Private Message | EchoZone Internal Chat
From: DeadStrings
To: StringTheory27
Date: May 20th, 1997, 2:17 PM
Subject: Mirrors & Monologues
Okay—rushingitisis definitely real.I can attest to it.Someone should be researching it because it seems fatal to peace of mind.Appreciate the unofficial diagnosis, Dr.Windowsill.I’ll start charging my inner narrator rent since he’s clearly not leaving anytime soon.
Your take on “Staring at the Sun”—yeah, that did something.I thought it was just boring, but maybe it’s not the song that’s tired.Perhaps it’s me.
Okay, it’s definitely me.
You nailed it—it’s just holding up a mirror and daring you to keep looking.And you’re right, that’s what made me twitch.I didn’t want reflection, I wanted distraction.Something loud enough to drown out the rest.But it just hovered there, humming like a power line and waiting for me to flinch.
I didn’t realize I was craving honesty in sound.I thought I was allergic to it.
As for Pop—generous to call it a transition album, but maybe generous is what I needed today.I like what you said about artists who stop growing, getting stuck in self-imitation.That hit harder than I want to admit.Because maybe that’s what I’ve been doing too—looping back to a version of myself that doesn’t fit anymore, but pretending it still does because it’s easier than changing.
You called it: I’m awake.I just haven’t figured out what to do now that I am.
Also—wait.Hold up.
Tae Bo?
What the hell is that?Sounds like something I’d accidentally order off a takeout menu, thinking it’s soup, and end up sore for three days.Are you joining a cult?Blink twice if you need rescuing.
(But five hours of sleep?That’s impressive.I’m clocking in at three and a half with a bonus helping of existential dread.)
Anyway.I owe you for the insight.Even if Bono still makes me yawn, at least now I understand why.
If you’ve got another track queued up for this week of not-sleeping and pretending to be okay, send it my way.Preferably something that doesn’t make me stare at the ceiling and question every decision I’ve made since the last decade.
But honestly, I’ll take anything you throw me at this point.
ChapterSeventy
Private Message | EchoZone Internal Chat
From: DeadStrings
To: StringTheory27
Date: May 26th, 1997, 12:17 AM
Subject: Weekend status ...
Weekend was exhausting.Talk later.
ChapterSeventy-One
Private Message | EchoZone Internal Chat
From: StringTheory27
To: DeadStrings
