Fans of Cholesterol Jones associate his music with a barbed alt-folk angst born of the London metro, where Cholesterol spent weeks and hours collecting stories from people going about their daily lives.

The most poignant and best known of these stories is “Homeless Youth” and its sequel, “It’s a Rainbow” by Spacetime Satellites.

To quote Cholesterol:

“The “Homeless Youth” character is based on a real person, whom I saw on the London Underground a few years ago.  I was on my way home to Belsize Park on the Northern Line after an open mic near Morning Crescent.  

There was no interaction.  We were in the same car for only a couple of minutes, the time it took to get from Morning Crescent to Camden Town.  Camden Town is a well-known dumping ground for throw-away homeless teenagers. The image of this terrifed, cold, hungry and lonely child led to the song and later the video of “Homeless Youth.”  

The action of “It’s a Rainbow” picks up where “Homeless Youth” left off.  Our hero alights the metro car at Camden Town.  Rather than exiting into the Hellscape, he transports to Provincetown. 

He meets friends who help him to self-actualize and live his best life.  Any one who has spent time in Provincetown will understand that love, support and acceptance are the daily ration.  

PS: It was never clear to me whether our Homeless Youth was a boy a girl.  I finally decided to call him Sean, which could be a boy or girl’s name.  I also decided that he was more likely to be a boy, but I don’t really know.