1. |
Wildflowers of America
04:59
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Had a nice thought on the short drive leaving Cam's cottage in Ojai
Looking at the instagram of a dead friend at a red light
trying to convince myself this is real
as the cop car behind me
my expired registration
and these little felony tablets,
the crushed and empty cans of Modelo...
But I am saved by the hell of a darker skinned male
cursing at himself on the curb, slouching towards our home
where I come home to you like Homer
and you're pissed off at your hair dresser
saying "that app you got was a Russian bot you know"
We're cooking couscous, speaking of pills
lamenting plastics in the ocean and fauxcest,
Speaking of that hike we did in the Sierras
It's gone to a wildfire
and that little girl who went missing
was found sleeping over at a friend's house
and when I need to conjure a peaceful image to settle the nerves
I picture you on that rock at 13,000 feet
in your little new hiking boots
turning pink on your shoulder blades
rolling a stoag
and I'm rambling about the wildflowers of America
like, you and I are wildflowers of America
and of course you're not paying attention
you're taking in the view wondering what to caption this
and how to properly appreciate the sunset
hell, I don't know
how could I know?
there's probably a science to it we don't understand
Anyways, that was the nice thought that I had while leaving Cam's cottage in Ojai
I was helping him move out, cause I'm the van guy
carrying a couch, guided out by his ex wife
and I was sorry to take the cash he offered but I've got these tickets to pay off and
I'm gunna have to dry clean a suit for a funeral soon
for which still no one knows why he did it and
is it fucked up if I wanna know how he did it?
Cause we had a lot of fun and we can never go back
and it hasn't hit me yet, probably never will
but it serves to remind these are precious times
probably thickens my anchor on the bottom of every fickle detail
like your little new hiking boots
anything that's closer to the source I approve
like syncing your cycle up to the full moon in gentle oscillations
I will lay a towel down
return the gentle oscillations
sing your hymn into my mouth
creamy colored patience
gentle oscillations
spreading open the backdoor of secret government operations
ditching the kids on vacation
pulsing back and forth like manic depression growing more acute as we get old
but I remain in full control
feels so good that I can't let go of the trigger
my finger rattling on life's on and off switch
all the ancient love from deep within I black out as I release
and under the full moon I come to
sitting on my balcony, across from you
I'm suddenly the sanest man that the world has ever known
and you're wearing my sweatshirt and rolling a stoag
and I'm rambling about the wildflowers of America
like, you and I are wildflowers of America....
And of course you are paying attention
because why wouldn't you be paying attention to me?
cause this moment is unique and we can never get it back
and I know how that sounds but I've never felt it so strongly
woah
this is my stem and those are your pedals
and this is a subject they teach in a class
that I could never afford and probably wouldn't understand…
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2. |
Me Vs. The Algorithm
03:49
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Please plagiarize me
help me live on
my industry’s looking dull
and I was on the brink of a personal best
but got replaced by something artificial
it’s like a backhanded miracle
the grief comes in waves
couple more years and im kelly slater
transcending to a lower plane
My brother keeps on about Q
and how there’s several enemies at home
my sister had a dream of the Soviet Union
and now she’s shouting through a megaphone
I do or don’t know what to say
there’s a 50/50 chance it’s all pre-determined in
a simulation anyway
now you take care of me taking care of my self
cause
hey boss im trying my best
to candidly do what the camera man says
the more i think about it
the less i'm impressed
it’s me vs the algorithm
and love is not enough
love is not enough
Come plagiarize me
I’m done marinating
Smoke me while you got me
Don’t save me for later
couple more years we’re all Kelly Slater
Give me a chance
I’m not too gone to recognize
this isn’t my zone
nah this isn’t my throne
this isn’t even my home
i can’t just sail away now
i can’t just sail away
Til you take care of me taking care of myself
hey boss im trying my best to
candidly do what the camera man says to
the more i think about it
the more I’m depressed
it’s me vs the algorithm
and love is not enough
thanks for calling my bluff
there’s no capital T truth when it comes to this stuff
poor boy nobody cares what your heart’s telling you
their only care is what your brand can do
love is not enough
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3. |
Little White Lighters
04:12
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Thank you notes and little white lighters
turning up in the junk drawer of my neurosis
spare spectators for a monk on fire
you should mark me with your lipstick
before I go in-
side to grab my green backpack
filled with the
comforts of home
and all the
vices of a renaissance man
with no more shows to hit the road
I stow away
on the sunny side of satire
in a sentimental hiding place
before I go in
There’s different ways to get here
depends how you remember the map
you gotta start noticing negative space
it’s grandma’s smoking on the beach
it’s dads teaching their sons how to boogie board
it’s the dark figure laying down on the train tracks
it’s between polka dots and little white spiders
fruit peels rotting on the cutting board
the dimple on your
saintly sad expression
when you lean in to brand my neck with good tidings
and all your family’s blessings
before I go in, before I go out
I think falling in love is like licking a knife
you can really mess yourself up if you
don’t do it right
but I’m doing the best that I know how
and building a legacy is like tangling a rope
in the end you just hope
that it makes sense or looks pretty to folks
so we can justify our circus of mistakes
and finally begin to quench our still unfulfilled potential
and counterfeit divine credentials
and fake it til we make it
or one of us gets too drunk
hiccups interrupt our quiet moment and you catch me singing farewells again
before I go in
Thank you notes and little white lighters
why is everything so heartbreaking
in the throes of the afternoon?
cheap art supplies and homemade cider
why does anyone do anything?
why do we have to leave so suddenly soon?
oh
I didn’t realize I cared so much til I was swollen with the fear of abandonment and an existential shame
but still lucid moments remain
like your lipstick on my wounds
and all your family’s blessings
before I go in, before I go out
it’s all thank you notes and little white lighters
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4. |
UBI
02:28
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"It's under the mattress
in a folded ziplock back
just be careful the rug doesn't get pulled out from under your feet again
Take it to the candidate
ask him what he plans to do with it?
Tell him that it's all we have
but we truly believe in him...
...Babe, you remember what I said about the BUI?"
"Wait what is that again? Boating Under the Influence?"
"Nah babe it's the difference between
a child exploiting marketing scheme
vs my sappy soul hugging pop songs
and you saving the environment
It's a buffet of contraceptives and more days off
it's clean energy and free drugs for all
it's a sleepy nanny state
kids in the street with chalk drawing beautiful mayhem
Baby this is how we stay forever young
Our love will last forever and our lives will have meaning again
But babe I was mistaken, it's actually UBI
Now, does that ring a bell?"
"Well then of course you idiot"
"Baby this is how we stay forever young
Our love will last forever and our lives will have meaning again
but babe I am now certain it's actually UBI
and I apologize I'm never good with acronyms."
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5. |
Forest Bathing
03:39
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There’s an overgrown headstone
and a very old phrase
we’re reciting it gently
to summon your face
how long have you been standing there for?
how long have I been awake?
we came out here cause we needed help
we need someone to lead or teach us how to be saved
so
hey, what’s the call?
we’ve been waiting for you to speak up
you know better than us all
what’s the call?
what’s the call?
She’s a very peculiar friend of mine
she’s been missing for days
she was out forest bathing and having a
satori a day
she said
it’s all just a Rorschack inkblot you know
a ripple in a still lake
it’s a deep ecology yelling “I can’t breathe”
there’s too many knees on its throat to obey
saying
“hey, what’s the call?
we’ve been waiting for you to speak up
you know better than us all
what’s the call?
what’s the call?
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6. |
You, In This Lighting
03:33
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it took a lifetime for us to link up
but a moment to agree
that good news and views are boring alone
and I would rather be on your team
you like the weird shape of my fingers
i like your stick and poke tattoos
criss cross on the bed at 4am
exploding to each other
I’m excited to have met
you
it took a long time for you to wake up
i sat up watching you breathe
explored your landscape with my fingertips
im tripping into love haphazardly
but i've been smitten like this and broken twice it
could be deja vu
wearing off like a jaded lover thinking
the magic isn't real but i didn't account for
you
in this lighting
soft in focus
soaked in grace
prettier than any other portrait
the sun, it doesn’t set
it bows to you
in this lighting
looking like everything makes sense and fits in place
and that kind of inspiration never goes away
oh i know that I shouldnt second guess myself
don't offend a sunny day
try not to forget that all is right
if it feels right
and this feels like
we’re being pushed from behind sometimes
by something divine
or paranormal
that’s why it took a long time for me to come home
I stayed out watching the sun sink low
if you haven’t learned yet then soon you’ll know
the song writer needs to be alone
to inhale his trail of missteps
to where the background blurs into
how could any of it be regrettable
if every decision i made was the chain that led me to you
in this lighting
soft in focus
soaked in grace
prettier than any other portrait
the sun, it doesn’t set
it bows to you
in this lighting
looking like everything makes sense and fits in place
and that kind of inspiration never goes away
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7. |
Patagonia Wetsuit
01:44
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Oh I understand
why someone would comfort themselves
identify with a brand
it feels good to define yourself
suing the US government
vicariously funding the fight for the world
but she knows that I’m a cynic time bomb
and when i'm gone i’m gone
like it was too good to be
She wore a patagonia wetsuit
and i wish that i could
but my return policy isn’t that good.
Maybe I’ve been
conditioned to be let down
by every artist or brand
and I’m projecting the worst of it now
maybe I’m bitter I never fit in
maybe I’m jealous I never got to be an indie darling
and it’s making me a radical clown
with the blind impulse to burn it all to the ground
it’s like there’s a fire on an airplane
or rust under the hood
and I can’t get myself to do what I know I should
oh i’m on the wrong side of history
and I’m missing out on the fun
cause I couldn’t trust something that seemed too good.
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8. |
Seasick Sea Shepherd
03:52
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The seasick sea shepherd is on
his final leg, he’ll miss you all
the sea lions and albatross
but he’ll miss the phytoplankton most of all…
The seasick sea shepherd is in
his final days, he might give in
take two breaths and peacefully
lie on his back and sink into the sea…
he’s returning to the start of the cycle we belong to
but i occasionally catch myself thinking
i wonder if he
ever got lonely
caring for the ocean
with no one to care for him
no one to fully
share in the beauty
was his life spent suffering?
or was it enough for him?
but now he’s gone
I guess we’ll never know
The seasick sea shepherd believed
everything’s connected by tiny
acts of god so pure and small
thats why he loved the phytoplankton most of all…
thats why he loved the phytoplankton most of all…
thats why he loved the phytoplankton most of all…
he’s returning to the start of the cycle we belong to
but i occasionally catch myself thinking
i wonder if he
ever got lonely
caring for the ocean
with no one to care for him
no one to fully
share in the beauty
was his life spent suffering?
or was it enough for him?
but now he’s gone
I guess we’ll never know
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9. |
||||
She got bangs, and I got sober
I think you'd get along if you were here to get to know her
and you'd understand why I say
"this machine used to kill fascists back in the day"
Well things got bad, so I finally saw a shrink
who said I need to relax using Xanax instead of weed
made up childhood trauma, spoke of SSRI's
all while staring at her phone the whole time
I know you'd understand why I never went back inside.
I'm buried in bullshit, locked in a system
of scamming each other as if love's in the profit margin
virtue signaling the way out of the maze we're in
forced to compete against each other for the zero sum win
but this machine used to kill fascists
it used to be
a means of liberation from the hegemony
now it's accessory rebellion for your identity
that you can purchase from the counter-culture industry
oh I know you'd know what I mean...
Cause if it's all "work hard play hard " until we're done
that seems to work for everyone just fine
but if there's no higher purpose I'm working towards
then what have I been doing this whole time?
Oh you would understand why I see the signs of the end
in a new apartment complex coming in
yelling "the pain will stop when you give in"
but the marquee outside the church says
"don't give up while the miracle's unravelling"
and there's a vacant lot by the sea
suspending disbelief indefinitely
It shrugs at me in solidarity
Well she cut her bangs, and I cut a record
and I wrote to your mom, unsure if it'd upset her
but I sent her the pictures from our last ride
I still can't get anyone to tell me how you died
But I understand why
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10. |
There There
03:18
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The first signs of Fall are subtle
the end of the summer is obvious
and I can’t say why
but I feel so close to you now
and when it hits I feel like I just woke up
like I’ve been tensing up but nothing is coming
and the perfect rhyme has just occurred to me now
like you can’t
see the words
but they’re there
written in
fractals
that disappear when you give them names
they weren’t exactly made
but sure
they’re made all for you
all
Are you aware that your Holy Grail isn’t surreal
sometimes it's under your nose
and we’re better off as soon as you figure that out
Like the parts of the whole make too much sense to be coincidence
but we’re making it up as we go
Get in
these are the symptoms of a great transformation
good and bad
the sonic postcard reading “Greetings From the Anthropocene”
this is our last song, everybody get home safe
waitress whisper the specials in my ear tonight
this is the smuggling of energy between Being and Nothing
a long time to sit quiet for forgetters of the mantra
this is me falling closer to the source
waitress whisper the specials in my ear tonight
Kris crunched the numbers and the chaos adds up to
a greater sum than its parts
the name of which is something that only
i know
i know
i know
what can you do?
Find what feels right and hold on for dear life
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Making New Enemies California
www.makingnewenemies.org
Art Collective / Utopian Cult /
Soul Posse
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