Bad Books, simply put, is Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra.

A t… Read Full Bio ↴Bad Books, simply put, is Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra.

A true accident if there ever was one; Bad Books was never an intended nor calculated side project of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull. Though the two musicians have collaborated and performed together on tour and within the Favorite Gentlemen community of artists for years now, the genesis of Bad Books came from a simple idea to fill space and time off the road by collaborating on a small batch of songs together at the top of the year. With no agenda and no expectations, what was birthed just one week later was Bad Books, a fully realized album encompassing five compositions each from both Devine and Hull, with the members of Manchester Orchestra filling out the sound and the band. The self-titled debut will be released October 19th, 2010 via Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, the record label that was founded and has been run by Manchester Orchestra since 2007.

As songwriters go, Hull and Devine could not be further apart in terms of creative approach. The methodical wordsmith Devine, an English major from Fordham, is known to pine away for great lengths of time just to accurately pin-point one word within a lyric. “I was doing a take of ‘You’re A Mirror I Cannot Avoid’ and stopped myself for fifteen minutes because I was having trouble justifying ending two lines in the same chorus with the word ‘back.’ Just sitting there, staring at the screen, writing different word choices. I asked Andy if he thought it mattered, and he said, ‘Of course it doesn’t.’ Somewhere in that exchange is I think what differentiates us as songwriters. I think Andy trusts his instincts to lead him to the right place in a song, and sometimes I want to outthink my instincts because I’m scared of repeating myself, of resting on my laurels. And I think together, those two approaches meshed really, really well,” Devine said.

Hull echoes that sentiment: “Kevin is very meticulous, where I came in with a few ideas and fleshed them out literally as we were recording. Kevin’s songs were awesome and he was cool enough for me to throw in some ideas to change a part or add a bridge here or there.”

In contrast to previous outputs from Manchester Orchestra and Devine, Bad Books cradles a much more noticeable pop aesthetic and energy than either artist has probably ever showcased before. Nowhere is this more evident than in songs like “You Wouldn’t Have To Ask” and “Holding Down the Laughter”.

Engineered by Robert McDowell (of Manchester Orchestra) with help from drummer Ben Homola, and mixed by Chris Bracco (of Devine’s ‘Goddamn Band’), Bad Books progressed in the most organic and natural way possible. Free from any boundaries or restrictions, Devine and Hull were able to craft a beautiful body of melodies, highlighting arcs of high and low throughout, and utilizing the stark imagery and storytelling for which both of them are known. “There was no governing framework,” Devine says: “No, ‘let’s write these kind of songs and say these kind of things’. We just wrote, arranged and played each song to its end, followed where it led, and I think it brought us both to some pretty unexpected places.”

For Devine, Hull, and the rest of Manchester Orchestra, choosing the direction of the road less travelled resulted in sonic harmonies and woven textures that meshed what these best friends do best. Some accidents were just meant to be.

How This All Ends
Bad Books Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I arrived with no shoes
Without a name, without a use
I tried to talk it out of you
Just because I found it's best,
To keep it quiet and keep it still

You sat without your clothes
Without a name, without a home

And I love the weirdness of it all
So I stalled,
Saying everything, that's everywhere
Is lost

(Yeah, Everything, that's everywhere is)

Now, I can see
In the end, we unfortunately
Have to end either way
That we put it either way
The book says
And i know what it does
And you pass, to pretend
What you have
And the inkling, the clue
How we all got here
How this all ends

I hung another noose
Without a hand, without a tool
There's no way, that its up to you
So cry to me,
Everything, everywhere ends
It's true

Now, I can see
In the end, we unfortunately
Have to end either way
That we put it either way
The book says
And i know what it does
And you pass, to pretend
What you have
And the inkling, the clue

How we all got here
How this all

Overall Meaning

ends

The lyrics to Bad Books's song How This All Ends seem to explore themes of existentialism, loss, and mortality. The first verse describes a sense of displacement and aimlessness, with the singer arriving without shoes or a name, and trying to talk something out of "you" (it is unclear who this is referring to). The second verse introduces another character who is without clothes or a home, creating a sense of vulnerability and detachment. The chorus acknowledges the inevitability of endings, with the singer recognizing that "everything, everywhere ends" and that this is the way things must be.

One interesting aspect of the song is the way in which the lyrics are open to interpretation. The references to arriving without shoes or a name could be read as a metaphor for feeling unmoored and uncertain in the world. The discussion of everything ending could be seen as a commentary on the impermanence of life or a call to appreciate what we have while we have it. Additionally, the reference to "the book" could be interpreted in different ways, such as a religious text or a philosophical treatise.

Another interesting feature of the song is its musical style, which blends elements of indie rock and folk. The instrumentation is largely acoustic, with strummed guitars and delicate vocal harmonies. The tempo is slow and measured, adding to the sense of melancholy and introspection.

Overall, How This All Ends is a thought-provoking and haunting song that touches on some of the biggest questions about what it means to exist in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

I arrived with no shoes
I came to this situation unprepared and vulnerable

Without a name, without a use
I had no identity or purpose in this scenario

I tried to talk it out of you
I attempted to convince you to see my point of view

Just because I found it's best,
I thought it was the optimal course of action

To keep it quiet and keep it still
To avoid conflict and maintain the status quo

You sat without your clothes
You were exposed and vulnerable

Without a name, without a home
You had no sense of identity or belonging

And I love the weirdness of it all
I appreciate the unconventional nature of the situation

So I stalled,
I delayed taking action

Saying everything, that's everywhere
Acknowledging that all things are fleeting and temporary

Is lost
Eventually everything will disappear or be forgotten