My Human Interactions
Recorded
Release history
Credits
- Written by Harvey Danger, © But Mom I Love Music (ASCAP)/
Famous Music - Recorded at Bearsville Sound Studios
- Produced and mixed by John Goodmanson
- Aaron: bass
- Jeff: guitars, organ
- Sean: lead and backing vocals
- Evan: drums, hand drum
- David Ritt: trombones
- Neal Bolter: french horn
- Charles Butler: trumpet
- Geoffrey Bergler: trumpet
- Horns arranged by Jeff
Alternate versions
Lyrics
As I write this, I’m on camera
an extra in some background
resembling a type which I do not
The scene is a commercial
The product has no function
Don’t bother telling the crew,
’cause who has time when we’re losing light?If I conjured this as a fiction
I’d be scared I’d gone too far
But tonight I am not working on my human interactions anymoreThe camera man is balding
and the temperature is scalding
because the lights that light the night are too bright
See the pole beside the actor?
I’m the one behind it
The talent is engagedIf I contemplated the message
I would have never signed the form.
But tonight I am not working on my human interactions anymoreIf I thought that you could see me
I’d be too anxious to perform
But tonight I am not working on my human interactions anymorePray to the god that you don’t quite believe in
to bless this fleeting moment
Quotes
A wiry, spiky-haired punk clutching a Budweiser longneck steps to the front of the stage at Seattle’s Crocodile Cafe and emphatically implores Harvey Danger to “Make me mosh!” Curly-topped, fresh-faced singer (and sometimes organist) Sean Nelson looks the drunk in the eye and says “Mosh to this,” as the band melts into a moody, brand new tune called “Human Interactions.”
— The Rocket,
SCN: The lyric is based on my experience as an extra in a commercial for Wolverine work boots, for which my payment was a pair of said boots (not that awesome) and this song, which was my favorite HD composition when we wrote it, and just never quite came fully alive in the studio; the horns are pretty great, though; in my mind, the song has become a tribute to supporting performers who give their all even when they know it won’t be seen or appreciated—to
bless this fleeting momentand act/sing/play/dance for the joy of doing it—retroactively dedicated to Margo Lisk, the girl who played the body double for Martha Plimpton in the “Save It For Later” video, who threw herself into a ridiculous dance with 100% commitment, and whose face was never on camera.10A
Notes
- The Circuit City EP/Dead Sea Scrolls versions are mastered louder than, and trim a few seconds of silence from, the version on the Unreleased Stuff CDR.WFA