1. |
A Letter Never Sent
03:54
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This story is told out of order
For want of intent to resign
Why I left that life behind
If you saw me I know what you would say
The good kid had it made
Why'd he throw it all away
So let's stop being coy, let's out with it now
That savory taste, once welcome,
Has gone sour in my mouth
Yet the hunger still will not subside
How does one decide
Whether to eat in shame or starve in pride
This story is told out of order
Dictated but not read
In a letter never sent
Forgive me if I don't wish to draw heat
People say a lot of things
When they think that you're asleep
So let's stop being coy, let's out with it now
The circle-talk around the bush
Has got to end somehow
I speak expired ciphers, I sing in code
And now the roads that go south
Are the only ones I know
What was said was public record
Or hearsay, I never got
The difference between the two
Not like I was within earshot
What was said I know innately
Or never left the witness' throat
The difference doesn't matter, I'm still
Isolated, on my own
This story is told out of order
But I suffer in vain here
When the ending is so near
My plans have changed, my bags are packed
So don't you be surprised
If I never end up coming back
So let's stop being coy, let's out with now
One day, all will be revealed
And I will leave no doubt
Alone I go into the void again
You will find out soon enough
If the pressure makes me break or bend
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2. |
Girl From Buffalo
03:58
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The past don't bother me
For better or worse
'Til it comes inevitable
Like a chorus follows a verse
Took me back to a time
I was blooming and keen
Knew a girl from Buffalo
On my computer screen
It was the start of some new feat
To battle distance's tyranny
In dire search of cherished corps esprit
To the outside observer
I am all by myself
Shooting for the moon
But falling off of the shelf
Yet I could reach my hand out
Through fiber-optic lines
And find another waiting
Ready to grab onto mine
The danger dies behind the door
The stranger's a stranger no more
And that was all I ever could ask for
Primus inter pares
So close but so far away
We all have our lives to lead
But I wish you would have stayed
It's all too common in the present time
For connections to fray
A fool I am to hold out hope
To see you again someday
Another city, a different road
A tourist or a lost sightseer
The meet cute is the realm of movies
But why couldn't it happen here
If some happenstance from long ago
Could make the west and east coast meet
What's stopping it from reuniting
You and I on the same street
If I could only ask one thing
It's to know how have you been
I'll settle for knowing you made the best of everything
The girl from Buffalo went away
I'm stranded still in San Jose
But I still remember her today
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3. |
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The curious case of the sugar glider
It needs attention or it dies
A relatable tendency, I must admit
When one seeks it out like a chronic vice
There's no need to get excited
This rush you feel ain't worth a quid
And yet, the mind of some beginner
Is quick to lunge right off of the cliff
I can get into trouble without the assistance
Of anyone else
I am perfectly capable of sabotaging myself
Falling in love with the back of a leg isn't crazy
If it's all you can see
Steadfastly optimistic that there's something more substantial
That's just above the knee
Wandering the streets at night searching in vain
A connection could dispense that relief
But if I found it I'd be better served by throwing it out
Hope is such a cruel gift to receive
I can get into trouble without the assistance
Of anyone else
I am perfectly capable of sabotaging myself
Falling in love with the back of a leg isn't crazy
If it's all you can see
Steadfastly optimistic that there's something more substantial
That's just above the knee
Kid, you got moxie, more guts than sense
You've thought it all out in your mind
But you will wait a single moment for a lifetime like this
For your stars to perfectly align
You're gonna get into trouble without the assistance
Of anyone else
Or you can get out of your own way and break the cycle
Before you sabotage yourself
Falling in love with the back of a leg isn't prudent
But if it's all that you got
Then you better be prepared to use your own
to prop yourself up when you run out of luck
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4. |
Lede Burial
02:24
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Ripped from the headlines
I'm alive
You ignore me at your own peril
Staring at you in the eyes
I'm walking trouble
One day, you'll get got
Just like I did
This is no lede that you can bury
One good turn deserves another
You're worth the bother
I will find good where none exists
Or else I'll make good where none exists
So righteous with your convictions
Loyalty these days is a rare quantity
Running headfirst into the buzzsaw
You'll make a great mess
I hope it's worth it, every penny
That you won from making your friends enemies
I'll bury the hatchet into
The small of your back
I will find good where none exists
Or else I'll make good where none exists
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5. |
Red Door/Red Room
02:25
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Behind the red door in the red room
Is what you need to hear but I will not tell you
You wouldn't think so, but it's better
For you to infer what I'd tell you never
And if you knew from the start what you'd hear from me
You would shut the red door and throw away the key
At the least, you could save yourself some grief
The first time I tell you what I am, believe me
Behind the red door in the red room
I offer bon mots, bromides and platitudes
A fire sale of go-nowhere bootless banality
And you would think they were the essence of profundity
And if you knew from the start what you'd hear from me
You would light the room aflame then walk out with your back to me
Your unwavering faith in me beggars belief
The second time I tell you what I am, believe me
You knew right from the start, now you've heard from me
Yet you didn't shut the door or throw away the key
I tried to warn you yet you kept walking into the sea
I didn't do a thing to you, you did this to me
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6. |
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Let's sing a song
To a paranoid rant I've held for too long
To friends and relations who cannot but help
But dictate what I should do for myself
I'll admit when I'm in a jam
You always help out the best that you can
But you alternate between the sound of your voice
And talking down the things over which I've no choice
When I turn away
Do you turn the guns on me?
A cursory look out the window
Turned into a thousand-yard stare
Biding my time for some perfect moment
That never materializes there
I can hardly call it getting by
Some great mind I turned out to be
When you're in perpetual motion but haven't moved an inch
And vacillate constantly
When I turn away
Do you turn the guns on me?
Have I made good on your rubric?
What qualities have you yet to test
Confidence in one's self is all self-delusion
Unless you make good on your bets
So wrap up the meeting and tell me your plans
I know your hands have made certain demands
If that's your intent, I spit on your palms
I'm ready for my final stand
So, go on ahead
Go turn the guns on me
But don't you dare fire
Until mine eyes' whites you see
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7. |
Marge vs. the Monolith
03:27
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What I throw against the wall I
Wonder if it sticks or falls it's
No guarantee of success and
There is nothing one can learn from
This moving target's twists and turns
When I try to make a bid it's
Marge versus the Monolith
Persistent force immobile object
We all want to play the game but
No one follows the rules the same
An island on my own, that's me
Small wonder no one bothers
Over tempestuous seas
Who stands out just to blend back in?
All this expended effort just to
Double back into my skin
Take the average person, stack 'em
Up against my shtick, I bet I
Lose 'em in the first minute and
I no longer feel the feeling
That this bit is as endearing
So I retreat to my den I
Won't let it happen again I
View the window with contempt like
Some Doctor Manhattan pose
Like I stand still and all time froze
And when I walk down the street
No one bats an eye
When my catchphrases run dry
In a quiet corner of the room
I dare not make a sound
Why get lost just to be found
There's games to be played and trust to be made
And everyone's here to have fun
Replay in my head all of my past mistakes
And all I want to do is run
A figure approaches, looks me in the eyes, asks
“Is anyone using this chair?”
I brace myself to converse out of the blue
But when I look back no one's there
She placed her hands on the black stone
She saw a vision powerful
But left her all alone
And backed out at the last second she could
I don't blame her one iota
If I could do the same I would
What I throw against the wall
It never sticks, it always falls
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8. |
1960s Dust
02:23
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Beth better book a weekend out of town
'Coz me and the boys are gonna find that sound
We don't care how long it takes or if we have to raise the stakes
If we go into debt, at least we got some good takes
On a reel-to-reel 4 track through some pawnshop mics
That reek of '42 vintage Lucky Strikes
Within garage walls we will heed the call
For the vibe and the mojo and the je ne sais quoi
There's not a thing in this world I trust
Save for the particulate smattering of 1960s dust
I need a hit, I want that stuff
Until it's blown away by some modern-day gust
Beth better book a weekend out of town
'Coz me and the boys are gonna find that sound
Get on Ready, Steady, Go! or Top Of The Pops
Instead of a weeknight 5-band headlining slot
A ratty old fuzz-box and a Teisco guitar
The A&R man says we're gonna go far
He'll dress us up in matching suits and give us new names
I promise to remember you when I've gotten fame
There's not a thing in this world I trust
Save for the particulate smattering of 1960s dust
I need a hit, I want that stuff
Until it's blown away by some modern-day gust
Chase me down the street
Into my hotel suite
The boredom of assumed success
Is gonna be the death of me
You can always return to where you've never been
If you leap into the decade where you wanna live
I'll never roam, I've made a home
No one dares to say this emperor has no clothes
There's not a thing in this world I trust
Save for the particulate smattering of 1960s dust
I need a hit, I want that stuff
Until it's blown away
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9. |
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Count down from ten, I close my eyes
Pucker my lips for a surprise
That no one's standing by to
Plant a big one up on my mouth
Am I less tempting than a mouse
No one was willing to commit
Not even as a bit
Clock strikes twelve and nothing's changed
The spirit left me all the same
Hard luck too bad
Wallflower old hat
Why'd I think it'd be any different tonight?
Two hours deep into the year
Numb to the joie de vive, the cheer
And there is nothing left to fear
When no one pays you any mind
What more does this schlep have to try
Should I pratfall just so I have
Something that I can't live down
Clock strikes twelve and nothing's changed
The spirit left me all the same
Hard luck too bad
Wallflower old hat
Why'd I think it'd be any different tonight?
When the party's over
And the guests have all gone home
Will you wake me up so I can scrub
The skin off of my bones
When the party's over
And the house is spoiled and trashed
Let me sleep in 'til
I can't tell this year from the last
Some new year that this turned out to be
Some new year that this turned out to be
A wrong foot start I scrape my knee
Some new year that this turned out to be
Count down from ten, I close my eyes
I shift right over to my side
And let the sheep herd me to sleep
Right through the new year is alright
Substantial change was not applied
It's just like any day or night
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10. |
Check the Mailbox
04:05
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It should have gotten here already
Can't even bother to hide my frown
Pre-emptive blowups, two fingers up
A last hurrah of ne'er do wells before I split town
I'm on my way to greener pastures
And never lay eyes on you fuckers again
So much for a scene that celebrates nothing
My kingdom for a thousand swords and all I have on me is a pen
But that's always how it goes now
I can't leave well enough alone
No one's at my door for any reason
No need to ever pick up the phone
So we can go on the same adventures
We've relived about a million times
Did you really think we can do this forever
Don't you wish that there was something else you could've tried?
I keep a spectre close behind my shoulder
Try as I might, it will not shake loose
Deaf ears for my pleas of respite
It taunts me and it haunts me from midnight to noon
Little whispers of betrayed desires
Little truths I do not want voiced
All I ever wanted was to be in with people
But people can only disappoint
But that's always how it goes now
I can't leave well enough alone
No one's at my door for any reason
No need to ever pick up the phone
So we can go on the same adventures
We've relived about a million times
Did you really think we can do this forever
Don't you wish that there was something else you could've tried?
A seaside town with a population
under fifty-thousand would do just fine
But would the same fractures trail my footsteps
Send the whole resort down the coastline
How am I supposed to face the future
If my past predicts end times
You know what they say about history
It don't repeat but it often rhymes
But that's always how it goes now
I can't leave well enough alone
No one's at my door for any reason
No need to ever pick up the phone
So we can go on the same adventures
We've relived about a million times
I don't think that I can do this forever
God I wish that there was something else I could've tried
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11. |
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Things aren't looking up since last we
Talked a storm about staying dry
I claim big game but when it's done
The water's come up to my thigh
I'm glad that you had faith, I hate to
Tell you that it was misplaced
Better leave before you get
Caught with me in this disgrace
All you can do
All you can do
All you can do is nothing at all
Grasping for a funny dog
To somehow make life worthwhile
They're putting the holes in to fill them back up
But I want naught from this flowing cup
There's a blinding star out on the horizon
I kept a lookout 'til my sight was gone
Can't you see my eyes? I'm tired
Of feeling weak and being called strong
All you can do
All you can do
All you can do is nothing at all
If you believe soon comes the dawn
It's your vision adjusting to the dark
Reach for any hand you think is around
Searching in vain for a single spark
You searched for hope like I did but
I believe every rope has an end
Anything that starts on Thunder Road
Always bleeds out in Jungleland
All you can do
All you can do
All you can do is nothing at all
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12. |
Togetherness
02:39
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I saw you nursing your sorrows by the stairwell
A likely place for a strategic retreat
That's one thing you and I have in common
May I ask you if I could take a seat?
This thing of ours is special, let's not stunt the momentum
By going for half-measures or a trade-off instead
If we're gonna jump, how high, into the deep end
Let's make a decision before we both drop dead
I barely have bearings on my current disposition
And sneaking suspicions that you're one and the same
Impulsive, petty, prone to petulant impatience
If you're keen to drop the ball then know that I am game
Why don't you and I go and get together sometime?
I'm not too good at picking up on tension
Must have missed your red flags waving from your hands
When I've been made the focus of attention
Your semaphore performance I didn't understand
I too take comfort that you didn't second glance
At my myriad failures and flaws on exhibition
So in a sense, we're reading from the same page
We are beings purely fueled by lack of inhibition
I don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did
I'm not gonna be the one to hit the skids
You got me to the dance, there's no time for second thoughts
Like it or not, baby, we are all we got
Why don't you and I go and get together sometime?
Closer to the edge than I've ever been before
So look into my eyes before we jump overboard
And if we pull together 'gainst the forces of dispersion
You and I could count as one whole functioning person
Why don't you and I go and get together sometime?
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Fake Canadian Sacramento, California
Angular power-pop trio from Sacramento, CA.
Christopher (vocals, guitar)
Howard (bass, vocals)
Jordan (drums)
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