What does it mean to you?

What?

What does it mean? Why do you care so much?

What? I don’t know.

You know that saying “I don’t know” means “I don’t want to know,” right?

Ha, well I don’t know about that.

Hey-o, look at Mr. Clever! For real though, what’s going on?

Nothing’s going on.

I don’t believe you

You don’t have to.

What’s going on?

Nothing.

You’re acting weird. What’s going on?

Nothing really. I’m just living life.

I don’t believe you.

I don’t know what you want me to say.

I don’t want you to say anything! I want you to say what you want you to say.

Tell me, what are you thinking?

Not a lot.

Is this what you expected?

What?

Is this what you expected? Did you expect to feel like this?

Feel like what.

Like whatever the boring, flaccid thing you’re being right now.

Uh

I guess I uh

What do you think’s going to happen? Keep doing what you’re doing. What do you think’s going to happen? I’m serious. What do you think is going to happen?

I-

Why do you care so much about this album?

What?

In Rainbows. Why do you care about it?

 

Why do you care about it?

It’s just good

Are you kidding me

It is good!

Well no shit! Why do you care so much?

I don’t know

Come on.

It’s good! I don’t know what you want me to say. It’s good, okay? The way it was released, that was cool. That was fucking cool. I don’t like commoditizing art. No matter how good, no matter how much time went into it, no matter what, it’s just music, just another fucking album. It’s ridiculous! This was different.

OK but who cares? Since when have you cared about, like, economics?

It’s not about the economics. This album could have been an easy money grab, and they took a risk. I like that. But it’s not about that. You’re right. It’s what the risk represented. It’s about letting people do what they want. It’s about putting the power in the hands of the people. It’s about making things fair.

Fair to who?

Don’t you mean, “To Whom?”

Jesus fuck.

Yeah, I mean, look. It’s an album. It’s good. You can’t listen to it all the time, but it’s good. It’s what you make of it.

Where are you going with tihs?

Like, you ascribe the meaning you see to it, you know?

This sounds like bullshit

I don’t know what you want me to say.

There isn’t anything I want you to say. I just want you to say something, say anything. Why are you so hung up on this album?

I guess you could say I ascribe the meaning I see to it.

Uh-huh.

I mean it. Life is what you make of it. You ascribe meaning. You ascribe value. And music is a manifestation of life. You ascribe meaning to it, and you ascribe value to it. Right? I can’t quantify what this album means to anyone else, and I don’t want to try. But it means something to me, and that’s important.

So… you like it because… you like it?

It sounds weird when you put it like that. I like it because it allows me to ascribe meaning and value to it. That’s the whole idea behind “pay-what-you-want.” Pay for it, or you’ll pay for it, right? You have to put a value on what you think matters.

What are you trying to do?

I want everyone to be more honest about what they want, and I think I need to start with myself.

And then?

I don’t know.

Yeah, that I believe.