An Overview of 'The Noble Knave' by Ryan Parmenter: The Noble Knave is an album of my favorite songs that I've written over the past ten years or so. A departure from the darker themes explored by my band Eyestrings, 'The Noble Knave' is light, fun, and perhaps more immediately catchy. With songs about the ups and downs of relationships, favorite body parts, and even what an id would do if not confined by the limits of society and science, the album is sometimes quite silly and always quite melodic. Trivia about the songs: 1. Züccer I wrote 'Züccer' in 1996, in my first semester of college. Typically, I wrote the words one Saturday night in a friend's dorm room, instead of rushing a fraternity or trying to meet new people. Then I worked out the music the following day on the piano in my dorm's lounge (my dorm had a lounge, which is pretty sweet). The song portrays a character about whom I had written several short stories, a manchild who represents just how silly and obnoxious I would be if I had no conscience or inhibitions. I figured it sets the tone for the album pretty well. 2. Keep Crying I wrote 'Keep Crying' around the holidays in 2000. The words were a tongue-and-cheek expression of some of my relationship frustrations, scrawled one evening in a coffee shop. I circulated a CD of a demo version to friends and family (as I am won't to do) in 2001. As the song would suggest, the relationship did not last. 3. Dating My Frankenstein In 2005, I was dating a girl I had been friends with in high school. In her opinion I had been something of a mentor to her, where 'mentor' equals 'corruptor.' She suggested that, by connecting with the personality I had helped shape, I was in essence dating my Frankenstein. How could I not make a song about that? 4. Starving I wrote 'Starving' in 2002, about being forced from a relationship one does not want to leave, whether through loss, breakup, or distance. The song is about the deparate feelings that can arise in any such situation. 5. Diamond Eggshell Written in 1996, 'Diamond Eggshell' is about being over one's head in a relationship, and not knowing how to properly communicate to address issues. In other words, songs like