1. |
Turpitude
02:24
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Well, Jackie lost her fucking mind outside Greenlawn detention and then it made the Chronicle
And I remember what you said at the time – it was farcical, but it wasn’t comical
It’s been a trying couple years and I know that it appears that I’m aimless if not mindless
Well it’s a universal truth that when someone turns that blue then suddenly it’s all just you
And turpitude
November 8th, 1994 – a dark café in Rochester
Gingrich revolution on the TV – you think things just got bad? The truth is more exhausting
And I smoked for the following reasons:
The contract with America
I smoked because of Pulp Fiction
I smoked because of Mojo Nixon
And because back then it wasn’t rude
Nowadays I suppose they’d call that Turpitude
I left a diary in the van
It had mostly just ideas and maybe some sketches
A notice from collections and a cease and desist from my favorite band
1940, August 20 – the springtime of the cannibals
An icepick deep in Trotsky’s back – his last thought is “It’s understandable”
I was pumping some pain in West Memphis
I was just about losing my shit
It’s sunny and extradition is difficult
Confused thoughts in my head
And will the night air finally calm me?
And will our parents remember us fondly?
Can I do anything to get you in the mood?
Sometimes my mind wanders and I think about Turpitude
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2. |
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Things are going well, things are going swell
The company said, “You might take a little haircut”
$15 all you can eat, with limited apps
There’s no wings, there’s no wings, there’s no wings
Won’t agree to pass away, I won’t agree to die
Tonight I’m taking wing and I’m expecting to fly economy
Economy
I can feel something monstrous is rising in my soul and it doesn’t feel as unpleasant as you’d expect
Harvey Danger’s in hell, climbing up a pole – it’s one thing not to be wrong and another to be correct
A man must make concessions and I’m known to be flexible
A man must express intentions and I’m known to be eligible
A man must shed possessions and I’m ready to buy
I’m going to answer all the questions and I’m expecting to fly economy
Economy
Economy
Skeletons in cement shoes
Fish swimming through their heads
The labor boss has got the blues
Now the labor boss is dead
You took the shot for your vanity
And the pills for your sanity
You’re a high roller I can see, but tonight I’m expecting to fly economy
Economy
Things are going great, things are shifting weight
I want to get another haircut but I can’t get an appointment
I’m probably exaggerating – Jerry’s handling the catering
There’s no wings, there’s no wings, there’s no wings
A better living through chemistry, but I haven’t got the grades
A better living through consumerism, but I’m waiting to get paid
A better living through action and I’m willing to try
Everything flies and everything dies economy
Economy
Economy
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3. |
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Hey Derek, will you take a look at this?
Death came early for cousin Chris
Death came early for Aunt Jean
Dublin town, St. Stephen’s Green
Home rule and the Easter Rising
Tipperary and the constabulary
Tom Clarke and the Black and Tans
Don’t fuck with a marked man
A marked man on a marked occasion
Citizen army, guns out blazing
Chopped to pieces, scattered to the wind
You’ll be seeing us again
24 April, 1916
The post office on Sackville Street
Volunteers and Cumann na mBan
Winnie’s got a typewriter and a gun
A marked man stands before his god
Tom Clarke and the firing squad
Dying smiling just because
You can kill a man but you can’t kill his cause
Sound the alarm, send in the troops
Brittania kills anything that moves
Slayed civilians and the police
Ring the bells let the marked man speak:
“Ireland unfree shall never be at peace!”
Padraig Pearse would make the call
Padraig Pearse against the wall
James Connolly, never surrender!
James Connolly tied to a chair
On the third day they rose again
But they were sorely outmanned
By day six it was the end
So goes the story of the marked man
A marked man on a marked occasion
It’s not easy starting a nation
It’s not easy to give away your life
A marked man always pays that price
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4. |
That Guy's in Rammstein
02:30
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A great coat of piano felt
A note so sour it leaves a welt
Black coffee steams a face of stone
Thick yellowed fingers peck his phone
What in the world’s come over me
Asking for a friend
That guy’s in Rammstein
Kaiser’s in a can and I’m nearing the end
A rusty bench, a leafless tree
George V. Higgins morality
A meal of snakes, a feast of wrath
The lady saws herself in half
What in the world’s come over me
Asking for a friend
That guy’s in Rammstein
Kaiser’s in a can and I’m nearing the end
No buck, no mark, no cancelled check
Poor Teutonic architect
He’ll dress you up in scratchy things
He’ll wet his beak, he’ll wax your wings
What’s he got up that sleeve?
What’s he got in that bag?
That guy’s in Rammstein
Wolfpack going out for a morning drag
Wolfpack going out for a morning drag
Wolfpack going out for a morning drag
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5. |
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You said your goodbyes to the Wichita Genie
Everyone feels that way every now and again
I remember two Sundays in 1991 – I don’t know how it ends, I hope that we win
Before another 30 years passes
In the blink of a fretful slumber
Before the big wave crashes
Padding out the box office numbers
You put the abs in abject torture
You put the torture near the top
Watch you waking with the pastor
Watch the whole thing fall apart
Banner day for the trash cat
You were left behind by the Gideons
With a sponge and some rusty wrenches
Dug foxholes for the righteous
All the atheists are in the trenches
The tyranny of proximity kept your transactions at an arm’s length
And the enemy of your enemy was your enemy
Any weakness was your strength
You put the you in cruel and unusual
But you typically put yourself first
You always said that I knew you too well, you always said that you thought you were cursed
Banner day for the trash cat
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6. |
Murder: The Experience
02:37
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I was on trial, I was in style, faced the cold credibility of an unmarked file
One time a friend told me to expect a visitor
One time I believe I met the inquisitor
No one’s saying it’s an accident that I came to town
No one’s saying it’s a coincidence the way things went down
I was keeping the books I was keeping up appearances
You kill it with looks – murder the experience
I could see you late, I just can’t see straight
We made our way to the Fulton fish mart
Bronx-bound bus, 2:13 in the morning
There were people that I trust giving me the warning
No one’s saying it’s an accident that I left town
I suppose I ran away the second you came around
I was running scared, I was running interference
But every day without you was murder: the experience
God damn the people who would doubt
They never wanted to understand
At the length the truth will out
Soon they’ll think that we’re all friends
You’ve got a lot of nerve to say this is the end
Separated by decree, I was locked in Little Ease
I’d watch from my window to see if you’d see me
And maybe I was lying when I said that I was fine
And maybe I was lying when I said I wasn’t lying
On the very worst night of my very worst day
A smile from you could murder my pain
On my deathbed I could see you making an appearance
Anything less would murder the experience
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7. |
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Daughter of the revolution
Son of a suffragette
Late night hearings, early morning confusion
You just haven’t earned it yet
Wrenches and spanners, transmissions from the neighbors
An endless cycle of meaningless behavior
The dream of Lorca is dead and gone
He could fill my mind but I haven’t got the time
I got a feeling – I got a feeling
The thirteenth chairman of the federal reserve, appointed by Reagan in ‘87
Alan Greenspan, who they came to call “Easy Money” (Easy Money)
In the 50s, Greenspan declared Ayn Rand his savior
An endless cycle of meaningless behavior
Played clarinet and sax alongside Stan Getz, and then he went to Julliard, which isn’t as easy as it sounds
I got a feeling – I got a feeling
Rand created objectivism, built on reality, reason, self-interest and capitalism
She wrote all this fiction, asked, “Who is John Galt”
If someone else suffers and you prosper it ain’t your fault
All the mod cons and all the mod capers
An endless cycle of meaningless behavior
All of the lying about all of the dying and you can’t say “I love you” without first saying “I”
I’ve got a feeling – I’ve got a feeling
Paul Ryan handed out Atlas Shrugged to anyone with a pair of hands
Divided society in to makers and takers, moochers and looters, supercomputers and paranoid bands
All the right parts in all the right places
An endless cycle of meaningless behavior
An endless cycle cascading towards the pit
If a problem comes along, you must whip it
An endless cycle – an endless cycle
I got a feeling – I got a feeling
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8. |
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The horses are all up and gone
Honey you surely won’t last long
Singing that borrowed tune you stole from John and John
Don’t know what was the accursed venue
Sponsored by Bar/None and I got their sampler
Some of the bands were the Ordinares and Katy McCarty and Rage to Live and Brian Dewan and Freedy Johnston
But my favorite song was “The Nightgown of the Sullen Moon”
It showed up late and it left to soon
What’s their deal? Are they art school kids?
I think they live under the Williamsburg Bridge
You can call them on the phone and they’ll sing to you
Their first record is self-titled, but everyone calls it “the pink album”
It’s got “Don’t Let’s Start” and “She’s and Angel” and “Absolutely Bill’s Mood”
Was she a hotel detective, or the investigator?
The peculiar case of the human song generators
Before the flood there was Lincoln
I’m pretty sure “Ana Ng” is the best one
But “They’ll Need a Crane” is certainly a close second
I was working in the lab late one night
Trying to discern exactly when you’ll die
I’ve been on both ends of this is where the party ends
But I never lost faith in They Might Be Giants
The thermostat’s in flames, or in the incinerator
The peculiar case of the human song generators
Like this:
Make a hole with a gun perpendicular
To the name of this town in a desktop globe
Exit wound in a foreign nation
Showing the home of the one this was written for
I’ve made no advancement, I’ve made no improvement
Pretty soon you’ll read me out of the movement
But you’ll have to deal with TMBG – they’ll chop you down like an old, dead tree
In the days of our youth, remember your creator
The peculiar case of the human song generators
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9. |
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First come, first served
The Who sell out Cincinnati December 3, 1979
Riverfront Coliseum
Wanna be up front, maybe we can meet them?
Second tour with Kenney Jones
Things were just settling in
Second tour without Keith
He can’t play the fills, but he keeps the beat
Work on your paperwork, count on your mates
General admission, locked at the gates
Everyone knows the immigrant song
In Cincinnati Coliseum it won’t take long
Death can come on slow
Or death can come on quickly
The band had no idea anything went wrong until the last encore and the tank was empty
Triumphant was the way they felt when they finally took the stage
The standing ovation
The standard notation
Triumphant was the way they felt when they acknowledged the applause
Until a turn of occasion
And then no one again ever was the same
Cold spring morning, 1979
Aaron Pryor spars with Sugar Ray
The Cincy cat who beat the odds at last
And then the odds went and beat him back
Did you know the first encore was “Summertime Blues?”
And the second one was “The Real Me?”
They were gonna raise a fuss, they were gonna raise a holler
They were gonna make a dollar in Cincinnati
The crowd became a mob
And the temperatures were freezing
There wasn’t any air, the crush couldn’t be stopped
They weren’t screaming for you, they were just screaming
Triumphant was the way they felt when they exited to stage right
Everything went like gangbusters – Pete and Roger only fought three times
Triumphant was the way they felt before they knew the kids had been trampled
I hope I get old before I die, I hope I die before I’m made an example
Well, they digitally removed the coke from Neil’s nose, you know
Or so the rumor goes – I don’t know
Was he a heavy doper?
Or an occasional user?
He was a friend of yours
Cutthroat played on camera
As though there’s any other kind
Winterland in November
Bill Graham presents: A GODDAMN IMPOSSIBLE WAY OF LIFE
Goddamn impossible way of life (I can’t explain)
Goddamn impossible way of life (I can’t explain)
Goddamn impossible way of life (Call it a bargain)
The best they ever had
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10. |
Clouds of Witness
03:02
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You wanna go true west, baby? Think you can go as far as that?
But as far as the truth, it’s maybe better you weren’t ever even asked
Cat on a hot tin armada
Aw, the weapons we all bring
Ah sure, I confess I enjoyed the drama, but I never said the play’s the thing
Light sleep and sobbin’
Took the job and now you’re jobbin’
Doubting my views on science
Tried out peace and then chose violence
Origami pleasures and midnight treasures all folded up, don’t take half measures
But oh my soul, to the victims of death, the Philistines took their final breath
In clouds of witness
In clouds of witness
I tried from a distance just to see
I can’t imagine 40 days in the desert
I can’t imagine 40 days anywhere, really
Think about all the manifestos and year-end best-ofs
Think about all the things you’ll never read
You could’ve stood to be more cautious
Before you crumble and exult, “Ah sure I confess I enjoyed the process, but I never wanted the result”
Stranded in the forum
I was sold on your misgiving
I was living for decorum
If you can even call that living
In clouds of witness
In clouds of witness
I tried from a distance just to see
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11. |
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I won a hero’s name with McAlpine and Costain
With Fitzpatrick, Murphy, Ashe and the Wimpey’s gang
I've been often on the road on my way to draw the dole
When there's nothing left to do for Johnny Laing
And I used to think that God made the mixer, pick and hod
So that Paddy might know hell above the ground
I've had gangers big and tough tell me tear it all out rough
When you're building up and tearing England down
In a tunnel underground a young Limerick man was found
He was built into the New Victoria Line
When the bonus gang had passed, sticking from the concrete cast
Was the face of little Charlie Joe Devine
And the ganger man McGurk said big Paddy hates to work
When the gas main blew and he flew off the ground
Oh, they swore he send down slack, I'll not be there until I'm back
Keep on building up and tearing England down
I was on the hydro dam on the day that Jack McCann
Got the better of his stammer in a week
He fell from the shuttering dam and the poor auld stuttering man
He was never ever more inclined to speak
And I saw auld Bald McCall from the big flyover fall
Into a concrete mixer spinning round
Though it wasn't his intent, he got a fine head of cement
When he was building up and tearing England down
I remember Carrier Jack with his hod upon his back
How he swore one day he'd set the world on fire
But his face they've never seen since his shovel it cut clean
Through the middle of the big high-tension wires
No more like Robin Hood would he roam through Cricklewood
Or dance around the pubs in Camden Town
Oh, but let no man proclaim, sure no Pat can die in vain
When he's building up and tearing England down
So come all you navvies bold, do not think that English gold
Is just waiting to be taken from each sod
Or the likes of you and me will ever get an OBE
Or a knighthood for good service to the hod
They've the concrete master race for to keep you in your place
And a ganger man to kick you to the ground
If you ever try to take part of what the bosses make
When you're building up and tearing England down
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The Paranoid Style Washington, D.C.
The Paranoid Style was a special committee convened in 2012 in order to address our country's many pressing problems.
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