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.
Slower Twin
Califone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
daylight along the grain
against your warm weight
quicksand and cradlesnakes
everything you think you know is wrong
egg white fire
in a sheepish orbit
tin ears for blue screen arms
oil the string and wind the wheel
box office poison day
liberty waste a favor on
you been the slower twin all along
shone like shone like easy mothering
to come easy dead eye wrong
tin muse for watery ears
shone like shone like
slower twin slower twin
The lyrics of Califone’s “Slower Twin” are haunting and evocative, creating a sense of disorientation and uncertainty. The first verse sets the tone, with a story slowly draining away as the famine breaks and daylight illuminating the grain. Against this backdrop, the singer feels the weight of another person, a warm presence in the midst of the quicksand and cradlesnakes that threaten to engulf them. These lines suggest a struggle to hold onto something stable in a world that is shifting and uncertain, where even what we know to be true may be wrong.
The second verse deepens this sense of uncertainty, with references to “egg white fire” and “sheepish orbit” adding to the surreal and dreamlike quality of the lyrics. The singer seems to be grasping for meaning, but finding only confusion and ambiguity. The lines “oil the string and wind the wheel / box office poison day” suggest a sense of futility or desperation, as if the singer is trying to keep things moving even when they are spinning out of control.
The repetition of the phrase “slower twin” in the chorus is both eerie and poignant, suggesting a sense of being left behind or overshadowed by someone else. The line “shone like easy mothering / to come easy dead eye wrong” adds to this sense of inadequacy, as if the singer is struggling to measure up to someone else’s expectations. Overall, “Slower Twin” is a powerful evocation of the tenuous nature of our grip on reality, and the difficulty of making sense of a world that is constantly in flux.
Line by Line Meaning
another story drains as the famine breaks
As something new and exciting happens, something else fades away.
daylight along the grain
The sun's light shining over natural terrain.
against your warm weight
Pushing back against the comforting heaviness of another person's body.
quicksand and cradlesnakes
Metaphors for situations that can trap and harm a person without warning.
everything you think you know is wrong
Your current understanding of things might not be accurate.
egg white fire
A strange and unexpected burning sensation.
in a sheepish orbit
Moving aimlessly around something without a clear purpose, perhaps out of embarrassment or shame.
tin ears for blue screen arms
Feeling disconnected from reality, like being unable to hear properly while watching a movie on a screen.
oil the string and wind the wheel
Get ready to make an effort and take action.
box office poison day
A period of time when no one is interested in going to the movies or watching shows.
liberty waste a favor on
Giving someone freedom or independence when they don't really deserve it.
you been the slower twin all along
You have always been behind, not as quick or as successful as someone else.
shone like shone like easy mothering
Someone or something that is comforting and nurturing.
to come easy dead eye wrong
When things seem to be going well but there is something fundamentally flawed or unsustainable about them.
tin muse for watery ears
Being inspired to create something without really knowing why or what it means.
slower twin slower twin
Reinforcing the message that the artist feels less accomplished or less successful than another person.
Contributed by Declan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.