1. |
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Beware of bands with the style in the name of the band
Elevator pitch conception
Blues ass folky metal polka one man jam brand
Funkadelic is the only exception
One groove under a nation
Here come the mothership
Up and away we go
You can't just change the station
This will never be on the radio
Beware of skinny boys with black in the name of their bands
Beware of skinny boys in general
Pricey dirty leather boots
Smashing Strymon pedals
Smashing washing
Ones and zeroes
Wash in reverb
Flatten tension
Into general
Everything and nothing
All is ephemeral
Making moves into blaxploitation
Here comes the mothership
Up and away we go!
You can't just change the station
This will never be on the radio
I gots 10 Buggy Commandments
For bandits seeking musical enhancements
Jake to joke and woke to wake, son
Just be careful what you take from
When you shake and bake, son
The rule is to just be cool
And the rules are the rules
I just want them to fly
I just want them to rise above it all
Just take to the sky
But wax wings are for those who love to fall
All y'all love to fall
All y'all love to fall
They caught you on camera with the hard R
Reversal reparation
Earth to constellation
Thirty mile zone
Everybody wanna go
Don Juan daddy wanna be one
Seem like fun, yeah
Girl I love you
But you're trouble
Yes to glamour
But no to all of the struggle
Y'all be scrambling for a justification
Swing down sweet chariot
Up and away we go!
You can't just change the station
You can't just change the station
You can't just change the station
You can't just change the station
You can't just change the station
This will never be on the radio
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2. |
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I thought it was art
But it was just a cover tune of my emotions
A transcription of my heart
Boo-hoo heartbroken
I'm a grown assed man
I got no business to be complaining
Tryna to make y'all understand
It's all the same thing
To get
Inside
Your head
Your heart your soul your life
With mine
As I
Transcribe
This blackety black black heart
There's a poem that's got to be written
There's a song that's got to be sung
You gotta beat that thang into submission
When the thang ain't enough
I thought it was decent
But ain't nobody could relate
If it was so good they would not need it
I'm ten years too late
DJ phone call
The sadness and the desperation
Taking the train to Montreal
Choo choo self-flagellation
To get
Inside
Your head
Your heart your soul your life
With mine
As I
Transcribe
This blackety black black heart
There's a poem that's got to be written
There's a song that's got to be sung
You gotta beat that thang into submission
When the thang ain't enough
I
Don't
Know
If it's art
But she seems to like it
She likes it
She likes it
She likes it
I don't know if it's art but she likes it
I don't know if it's art but she likes it
I don't know if it's art but she's calling my bluff
There's a poem that has to be written
There's a song that has to be sung
You got to beat that thang into submission
When the thang ain't enough
There's an ass that needs to shake
There some hips that need to swing
Keep on keeping on with the thang you make
When the song is the thing
When the song is the thang
When the song is the thang
When the song is the thang
I thought it was art
But it was just a cover tune of my emotions
Just a transcription of my heart
The rest is unspoken
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3. |
Whatchyugondo?
04:58
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Aww
Damn
What you gonna do with what you got?
What you gonna do with all that?
Will you get up and dance
Or just sit it out
When things get too hot
What would you even call that?
Whatchyugondo when the general opposition
Turns into something with a little more ambition
Whatchyugondo a woo hoo
Whatchyugondo a woo hoo
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyudo
Whatchyudo
What am I supposed to do with this song now?
How am I supposed to make this thang work?
What am I supposed to do with this song now?
I'm stuck and it's only the second verse
What am I supposed to do with all of this
Busy beat syncopation junk in the trunk
It's too much
At the same time the song is barely enough
Basically basic
Fair to middling to mediocre
I been tryna fix this song since last October
Whatchyugondo when your little composition
Needs to be something with a lotta mo' intention
Whatchyugondo a woo hoo
Whatchyugondo a woo hoo
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyudo
Whatchyudo
I been banished to the songwriter circle of Hell
I been banished to the songwriter circle of Hell
Dante and Virgil rolling up to point and laugh
As I struggle with a musical cardiograph
Yet again
This is where I hide from true introspection
It's the circle where I hide from a human connection
But I know how this planet has got its issues
And the people on this planet got them issues
So I should be tryna fill them big shoes
But I ain't got the nerve to sing them big truths
So I hide from the noise and all the sick news
Try to keep on my grind as it continues
Try to keep on my grind as it continues
I try to keep on my grind as it continues
But if you catch me crying
Go get them tissues
Boo hoo hooooooo hoo
So whatchyugondo a woo hoo
Whatchyugondo a woo hoo
Whatchyugondo
Whatchyugondo
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyugondo when you do
Whatchyudo
Whatchyudo
When you do what you do
When you do what you do
When you do what you do
Whatchyudo
Whatchyudo
Whatchyudo
Whatchyudo
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4. |
This Can Not Be That
04:18
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The scene I tried to paint
Defined by what it ain't
A color wheel conceals the grays
Of sinners and saints
The scene I tried to write
"A dark and stormy night."
There's no magic in an adjective
We've heard a thousand times
This cannot be that
No, this cannot be that
A song is not enough
Tears and purple prose
It's all a little too on the nose
Monet, Seurat, cliche dot dot dot
Ellipses... and blurry souls
This cannot be that
No, this cannot be that
A song can be too much
This cannot be that
This cannot be that
This cannot be that
This cannot be that
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5. |
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He thought he was about to get the come up
But Venetian Bugs Bunny got the one up
Now he's calling out her daddy before the sun up
Then he gonna trick a black brotha til he done up
And the Times said Kenny got it wrong
But the play's the thing that was wrong all along
So what y'all know about what's at stake here?
And what do y'all know about Shakespeare?
Same day, different play, I'm tryna check it
Cuz I know Steppenwolf ain't gonna step and fetch it
I'm diggin' blackamoors and soft conversation
With only one degree of separation
A few good footloose hollow men in the darkness
But I'm still six degrees away from D'Urville Martin
I found my purpose from Phylicia in two acts, baby
And the closer laughs along like she's a black lady
And I'm tryna figure out what it meant to me
And what I would have done differently
I could tell y'all who was sittin next to me
But I'm tryna respect a couple's privacy
So what do y'all know about what's at stake here?
And what do y'all know about Shakespeare?
After waiting for the future with David
And the big found art he created
They told me practice practice practice for admittance
But all I had to do was buy a ticket
And sit up straight in the balcony and act right (white)
But Jimmy Baldwin knew the ticket had a black price
I been tryna write another song about the Waste Land
But Paul is paying reparations for Graceland
Cecile be killing his American rewrite
She be weary to the bone but she gonna be all right
And Orson did Macbeth with the voodoo
But Langston ain't impressed with that hoodoo
Olivier gonna do it up in blackface
And everybody's apologizing for his poor taste
Jive talking pillow talk ain't okay
Screw driver vodka Bronco dranking OJ
So what do you know about Othello?
And what you know about the so-called "ghetto"?
And what you know about Iago?
Or Red Summer 1919 Chicago?
What you know bout Desdemona?
Or the burning of Tulsa, Oklahoma?
And what you know about love?
And what you know about amour?
What you know about the lord above?
What you know about what we're fighting for?
So what y'all know about the stakes here?
So what y'all know about the stakes here?
So what y'all know about the stakes here?
And what do y'all know about Shakespeare?
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6. |
Great Googly Moogly
02:40
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Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Great googly moogly
That fool is you
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Great googly moogly
That fool is you
You been staring out the window
Press your head against the pane
You been swearing at his photo
He's so fine
He's so vain
Doo lang
Doo lang
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-ling-ling
So if the pretty man wanna get
With it with it
Why'd he go and find a side piece
To hit it hit it
She need to take his pretty manhood
Snip it snip it
Do the oak tree
Tie a yellow ribbon to it
Dolly rooster to a hen
Click bang kiss it
Turn the prince back into a pretty frog
Ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit
Empty space she got to
Fill it fill it
Empty space she got to
Fill it fill it
The empty space she got to
Fill it fill it
But this love she got to kill it
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Great googly moogly
That fool is you
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Who the fool that loves the fool
That only loves himself
Great googly moogly
That fool is you
You been staring out the window
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7. |
Doing the Dumb Thing
03:40
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Here you go again
Loving somebody you should not be loving
Here you go again
Fucking around and doing the dumb thing
But it's like you ain't actually there in the bed
Cuz you're writing it all down inside your head
As the rhythm begets a rhythm and a melody
And the writing of the song begets the ecstasy
And it's an out of body experience
It's like you're watching what you're doing from a distance
And the distance should make you aware
But you don't care
That you're doing wrong
And it is happening right in front of you
And you're huffing and you're puffing as you're pumping
But you're looking at it from the other side of the room
With the distance of an artist, doing the dumb thing
And your heart is racing, you're out of breath
As the double-backed beast dies a little death
But the death begets a life in your new creation
So you're actually getting off on your little art installation
And it's an out of body experience
It's like you're watching what you're doing from a distance
You'd think an artist would be more self-aware
But you only care
About the song
I guess the album really needed one more slow song
One more honest recounting of your pain
One more confessional to grow on
So here you go again
Getting all solemn
Aware yet unaware
That you're the problem
Cha cha cha
Yeah, here you go again
Loving somebody you should not be loving
Here you go again
Reveling in doing the dumb thing
You are reveling in the stuff of doing the dumb thing
You can't get enough of doing the dumb thing
You are writing a song while doing the dumb thing
You are getting it all wrong while doing the dumb thing
You are numb to the pain and doing the dumb thing
You are humping out your brains, and doing the dumb thing
You're fucking around again
Doing the dumb thing
Dummy
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8. |
At the Violet Hour
04:50
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She is staring
Out the window
Press her forehead
To the pane
The glass, it cools her
But she still hates him
He will not fool her again
She is waiting for his ass to get back home
She is waiting for his ass to get back home
Is that a lesson
In her pocket
Or is she just
That glad to see him?
No second guessing
She's ready to pop him
Revenge or bust
She can't wait to greet him
She is waiting for his ass to get back home
She is waiting for his ass to get back home
On his phone
She left a message
And another
And another
And another
And another
When he gets home
He'll learn his lesson
She paces the room
Smooths her hair
And puts a record on
"At the violet hour
When the eyes and back
Turn upward from the desk
When the human engine waits
Like a taxi throbbing waiting
I Tiresias, though blind
Throbbing between two lives
Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest
I too awaited the expected guest"
So here he comes
In his pretty suit
Up the sidewalk
To her stoop
He peeks in the box
With his pretty eyes
He stands to knock
Heaves a pretty sigh
He raises his pretty hand
He is such a pretty man
But he is just a man
He is just a man
And he'll get all he deserves
Once she finds the nerve
Once she finds the moment
To take back all he has stolen
She can't wait
She can't wait
She can't wait
She can't wait
Tick tick tick tick tick
She will blow his ass away
She will blow his ass away
Bang bang bang bang
She will blow his ass away
She will blow his ass away
Bang bang bang bang bang
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9. |
Now I Pray You
04:17
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I am the craftsman
He who gathers up the wind
I am the craftsman
He who swims against the flow
I am the craftsman
Weeping as I make my way
I am the craftsman
Singing as I make my way
I sing of grief
I sing all my lustful folly
And I sing of joy
I sing the joy I hope is coming
I am hopeful
Joy is coming
So now I pray you
I pray you by the power that guides you
I pray the power
That guides you to the top of the stairs
I pray you remember
My grief
My singing
My wind
My flow
My lust
My folly
My hope
My joy
My pain
My pain
My pain
My pain
My pain
I pray that you remember my pain
So now I pray you
I pray you by the power that guides you
I pray the power
That guides you to the top of the stairs
So now I pray you
I pray you by the power that guides you
I pray the power
That guides you to the top of the stairs
And then he vanished
Into the fire
That refines them
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10. |
We Colonize the Skies
03:12
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Take take take take
Take take take take
Take
We're taking the names
We're leaving the gods behind
We're taking the names
For the things
For the planets
And the stars
And the calendar of our lives
We're taking the names
We're marking the time
We're leaving the gods behind
Venus is the morning star
She's the evening star, too
She ain't really a star
That's just how we do
We're taking the names
But the moon is just the moon
No Selene
No Cynthia
Ha ha ha ha
We pretend we're the
Center of that thing's
Fucking universe
That's just how we do
The sun revolves around us, too
Take take take take
Take take take take
Take take take take
Take take take
No giving
We fake it for a living
We act like we invented shit
So thank you for fixing it
Punch punch
Punch in
Punch up
Punch down
Punch drunk
Punch love
Pitch correct
Auto coon
Car toon
Mellow minstrel
Dying to disinfect
The original
Edit every syllable
Render them invisible
We understand your hours are billable
Thing is
We just disagree on the rate
ZERO
We act like we done created shit
We only confiscated shit
The stars and constellation shit
Even as we masturbate to it
We fake it fake it fake it fake it
Fake it fake it
Take take take take
Take take take take
We are the gods
We are gods now
We are the gods
We are gods now
We'll take your names for the
Heavens the planets the
Stars and the months and the
Days and the time and the
Time and the time and the time
We colonize the skies
We colonize the skies
We colonize the time
Time time time time time time time
We colonize
The skies
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11. |
Staying Out of Her Way
04:15
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I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
America
The booty full
America
God shed her grace
America
I swear I'm rooting for ya
But you be acting like
You need me to let you have your space
Damn
So I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
Tryna keep my head down
She's on the offensive
Tryna keep my head down
She dropping all pretenses
She say the quiet parts out loud
To let you know she meant it
This is the way it be now
Here come her stroke of the pen trick
Oh
My
God
So I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
Sleeping so-called sinners
Dream of Elysian Fields
I went down to the river
To lay down my sword and shield
I went down to the river
To lay down my shield and sword
Lay down my burden
Maybe I'll follow the drinking gourd
Maybe I'll follow the drinking gourd
Maybe I'll follow the drinking gourd
So I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
I'm staying out of her way today
I'm staying out of her way
It ain't all that different from yesterday
It ain't all that different from yesterday
It ain't all that different from any other day
I'm staying out of her way today
Because my black ass
Is a particularly large
And conspicuous
Target
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12. |
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When the player is willfully ignorant
Do not hate the game, hate the player
Vespucci knew it hit different
But Columbus did not know his ass from Asia
And a song is never just a song
The tired and poor huddled masses
The heart of e pluribus unum
Lady Liberty bats her lashes
And raises her robe to moon 'em
And a song is never just a song
Snips and snails and puppy dog tails
And all of the things worth living for
And the scions who upwardly fail
And the sugar and spice worth killing for
She's a beast built of many beasts
Of two backs and three sixes numerical
Dragon beasts of the earth and the sea
Like America chimerical
And a song is never just a song
And a song is never just a song
It's a hymn and a prayer
And a whim and a swear
It is an attack
A retreat
A belief
In a mythology
A double down, non-apology apology
It is unbending
Like a condescending kiss
And a joke is a wish
You lean into hating the player because
The player would condescend to ya
Vespucci knew exactly where he was
But Columbus did not know his ass from India
What if the one thing that's supposed to keep you honest
Is the thing that brings on your hysteria?
What in the hell shall we call it?
Maybe something something something America
Oh booty full
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13. |
Icarus Ascending
04:42
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The Elder's painting is upside down
The Poet got it wrong
Icarus is falling up
Emerge from water into the air
This is quite the plot twist
Icarus ain't suffering
The suffering is beneath him
Mundane distraction, mud and earth
The horror of the souls below
Wallowing in indifference
Icarus is falling up
Icarus got gods and gravity good
Wax wings melt but the gods will help him
The gods will lift him to the heavens
The gods will celebrate his hubris
The gods will celebrate his stupid
Icarus is falling up
Icarus is falling up, pretending
Stupid wax wing boy falls up
It's Icarus ascending
Icarus ascending
Icarus ascending
Daedalus lifts his head and eye
His boy grows smaller in the sky
Closer to the gods
And the sun is shining
And the sun is smiling
And Daedalus is squinting
And the wax is melting
And it does not matter
The boy is undeserving
And it does not matter
Cuz the gods are smiling on him
So it does not matter
The gods are smiling on him
Even as they damn the souls below
Stupid wax wing boy falls up
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Buggy Jive Albany, New York
BUGGY JIVE is a soul rock singer-songwriter quietly uploading music from a basement somewhere in Upstate New
York.
Equal parts Zeppelin and D’Angelo and Prince and Joni in sound and sensibility, his lyrics often mine the literature of the past to make sense of the present – from Ellison to Morrison to Eliot to Didion.
“Literary Kravitz,” as some say.
... more
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