1. |
Migration Patterns
04:38
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A great pale shadow casts down on the east
And though it may seem crazy
No-mans-land has turned up-and-coming
For the bourgeoisie
The neighbors stare as we unpack the vans
Like pilgrims arriving on the promised land
New playground for the young and moneyed
Quick enough, we multiply like bunnies
The neighborhood has its blemishes, yes
How many crackhouses is anyone’s guess
The occasional gunshot is a fright
And forget about walking alone at night
But when our friends ask us, “Is it so bad?”
We’ll say, “No, you’ll be glad
When you join us out here”
Raze the tenements to make space
For luxury condos
Indistinguishable and gray
Stacked high with loft windows
Discount stores on every block
Replaced by yoga studios and cheese shops
Boutiques far as the eye can see
AmEx stamped over WIC
Rents rise up at a ludicrous pace
As brokers and bloggers scream: “This is the place!”
Landlords budget for renovations
Evicting tenets with no reservations
And our hearts go out to those displaced
It’s a disgrace
You don’t know how bad we feel
But it’s all right, it’s all right –
This hipster mecca
Is temporary at best
‘Cause soon enough we’ll get priced out
Or just simply bored
Like every time before
Pack it up, pack it up now
Move on down the line
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2. |
Not Invited
04:16
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Then the question’s posed: “Just who do you know?
Who validates your ticket?”
You casually defect but the crowd objects
They’re going to get up and picket, cause
You can’t just turn it on
You can’t just turn it off
Hell no – you’re not invited
Charm will only get you so far
Hell no – you’re not invited
Word ain’t always as good as bond
Sure, your style’s suave, better than the average slob
But you lack the credentials
We decided long ago who leads and who follows
And while you may have potential
You can’t just turn it on
You can’t just turn it off
You’ve got to be blessed with that je ne sais quoi
Until then…
Hell no – you’re not invited
Charm will only get you so far
Hell no – you’re not invited
Word ain’t always as good as bond
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3. |
Simulacra
04:40
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The flesh is cold, the flesh is dead
Wrapped up so, makes a marvelous spread
And filthy fingers long to cop a feel
Of something real
But they’re kept behind the glass
Convinced it’s more than a mirage
Take a peek behind the visage
Hiding nothing ‘cause there’s nothing to hide
Don’t be surprised
It’s dead and resurrected at the same time
The word from ev’ry faceless voice
Simulacra, the currency of choice
When roaming the city of caricatures
You can be sure
No reference, circumference, only eminence grise
Images are treacherous it’s said
Recognition will only tear you asunder
So turn the lights off, leave the mask on
I don’t want to know more
I don’t want to see
What’s realer than real’s not real at all
What’s realer than real’s nothing more
Than a façade
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4. |
Dead Air
04:57
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Wise man says: Drop in, turn on, tune out
The medium’s trampled the message
Being informed has never been so subjective
Why pay for knowledge when entertainment’s so cheap?
Pandering, placating, filling up dead air
Contorting, obscuring, putting in our share
By now you know, you know
There’s comfort in the noise
By now you know, you know
Silence is merely devastating
This horse race has no finish line
Gotta know who’s up, who’s down this week
Right and wrong is dull, right and left is much more fun
Rules laid out by suckers paying the rent
And once you turn it on, you’ll never turn it off
And once you turn it on, it’s always staying on
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5. |
Hats Off
03:33
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Saw right through the bluff
Cut down to size quick enough
For the digital horde to see
140 characters
of self-righteous banter
Brought no one to their knees
So hats off to you
Mighty dragon slayer
Bleating all that’s true
Most valuable player
In your mind
We’re just a buncha pure-bred cynics
On the hunt for the authentic
And never satisfied
Unending crusade
Pissing on every parade
Till all the lights have died
Then it’s hats off to you
Can’t do no better
Queen of virtue
In spirit and letter
Trolls recognize and cheer their own
Safe to say you’ll never be alone
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6. |
Bygones
03:59
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If this climate has you frightened
We promise to leave you most enlightened
Because…
What’s written right can’t be wrong
Let bygones be bygones
We’ve said the same thing all along
If you find our methods callow
We offer the choice to spit or swallow
Are you gonna break down? Say it’s a shakedown?
No mortal soul could withstand
You’re gonna take it, fake it
Act like you knew it was all in the plan, ‘cause
What’s written right can’t be wrong
Let bygones be bygones
We’ve said the same thing all along
If things get hairy, remember results may vary
Still there’s no way to go wrong
Have you heard the news? How could you not?
Marx is dead, brother – you better declare your lot
You can have it all, child
If you reach out with your fists
Go get it now
Now we’ve bitten into the pathos of austerity
Lemme tell you self-sufficiency ain’t all it’s cracked up to be
We don’t need it all, man
Just leave us a sip…
If you can
If you feel you’ve been forsaken
Consider just which path you’ve taken
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7. |
Preoccupied
04:24
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Brewing on the campuses and setting off schisms
Neither right nor left which way it blows
Enlightenment is knocking but the door’s been bolted shut
Inside we sit with our heads between our knees
Simply bracing for the moment’s end
Squatting in the park space and shitting on the green
When the white shirts come, the gas and blood will flow
Enlightenment is calling but the handset’s gone missing
It rings and rings while we kowtow on all fours
Simply bracing for the moment’s end
Too scared to speak
When we’re bracing for the moment’s end
Too wired to sleep
Always bracing for the moment’s end
So lie back and close your eyes
Just in case you find
You really kinda feel it, yeah
It’s coming any second now
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8. |
Frivolous
04:50
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Just a whiff of your scent
Enough to bring me to tears
Go spiraling into lust
Though every warning sign appears
You say, “Come on –
Don’t you wanna get down?
A little messing around
Won’t hurt you none”
Divided to my core
Wants and needs twisted in a web
Your siren call well aware
My desire will not ebb
You say, “Come on –
Give it up to me
I got what’ll set you free
Within this cage”
Don’t fret your conflicting emotions
Give in to what’s been set in motion
Bow your head like you understand
You’re frivolous
I’m nothing but a toy to you
Hard as stone in your have
And this rushing of my blood
Too much for this man to withstand
So come on
I’m ready to get down
Let’s stop messing around
And get to the business
It’s not sensory extortion
If you relish every portion
Bow your head now you understand
You’re frivolous… Just like I am
Somehow you penetrate my skin
Somehow you weave yourself within
I can’t contain
How will I sustain?
It’s not frivolous to me
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9. |
Arrogance of Youth
07:23
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Mediocrity rises up
Overfloweth the cup
Floods the valleys, sinks in the soil
Seasons of crops do spoil
In time
Deathly tired of the popular canon
High time to abandon
Opinions of hacks dying or dead
Tear them apart thread
By thread
A simple mission, the task divine
The higher calling too vague to define
I’m coming down to suffocate the status quo
Firmly ‘gainst the consensus
Pissing on picket fences
No pity for your sad sacks of shit
Slit your wrists or get over it
Done the math, ain’t no other way
Light a match, burn it all today
I’m coming down to suffocate the status quo
Trip the light fantastic and all that good stuff
This has gone on longer than enough
I’m coming down to suffocate the status quo
We dig and dig this well so deep
But there’s no spring to tap
Beneath the surface is just more surface
Underneath it all is the root of all
Mediocrity stays on top
God knows when it’ll stop
Flooding the valleys, eroding the soil
This whole crop’s done spoiled
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10. |
Elevator Button
04:15
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Shifting trains on switching tracks
Circumventing heart attacks
Mantras scroll across display
And time slips away
Ignoring calls for preservation
Bailing on the conversation
Before the subject turns morbid
I’ll sink off the grid
But hold still – Help is on the way
Close your eyes and count to 10
Dry are teats for babes to suck
Capitalism’s run amok
Breaking news for the unaware
Trying hard to care
Endless servings of distraction
Mute the craving for satisfaction
Immersed in vacuous routine
Comparatively serene
Now hold still – Help is on the way
Close your eyes and count to 10
Temper anxiety
Otherwise you’ll make a mess
And don’t push again and again
We’ve heard your call, we’ll be there soon
Just close your eyes and count to 10
Close your eyes now
Somebody release me, I gotta disconnect
Somehow, somewhere, some way
Somebody release me, I gotta disengage
Shifting trains on switching tracks
Circumventing heart attacks
Repeating all that came before
Isn’t there something more?
There’s gotta be something more
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Libel Brooklyn, New York
Proud purveyors of unpopular music.
"[W]hat's uncommon is how [Gavin Dunaway] can
shred/skronk/groove on the elektric geetar, though these days his ax-weilding shares equal space with electronic textures that span from abrasive to atmospheric” – The Deli
Contact: libelmusic@gmail.com
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