Your Blues makes it clear Dan Bejar is the rulingest voice in music today. Anyone who cares to debate this should know in advance that I'm highly inflexible on this point.

Instead of writing about why he's great, I figured out a few songs. At least, I think I did (I'll welcome corrections):

F G
oh notorious lightning yes i had to ride you
Am Em
and trash the crystal jets they kept in storage inside you
F C Em
i was told never to question it now i'm facing 20 years
Am Dm F
for every night i tried to ingest the snow so lightly (huh)
C
You simply couldn't put down the black book
Em
You dreamt the dreams of the self-taught man
Am
You warned the ladies not to be corrupted by their looks
F C
but your voice comes out soft and slanted
F Em
and your living off what the government granted you:
Dm
amnesty from the true thing now saundra slowly remove the ring and watch
F G
notorious lightning surround you
"

C/Am
i lay myself down to observe your gilded jeans hit the ground & have not grown from this worship.
C/Am
i lay myself down to surrender, watch the trust funds gorge us again and have not grown from this worship
C
so great pretender pull a face lets see the best forlorn you know
Am
just don't sing barricades in the morning it's been 3 days in a row
F C
and it never comes off like you planned it
F Em
something once was delivered, then you banned it
Dm
but oh there is a key to this thing
G
notorious lightning

Then there's all this fancy key-board stuff and other lyrics which I've seen fit to edit, followed by:

F/Am
and someone's gotta fall before someone goes free!
(the Am might be a C, who can tell? Ted?)

I've been singing this in my gramma's basement for days now. I highly recommend y'all do the same.

Also - he continued - I think I figured out What Road?:

c am f g
once i was made beautiful in the light of an hour
c am f g
but this year I'm just a meal laid out for august to devour
f g c am
so quick let's go it's time for a ride the future's yours no wait i lied
c am f g
it's not yours - it is a replica of scattered ash and the road the rain's on

f/c
what road?

c am f g
able willing ready fuck the spiral jetty tonight i would love being high
c am f g
til i stare at the sky designed to come down on everyone at once
f g c am
so quick let's go it's time for the ride the future's yours no wait I lied
c am f g
it's not yours it's a replica of scattered ash and the road the rain's on

f/c
what road?

c am f g
i've been working on some open-ended shit
c am f g
i was looking for an in and that was it
c am f g
back at the recital signs remain vital a statue of stone which rejects its own pulse
c am f g
your heart's fair your heart's square your heart's not even there - wasted surely on the girls from point saint
c am f g
claire there is a light and it goes out
c em f g ` f g
a touch a classicism in the night your backlash was right where i wanted you
f g (c)
yes that's right i wanted you too

Every review I've read says how this closing line is a reference to the critics hissy-fit when This Night was released. I don't think this, and wouldn't have thought this, but maybe they're right. People did really miss the boat on that album in a rather embarrassing type-way. This Night was a masterpiece and critics who shat on it are retarded. It had Goddess of Drought on it, for Christ's sake. It had The Night Moves on it! It had Trembling Peacock, Crystal Country and The Chosen Few, which - if I understand correctly - is one of the finest songs Bejar ever wrote, plus it had Here Comes The Night on it. It had the line, "you shouldn't hurt the ones you love unless you really want to". Ok already, it may not have been Streethawk, and it wasn't Yur Blues but please. What are people comparing him to? Does he have to make every album Abbey Road-good to avoid "critical" backlash? I actually had to read some doorknob talking about how Bejar "shat his pants at his coming out party" when he made This Night. You know who else shat their pants at their coming out party, dingus, aside from every artist you champion? Maybe pick on someone who isn't the lyricist of our time instead of carrying on under the pretense that you wouldn't have booed Dylan off stage for going electric, when apparently you can't grasp This Night for the love of Allah.

And another thing: Anyone who says "Now, finally, the bandname begins to make sense," about Bejar's sixth album should retire. The name meant everything to anyone with ears on City of Daughters.

Retire!