How did the chorus of “Let the Sunshine In” pop up in the middle of that song?
I went to WFMU’s blog and they had an MP3 of the original Japanese version of the cast of “Hair,” which I thought, “This is going to be hilarious,” and it was. But when they got to “Let the Sunshine In” they switched from Japanese to English and it was so powerful. I was moved by it. It’s a subtle parallel to me between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. And then there was the simplistic irony of “Let the Sunshine In,” let’s change the country, let’s transcend this nightmare experience. How would you compare your songwriting for the solo stuff with what you did for Soul Coughing? I’m just kind of more awake than I used to be. I’m a lot more emotionally and spiritually connected to who I am. I think the songwriting is a lot more honest. I think I had some moments in Soul Coughing, but when I look at it, it seems kind of unfinished and there are a lot of forced lines and areas where I had dropped the ball, and I just kind of throw something in there that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense
