Califone is the musical project of former Red Red Meat frontman Tim Rutili. Its regular and rotating contributors include many former members of Red Red Meat and some members of other Chicago bands, such as Tortoise. Their music is less rooted in blues-rock than Red Red Meat and is more directly inspired by experimental music and early American folk music as can be found on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music.
Califone's current lineup includes Joe Adamik (drums), Jim Becker (banjo, violin), Ben Massarella (percussion), and Tim Rutili (vocals, guitar, keyboards). Each member is a multi-instrumentalist.
Tim Rutili has collaborated with a number of other artists as well. He joined up with Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock and others in 2002 to release the album Sharpen Your Teeth under the band name Ugly Casanova. Some members also toured with Freakwater and served as a backing band to record the album Thinking of You in 2005. In 2006, Tim Rutili teamed up with Wil Hendricks and Michael Krassner under the name The Unseen Hand to record the soundtrack for Rank, a documentary about bullriding. In the same year Califone worked with animator/musician Brent Green on a series of performance art pieces featuring animation, live music, and spoken word. They are also featured on the soundtrack for the movie Stranger than Fiction.
Apple
Califone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The opening line of "white blind beached on gold our apple skin" introduces an atmosphere of confusion and disorientation, where disparate elements meet in a blurred or dream-like way. The image of the "apple skin" signals both fragility and temptation, as well as a potential decay or corruption. The reference to a "tire shop" adds a mundane and industrial touch, which clashes with the first line's poetic and surreal tone. The following lines describe a physical interaction, where the singer's head is being held against someone's legs, in a position that conveys submission and vulnerability. The repetition of "break when you break when you break" reinforces the theme of fragility and anticipation of violence, and the final command to "bite down bite back" suggests a participation in the act of violence, either as a defense mechanism or as a way to establish dominance. The last line, "shifty as you made me you made me you made me," implies that the power dynamics between the singer and the other person are unstable and constantly shifting. The repetition of "always in always in always in" could mean that this state of confusion and submission is a recurring pattern or a habitual experience.
Line by Line Meaning
white blind beached on gold
We are lost and confused, like a beached whale blinded by the shiny gold around us.
our apple skin
Our superficial appearance, like the skin on an apple, is easily bruised and affected by external factors.
our tire shop hands
Our rough and calloused hands are a result of our mundane and ordinary lives working in a tire shop.
glide down
Effortlessly move down or descend.
hold my skull in a crush of your legs
Intensely hold my head between your legs, in a position of dominance and control.
break when you break when you break it
I am just as fragile and vulnerable as you are, and I will fall apart when you do.
bite down bite back
Reacting with both aggression and restraint to difficult situations, as one would bite down on something without completely giving in.
bugs are screaming their last screams
The natural world is suffering and dying, and we are unable to hear their cries for help.
always in always in always in
We are in a constant state of being, unable to escape from reality or our own minds.
shifty as you made me you made me you made me
Our constant inability to stay still or find peace is a result of someone else's actions, and we are left feeling restless and unsure.
Contributed by Carter W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.