a few years ago, i went around parading myself as a "professional omniheurist and storyteller." while this was vastly misleading, one thing that i did discover that i enjoyed was translating songs into words. it's a very eastern, trance-like thing; i just sit there and write whatever words come to me. i've only done this two or three times so far, but it feels incredibly canonical -- which is why i call it a translation instead of just writing that's inspired by the music. most of the stuff i listen to has lyrics, but what i write is usually unrelated to the lyrics. obviously the translation works best for music-based music (as opposed to lyric-based music.)

since my lifestyle right now has me using most of my discretionary spending power on music, i thought this would be a good thing to pick up. i feel that albums tell a tale; some are incredibly well-crafted and give coherent things, while others are just unrelated snippets with the same basic personality. i have therefore chosen to call these chapters of a work of literature; in some cases they may be unrelated, but in some cases they really may fit together nicely.

so what do i do? i sit there and listen to the music and type whatever comes to mind, which i take to be a translation since i have no other stimuli. i only edit afterwards to fix typos. i am presented with a unique opportunity here, which is to do this with things i've never heard before (thanks to my influx of new music); albums marked with an asterisk were translated upon first listen.

is it bullshit? maybe. but the worst possible interpretation has the product as just writing, which is not really different from anything else i do. enjoy. and if you want me to perform at a private party, i am available.
March 24, 2002: ash, nu-clear sounds
March 10, 2002: *modest mouse, this is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about