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.
The Kingdom
John Vanderslice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
if they pick you up this is where you'll meet your end
when the bombs went off they moved the capitol north
you better be enlisted, you ought to be conscripted to fight the sino war
it would not be for baltimore,
that I would die for
or castle or keep but me
there's no way to win a shadow war
when every radical you stab excites a hundred more
there's a place, the rust belt, I've heard it's free
it was hardest hit, we were busy fighting the wrong enemy
I found an abandoned factory
on the edges of a lake
it seems they made bread there
and it smelled of pies and cake
I slept on bags of rye and yeast
I wandered through the fields
of honey clover, dead machines, and wheat
The Kingdom by John Vanderslice is a song that touches upon a number of political and social themes. The song opens with the singer being stranded in a hospital ward, and the lyrics hint at a war-torn scenario. The lines, "If they pick you up, this is where you'll meet your end" suggest that the hospital ward might be the last stop for someone who is caught up in a war or a volatile situation.
The next set of lines speaks of a situation where the bombs have led to the shifting of the capital, and the singer talks about being enlisted or conscripted to fight the sino war. The theme of war, conflict, and fighting for a cause is evident in these lines. However, the singer seems to be somewhat disillusioned or disconnected from the idea of fighting for a particular cause. The lines, "It wouldn't be for country or castle or keep, but me" suggest that the singer is more interested in fighting for his/her own survival rather than something abstract like "country."
The song then moves on to talk about the futility of a "shadow war." The singer mentions that every radical you stab excites a hundred more. These lines are perhaps a commentary on the cycle of violence and how it only leads to more violence. The lines, "there's a place, the rust belt, I've heard it's free" suggest that the singer is looking for a place to escape the violence and find some kind of freedom. The song ends with the singer finding an abandoned factory and wandering through the fields of honey clover and wheat.
Overall, The Kingdom is a complex and thought-provoking song that touches upon themes of war, violence, survival, disillusionment, and the search for freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
I was stranded in the hospital ward again
I found myself stuck in the hospital once more.
if they pick you up this is where you'll meet your end
If the authorities catch you, you'll end up in this same spot.
when the bombs went off they moved the capitol north
After the bombings, the government relocated the capital to the north.
you better be enlisted, you ought to be conscripted to fight the sino war
It's expected that you'll be drafted into the Sino War.
it would not be for baltimore,
I would not sacrifice myself for Baltimore,
that I would die for
My own well-being is the only thing I would die for.
it wouldn't be for country
I wouldn't die for my country.
or castle or keep but me
I would only die for myself, not for any external entity.
there's no way to win a shadow war
It's impossible to succeed in a covert war.
when every radical you stab excites a hundred more
Every extremist you eliminate only inspires more to take their place.
there's a place, the rust belt, I've heard it's free
I've heard of a location, the Rust Belt, that's supposedly free.
it was hardest hit, we were busy fighting the wrong enemy
It suffered the most, but we were mistakenly preoccupied with fighting the wrong foe.
I found an abandoned factory
I stumbled upon a deserted factory.
on the edges of a lake
It was located near the perimeter of a lake.
it seems they made bread there
It looked like they used to produce bread in the past.
and it smelled of pies and cake
An aroma of pies and cake filled the air.
I slept on bags of rye and yeast
I used bags filled with rye and yeast as pillows while sleeping.
I wandered through the fields
I roamed around the fields.
of honey clover, dead machines, and wheat
These fields contained honey clover, inactive machinery, and wheat.
Contributed by Callie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MonkeyTazer
love it
Evan Freeman
this is beautiful.
softballfj
so its a song about a guy's inability to kill some deer???????
Noelle Choy
yeah....lol i was just gonna ask. nice song tho. other than...that :) :)