Less than Nothing
KŌAN B breath koan: where does a breath come from: viruses alive yes and no, sleepwalking through stillness, hope you find less than nothing outta this song.
ISRC QZDA82294198 (soundexchange)
Track ten on KŌAN, KŌAN B (May 29, 2022), after instrumental Jolly Roger Bay (64). Luke solo. The title is an anti-deliverable: I hope that you find less than nothing outta this song, not zero but less than nothing, the payoff withheld on purpose, the same move as the EP note a koan is and isn’t a paradox (KŌAN essay).
The hook treats breath as a dumb question (where does a breath come from? well, that question is a little dumb) and answers with dialogue rather than anatomy. Verse one makes the sick body the paradox: I haven’t breathed normally for about a week, are viruses alive? Well, yes and no, a koan right inside of me. Same yes and no as Schrödinger on Think About It, but internal and respiratory. The rest is a self-portrait of motion addiction (comfortable with a fear of sitting still) and contradiction, capped by I’m the model of a modern man, man, a Gilbert-and-Sullivan echo turned burnout diary: the modern man as someone who drowns in the shallows.
It returns to the breath hook with no answer, only less than nothing. Pairs with More to Lose and 無門関: can’t solve it, only sing it.
Written, performed, and mixed by Luke Francis Walton. Mastered by Riley Knapp. Artwork by Grizzard Graphics.
Lyrics
Where does a breath come from? Well, that question is a little dumb An exchange A quiet conversation I hope that you find less than nothing Outta this song Where does a breath come from? Well, that question is a little dumb An exchange A quiet conversation I hope that you find less than nothing Outta this song I haven't breathed normally for about a week Are viruses alive? Well, yes and no A koan right inside of me I'm sleep walking I'm comfortable With a fear of sitting still I'm comfortable I'd hate to be too bored Of that, I'm fairly sure Platonic solitude In goggles I'm amused I'm sleep walking I'm comfortable With a fear of sitting still I'm comfortable Got no use for the useless Can't laugh at the serious I go shallow in the deep end I'm the model of a modern man, man Where does a breath come from? Well, that question is a little dumb An exchange A quiet conversation I hope that you find less than nothing Outta this song