Chad Matheny, alias Emperor X, emerged fairly recently as an experimental singer and songwriter, noted for the interesting style of his music as well as the surreal nature of his lyrics. Most notable amid these surreal lyrics are those for his song, “Erica Western Teleport,” off the album “Western Teleport,” released in 2011. This song details the impossibility of forgetting a failed romance by making comparisons between the relationship and recent technologies. This reflects the societal trend of the 21st century of romanticizing a lost love while bringing to mind contemporary ideas with the inclusion of computer technology.
The beginning of the song edges the audience into understanding the reluctance of the singer to remember a woman from his presumably recent past. Whilst on a plane, the singer sees an image of a model that looked like “her,” then spiraling into the first chorus. The first line of the chorus reads, “don’t think of her swimming sideways.” Like the old elementary school challenge of: “don’t think of a white elephant,” it’s futile for the singer to command himself to avoid thinking of this woman while at the same time citing an activity specific to her; this makes it nearly impossible to fulfill. The chorus continues in a similar manner, the singer begging with himself not to think of “her” while reminding himself of activities he associates with her. This fixation on past relationships seems to be a common theme in movies starting from the turn of the century, namely “indie” films such as, “500 Days of Summer,” and the like. There has been a recent idealization of relationships, particularly post-breakup. The first line of the next stanza begins to reveal the desperation involved in trying to forget this romance, reading, “don’t think of her, study for the LSATs.” This is most likely an attempt of the songwriter to distract from lamenting his loss by reminding himself of a task that needs completing. After this line, however, the stanza resumes its previous pattern, pairing, “don’t think of her,” with certain activities she engages in (such as “accessing her comsat” and “cursing at commuters”).
The song then marks a shift in both tone and rhythm, describing possibly how the relationship came to an end in the first place and introducing the motif of technology. It reads, “You took a year or two off to decode what the camera pulled in,” which could be a reference to attempts at self-actualization or reflection. The second line suggests that the reason for wanting to take some time for herself stemmed from burning herself out: “’cause the USB port fried.” The comparison between human emotions and technology have been recurring in the past few years, being that we’re moving into a world that’s more focused on and familiar with the references in question. The next three lines all suggest that because of this need to derive meaning about herself through reflection, the relationship between her and the singer couldn’t survive. He “got knocked down,” through her frantic attempts to find herself.