“Why the Long Face?” by Peter Silberman

ESOPUS

For this atmospheric instrumental track created for the ESOPUS 25 "Jokes" CD (included in ESOPUS 25, the nonprofit arts publication now in bookstores) The Antlers frontman Peter Silberman took his inspiration from an old classic: A horse walks into a bar, and the bartender asks, "Why the long face?" Silberman talks about his choice in the issue's liner notes: "I love this joke for its simplicity, and fittingly, I wrote a piece that revolves around a single, economical melody [whose] central riff mimicked the phrase ‘Why the long face?’” The track appears on the compilation along with new songs by Lonnie Holley, Katie Von Schleicher, and Joseph Keckler, among others; the CD is introduced in the issue by comedian Demetri Martin.