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Normal History Vol. 477: The Art Of David Lester

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 34-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.

This alcohol-doused slither through a spontaneously combustible improvisation (at least, on my part) is somewhat cringe-worthy to listen to after being sober for almost 20 years, but, at that time, I took the luxury of recording a song that built itself lyrically around the simple idea of the voice being a valuable tool to push through progressive social change. Not saying this song is any kind of success in that regard, and, in fact, I look back at the era as being a failure of sorts.

Yet, there will always be artists, who, while tending to be less capable of articulating and achieving specific results, take cracks at using public art to protest, and perhaps influence those who use their voices more directly.

With the lines shooting through
the break
it didn’t come
pushing through

The voice took it
the voice pushed it through

The voice was taken
through

And the giver took to taking
And the giver took to singing

And the given took to singing
too

“On The Row Of Dials” from Flood Plain (K, 1993) (download):