Almost every night, some Bound Stems get together… Read Full Bio ↴Ye olde Press Bio:
Almost every night, some Bound Stems get together for something or other. A lot of times it's for practice, but sometimes it's for a barbecue, with a lot of friendly friends around. A lot of times it's at the studio, and songs are underway. Sounds unspooling in the background: El train, northwest bound; cicadas; a stick gnawed by a puppy; now a chorus of cicadas; sidewalk conversations; giant whirring air conditioning stacks; airplanes approaching O'Hare; fat car tires, and the polite beep of a car in the mouth of an alley.
Bound Stems started making music together in late 2002, but they were already up in each other's business. Bobby Gallivan (guitar, vocals, lyrics), Dan Radzicki (bass, keys, vocals) and Dan Fleury (guitar) played basketball on the same team in high school. When they met Evan Sult (drums, tapes), they'd been playing together for a long while. He'd been in Harvey Danger (London/Sire, Polygram) in Seattle, but just moved to Chicago.
Three years later, they present their EP, The Logic of Building the Body Plan (Flameshovel Records). It was a lot of work in seclusion, really: a practice space and a studio and back and forth for six months, pretty much every day. That's what made their album, Appreciation Night, such a complex, beautiful composition, full of tricky time signatures and memorable lines. Bound Stems released Appreciation Night in September 2006: to celebrate in advance, they made an EP, The Logic of Building the Body Plan, which features seven tracks, including two from their debut record; three new songs; and two song compositions created by Bound Stems and co-producer Tim Sandusky, with whom they recorded both releases at Chicago's Studio Ballistico.
Bobby's a high school history teacher. Fleury's a financial whiz kid. Radz is a lab scientist, no shit. Evan's an art director at a comic book publisher. Czech that out. Another voice on the EP is Kate Gross, who graced both the studio and the stage with Bound Stems for a while. Newest member Janie Porche sings harmony and plays an SP606, an acoustic guitar, a keyboard or two and an electric named Sweet Tones. The Logic of Building the Body Plan is an intricately arranged 26 minutes of pop music founded on secretly complicated rhythmic structures. Male vocals and female harmonies build narratives off scenes summoned by the instruments and by a library of stolen sounds that emigrated to their songs: grandmas, crafty cabbies, trains, party laughter, turnstiles, storytellers, and a field's worth of crickets. It's approachable music; it sounds like they knocked themselves out, which they did, and it also sounds like a pleasure to dive headfirst into.
Book of Baby Names
Bound Stems Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pedestrian: Stephen? No. (laughs) Everybody's gotta look like someone.
You: She says my name. I say, "Julia." (knock) She understands? (enter) I say, "Sorry, Stacy." I say, "Just kidding, Tina." I say, "Alright, Margaret." (wind through party) I say, "Come on, Wendy." (aside) How long can I go without saying her name? How long before I run out?
Tolling: DOORS CLOSING. (doors, closing) DOORS CLOSING.
Law enforcement officer: Report any suspicious persons or unusual activity to your nearest law enforcement officer.
You: Heather. Joan. Elizabeth. Sarah.
Law enforcement officer: Thank you.
You: Amber, Rita, Brianna, Penelope, Sally. Mindy, Ann. Lindsey, Nicole. Andrea. Hope, Gretchen, Shauna, Trisha, Tracy, Allison, Veronica, Annie, Constance, Melissa, Pearl, Jackie, Joanna, Emma, Martha, Janie, Natalie, Judy, Robin, Sheryl, Candice, Kim, Jilly, Emily, Susan, Janis, Janet, Jenny, Jen, Mary, Roberta, Amethyst, Crystal, Erin, Carrie, Tina, Lorah, Lauren, Laurie, Rebecca, Nancy, Hannah, Lorelei, Elenore, Helen, Molly, Kate, Heather, Joan, Elizabeth, Sarah, Agnes, Kelly, Chloe, Britney, Christina, Mandy, Jessica, Ashley, Amy, Ami, Aimee...
Thax: THE PROUD STALACTITES ARE NOT AN INSPIRATION FOR A FUTURE GHOST, WHO DOESN'T NEED A SHELTER, SINCE THE RAINDROP OF ANY NEARBY UNION OF MISFIT ELECTRONS WILL DO. IN FACT, IT'S THE MOLTING GHOST SHEDDING ITS SKIN LIKE DAMP PAPER TOWELS THAT NEEDS BEING SHELTERED FROM.
The lyrics to Bound Stems's song Book of Baby Names tell the story of a man at a party who is attempting to avoid saying the name of a person he is trying to avoid. He uses different names as he greets various people at the party, while also reacting to announcements and warnings from a tolling voice and a law enforcement officer. The man reveals that he has recently been reading a book of baby names, which he uses to continue avoiding saying the person's name.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a commentary on the ways in which we sometimes try to avoid confronting difficult situations or people in our lives. The man's actions suggest that he is either scared or apprehensive about encountering this person, and he goes to great lengths to avoid saying their name. However, his reliance on the baby name book might also suggest a sense of obsession or fixation with the person he is trying to avoid. Overall, the lyrics of Book of Baby Names offer a poignant exploration of the complexities of human relationships and the ways in which we cope with difficult emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
(Arrive, dismount, lock up)
The singer arrives at their destination, dismounts from their mode of transportation, and locks it up.
Pedestrian: Stephen? No. (laughs) Everybody's gotta look like someone.
A pedestrian mistakes the singer's identity for a different person named Stephen. The singer reflects on the idea that everyone has to resemble someone else.
You: She says my name. I say, "Julia." (knock) She understands? (enter) I say, "Sorry, Stacy." I say, "Just kidding, Tina." I say, "Alright, Margaret." (wind through party) I say, "Come on, Wendy." (aside) How long can I go without saying her name? How long before I run out?
The singer interacts with various people at a party, using different names other than their own. The singer wonders how long they can continue avoiding saying the name of a particular person.
Tolling: DOORS CLOSING. (doors, closing) DOORS CLOSING.
An announcement repeats that the doors are closing.
You: She doesn't know how recently I've been reading a book of baby names.
A particular person is unaware that the artist has been reading a book of baby names recently.
Law enforcement officer: Report any suspicious persons or unusual activity to your nearest law enforcement officer.
A law enforcement officer advises the public to report any suspicious individuals or activities to them.
You: Heather. Joan. Elizabeth. Sarah.
The singer lists off several female names, possibly from the book of baby names they have been reading.
Law enforcement officer: Thank you.
The law enforcement officer acknowledges the advice given above.
You: Amber, Rita, Brianna, Penelope, Sally. Mindy, Ann. Lindsey, Nicole. Andrea. Hope, Gretchen, Shauna, Trisha, Tracy, Allison, Veronica, Annie, Constance, Melissa, Pearl, Jackie, Joanna, Emma, Martha, Janie, Natalie, Judy, Robin, Sheryl, Candice, Kim, Jilly, Emily, Susan, Janis, Janet, Jenny, Jen, Mary, Roberta, Amethyst, Crystal, Erin, Carrie, Tina, Lorah, Lauren, Laurie, Rebecca, Nancy, Hannah, Lorelei, Elenore, Helen, Molly, Kate, Heather, Joan, Elizabeth, Sarah, Agnes, Kelly, Chloe, Britney, Christina, Mandy, Jessica, Ashley, Amy, Ami, Aimee...
The artist rattles off numerous female names, likely sourced from the book of baby names they have been reading.
Thax: THE PROUD STALACTITES ARE NOT AN INSPIRATION FOR A FUTURE GHOST, WHO DOESN'T NEED A SHELTER, SINCE THE RAINDROP OF ANY NEARBY UNION OF MISFIT ELECTRONS WILL DO. IN FACT, IT'S THE MOLTING GHOST SHEDDING ITS SKIN LIKE DAMP PAPER TOWELS THAT NEEDS BEING SHELTERED FROM.
This line appears to be unrelated to the rest of the song and may be added for its poetic and philosophical value.
Contributed by Isaiah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.