Monday, April 30, 2012

2.362 : 4/30/06 : Take Care

2,553 : 1 ?


Take care or
take for granted
but don’t you come crying
if it comes back slanted
there’s always more
than one involved
in every decision
a minute’s revision
that will unwind
the seaweed twined
did you turn me
into the enemy
I took care and took care
it seems you didn’t see
so don’t act shocked
when what care you
took for granted
ends up coming back
just like a plant
you planted

what

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Free as in freakshow

And before I get on getting on with it... It's free music week in the Media Empire.  Send me an email at jonathan.hamlow@gmail.com and I'll send you a Bandcamp download code for one of the following albums (feel free to specify which one you'd like; if you don't I'll pick one for you).  Good through May 5, 2012.

Go By Train

The Bootstrap Gospel

Only the Very Greatest Hits

what

2.361 : 4/29/06 : Say Nothing

Say nothing
just let those words burn
when I touch the stone
it’s going to turn
when I pray
it’s going to come true
I’m not sorry
but I shouldn’t have said it
to you
I’m well trained
I keep it shut tight
if I can keep the lid on
maybe I’ll get
lucky tonight
I’ll transcribe all
the latest revelation
Jon the revelator
just popped up on your station
Say nothing
not even a word
I chuckled
I had to say it’s funny
I never ever
traded it for
money

what
And that wraps up A Song a Day volume 2.2, The Catch Up.

And so we proceed to volume 2.3: Persist

Which does not feature the following song, but it's a relevant sentiment nonetheless:

2.360 : 4/28/06 : Revolution N

As chance would have it
when I added it all up
the choice came to the almost empty
versus the little bit left cup
the metaphor was clumsy
Turning 360 is just standing still
as long as revolutions keep on turning
nothing’s changed and nothing ever will
When I did the math
well glory be it turned out to be today
wonder what the odds are
it’s just the time each time I pray
and if this is number three six oh
If Revolution N’s at hand
tell me all about the milk and honey
the grapes and giants of
the promised land

what

Friday, April 27, 2012

2.359 : 4/27/06 : Today In a Sense

I miscalculated
didn’t I?
Thought that I was clever
about hiding the beam in my eye
in retrospect nobody
can hear you miss your mark
So I guess as long as I keep hacking
I can stay here in dream park
will the real today please stand up
this is intense but it’s passing
whether waking thinking sleeping
there’s no division and the pressure keeps massing

what

Thursday, April 26, 2012

2.358 : 4/26/06 : Roll Hardcore

I roll hardcore
when I have to when I have to
a window a door
all I asked you all I asked you
always only gave me
mirror mirror on a wall
always hinted at a passage
so I walked and walked each hall
but this time I’ve really had it
breaking out the hardcore bat
smashing through whatever gets
in my way as I storm your hat
it’s so damn big and pointy
and it makes you look so boss
I just have to roll my pitch for you
and if you blow me off your loss


what

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

2.357 : 4/25/06 : Back to Back

Back to back I just keep
knocking them down
during these words from our sponsors
while the lady paints the town
It’s getting late already
It’s much later than you think
when every little thing
can all turn over in a blink
though it’s a thought that almost
stops me in my tracks
before I take a breath
I’ll throw one more upon the stacks


what

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

2.356 : 4/24/06 : Face to Face

Face to face with fear
face to face with doubt
get down for one minute
let it all hang out
Face the screaming void within
face up to desire
realize it's always now
and step into the fire

what

Monday, April 23, 2012

2.355 : 4/23/06 : I’ve Been Thinking

2,546 : 5 ?


I’ve been thinking
about when I met Frankie
bout when
when there wasn’t any
hankie pankie
I’ve been thinking ‘bout the flu
and that time I saw
the whole structure
that boiled out of the blue
I’ve been thinking
about security
in the land of the brave
in a land of the free
thinking about Eleanor
thinking about joy
thinking about context
and the perfect learning toy
I’ve been thinking about silver
and just how I’ll fill the tank
and how much that
damn cathedral
looks just like a fucking bank

what

Sunday, April 22, 2012

2.354 : 4/22/06 : I Need to Come

I need to come
first in someone’s life
be number one
she said
there’s another
first in line
don’t know whether
to shit
or go blind
let me tell you
and you do the math
is this shit a
situation?
or is it a
path?

what

Saturday, April 21, 2012

2.353 : 4/21/06 : 100%

Half of all
is none
get some
get some
All was
then some
something
that’s dumb
and so
and so
it goes
so it
blows
Why don’t
you call
someone
that sounds
that sounds
so fun
before I struck
with the
back of my hand
I say I
could say
100% I
understand

what

Friday, April 20, 2012

2.352 : 4/20/06 : I’m Not Fucking Anybody

I’m not fucking anybody
at this moment
Who could ever tell
what the moment would foment
guilty until proven guilty
You said need this
and I built three

what

Thursday, April 19, 2012

2.351 : 4/19/06 : History

First this:
too early
got confused
wrong bus, see
a year’s break
off working like a man
somebody’s judgment
somebody’s plan
second this:
move from where you started
lost my best friend;
brokenhearted
third this:
new place new place
saw a new way
saw a new face
flash forward
twenty seven years
the ring is closed now
it appears

what

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

2.350 : 4/18/06 : Century

We had our millennium
whatever that means
and we screwed it all up
didn’t we we had
a big old fucking party
got drunk
got hung over for
New Year’s Day
is it zero or one or
who can say?
I say:
This is my century
motherfucker
why don’t you just
die anyway?
This one’s mine
this is about me
this is
this is
my century

what

2.349 : 4/17/06 : Arrgh

Arrgh, arrgh,
that’s how it feels
when you realize
the whole thing
is just right back
where it started
arrgh
arrgh
arrgh

what

Monday, April 16, 2012

2.348 : 4/16/06 : Something In Between

2.539 : 22 ?


I wrote so many endings
and beginnings
and every fit of punctuation
went right into extra innings
there isn’t any play left
that won’t make me look dumb
at this point I do not even know
where the next page is coming from
I know this is not the end
neither the start
did I waste all of those days
I sought a path with heart?
It’s all something in between
guess I must deal with it
Even when I cannot count
how many times I made a meal with it

what

Sunday, April 15, 2012

2.347 : 4/15/06 : Tip Scale

Tip scale with a little
gold and silver
scrimp and save
sometimes pilfer
been holding the slide
by half a notion
Still half a mile
below the level of the ocean
and I feel like
the scale is near to balance
if I can nudge the right electron
up into the perfect valence
after a long long time of sliding
tip it back into my favor
one day the scales I’ll empty
till then this tip is my flavor

what

Saturday, April 14, 2012

fairly secret project

project Parliament and Empire

is announced.

this is the before picture:

2.346 : 4/14/06 : Cruise Control

I just gotta keep on
keep the cruise control on
you know I’m gonna tie it up
hardcore and just roll on
how many thousand miles
just out there waiting to be run down
before I finally lift off
until I’m finally run to ground
but for an hour
two hours seven
I can coast on cruise control
stereo to eleven
this solitude is soon to break
soon to erode and shatter
I’ve still got a few days left
to prove it doesn’t really matter

what

Friday, April 13, 2012

2.345 : 4/13/06 : Self, Indulged

The self, indulged
apparently
so why is it not
satisfied?
Don’t ask me
how would I know
it’s just the self
I’m not that guy

what

Thursday, April 12, 2012

2.344 : 4/12/06 : Little Man

Is it really necessary
my little man?
Do you really have to tear it up
just any way you can?
Is it really necessary?
Is it just required
Are you the kind of rebel
rabble-rousing son I’ve sired

what

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

2.343 : 4/11/06 : Means to an End

This day will never come again
And you are going to die
As long as there’s a scrap
at hand
a shred of linen
a splintered pen
Here’s a means to an end:
unchained
uninterrupted
incandescent
uncorrupted
take what you will from it
that the darkness could not
overcome it

what

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

2.342 : 4/10/06 : Red Coat

Two suns
three guns
such an awesome
long red coat
Such as were
some fantasy
of youth
long
so long gone
What’s
the use of
making up a song
It’s getting turned off now
something else
some other gospel plow

what

Monday, April 09, 2012

2.341 : 4/9/06 : The Final Problem

2,533 : 16 ?



The final problem
was not final at all
there’s always some
sleight of hand
disguising the true nature
of the aftermath
of the fall
finality is obscured
by uncertainty
or distant time
it seems it all must
end at last
but who can guess
the next paradigm
And so just who can say
When sleep unending comes
who knows what occupation I might
find past twiddling eternal thumbs

what

Sunday, April 08, 2012

2.340 : 4/8/06 : The Price of Freedom

If you would be free
Then you must regret
it’s not much of a deal but
it’s the best you’re gonna get
we don’t live in a world of
either and or
but of and and and and
there’s always more
of best of all possibles
and worst case scenarios
so lend me your ears
and your minds
and your stereos
While I say:
the price of freedom is regret
so sin bold and don’t look back
the price is hard but worth it
is how I chose to close that track

what

Saturday, April 07, 2012

2.339 : 4/7/06 : Pitiful

Another pitiful assertion
it doesn’t amount to desertion
that I’m not doing what I said again
at least I am not drinking gin
it’s just a setback I say in advance
five years ten years how long have I done this dance?
Another this last, say goodbye
And when it’s settled at last
Nothing will matter that’s already past

what

Friday, April 06, 2012

2.338 : 4/6/06 : The Capitalist

Caesar sent me a barrel of red ink
he said write down what is mine
and tell me what you think
the decisions I made
may well have been ungodly
And now it seems to get it back
on the straight path I must behave oddly
I must become a capitalist
No more creativity
all that mirrors and mist
I must be devoted to
the bottom line above all else
So I said as I wrote
one more of these
songs not one of which
ever sells

what

Thursday, April 05, 2012

2.337 : 4/5/06 : Rationalize

Rationalize your approach to goodbyes
Avoid duration;
contact with the eyes
self-sufficient’s got a nice ring true
I don’t miss you
I say it’s always been this way
when your eyes close
then you’re alone each day
and when they close never to open again
will you be lonely then?

what

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

2.336 : 4/4/06 : How Many

How many
did I allow to pass me by?
And every one will die
And every one will die
I could never bring myself
to try to block the door
and will they leave here wanting more?
And will they leave here wanting more
Who has the room for sympathy
for the slave
dead a thousand years?
Likewise I do not expect
to justify any
twenty second century tears
but one thing remains common
all must say and say goodbye
and one thing more
every one will die
and every one will die

what

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

2.335 : 4/3/06 : Short Term Memory

How long
can I hold on
to these seven
unspoken
pillars of song
short term
memory is full
watch and see
what outta this hat I’ll pull
the grasping hand
the folded arms
the smile false
the occult charms
and finally
at last acceptance
then next nostalgia
then next pure chance

what

Monday, April 02, 2012

2.334 : 4/2/06 : Interlude on a Variation

2,526 : 9 ?


Skipped the canonical
April Fool
wrote it days later
when the pie was fully cool
I was writing about goodbyes
about women
about time
I only demand
it sort of make sense
and it rhymes
interlude
on a variation
just a pause to relate
between station and station
that the trick that was played
was a week too late
and left me with
a meal of crow on my plate

what

Sunday, April 01, 2012

2.333 : 4/1/06 : Fool

We’re all fools to get attached
dust to dust, put to the match
forced always to say goodbye
and somehow don’t completely die
nothing constant but constant change
the push to move to rearrange
though the whole world may push back
we’re mad to transgress every track
mad for love and mad for play
get mad go mad still today
Stop rest a minute get attached
Set up for another rug to get snatched
out from under head over heels
A history of solo meals
A history of bitter nights
counting every failing point of light

what

2.332 : 3/31/06 : Truly

As if I’ll never
really die
I refuse to truly
say goodbye

what