As Smart as We Are

An unusual collaboration began when Michael Hearst of the band One Ring Zero sought out McSweeney's, a small store he'd heard about that was co-owned by Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which Hearst admired. The band was soon invited to perform at McSweeney's events, where they met Rick Moody, who invited them to perform with him and then collaborate in other ways. These events triggered an avalanche of authors offering to write songs for the band. Winners of the Booker Prize, the National Book Award, the Pulitzer, and every other major literary award lined up to offer their songwriting services to the project that became As Smart As We Are. The CD contains eighteen songs performed by One Ring Zero with lyrics written by authors including Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Dave Eggers, Neil Gaiman, Myla Goldberg, A. M. Homes, Denis Johnson, Jonathan Lethem, and Amy Fusselman. The book includes all the lyrics, commentary by the authors, and short essays by musicians such as Vernon Reid and David Byrne.