Recorded April-August 2003
Tyler – Singing, Bass, Guitar,
Keyboards, Horns
Conner – Drums, Percussion,
Singing, Recording
Grayson – Guitars, guitar effects,
shouting
Vanessa – Cello, Flute, Keyboards,
Vocals
Its going down like clockwork though
the mechanism’s fixed
To chime on the hour when the
pieces have desisted and
Though I’m neglecting duties to
the vague enforcement generation
Wasting all my mind at these
crossroads stationed
At the crosswalk running across
for the polite night
People do their thing while I wait
to unwind – and I might
Just change your mind and I’ll
ignite like the rest
I’m fifty proof – that reasons not
enough to undress
Oh with your eyes and this night
time camera that
Oh with a flash ascends us both to
heaven and
No, I won’t forget, I could never
quite remember this
Elevation seems too high up to
climb to these
Walls all covered with stickers
from my past
Me on the sidewalk, chasing the
ride’ll never come to pass
And right on evenly spaced stones
and ride on Holy Father’s ghost
I’ll fry on everything at once,
and recommend that you drop those
Arms as they go down to your side
– bend amateurs
Alls we have to do is slide and it
manages
To alienate is such a grave
mistake that
It’ll be a long time before I stop
thinking back
Its like I’m watching a movie that
never even ends
When the plots tied up, cause the
characters are friends
And nothing ever happens, cause my
walls are bare
And relationship’s too confident
for that burden share
I’m climbing up buildings to cheat
on the top of it
And cars in the lot below I’ve got
the drop on it
Resentful from the malice that
pushes into shoving soon
And rolling on the floor cause
something’s giving in too soon
Capitol is seizing from a dozen
stories up beneath
My gravesite standing near the
bottom with a cup
And when it rains, howls gently
through the dawn like a winner
Stalking silently like a
salamandrine shattered through winter
And though there must be evidence
somewhere in these bones
I’ve never seen the good, whether
out or alone
And I’m up there a lot, count the
fingers on my chest
And its enough to prove that it’s
a lie like all the rest
And you can trust if you want but
there’s nothing behind it
Watery like a sunken ship, you
cannot find it
Underneath there’s a habit to try,
but trying’s tiresome
Thinking there will be some
release, I’ll have to try for some
Its like I’m practicing for
something better down the line
Where women are so plentiful and
accurate and I’m blind
To all of the problems caused by
this humanity
And sing like a New Orleans born
blue diamond standing
In the church on time for some
hazardous confession
I must make before I arm and don
professionals
I’m sick to the core of my being,
this I mean, I mean
I’m rotten to the core of my
brain, please believe me
And stay clear of this avalanche
this walking stick catastrophe in
Climbs up screaming: “NO, you
haven’t seen the last of me”
Je suis un chein, mais je suis un
peu gateau
Le fou, le fou, I’m walking up and
stopping cars and
Emerson and Jefferson and Pennsylvanian
statesmen send me
Becket, Pound and Wolfe and Joyce,
they all come out with style but you know
Picasso and Mondrian and Klee,
Kandinsky, all the rest
Debussy, push me to Stravinsky,
Ives and I got Ruggles I got
Troubles ain’t enough to stop
these ravings, saddle up
This trouble comes around in
fifteens without a bonus track
Been a good age, but I hope to
stop soon
I’m racking up a tremendous toll,
just let me off
Goes so quick through the bold
street brawler
Take punches for years, and you
still get misty eyed
Take these problems and bless me,
stranger
More qualified than you’ll ever be
What I lack in smarts I make up in
wordiness
And meet me halfway so we don’t
compete
Go down – I wish you wouldn’t be
so obvious
Down – efface me so you can’t grow
back
And you can save me
But I wish you wouldn’t be so
obvious
Yeah, you can save me
But I wish you wouldn’t be so
Go down so fast through that
old-time nemesis
Down so fast that you can’t
connect
I spent twenty-two years trying to
be so competitive
Twenty five years = the duration
of this wreck
I break so slow and I skid so fast
At times I’m an irritant; this
times so tough
But I’m looking for a break,
financial or physical
Numbs me to everything, structures
and stuff
Don’t look so surprised, baby
Don’t write up that mystified
glance
I’ve been talking so southwest
lately
But you never seem to notice
You look so floating faceless
Don’t wipe up those spirits
silently
Confide in me with jittery prowess
But it never seems to work out
Confidence – instill in me, don’t
look at me
I’m over over all clashes of
interest
And stances forward – as close as
you can get is nowhere
Near me – intolerant of everything
Messed up, as flawed as a weakness
can be
All mine, in intervals promiscuous
And qualified for positions so
daring
We’ll have to call the manager
But this is the greatest love,
So pack up and I’ll call the
bellhop
Don’t tire yet, cause energy’s the
answer
And I’ll fold those hands for you
This one-track denial of mine
Is holding me back in place
So trust in me they’re doing fine
Know to put all in its place
Confidence – instill in me
I’m over all of that interest
And stances forward, as close as
you can get is nowhere
Near me – intolerance to anything
Confident and still believing
I’m over all of your problems
And still looks forward to being
quiet every night
Near me, and tolerant of
everything
While this cold cold call to the
streets is complaining
Why’d you freeze up?
So softly, back to the loft for
the make-up
Check tech stocks and
An appeal to the audience for
prayer
But it seems more like a shoe ad
So keep me up for all hours at
once and time
I’ll stop complaining soon enough
But why’d you wanna go back?
When it always seems the same
When every single song sounds like
An icebox cracking slightly
Write in prose ten times encoded
so as to keep up the front
Charcoal stains and
Redirect me back to the subroutine
you’ve planned
For better or worse or
I’ve got no time left on my end
And that explains this hurry
I’ve got no time for all your
affairs
And that explains near nothing
And doubt affairs for life
Roll down and desperate claim
Don’t you hear this uniform
expression for
Doubt, it stays the same
You’ve always been there for me
Punching out traffic cops at
lights intersecting
But you still can’t shine
And you sure can’t breathe
Parting is such a strong word
Think of it ‘tossed aside
In favor of some debutante’
That could not wait to save her
life
At home in the suburbs I plan
At home in the suburbs I pine
Death is such a way to go
Stop me from going, I beg you
Clip my wings double time,
Along the right edges
But you still forgot to take these
legs
Sure enough, I’m able,
To take you out with an arch
Some black market doings
But you’ll never catch me – light
speed pays the rent
Oh, isolated minds running up the
thought count
And me, twenty roads away from
where I want to go
But something’s happening around,
though never spared
So if my brain isn’t around, why
do I care?
I’ve been doing nothing
brilliantly
For multiples of ten until
The sun burns out and vague
accounts
Can rock me till I’m through
But I’m ashamed of this horrible
excess
The right to argue, that’s right
The solemn stingers, they’ve been
keeping me up all night
I try to turn around, but can’t
agree what I said
I may have lost a little part of
me
Old, growing back in time, natural
enrichment
Say, ‘how you doing man?’ ask you
what’s the word
But nothings going wrong again,
it’s in your mind
The faith and all the strength
inside has been left behind
Tell me…
North of here, bring the stone
wings’ll shatter
I’m looking out to awkward
business
So cry if you must,
I’ll still be leaving
Had to run when the sky hit the
bottle
A glory shot in spite of the darkness
Restart and assert,
I’ll still be bitter
And you’ve been having thoughts
about highways
Courteous strangers will nothing
going my way
Take me back onto dry land,
dripping
My thoughts get cold and my mind
gets hip and
This patricide without no motive
Calm me down; I’ve had it to here
And paranoid, fill me with nothing
I’d want it more than ever
Nothingness is this gift I’ve been
cursed with
Give me the strength to drink till
I am
In place of common sense,
I’ve got this business
Land me down with some mentalistic
problems
And teach me how to deal with them
It all works into money
In the end
Whether you’re a fighter in a
stranger land than this one
Is debatable at best, and
laughable and most of all,
The jury won’t support you in
decisions made down from the soul
They sympathize with winners, and
lately you’ve been independent
In these tasks, around and at bat,
you break
And summarize your leanings till,
in Technicolor coding
It all seems balanced out and
tried and true and bitter ending
That’s a first for reclusives and
that’s the sum of all there is
In back of you with works half
finished, ditches finely tuned to pitch
In towards help, around all at
once, you’d say
Don’t hang around much, anymore
then
And whether you’ve confirmed by
fire standards silent all alone
And beating softly like a drunken
Sunday morning in the basement
Hearts are tuned to honor systems
elegantly rolling on
And something breaks a long ways
here through back roads and through brokers
Tossing glances down, and looking
around and fake
Confine – oh this halfway logic to
Applaud – oh, I’m passing on so
slightly
Control – majors and the senates
silent
Control
Part Time Heart
Its her fault I’ve been drawing
lines
On vacant shoulders, grand inclines
Payed good money to be her problem
for the week
So stored in place of better
thoughts
I’ll chase it with doubles when
its hot
A middle class type frown, knock
another one down
And in place of brighter times I
got my hopes up
Vacant obsession, claim nothing
past the outside world
Some standard stare down past the
bar
I’ll make with the sympathy but
won’t get far
Another fading creep, greet the
dawning streets
So stumble back to that abode
Where 45s of Sunday welcome you
home
How much did you get? We can’t
believe you left
And in place of brighter times, I
got my hopes up
Vacant obsession, claims nothing
past the outside world
So treat me fairly when you have a
chance to
Leave me with a part time heart
These moonlit troubles wear me
down
Follow her eyes past the outskirts
of town
Make it past my prime, where
solitude is a crime
And never saying nothing, cause
silence is gold
I’ll take it all with me to the
old folks home
Sort of sad, upset, as good as I
could get
With cannibal resolve, you could
be some saint for the day
When you say, ‘how am I looking?’
Out, sort of fired up, you could
have some real worries back
I’ll paint it black, so the walls
match your mood
And let me out
I’m vacant and I’m cautious
And let me out
I’m losing it and softly
I will gently say it’s the end of
the
Live, from the cliffs and shores
of the money holiday
They’ve closed the banks, but how
am I looking?
Out, from the barren west, you
could shoot a smile like a can
With forty fives and I’ll change
that record
And let me out, I’m vacant and I’m
cautious
And let me out, I’m losing it and
softly,
I will gently say it’s the end of
the line
What’s the matter with this guy?
He’s always so cold and
disagreeable
If only he would compromise
He’s just so vague and faux-eclectic
With entourage in tow, he could be
the next biggest thing
If he’d just think that worry
isn’t worth it
But, assuming that the stars don’t
fold up and fall
They never call
He’ll keep on singing
Well no pictures in the frame,
though I still would forgive to get
Some temporary reprieve from these
darkened days of dying
Back off, off, off, off
I’m out to play at intervals at
regular, but never since
Has doubting you been so much fun,
away from prying eyes
We’ll take off, off, off, off
But you’ll slow down
Slow down for the time now
And it pains me
Oh so much to be static
Well the trust is 50-50 but I
still would so kill to get
Some permanent assurance from this
torpor in my hands
Get off, off, off, off
Yeah I’m feeling its about that
time to terrible my way around
I’m hyperspace intoxicant arrow
towards your heart
So break off, off, off, off
…And it hurts me, not a little in
this great case
And its careful not to be a
smaller bother
Oh no, not careful anymore
But an indigenous worry, that
In spite of recent incidents
I’ll dedicate my time to
Some vacant act above it says
‘I’ll claim my former and my lads’
My love, its radical in bloom
My patronizing father’s tomb
Aggression, fuel with intercepting
Calls from star eyed lovers and
This cross-town bus can bear it
all
And eyes you wouldn’t notice
Turn off, off, off, off
She sits and shops on my account
Lace and platinum giving out
And if you don’t care, then how
could I?
She sleeps and weeps on my
paycheck
Deliver those goods, but what do I
get?
And if she don’t care, then how
could anyone?
She lags in belief and this
halfhearted holiness
Try, make a cross, is it stupid
and stuff?
Take to the streets with this
halfhearted holiness
When words are not enough
Some Sunday sucker takes it to
mean
Anything other from this lip
service queen
And if they buy it, what does it
matter?
So sorry, taken out kicking and
fast
I’ll taker back in for as long as
she’ll last
And if she give out, how good was
she?
Why can’t I be saved? Cause you
don’t bend
Around an inner circle, so
intransigent
Why can’t shallows cross apart?
And landing with their faces about
and about
The latter, and this lack of
The irony you smack of
The time-share dismissive
And this temporary love
This temporary love
The wild nights we’re spending
The efforts never ending
Some kisses dismissed as
Some temporary love
The good words survival
And literature’s revival
Believing is only halfway to
A temporary love
You woke up in a sweat; I said
‘believe in me’
But your heart is fearing the
permanent
The canyons, the glaciers
The bones since the cretaceous
All have fallen victim to
Some temporary love
So trust me for as much you got
I’ll even let you call the shots
Liquor is quicker, so let it rot
This temporary love
One shot towards dying that
satisfies some inner need
To take it lightly otherwise, I’m
forging slowly some belief
The relief that’s standard from
some epicentral point of view
For sympathy’s tired and your
getting on your own way too
My body doesn’t know any better;
it takes it in with random pulses
Down, out, she’s all around, and
liberty remains: she falls
To her knees with hazardous intent
to cause a life less boring
Surely appeases common sense,
places head to arms closed folding
Folding
You’ll shout on pleasant terms,
I’ll fake forgive you on the spot
We’ll part on awkward terms, you
assuming something that its not
A relief from solipsistic turning
in to all you can’t
Believe with uncommon eyes and
recognize this superficial slant
Folding
Through the nighttime’s coming,
all it brought was greed
For the guns come home, and all I
need is all I need is all I need
Whether it’s the drugs or sins
alone
To take me through the night and
get me on
I’ll feel it in a minute, though
I’m feeling down
So wish me better luck in times
past now
Wish me better luck in times past
now
Invasion of my space in better
terms
I’ll get you on your way, till
something moves
And over in a minute, as great as
it is
I’ll take it with a dollar stuffed
down my throat
Take it with a dollar stuffed down
my throat
Kind of sad and lost, but I’ll be
fine
Kind of dead end days, but it’ll
be over
Fearing in the midst of all of
this
That something will just crash at
any time
And paranoia’s crushing, but its
not that bad
Give me just an inch and I’ll
overreact
So give me just an inch, and I’ll
overreact
Whether it’s the drugs or crowds
alone
To so screw up my nerves – I’ll
never sleep
I’m feeling like a martyr all on
my own
So, wish me better luck when I’m
alone
Wish me better luck when I’m alone
Some better luck