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.
Forest Knolls
John Vanderslice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
by rights we should have been aware
with bow and flint and arrow
there were three deer outside the window
my father's father would've known
how to pull that wire and steady the bow
send that arrow into her beating heart
we've got food for weeks and weeks
and all that blood would find its way to the carpet
sitting there I couldn't shake that guilt
as the deer walked free up the hill
The lyrics of John Vanderslice's "Forest Knolls" tell of the singer's unexpected encounter with three deer outside his window. Though the singer had weapons and the chance to hunt the deer, he and his companions were unprepared for the moment, and ultimately let the deer go free. In this admission of missed opportunity, the singer reflects on the knowledge and skills that his ancestors would have had to successfully hunt and utilize the deer, describing how his father's father would know how to steady the bow and send the arrow into the deer's heart, and how all the deer's parts could be used for food and other purposes.
As the singer sits with the weight of his unfulfilled responsibility, he also confronts the reality of his own discomfort with the act of hunting and the guilt that comes with taking a life. Despite the practicality of being able to feed themselves for weeks with the deer meat, the singer ultimately lets the deer walk free up the hill, haunted by the knowledge of what they could have done but didn't.
Overall, "Forest Knolls" speaks to the complexities of human relationships with nature, and the ways in which we have lost sight of traditional knowledge and skills in the modern world. The song raises questions about the ethics of hunting and the value of utilizing all parts of a kill, while also grappling with the emotional weight of taking a life and the discomfort that comes with it.
Line by Line Meaning
we were unprepared
We weren't ready for what was about to happen.
by rights we should have been aware
We should have known what to do in this situation.
with bow and flint and arrow
We had the tools necessary to hunt and kill animals.
there were three deer outside the window
Three deer were present near us.
my father's father would've known
My grandfather would have had the knowledge and skills needed.
how to pull that wire and steady the bow
He knew how to aim and shoot with precision.
send that arrow into her beating heart
He knew how to make a killing shot that would be humane.
how to cut her and use every part
He knew how to butcher and utilize each part of the animal.
we've got food for weeks and weeks
We have enough food from this hunt for many weeks.
and all that blood would find its way to the carpet
Blood from the hunt would create a big mess.
sitting there I couldn't shake that guilt
I felt guilty about taking the life of another living being.
as the deer walked free up the hill
One deer was able to escape and was free to live, while the others were killed.
Contributed by Nathan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.