"Like flashers on the subway, today's mainstream music artists
eschew artistic nudism in favor of artless exhibitionism."
An Album of Musical Nudes
I don't believe in nudism. The line between exhibitionism/voyeurism and innocent nudism is too thin to be seen by the naked eye. The eye itself should probably have more modesty, and get dressed before it looks at anything. Perhaps it is the nudism of the eye that is the problem. If the eye had any decency at all, it would wear sunglasses in the shower. The eye is a leering weirdo. Light hangs like a tongue from its "lashes," small implements of visual penance which attempt to whip the light into submission, and remind the eye that it is the servant of the person using it. It is necessary (and entirely possible) to train the eye. If you don't train your eyes so that they flinch and move away from anything deadly, your heart will pay the price. We've all been there. And the salacious tears of naked heartbreak fall from our eyes like lascivious drool, in which our emotions go skinny dipping with a bottle of tequila.
Love is beautiful, and brutal.
"Permanent Hearts" is from the album Stupid Old Heart, which is my attempt at an "album of nudes." Visual artists have them, why shouldn't musicians? Attempting to record an album of nudes was just an exercise, a diving board for the muse to use (or not use) as she saw fit. Glancing at the track list, I think the muse wore a motheaten Victorian funeral gown for the duration of the recording. There's nothing naked about it. In fact the cover art was designed to look like a scene from an old horror movie. Because that's what love is. A black-and-white horror movie from the 1920s, in which all the actors are naked, or dressed like vampires.
No wonder I'm still single.
From my discography page:
"Released on Valentine's Day Eve of 2013, the 13 songs on Stupid Old Heart chart the descent of a man from freedom to madness, by way of his heart. From the opening strains of "I Am A Verb, You Are A Noun (chasin' the snail)" to the ridiculous, aberrant lunacy of "Zombie Wastoids Have The Power," Stupid Old Heart is the perfect self-inflicted valentine for all the broken-hearted people who haven't yet realized they're better off alone."
Permanent Hearts
5 non-ironic hours
from my destination
6000 years of civilization
and I still can't find
a decent radio station
and the sky is as orange as your eyes
Is this love,
or an unlawful
search & seizure?
Break my heart,
baby,
at your leisure
make sure she's your
perfect match
or she'll scratch
out your eyes
tease you until you're hypnotized
lies,
treachery,
and deceit
until you're lying face-down
in the street
eating cobwebs
under the sodium lights
I need an X-Ray machine
to read my rights
tonight's the night we write our names
and draw permanent hearts
on the city
So ya wanna tell me a story
about falling in love,
well ya better make it gory
and I'm sorry
I'm so damn depressed
what I need
is a deep, deep rest
all I need is a deep, deep rest
scratch your fingernails
across my chest
another feather in your nest
your eyes sparkle like broken glass
sunk into a beautiful morass
and if you put your ear
to the subway grate,
it's like you can hear the ocean
©Nathan Payne
