1. |
Gravitational Force
03:23
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Gravitational Force
Despite calculations of an impending gravitational force
We appear to be forever floating
Despite our best attempts to close our eyes and just stay put
We keep on finding a way to just move on
Spinning around the color wheel
Looking for some contrast
Something that will cover, the color we've seen before
Just below the visible layer
A combination of black and white
A different set of circumstances than we have seen before
Now if you've been around since Kennedy
Though nobody would ever guess
And no piece of paper exists that can prove that hypothetical connection
It's easy to rewrite history
Just pick up a pen
And again
Let the words come bleeding out
Cause nobody's going to question this
once it's been entered into evidence
Nobody's future has been balanced on this edge
Still, it's easy to rewrite history
Just pick up a pen
And again
Let the words come bleeding out
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2. |
Mojave
03:11
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Mojave
I got a house made out of leaves
and a tendency toward procrastination
it's in my nature, but not all of it
it's just a habit, an inclination
Give us the paper, give us the pen
Give us the paper, give us the pen
I'll take a moment, I'll take a while
I'll take a walk -- begin preparing
It's all connected, these leaves, these vines
it's just a landscape, with roads and straight lines
we can do better, we'll be just fine
if we all concentrate and clear our fuckin minds
we can do better, when we're all concentrating
give us the paper, give us the pen
give us a moment
to sign again
to sign again
to sign again
give us a moment
it's just a landscape, with roads and lines
a testament to what we might find here
inconsequential, incidental
you'd never notice it
you'd never notice it missing
give us the paper, give us the pen
give us the paper, give us the pen
I got a mountain held together with paint
sticks and plastic or whatever they bring to me
nothing is drawn out
but it's all planned
each day it always comes together
give us the fuckin paper, give us the fuckin pen
give us a fuckin moment
to sign again
to sign again
to sign again
give us a fuckin moment
give us a fuckin moment
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3. |
Skylab
03:26
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Skylab
Turning back a page or two, they tend to stick together
But no matter, it's all good
Call in a favor, or use the skills you got
To get that helicopter headed to the scene
Just like when we were
Waiting in the 70s for skylab to fall
looking for the ball of fire
looking for the target
painted on the ground
underneath where we stand
and we don't understand
and we didn't then
we don't understand
and we didn't then
Jupiter
is rising, up over the edges of Tokyo Bay
And I am sitting, waiting --oh
Waiting in the 70s for skylab to fall
looking for the ball of fire
looking for the target
painted on the ground
underneath where we stand
and we don't understand
and we didn't then
we don't understand
and we didn't then
Resistance is useful
Avoid the smoke & ash choking English Bay
And I am standing, breathing
all along
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4. |
Wall Of Sound
03:40
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Wall Of Sound
I want to continue
continue to make some noise tonight
I want to continue
continue to raise my voice in spite
of circumstances
these common things beyond our control
the eventual outcome
these common things that we can't know
I want to just bang on things good
take a stick in each hand and just pound
stretched skin, then metal, then wood
take a stick in each hand, create some sound
without really planning it out
without really knowing where this all will land
I want to just bang on things good
take a stick in each hand, create some sound
wait...
what was that you just said
let's get it down, let's save it
let's do another
then we'll write it all down, and we'll save it
we'll do another
We'll knock them all off, one by one
then when it's time to reset
we'll change it all up, just cause we can
we can always come back
backtrack and set to zero
I want to just bang on things good
I want to write my name on a wall of sound
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5. |
Tongue Tied
03:40
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Tongue Tied
Cancel my prescription, I'm just fine-- don't need anything
I was kind of buzzing, I was feeling tired and tongue tied
But now I've taken a breath, now I've taken a page from back when
Everything was fine, not so long ago
One foot in the present, one foot in the past
In the center, in the middle-- the only place that's gonna last
Standing her breathing in, breathing out
Standing her breathing in, breathing out
Cancel my prescription, I'm just fine-- don't need anything
I was numb and poisoned, I was feeling tired and tongue tied to the tracks
Now the only thing that's impossible
Is takin that train back where I was before
Answer all of the questions, keeping track of the breadcrumbs
The ending is uncertain, I don't know where this is leading
But I'm gonna see it through now, gonna see it through now
Cancel my prescription, I'm just fine-- don't need anything
I was kind of buzzing, I was feeling tired and tongue tied
But now I've got my passport, and I'm packed to sail away
I've stowed away with everything I'll need
Got some pens and paper, got some stories to tell
Working on an idea, something to fall back on so that all will be well
When everything I've planned goes to hell
I'll be standing here breathing in, breathing out again
Heading for america, hoping for a miracle
Something light and lyrical, spiritual and spherical
Inspirational and minimal, tangible and physical
Logical and sincere, cause you know I'm never cynical
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
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6. |
This Little Car
02:54
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This Little Car
This little car I'm riding in
was made in Germany
There is a little plaque, glued off-center on the back
to prove it changed hands once in Oregon
Keeping to the center line
by any means necessary
license and registration
don't make a fuss, just hand it over
Practice for the singalong, the fun will be starting soon
memorize more than just the minor chords
Remember what the scout leader taught you
Three stars in a line
represent a hunter's belt
Three words in a certain order
recreate everything he felt
This little car I'm riding in
is only temporary
I'll be riding in some other car
before I've set all of the radio stations
and I know before I know it
I'll be
mercifully, thankfully, definitely, probably
riding in some other car
that might have been made in Sweden
There might be a little plaque glued off-center on the back
to show it changed hands once in Copenhagen
Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Escondido
Marseille, Bangalore, Tokyo, West Vancouver
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7. |
Science
03:48
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Science
You seem to know, a lot about science
You always recognize the patterns and the tendencies
You are familiar with the principles defining this
You must have memorized the forms and the shapes they take
Little pieces of energy and motion
Little pieces of energy and motion
Science is golden
and gold means we won
One little push starts the universe expanding
A million gold coins scattered in the silence
I want to study the silence
I want to take it apart
I want to write it down and file this
I want to see how it ends and then restarts
I want to watch the sound waves
I want to see the way they settle down
I know they're bound to start building up again
I know they're bound to start building up again
You want to take, another look at the sky
a microscopic glance at extrasolar galaxies
but in this neighborhood they tend to leave on all the lights
in this neighborhood, they got too many damn lights
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8. |
Classic Rock
03:41
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Classic Rock
left my umbrella, lonely in another life
in some other place
in another state of an alleged mind
the place where I was living, this place I was representing
all the tea leaves signify good luck
As raindrops puddle on the floor of a bus
I still look for you
I still listen for the most unlikely words
I remember only doing that
do you
Left my invisibility cape
with my x-ray specs
and my never-fail sleeping powder
and gave all my childhood to these people I do not know
These people who thank jesus
for all this shit I loaded into my car
but me, I remember you
I remember those most unpromising words
I remember mostly that
do you
Classic rock, in my head
All the hits from 73
Covered boat, suburban driveway dock
Alice, T. Rex, Iggy Pop
And all these songs, they were written for you
They were unleashed into a most unpromising world
I remember mostly that
do you
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9. |
Capistrano
03:34
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Capistrano
Earth and sky meet the eyes of a dreamer
Morning brings reality with its heat
Quiet interrupter with right of first refusal
Determined, with a certain sense of uncertainty
Return to Capistrano, man, just in time
I was born as feathers spiraled into Spring
This reality we are swallowing, not fast enough
Footprints in the snowflake sand, with dreams trailing
My parents went to college, and soon I followed
Kind of like that certain way summer follows spring
By fall when I was walking, not walking fast
Footprints in the snowflakes, with dreams trailing
Set it all up, just one part catches fire
Turn it up to 10
Play it all out, down to the wire
My sister's married to a serious survivalist
their kids are getting drunk on holy water in Florida
Well, that's a hell of a thing for an earthbound atheist
with dreams of running from guns and bibles
in the mountains of Canada
My neighbor's buried in delirious anonymity
his bones are scattered randomly at the bottom of a reservoir
Although it doesn't do much to help an eternal soul's salvation
the combination of bones and ditches isn't bad for irrigation
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10. |
Balanced Impossibly
04:03
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Balanced Impossibly
If we just wait the next wave might bring us back to shore
sometimes if we hold our breath time will stay in place
sometimes if we close our eyes that one star will share just enough light
sometimes it's just enough, just enough
To lift our bodies a little higher
A little higher with each inhale
So our toes won't even touch the whites of the cresting seventh wave
Goddess on a shell, staring off into infinity
Birth of Venus, balanced, impossibly
Arms lengthen from the weight of all the universe
All that's offered, all that you can see
As far as I can tell, this is almost at capacity
what's between us, challenged and chosen
words highlight the lightness of all thats been
All that's offered, all that you can see
if we hadn't seen it first,
if we hadn't just seen the final cut
if we hadn't yet memorized each establishing shot
you know it's gonna be quick, you know it's gonna be painless and light
when the 8th grade band tunes up,
and takes the inhale for measure one, two, three
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11. |
Parameters
04:25
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Parameters
On more than one occasion, I’ve had to stop and turn around
Before this information gets buried in the ground again
I hardly ever notice, I hardly ever see
Exactly when the best time is
To take it out and burn it or to bury it again in the dirt
You know I'm not complaining
I'm not one to take that route
You know I'll never question, the working notes or the final report
Cause memory is selective
and what's written down, is what memory sees
and certainty certainly seldomly covers
six of one, half dozen of the other
Nothing is exactly the same
from minute to minute
Everything begins again
from minute to minute
With a screwdriver, wrench and a hammer
You can get yourself out of many things
And sometimes, get back into them
When parameters change
But there’s one thing you’ll never get out of
Or find a way to get back into again
Even if you study hard and take lots of notes
And get extra credit and never act up
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12. |
Exhale
03:13
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Inhale this breath
Exhale the next
Inhale energy
Exhale the rest
Inhale a grounding presence
Exhale fear of change
Inhale silence
Exhale fragments of energy lost
All these things
All these days
All is given
Everything is given
Inhale this earth
Exhale your dreams
Inhale the warmth of this breath
Exhale the thoughts that don't comfort you anymore
Inhale and close your eyes
there's no need to keep on keeping score
All is in place
Everything is balanced and accounted for
Breathe in information
Breathe out the afterthought
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13. |
Coyotes Of Hollywood
04:02
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Coyotes Of Hollywood
He had the open heart of a stereotypical hollywood drifter
but an unrelenting voice in the wings always whispered stand still
right below the sole of your borrowed wingtips, there's a masking tape mark
and the lights have all been rigged to find you there
A stationary soul, in a planetary spin
each scene brings another chance to reinvent yourself, to see within
to take the words that writers write and memorize what comes around again
to live the other worlds, that live inside someone else's pen
Typecast, at the end of a, a thin line
rewritten, just that afternoon
looking, for the right take, the right spin, for the right feel
and then on to the next reel, on to the next reel
Coyotes run through these hills, you can see them every night
you can always recognize them when you see them mirrored in your headlights
cautious, and questioning, symmetrical in size
staring straight into the night, at exactly coyote eye height
Guided by clouds and stars, running from fires
flying over Mulholland, Topanga, to the sea
we used to dream in black and white
we used to see what isn't there, but used to be
we never thought that we could swim
we were never taught that we could fly
what we see tonight, we could never imagine
when we were pups, howling in our pack
we could never imagine this, even just last night
We hold the script closer to our squinting eye
we wonder if those cautionary tales might, at last, hold an ounce of truth
we settle into the sense of ease that only hard-won years can bring
we sing along with anthems that only catch what our memories can prove
Sailing down Sunset, to Malibu, and north along the coast
We sometimes take what isn't freely given
We sometimes ask for just a little bit more
we never thought that we could swim
we were never taught that we could fly
what we see tonight, we could never imagine
when we were young
we could never imagine this, even just last night
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14. |
Such Tiny Stars
03:15
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Such Tiny Stars
Feel the shift, from seconds to hours
So much heat from such a tiny star
Feel the way the moon pulls the water
Such a presence from something so far
This radiant glare from such tiny stars
So much weight from objects made of light
Tumble and fall, without any sound
Broken dot motion lines follow
Broken dot motion lines follow
Follow us around
Follow us all around
Here in the hexagon, we're all about the subtle buzz
All about just letting it go, and just flowing about, forgetting
If it never happened, we'll all just hum along
We're all about angle, all about the line
All about the corner pocket
All of the time
So follow us around
All of the time
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15. |
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One Way Street In Chinatown
Born on a summer night
On a plastic-covered backseat
Of an overheated Crown Vic
Pulled up outside a bakery
Underneath a flashing yellow light
On a one way street in Chinatown
Lived across a famous bridge
In a less-than-famous neighborhood
A little more quiet there
But not in a good way
Moved away before you even started school
Right-hand side of the water, left-hand side of the road
Moved away before you even started school
Right-hand side of the water, left-hand side of the road
It was like, what are you looking at
where do you come from, kid?
Lived above a souvenir shop
Just a ceiling and a floor
Separating you from
Union Jack T-shirts, posters of the queen
And a row of little snowy globes,
An underwater, hand-painted
Changing of the guard
Up on Abbey Road
Zebra crossing tourists in groups of four
Golden slumbers, yellow submarine
Norwegian wood, come together, let it be
The long and winding road, while my guitar gently weeps
Eight days a week, all you need is love
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16. |
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Cluster Of Separate Sparks
When asked about funny stories
A little slice of your life
To make those who are crying, smile
I try to remember when you were smiling
I try to remember that
Technicolor memories, left to others
It’s lots of fun, til somebody gets hurt
Cabinet full of blue and green, and unopened bottles
Disregard the medicine and always stay alert
Shepherd show me how to go
Cause this hillside is so steep
How to gather, how to sow
And how to feed sheep
If you can’t remember
A cluster of separate sparks
Headlights on another highway
Sleeping rabbit painted on the moon
Familiar prayers whispered in your ear nightly
And you memorize the rhythm of the words
And you recognize the parts that you have learned
Shepherd show me how to go
Cause this hillside is so steep
How to gather, how to sow
And how you can feed sheep
If you can’t remember
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17. |
In The Wind
03:01
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Oh baby, oh baby
There are blue skies just around the bend
Can’t you see the blue skies, up around the bend
Soon the sun will be shining
And our tears will scatter in the wind
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18. |
Windy
02:28
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