoke about “Check Me Out.” As it turns out, the song is written from the perspective of a girl who can fly. I didn’t have the slightest idea of what he was talking about the first time he mentioned that fact, but then he sang the song and it all made sense. “Check Me Out” conveys the excitement of staying up later than everyone else so that you can sneak out and fly without ever actually mentioning “flight.” The idea is perfectly conveyed by every detail of the song without mentioning it (as is the fact that the song is told from the perspective of a young girl, which i had never stopped to think about). What else could the song be about?, i think to myself now. I loved the song when i first heard it, but now i crush on it heavily. Do you listen a songwrite that can grab your attention with a very literally narrative song that you feel describes something perfectly? Will you still feel the same way if you find the song is much more than you thought it was? Is the artist capable of providing that sort of revelation? I can’t think of anyone else who can. Obviously, Peter Mulvey is extraordinary.

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i almost just put a hole in my monitor, but that’s a story for another time. right now i’m mostly concerned with eating cold lasagna.

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Some songs have this sacred space in them that their writers never wanted to touch. Whether it be a guitar riff or backing vocals, i know that there are just some points in my own songs that i’ve essentially roped off in my mind as being complete. I suppose most other artists are the same way. I was just singing along to The Trouble with Poets (the Mulvey album from last week’s list) and without meaning to i ad-libbed some backing vocals going into a chorus. If i were to ever be lucky enough to share a stage with Peter (and, that would only tangentially be possible in my dreams, but still, follow me on this one) and i sang that bit, would he stop playing and turn around questioningly? Would he just give me a dirty look? Would he notice? When other people add their own voices to my own songs it usually bothers me becauses it limits my ability to ad-lib on my own, but otherwise i usually quite like it. Is that the mark of a truly improvisational and inventive performer? Or are some people just more possesive of their work than others? I wonder.