1. |
The Almighty Jam Band
02:58
|
|||
|
There were ten of us there
Scoping out all the fair bands before taking the stage tonight
We were once technical
Maybe ten years ago
Now we just figure we’ll improvise
We practice once or twice a month and hope we get it right
We are the gods of midnight slots on weekday nights
So bow to the almighty jam band
You’re going to grow up to be just like your dad
We had once thought we’d play
Heavy rock till the grave
But at this age it rarely works out that way
All the hair bands went bald
And all the punks got real jobs
At the same places they claimed to hate
It’s hard to pay for gear these days
Unless you change your ways
It’s no secret we’re corporate
When not onstage
It’s a natural progression
To do fewer things
And not quite as well
But it’s a valuable lesson
That when everyone’s drunk
Nobody can tell
|
||||
2. |
||||
|
A steel curtain
An iron fist
I used to sell uranium to capitalists
You know it’s uncertain just what you get
When the lime green elixir hits the tip of the lips
Hey mister, could you spare me some change
Or else I just might have to pawn my new gold chain
You know I’m still way too bloated to go tightening my belt
And if I lost all the weight
I just might sell myself
This elixir
It breaks apart the oilier the mixture
It breaks my heart
Quite a condition
We know it well
Lost our religion in a personal hell
The bird are chirping
The coal mine is clear
But there’s nobody working to dig us out of here
Hey lady, could you lend me a hand?
I am the baby from the one night stand
And I am the black eye from that last cheap shot
No, I ain’t a player, I just bluff a lot
The bullets you bite are just a part of the scheme
Now your teeth aren’t aligned and you’ve got lead poisoning
My dear
No man’s an island they say
But I fear the bottles drifting my way
Only have messages in them
What I want is a beer
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
I’m going home to a war zone
Gather my thoughts around
Because you were always quicker on the draw than me
And I hate that about you
I could’ve sworn we were all grown
But now we’re backing down
From giving up a freedom for a certainty
And I dream of a night in Tunisia
A night in Paree
A search and a seizure
Of places I’d rather be
I’m running a fever
I’m running a Ponzi scheme
Stockpiling all your thoughts for me
Arms crossed in the quiet car
It all passed before I could write it
Leaned back like a rag doll on the headrest
Trying to memorize
And I confess that the innocence lost was a load off
Throw into the orgy before I could get my coat off
Spilled milk everywhere, not a tear from me
I’m too busy trying to get the cookies back into the sleeve
And if my world were reduced to a living room, I am convinced you’d be
The pretty new couch that made the rest look cheap
Yeah, it’s so good to meet ya
But I might have to leave
Because you can’t stop the meter
And we’re stuck on a busy street
I’m running a fever
Yeah, I’m running from the police
You always lead them straight to me
Outside these walls of our happiness, we built a Trojan horse
It’s just our luck, we made it a bit too big to fit in through the door
And so we slept inside
The two of us beside ourselves in silence as we tried
To pull ourselves apart
And tangled up in knots every more inextricable
|
||||
4. |
66 Hicks
03:55
|
|||
|
Still in package
Hands off the plastic
Everyone reaching
Very few can have it
I’m not sure what brings them
But it’s automatic
Guess every black hole
Has its attraction
I live at 66 Hicks
A diorama world
An open clamshell
Stuffed with cardboard cut-out pearls
And as they peer into the frame to take a view
They’re all trying to gain what I can’t lose
The algorithm has taken us right here
Ideas of people called people with ideas
I’m in the backroom fixing your next drink
Here’s to the new you… whoever that might me
I live at 66 Hicks under the Brooklyn Bridge
It should be common sense
That our barbed wire fences aren’t playgrounds for your kids
All of the fanny pack types make your way to right
Form a line
And all of the selfie stick princesses off to the left
It’s just ten bucks a head
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
Does anybody see me?
This ring could make me invisible
My friends, they don’t believe me
Despite their fading fingers and toes
Counting down the hours to make my escape
But I’m too drunk with power to ever find my way
In love
And drowning just the same
In love
Trying to catch my breath
But you take it away
These oats we’ve sown taste awful
But stomachs rumble till they persuade
You caught me with a jawful
And wiped that silly look off my face
I just can’t ignore you
Though I try my best
I’ll just keep charging toward you
Till they lay this soul to rest
I guess it begs the question
How many men have slept in the depths under you
Just for a glimpse of heaven
And with their final breath, they confessed “What a view”?
I’m weighed down at the bottom
With this ball and chain
I guess it’s not your problem
I can’t swim anyway
I wish I could befriend all my scenery
And get these walls to speak to me
The thinnest skin and thickest thieves
They brought me in
Now I can’t leave
From this love
Begets crazy
Begets love
|
||||
6. |
Too Many Songs
02:33
|
|||
|
I woke to a call
Through my roommate’s wall
Lecherous in nature from some paramore stranger
My arm seems to be
In a makeshift sling
Of vodka-soaked napkins
What the hell happened last night?
Turn off your stereo
My head hurts
I’m losing too much blood
To be clever enough
To write a tune that’s anything new
My resolution comes through fits of throwing up
I’m writing too many songs about booze
But there’s still time to turn it around
I pick up my guitar
I’ll just pop an aspirin and make something happen
And I sit it back down
Cuz I’m blacking out
Wake up to my own snore
There’s drool on the fretboard
And I feel just as pitiful
As I did ten minutes ago
|
||||
7. |
Bunkers
05:32
|
|||
|
I live on a street named after the family
Of a politician I didn’t vote for
I got my degree from a university
Founded by folks who fought to keep me from voting at all
A man in the middle with his hands at his sides
So as not to upset the police passing by
And I’ve tried to be friends
But it just might be time to give in
I’m gonna build me a bunker
Deep under the ground
I’ll buy a plot of land and hollow it out
‘Cuz why stick around for a world war to bury the town
No use in swinging with no skin in the bout
You just stay down
Well in the grand scheme of things
You’d think I’d won the lottery
And I’ve been given much more than I could hope for
But everything we receive sits on the necks of poverty
And now that violence is what we’re most known for
The man in the middle of the three on the crosses
Said get out of dodge, boy,
And cut all your losses
I don’t want Armaegeddon
But y’all are hellbent on forcing my hand
You’ve got these red faced men
With their red hats placed on their heads
They’ve got their red hands pressing red buttons
Till we’re all dead
As above
So below
|
||||
8. |
Blockade
03:07
|
|||
|
Turns out I had to set my head on fire
To keep these pesky little earwigs out
And it hurts for a bit,
But just give it a minute
It all will be over
And we’ll wear our bandages
Just like a crown
No one’s gonna make it through to you
The revolution was on pay-per-view
And we stole our neighbor’s cable to get the news
But it’s all in a language we don’t understand
So we left emptyhanded
Yeah, I guess we could learn
But on principle we refuse
Blockade the border
Tell me why you don’t have any friends
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
Could you be the one for me
Do you watch MTV
Or are you into BET
I watch the History Channel
There was a special on ABC
They said love ain't free
They said there's a price that you'll pay
For feeling this way
And when the storm, came we played Nintendo games
And when it rained, we splashed in the street
There was a time when our hearts opened
There was a place on we could go
You were the one with the remote
You changed my life with just one poke
Our signal went in and out
Our signal went in
And there was a warning flashing on the screen
They said there's a storm at sea
They said you'd better turn off your TV
In case of an emergency
And when the storm came
They were never prepared
And when the power the went out
It was never repaired
There was a silence that sank through the streets
There was an aching that stuck on repeat
We used to cheat to the games that we loved
We always took the easy way out
We never checked to see what we missed
We always failed as long as we'd win
We were around but seldom there
We searched for words but none were there
We could've tried but no one cared
There were just cold blank stares
I hate you for changing the station
You hate me for never paying attention
We gave up
We lost the connection
It turns out, we were surfing through the stations
I hate you
You hate me
I loved you
I lost you
|
||||
10. |
Gutterball
03:35
|
|||
|
Maybe there’s a god in all of us
And a devil too
The former only bubbles up
When there’s something to prove
And everyday heaven appears to play us
Because the straightest path from here
Just might kill you
We stare and stare at each gutterball
Say “there, there” and just shrug it off
Swear next time we’d get it right
If we cared enough
We’re all armed and dangerous
With small talk like bayonets
Lest we forget
We’re still not grownups yet
Oh you stars inspire me
And my thoughts are consumed
With how, like us, your lives are just
Confined to a vacuum
You try to say something to all your neighbors
They’ll all wave and crack a smile
But they can’t hear you
We are not alone
Or so they tell me
Though our tunnel vision can make it feel that way
Even though all around are worlds exploding
But in the end it’s all the same
We’re trying to read a turning page
|
||||
11. |
She Moves
04:21
|
|||
|
A few cells away from comatose
I’m not alone
I’m just alone
These days are golden, don’t you know
Or so I’m told
Or so it goes
Just as the pages were turning now
She left without a note
I followed out and walked for miles along the road
Until I wake up an hour away
To tracks she left behind
But whether near or far
She’s just so hard to find
When she moves
The fire’s burning out inside
There’s no more light
I wonder why
These days are golden, don’t you know
Or so I’m told
Or so it goes
It’s fate
|
||||
Blanker New York
Following the dis-banding of Upstate Escape, frontman John Norwood founded Blanker as an open-ended outlet to continue putting music out into the world.
If you like Blanker, you may also like:
PRE-HISSTORIC: The Cassettes
by The Hissyfits
Re-live the rip-roaring, hooky-as-hell punk rock of The Hissyfits with this new collection, which compiles their first two cassettes.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 26, 2024
go to album
Time is Glass
by Six Organs of Admittance
Recorded at home, Six Organs of Admittance's 21st album upholds Ben Chasny's reputation for experimental psych-folk excellence.
go to album
The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed
by Various Artists
Keith Richards, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, Joan Jett, and more pay tribute to the enduring and visionary music of Lou Reed.
go to album
A Chaos Of Flowers
by BIG|BRAVE
Leaning into the sparse, impressionistic sound of 2023's albu "Nature Morte," the Montreal metallurgists sound as heavy and radiant as ever.
go to album
The Seattle band work around the edges of shoegaze and dream pop with a rare sense of clarity and momentum.
go to album
Every Bird Ever [Album]
by Ilithios
The new record from Brooklyn indie group Ilithios is full of big-hearted songs with the hooks to match.
go to album
