There's a hideous habit common to men and women alike, in which one's daily preparation for facing the world hardens into a set, unthinking ritual, the violation of which, one fears, will bring shame and misfortune. You see the effect of this ritualized toilet in women whose makeup seems to have no relation to the face beneath, whose hair is no longer recognizable as hair, who have on several pieces of jewelry that they wear habitually and that do not relate to each other or to the wearer's other clothing, and so on. You know how it works: they have put on lipstick, because getting ready involves lipstick, and they put on the necklace, because getting ready involves the necklace, the whole thing conducted in a kind of trance.

Back in the 90's when I was first starting to make 4-track tapes I had a game where I would make a fake version of an album I was anticipating. If Pavement's Brighten the Corners were coming out soon, I had to wait till release day to hear it. I would record a set of songs that I would want the Pavement album to sound like. Some of those songs ended up becoming Atlas Sound and Deerhunter songs years later.