Then the band - at that point composed of Johnson, Charlie Koltak (drums), Rodrigo Palma (bass), and Steven Nistor (keyboards) - hit a wall. Strain set in and two months into a national tour, founding members Johnson and Koltak sat at the bar after a particularly soul-crushing show in Indianapolis and decided to stop playing together. The band dispersed and moved on. Nistor went on tour drumming for Daniel Lanois, Koltak joined Saturday Looks Good to Me, Palma went back to school and Johnson became a father.
From burnout and a search for authenticity began a new period of collaboration between Johnson and Palma. They would meet regularly to learn new software and experiment with creating their own sample banks. Eventually the duo took the work they had been developing into the studio to make what they had hoped would be the next Judah Johnson release. Instead they came out with the darkest and most fractured music either of them had ever created. They ultimately shelved the recording and turned their attentions toward making something that drew from the band's song-based past as much as its new sonic palette. Enter Andy Smith, an engineer who came up at New York's The Hit Factory working on albums from David Bowie to Public Enemy to Mariah Carey, with a true passion for synth programming, particularly the lost art of modular synthesis. Through a mutual contact Johnson and Smith met, bonded over their love of Talk Talk and made plans to co-produce the next Judah Johnson record together.
Recorded in just five days, Be Where I Be belies its swift creation. While the album captures the energy and immediacy of a quick session, its meticulous production style has more in common with studio rats like Kate Bush and Prince than most rock records. Palma says this is due in part to a mixing style where large chunks of textural experimentation are picked over to embellish the core performances, giving the illusion of a longer session. Johnson credits inspiration. "It sounds crazy but I don't really remember playing the stuff I played. I listen back to the record and if you told me it was someone else I would believe you." Thrilled, the band left the studio with new optimism. Then waited... and waited while Smith got tied up overseas working with Brian Eno on a new Paul Simon record.
Nearly a year later, it was finished and, without overstating, it sounds like nothing else: immaculate, yet messy; carefully considered while full of accidents. It's less a statement of a new direction than a sample of every stage of the band's development; yet it's also an attempt to pretend their past never happened. The album is a dream of something organic and colorful overtaking the machine. An imaginary place where the roots of Jamaican dub and the ruined futurism of 70s Berlin meet. Its title, like a Zen koan in jive, is an invitation to experience the depth of emotion and ideas the band has invested into their music. It's an admission that even 21st century life is not entirely apocalyptic. Be Where I Be is the sound of reconciliation. It's the end of a debate.
Currently the band is enjoying a second chance. Koltak and Johnson have made their peace and are having a "second honeymoon." Keyboardist Noah Harris and guitarist Arun Bali have been added to the lineup, returning the band's live sound to its original five-piece thunder and allowing the textures of the album to be reproduced faithfully while continuing to reshape it.
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Made for Greatness
Judah Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your double meanings
Watching you swing
Feeling the sting of your impression
When everything would seem to point the other way
I believed
Then just like that, you crushed it flat
Blowin' your cool
Changing your moods like they were lipstick
When everything would seem to point the other way
I believed, I believed
I said you were made for greatness
You said you loved my eyes
You threaten my unfulfillment
You threaten my designs
Breaking my trust
Taking my lust like you could touch me
I'm ahead of the times, behind the movements
Like you made me
When everything would seem to point the other way
I believe, I believe
I said you were made for greatness
You said you loved my eyes
You threaten my unfulfillment
You threaten my designs
The lines in the song "Made for Greatness" by Judah Johnson speak of a person who has found themselves deeply invested in someone else's life. The singer is reading the other person's "rhymes," probably referring to their works, trying to decipher their "double meanings." The singer is intrigued and impressed by the other person's aura and essence, sharing a connection. Everything would seem to point the other way, but the singer still believes in the other person. However, just like that, the other person "crushed it flat." In an instance, they were acting out of their instincts, "blowing their cool" and changing moods. The singer feels hurt and the sting of the other person's impression. Yet, they still believe in them, as they are made for greatness, according to the singer.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase, "I said you were made for greatness," indicating that the singer has great faith in the other person's talents and destiny. The other person, however, threatens the singer's "unfulfillment" and "designs," their actions breaking trust and taking lust. The singer is ahead of the times but behind in movements, as if the other person has made them what they are. In the end, though, the singer still believes in the other person, holding on to the idea that they were made for greatness.
Line by Line Meaning
Biding my time, reading your rhymes Your double meanings
I watched and waited, analyzing your words, trying to find the hidden meanings.
Watching you swing Feeling the sting of your impression
I observed you and felt the impact of your actions on me.
When everything would seem to point the other way I believed
Despite the odds being against me, I still had hope and faith in you.
Then just like that, you crushed it flat Like it was instinct Blowin' your cool Changing your moods like they were lipstick
Suddenly, you destroyed everything and changed your demeanor easily, as if it was natural and effortless.
I said you were made for greatness You said you loved my eyes You threaten my unfulfillment You threaten my designs
I believed you had potential for greatness and you made romantic advances, but then you posed a threat to my happiness and goals.
Breaking my trust Taking my lust like you could touch me I'm ahead of the times, behind the movements Like you made me When everything would seem to point the other way I believe, I believe
You betrayed my trust and took advantage of me, as if you had control over my thoughts and actions. Despite the negative things happening, I still believed in you.
Contributed by Tyler K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.