The Players:  Carl Polgar (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, keys), Darrin Revell (drums), J. Avery Vaughn (bass, electric guitar, backing vocals), Neely Vaughn (vocals)

The Story:  Carrie and I had talked about taking a road trip to Washington D.C. in order to catch The Lucksmiths on one of their rare American tours.  That's when she made the puking remark that begins the song.  It was just one of several things that we had talked about doing - the others are detailed in the second verse.  Ours was a relationship that had a predetermined end date.  I was soon to move to Nashville and she was getting ready to move to Miami Beach.  We had agreed in advance that it would be easier for both of us if we ended things prior to our departures.  And so it ended, and it ended as well as any relationship I've ever been in, which is probably why she still lingers prominently in my memory.

2. Pussyfingers
I offer up myself to you / You offer up yourself to me / We turn the lights off and we do / The things they can't show on TV / Maybe in Belgium or Germany / The opening of the dresser drawer / Anticipation is tautly wound / We put the comforter on the floor / Because the bed makes too much sound / And your roommate's still around / The power in the fingertips / The subtleties in a simple move / The beauty in your parted lips / The steady motions we go through / The smells we've grown accustomed to / When the rest of life re-starts / We clean up the mess we made / And even though it's time to part / I'll carry you with me all day / I'll carry you with me all day
The Players:  Carl (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, keys), Darrin (drums), Jack (bass, whistle), Neely (vocals).
The Story:  I guess you can call this a song about fucking, but it's really more about two people who are absolutely in love with each other.  It's not about anyone in particular - I realized a couple years ago that I had never written a love song, so I gave it a shot.  In order to not stare at a blank page while trying to come up with words for the song, I decided to write the first thing that came to my mind on top of the page.  For reasons unknown, I wrote 'pussyfingers'.  Since I've always sucked at song titles, I decided to make it the title of the song.  That was probably a mistake.
3. The First Days Of "Whatever"
I am a default napper / We are staying up all night / Songs and drinks, smiles, and after / Doing what just feels right / We are zombies through the workday / Barely there, sleepwalking / Needing sleep in the worst way / But not regretting a thing / Such an inane endeavor / To try and put a name to this / It's just the first days of "whatever" / That's more-or-less appropriate
The Players:  Carl (vocals, 12-string guitar, keys, handclaps), Darrin (drums), Jack (bass, electric guitar), Neely (vocals)
The Story:  Two people who dread relationships realize that they are starting to be involved in a relationship.  Out of a general fear of using the words 'boyfriend', 'girlfriend', 'dating', etc., they decide to not worry about labels and simply call it 'whatever'.  Oh, and they stay up all night canoodling and whatnot, only managing to sleep for a couple hours after getting home from work, before meeting up and canoodling all over again.
By the way, I deeply regret using the word 'sleep' in two consecutive lines.  Bugs the shit out of me.  Oh well.
4.  Second Song For The Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula at 3am / I'm waiting for my second wind to kick in / And all that I want is to kiss you and then / Kiss again / All of the stars are out for us to see / A romantic moment that's framed perfectly / Suspecting instead that it's not meant to be / You and me / Driving for hours with hours to go / Your head tilted back, leaned against the window / And I have to look out for deer on the road / Driving slow / Surrounded by universe til nothing remains / But new constellations waiting to be named / And all that it takes are the right words to say / What a shame / There are tears / In your eyes / And you won't / Tell me why / And I'm afraid to pry / So you cry / You've never been as far as this
The Players:  Carl (vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, loops), Darrin (drums, bass, backing vocals), Jack (electric guitar, backing vocals), Neely (backing vocals)
The Story:  I wrote this lying in the back seat of Chevy Blazer while stuck in traffic on I-95 between Baltimore and Philadelphia.  A week earlier, my friend Tori and I had driven from St Louis all the way up to Marquette, Michigan.  Once you get past Green Bay, it's a beautiful drive on a small state road that goes up one side of Lake Michigan.  Everything else you might need to know is explained in the lyrics.
It's called "Second Song For The Upper Peninsula" because Sufjan Stevens had a song called "The Upper Peninsula" on is Michigan album.  My song is better.
5. Leaving Reykjavik
Feel the wind shaking the plane / Coming after me / Knocked me down and left my face / Chapped and hurting / Even now it will not slow / Can not wait to see me go / Memories of crowded bars / And the tourist scam / A shot, a kiss, a clumsy charm / All as planned / Feel the wind shaking the plane / I can only hope to find myself here again
The Players:  Carl (vocals, electric guitar, keys, percussion), Darrin (drums, bass), Jack (guitar)
The Tourist Scam:  A nice Icelandic girl comes up to me.  She knows that I'm a tourist because she's never seen me before.  Everyone knows each other in Reykjavik - see each other at bars every weekend - so the tourists stick out.  She immediately starts making out with me, then says, "I'd like it if you bought me a shot of tequila".   A shot of tequila was purchased.  She kisses me and walks away.  A couple moments pass.  She returns, sits on my lap, and starts making out with me again.  Then she says, "My friend would really like it if you bought her a shot of tequila". 
Best country in the world.  I'd do it all over again. 
6. Toes
She said she would paint my toes as she took off my shoes / It's what she wanted to do / Her hands drunkedly applying glops of a garish copper / I had no reason to stop her / And then she asked me if my toes curl when I come / Said it happens to everyone / I told her that I wasn't aware if it happened to me / "But if you're free / Then we can see / Let's give it a try / Let's prove your point tonight" / Oh, Jessica, with your shirt opened wide / Amidst the changing hues of the dawning sky / Don't go back to Cookeville just yet / There are things to do here that are much more important / Later on, the morning - rather, our own concept of morning / Well, it came without warning / We shook off the shock of daylight as we put on our clothes / Looking down at our matching toes / The cuticles painted / And the story borne from the workout we gave them
The Players:  Carl (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keys), Darrin (drums), Jack (bass, electric guitar)
The Story:  Jessica is two people.  One of them was called Jessica, who was indeed from Cookeville and whose shirt was indeed open wide throughout the course of this meeting.  The other girl was my friend Cindy, who asked me the question about the toes curling and who applied the golden nail polish to my toes.  The two were combined for the sake of creating a better story.
That was a fun evening.
7.  Second Song To Assist Julie In Getting Rid Of A Boy
If your sole intent / Was to raise my discontent / Then you did it perfectly / Now please get away from me / I thought I said "goodbye" / Why the hell do you still try? / There is nothing left to say / I just want you to go away / Today / And the nights are getting cold / And here's someone you won't hold / Tightly under layered sheets / Helping you to feel complete / So here's one last goodbye / I don't know why you still try / There is nothing left to say / I just want you to go away
The Players:  Carl (acoustic guitar, keys, percussion, backing vocals, weak-ass whistle), Jack (bass), Neely (vocals)
The Story: Julie had come to me a year prior, talking about a boyfriend who was starting to get on her nerves.  I offered to write a song for her to present to the guy as a sort of kiss-of.  That song really sucked, but she enjoyed it enough to remember me when another boy came around who was annoying her.  I happily offered up my services once again.  The words and the music were written and recorded in about 90 minutes (this version uses all the original tracks except for my vocal).  I had fully expected this song to suck as much as the last one, but it ended up becoming one of my favorites (even though rhyming 'intent' with 'discontent' still bugs me) as well as a favorite to the rest of the band. 
Julie and I converse very infrequently nowadays.  I never did get her opinion on the song. 
8. You Were Made For Winter
You were made for winter / You were made for cold and snow / You were made for flushed cheeks / And a frozen nose / You were made to shiver / In the icy air / You were made to brush flakes / From your tinted hair / You were made for teeth that chatter / You were made for gloves and scarves / You were made for solace / In a heated bar / You were made for faded sweaters / Worn and run around / You were made for grey skies / That never bring you down / You were made for Sunday mornings / Covered in your duvet / You were made to dress in layers / So I could peel each one away
The Players:  Carl (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keys), Darrin (drums, 12-string guitar), Jack (bass, keys), Neely (vocals)
The Story:  This song was written on the back of a receipt while sitting at the bar, waiting for a show to start at The Orpheum in Tampa (this bar also plays a role in the next 2 songs).  It was a surprisingly chilly (by Florida standards) evening at the end of September.  With nothing else to do, I people-watched while sipping my rum and Coke.  Most of the people entering the club were wearing sweaters, most-likely for the first time since the end of winter.  Noting their fashionability, I wrote "indie kids were made for winter" on the receipt.  I switched out "indie kids" in exchange for a generic "you" (actually inspired by my friend Kate) and the rest of the song flowed out pretty easily.
I actually don't like this song that much, but the rest of the band did, which is how it ended up here.  Paris Street is rarely a democracy (more like a benevolant dictatorship), but acquiesced on this one.  I should probably do that more often.
9. Out-Takes From The Night Before (Everybody Laughs)
Casey wake up wishing that he was dead / Noticing he's thrown up off the side of the bed / And everybody laughs / A bruise of unknown origin on Cindy's knee / Grass stains where grass stains just should not be / And everybody laughs / Anthony saw double on the short drive home / The smell of yesterday still on his clothes / Random cigarette butts in Annie's hair / A comedic stumble down the nightclub stairs / And everybody laughs / Everybody laughs / We each hold a key to the mystery / A puzzle in our collective memories / Where everybody laughs / Everybody laughs / I'm trying to piece together the night before / As I lay between the hallway and the bathroom floor / And everybody laughs
The Players:   Carl (vocals, electric guitar, keys), Darrin (vocals, drums, e-bow), Jack (vocals, bass), Neely (vocals)
The Story:  Casey did not wake up wishing that he was dead nor did he throw up off the side of the bed.  That was me, after one-too-many rum and Cokes at The Orpheum on a Thanksgiving night where you could drink all you wanted for six measly bucks.  I was also the one that saw double while driving home and also the one who passed out between the hallway and the bathroom floor.  The grass stains were inspired by my friend Melissa stumbling outside of a nightclub (The Castle) a couple years prior.  A couple weeks later at that same club, I fell down the stairs but was too drunk for it to hurt.
This album was recorded during the only point in the band's history that Paris Street felt like an actual band and not just me being accompanied by whichever friend was willing to help out.  I made sure that everyone was able to flex their muscles on at least one song (Neely on 'Second Song To Assist Julie', Darrin on 'Reykjavik', Jack on 'First Days of Whatever'), but I also wanted to have a song in which everybody got to have a lead vocal - a chance to step up and take a bow before the album's end.  For all the drunkeness described, this song is simply a song about friendship - a group of friends recalling the excess of the previous night.  I chose this song for everyone to sing on because I couldn't think of a better group of people to assist me in bringing this song to life. 
10.  Good Time
Hey, let's have a good time tonight / Let's cast all of our differences aside / And when the night time ends / Then we can fight again / Til then / Let's have a good time tonight / The sink-or-swim at Demi's sounds like fun / Or maybe check out The Orpheum's two-for-one / They're playing Johnny Cash / And your favorite New York trash / The past / Won't matter while their songs are sung / It wasn't long ago / Our bodies all a-glow / From a day spent in bed / Making love / But the sentiments conveyed / Just could not be sustained / We make the bed and call each other's bluff / Hey, let's have a good time tonight / Let's cast all of our differences aside / I know it's all gone wrong / But it's not too late - be strong / Hold on / And have a good time tonight
The Players:  Carl (vocals, acoustic guitar, keys), Darrin (drums), Jack (bass, electric guitar)
The Story: Demi's Market is located in Ybor City, about 7 blocks away from The Orpheum (yes, The Hold Steady aren't the only ones who write songs about Ybor City).  I'm still not sure why I did it, but I flip-flopped their specials - Demi's had the 2-for-1, The Orpheum had the sink-or-swim (which sunk me on 'Out-Takes From The Night Before').  This song was written about a year or so after The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, et al. were making it big, hence the line about New York trash.
The End:
All of my parts and all of Darrin's parts were recorded at my house in Nashville.  For Neely and Jack's parts, I drove my gear over to their place in Murfreesboro.  I was a novice at mixing stuff on the computer, which is why it took me 3 months to get everything mixed to my liking.  Then Darrin listened to it and ripped the mix apart.  After a couple grumbles, I gave it another shot, quickly realizing that all of his criticisms were dead-on.  When everything was finally finished it went up to Chicago, were it was mastered by Carl Saff.
I'm incredibly happy with this album.  All credit for this is due to Darrin, Jack, and Neely.  I can not thank them enough.
Thanks for reading.
Carl.