Began research portion of the project. Read the first chapter and wrote a summary of events, making note of sentences that jumped out at me. Am using a Mead Composition book to make all notes and write all lyrics.

Read and wrote summaries for chapters two and three.

Read and wrote summaries for chapters four, five, and six. I’m realizing that this album can’t possibly be a strict narrative retelling of the book. I guess I knew that already. In an interview I read last night Stephin Merritt said something to the effect of, “You can’t tell a real story with a song because there just isn’t enough time for character development.” I think he has a valid point and it’s one that will be good to remember during this project. I have had ideas for song titles and I think those will ultimately shape what information is included and what is left out. Title ideas: Settlement Whore, We Are All Addicts, and The Form Destroyer.

Read and wrote summaries for chapters seven and eight. I’m finally getting to the good part of the book. Song title that probably won’t become a reality, but which I am finding kind of amusing right now: The Building, A Mystery.

Read and wrote a summary for chapter nine. Once again came across what is probably my favorite PKD quote. In describing the sound emanating from The Building, he writes:

“It makes a noise, he thought, like a thousand cosmic babies dropping an endless number of giant pot lids onto a titanic concrete floor.”

Read and wrote summaries for chapters ten through thirteen. I am on fire today. Song title idea: Give Me The Gun

Read and wrote a summary for chapter 14. Hooray, I’m almost done with the book!

Read and wrote summaries for chapters 15 and 16. That means I’m done with the book. That means I need to start writing lyrics. Damn, this is the hard part.

Yes, it is the hard part. So far I have made three attempts at writing lyrics with mixed success. The first song I attempted was for the second chapter of the book where Seth Morely finds out about his transfer and picks out a noser and stuff. It is called “The Morbid Chicken”. However, I’m not terribly pleased with those lyrics at all and might not keep any of them. I also wrote lyrics for the first chapter, in which Ben Tallchief gets his transfer and has some personal thoughts, and will probably call that song “Delmak-O”. The third song is called “Settlement Whore” and roughly follows the scene in chapter six where Susie Smart tries to get Morely to proposition her. Here are the lyrics I jotted down today:

settlement whore, I'm the settlement whore
when I knock on your door
you've got to let me in, ya let me in
tell me what's your proposition? (what?)

say you want to fuck me (no!)
c'mon, say you want to fuck me (why?)
I've got a sexual condition
and I'm looking for perdition

every man here has been between my legs
I always win and they beg for more
because I'm the settlement whore

tell me what you're wishin for
I know all of the positions
more than your wife, I'm sure

if you don't ask I'll give it to you instead
I'm pretty strong and I can throw you on the bed
take off my peek-n-squeeze bra
we'll screw until we're both raw
I saw you staring at me at dinner
you know deep down you want to become a sinner
now finish what you began
I'll make you feel like a man
like you've never felt before
cuz I'm the settlement whore
yes, I'm the settlement whore

is that your wife that just burst in?
hey if she wants she could join in
wait, she looks mad and she's brandishing a vase
I think she's planning to hit me in the face

my mini-building will shoot her in the head
and I'll laugh when she is stone cold dead
hey why'd you have to pull her out of the way?
you know you're totally ruining my day

why are you leaving? we didn't have sex yet
right now I'm gonna place a little bet
you'll come begging when you realize you're wrong
but until you do I'll keep on singing my song

settlement whore, I'm the settlement whore
you better let me in when I knock on your door
settlement whore, I'm the settlement whore
every man I fuck always begs for more

It’s still a little rough around the edges, but I think I worked my way to a good chorus by the last stanza. If I can keep things flowing like this I might actually finish this album inside of six months. Keep your fingers crossed, y’all.

I went out on the deck again and wrote some lyrics for “Give Me The Gun”. The song relates the scene in chapter 11 where the group gets back from the tench and find out that Belsnor has shot Tony. Morely goes and gets it but then as they argue about whether Glen should have it back or not Thugg manages to gain possession of it. Maggie Walsh approaches him, reading from The Book, in an attempt to get the gun from him but he shoots her when she gets too close. Her death vision will be an instrumental called “Todestraum”. Someday I might actually start writing the music to go along with the lyrics I’m writing. For some reason it feels like I should finish all of the lyrics first, but of course that’s really not necessary.