Every week, 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 41-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
I can’t imagine who would ever ask me if I have any regrets in life. If they did, I could be bombast and, like Vince McMahon (of the wrestling-management fame), say I have none. But the truthier answer might have something to do with thinking I could be poetic and less direct in my lyrics and count on people to interpret my words and meaning the way I intended them. More or less.
What I said in 1995 during a time of success we never imagined, “Searching for a method, existing in a void, investing in past lives, honeycomb of doubt. Waxy laughter breaks your knees. Shaking off the frozen rain.”
What I could have said, “Take stock of communication methods now, even if you’re alone in it, look to history and how almost no one believed fascism could ever take hold again. There may yet be a time when a cartoon character politician brings you to your knees. Shake off their idiotic recriminations.”
“Frozen Rain” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995) (download):
