We wore earplugs. Not to keep from hearing, but to make the message less painful. Maybe we wanted to keep it from lasting too long--a tinnitus drowning out all other messages. A falsetto pierced the veil of our complacency and gifted us asymptomatic fevers--the kind that lie in wait to disarm and disorient. I think his intention is pure. He wants some kind of peace and lasting embraces, a world without pain. His songs remember Death laced with tender glances tinted guilty greys.