Transmissions to Horace ^{1 2 3}

"Written and recorded over the course of one week and released as-is. I think it accomplished what it set out to do: its characters are sufficiently desperate, their ends transparently sordid. In retrospect, I probably should have just dubbed a copy of Spandau Ballet's album True and tried to pass it off as my own work, but the idea didn't occur to me until it was too late." — Bitter Melon Farm liner notes ↩

Transmissions to Horace had multiple different covers. The cover depicted here is that owned by Caliclimber (see below), but many others exist. From looking at the versions available, it appears that magazine photos of random mountains were cut out and pasted to the J-card, then the title written on. ↩

Horace was a famous Roman poet living in the first century BCE. He wrote a number of works, mostly collections of poems (including his Satires, Odes, Epodes, and Epistles) and an influential work on how to write poetry, Ars Poetica. ↩

These lines are various modifications on a quote from Horace's Satires, Book II, Poem 8, Avarum inepte prodigum salse describit (A smart description of a miser ridiculously acting the extravagant), lines 61 – 63:

... "heu, Fortuna, quis est crudelior in nos
te Deus? ut semper gaudes inludere rebus
humanis!"

Translated, these lines read, "'Alas! O fortune, what god is more cruel to us than thou? How dost thou always take pleasure in sporting with human affairs!'" In context, the quote is uttered by a glutton, Nomentanus, at a feast, startled by a falling tapestry. Fundanius, narrating, and some other guests in attendance mock the speaker for being so dramatic about something so trivial.

Horace (1836). The Works of Horace. Christopher Smart, translator. Philadelphia: Joseph Whetham. Perseus Digital Library, retrieved July 17, 2014. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

Teucer was a tremendous archer who fought in the Trojan War alongside his famous half-brother, Ajax. Born to the king of Salamis Island, Teucer would eventually found the city of Salamis on Cyprus. Here, John is quoting the Sophocles tragedy Ajax, in which Agamemnon rages at Teucer:

Ah! That contest for Achilles' armor!
We shall regret the day we published it
if every moment we must be defamed
and slandered by this Teucer, since he won't
accept defeat or yield to the majority,
the verdict of the judges.

The play focuses on Ajax's refusal to accept the award of Achilles' armor to Odysseus, plotting to kill Agamemnon and Odysseus in revenge. Eventually, he is instead tricked by Athena and commits suicide out of shame. This exchange between Agamemnon and Teucer occurs after Ajax has left to impale himself on his sword; Agamemnon is accusing Teucer of supporting Ajax's assertion that he deserved the armor, leading to the present calamity.

Sophocles (2013). Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes, The Trackers. David Grene, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31155-5 ↩

John posted on the forums to clarify about the tracks, and alluded to them being unrelated to the intended release, just being added to the end by Peter on a whim. The songs are available on the Internet Archive if you'd like to hear them.

Mountain Goats forums. Transimssions To Horace Extra Songs [sic]. September 17, 2013, retrieved July 16, 2014.

Mountain Goats, The (1992). Transmissions To Horace + Extra Songs. Archived September 13, 2013, retrieved July 16, 2014. ↩

"It's about the love of things, you know, the love of things?" — Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, May 26, 2004

"'Going to Cleveland' has attracted a small group of listeners who adhere to the very hard line that it's the absolute high water mark of the Mountain Goats. May God bless their souls." — Bitter Melon Farm liner notes ↩

Going to Cleveland is part of the Going to ... series. ↩

Cleveland is a major city in Ohio, located in Cuyahoga County on Lake Erie. ↩

As mentioned above, Cleveland is located in Cuyahoga County. This most likely refers to the Cuyahoga River, which follows a circuitous route from its source in Hambden, Ohio, south to roughly Akron, where it then turns and heads north to empty into Lake Erie. "Cuyahoga" means "crooked river" in some of the languages of the Iroquois tribes who are native to the area. ↩

From an early interview, John reveals that this is the first time John sings his own name:

P: I almost always assume that the person singing, is singing of their own life...

J: I think you can make a compelling argument for that, singing about yourself, but usually I don't sing too directly. When I do it's kinda scary. There's a song on the new Sonic Enemy tape, Transmissions to Horace and on the first song I sing my own name. I remember the first time I did it live it was very scary.

Clayton, Buck. The Mountain Goats Can't Buy a Thrill. Puberty Zine. Date unknown, circa early 1990s. ↩

Historiography is the study of history itself and the techniques it uses, or alternatively, the sum of all historical scholarship on a topic. ↩

Nall reports this lyric and the next line as "quiet cold cold air coming in", but I'm pretty sure I hear it as "hall", especially given the repeat of hall later in the verse. In the only live version I've heard, he sings it clearly as "A quiet hall". ↩

"This is sort of a dance song." — Crossing Border, Amsterdam, October 9, 1999 ↩

An alternate version of No, I Can't was released on Songs for Peter Hughes. The absence of a period in the spelling of the title on that EP as well as the different lyrics are discussed below. ↩

No, I Can't is part of the informal series of alternate versions. ↩

On Transmissions to Horace, this song is clearly spelled with a period terminating the title. However, on Songs for Peter Hughes, it's ambiguous in the song list and spelled without the period in the liner notes. On Bitter Melon Farm, where both songs are compiled, both are titled without the period. Given the lack of clarity, I've followed John's usage, using the period here, not using it on Songs for Peter Hughes, and using the convention established by the earlier release on Transmissions to Horace elsewhere (thus, using the period), but be aware that the song title often appears without it and the correct usage isn't obvious. ↩

John has alluded to there being a sequel, "Yes, I Will", but it's never been released or played live. Crossing Border, Amsterdam, October 9, 1999. ↩

The gifts enumerated are very different between the earlier Transmissions to Horace version transcribed here and the later Songs for Peter Hughes version. Further, the gifts described in live versions often vary wildly from the original, although all versions adhere to the general structure of the song. Other common variations include changing "bought" to "brought" in various places of the song.

Given the many discrepancies between the two studio versions, the lyrics for the Songs for Peter Hughes version is transcribed in full below:

"OK, go." "One, two, three, four."

You bought me some chocolates
And you bought me a rose
And you brought me a paper bag
And you brought me a lamp

Thank you for the chocolates
Thank you for the rose
Thank you for the paper bag
Thank you for the lamp

Now I have everything I need
Now I have everything I need
Now I have everything I need
Now I have everything I need

You brought me a sofa
And you brought me some books
And you brought me a filing cabinet
And you brought me a Panasonic DX-4500

Thank you for the sofa
Thank you for the books
Thanks for the filing cabinet
I don't know what I, I don't know what I ever did without it

Now I have everything I need
Now I have everything I need
Now I have everything I need
Now I have everything I need

The remainder of the lyrics are fairly similar.

While John describes here a Panasonic DX-4500 (or occasionally and I assume accidentally, when live, a Panasonic DX-4800), what he actually recorded on was a Panasonic RX-FT500 (which he does occasionally sing live). I attribute this modification to John's delightfully labile memory.

As mentioned above, when sung live, the gifts can also be in different orders or include new items not in either of the album versions. Other gifts include a shirt; a new shirt; some shoes; brand-new shoes; nice brown shoes; some apples; a stove; a brand-new stove; a sweater; some socks; a starfish; a Panasonic DX-4500 with dual cassette heads; a Panasonic AM/FM DX-4500; a Panasonic DX-4800 with dual cassette decks; a Panasonic RX-FT500, the one with the dual cassette decks (also erroneously sung as RX-FT5000); a Panasonic SS-4700 with dual cassettes; a camera; a monkey jug; a pound of coffee; a reading light; some pastels; some whiskey; a glass; fine silverware; a WHPK coffee mug; plateware; a Marantz PMD200 Professional Series; a really nice, really old Panasonic; an original 1978 copy of Ça plane pour moi by Plastic Bertrand; a voter registration form which I'm extraordinarily grateful for; a wristwatch; a notebook; some plants; a subscription to Road & Track; a subscription to Donk, Box & Bubble, a blanket; a television; a record; brand-new microphone cable; a copy of Arab Strap's The Weekend Never Starts Around Here; the truly outstanding Arab Strap record; a sandwich; a table; a typewriter; a Dictaphone; an asp; a microphone; a Mr. Microphone; and a Fisher-Price toy microphone.

If you know of others, please let me know and I'd love to hear about it!

All Hail West Texas liner notes; Mountain Goats forums, Pictures of a Panasonic DX-4500?, August 8, 2009 10:58 AM, retrieved July 17, 2014.

Baystate, Northampton, August 23, 1994; Fast Forward II, April 2004; VPRO session, April 19, 1995; Tower, Bremen, February 25, 1996; Garage, London, March 20, 1996; Duke Coffeehouse, Durham, April 4, 1997; Crossing Border, Amsterdam, October 9, 1999; Guinguette Pirate, Paris, July 2, 2003; Dennis Kucinich benefit, San Francisco, February 11, 2004; Chameleon, San Francisco, January 15, 1995; Lintfabrik, Kontich, Belgium, March 16, 1996; Spitz, London, February 6, 2003; Strand, York, Pennsylvania, June 4, 2013; Under Acme, New York, August 18, 1994; Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, June 14, 2014. ↩

Alpha Desperation March is part of the Alpha couple series. ↩

"Come out, come out, wherever you are" and especially "olly olly oxen free", are phrases associated with the children's game hide and seek, in which all but one player hides, the last player counting down while blinded until reaching some predetermined time before searching for them. If the seeker gives up before finding all of the hiders, they can shout, "Olly olly oxen free", meaning that the remaining players can come out of hiding without losing. Many variations of the game exist with different rules regarding the phrase and variations of the phrase itself, which is of uncertain origin. ↩

Going to Monaco is part of the Going to ... series and the informal series of Biblical references. ↩

Monaco is a small city-state on the French Riviera, bordered on all sides by France and the Mediterranean. ↩

Unfortunately, I've been unable to figure out what this is from. It sounds like a clip from an old radio drama. If you know, please send me an email. ↩

This is one of the few Alpha couple songs that neither has Alpha in the title nor is related to the Tallahassee release:

The seeds of Tallahassee are in this song, right. This was a story that — I liked the feeling when they're boiling someone alive. Heavy stuff. I don't know about that, anyone deserves that. Question of what anyone deserves is a pretty complex philosophical question. People in this song deserve better than each other. They're not going to get it. Best they can hope for is to be in the seventh song on a tape on the Sonic Enemy label called Transmissions to Horace.

Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, June 14, 2014; Taking the Dative liner notes. ↩

Star Dusting is part of the Alpha couple series. ↩

Given that the Alpha couple stayed for a year in the Stardust Resort and Casino (discussed in the Taking the Dative liner notes, I think it's reasonably certain that this refers to the same hotel, a famous casino located on the Las Vegas strip until its closure in 2007. ↩

Las Vegas is a major city in southeast Nevada, known for its decadence and legalization of gambling. ↩

Highway 1 is a common highway name and could refer to a number of freeways throughout the United States and elsewhere. However, given John's California origins and the reference to Malibu, I believe that this refers to California State Route 1, a major north-south highway that runs up the coast of the state, becoming the main street in Malibu as it passes through that town. ↩

Malibu is a wealthy beach town just northwest of Los Angeles, famous for its beaches and the numerous celebrities that live there. ↩

Dextroamphetamine, also known by the brand name Dexedrine, is a psychoactive stimulant drug used medically to dread attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Chemically, it is structurally identical to amphetamine, but only contains the dextrorotatory stereoisomer of amphetamine, (2S)-1-phenylpropan-2-amine, whereas amphetamine refers to the racemic compound, (RS)-1-phenylpropan-2-amine. ↩

Going to Santiago is part of the Going to ... series and the informal series of Biblical references. ↩

Santiago is a major city and the capital of Chile. ↩

This trumpet line is sampled from I Don't Know Why, played by Ray Anthony and His Orchestra. The original song, I Don't Know Why (I Just Do) was written in 1931 by Fred E. Ehlert with lyrics by Roy Turk, both of whom were eventually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Multiple versions of the song have charted into the Billboard Top 20, including those by the Andrews Sisters, Linda Scott, Wayne King and His Orchestra, and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Thank you tremendously to Soren Spicknall of the tMG podcast Isopanisad Radio Hour (more info in the credits) and his friends for finding the origin of this sample! ↩

Tall statues of Jesus are found all around the world. Unfortunately, I haven't found any located in Santiago, so I'm not sure if this refers to a particular one. ↩

Sail On is a cover of the top-ten charting 1979 song by the Commodores. The song was written by Lionel Ritchie and released on the Motown label.

Accordingly, Sail On is part of the informal series of cover songs. ↩

The original song includes another verse instead of this one, which John has occasionally sung in live versions:

I don't mind about the things you're gonna say
I gave you my money and my time
I know it's a shame
But I'm giving you back your name

Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, June 13, 2006. ↩