"Calistan"

SUBJECT: "And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner." - Frank in the press kit for the album.

I'll dig up the exact quote one of these days, but I remember Frank talking about Calistan being a futuristic view of California, with the "-stan" suffix conveying the desolate feel of the middle east (Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc). He later found out there really was a place called Calistan somewhere.

LYRICS:
I took three days to drive down one street / The radio on, tuned to the big fleet / Invisible planes are cracking the concrete / That's just what some people say / I put down my blanket on Cigarette Butt Beach / I saw the old man, he was doing OK / He's making his last stand / On old bottles and cans / 'Round there, Calistan way / Used to be sixteen lanes / Used to be Nuevo Spain / Used to be Juan Wayne / Used to be Mexico / Used to be Navajo / Used to be yippy-ay-I-don't know / Went in from the weather when I got wheezy / I play some pachinko I play pachisi / And St. Anne is still making be breezy / In the valley of tar that once was L.A. / And my best friend he's the king of karaoke / He struck up a chord and he took it away / Out of the pan / And into Japan / 'Round there, Calistan way / Used to be sixteen lanes / Used to be Juan Wayne / Used to be Mexican / Used to be Espano Nuevo / Used to be Navajo / Used to be yippy-ay-I-don't know

LIVE: yep, a lot 94-up

ACOUSTIC: yes.