A Slice of Revolt

For many musicians, the idea of recording five albums in five years can seem daunting or, for some, insane. But for San Francisco-based artist John Vanderslice, it’s just one of those things.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking. I must have low self-esteem,” explained Vanderslice about this five-year effort.

In his latest work, “Pixel Revolt,” Vanderslice recorded songs that touch upon issues such as the war in Iraq from the perspective of a Western journalist and a soldier, a musical love letter to an ex and the fascination with the Golden Gate bridge as a well-known locale for suicidal jumpers.

“For me I kind of have to have an idea of what the song will be about before I write it,” said Vanderslice. “I’m not very good at sketching out ideas on my guitar. For better or for worse, I wish I didn’t necessarily have to do that.” Vanderslice began writing songs for the album last September and finished in March. So the first batch of songs were deemed as highly political, a way for Vanderslice to work out his feelings stemming from the 2004 election and beyond.

“The record started out really political. I wanted to write a whole war record, but other things happened to me that became more important than writing abstract narratives, so I steered away from writing songs about politics even though I’m very interested in American imperial involvement,” added Vanderslice. “It’s hard to ignore and it fascinates me on a lot of levels.”

The lyrical tides changed when Vanderslice experienced a rough year of touring and fell deeply in love that later dissolved into a break-up. He said he usually doesn’t put his personal life on record, as the thought of it is not all that exciting to him.

“I would much rather not write about my life,” he said. “I don’t think people are necessarily that fascinating. Marcel Proust is fascinating. Oscar Wilde is fascinating. I live in a one-bedroom apartment and I walk to get a burrito every day. I’m not some workhorse. I have a very mundane life, by choice.”

Vanderslice is a quirky experimental pop solo musician who has made fans out of indie-rockers like Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie. He enlisted the talent of friend and longtime collaborator John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats who acted as a co-writer for “Pixel Revolt.”