the_music_of_johnny_west cr0wl there is a bumper sticker on the back glass of my pick-up truck from the burton learn-to-ride center that, along with their design logo, states: "progression never ends." i believe that we all possess a center; a circle that continuously radiates. it takes in and gives out and is easily visible as countless metaphors in nature. from this place of origin, certain lines, tangents, ripples, waves, (or as my father once so simply perceived, "spokes from a wheel") jut forth into the surrounding world. our lives and the operatic and cinematic ways we live them provide the experience and fuel to perpetuate the turning of our individual worlds. this is progress. these and a plethora of insights are the thoughts i had while listening to love_songs_for_nihilists. i've been fortunate to amass quite a growing library of johnny's work, thanks to his generosity, yet it is the genre i most love; intelligent and finely constructed music that accompanies the favorite things we do. like making gifts for artists in return for the beauty they bestow. this is by far the best work he has done. a progressive piece of art that like a painting one beholds upon a wall will only grow in appreciative beauty with successive listening. i sit in awe of what i hear, considering him a friend from the early days of red. realizing somehow all of us here share in his ability for we have all given our art to him, whether it be mere words, conversation, stories or greater things yet. it comes from a passionate musician who clearly has a honed talent for composition and instrumentation. "knee jerk howl" begins the eclectic and charming record with a soft, winsome call to almost john ashbery lyricism, mildly putting to rest the juxtaposition of love for life up against the unavoidable mortar prostration dissolving under the pestle of time. key words: "ain't no function that'll let you recline, the blood from your sweat will be my wine" "skull jugglers" begins with the wistful cries of ghosts dissolving into a dense oil drum heartbeat and city calls bleached out with old light. swallowing their echoes, the ghosts return to use memory as art. key words: "to sermonize while waving their arms in the air" set your soul introspection to pause because "jesus don't know my name" slaps you in the face with its rowdy belligerent funky weirdness. tap your foot and say it's so. the bugle at the end (or was that a dying elephant?) is a fitting finish for the absurdity of such incredulous consideration. key words: "jesus don't know my goddamn name" "improvised lake" quiets things back down and slowly returns us to the contemplation of relationships. softly-rubbed guitar and stylistic vocal changes make it a stellar track. key words: "the only mirrors were our eyes and they reflected everything" "kings" contains a fragile tinkling of piano that seems to represent the ever-present awareness of how moments join to form a mosaic. but it is the voice, co-joined and solo, breathless yet stalwart and definitive, that is the defining instrument. melodic guitar hovers throughout as a guide to a journey we realize he's taken but has now reinterpreted. key words: "he wears a crown of butterflies" get out the five gallon bucket, turn it upside down and pound along to "how we float when we shit," or just slap your thighs like johnny did. and, oh yeah, order some fried chicken. "the cost of allowing yourself to remain living" is a collage of death, dreams, and hope, carefully crafted by turns of phrase in a sonic wash, bathing, massaging, and whittling life down to the bone. key words: "take one last look at everything" "animal altruism" is a sprightly song that immediately reminded me of a masculine regina spektor, but the swishing drum, voice alterations, and electronic background clearly whisper a definition of its originality. key words: "carry me on your dolphin's back" "crustacean cancer survivor" is my favorite track. perhaps it's the simple, melodic strumming of the guitar and the tender, scale-sliding punctuation of the four eloquent lines, followed by a slow build of urgent mandolin and thumping drum beat. "when you're in your tree the moon looks so full when you're killing me i feel the ocean's pull" i love the wispy passivity of "it's only a chocolate cigarette." the ringing guitar together with the fervent, pounding drums refusing to surrender and the vocal calls is a dream song easily remembered upon waking. piano-driven "bent bird, broken wing" provides a stage for the versatility of his voice which first translates a longing for the unattainable and then smoothly transitions, becoming a soulful mourning, or perhaps a paean to how artistry triumphs over failure. key words: "you'll never meet her lips" not really sure about "you make me feel like an impotent squadger." what is a squadger anyway? urban dictionary says it's what a choirboy receives in excess, or to be squadgy is to have a fish-like consistency or to squadge is to suffocate. however, the snare drum racing beat coupled with the fuzzy mic sent me reeling to some sweaty, dim lit dive bar and that could be a good thing in the right mood. then it's right back in the night clouds with "moonwalking." easy guitar accompanied by nice musical touches with the xylophone and such. was there a melodica in there? if this is what it's supposed to sound like when you are missing a friend then it's right on. sustained piano infused with dusty snare and a shadowy electric guitar support what just may be the strongest and most sweepingly gorgeous song on "the things you love are always the first to leave." a velveteen voice becomes a meandering stream, flowing in and out of the music, providing luxurious grassy banks to dip the barefeet in. and as he himself said in a letter to me, "romance is a very strange city to navigate without a map," perhaps this is a stop along the way. key words: "she bit her tongue with such force a river of blood filled her mouth" and to bring the record to a desperately unwanted close is still one more lyrically eloquent and acoustically meticulous expose on the study of the feminine form and how it reshapes itself inside one's soul. one who, "was never one for being thrust into murky situations and that's why he is always wrapped in the light." key words: "when did your fingertips learn so much about lips and other tender constructs?" this is a major album and it seems to come from deep experience which makes it accessible and draws the listener in, bringing you closer to his music than you have ever been before. hearing the news that a short form documentary film of him and his music is in the works comes as little surprise. and his slick production skills are clearly present in scotchlake music's recording of travis reitsma's, "outside the factory gates." johnny's musical fingerprints are throughout the work. he lends vocal harmonies and plays many of the instruments in support of an excellent and gritty singer/songwriter friend. there are hints of grant lee buffalo, good time americana, bruce springsteen's "nebraska," and even a hint of richard shindell. it's an interesting and engaging listen and one can readily tell that johnny has restraining ropes all around him. not a bad thing, just different, and it reveals his talent capacity to be one of overflowing. 100317 ... raze well...holy shit, man. once again i'm humbled and awed by your kind words. incidentally, a squadger (at least for the purpose of the song) is what happens when a badger and a squirrel really love one another and decide to make a baby. i wasn't sure how people would respond to this album, and i'm not sure i've figured out even what it means to me yet. all the cds are sort of like puzzle pieces, and i sometimes don't understand what they are or what their purpose is until other pieces are added and the bigger picture starts to come into focus. then i realize that the puzzle is much larger than i initially thought it was, and i was completely wrong in my assumptions of what it might be turning into. here i was thinking this one was a more difficult album that might alienate some people, but the response so far has been really positive. that whole documentary thing is absolutely surreal. i don't know how widely it's going to be seen, but i imagine it will be accessible online somewhere at some point before too long. that's going to be bizarre; seeing people talking about me like i'm someone important. even more surreal would be attending an actual screening...of a film that makes me the subject. maybe there would even be a q & a segment where we could talk about how the planned interview with mr. t fell through. either way, it's crazy stuff. 100317 ... raze also, your observation about everyone here being a part of it on some level is dead-on. a lot of things i've written here have ended up becoming lyrics, and i'd be lying if i said i didn't take some amount of inspiration from the red family, and all that has been shared and given...i've said it before, but it's true---one of the best parts of this whole thing is just getting to share it with people. particularly friends i've made on red. i don't seem to have much to say here lately, but maybe the music is my contribution...maybe the words have just been redirected. 100318 ... unhinged well your music has definitely been part of my life in recent years johnny. the letters you send me with each album are prominently displayed in my kitchen. i put one of your songs on a mixed cd i made for my ex. i listen to your albums often on longer bus journeys. i just had a good cry while listening to love_songs_for_nihilists . the last time i was at home (for christmas) i was hanging out with my mom and put one of your albums ( absence_of_sway maybe?) on the ipod speakers and she asked 'can i buy this somewhere?' i should renew my passport so we can make music together. 100318 ... auburn I can't thank you enough. Not only have you supplied me with the only music with lyrics I can listen to WHILE studying--you have been a part of almost my everyday work commute. I have all of your CDs in my car; and I frequent them most while driving home in search of respite from the world. Two of your songs, on two particular days, have been words for me when I've had none. I have even used them to say, "Here, listen to this. This is how I feel. This is who I am." Anyway, I just thought you should know. 100318 ... raze well...thank you both. it always amazes me when anyone has that kind of reaction to the music, or finds that kind of personal meaning in it, i guess because most of the time it's just stuff that comes out of me, and i'm not even sure sometimes what it means to me. i never thought i'd end up being the soundtrack for study sessions or long bus rides, but i think those are great compliments...i'd be curious to know which songs were your words when you had none, auburn, but you don't have to tell me if it's too personal to share. and nic---i'm game, anytime. i think my piano would like you an awful lot. that reminds me...i think my passport expired about six years ago. i should probably get mine renewed at some point as well. it's pretty wild to me to think that, when i first started writing here in this incarnation, the whole idea was just to collect dust in a corner and remain anonymous...and look how things turned out. ha! anonymity my foot. i feel funny sometimes even using this name anymore, since everyone knows who i am anyway, but i guess it's stuck for better or worse. thanks for letting my noise be a part of your lives, and for letting your words and your selves be a part of mine. 100323 ... no reason i have you and jesus in my head simultaneously 100324 ... raze now there are two people who don't hang out in your head everyday... also, i am now a film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KxSJVNFG7E those "myths" are pretty much all things that people have really speculated about me. bizarre. but what's even more bizarre is seeing a film trailer starring...you. the whole thing should be release-ready and available to view in some form by the end of the month. 100405 what's it to you? who go blather from