from Allerton Avenue in 3D, released March 1, 2022
About "Bodega Eyes"

Serene: "To achieve some kind of connectivity within the songs on this album, I started to mention things in one song that turn up in later songs. The guy in "Allerton Ave" that gave his girlfriend Wisk and rice on her birthday takes us now to the inconvenient convenient store six blocks away where he makes these purchases, and we find out he has a whole closet of Wisk and rice which he buys so he can look into the cashier's two bodega eyes. I was thinking of "Spanish Eyes" and "Hall and Oates "Private Eyes" when I wrote this song around this piano loop in Reason.

Since this song is also taking place in the Bronx, this one was almost called "Albanian Eyes." I'm oblivious to all things mafia as well as geography which would render me useless in any turf war, When I saw all the Albanian flag decals on store windows I said, "What are people from Albany doing in the Bronx. I. Said. That.

While you let that sink in, consider that sometimes you'll go well out of your way to shop at a store where people smile at you. I placed this one during the pandemic because he's traveling any extra six blocks just to look at half a face behind a mask. Sometimes that's all you need in your day, knowing you made someone smile back. I had a lot of those during the pandemic so why wouldn't this guy?

And if it's an older guy, he's not entertaining thoughts of running away with her. He can't even figure out if the store owner is her husband or her dad. Ahh, if he were her husband she would wearing a ring, right? What if it's always cold in the store and she's wearing gloves all the time? I was going to write a verse saying that but I didn't include that bit of exposition."
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