$25.00
## **BRAIN GAIN – s/t c60**
### *A Pool Cleaner’s Descent into Madness (with educational inserts)*
---
### SIDE A: **CHLORINE MYTH / BLUE BEGINNING**
The pool cleaner’s name is never written down correctly.
Sometimes it’s **Evan**, sometimes **Ivan**, sometimes just **ME** written in block letters on the cassette J-card.
He cleans rich people’s pools.
Blue rectangles.
Perfect lies.
Every morning he skims leaves that look like dead insects and insects that look like ideas.
The pole is long.
The net is holy.
He hums to keep time with the filter’s heartbeat.
> **whrrr—glug—whrrr**
On the inside of the cassette sleeve, a drawing in black pen:
```
O
/|\
/ \
~~~~~~~
```
(POOL MAN)
(POOL GOD)
(SAME?)
---
### INSERT VOICE (CUT-IN, TRACK 3):
> **Has your dog got red, inflamed, angry looking skin? Or do they have a rash?**
> We often call these symptoms *dermatitis*.
The pool cleaner doesn’t own a dog.
But his forearms itch.
Chlorine dries the skin.
Sun burns it.
The net rubs it raw.
---
### SIDE A CONTINUES: **THE FIRST ITCH**
He notices flakes on the water.
Not leaves.
Not pollen.
Skin.
His.
He scratches with the pole handle because his nails smell like chemicals.
Another drawing appears, this time on a receipt:
```
(====)
| XX |
|____|
```
(LABELLED: *FILTER BRAIN*)
---
### INSERT VOICE (TRACK 5, LOUDER NOW):
> **Skin problems can be very irritating and painful**
> and can be caused by many different things.
The pool cleaner writes underneath:
**SO CAN POOLS**
---
### THE MYTH BEGINS (TRACK 7)
There is an old story the water remembers.
Before pools, before tiles, there was **THE BASIN THAT NEVER DRAINED**.
A man was chosen to clean it forever.
Each time he removed debris, the basin grew deeper.
The god of the basin promised:
> *“You will be clean if the water is clean.”*
A lie.
---
### SIDE A END: **RASH MUSIC**
Guitar strings detuned until they sound like scratching.
Drums like slapping wet skin.
The pool cleaner notices:
* Red patches on wrists
* Burning behind knees
* A smell he can’t explain
He writes in the liner notes:
**CHECKED PH LEVEL.
CHECKED FILTER.
CAN’T CHECK SELF.**
---
## **SIDE B: INFLAMMATION / MYTH FAILURE**
The cassette flips with a click that sounds like a scab tearing.
---
### TRACK 1: **SYMPTOMS LOOP**
A calm, instructional voice keeps returning, warped by tape drag:
> **Symptoms to look out for:**
> A rash, spots or pimples
> Red, inflamed or sore skin
> Itchy skin
> Hair loss *(alopecia)*
The pool cleaner pauses the tape.
Looks at his arm hair floating in the skimmer basket.
Presses play again.
---
### CRUDE DRAWING (INSIDE J-CARD, BACK PANEL):
```
_____
| |
| o |
|_____|
|| ||
```
(TEXT: *ME AFTER 10 YEARS*)
---
### TRACK 4: **DANDRUFF FALLS LIKE SNOW**
> **Dandruff (dry, flaky skin)**
The pool cleaner mistakes it for ash.
Thinks the neighborhood is burning.
It’s just him.
He shakes his shirt and a small weather event occurs.
---
### TRACK 6: **OILY / WEEPING**
> **Oily skin**
> **Smelly, weepy skin (pyoderma)**
The myth returns but it’s rotting now.
The basin god is gone.
Only the **FILTER DEMON** remains—
a clogged mouth sucking forever.
The pool cleaner dreams of being vacuumed.
---
### FINAL MYTH FRAGMENT (TRACK 9)
The chosen cleaner asks the god:
> *“Why does the water hurt me?”*
The basin answers:
> *“Because you are the only thing not meant to be submerged forever.”*
---
### LAST INSERT (NEAR SILENCE):
> **Dermatitis should always be checked by a vet,**
> it’s often something that can be easily treated
> **but could be a sign of something more serious.**
The pool cleaner underlines:
**MORE SERIOUS = ME**
---
### FINAL DRAWING (SCRATCHED INTO THE CASSETTE):
```
~~~~~~~
| X |
|_____|
/ \
```
(NO LABEL)
---
### TAPE RUNOUT
The pool is clean.
The water is perfect.
The man is discoloured—
**brownish, as if dirty**, no matter how much he scrubs.
Unduplicated edition of 1.