Califone is a critically-acclaimed experimental folk band from Chicago. The… Read Full Bio ↴Califone is a critically-acclaimed experimental folk band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, a long-standing manufacturer of audio equipment commonly found in schools, libraries and businesses.

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.

Bottles & Bones
Califone Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Nervous John rescues all the whores
Bleeding nose and all
Taste of metal, when you’re hit straight on
Frozen dimes and throwing flashes
Clouds of angels liquored pink and
underage

Steal your sweet decline

This is the longest goodbye
Loose brakes on a one eyed continental
Engine willing, Interior stained
China rattles wish
The cold pacific shallows
Spells and fits, resurrected
Calls you in

Steal your sweet decline
This is the longest goodbye
Aching to get your pocket picked
Bottles and bones, shade and sympathy
Kick the glass out of your path
Calls you in

Traps for your fingers
Fire for your mouth
Stones for your passage
Brass for your jaded

Underneath the baking clouds and
hardening starless skies

Lick your collarbone clean
And repeat.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Califone's song Bottles & Bones paint a vivid picture of a chaotic and dangerous world. The singer, Nervous John, is a flawed hero who rescues prostitutes despite his own physical injuries. The taste of metal and frozen dimes create a sense of violence and desperation. The clouds of angels, liquored pink and underage, suggest a dark and seedy atmosphere.

The chorus, "Steal your sweet decline, this is the longest goodbye," speaks to the idea of self-sabotage and the temptation to continue down a destructive path. The mention of a "one-eyed continental" and "interior stained" evoke a sense of decay and neglect. The image of "China rattles wish" adds a layer of surrealism to the lyrics, suggesting a world that is both real and otherworldly.

The final stanza speaks to the harshness of the environment and the survival instinct required to navigate it. There are traps for fingers, fire for mouths, stones for passage, and brass for the jaded. The licking of the collarbone suggests a sense of desperation and hunger, while the repetition of the phrase "calls you in" creates a haunting sense of inevitability.

Line by Line Meaning

Nervous John rescues all the whores
John, who is anxious, saves all the prostitutes

Bleeding nose and all
Despite being hurt himself, he still helped them

Taste of metal, when you’re hit straight on
The feeling of getting punched in the face

Frozen dimes and throwing flashes
Being hit with punches and coins

Clouds of angels liquored pink and underage
The prostitutes who are drunk and underage are like angels

Steal your sweet decline
Taking advantage of your downfall

This is the longest goodbye
Leaving someone is hard

Loose brakes on a one eyed continental
Driving a car with faulty brakes

Engine willing, Interior stained
The car is old and rundown but still running

China rattles wish
The sound of fragile objects clinking together

The cold pacific shallows
The ocean is chilly and shallow