VicVerse

Waiting On The World To Change

2007-05-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

John Mayer, from the album Continuum

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could
Now we see everything is going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It’s hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
When you trust your television
What you get is what you got
‘Cuz’ when they own the information ooohhh,
They can bend it all they want

So while we're waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It's not that we don't care
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

(Guitar solo)

We're still waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population

So we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Know we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change

Mayer
Mayer's songwriting in this song speaks for a generation lost. His collobarations with Stanley Jordan, Pino Palladino, and Ben Harper make his 2006 album the best he's done yet.

Life Wasted

2006-05-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Pearl Jam, from the album Pearl Jam

You're always saying that there's something wrong.
I'm starting to believe it's you're plan all along.
Death came around, forced to hear it's song
And know tomorrow can't be depended on

Seen the home inside your head.
All locked doors and unmade beds

Open sores unattended
Let me say just once that

i have faced it, a life wasted.
I'm never going back again.
i escaped it,a life wasted.
I'm never going back again.
having tasted, alife wasted.
I'm never going back again.

the world awaits just up the stairs
leave the pain for someone else
nothing back there for you to find
or was it you you left behind?

You're always saying you're too weak to be strong.
You're harder on yourself than just about anyone

why swim the channel just to get this far?
halfway there, why would you turn around?

darkness comes in waves...tell me,
why invite it to stay?

You're one with negativity
yes, comfort is an energy
but why let the sad song play?? ???

i have faced it, a life wasted
i'm never going back again

oh i escaped it, a life wasted
I'm never going back again

having tasted, a life wasted
i'm never going back again

oh i erased it, a life wasted
i'm never going back again
(Pearl jam)
This first track, first heard, with lyrics before me....I knew the album would be special.

Throw Away Your Television

2005-08-16T00:18:00.000-07:00

Red Hot Chili Peppers, from the album By The Way

Throw away your television
Time to make this clean decision
Master waits for it’s collision now
It’s a repeat of a story told
It’s a repeat and it’s getting old

Throw away your television
Make a break big intermission
Recreate your super vision now
It’s a repeat of a story told
It’s a repeat and it’s getting old

[chorus:]
Renegades with fancy gauges
Slay the plague for it’s contagious
Pull the plug and take the stages
Throw away your television now

Throw away your television
Take the noose off your ambition
Reinvent your intuition now
It’s a repeat of a story told
It’s a repeat and it’s getting old

[chorus]

Throw away your television
Salivate to repetition
Levitate this ill condition now
It’s a repeat
(Flea/John Frusciante/Anthony Kiedis/Chad Smith)
I just ended up buying a new one. Someone save me!

Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)

2004-09-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Jim Croce, from the album You Don't Mess Around With Jim
Yeah Roy so cool, that racin' fool he don't know what fear's about
He do a hundred thirty mile an hour smilin' at the camera with a toothpick in his mouth
He got a girl back home name of Dixie Dawn, but he got honeys all along the way
And you oughta hear 'em screamin' for that dirt track demon in a '57 Chevrolet
(CROCE)

I don't think Croce ever wrote a bad lyric. I mean every word just fits perfectly in all of his songs. His story up-beat songs make me smile and fill my mind with pure crisp images.

Frontwards

2004-08-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Pavement, from the album Watery, Domestic

I am the only one,
Searching for you,
And if I get caught,
Then the search is through
And the stories you hear,
You know they never add up
I hear the natives fussin'
At the data chart,
Be quiet
The weather's on the night news...

Antique homes,
Plastic cones,
Stolen rims
Are they alloy or chrome?
Well I've got style,
Miles and miles,
So much style
That it's wasted,
So much style
That it's wasted
So much style
That its waste---------ed
She's the only one,
Who always inhales
Paris is stale
And it's war if we fail

And in the migrant hotels,
They never sleep,
They never will
Their souls are crumbling
Like a dirt clod
Hold, your cigarette cuts
To the inside

Antique homes,
Plastic cones,
Stolen rims,
Are they alloy or chrome?
Well I've got style,
Miles and miles
So much style
That it's leavin'
It's pattern's torn
And we're weavin'
This battle's torn
And we're weavin'

(Stephen Malkmus)
This ain't poetry but it hits me in the right place. Takes me back to a mixtape Jerry made me in 1994.

Gun

2004-08-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Uncle Tupelo, from the album Still Feel Gone

falling out the window
tripping on a wrinkle in the rugfalling out of love, dear
it hurt much worse when you gave up

just don't tell me which way I oughta run
or what good I could do anyone
'cause my heart it was a gun
but it's unloaded now
so don't bother

climbing up the ladder
breaking my shin on the very first rung
waking up the neighbors
it's all right,they understand they're just as dumb

and they don't tell me which way I oughta run
or what good I could do anyone
'cause my heart it was a gun
but it's unloaded now
so don't bother me now
don't bother

crawling back to you now
I sold my guitar to the girl next door
she asked me if I knew how
I told her I don't think so anymore

don't tell me which way I oughta run
what good could I do anyone
'cause my heart it was a gun
but it's unloaded now
so don't bother

(J. Farrar, J. Tweedy, M. Heidorn)
I've been reading the new Wilco book, Learning How To Die, for the last several days and loving it. I got this album from Jerry when I was in California and this song is rocking my world right now. I couldn't understand the lyrics so i just looked them up. I approve.

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

2004-07-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Richard & Linda Thompson, from the album I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Dirty people take what's mine
I can leave them all behind
They can never cross that line
When I get to the border
Sawbones standing at the door
Waiting 'till I hit the floor
He won't find me anymore
When I get to the border

Monday morning, monday morning
Closing in on me
I'm packing up and I'm running away
To where nobody picks on me

If you see a box of pine
With a name that looks like mine.
Just say I drowned in a barrel of wine.
When I got to the border
When I got to the border

A one way ticket's in my hand
Heading for the chosen land
My troubles will all turn to sand
When I get to the border

Salty girl with yellow hair
Waiting in that rocking chair
And if I'm weary I won't care
When I get to the border

Monday morning, monday morning
Closing in on me
I'm packing up and I'm running away
To where nobody picks on me

The dusty road will smell so sweet
Paved with gold beneath my feet
And I'll be dancing down the street
When I get to the border
When I get to the border

(Richard Thompson)
Sometimes I couldn't agree more.

I Can't Make Me

2004-07-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Boucher, from the album Flutterby

All the things I wanna say but I can't
All the things I wanna do but I won't
Hold me tight
But not too tight
And I'm relaxed but you tell me I'm posed
I feel pretty, I know that you care
You're so sweet
You're so, so sweet

It's not a hurry that we're in
It's the pollen, it's the spring

But I can't make me love you
And you can't make me either
Patience, boy, I need it
I can't make me love you

Oh oh oh

Paper, pen and a piece of your heart
I can't read it, but where do I start?
What to do?
What do I do?
And I am going but I'm gonna come back
And maybe then, maybe this, maybe that
Hold me tight
But not too tight

It's not a hurry that we're in
There's no problem, that's the thing

But I can't make me love you
And you can't make me either
Patience, boy, I need it
I can't make me love you

Oh...

Everyday there's something new to hold onto
A little more of you

But I can't make me love you
And you can't make me either
Patience, boy, I need it
I can't make me love you

Patience, boy, on strange days
I can't make me love you

Oh oh oh

It's not a hurry that we're in
It's the pollen, it's the spring
It's not a hurry that we're in
It's the pollen, it's the spring
It's not a hurry...
Butterfly Boucher
This song is from my absolute favorite album of the last year. She's Australian, she lives in Nashville, she writes cool songs, and she plays all of the instruments. I'm all about relationship songs right now.

Political Science

2004-07-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Randy Newman, from the album Sail Away

No one likes us;
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect,
But heaven knows we try.
But all around, even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.

We give them money,
But are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us, so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.

Now, Asia's crowded,
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.

We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.

Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.
(Newman)
Released in 1972, the song appears during the credits of Blast From The Past, starring Brendan Fraser and Christopher Walken. Everyday as I surf through the major newscable stations and internet sites, I'm reminded of this "always relevant" song. Humor, sarcasm, and irony.

You're So Vain

2004-07-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

Carly Simon, from the album No Secrets

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won
Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun
Well, you're where you should be all of the time
And when you're not you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and....

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you.....
(Simon)
I pay attention to this verse everytime I hear the song. So provocative and biting.

The Man Comes Around

2004-07-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Johnny Cash, from the album American IV

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying "Come and See", and I saw
And behold a white horse

There's a Man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Every body won't be treated all the same
There will be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers, one hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
Its alpha and omega's kingdom come
...And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree

The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

Till Armageddon no shalam no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at his feet they'll cast the golden crowns
When the man comes around

Whoever is unjust, let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteou,s let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy, let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets hear the pipers, one hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling, voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
Its Alpha and Omega's kingdom come
And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

In measured hundred weight and penny pound
When the man comes around

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And it's name it said on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.
(John R. Cash)
Zach Snyder's Dawn Of The Dead is my favorite film this year, due partly to the use of this song in the film's opening act...I've not heard Cash used better, ever, in film. The spoken word intro and closing, send chills down my spine...a great way to open his American IV album.

Pretty (Ugly Before) Single

2004-07-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Elliott Smith, from the album Pretty (Ugly Before)

sunshine, been keeping me up for days
there is no night time, it's only a passing phase
and i feel pretty, pretty enough for you
i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do

sometimes is all i feel up to now
but it's not worth it to you
cos you gotta get out somehow
it's the destruction that you require to feel
like somebody wants you, someone that's more for real

sunshine, been keeping me up for days
there is no night time, only a passing phase
and i'll feel pretty, another hour or two

i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do
i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do
i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do
ugly before
(-Elliott Smith-)
This song was released just before Elliott's death. Most of his material is somber but this one really gets me. Probably because it's the song most associated with his death for me. I've been listening to him at work today and keep going back to this one. Once again, I've linked to the full MP3.

Some Rainy Sunday

2004-07-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Juliana Hatfield, from the album In Exile Deo

A whippoorwill sings
And the morning brings
Sunshine and freedom
A beautiful day
I just couldn't stay
Inside love's prison

But some rainy Sunday
I'll wake from a dream
And wonder if you miss me
Some rainy Sunday
I'll see things your way
And wish that you were with me

Telephone calls
Just hit the wall
And you can't see my side
Tied up with you
In a manic mood
I just scream good-bye

Some rainy Sunday
I'll wake form a dream
And wonder if you miss me
Some rainy Sunday
I'll see my mistake
And wish that you were with me
(-Juliana Hatfield-)
Another current-status song for me. This new album has helped me a lot lately. She's honestly one of my biggest influences and favorite artists. Just don't tell anyone.

Rapture

2004-07-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

Pedro The Lion, from the album Control

This is how we multiply
Pity that its not my wife
The friction of skin
The trembling sigh

This is how the bodies move
With everything that we could lose
Pushing us deeper still
The sheets and the sweat
The seed and the spill
The bitter pill yet undiscovered

Gideon is in the drawer
Clothes scattered on the floor
Shes arching her back
She screams for more

Oh my sweet rapture
I hear Jesus calling me home

Finally the chance to breath
Reaching for the fallen sheets
Collapsing in a glowing heap
We've gone too far
We've done too much
We have to quit it
Just one more kiss
Just one more touch
Please 10 more minutes

This feels so good. . .
Just barely moving. . .
The tension building. . .
Our bodies working. . .
To Reach their goal. . .

Oh my sweet rapture
I hear Jesus and the angels singing
Hallelujah
Calling me to enter the promise land.
(--David Bazan-)
I'd always heard of this band but I'd never *heard* them. I finally bought an album (Achilles Heel) last month and now I'm sorta obsessed. The singer/songwriter seems to place a strong importance on his faith in a lot of their material. This song is no expection, even if it's an uncoventional spin. I don't own this album but these lyrics knock me out. So sexy. I linked to the full MP3 so you can add this song to your iTunes jukebox like me!

Gone

2004-07-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ben Folds, from the album Rockin' The Suburbs

I thought I'd write, I thought I'd let you know
In the year since you've been gone I've finally let you go
And I hope you find some time to drop a note
But if you won't,
Then you won't
And I will consider you gone

I know that you went straight to someone else
While I worked through all this sh*t here by myself
And I think that you should spend some time alone
But if you won't
Then you won't
And I will consider you gone

I wake up in the night
All alone and it's alright
The chemicals are wearing off
Since you've gone

The days go on, the lights go off and on
And nothing really matters when you're gone
If you think that you feel nothing at all
If you don't (If you don't)
Then you don't (No, you won't)
If you won't
Then you won't
And I will
Then I will
Yeah, and I will consider you gone
(Folds)
this is one of those songs, you think, someone might have written specifically for you.

Senorita With A Necklace Of Tears

2004-07-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Paul Simon, from the album You're The One

I have a wisdom tooth
Inside my crowded face
I have a friend who is a born-again
Found his savior’s grace
I was born before my father
And my children before me
We are born and born again
Like the waves of the sea
That’s the way it’s always been
And that’s how I want it to be

Nothing but good news
There is a frog in south america
Whose venom is a cure
For all the suffering that mankind
Must endure
More powerful than morphine
And soothing as the rain
A frog in south america
Has the antidote for pain
That’s the way it’s always been
And that’s the way I like it

Some people never say no
Some people never complain
Some folks have no idea
And others will never explain
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be

If I could play all the memories
In the neck of my guitar
I’d write a song called
“Senorita with a necklace of tears”
and every tear a sin I’d committed
oh these many years
That’s who I was
That’s the way it’s always been

Some people always want more
Some people are what they lack
Some folks open a door
Walk away and never look back
I don’t want to be a judge
And I don’t want to be a jury
I know who I am
Lord knows who I will be
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be
(Paul Simon)

Everyday I Write The Book

2004-07-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Elvis Costello, from the album Punch The Clock

Don't tell me you don't know what love is
When you're old enough to know better
When you find strange hands in your sweater
When your dreamboat turns out to be a footnote
I'm a man with a mission in two or three editions

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book

Chapter One we didn't really get along
Chapter Two I think I fell in love with you
You said you'd stand by me in the middle of Chapter Three
But you were up to your old tricks in Chapters Four, Five and Six

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book

The way you walk
The way you talk, and try to kiss me, and laugh
In four or five paragraphs
All your compliments and your cutting remarks
Are captured here in my quotation marks

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book

Don't tell me you don't know the difference
Between a lover and a fighter
With my pen and my electric typewriter
Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal
I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book
(Costello)

Motorcycle Drive By

2004-07-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

Third Eye Blind, from the album Third Eye Blind

Summer time and the wind is blowing outside in lower Chelsea.
And I don't know what I'm doing in this city,
The sun is always in my eyes.
It crashes through the windows, And I'm sleeping on the couch,
When I came to visit you,
That's when I knew, I could never have you,
I knew that before you did,
Still I'm the one that's stupid,
And there's this burning, Like there's always been,
I've never been so alone, And I've never been so alive.
Visions of you on a motorcycle drive by,
Cigarette ash flies in your eyes, And you don't mind, And you smile,
And say the world doesn't fit with you.
I don't believe you, You're so serene.
Careening through the universe, Your axis on a tilt, Guiltless and free,
I hope you take a piece of me with you,
And there's things I'd like to do that you don't believe in,
I would like to build something, You know it's never going to happen,
And there's this burning, Like there's always been,
I've never been so alone, And I've never been so alive,
And there's this burning, There is this burning.
Where's the soul? I want to know, New York City is evil.
The surface is everything, but I could never do that,
Someone would see through that.
And this will be the last time, We'll be friends again.
I'll get over you and you'll wonder, Where I am.
And there's this burning, Like there's always been,
I've never been so alone, And I've never been so alive.

I go home to the coast. It starts to rain, I paddle out, On the water, Alone.
Taste the salt and taste the pain. I'm not thinking of you again,
Summer dies and swells rise, The sun goes down in my eyes, See this rolling wave, Darkly coming to take me, Home.
And I never been so alone, And I've never been so alive.
(Jenkins)

Flagpole Sitta

2004-07-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

Harvey Danger, from the album Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?

Been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding,
The cretins, cloning and feeding, and I don't even own a TV.

Blinded By The Light

2004-07-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Bruce Springsteen, from the album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot snappin' his fingers clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers daddy's within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band

And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says: "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said I'll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break,
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride,
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
he said, do what you like, but don't do it here
Well I jumped up, turnedaround, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then boy, you're on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon

And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night,
Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but figured he'd be all right

Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that's where the fun is
(Springsteen)

I Radio Heaven

2004-07-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Over The Rhine, from the album Films For Radio

i radio heaven
i get mixed signals
i move the antenna
i switch the channels
i lie in this bed
my satellite dish
is there room in the universe
for one last wish(i say)

do you read me
over
you wanna come
over

i guess i never told you
'bout this life i'm livin'
it's heaven versus hell
in a split decision
this secret religion is
the best that i've found
i radio heaven
when no one's around(i say)

do you need me
over
you wanna come
over

this song is grinning
go on and undress it
it's just the beginning
go on and possess it
you're no longer a child now
don't let them molest it
the wound is deep
i'm just trying to confess it

the truth is i bleed you
when these frequencies cut me
i'm a slut with a mission
a singular vision
i radio heaven
i get mixed signals
i move the antenna
i switch the channels

i radio heaven
i get mixed signals
i move the antenna
i switch the channels
i lie in this bed
my satellite dish
is there room in the universe
for one last wish
(Detweiler)

Sand in My Shoes

2004-07-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Dido, from the album Life for Rent

two weeks away feels like the whole world should have changed
but I'm home now, and things still look the same
I think I'll leave it till tomorrow to unpack, try to forget for one more night
that I'm back in my flat
on the road where the cars never stop going through the night
to a life where i can't watch the sun set, I don't have time, I don't have time

I've still got sand in my shoes and I can't shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you but why would I want to
I know we said goodbye, anything else would have been confused
but I want to see you again

tomorrow's back to work and down to sanity
should run a bath and then clear up the mess I made before I left here
try to remind myself that I was happy here before I knew that I could get
on a plane and fly away
from the road where the cars never stop going through the night
to a life where I can watch the sun set and take my time, take all our time

I've still got sand in my shoes and I can't shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you but why would I want to
I know we said goodbye, anything else would have been confused
but I want to see you again

two weeks away, all it takes, to change and turn me around I've fallen
I walked away, and never said, that i wanted to see you again

I've still got sand in my shoes and I can't shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you but why would I want to
I know we said goodbye, anything else would have been confused
but I want to see you again
(Armstrong/Nowles)

John Walker's Blues

2004-07-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

Steve Earle, from the album Jerusalem

I'm just an American boy raised on MTV
And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads
But none of 'em looked like me
So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim
And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him

A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God but God

If my daddy could see me now, chains around my feet
He don't understand that sometimes a man
Has to fight for what he believes
And I believe God is great all praise due to him
And if I should die I'll rise up to the sky
Just like Jesus, peace be upon him
We came to fight the Jihad and our hearts were pure and strong
As death filled the air we all offered up prayers
And prepared for our martyrdom
But Allah had some other plan some secret not revealed
Now they're draggin' me back with my head in a sack
To the land of the infidel
(Earle)

Subdivison

2004-07-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Ani DiFranco, from the album Reckoning

white people are so scared of black people
they bulldoze out to the country
and put up houses on little loop-dee-loop streets
and while america gets its heart cut right out of its chest
the berlin wall still runs down main street
separating east side from west
and nothing is stirring, not even a mouse
in the boarded-up stores and the broken-down houses
so they hang colorful banners off all the street lamps
just to prove they got no manners
no mercy and no sense

and i'm wondering what it will take
for my city to rise
first we admit our mistakes
then we open our eyes
the ghosts of old buildings are haunting parking lots
in the city of good neighbors that history forgot

i remember the first time i saw someone
lying on the cold street
i thought: i can't just walk past here
this can't just be true
but i learned by example
to just keep moving my feet
it's amazing the things that we all learn to do

so we're led by denial like lambs to the slaughter
serving empires of style and carbonated sugar water
and the old farm road's a four-lane that leads to the mall
and our dreams are all guillotines waiting to fall

i'm wondering what it will take
for my country to rise
first we admit our mistakes
and then we open our eyes
or nature succumbs to one last dumb decision
and america the beautiful
is just one big subdivision
(DiFranco)

Slow Motion

2004-07-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Third Eye Blind, from the album Blue

Miss Jones taught me English
But I think I just shot her son
'Cause he owed me money
With a bullet in the chest you cannot run
Now he's bleeding in a vacant lot
The one in the summer where we used to smoke pot
I guess I didn't mean it
But man, you shoulda seen it
His flesh explode

Slow motion see me let go
We tend to die young
Slow motion see me let go
What a brother knows
Slow motion see me let go

Now the cops will get me
But girl, if you would let me
I'll take your pants off
I got a little bit of blow we could both get off
Later bathing in the afterglow
Two lines of coke I cut with Drano
And her nose starts to bleed
A most beautiful ruby red

Slow motion see me let go
We'll remember these days
Slow motion see me let go
Urban life decays
Slow motion see me let go
And at home

My sister's eating paint chips again
Maybe that's why she's insane
I shut the door to her moaning
And I shoot smack in my veins
Wouldn't you?
See my neighbor's beating his wife
Because he hates his life
There's a knock to his fist as he swings
Oh man, what a beautiful thing
And death slides close to me
Won't grow old to be
A junkie wino creep
Hollywood glamorized my wrath
I'm a young urban psychopath
I incite murder for your entertainment
'Cause I needed the money
What's your excuse?
The joke's on you

Slow motion see me let go
(Jenkins)