too bored with the freedom to create all day too bored to pick up an instrument to play too bored to do the things that you love too bored to push and pull and shove too bored with the past, beginning to drown too bored with what is yet to be found too bored with others to hear what they say i'm just too bored to get the fuck out of my own way! bored, i'm bored i'm bored with the things that you love i'm bored, too bored to push n pull n shove i'm bored
we're so bored with your life and why you're trying to shove it down our throats on the telly every night, with your stupid little games while others are rotting in the fucking gutter i'm just so goddamn bored with your life and what you think i'm so fucking bored, i think i need a drink i'm bored, you're bored we're all so fucking bored of life
let's do it in, let's grab a hope let's put the knife next to our throats i bet you won't i bet i will i think i care i care i think it's so boring to be bored when you're living why don't we all die and see if its a new beginning? but we're so bored i think i'll get a cigarette oh shit i'm out! what next?
i hate it when people take care of me and i got nothing better to do than to be creative all day and and i'm just so bored that i can't because i'm so frustrated with my little penis not getting any it's not getting any it's not getting licked it's not getting sucked it's not even getting kissed i don't even get a hello no not me not me no no no no i'm so fucking bored! why can't.... why can't i just be happy for once?
Citizens cover art by Annette Marx Johnny Awful: awful guitar sample Biff Blumfumgagnge: violin Lou Caldarola: drum kit, programming Tone Deaf: spoken word Chris Huntington: guitar Shauna Lisse: vocal sample Conrad St. Clair: bass, keys, programming
The Singles - Season 5 Episode 6: Sex With Meatloaf
Take two pounds of 96% lean chuck One tablespoon of cream Two cups of onion soup 350 degrees Make a loaf hole You gotta furrow into the loaf You put the pickle in there, You put the pickle in there
I see you watching from the corner, baby That's right, I know you like what you see How do you feel about earmuffs, baby? Would you like to try on my thighs for size? Say the word, I'm yours
I was sittin' tight and combing my hair A beautiful spray bottle is what I'm looking for Let me try those thighs for size They're the right size in the night time Sweet lips slide, honey hips ride
I'm hot and ready for your manhood, baby I need a tillin', you'd better plow my field I'm bendy like Mary Lou Retton, baby Can I take a ride on your pommel horse?
[ with those hungry eyes and jar full o' pee i can tell by your mind you're gonna rape me you're something special that's plain to see but with me balls in me hand i fear i must flee ]
Let your fingers do the walking Would you like to try on my thighs for size? I like your trembling manhood Put it in the oven, baby You know I'm bendy like Mary Lou Retton, baby Put it in the oven, baby Real nice and hard, and glistening Put it in there That's right, that's how I like it baby Lovin' in the oven in the loaf-hole of love
Citizens
cover art by Biff Blumfumgagnge Biff Blumfumgagnge: vocals Lou Caldarola: drum kit Tone Deaf: spoken word Chris Huntington: guitar, inspiration Georgina McKee: vocals Conrad St. Clair: bass, keys, programming
naught but scars and pain to show killing infection from years ago no veins in arm no 'arm in vain all the years go down the drain
sitting alone, a mind at play with too much time to think or pray look for reasons to carry on and on and on and on and on
punctured lung, blood too sweet one crushed hand, two fractured feet neck full o' rocks, back in knots ears full o' wax, eyes seeing dots
some pus-filled spots, a runny nose teeth gone bye, three broke toes knee with a break, lungs of coal old broke heart and shriveled soul
Citizens
cover art by Jo Hubert Lou Caldarola: drum kit Tone Deaf: spoken word Andy Ewen: guitar Conrad St. Clair: bass, keys, percussion, programming Android Tablet: robot voice
New video!
This week we've got a special treat for your eyeballs as well as your earholes! The renowned video artist, Albano Ruela, has done a piece for Shriveled Soul. So, while you're downloading the song, go watch the video: http://youtu.be/qpP8r3XYD8Y (and while you're at it, give Albano a little love and check out his other videos HERE).
LIVE @ The Madison Area Music Awards Capitol Theater, June 23
Yep, you heard right - we're playing at the Madison Area Music Awards! It should be really fun show, and since the MAMA organization's purpose is to help support music programs in local schools, we'll be performing alongside some really talented young musicians. Tickets are available now at the Overture Center box office or online HERE.
So now we just gotta figure out how to get all our crap off the stage in 10 minutes ;-)
Also, you still have till May 17 to cast your vote in said Madison Area Music Awards. We're not going to tell you who to vote for, but...in case you're wondering, we've been nominated in a number of categories: Electronic Performer, World Album (Season 4), Electronic Song (Happy Charlie), and Blues Song (Going Where I've Been).
Remember, it's only $5 to join, and like we mentioned above, the money goes to fund school music programs. And no, you don't have to live in Madison....
Day in a life, life in a day too poor to get out of my own way stuck in this box I call my skull I text the guy to see what to sell Coke, dope, and weed that's what I need to get me back to where I been Help me forget reality because this is one big con Is this all it's gonna be? Is there nothing left to see? Is there no-one left to be? And then you die, man what a con
Locked in a billet of racists with faces of hatred. Never given space to exist in these places. Everybody looking for the easy way out. Well I can tell you you can scream and you can shout but nobody ever yet got out of here living. Give in to the pressure drop of one day given. Never was told that it would get this bad and I never even knew of all the choice we never had.
Day in a life, life in a day too poor to get out of my own way stuck in this box I call my skull I text the guy to see what to sell Coke, dope, and weed that's what I need to get me back to where I been Help me forget reality because this is one big con
We've been stitched up, we've been led on Then I woke up, it's one big con We've been stitched up, we've been led on Man, this is one big con Is this all it's gonna be? Is there nothing left to see? Is there no-one left to be? Man, this is one big con
With a beer and a bong, worship what's on the telly or streaming pod-cast. Curry and chips flow past your numb lips as the pictures go grinding along. A day in the life is a life in a day, too poor to be living too well. You'll call or you'll text for what you need next, safe in your box where you’ll stay. One day they will come to carry you on to heaven, or hell's brimstone: to hang with the host, or slowly spit-roast, or find it was just a big con.
Citizens
cover art by Robert Varlez Biff Blumfumgagnge: violin Geoff Brady: percussion Lou Caldarola: drum kit Tone Deaf: spoken word Jamie England: vocals Chris Huntington: guitar Conrad St. Clair: bass, percussion, programming Pablo Ben Surman: vocals, MIDI wind synth
The Singles - Season 5 Episode 3: Hash For Guns
Sorry if you're disappointed, but the title really has nothing to do with this song. It started out as just an instrumental noodle, but you gotta name the project file something, right? In between the noodling, Conrad St. Clair had been telling a story about a certain journalist friend who saw firsthand a certain intelligence agency trading said items with a certain insurgent group. By the time we wrote the lyrics, we had gotten so used to calling it Hash For Guns, the name stuck. Plus, the lyrics are pretty much Edward Gorey-inspired nonsense, so the non-sequitur kinda fits.
Green dreams and shiny things hand in hand down the garden path
There was a knock upon the door, I failed to answer it, in case it was there It thinks it’s being honest but it’s just a nasty way of being nice
Green dreams and crystal eyes lie buried in the sand from a simpler time
Green dreams bleeding from my TV We screamed and screamed and then we went to bed.
“No offense was meant, it’s what i do,” it would hiss I mourn the loss of a simpler time when you could leave your mind unlocked while you went to the shops
Citizens cover art by Gorka Samos Ez Dakizue Biff Blumfumgagnge: violin Geoff Brady: percussion Lou Caldarola: drum kit, percussion Tone Deaf: spoken word Jamie England: vocals Chris Huntington: guitar Shauna Lisse: vocals, keys Beaker Parpovich: percussion Conrad St. Clair: bass, keys, percussion, programming Mike Stehr: percussion
The Singles - Season 5 Episode 2: Georgia Scene, 1964
This song is built around a poem written by John Beecher in 1964 about the things he saw firsthand during the Civil Rights protests. Things may have changed in some ways since then, but if anyone thinks this kind of thing doesn't go on every day somewhere, they're either living in a cave or willfully ignorant.
And so this cat he was from the GBI that’s the cracker FBI kept feeling up the chicks' legs with the electric cattle prod making them wiggle and holler He couldn’t get enough of that stuff poking that hot thing under they dresses And I be dog if one of them cracker polices didn’t break down and cry like a baby just watching him but he didn’t try to stop him No, I guess that would be too much to expect of any cracker
I disremember all the meanness that they did treating them Yankees like they was us dragging that 70 year old white lady down the courthouse steps with her head going bam on every step
Her heart gave out and the ambulance came but when the driver saw she was one of them agitators he just took off again and left her laying in the street Finally one of us took her to the hospital propped up in the back seat of a car but wouldn’t no white doctor touch her when they got there Had to find one of ours and put her in the Jim Crow section Sure ain’t like no ofays I ever knowed coming down here and getting their heads beat for nothing trying to love these crackers into being Christian like crackers was human
Citizens based on John Beecher's poem, Georgia Scene, 1964 cover art: Bob DeGroof Lou Caldarola: drum kit Tone Deaf: spoken word Chris Huntington: guitar Beaker Parpovich: guitar Conrad St. Clair: keys, programming Mike Stehr: bass
If you're not a member, it's only $5 to join, and the money goes to fund school music programs. And no, you don't have to live in Madison....
So, get thee to The MAMAs website and vote - the kids win, no matter who gets an award....
Welcome to The Singles - Season 5 Episode 1: Shidara Stomp
For Season 5, aside from this little preamble, we're not going to waste your time with long-winded liner notes or any of that shite. We're going to get right to the music. If anyone is curious about the song, lyrics, art, etc., please feel free to send us an email or drop a question on our Facebook page. So, let's have at it.....
Leave me a life on HDTV Live my life - you can sit on my facebook Leave me some life while I deal with my fever Live my life while I drink myself silly
Shirts and hair have left my head My life is one long golden thread I want my Bob inside my head I'm drinking with Bob in an antique bed
Chocolate love sex chicken house I wait upon the mighty mouse Gristle missile bone in bone Wait eviscerate upon the throne
Bob of my dreams, yeti of my life Sasquatch mozerella, yeti get into my life
Losing chunks of space ‘n time ‘n drinking even more It’s only matter till the time I wind up on the floor Bugs will come ‘n vultures soar to pick me very bones The only thing that will be left: chalk outlines, ash ’n loans Scrape me up in hefty bag, mix in lye ‘n herb Marinate for one half day ‘n leave me on the curb
Bob of my dreams, Yeti of my life Sasquatch mozerella, Bob into Bob
cover art by Terry Flowers Conrad St. Clair: bass, programming Biff Blumfumgagnge: vocals, violin Lou Caldarola: drum kit Tone Deaf: spoken word Andy Ewen: dobro Chris Huntington: guitar Shidara: taiko drum
The Music
So, yeah.... The Singles - Season 5 starts April 9! Of course, the music is as schizo-phonic as ever.... It's easy to get excited about new stuff just because it's new, but we think Season 5 will be extraordinary, we shit you not .
Beyond featuring the usual suspects, we have quite a pile of new faces contributing to the music for Season 5, including amazing musicians like Maggie Weiser and Jamie England. Also, Albano Ruela (the creator of the video for Introspekt) will be doing a video for one of the new tracks, so keep an eye peeled for that.
The Art With the previous releases, each Season featured a single visual artist. This time around, we couldn't pick just one. Over the last couple of years, we've been lucky to have come into contact with so many incredible artists that we decided to have a different artist for each single. The little banner above is your official sneak preview ;-) We'll talk more about the individual artists as the songs are released, but we've assembled an internationally-renowned cast of characters: from the German painter, Annette Marx, to the agitprop of Belgian artist, Bob DeGroof.
Live tracks from The Barrymore Theatre 8/18/2012
Thanks to everyone for making the most recent show at the Barrymore Theatre in Madison so much fun! There are a bunch of tracks from the show available now HERE or HERE. There are also videos up on our youtube page HERE, and we'll be adding more, so keep checking back for more goodies.
We want to give a special thanks to Steve, Al, Zach, and the rest of the folks at the Barrymore: they absolutely rock, and we really appreciate all the support they've given us.
Stay tuned - more to come!
Live tracks & video from The Barrymore Theatre 4/7/2012
The show April 7 at The Barrymore Theatre was fantastic! If you missed it, you can go HERE to download a bunch of tracks from the show. AND there's a bunch of video on our Youtube page HERE.
Madison Area Music Awards 7:30pm, JUNE 23 Capitol Theater Madison, WI $15 general admission $10 students/teachers tickets available at the Overture Center box office or online HERE for more info visit the MAMAs.
