"So I'm hiring a DJ for the eve of our destruction."

"My Racing Thoughts" -Jack's Mannequin

She's a black cat
hanging 'round my doorstep
I'll need all day tomorrow
to recover from today
I was boxing with my shadow
At a stoplight when the clocks changed
It was midnight I was mixed up
When she called to drag the lake

Can you see why Jack's Mannequin is one of my favorite artists? I'm finally seeing him in concert tonight for the first time. It's poetry set to music, really. Inventive lyrics are hard to come by today, even among alternative artists. Andrew McMahon is one talented soul.

I think I'm running short on inspiration
She's running long on borrowed time
We break with speed
That girl can read my racing thoughts
She asks the questions
I take the floor
She takes her shots
Taught her a lesson
About a forced confession
We break with speed
That girls can read my racing thoughts
My racing thoughts
My racing thoughts

An unlucky person that's been hanging on too long. Too many thoughts, too much at once.

So I'll try to keep her steady now
But steady's not her strong suit
I was raised going to church
But couldn't practice what they preached

This song isn't extremely straightforward, like most poetry coincidentally. But perhaps that's the beauty of it: racing thoughts, train of thought, stream of consciousness. Whatever went through his mind, he put upon the page, he played upon the piano.

You can always hear him singing his heart out.