#annotatedconoroberst

Possibly referring to Jessica McClure, who became famous in 1987 at the age of 18 months when she fell into a well in her family's backyard. Rescuers worked for 58 hours to free her, causing a worldwide media circus with around-the-clock coverage. Her story was later made into a TV movie, and Scott Shaw's photo of her being rescued (above) won a Pulitzer Prize.

Other suggestions: A canary in a coal mine, used to test the air; the yellow bird in Perry's dreams in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

Conor: A lot of times on our older records, if a keyboard part was lagging behind or there was an off-note from a guitar we'd just say 'fuck it' and leave it but with this, anything we left we had decided to leave it that way, you know. But for the most part we just played it again and again until it was as perfect as we could get it, which was a lot different than our other records. As far as the the general sound, like we wanted to sound really good and big and well orchestrated but at the same time maintain some intimate closeness. We didn't want it to sound like a big studio record, but like you were in the room with us. That's what we tried to do. There's boundaries that are hard to overcome with sound equipment. I'm happy with how it came out, it's the best recording we've done.

A temazcal is a type of sweat lodge that originated with pre-Hispanic indigenous people in Mesoamerica and continues to be used today in indigenous cultures in Mexico and Central America. It is used to cleanse the body, mind, and spirit.

goddamntimpaniroll

Both Hunter S. Thompson and Ernest Hemingway committed suicide in their 60s during chronic illness by shooting themselves in the head. Thompson once traveled to Ketchum, Idaho to investigate the reasons for Hemingway's suicide.

Krung Thep is the Thai name for Bangkok.

Many writers have speculated that "Reinvent the Wheel" is about Elliott Smith, who died in 2003. Conor Oberst has said that Smith was a huge influence on him, and he has covered "The Biggest Lie" in concert.