i don't mean anything i say: a comprehensive review of the mystery books' 'russia'

a couple months ago i emailed boom.doctor.doctor@gmail.com asking how i could buy/download the album an album called 'russia' by a band called 'the mystery books.' the download website was not working. i got a reply by someone named riley. he told me 'the free download site went under. proof that everything is going under.' i thought this was funny and depressing and i was excited when he told me he would send me a cd in the mail if i sent my address.

some time passed. i completely forgot about our exchange.

then, last friday, i received a package in the mail. it included a cd copy of 'russia', a sticker, and a letter explaining the delay and saying other personable, nice things.

i emailed 'riley' again to thank him and found out that he was actually joseph moore, a musician and muumuu published poet.

in the car, soon after, i listened to the album, experiencing a number of emotions and connections within the 23.7 minutes of wittily morose lyrics and the lo-fi acoustics. i was severely taken by the bowed bass, which seem to seep into the songs, creating sentimental and empathetic listener responses. i felt myself falling into places i'd been before, time and again, feeling a sensory memory through music. depressing, yet light, the words felt like drops of water on my face. the album is pure poetry. the focus leaves the instruments, its minimalistic approach having an emphasizing effect.

this is difficult to explain. the album requires listening in order to truly generate such reaction.

i will try here, though, to explain my feelings behind each of these songs and their connection to the album on a whole.

'russia'

i am hereby analyzing the title of the album. russia is a place that is cold and mostly baren. it has a dark and deluded history. nobody knows how many people were killed under stalin's regime. there were no records taken and no means for caring. false prophets, self-serving political agendas, and physical isolation wrought the country during the 20th century. people became careful, tired, nervous. they are accepting of their government and its problems. just this past year, putin, whose time as president had expired, continued to rule the state without serious protest. secrecy, cold, i don't know how much further i can truly go with this, but the point is, russia represents a depressing, reclusive, vast and encumbered concept.

'snow leopards'

i think the first track 'snow leopards' sounds like the happiest song on the album. it seems nice at first and about a relationship. i like it because it talks about dreaming and being happy to think of somebody. the second verse is about depressive realization and then confusion and then acceptance of these things. the song moves into things about relationship problems and things that happened in the past and now dealing with them, but not really dealing with them, just trying to live, but not really just trying to live, just living, and not fruitfully. just moving around. and when you're asleep it's okay, because you don't actually have to do anything because things happen to you. 'and i can't change or fix/the things that i create/and those things that creat me/i will become obsessed with my dreams/that i dream at night/last night was a very good night/for dreaming.'

'that night with the green sky'

the words of this song are from tao lin's you are a little bit happier than i am. this book of poetry seems extremely relevant and funny and sad and great for people of 'generation y,' concerning existence, relationships, depression and value in general. this poem is about a relationship kind of and about trying to figure out what two people who like each other 'a lot or maybe even love' each other should do. the best thing about this song is the bass. the bass reminds me a lot of the bass in the violent femmes' first album. it is twangy and funny and a little off pace, but in a charming and perfect way. joseph voices tao's poem in a way you'd never hear tao read it, and it brings incredible depth and versatility to the writing and the music. there is a beautiful entry of bowed bass toward the end of the song that fits perfectly with the words. 'but how could that cause me to vanish from the earth/and that hurts/why did you want me gone/that hurts/why?'

'high hills'

this is the shortest song on the album. i really like the fast bass bowing. it makes the song seem fun and poppy. i like how it is about nature and animals and the outside. i don't have a lot a lot to say about this song, but i enjoy it. 'i want to be up there with them/watch as the cars/drive by/so slowly.'

'utterly confused'

this song has definite mass-appeal-ability. the use of simple organ under guitar and backed with the bass creates a real groove i think. i think it's funny that this song made me think of the word groove. the real strength behind this song is its lyrics. i've seen other websites quote these lyrics when trying to describe the mystery books to an audience. the lyrics are extremely depressing but are countered by the happy, poppy instrumentals. for some reason i think of the office theme song and belle and sebastian when i listen to this song. the lyrics express a beautiful sentiment. i am going to quote all the best parts. 'a whole life in search of you/and i don't exactly who you are/a whole life spent following you/and i'm not exactly sure why.' this is about love kind of. there's no reason for love really. it makes you follow someone blindly. it does. and it's good, it feels good. 'a whole life/spent in the dark/and i don't remember what the daylight feels like/a whole life spent crying/and i'm not sure why/i found myself/lying on my back looking up at nothing/in a hot, dark room in the middle of the day/today/i felt utterly confused.' this is about when you're severely depressed and you spend all your time under your covers and you don't remember what it's like to be happy and it's irrelevant. this might be the best song on the album. it reminds me of myself and a lot of people i know sort of. and it makes me feel happy actually.

'giant trees'

this song is simple. it is a simple song about being depressed. it reminds me of everyone's experience with depression. it's less personal. it's a more general experience of loneliness, angst, curiosity, hope, but not really hope. 'it's so hard to be alive/why must i over-analyze.'

'the day we went and saw john cage'

there are four different parts in this song, it's cool. i like the transitions. i like this song because it's a personal recollection. i love personal recollection poetry. i really like the bass accompaniment and the three-chord guitar used from 0:43 to 1:23 and then the transition at that point. there is a description of where they went to see john cage and it's emblematic of something that we're not necessarily to understand or ever know. i like how the song is stated to be written to someone. i like song's where you are not included but stand on the peripheries and do your best to get involved and listen to the story. i wish i went to see john cage but didn't. i like the mystery books a lot in this moment. 'i want to write you a song that says/"i love you"/but that's something that i can't do/at least the house will look bright from the street/that you will probably never see.'

'nothings changed'

this song is about giving up. completely. i feel this song. it's about losing your grasp. on reality maybe or maybe just on yourself. there is perfect string composition. there is perfect detachment and disability. it is a smart song. 'all my friends are dropping like flies/and i won't catch them because i want to watch them die/i don't mean anything i say.'

'i am full of living things'

this song is about going out alone and doing something that makes you '[feel] alive.' it is about being out alone somewhere new. and questioning yourself and the world and feeling a lot of emotions at once and thinking it's sad and funny and you just want to hold someone but you just want to be alone at the same time. i'm not sure if that's right but it feels right. the guitar is perfect in this song i think. i really want to say more about this song but i can't. it hits me somewhere that is not really easy to explain. a lot of this album does. that's important. this is the last song and that's important. this also might be the best song on the album. 'i am certain that i'm full of living things/more living things than dead things/but lately i've been sleeping/and i feel so out of it now/i am standing on neutral grounds.'

for more multimedia mystery books experience, visit the mystery books' myspace.

here is the video for 'that night with the green sky'

here is the video for 'utterly confused'

this album is good.

this album is good for people who have been severely depressed at one time and spent all their time in their room wanting to be better but not really trying, just wanting and then not wanting, just spending time in their room on the computer or with the covers pulled over their heads, but now aren't as depressed as they were then.

*this review was fun to do, but while i was writing it i kept thinking 'this is hard to explain.' you really should just email riley/joseph (boom.doctor.doctor@gmail.com) and get this album. it's free.