After mk Ultra broke up in 1999, Vanderslice wasted little time building a solo reputation. In 2000, he gained national media attention over his single Bill Gates Must Die after concocting an elaborate hoax in which Microsoft supposedly threatened legal action over supposed trademark violations (the disc had a similar etching to a Windows installation disc).
Subsequent albums, Time Travel is Lonely, Life and Death of an American Fourtracker, Cellar Door, Pixel Revolt and Emerald City have gained critical acclaim for their melodic quality and sophisticated narrative lyrical content. Vanderslice has spent much of the last few years on tour across North America, Europe, and Japan.
Vanderslice also founded a recording studio in 1997 called Tiny Telephone. Located in the Mission District of San Francisco, Tiny Telephone has carved out a niche as the last all-analog recording studio in the Bay Area, and has a policy of setting recording rates under market prices. Bands who have used Vanderslice's studio include Beulah, Death Cab for Cutie, Okkervil River and Spoon.
Vanderslice is a proponent of using analog instruments and recording equipment to produce a richer, more raw sound which he has sometimes called "dirty hi-fi". He has collaborated closely with Scott Solter in the production of his recent albums, with Pixel Revolt being notably shaped by Solter.
Vanderslice was a contributing producer on the Spoon album, Gimme Fiction, and has collaborated and toured with The Mountain Goats. He is strongly influenced by film and is a fan of David Lynch, whose work is referenced in his song "Promising Actress". His declared musical influences are diverse, ranging from Neutral Milk Hotel to Public Enemy. He is an avid photography hobbyist. He has incorporated the poetry of William Blake and Robert Lowell into his music.
Several songs on the album Pixel Revolt referenced the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent global political situation. This is also true of Vanderslice's most recent album, Emerald City.
Coming and Going on Easy Terms
John Vanderslice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Smear land into sky
Fear and sorrow coalesce
now I'm trying to find that quiet place
Where living is breathing
Not knowing is understanding
Coming is going
they asked for me to come
And identify my son
But my son is alive
the life that whispered in my ear
Is gone gone gone
Window seats, commuter trains
Send me headlong
trying to find that quiet place
Where living is breathing
Not knowing is understanding
Coming is going
But my heart just beats faster and faster
they asked for me to come
And identify my son
But my son is alive
In maharishi oblivion
the love that counted back
From ten is gone gone gone
Fear and sorrow coalesce
now I'm trying to find that quiet place
Where living is breathing
Not knowing is understanding
Coming is going
But my heart just beats faster
when I got down to the morgue
They pulled back the slab
It wasn't my son
I wasn't his dad
they covered him up
I smiled I smiled
The past is cities from a train
now I'm trying to find that quiet place
Where living is breathing
Not knowing is understanding
Coming is going
But my heart just beats faster
"09. Coming and Going on Easy Terms" by John Vanderslice is a thought-provoking song that delves into the themes of grief, loss, and the search for inner peace. The song starts with the singer looking out of a window seat on a bullet train, watching the land smear into the sky. The fear and sorrow inside him are coalescing, and he is desperately trying to find a quiet place where he can just breathe, without having to understand everything.
The lyrics take a dramatic turn in the second stanza, where the singer is asked to identify his son's body. However, he finds that his son is alive but in "Maharishi oblivion." The love that he had counted on is gone. The fear and sorrow continue to coalesce, and the singer is still trying to find that quiet place where he can feel the peace he so desperately desires.
The final stanza provides a sense of closure. The singer visits the morgue to identify his son's body, but he finds that it is not his son. He smiles, knowing that the past is cities that he can view from a train. He still wants to find that quiet place, but he's also aware that coming is going, and his heart just beats faster and faster.
Overall, the lyrics explore the complicated emotions of loss, grief, and the search for inner peace. The song's understated melody and haunting lyrics make it a beautiful and emotional piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Window seats on bullet trains
Looking out of the window from a speedy train, I see the merging of the land and the sky
Smear land into sky
The movement of the train causes the land and the sky outside to blend together
Fear and sorrow coalesce
I feel a mix of different overwhelming emotions such as fear and sorrow
now I'm trying to find that quiet place
I am currently searching for a peaceful place
Where living is breathing
A place where simply existing and taking in breath is enough
Not knowing is understanding
Lack of knowledge about something can sometimes be understood in itself
Coming is going
The act of coming or arriving somewhere can be the same as leaving or departing from somewhere else
But my heart just beats faster and faster
Despite everything going on, my heart is beating increasingly faster due to the anxiety I feel
they asked for me to come
Someone requested that I go somewhere to perform a specific task
And identify my son
The task I was asked to perform was to verify the identity of my own son
But my son is alive
However, my son is actually still alive and was not the one who had passed away
the life that whispered in my ear
The sound of vitality and liveliness I heard in my mind
Is gone gone gone
Has completely disappeared and left me with a sense of emptiness
Window seats, commuter trains
Being on a train with a window seat in a fast-paced commute
Send me headlong
Causes me to feel as if I am being propelled forward and losing control
In maharishi oblivion
Referring to a state of deep meditation or trance and peaceful oblivion
the love that counted back
The affection that was present and counting down from a certain point
From ten is gone gone gone
Has disappeared completely and is no longer there
when I got down to the morgue
After arriving at the hospital morgue
They pulled back the slab
The medical staff in the morgue removed the covering from the table where they keep bodies
It wasn't my son
The body on the slab was not that of my son
I wasn't his dad
This realization meant that I was not the biological father of the deceased person
they covered him up
The medical staff then replaced the covering on the table and concealed the body
I smiled I smiled
Despite the terrible news and the distressing experience, I still managed to put on a smile
The past is cities from a train
The events of the past can sometimes seem distant and fleeting, like glimpses of a city from a moving train
But my heart just beats faster
However, even with this realization, my heart continues to beat faster than normal due to the emotional upset
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: John Vanderslice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind