We met Rafter two days earlier at the Asthmatic Kitty showcase that we were co-sponsoring at the Emo’s Lounge. It was one of only three times we ventured much from our safety zone on the east side of the interstate. We met him shortly after he’d played and just before My Brightest Diamond played and he was the kind of friendly that always cheers you up. He told us that he was excited for the session on Saturday. We said likewise and that was all for the night. Come Saturday morning – the light was there blinding us at the backside of the tunnel. We were through, done, kaput – we wanted to leave town after coffees, not after dinner. Rafter was our morning wake-up call and the levity he brought was what probably buoyed us through the entire afternoon. He also dropped our second favorite phrase of the week: Jammy McJammerstein. – Sean Moeller

First song
Mercy (Rafter) [1.10MB] [1189 downloads]


– original version appears on Music For Total Chickens
This song is just a little collection of encouragements. It was the first one I wrote for it, and sort of set the tone for the rest of the record. Work hard and exercise your mind and body, you won’t be sorry. Take time to call your mother, she will be happy that you love her.

Second song
Sleazy Sleepy (Rafter) [1.92MB] [1195 downloads]


– unreleased; original version will appear on the forthcoming SexDeathCassette
It is about lonely, disconnected people living lives that could end up intersecting, and it’s also about the spirit of complete welcoming, which I really try to make happen at our shows and which does happen occasionally. It’s also about the service industry and the relationship between paid services and the spirit of complete welcoming. There’s a place she dreams of from behind her desk, in her lovely life, in her lonely life, in her only life, there’s a sound she dreams of. And it’s a sound he makes when he’s trapped and scared, doesn’t know how to live, doesn’t know how to try, but there’s a sound he makes. You don’t even need to know nobody at
all.

Third song
Thunderclap (Rafter) [1.64MB] [1158 downloads]


– unreleased; original version will appear on the forthcoming SexDeathCassette
Is about fighting existential crisis with friendship and (non-genderiffic) fraternity. There are plenty of reasons for us to freak out and get bummed on life and death and everything, but often the love of your friends really helps. So it’s about knowing when to ask for help, to ask for and to soak up the support and love from the people who love you!

Fourth song
Tragedy (Rafter) [2.03MB] [1207 downloads]


– original version appears on Music For Total Chickens
Is about tragedy and the completely ordinary reality of it. Some years ago, one of my favorite and closest cousins was murdered — beheaded, even! by a serial killer… holy shit, right? In the years since, as I processed this completely unexpected, unwelcome, and thoroughly horrific event, I realized that tragedy — complete, horrible, unfair and unacceptable tragedy — is a totally unavoidable and natural part of life. We’re not prepared for it at all in our culture, I think, but it is real, and happens to real people — to real families and real individuals. Every day, the news headlines say it, and I think it’s a profound thing to do to realize that those people affected are REAL COMPLETE people, just like me and you. Today’s headline for me — 75 Dead In Baghdad Truck Bombing — 75 people with families, friends, kids, relationships, parents, etc. But if it happens in the world, it’s natural, right? By definition, for me at least, it is. It’s natural to get destroyed.