The mind is machinery
Fragile, sterile circuitry
And though you are beauty
You grow in stuff that's bad for me.
Half the lights are blown out
And the rest are dimming fast
And the plugs are disconnecting
From the sockets in the wall
And the switchboard operator
Simply gives up and goes home
As the dirt covers all
And a wildflower grows.
In a garden
In a greenhouse
in the safety of my clumsy, pure affection
Where nothing can hurt you
And nothing can hurt me
I'd plant you there right now
But I'm afraid you'd never let me
Half the lights are blown out
And the rest are dimming fast
And the plugs are disconnecting
From the sockets in the wall
And the switchboard operator
Simply gives up and goes home
As the dirt covers all
And a wildflower grows.
This hole starts in the pit of the stomach
And it empties into parts of you that have no name
This soul torn from the peak of the heavens
I think I gave mine up, but I still feel the same
Words to fuel the human engines
Tricks to make me think it wasn't you
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
This hand stops in seven places
Along your alabaster back and through your hair
Oh, and this hand behind my back is hidden
With fingers crossed around the dagger of my prayer
Words to fuel the human engines
Tricks to make me think it wasn't you
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
I learned a new trick
I know the trick the trick I know the trick is never ever ever want anything ever never ever want anything never ever ever.
Garden green, beside the tree
I raise you, you raise me
Breathe my air and I'll breathe yours
We'll help each other be.
Person with the rake and hoe
We tend each other well, you know
Give me your food, I'll give you mine
We'll help each other grow.
There's no shore without the sea
No more flowers without the bee
Without you, there is no me
So keep me carefully.
about
2020 and '21 weren’t good for much, but being homebound did allow me to sort through 30 years of old recordings, and unarchive tons of shelved and incomplete material.
And then finish that shit!
I am not really interested in doing “albums” anymore… holding music back until a dozen arbitrarily-linked songs are mixed and mastered and the stars and planets align. But at the same time, “singles” are kind of boring and “EPs” demand some degree of cohesion, and I don’t want to be boxed in like that. So here is what I offer you: THREE-PACKS
Remember those randomly-bagged multipacks of comic books they used to sell in toy and drug stores? You wouldn’t be able to see what was inside until you tore open the plastic, and the comics might be brand new or fifteen years old… it was just whatever happened to be laying around when they bundled it up. There was no thematic connection, no rhyme or reason to the collection, and one bag could even contain books from both Marvel AND DC. I was introduced to so many fun stories that way, and that is how I am going to introduce (or reintroduce) you to all of these songs.
This three-pack includes “I'm In Love With A Junkie” (1996), Keith Hillebrandt's remix of "The Trick” (2014), and a live performance of "Symbiosis” recorded at The Bitter End on September 1, 2010. You can read more about each track if you click through to its page.
I’m not promising these three-packs in any regularly-scheduled fashion… and I’m not going to tell you about them in advance. When I feel like one is ready, it will just appear. They may have Skyscape/Hanslick Rebellion/Collider songs on them. All of my records from the past that are not currently available digitally will be represented, as well as material you have never heard, including brand-new stuff. But as far as I’m concerned, all of this music is new to most of the universe - and these are fresh versions of everything anyway, so I hope that in a way it will also be new to you.
Let’s have some fun <3
credits
released January 21, 2022
Cover image: detail of an illustration by Herbert Crowley; public domain