American Canyon Sutra

Album: Tip of the Sphere (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "American Canyon Sutra" finds Cass McCombs stepping into spoken-word territory as he conjures a symbolic urban landscape with a mixture of fear and disgust. He told Uncut magazine "American Canyon" is not a real place:

    "It's like a city in all of us," McCombs explained. "It's like in William Burroughs' Cities of the Red Night - you have to pass through them to get to a place where there is no thought. If you want to eliminate thoughts, if you want to be free from this corrupted mind, you have to pass through the cities of the red night, but to get there you're going to have to go through hell. You're going to have to see all kinds of horrible humans and be just terrified."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Black Sabbath

Black SabbathFact or Fiction

Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.