The double entendre of the word stories in the album’s title speaks both to the stories of life in the city, and also to the consecutive levels of a building or structure that ascend higher into the sky. But by rising further into the sky the air becomes thinner, colder & the pull of gravity becomes more dangerous-In short the environment becomes more hostile & adverse. Thus it is a metaphor for the overarching album theme of ascension through striving in the face of adversity.
