Bored Out 90 Over

In light of Motorhead’s car-engine reference “bored out, 90 over,” All-Night John’s later statement “Round things are boring” suggests that the word “boring” can be heard as the less apparent verb, rather than the obvious adjective. Elements from later on the album -- the drum, the merry-go-‘round and the vicious circle -- are round things. So is the record. These things are perhaps now “boring” into the society Frank wishes to infiltrate and change with his music (this optimism will diminish in time). In his 1968 essay “The New Rock,” Frank will write, “It’s something of a paradox that companies which manufacture and distribute this art form (strictly for profit) might one day be changed or controlled by young people who were motivated to action by the products these companies sell.” The ants (round things, in their own ways) on the back cover of One Size Fits All are boring into the crumbling cityscape. “Round things are boring” appears as one of many messages bordering the circular star map on that back cover; the confinement of such a limitless place that “fits all” as the universe (or music) to a convenient, measureable shape just to accommodate our filtered minds is boring.