I wake to find company in my cluttered living room, which is now open to the elements. After drawing up a plan we scatter to our places: I am sent our with a tape recorder to gather intelligence at the city gate. I leave the tape rolling on a granite surface and stake out a spot to observe the crowd. Soon I'm singing loud enough to be caught on tape behind the dull roar of foot traffic. And I invent songs that depend on the cries of merchants and beggars and the creaking of wagon wheels. I wake up, then flip the tape over and start recording from the middle.