All songs were written and produced by yours truly, Scott Alexander. That’s me singing, playing guitar, and also bassoon. Michael Compitello played and co-conceived the percussion on “Unfortunately Fat,” which we recorded at the Peabody Conservatory of Music with Zach Herchen as the engineer. “Fucking Technology” was recorded at Nola Studios, by Jim Czak and Johanna Cranitch. “What other People Think” was recorded by Pete Reiniger at Private Ear Recording. Everything was mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering. In exchange for the cookies, Michael Harlan Turkell did the photography, which was used in the graphic design of Dan Au. Furthermore, this recording would not be what it is without the encouragment, inspiration, and friendship of John Brauer, Tony Monte, Ed Schlueter, and Rebecca.

Unfortunately Fat
 

This song has become quite controversial. Is the laughter that it evokes humored, nervous, or both? Some have confronted me citing that the song offends them. Most of these people have not been fat; certainly to the extent that looking at them makes me feel sad. It’s true that some of the ideas in it are controversial and offensive, however, my own self-consciousness of this is the very core of the song. It is the most honest song I have ever written and has inspired more conversation amongst my friends than all of my other works combined.

Fucking Technology
 

This song was inspired by a column I was writing for CDbabel (which sadly no longer exists) about the threat MP3 distribution poses albums and music that does not offer instant gratification. The song, however, quickly came to focus on more general frustrations with technological “advancement.” While the title is never uttered in the lyrics, it exists as a frequent mental sigh when I play the song.

Although the rhythm is quite simple, the chords never repeat themselves in any sort of pattern. They simply go on and on until the very end. I decided playing bassoon would offer some irony. Not only is the instrument itself antiquated, but it represents a part of my own past, when it was the focus of my life.

What Other People Think
 

I considered this song the most difficult to like on the release. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just more abrasive, dynamic, with less harmonic stability and humor than the other songs. I’ve been surprised how many people have told me it’s their favorite song. That’s encouraged me a lot to continue performing it at my live shows. So you see, it does matter what other people think!