1. |
Our Very Recent Past
03:06
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By the time they figured out who the real fascists were it was too late
All the ink had long since dried and all the trains had long since left the station
Who is above loving a face they don't yet recognize
Weep to think what could have been, but I guess that could be said about anytime
Still it seems decisive things could've moved the needle; maybe not
If only something from our very recent past could act as a warning - give us some vision - but our vision's left wanting
But never again doesn't mean anything if it never stopped happening
Who is above loving a face they don't yet recognize
Give up some small sense of yourself and help smash the hateful tide
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2. |
We're Here to Help
04:19
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He recalled a time when money was green
When value had a weight, more than a mist, a dream
His money lived in museums
His money lived on a dot
Somewhere in the ocean, working so he didn't have to
He flew alone and he paid no cost
His inner life was a tax write-off
His trades were timed to the nano
He forgot how to drive
His remoteness from the real had eroded his mercy
And he felt sick
And he was
He had money poisoning
He had too much
We're here to help
You can't hide your love away
You can't take it to the grave
She set out to work around human rights
She saw them as commodities caught for a price
She found her stride in consulting
The public sector as well
Incidentally she never helped a single person
She dreamt in crimson, she exhaled frost
She spoke the language of veritas
She joined the board of directors
For something perfectly vague
Two years later it all fell apart but our girl was golden
But she felt sick
And she was
She had money poisoning
She had too much
We're here to help
Expropriation
You can't hide your love away
Expropriation
You can't take it to the grave
Got to give it up
It's not so much that we need it though we do
Got to give it up
It's more that you can't be trusted
We ditched the kings once before, let's get that haircut adjusted
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3. |
Holiday Music Pt. 1
03:31
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4. |
The Hanging Man
06:01
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Living in this world makes me fucking sick
She said
And I knew how she felt, yes I knew how she felt
Or something like it
And so I told her about the recurring dream
Rope round the neck, the jaw is firmly clenched
The air is thin
Body divorced from the floor
But not kicking towards hell
Where the earth should pull it repels
Rise away
Fly away
Fall away and towards the sky
The hanging man falls away from the floor
From this tower it seems one can really see
Everything
But how did we all get
So crazy far away
The hanging man falls away from the floor
You saw control where there was only death
So wrong
You make me cry
If I could touch your face
If I could just reach out
From the living space
Rise away
Fly away
Fall away
Rise away and towards the sky
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5. |
Transparency
05:58
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Daily life
Living in the breach
Too content
Too cynical to speak
Can you hear that sound
Oscillating between the lost and the found
Can you hear that voice
Communicating as if it had a choice
Innocent
And docile by default
Free by choice
You're the signal and the noise
Can you hear that sound
Oscillating between the lost and the found
Can you hear that voice
Communicating as if it had a choice
Do you feel that hand
Tracing your mouth, drawing lines in the sand
The dry landscape
Bereft of content, impossible to escape
Holds you tight
Brightly lit
Always tense
Transparency
Given up
Without pause
What's the harm
Captivity
Now think back
Who could've mentioned that
You're nothing to fear
At least not these last few years
At a moment's thought
One's heart's desire, but the moment's thought is caught
What was on your mind
Spoken or signalled, somehow they can find the time
For the panic and fear
Never acknowledged save for the eyes of our peers
A private cross
Borne of a freedom quickly won and quickly lost
Holds you tight
Brightly lit
Always tense
Transparency
you never wanted this if not for their perverse incentives, yeah
Given up
Without pause
What's the harm
Captivity
your information didn't ask for freedom freedom from your skull
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6. |
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Don't you feel just an ounce of pride as the sky is getting dark
You see yourself in the subway ads and the city council did their part
You thought you'd die before you saw a world where you were safe
But which world were you hiding from in the first place, first place
They wouldn't use that word if they knew what it meant
They shouldn't fuck with us, yeah I'll call it a threat
Don't you feel just a little used as you catch the bait and switch
No one ever threw a brick cos they wanted to get rich
It's getting better, I know it's getting better, but it's cheaper at the same time
But what I do is my business, and my business ain't theirs to mind
What price freedom
Flip cards, read ‘em
Have you ever felt cheated
They wouldn't use that word if they knew what it meant
Don't fuck with us, yeah I'll call it a threat
They wouldn't use that word if they knew what it meant
They can't market to us while they're biting the curb
Doesn't it feel odd
The problem that you kept down low but for the fear of death
Is being sold back to you
Counterculture was just another way of keeping up appearances
A boy's club and a dead dead scene
And I'm invisible now
Living like a fraud and caught between the dead and capital
Alone with my hang-ups
But where do culture's waters end
Am I luckier than most and what do I owe them
When institutions criminalize peoples' inner lives
Sometimes privacy is loneliness or company is crowding and that's why I'm moving to Miami
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7. |
Venezuela
04:28
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What went down in Venezuela
Two twin drones minor invasion
Settle down
Explosions were heard before they saw what they were in for
Consumer grade, but loaded up with C-4
A tentative fear entered his eyes as we last saw them
Right before security forces caccoon-ed him in kevlar
What went down in Venezuela
Two twin drones minor invasion
No one knows
You started out strong but soon enough started to crumble
But looking back not everyone was in your corner
Your dreams masquerade as memories and it keeps getting harder
To live in a world that feels so large as to induce nausea, nausea
Turns out text as architecture burns as well as plaster
But what did you expect seeking protection on the record
And when even thin ideas look good on paper you seek something deeper
So you pick up your telephone and call your ex-tarot reader
She puts a card onto the table, flips it over
It says: you don't really know yourself at all
But that's the good news
But does St. Peter has a scorecard of your sins
Settle down
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8. |
Ghost Story
04:44
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There is no turning back
This machine is just one wheel turning
There is no turning back
Before one wall can fall, there are bodies burning
There is no turning back
Any alternative would be worse and either way there's no
No turning back
And there's no mistaking
How they spell it
P R O G R E S S : it's just another way to spell BODY BAG
fourteen thirteen twelve eleven ten nine eight
Please be serious, man!
It's just another way to spell BODY BAG
seven six five four three two one uh
Please be serious, man! You must be serious, man!
• Market distortion
• Guaranteed autonomy
• Prayers for self-destruction
• Essentially, technologies used for hunting people
P R O G R E S S : it's just another way to spell BODY BAG
twenty-eight twenty-seven twenty-six twenty-five twenty-four twenty-three twenty-two
Please be serious, man!
It's just another way to spell WRECKING BALL
twenty-one twenty nineteen eighteen seventeen sixteen fifteen
Please be serious, man!
It's just another way to spell CAPITAL
fourteen thirteen twelve eleven ten nine eight
Please be serious, man!
It's just another way to spell marginal
seven six five four three two one uh
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9. |
Holiday Music Pt. 2
04:59
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10. |
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Self-portrait in a convex mirror
Or just another season in hell
We didn't want to arm the ramparts
But someone had to
Moving forward by our own volition
An equal distribution of blood
On our hands, in our hearts, up and running now
Full speed into the dark
Self-portrait in a convex mirror
You said you weren't afraid of the future
Maybe that's part of what's wrong
Guaranteed going straight down the middle now
Ghosts in the sidecar
Self-assured but you know there's a problem
But no one can agree on what's wrong
Success means never knowing how sorry you look
Even with the clarity of alarm
Self-portrait in a convex mirror
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11. |
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Self-portrait in a convex mirror
Or just another season in hell
We didn't want to arm the ramparts
But someone had to
Moving forward by our own volition
An equal distribution of blood
On our hands, in our hearts, up and running now
Full speed into the dark
Self-portrait in a convex mirror
You said you weren't afraid of the future
Maybe that's part of what's wrong
Guaranteed going straight down the middle now
Ghosts in the sidecar
Self-assured but you know there's a problem
But no one can agree on what's wrong
Success means never knowing how sorry you look
Even with the clarity of alarm
Self-portrait in a convex mirror
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Jeff Tobias Queens, New York
Multi-instrumentalist and composer. Member of Sunwatchers, Modern Nature, Thee Reps, et cetera.
Jeff Tobias recommends:
Island Of Noise
by Modern Nature
Jack Cooper's beautiful songwriting and world building - I contributed saxophone and bass clarinet here
go to album
Minimalist rock instrument music wherein I am the bass guitarist
go to album
Psychedelic jazz rock w/ yours truly on saxophones and keys
go to albumIf you like Jeff Tobias, you may also like:
Live at Tubby's
by 75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band
supported by 47 fans who also own “Recurring Dream”
Long-form trance-y rhythmic jams, with a fun shambling edge, sounding like a cross between music from Africa's Sahel region crossed with a Tom Waits instrumental...
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supported by 41 fans who also own “Recurring Dream”
thank you Bandcamp album of the day for this recommend. A truly original composer - the execution of this music, direct, laid bare, is a sublime listen.
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The Fifth Season (Versions)
by Lafawndah
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 9, 2024
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