Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 26-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
“The Caribou And The Oil Pipeline” is the last download from The Observer album. It falls under the heading of political, and it brings up the idea that political art is difficult to make for a number of reasons, one of which is the feeling that it isn’t going to change anything—but, as the lyrics say—I didn’t think I could write a hit about the caribou and the oil pipeline, but I had to try.
I left this song until the end of the downloads because Dave doesn’t play guitar on it. I mean, he did play guitar in the studio and then I added piano, but when we went to mix it, we took the guitar out to get a sense of what was there, as a way to re-calibrate our listening, and Dave was pretty excited about leaving the guitar out. The piano was to be my usual sort of accent work. In a way, I kind of regret not having the guitar there, but as it stands, it is symbolic of one facet of the way we work as a creative team: responding, evaluating and removing framework. In this case, making the song even less likely to be “a hit” foists intention to the fore. It is our intention to get results from what we do, but what happens to a song once it is released is essentially unpredictable. Trying to accomplish one thing or another isn’t the only thing; being involved in the creative process with other people is where much of the satisfaction and pleasure come from. Take the lyrics “It’s easy if you try” and “All we are saying”: simple, direct and powerful. The words are directed at the listener, encouraging us to step out of the shadows, into the sphere of action and change.
After 25 years of releasing music, I can fairly accurately predict what will happen to Mecca Normal songs. That they are not gobbled up by loads of people turns out to be OK. I see this as stepping away from ego-driven consumer antics; the essence of what I do is hinged to a framework within which I exhibit, understand and evolve through various skills, emotions and proclivities. Less clamoring, more engagement with the ever-extending process—overlapping all aspects of funneling, filtering and ruminating.
I’m including a live version—one of the first times we played it—but Dave’s amp didn’t sound that great.
“The Caribou And The Oil Pipeline”
You’re in your car
You’re running out of gas
You pull in to get the gas
3,000 miles north of here
100,000 caribou are heading for the sea
Bears and ravens follow
This is where the U.S. wants to build an oil pipeline
It will disrupt the caribou migration
You see it on TV—there’s nothing you can do
You can’t change the world, so you change the channel
But in your mind, one fact stands alone:
A six-month supply of oil versus 20,000 years of migration
In a dream, you see the caribou crossing an icy river, exhaling steam
They dream themselves up and over steep and barren hills
I didn’t think I could write a hit
About the caribou and the oil pipeline, but I had to try
You’re in your car
You’re running out of gas
You pull in to get the gas
What if?
What if?
