Modern Silence Lyrics
Little King
Little kings, little queens
Whatcha do when you’re 18?
Don’t hide in secret
Come with me kid
Life won’t always be a scream
Let the man mark your hand
Come out dancing to a band
DJ spinning
Children sinning
Life won’t always be so grand
Pick up your orb and scepter
Throw back a glass of nectar
So who’s that new kid on the scene?
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
They’ll coronate you, Little King.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Surfing porn in the dorm
Little deaths for the unborn
No, your bony ceremony don’t exhibit proper form
You ain’t made 21
Whatcha do when day is done?
You could swap glands
Or smoke an off-brand
In the rays of the midnight sun
‘Cause one day you’re gonna be thirty or fifty-three
So who’s that new kid on the scene?
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
He’ll crucify you, Little King.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Jason: lead vox, gtr right, acoustic gtr
Kay: vox, bass
Jim: vox, gtr left
Lucas Jensen: drums
You Love Me
Everyday
Friends say
They want
To be free
As free
As they think
A bird
A bird would be
Free to roam,
To stay at home,
To live
A life alone
To be
Nothing more
Than what
They want to be
I don’t want to be free ‘cuz you, you love me
You got a feeling you can’t deny
You got the moon floatin’ in your eye
You need me so, won’t let me go
‘Cuz if we part your heart will die
Birds live in constant fear,
Slaves to the atmosphere
Flyin’ their ass off twice a year
Tryin’ to stay alive
I don’t want to be free ‘cuz you, you love me
I got it good, I know it’s true
You love me more than I love you
You do the things I don’t want to do,
You sell your soul to pay my dues.
If I had to fly across the sea
I’d be a quick casualty
Darwin don’t apply to me,
Trying to stay alive.
I don’t want to be free ‘cuz you, you love me
Jason: vox, keys, drums
Kay: vox, bass
Jim: vox, guitar
Bill Doss: vox
Peter Erchick Bicentennial Service Area
And another minute passes and another minute passes and another minute passes
Midnight in whitest Texas, and the big black grackles shriek
Abnormal trills and glitches from each moth gut speckled beak
I’m waiting on my laundry, and I’m thinking of her feet
Her toes so long and elegant, her cuticles so neat
I’ve seen very pretty girls in every place I’ve been
I won’t forget that I’m a different subject of the queen
And another minute passes and another minute passes
And another minute passes and another minute passes
If I don’t know where I am, if I speak up just a little
I will soon find my position, it has been slightly belittled
I’m unstuck.
And another minute passes and another minute passes and another minute passes
Pick up a phone, a voice says we should already be gone
But there’s something in the hotel room you should not look upon
And did you hear they changed the name of Garden Grove to New Saigon
The sponge comes up and I’m a sun, my friends evaporate
I’ve made mistakes, but it seems useless to pontificate
How many days will I be spending in this goddamn state
And another minute passes and another minute passes
And another minute passes and another minute passes
If I don’t know where I am, if I speak up just a little
I will soon find my position, it has been slightly belittled
I’m unstuck.
And another minute passes
And another minute passes
And another minute catches on my clothing
And another minute sets my hair on fire
And another minute eats another minute
Jason: alto vox, drums, gtr, piano, keys
Kay: lead vox, gtr
Jim: bass
Sharp!
I can't hide
What's inside
Cuz your eye
Cuts my pride
You're so sharp, little bunny
Like a walnut
Like a cool breeze
You’re so sharp.
You're so sharp, little bunny
Like a pen knife
Like a moon beam
So sharp!
When I get home from work before I can even start talking about how the boss kept me late, you look me in the face and say, "What was she like?"
You know I been out dancin' and rockin'
Putting my dollar bill in some college girl's stocking
So sharp!
You're so sharp, little bunny
Like the wrong note
Like a migraine
So sharp!
Cut me up!
Jason: lead vox, gtr, drums, percussion
Kay: bass
Jim: vox, organ, percussion
Song Across the Sea
If we really wanted to we could write a song tonight
All of my parts would be for you, my queen,
So far across the sea
So far from poor old me
We’d take a walk downtown and tell pedestrians that we are so in love
I’d say some cheesy shit, but I’d mean every word
Like, “This thing is for sure.”
If we really wanted to we could write a song tonight
All of my parts would be for you, my queen,
So far across the sea
So far from poor old me
So far from poor old me
So far from poor old me
Jim: lead vox, piano, synth bass
Jason: synth
Kay: synth
Cole Causey: violin
string arrangement: Jim & Jason
Litte Lady Larva
Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera
She’s talking to the ants again, the spiders and the bees
Little lady larva, won’t you get up off your knees?
She’s married to the wings of night; lacewings on the breeze
Little lady larva, look, she’s lost up in the trees.
Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera
LARVA!
Pink dress on the playground, jungle gyms to please
Little lady larva’s bloodied lips, skinned knees.
Reaching down a crawdad burrow, playing in the stream
Little lady larva’s gonna have to go and get clean.
Kay: lead vox, bass
Jim: vox, guitars
Jason: keys
Cloud of Bees
Everyone’s watching
But nobody cares
They grant you their wisdom
You answer their prayers
Their eyelids will spasm
Their ankles will strain
They truly believe you
Have tasted their brains
Everyone’s looking
But nobody sees
You’re not a human
You’re a cloud of bees
You dress like a dandy
Your hair made of stars
Your composure is earnest
Viewed from afar
Inch a little bit closer
The illusion is wrecked
You’re nothing but pixels
You’re nothing but specs.
Everyone’s looking
But nobody sees
You’re not a human
You’re a cloud of bees
Jason: lead vox, piano
Jim: gtr, vox
Incantor: buzz and click
Choir: Jason, Kay, Jim & Bill Doss
oe Rowe: drums
Moldy Flower
The prettiest flower I behold
But all the pretty flowers grow old
Eaten by the ugliest mold
My precious flora, sayanora.
Empires turn back to sand
Swept away by the big guy’s hand
So what kind of chance do we stand?
That’s why I’m sayin’ aufwiedersehen.
C’mon sugar, take my hand.
We barely got time for a one-night stand.
Run!
I’ll meet you at the end of love.
Run!
I’ll meet you at the end of love.
I’m a man with no pretense
I’ll love you ‘till it makes no sense
Give you almost half my heart
Until the world is ripped apart
And when the Earth is rent and torn
Why give birth? Why get born?
Why give hope to your fellow man
And start the pain again?
Grab your coat, I’ll pay the tab
You put your pretty little ass in the cab
But we’re still too late to abate
The shadows upon ya, das vidanya.
C’mon, sugar, take my hand.
We barely got time for a one-night stand.
Run!
I’ll meet you at the end of love.
Run!
I’ll meet you at the end of love.
Jason: lead vox, gtr right, piano
Kay: bass, vox
Jim, gtr right, vox
Lucas Jensen: drums
Meredith
Meredith said
Not to look at the skies
That they are in disguise
No, it really isn’t wise
The world isn’t new
And it’s not me and you
And I don’t care just who
Says it is the truth
Meredith, oh, Meredith
Why’s it gotta be like this?
Meredith, oh, Meredith
Driving in you fast gray car
Doesn’t have to take you far
To show you that the world is bruised
And full of people scared like you
Meredith, oh, Meredith
What was it that you said
When you were lying in my bed?
And why should I give a damn
When you’re not my little lamb?
Meredith, oh, Meredith
Why’s it gotta be like this?
Meredith, oh, Meredith
Meredith said…
Driving in you fast gray car
Doesn’t have to take you far
To show you that the world is bruised
And full of people scared like
Meredith,
Oh, Meredith, oh, Meredith
Why’s it gotta be like this?
Meredith, oh, Meredith
Kay: lead vox, bass, tambourine
Jason: vox, gtr right & solo
Jim: vox, gtr left
Joe Rowe: drums
New Day Zero
One hundred billion neurons fire in tribute to your name.
My temporal lobe has taken hostage of my brain.
We’ll I’ve paid half up front
Tomorrow’s my new day zero
When I’ll be free
I won’t miss my perfect childhood
We’re long since estranged.
Now it’s just collateral damage
In the scalpel’s range
I’m sick; I know that now.
Tomorrow’s my new day zero
When I’ll be free from you.
The Redwood Forest
Kyoto
Lisbon
All gone, all gone
We’ll, I’ve paid half up front
Tomorrow’s my new day zero
When I’ll be free
I’ll be free
I’ll be free
From you
Jason: lead vox, gtrs, drums
Kay: vox, bass
Jim: vox, keys, tambourine
Nagoya
We arrived so late the show was already going
Drove all day, you know it was snowing
Oh, Kyoto, you make a damn good case for Tokyo, yeah
I’m leaving soon for Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
Monkeys crossing the street
Be careful, don’t hit one
Can’t believe this morning I saw Fujisan
Oh, Shibuya, Watashi-wa vegetarian, yeah
I’m leaving soon for Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
Oh, Tokyo, thank you for Suzu and Koichiro, yeah
I’m leaving soon for Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
To Nagoya tomorrow
Jim: lead vox, drums, clavinet, claves
Kay: vox, fuzz bass
Jason: vox, gtr, double speed gtr
Keep Talking
There’s a girl in this city I think of a lot
It’s not that she’s pretty
It’s not that she’s not
With a sack full of fennel and a bottle of blush
It’s sounds sentimental, but I got a crush on her accent
And crashed into her cart
Keep talking, ooh, keep talking
Feel like I’m eating fruit from another world
Feel like I’m making eyes at a Martian girl
There ain’t a thing like you where I come from
So keep on talking in your mother tongue.
So I said, “Excuse me, I don’t mean to pry,
But I noticed you switching your h’s and i’s.”
She went flush, and that’s a good start
Keep talking, ooh, keep talking
Feel like I’m eating fruit from another world
Feel like I’m making eyes at a Martian girl
There ain’t a thing like you where I come from
So keep on talking in ‘till you tongue is numb
We went out for tea where she asked me
What I liked about her best
“It’s no contest, ma cherie.
If I had a choice you’d be just a voice.”
Her expression turned sour, and she dropped my hand
I knew it was over,
But I could not understand through her accent her final remark
(Keep talking, ooh, keep talking, keep talking)
And since she extinguished the spark
(Keep talking, ooh)
I rewind my tape in the dark
(Keep talking)
Feel like I’m eating fruit from another world
Feel like I’m making eyes at a Martian girl
There ain’t a thing like you where I come from
So keep on talking in your mother tongue.
Jason: lead vox, piano, drums, tambo, gtr
Kay: vox, fuzz bass
Jim: vox
Sanni Baumgärtner: foreign accent on tape
Sunshine Girl
Shine on me, won’t you shine on me?
You’re a girl of the world, a girl of the sea
The moon won’t hide from you and sun has more energy.
Take me to Mars, or down the street,
It just don’t matter if we bike, fly, or use our feet.
Shine on me, won’t you shine on me?
Sunshine Girl’s from a different kind of world
And it’s gonna be a better day
When we laugh and we sing in the rain
It’s time to fly, said our goodbyes,
But I’ll be waiting here the next time you happen by.
Shine on me, won’t you shine on me?
Kay: lead vox, bass, intro piano
Jason: vox, drums, piano, organ, tambo
Jim: vox, gtr
Emily Growden: vox
Marcus Gilley: tenor sax
Chris Costigan: alto sax
Jeff Crouch: trumpet
Eulogy for Marcel Marsalis
They filed him under novelty
Back in 1953.
How could we know way back then
He’d make us love the world again?
Making spirits soar
From an unmarked score
He didn’t play a note, but man, that note he didn’t play you never heard before
Hail Monsieur Marcel Marsalis
New horizons in modern silence
Ladies, come and kiss the callus
Men, raise a chalice
To Marcel Marsalis
‘Quietude’ hit number three
The day he sold out Carnegie
A shot rang out from off the stage
The murderous rage of Johnny Cage
He continued to play
He’s still playing today
Now every yahoo in Nebraska digs the avant-garde thanks to the late Marcel
Hail Monsieur Marcel Marsalis
Highbrow classes and low-life masses
All lined up to kiss the callus
And they’ll raise a chalice
To Marcel Marsalis
Jason: lead vox, piano, celeste
Kay: vox, bass
Jim: vox, gtr
Joe Rowe: drums
Cole Causey: violin
Chocolate Cake and Coffee
Just the other night
I was the Insurgent Milkman’s son,
Returning from the war
Two big fists full of furious flowers
You were sleepless as a widow, wishing like a bee in your hive
Pulled up softly,
I awake
To chocolate cake
And coffee
I was paid to fly
At first I was alone in airplanes
Then you and I grew wings
Observing from the sky Olympus Mons
We were accidental seabirds on the oceans of Mars
Pulled up softly,
I awake
To chocolate cake
And coffee
Until I find
You’ve been up
Poured a cup
Raised the blind
Upon a tray
The light reveals
The mighty meal
You made today
I’m so impressed
You’re still undressed
My goals are wholesome and lofty.
And softly I awake
To chocolate cake
And coffee
Jason: vox, gtr, keys
Kay: bass
Lucas Jensen: drums
POST-MODERN SILENCE
I Am Happy
Happy
I am happy
I am happy happy happy
I am gone
I am happy
I am gone
I am happy I am gone
Screaming
I was screaming
I was screaming screaming screaming
Now I’m dreaming
I am gone
I am happy
I am gone
I am happy I am gone
Jason: lead vox, wurlitzer, piano, drums
Kay: bass
Jim: vox, sound effects
Bill Doss: vox
Your Eyes of Gold
(Bacharach/David/NeSmith) ASCAP/BMI
Contains elements of “They Long To Be Close To You” (B. Bacharach/H.David), New Hidden Valley Music Company (ASCAP). All rights administered by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
The sky decided to fall down.
Long ago
You were born to the angels.
Stars long to create you.
They create me.
And that is why the angels follow you.
All the girls fall down every time they sprinkle moon-dust.
Aaaah…
Your eyes of gold follow me.
You
Long to be
Near.
Birds fall from the sky suddenly
Birds fall from the sky like stardust, close together
Why? Why? Why?
Jason: wurlitzer
Kay: lead vox, bass
Jim: sound effects
I Am Gone
I am gone
I am happy
a.0.00-6.55 The Cookie Compound living room + pa speaker filtering Jason's voice
b.0.54-2.36-Misawa Masanori (Elekibass/Like This Parade) harmonium, synthesizers, toys
c.1.01- 2.36 Zeus Henderson (Orange Hat/Pizzaland) Casio MT-40 keyboard & massively overdubbed vocals
d.1.36- 1.48 Mary O. Harrison: acoustic guitar
e.1.48- 2.12 Kelly Shane (Enemy From Space) non-diatonic note sequence
f.2.36- 2.59 Sam Grindstaff (Titans of Filth) bucolic music bed
g.2.36- 3.37 Mary O. Harrison: guitar, vocals "Oh, oh, oh, oh, I'm all alone."
h.2.59- 4.22 Christo Harris, Janeen Whitney & Chloe Josephine (Orange Hat) ba-bas, freak-out vocal web,
backwards guitar, melotron & handdrums
i.2.59- 3.33 Kelly Shane: synth percussion
j.3.33- 4.25 Zeus Henderson, Colin & Rocky Bird: vocal webs, babas, bells and whistles
k.3.36- 4.25 Marcus Gilley & Jeff Reiter (The H.E.A.P.) tenor sax & bass, respectively
l.4.02- 4.26 Misawa Masanori (Elekibass/Like This Parade) harmony vocals
m.4.25- 5.37 The H.E.A.P. (Bryan J. Howard: lead bass, Jeff Rieter: bass, Ian Werden: drums, Marcus
Gilley: tenor sax, Paul Kim: keyboards)
n.5.29- 6.07 Paul Walker (Neat Stripe) stirring macaroni & cheese
o.5.35- 6.54Thad Thompson (The Shut-Ups) bass feedback
p.5.47- 6.58 Fishboy (Eric Edward Fishboy: guitar, Justin Sixlettes Weatherbag Jr-bass, John Clardy: drums)
q.6.07-7.37 Mike Dixon (Eastern Bloc Robot Cowboy) circuit bent toys and general noise
r.6.54- 11.48 Thad Thompson: low-end groove
s.6.54- 11.04 Rocky Bird: bell & Stacy Henderson imitation "Right, cool! Cool! Rocky rocky rocky bird!
Hello? Rocky rock?"
t.8.09- 11.58 Keith John Adams (The Keith John Adams): guitar
u.8.18- 11.32 Vanessa Hay & Hannah Jones (Supercluster): vocals (lyrics inspired by George Brecht's
Water-Yam), keyboard sound effects & drums
v.8.23- 11.51 Bryan Poole (aka the late b.p. helium): ancient spirits chanting
w.9.35- 12.27 Don Condescending (The Shut-Ups): tape from 1984 that reminds me of the Pinball Machine
ride at The World of Sid and Marty Kroft amusement park.
x.10.58- 11.09 The H.E.A.P. horns (Jeff Crouch: trumpet, Marcus Gilley: tenor sax, Chris Costigan: alto sax)
y.11.59- 12.31 Robert Schneider (The Apples in Stereo): "Logarithmic Composition #6," a melody and
counterpoints in his own non-Pythagorean scale.
z.12.09- 12.50 Jason Jones: tape-saturated insanity
aa.12.28- 13.05 Paul Linklater (Jibcut): slide guitar
ab.12:30-13.17 Gary "Pig" Gold: one small section of an entire song "Casper don't understand why the
children all love him the most."
ac.13.17-13.58 Brady & Molly Lawson: drums & piano, respectively
ad.13.42-15.05 Cole Causey: violin
ae.13.58-14.35 Leslie Dallion Superstar (The Lolligags): whooping, hollering & carrying on
af.13.58-15.05 Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control/The Sunshine Fix) & Pete Erchick (OTC/The Instruments/
Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't): drums, guitars, pianos, vocals, and percussion.
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