wanted these characters to "feel and seem different". Elverum conceived the first lines for "I. The Sun" during a six-week American tour between November and October 2001. While touring Florida, the presence of the sun, and the state's "menacing" atmosphere led him to writing the chorus of the song. "I. The Sun" was heavily inspired by the soundtrack of Brazilian film Black Orpheus (1959). {{Multiple image|total_width = 300 | image1 = Antônio Carlos Jobim (cropped).jpg | image2 = Luiz Bonfa 1962.jpg | footer = "I. The Sun" was inspired by Black Orpheus'''s soundtrack, written by Antônio Carlos Jobim (left) and Luiz Bonfá (right). }} The vocal melody for "II. Solar System" was taken from "Fall Flood" by Little Wings. Elverum used the melody due to it being stuck in his head, and noted "our friendship during that time was very freely giving and taking from each other’s ideas and notebooks." Elverum notes about "III: Universe", "the way I recorded the drums was just like, 'Well let’s see what the mic is like if it’s recorded here." Calvin Johnson was cast as the voice of the Universe due to his deep, taunting and booming voice, with Elverum stating "it could only be him I think." For the choir of "IV: Mount Eerie", Elverum put up posters in Olympia, Washington, asking for singers. He recorded eight singers. In the section labelled "Big Black Death", referred to by Elverum as "Kyle's rap", Kyle Field wrote and sang the lyrics for the personification of death. A line from the section, “Do you see what happens?” is a reference to the 1998 film The Big Lebowski. Elverum attempted to write down all of his ideas for the album prior to recording the album. He created a chart of elements outlining what later became "I. The Sun" and the start of "II. Solar System". Another chart was used to map out the complex drum rhythms on parts of "I. The Sun". A further two charts were used to plan out the harmonies and track recordings for "III. Universe", and another with rough lyrics from "V. Universe". Some lyrics from the album were inspired or directly taken from lines in Elverum's journals, which date to late 2001. Music and themes Mount Eerie is a concept album, portraying a linear storyline with distinct characters. It has been described as psychedelic folk, experimental rock, and experimental music. The lyrics