1. |
Stupid Laws
02:53
|
|
||
|
things are about to get meta
this is a long-form love letter
signed sealed delivered and sent back to the same sender
so if cheese is your game ender
just call me orson card man cause this is more of the same cheddar
leading men lost focus
every license to chill's been suspended
even jimmy buffett's on notice
travel agents on blacklists
a million adventures all started off excellent but got bogus
take it back to days of not wine not roses
of skinned up knees, sticky hands, and snot noses
friday nights in the corner booth
8:45, trying to chase the stragglers out before the shop closes
take it back to the dancin' days
LA lights flashin'
putting that chug step back in fashion
from the margaret ave hotel basement
to the morris suite on the top floor of the kipfer mansion
turn that music down
phoenix rising up off puget sound
aye aye captain, duty bound
flying over ted nugent town
thick skins crouched in the thicket with scopes trying to shoot it down
it's the can't amend the 2nd amendment crew
squared off against the stop the presses i've been offended crew
let's leave these great minds to hash it out, catch a late seating with the captain and the stomach-distended crew
up on the hills overlooking my hometown
ghost commissions for ghost towns
palaces brokedown
my voice makes no sound
screaming at the langoliers, please just slow down, just
set the delorean dial for christmas
maybe 90's, 93's, or 96's
the point is, we're going back to december more than taylor swift is
she's on retainer too to underwrite the wishlist
with matt and shawn in the volvo
dreamed you said, if two of us go, do we all go?
i woke up bathed in the salt glow
stupid stupid laws
i know it's not god's fault though
just take it back to the salad days
even though i'm ron swanson at mulligan's - never once ate veggies
mansfield on the brain
about to join dwight, miller, and wayne in the pantheon of great reggies
|
||||
2. |
You Done Great
02:14
|
|
||
|
"you done great"
put me in coach
i had a premonition we were destined to win, coach
balsa wood bridges and palaces
like you've never seen before and likely never will see again, coach
feels like summer, plant a kiss on the boombox
cold gin, rock bottom, he's worth a deuce box
bruce said it's hard to be a saint in the boondocks
lower back tattoos, liquor, and tube tops
but that's the thing to be on the day that the truth drops
archangels flanking the lengths of our quarters
go on, send sirens to storm its borders, i'll be like "no peg, i gotta get back to the shoe shop"
courthouse deed church wedding or covenant?
married by god, good friend, or the government?
i dreamed bonna sent a postcard from heaven
it said "guys, the arches are golden and i'm loving it"
(not to rub it in)
sometimes the wind at your back
just means that you miss the sunrise
call my name and i'll be there in no time
i can't know everybody's reasons but i can know mine
i know mine, i know mine, i know mine
you must not think a lot of me
to tell me either/or is the crux of democracy
i took logic 101, false dichotomy
here's your wool, wolf - please dress modestly
living off the fat of the land like the prodigy
break that ceiling but don't break policy
we done great, the bridge bore weight
but the victory was training my mind to crave odysseys
standing on the booth, spilling ink on a fake ballot
making up my own party and voting straight ballot
ronnie, reggie, cornelius copperbottom - dude, there's a mansfield for every taste palate
are you a coming or a going attraction?
marquees either blackened or completely imagined
leave the great showmanship to hugh jackman
i'd rather be a great dad, husband, and craftsman
|
||||
3. |
Fight Blades with Blades
02:08
|
|
||
|
good morning sleepyhead - it's a new dawn
don't even think about about turning that news on
not even a soupcon of a truth bomb
trail of fertilizer from augusta to tuscon
when i was just a boy my dad said here's what to do son
open up your heart to jesus he'll
make you new, son
freedom ain't free, boom here's a coupon
in a world of jimmy stewarts, be a jimmy neutron
now step back, no farther, farther, you can see it like a mural hanging up in the great hall
racked up national, city, and state mall
didn't even need a cue to knock in the eight ball
justice for some, loved none, disgraced all
corked the bat, said hey, that's baseball
exit sandman
look at these hands, man
about to get a callous from all these facepalms
suit down, soy bomb the debate stage
out of the mouths of babes and onto the blank page
fake machine, fake against, or fake rage
feeling like john candy in spaceballs
walls are talking, floorboards are creaking
tryin to patch the hole while the tapes are leaking
storm the firewall, hack the teleprompter
static note that says refrain from speaking
refrain from speaking
refrain from speaking
refrain from speaking
refrain from
roll call - toro, craftsman and lawn boy
tools of the trade lined up in a convoy
go on, run along to your chores now john boy
cut that grass til the grass is gone boy
do your own yard first then move on boy
women on the block then grandpa's farm boy
and i happen to like the smell, thank you very much
don't you know the pleasing odor's
half the charm boy
cut it off on both sides of the pond boy
all the way to infinity and beyond boy
then call guiness
or the olympics
gold weedwhacker on the jumbotron boy
21-rev salute when you're gone boy
epitaph reads "fight blades with blades,
and on that note, maintenance, don't do me wrong, boy"
moment of silence, now pass the baton boy
refrain from speaking
|
||||
4. |
On an Island
03:09
|
|
||
|
picture myself on an island
populous
a kind of curated metropolis
a real life sim city
man, cut me some slack - i was like 17 when i thought of this
all municipal offices, send your crack survey teams out to do some reconaissance
all along the perimeter
reservoirs of sparkling life giving water are bottomless
even then it seemed stupid
yet every year, little by little i kept adding to the blueprint
first a couple of blocks just for best friends
a vintage dolanc deck out on the west end
hold up, double back
barge where the troublemakers causin trouble at
buy me a vowel, i'd like to solve the puzzle, pat
grand prize, my own dry dock franchise - i'm lovin' that
tommy like a boss on dateline
emporium exploding the dow jones big time
none of that new upscale crap either
i'm talkin raffia crows, googly eyes, felt, beads, and grapevine
step back into altered space
93, hit coffee club, check on bonna just in case
yep, same old same, here
still got all my same old games on game gear
yule squad coming in quick from out of town
gotta make that rooftop run without a sound
selling nostalgia by the pound
take the good, leave the bad, give it a name, lock it down
picture myself on an island
picture myself on an island
grown up, graduated
gave a fancy rock to a girl off the mansfield block
old ways eradicated - i'm a davis you're a davis, so is miles - booyah, validated
build the team up right away
but true to the namesake do it in a silent way, and dude
dont tell me i got my hands full
i never hitch myself to a wagon i can't pull
take em around, geek em
out, and show em stuff
see kids, old dad's always been a soda buff, look at this
'89, out on the back porch, barely six, me and chris, built this pepsi fountain outta bricks
and it's fallen a time or two
still a wellspring of that rare old mountain dew
still a reminder god's love abounds for you
up to a number that can't be counted to
will you just look at the grounds surrounding you
without him they're all idea no followthrough
follow you just like tails in sonic 2
anything you do, i will also do
and when one day you break
down
over all the years you spent drawing plans for a fake town
think back where they came from
the conflagration you got that eternal flame from
a flicker of an instinct
that for milliseconds allows you to think the way kids think
the hope that can only be known in the warm embrace of the place that you got your name from
so picture your island but recognize
it's heaven in disguise, so stand be incentivized
life's sad, life is a bust, i sympathize
but keep that joy down in your heart, you know, religion-wise
|
||||
5. |
Lift Us Up
02:37
|
|
||
|
used to run with the ladykillers
but we were always more coroners and gravediggers
special emotional support forces
watching out the window for strange figures
guess that's one way to support 'em
help alleviate the postmortem boredom
it's in the unofficial job description
crimes of passion, you're mandated to report 'em
all my friends they know the drill
empty their heads they know it still
empty our hearts and hands into the wishing wells that we were told to fill
toys r us, kmart, radioshack, borders
about a billion other bricked up bricks and mortars
tumbleweeds rolling through the city market
somehow we're all still broke and still hoarders
pandora about to open up the mystery box
barnes and noble on a compact disc detox
pretend i'm flipping through a rack of old coltrane
instead of novelty items on a gift kiosk
all my friends have gone their ways
burger joints and book cafes
windows look like tired eyes scanning the horizon for brighter days
high tide, gray skies, and green meadows
gated communities full of filth, and clean ghettos
we're all sinatra - got the world on a string
not enough pinocchios, too many gepettos
speaking of puppets what's with cookie kermit and elmo
such kind eyes, such strange bedfellows
okay okay inside joke i'll stop - it's just as well though
we're grown but the memory's like a marshmallow
all my friends know what i mean
comes a time for coming clean
stays a place where flashes of our old abandoned selves can still be seen
o messiah lift us up
o messiah lift us up
|
||||
6. |
Pervie the Floor Man
02:22
|
|
||
|
time attack
second album lost on the vinyl rack
two decades later here's the title track
2001 pre 9-11 lots of vital chat
like, when's the new jay drop and are the bulls getting michael back?
greenie's talking some crazy bread
enjoying some sophisticated dialogue with some platonic lady friends
out from the warehouse door pops spanky's head
he said "did the floor guy just say the thing i think he said?"
old song says careful of the stones you throw
and it's a line you tow between do-si-don't and do-si-do
loziers up, just a couple rows to go
then the boys are going camping in wisconsin, dont you know
tree season
buy one get one free season
stuff one into the back of a grand prix season
it's christmas eve man i'm not mopping restrooms
i'm playing dock hockey with packing tape and pushbrooms
now who's that guy with the big machine
gonna buff them tiles till the tiles are clean
he's a man with a plan - know what i mean?
he's the buffest buffer on the buffin' scene
the floorman, floorman, floorman, floorman
go on say it again
the floorman, floorman, floorman, floorman
yesiree bob that's him
go on and testify
make those endcaps electrify
you never know which corporate mole you'll be questioned by
he'll say "will this display catch the attention of the average guy?"
i say, "i don't know man, i've never really had an average eye"
i'm about to make like a stranger and wayfare
you know who's gotta pick up lil trey from daycare
lite rock, 8:00, must be time for delilah - hey there
that's all of us, kinda - find a comfort zone and stay there
shop's in a cash crisis
it's mix master z, quit slashing beats, time to slash prices
got some bad vices
the whole thing tastes like a sauce made from bland spices
go on state your mission
decoration addiction
you're in luck - we got some late additions
so if the competition can't accommodate your greater vision
call the emporium and ask for the holiday division
|
||||
7. |
|
|||
|
disperse across the plaza at dusk
excavate the last traces of us
return them here where no one else will ever see
same way we always discussed
leave nothing of extrordinary worth
in such volatile, temporary earth
a tip of the cap and a knowing nod
and then disappear into dust
i'm holding the wall upright while everybody else is slow dancin'
raid the flannel shop - that's what they mean by dope fashions
play basketball with the jackson
5 - no not those jacksons
21 pilots? what? no gimme 21 boat captains
you got the whole world in your hands - a+, awesome effort
but don't mistake being a lost sheep for a loss of shepherd
views may be black or white but i've been on the box and the box is checkered
now my testimony's like a rare b-side - off the record
if our legacy doesn't last
i will travel back to the past
but if the past isn't there
i will just rebuild it somewhere
but if it turns out the past was a lie
i will pray that we meet by and by
but if you don't have that kind of faith
i will pray that mine keeps you safe
|
||||
8. |
Awkward Applause
02:30
|
|
||
|
past life
i'm like dylan at the gaslight
the crowd's broke - they don't clap right
my mom even said, we've never had a bad night
yet not a one of these ingrates has built us a fansite
follow protocol, give em what they want right?
raw and uncut - pour out your heart, right?
i got so emo even chris carrabba put his arm around me and said chin up - it's gonna be all right
ron and reggie and golden locks are on the bankroll
so sit back and let slick nick's licks take hold
lady i know it's your birthday and that's a $40 glass of wine but we're trying to sing so shut your cakehole
at 7, you're as indifferent as you think you can be
quarter after, paying less attention to your family
by 7:30 you're like "oh how, i wish my stanley
understood me like these singing poets understand me"
get comfortable - it's gonna be a long night
there's no choruses - but we agree it's art, right?
think you'll ever add a couple covers to the repertoire?
yeah sure, when these stupid kids learn who def leppard are
influences never far
care to debate what the best tracks on side b of sgt pepper are?
ooh, a youngster into our music!
yes, i've seen the t shirts and grew up knowing where my parents records are
gotta read up, independent music daily
then hit espresso royale with the duke of ukulele
don't shout freebird unless you really love it
'cause jeff and johnny know all seventy minutes of it
standing gigs and our names are flashing on the poster
can't pay you, but think of all the great exposure
maybe you could cater my wedding then? uh uh, no sir
are you nuts? that would result in our instant closure
start shining kid - it's my time right?
sure look the part (gotta be a sign right?)
'bout to brew a pot of green kool-aid, pour it all over the lampshade - bask in the limelight
little taste of fame man, nothing sweeter
half-shut down clubs and forgotten theaters
giving a whole new meaning to the term loss leader
about an 8.7 on the suck-o-meter
(awkward applause of hands)
we're susan kane, initiate the slow clappin'
unintentional head bobbing and toe tapping
you're gonna get it son, so goes the jaw flappin'
but keep your options open in case it don't happen
|
||||
9. |
Exclamation Point Piece
02:47
|
|
||
|
sportswriter shook his head and said good grief
in shoveling the mountains we knocked down, i turned up a whole new leaf
one day, i woke up and the open road was just calling my name
flashes of our last days in the valley etched on the sky in flame
old makeshift cinemas in the market attic
over-under on stock romances turning tragic
sorceresses fresh out of magic
as the emperor passes on his excess fabric
can i use you as a reference for my
future leaders?
verify the cleaning up of my default demeanors
i had no qualms about the donning of a kind disguise to mask what once were tired eyes from taking suckers to the cleaners
gone to see the fireworks out at the city limits
we can't be held accountable just cause we know the business
but then the show began, i thought if these were made by man, and man was made by god then god i better drop and beg forgiveness
our names have all changed in time
our names have all changed in time
our names have all changed in time
our names have all changed in time
the sportswriter shook his head and said good grief
all surface and no details is right, man - snippets of the world in brief
it's that untainted view from the vistas that explodes our eyes wide
the starfish waiting out on the shoreline to get swallowed by the slow rolling tide
dynasty struck down with two swift movements
follow that breadcrumb trail of influence
i get so overcome by the newness
that every time i close my eyes i hear music
|
||||
10. |
For Shawn
02:52
|
|
||
|
they've come to divide us
but love is blindness
so if we love them fiercely enough they won't find us
full immunity
what are they gonna get us for if what we kill em with is kindness?
of course the news is fake
lies are timeless
covered in gloss like a topps' finest
charlie brown to your linus
remind us there's divineness
while vince and the trio carol behind us
stepped out of the sacrament into an almost unbearable lightness
parking's two bucks
gas, a few bucks
but a swift transfer from the naughty to nice list is priceless
no dodo cares that it's flightless
till it befriends an eagle that says "here, try this"
stuck on bear mountain, thinking every gold digger is king midas
zeuses, poseidons, tritons
old white haired bearded shirtless tyrants waving tridents
they're grunge era savings patients
a bunch of guys in dire need of wholesome professional guidance
whats up man?
did you catch the vocal samples?
coming left, right, but finally from both channels?
that's you, and yes it's a joke about lagomorph excrement
be patient, we're making the best of it
'cause it's kinda sorta your last sound testament
at least in the body of work it's collected in
caught off mic at the last pursuit session
that famous winter break 2002 session
but god makes all things new, so now it's a new session
a posthumous me-n-you session
and i'm going to lay it at the foot of the throne as an offering
file under "things you didn't know you could do" session
god's timing's free, you know
a prayer today could be answered 3 years ago
just imagine, the face of love coming through the cleansing flames saying
"my dearest son, you're free to
go"
now, we never talked much about faith
at the time i was kind of without faith
at least any kind of devout faith
i was the kind that would whisper but wouldn't shout faith
and so i boxed you as predisposed to doubt faith
that's rock and roll for you, man
loud thoughts half baked in a pot haze - might say our data was cloud-based
one look up straight then about face
so if he can answer present prayers on past dates
i'm calling out for a last grace
that these two absurd words from your dearest son rise up as this exact phrase every time this track plays
please remember the place you prepared for my friend
please make sure it's still there for my friend
may we all be alive in the superunknown
and may we never fall on black days
|
||||
Les Frères Heureux Peoria, Illinois
You get the one, you get that other one.
If you like Les Frères Heureux, you may also like:
Will I Still Bloom?
by Half Dream
Heartland indie rock that’s like Angel Olsen at her fuzziest fronting a gnarlier Mazzy Star.
go to album
The Melbourne singer-songwriter's captivating debut balances dreamy indie folk with driving, emotional rock.
go to album
The Valley Of Vision
by manchester orchestra
The rock band embraces emerging technologies to create an immersive, forward-looking soundscape.
go to album
Introspective pop songs with transcendent melodies offer a joyful meditation on staying present in a world that often moves too fast.
go to album
The Late Great Gold Dust
by Gold Dust
The fantastic indie folk songs on the latest from Gold Dust are slathered in gallons of echo, making them feel titanic and 200 feet tall.
go to album
If you have a fondness for expertly wrought roots-rock with sharp lyrics and aching vocals, look no further—“Strangers” is for you.
go to album
Wry songs from this Washington artist that recall the homespun charm of early Mountain Goats.
go to album
