The land that the folks in Calvin Johnson songs occupy is full of the following disparate objects, feelings, phrases, beasts, aberrations and bits of wilderness: Talking trees Cheesecake Lactation Open sores Old men whittling on their front porches Empty movie theaters Debilitating aloneness The sound of one’s own rattling voice A hot mess of squeamishness Melted records Small electrocutions Watery graves Certifiable looniness Odd deaths Strange curiosities Splintered visions Spooks Men walking around in dirty dress shirts and trousers – pulling it off Wandering voices Clothing on the line Bloody socks Rotary phones Soda fountains and homemade fudge Lawn sculptures Coal walkers Beds of nails Holy water