Back in 1989, Warren released Transverse City, an album that most Zevon purists I’ve met dislike and generally disown. Today’s Wednesday Warren is the title track from that album.
Transverse City is, I suppose, best described as a “concept album,” with each song interweaving to form a narrative of a near-future dystopia, recounting a world of wars, police states, and environmental ruin. The album leans heavily on pop synthesizers and sci-fi notions heretofore unexplored in Warren’s work.
Most people didn’t like it. I, of course, loved it. I was captivated by the future mythology Zevon created, as well as the skillful segues from one song to the next (as in the crackling electricity that bridges between this song and the next, “Run Straight Down”).
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video of “Transverse City” on YouTube (if someone knows of one, please post a link in the comments!), but you can find the song (and the album) on both iTunes and Amazon. Meanwhile, here are some lyrics:
Show us endless neon vistas
Castles made of laser lights
Take us to the shopping sector
In the vortex of the night
Past the shiny mylar towers
Past the ravaged tenements
To a place we can’t remember
For a time we won’t forget
Transverse City is one of my very favorite albums, and I’ll be Wednesday Warren-ing the whole damn thing as we move along.