On the Sidewalk Over By the Courthouse

Somebody left a bunch of chalk on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse in Montpelier this weekend and encouraged people to write whatever they wanted to write. As I was hanging with my kids checking out all of the sidewalk art, I noticed these few lines from Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy".

It's nice to see that a fellow NMH fan lives in town. However, it also reminded me of something I saw in a review once of NMH. The reviewer pointed out that while Jeff Mangum's lyrics sound good coming out of his mouth, if you write them out and read them, they're pretty friggin' stupid.

Two-headed boy
all floating in glass
the sun it has passed

WTF?

Neutral Milk Hotel | Two-Headed Boy | Buy


Unfortunately, my joy of seeing some NMH lyrics scrawled in front of the courthouse was sqaushed when I turned around and saw this inane bit.

Kill cops. Give me a break. It's a stupid statement to make anywhere but particularly here in Montpelier. These aren't the cops who killed Amadou Diallo, Eleanor Bumpers or Michael Stewart. Montpelier cops are more likely to help you get the chain back on your bike than bust your chops over something. Saying "Kill Cops" is just one of those stupid things that people think makes them sound radical to their like-minded friends but just comes off looking moronic.

If you want to make an anti-authority statement, go ahead. Just don't write something that ruins the discourse.