[edgoffin]

I actually think about this all the time and candidly that whole chain of events breaks my heart.

I listened to this album many times while this thread was running, and have continued to listen to it over the past weeks. Likely listened to it more times in the past month that I did when it was released, though I have always enjoyed the album for the most part.

Knowing how the story ends, and making the leaping assumption GD was being more autobiographical in his writing than before (until Introduce Yerslef), I see this as only a breakup album. Based on the interviews at the time, I'd interpreted some songs to be about cancer & recovery (At Transformation or The Lookahead, as examples), but now have a totally different read on this collection of songs. Love and gratitude is there, but far more unease, sorrow, and separation -- many mentions of distances apart.

I think GD was being very veiled in the media around this album release, where at the time I thought he was being his most open and explicit about lyrical influences. Take Love is a Curse and Frozen in My Tracks, most of this album, add Here, In The Dark and you have a depressing but honest collection of lyrics reflecting on the trials of relationships.