allow me to re-introduce myself

Note March 26, 2010: The information below is no longer current. Watch my main page for current announcements on available recordings

Rebroadcast of the songs of days first project circa 1998 has been interrupted for the Fever'd! Announcement!! Of!!!

Only the Very Greatest Hits, a collection of my favorite recordings of my original music from the last 10 years, available for sale as a digital download. You can preview the whole album here, and here's a sample:

-=sample not available=-

Released in honor of the writing of the 2,000th song of the day project song, like a week ago. Only $1.35 for 29 MP3 tracks plus art and lyrics: it's a statement about overpricing in the digital marketplace! It's a fashion statement that will single you out as one of the new desiderati overclass!! It's nothing short of the bootstrap gospel! Why not buy it during the present?!

236 : 12/2/98 : Puzzlebox

You put all the good stuff in a puzzlebox
one man gathers what another mocks
And I’ll work it out you know I will
I’d figure it out if I could just stay still...
Rotate the top or make the corner slide
there’s a secret button on the side
I can look but You don’t let me touch
I could walk away if I could just find my crutch...
Someday I’ll work it and find a white stone
Etched with a secret name for me alone
I’ll put it under my tongue
Someday someday when I am no longer young

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

235 : 12/1/98 : Assault of the Die-Hard Land Crabs

Up out of the ocean out on land
No more slow evolution in dribs and drabs
Ain’t got no opposable thumb, ain’t got no hand
It’s the assault of the die-hard land crabs
The earth prepared a defense in advance
held for the moment of ultimate decay
nothing’s been left up to chance
This is the hour this is the day
In the fathomless caves of trenches deep
Terrible pressure in hollows no human eye has seen
Some fearsome armored thing is waking from it’s sleep
Some kind of horribly perfect killing machine
They’re die-hard, they’re not designed to stop
They've got a job and mean to do it
Watch them rising to the top
Watch them getting right down to it
Deep in the night while you’re peaceful drifting
Wondering what tomorrow will bring
Somewhere sunny they’re already sifting
through the debris of what’s left of our thing

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

234 : 11/30/98 : End of November

The end of November
The last thing I remember
I smoked a passion flower leaf just for kicks
I was thinking about my escape clause
when the night came to a serious pause
And that little trident leaf started to play tricks
I believed that everything was all right
I believed in an eternal right
I thought I had a sight of my objective
And all night long
I heard a little song
It said all you need is a change is a change your perspective
And all night through
I listened for you
And all the night I hummed and muttered
Perspective’s not that hard
I always thought I’d be a bard
But I know which side my bread is buttered...

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

233 : 11/29/98 : Thinking About the Last Thing I’ll Think About When I Go

995 : 3 ?


I wonder what the last idea
I’ll ever have will be
Will I be figuring it all out
When Mr. Reaper comes to me
As I fade away and fall
down the tunnel, to the light
Will I see the solution
Will my last belief be right
or will I be thinking about
something trivial and inane
Be glad you’re not in my head friend
this kind of thinking drives a man insane
I hope I’m not thinking about
the last thing I’ll think about
when I go,
when I go

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

232 : 11/28/98 : I Can’t Wait

I can’t save the world because I’m stupid weak and small
I can’t save myself because I do not know myself at all
I can’t save money because I can’t make enough
I can’t save this song from being sloppy short and rough
There’s no pleasure in writing for writing’s sake
There’s no pleasure in the chances you are forced to take
There’s no pleasure in being right if all is wrong
There’s no pleasure in a short and stupid song
I could take a chance and throw myself at fortune’s feet
I could take a long look at the people I meet
I could take advantage of them for my own gain
I could take pleasure in their pointless pain
I can’t keep at it but I can’t quite stop
I can’t keep my head on the block waiting for the chop
I can’t keep saying the same things over and over
I can’t wait until I’m pushing up clover

233 : 11/29/98 : Thinking About the Last You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

231 : 11/27/98 : The Hour Before

In the hour before the madness started
I reaffirmed myself to you
I swore that my love would be true
An hour before we were parted

In the hour before the torrent began
You promised me a tale
You showed me a glimpse beyond the vale
An hour before you and I and everybody ran

In the hour before the stars were falling
We tied a lovers’ knot
Exchanged a vow on this very spot
An hour before the universe came calling

The hour before the hour before
We didn’t have the slightest clue
Anyway we wouldn’t have known what to do
An hour later nothing made sense anymore

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

230 : 11/26/98 : A Simple No Would Suffice

I don’t mind it that you haven’t called in years
I don’t mind it that you don’t return my calls
I don’t mind being stranded boiling in my fears
I don’t mind being left to climb the walls
But the way you give me exactly what I don’t need
the way you kick me when I take your advice
the way you mock me even as I chant your creed
a simple no would suffice

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

229 : 11/25/98 : More on the Devil

The Devil has his tongue
shoved far up this world’s ass
The movable cannibal feast it’s all become
You take your fill I think I’ll pass
I can see the Devil has two fingers
poised above your eyes
It’s hard to believe but when he
blinds you it will come as a surprise
I don’t want to deal with you
any more you’re puppets
Following every blind lead
Falling when they yank the carpets
If I could just get away
from you for a moment
All your vicious energy would
effervesce away like the sea foam went

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

228 : 11/24/98 : Catastrophic Reasoning

989 : 1 ?


I keep waiting for the hammer to come down
I keep waiting for the snap
Catastrophic reasoning a mad king in a cocked crown
An unsubtle lure into a crude trap
Meanwhile I am shaped by hidden forces
Blind to the essential details I miss
All I hear is “well, of courses”
Drowning out my simple bliss
Who turns the crank of feast and famine
Who creates this tale of woe
The excuses are wearing thin
The sand in the hourglass is low

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

227 : 11/23/98 : The Worst Thing About the Devil

The worst thing about the devil
he hides in unexpected places
sneaking past the kitchen window
Leering out past familiar faces
The terrible thing about Satan
he never ever rests
He’s got a hankering for your soul
He’s got a goal for the time he invests
The real bitch of Beelzebub
there’s no end to his appetite
He wants to swallow everything
He wants all subsumed in Endless Night
The worst thing about the devil
He simply can’t exist
In the absence of any good thing
he’s simply a nothingness

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

226 : 11/22/98 : Single Cell

We sing a song ancient in a way
That makes you seem like flash of fireflies
On a warm September night
Our numbers are so vast on any given day
More of or ranks will fall and rise
Than you will ever introduce to the great fight
We wage our age old war
With spore and yeast and mold
You were never a big part of our program
You’d be surprised what we’ve used you for
You are young and we are very old
We’ve been on you since the blue ocean you swam
And if we all chose to leave this little sphere
Your ecology would fail and you would fall
But if you all disappeared in a snap
We would hardly notice you weren’t here
I don’t think we’d really miss you at all
In an eyeblink we would cover over the gap
You left behind when you went
We would go about our business
It doesn’t matter to us either way
Any one of us is just a fragment
And any of you may find that the duress
Of a single cell will bring down your dying day

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

225 : 11/21/98 : World for Sale

World for sale... slightly used
The indigenous ecosystems are slightly abused
But there’s an infrastructure for power

6 or 7 billion sentient souls strong
All shapes and sizes though they seldom get along
An excellent choice of slaves to build the landing tower

Final closeout - everything must go
Oceans and continents, deserts and mountain snow
There’s no serious offer I won’t consider

It’s a bit of a fixer upper, true
But I’m ready to talk business with you
Let’s get around the table and find the highest bidder

We’re not doing much with what we’ve got
We think we’re doing okay but we’re not
Any discerning customer can see the wasted potential

Call me at the office send a fax
I’ve got the appropriate documents sealed with wax
As you can imagine time and discretion are essential

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

224 : 11/20/98 : Mexican Chocolate

The other day when I was buying
that Mexican chocolate you used to mix with coffee
back in the day five years ago or more
I tried to remember the way your face looked
when you said something
My mother had said to me fifteen years before
She said sooner or later
You’re going to find out you don’t
have all the time in the world
I haven’t proven either of you wrong yet
I stood back while the ghosts of memories
walked past me and swirled
Away and I can’t remember
how your face looked at all
When you said that about something completely
different, and I remember that even then
I couldn’t remember
Why my mom said that to me

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

223 : 11/19/98 : Killed Constantine

982 : 10 ?


I went back in time and killed Constantine
I went back and kept the living image of Aman alive
I taught him to build factories instead of pyramids, what foolishness
I started a strange chain reaction in the human hive

I brought the wise graybeards and crones to Egypt
Gave them a hint or two and let them go
And in the momentary vacuum of power I created
I watched the strange flower of human technology grow

What are we creating why are we creating
Do we want the thing that we are making
What’s it going to look like things are pretty bad now
Do we understand what kind of risks we’re taking

This might not make interesting conversation
But I understand that a society which lacks
a coherent vision and does not value
the worth of its people will soon become a figurine of wax

Another failed nation leaving only
The unwieldy monuments to its profligate decline
Someday barbarians will wonder
At our stupid boring artifacts all covered in kudzu vine

If we sought a common current now
Something different might happen anyways
As it is we’re a bust friend
We all just make it through the day to days

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

222 : 11/18/98 : Form & Function

Form follows function
Let’s see what kind of shape I’m in
If I’m so smart why ain’t I rich
I seem to have acquired a toxic spin
As of this writing the chips are down
As of this writing I’m contemplating driving
Over the river and through the woods
Find some other method of arriving
At a conclusion that doesn’t seem forgone
Stack it up any way you like
Ain’t nothing like a rhymed couplet
When your genius goes on strike
demanding better digs and better pay
better drugs better sleep and a firm objective
An artist can’t be expected to work under these conditions
Check the Geneva Convention and the prime directive
check the bible and check the law
check with my mother she’s sure to agree
that I’m doing the best I can
My mom she always sides with me
What I can’t swallow the wurm digests
Its form and function are perfectly aligned
It has its task it has its no it has its yes
It knows the work it’s been assigned

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

221 : 11/17/98 : Climb

That’s not the way to make it
You can’t sit back and take it
They’ll do it to you if you let them
What things you need go out and get them
What you need to do you must do it
Takes more than good intentions to get through it
You just gotta climb, motherfucker
You’ll reach your peak in time motherfucker
And then you’ll be the big man
You’ll have the fanciest keel on your catamaran
Will you be extra happy then
Find a new hill to climb start all over again
We’re a funny part of nature
Don’t quite fit the nomenclature
Crazy creatures crazy for strange delights
Honor and glory and the name up in lights
I’ll kick back and watch you heathens claw
I’m ready with my hammer and my saw
I’ll build my boat while you labor
I’ll beat a different rhythm on my tabor
No more climbing for this boy
No more will the bastards vex and annoy
No more to let it get to my head
I’ve got my boat I’ve got my daily bread
I’ve got a plan I’ve got a mission
I’ve got a paper that explains my position
Tacked up on my wall
I’ve got it made, I’ve got it all

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

220 : 11/16/98 : Over With

Let’s just fucking get it over with
thank God all the patterns and schemes are foundered
I can’t forget the way you watched and threw me
concrete-filled life preservers while I floundered
I’ve got a pile of bricks and a deep hole
I’ll build a vault to rock my cradle right into the grave
No one’s coming to rescue me are they
What made me think I was worth the trouble to save
this isn’t helping I know that for sure
Nothing ever helps not in the long run
and the long run’s all I’ve got to work with
such a long and strangely pointless pilgrimage under the sun
You gave your favorite signs and portents
you gave me a barrel full of doubts and dubious desires
You gave me the notion of of finding a better way
But I don’t know who you got to pull my wires
I’m sick of waiting and wondering always on the down
This is a mockery, a waste of time that profits not
I’m supposed to be glad I’m breathing still
I’m supposed to make do with the little I’ve got
You gave me a stone for a heart and a mind restless and bright
but not quite bright enough to pull out victory
And the heart’s not quite a stone enough
To free me from the burden of my own pathetic history
I said I wouldn’t do this anymore
I’d save my pages for a finer paradigm
I haven’t got the wherewithal to fight it
Not tonight I’ve got neither inclination or time

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

219 : 11/15/98 : Tales of Johnny Shoemaker

My Johnny was a shoemaker
He was bland as buttered bread
At least that was the way he was
Before he got that idea in his head
To sail the shining sea, shining sea
To sail the shining sea
He said to me he said
Listen listen to me baby
I saw a road in my dreams that went a long way down
I saw a road that went all the way around
I swear I got to let that road carry me
I swear to you that’s where I’m bound
Oh but some day he’ll be wrapped in glory
then he’ll come back home
And marry me
And he’ll be so very different
We’ll be so very free

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

Happy New Year

Although I broke a pretty good streak of songs written without missing a day (as you can see by my sad little score of 4 in the minutes-ago status update), I managed to keep caught up through a genuinely hectic holiday season - it's a Song of the Day Christmas miracle!

The last posting also marks the completion of my blogging of Song of the Day volume 1.2, Record. Starting on January 2nd I'll begin blogging volume 1.3, The Functional Notebook.

And in less than 25 days the 2,000th Song of the Day will be written. Keep watch for an exciting announcement!

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

218 : 11/14/98 : Rasta Billy Skank

976 : 4 ?


There’s an old man a very old man
And he’s forgotten more songs than I’ll ever know
And I always stop to talk to him when I can

He’s down in the bars by the docks where the old ships come and go
Old man old rasta man his hair all cloud gray dread
He said a son I forgotten a lot but there’s one thing I know

He looked at me and this is what he said
There’s a road that goes a long way down there’s a road that goes a long way around
He look an’ he wink at me that old billy goat put ideas in my head

He say lift up your head and listen to the sound
Everytime I pick up my fiddle get that same skin slither skank
I spent so many years on that road, would not go aground

And so many people tell me that sound was money in the bank
But man I never could find a reason to sell
They told me to turn my fiddle for something you play with a crank

And it makes me laugh and say it’s just as well
You ain’t gonna find any answers anyplace you call hell

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here