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Danzig In The Moonlight

by Ken Stringfellow

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Paul Marsh
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Jason Dennie
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tcnmusic
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Sigurd Alexander Røstad
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1.
Jesus Was An Only Child 04:36
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It's daybreak Or close enough for counting In seven days you won't remember this It's comedowns, with overloaded endings Beats of air that never left your lips The subtext of summer safety memories A friendly wave from every passing ship I grew up as just another capsule in life's slow re-entry, burning up suburban atmosphere It's business, adding up extinctions It's everybody's dream to walk thru the fire Cuz Jesus was an only child like me And he did things that no one else could see All alone, evaporating, cut off from his only chances Died before his real potential there is something strange about this world Oh, yeah, I was a numbers man I filled the circles till I passed the exam I got the -- I got the story if you like it or not I got a lot to tell, oh yeah I'll tell you a lot You occupied, you supported the surge Eyeless in Gaza it's the new Nuremberg You got two seconds? I'll make you come in third Oh yeah it's the new Nuremberg oh yeah They lived here before we came Dug thru our garbage while we emptied the plains Unleash the locusts til the sky's going black Pull up the gangway now there's no going back Oh, yeah, oh I'll be your numbers man oh I'll be your numbers man….I'll be your ….numbers man I'm paranoia, and I wear your deceit I'm the consumer I'm the blood on the street I got the taste of religion and the power of sex You got the income now you need to divest I'll be your numbers man Oh I'll be your numbers man A clean living as a numbers man oh filthy filthy rich a numbers man Oh Christ let me run some numbers for you Oh let me run some numbers for you oh Christ oh let me run some numbers for you cuz baby I am your numbers man
2.
110 or 220V 03:29
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I could never know you and I never really want to Is what love says to me Pull some faces from a jar and spread ‘em on your outline Until you have ceased to be Reality is subject to cancellations Well whoever said I would be free I created myself and volunteered for the Confederacy I lost all the faith I had in the battle of New Orleans Our country died drowned in its sleep Everybody thinks they are a lover and a fighter A kind of spaceship hero Well I was still leaning on that lie If they caught me again I know they’d sentence me so I could never die, but Now the deals have all been struck and the prizes they’re all claimed up There’s nothing left worth staking Put your hands into the darkness and draw out from your psyche The model of modern efficiency At 110 or 220V And I hope there’s something you still want to see In Me In Me In Me I hope there’s something you still want to see
3.
Superwise 04:02
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One seventh nitrogen Lips so swollen, try again, try again There were others, but I think I could forget them, forget them Rotating like a single cell in a heart pump lying in a spent fuel well I’m an engine of mercy in search of a sail My frame won’t float, water runs off the rail Real time echoes landing right in front of the source I’m an endless amusement, an abandoned race course Skyline adjusting the to edge of the park Let the lions lay me down, now, I’m lighting off with the larks Time, make me superwise Make all my choices anodyne Just laugh at me when you want to reduce me, but I’m summer’s high I gotta get outta here I’m just flesh pulled thru skin and a lazy tear Nine worlds to conquer, interior, interior, interior Blood flows, but the limbs are still cold It’s a death sentence if you know how far north you can go I’m a teenage monolith, and I forgo pleasure for the sake of a whim It starts when the swallows all abandon their nests Just to line up for handouts they can feed to their pets, and Everybody thought it was cool Til the blood banks pressed us down and carbon made us a jewel Time, make me superwise Make all my choices anodize Just laugh at me when you want to reduce me, but I’m summer’s high I refuse to go quietly down All I said was sorry but now I’m saying thank you thank you thank you All I said was sorry but now I’m saying thank you thank you thank you All I said was sorry but now I’m sorry I said it
4.
Shittalkers! 03:58
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A bad sign, it was an overnight wait Kids in the clubs won't even touch this stuff it's a hard sell Act not, Heaven act not stay your hand cuz I can't recall telling you how I feel the hurt it was so real A Batsuit won't protect me from you bores You shoulda come to me first Who's gonna help you now, shittalkers? Who's gonna help paint your sky--all the unpaid beauty thieves? Back when you started there was envy all around You and your sedative sighs became so acquainted Paranoias antiquated I was into you cuz you were so under-studied Well, take it all back cuz I don't want your blood money You were into me for the last time I got news for this town: All you shittalkers & unlicensed dog walkers Rib-eyed taxidermy hog stalkers You can take it all up the Wabash And put it where the Pope don't even smile anymore You only do it cuz you're bored--Shittalkers! I'll be somewhere else doing what I always did Keeping the streets safe from American kids Back when you started there was envy all around You and your sedative sighs became so acquainted Paranoias antiquated I was into you cuz you were so under-studied Well, take it all back cuz I don't want your blood money You were into me for the last time Oh, but innocence it never was a good game, cuz Sooner or later you flicker in the eyes of fame Immolations absolute You can't say what you said and give up the cutest eyes Defamations obsolete Take it all back what you said, now, take it back You went behind my back for the very last time
5.
History Buffs 04:30
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Come home you ships at sea; radio the mainland The water's black as oil, there's a squall line off the Grand Banks There ain't no light to get you sailors safely home inside an unreflective night Come on, old Saugerties, give up all your ghosts now You've had two centuries to tithe away the bad years There ain't no vibe that's coming off the railroad at this time There ain't nothing on those tracks Come on you history buffs, play the ‘wait and see’ card The seasons carve our bodies, they age us as they go by I cling to you, you cling to me, together we're unsteady but not without charm I could never decide if I was lonely or lucky Stuck like a monkey on the Rock of Gibraltar Waiting for evolution to make me appealing I could be anybody from a future I could be proud of Come home you phantom limbs marching on the ramparts Photos of your funerals finally fill the front lines A rocket's glare Illuminations of the unending gaze of God's empty stare Come home you phantom limbs, the history buffs are waiting I could never decide if I was lonely or lucky Stuck like a monkey on the Rock of Gibraltar Waiting for evolution to make me appealing I could be anybody from a future I could be proud of I could never decide if we were lonely or lucky Clinging like monkeys to our Rock of Gibraltar Waiting for evolution to make us appealing We could be anybody from a future we could be proud of Come home you phantom limbs, the history buffs are waiting
6.
You're The Gold 02:29
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Let it be said: Oh, they will try and break your will The powerful ones and the petty Never deny That you can feel in it your veins Destiny's arms that enfold you Looking it over & it seems such a long way Or that's what you've been told Crush your dark fate like an empty can Cuz Baby you're the gold Time is not still Time dances round every drain Confident in its returning I couldn't be there cuz I missed my plane But you know I'm always slow Even so my heart's aching homeward Cuz baby you're the gold Oh my my my Oh how they'll try With every swipe To make it all futile Wherever I am I'll hold your name up to the night Fog hides the stars in Seattle Backin’ you up as you're takin’ it forward Now the game is yours to fold Run it further than forever's heard of Cuz baby you're the gold Baby you're the gold Oh my my Baby you're the gold
7.
Drop Your Pride 05:42
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Tell me to what end you serve your pride What is left to be saved when worlds collide? If life is an illusion Let me peel away the gauze The little dances of the upper crust, the protocols Accumulate the orgones Descend the bathysphere As we turn in a whirl of descent that brings me ever nearer Drop your pride, you decide if it's gonna take us all night long All night long If you give me this indulgence I'll grant your every wish There's glow in the dark teeth on these deep sea fish Disqualify your actions Discuss amongst your selves Take advantage of the liberties that were never yours to sell Drop your pride, you decide if it's gonna us take all night long All night long If it be a beggar's pride not to die a thief Tell, me, on what hook you'll hang for those beliefs Drop your pride…is it gonna take us all night long? Drop your pride, you decide if it's gonna us take all night long All night long
8.
Pray 03:35
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When I think about me I could scream Wanna hide out from this bad dream And wait….so far, so far away Turned it till it I had to face it Life was fucked--I still embraced it It still counts if you were wasted, yeah yes it does I wake up and send her home, and Shower off the shame all alone, I Make sure that her cab is paid for I said it for you, I'll say it for me If I were God I'd never believe me I said I got a lot to pray for Stunning like a new face on the scene I'm shooting up with gasoline I can't say where it's gonna end? Is it ever gonna end? Holiness is blood sweat and come Evil's when it leaves you for numb Love is inattention undone, yeah…yes it is You're runnin' for that spotlight naked Adolescent sheep with wolves’ faces Clawing for the choicest placements I said it for you, I did it for me Say it to me, nice and slowly Someone's got a lot to pray for You're sorry for you, I ain't sorry for me Cuz someone's got it harder, believe me Someone's got too much to pray for I'll say it for you, I said it for me You can always make it harder believe me Oh, we got a lot to pray for
9.
4am Birds - The End Of All Light - The Last Radio 04:40
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By the time you rise from your bed The 4am birds delivering hidden cries You've been carbonized And you're etched into the slope of the land Solar winds that strip the atmosphere away from me Mystery tides of the aurorae Brainless fish that hug the vents under the ocean Radios shimmer with the end of all life Byronic verses and baryonic curses All is formless at the end of light All is formless at the end of all light! All is formless at the end of all light! All is formless at the end of all light….
10.
Odorless, Colorless, Tasteless 03:34
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On my own Feeling planetary death My clay children killed themselves I will forgive them Too much success, you know I Told them it would happen I'm only waiting now To be Colorless Odorless Tasteless Weightless Timeless Shapeless I had experience, that went to geomagnetic zero -- now I'm merely Tasteless Colorless Odorless Weightless No one's left to believe in me Tasteless Colorless Odorless Lifeless Deathless Endless Look at me, God's unemployed Staring at the stars, making new ones for myself
11.
Even The Forgers Were Left Fingering The Fakes 03:39
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I've been schooled, I've been schooled By the strangeness of cities where the vacant light pools I have been, I have been Precise as a diamond that cuts you with its beams I didn't dress the part so I could leave when I felt free But I have climbed, I have climbed Higher than the raptures of all the entwined But I have fears, I have fears That I'm blind in both eyes and I'm deaf to all your tears Blind in both eyes Stay with me but don't stay long As long as there are customers I'll keep the last light on Second thoughts, second thoughts I put down the paper and I disconnect the dots I pull down the robber's myth before the poster's up Was it me, was it me? Did I get away with murder and did anybody see That I've been slipping cocktails to the gendarmerie? Who stayed with me but stayed too long As long as they keep questioning I'll keep my straight face on Give and take, give and take What they found in Chicago when they emptied out the lake Even the forgers were left fingering the fakes Overacted, overcast The auctioneer was crying cuz the heir left no estate Meanwhile at the water's edge the waves lapped At the gate Stay with me but don't say why As long as we keep questioning I'll stay here til I die
12.
Doesn't It Remind You of Something (feat. Charity Rose Thielen) 03:55
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Doesn’t it remind you of something? The way my hand was struck by your face The way all that time kept getting back in my watch The more I tried keepin’ it from comin’ my way Doesn’t it remind you of something? The way my cheek was bruised by your kiss The way that the sunlight came down from the sky And stared up my eyes tho they tried to resist... I was bored with the things life had showed me Til that damn dog he sniffed up my bag Those six long years spent in a hole in the wall It taught me how life, it just don’t miss me that bad I still cry when I listen to church bells I thought that ringing might drive me insane I cursed your last breath, hell, I begged for your death It worked a little too well I guess that’s what they call prayin’ Doesn’t it remind you of something? The way my face still beats up your dreams The way that my smoke still hangs around this old room The way your eyes light up when you’re caught in my beams Oh, baby, I tried so hard to miss you I even photographed myself cryin’ I doctored those years with more medicinal tears The kind that you should have known to start prescribing I was driving that stolen F150 To Arizona, Nevada, who cares? (How was Nevada?) Down in that ditch I was impaled on the wheel It was so peaceful when nighttime brought down the stars Doesn’t it remind you of something? The way my old clothes still hang on that rack The way that those credit cards keep comin’ by mail As if they offered me some way to pay it all back Doesn’t it remind you of something? The way my face still beats up your dreams The way that my smoke still hangs around that old room The way your eyes light up when you’re caught in my beams?
13.
Savior's Hands 02:17
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My attempts to liberate the Symbionese from your head Were pathetic at best I should know and leave well enough all alone But dammit it looked good there for a minute I was someone else But then I undressed and I found I wasn't going back to you, I Could have had a major scene beat the majors at their games But then they all up and died leaving civil war enactments Looking rather tired and fat If not that's depressing then what is? A bunch of guys who were in bands Rattling their sabers for their savior's hands I was somebody too I was nobody true But don't hold it against me Don't hold it against me I swear by god I swear I'll still come thru One way or another
14.
You're A Sign 03:35
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You're my old story, my fable, you're my movie, and my dream When I went forward to find you I was like a winged Mercury Promise was in the air For this was a golden year And fear wasn't even fear If I see you're a sign, will you tell me if you're mine? From the edge of the sky I'll be following I'll be following you If I see you're a sign will you tell me if you're mine cuz I Might not know It's no wonder I fled I could lose you instead I was facing my own crimes But where Mercury runs there's a rivulet strung by causality's thread Well ours ain't to wonder why The thunder is in the sky Just take it and let it fly If I see you're a sign, will you tell me if you're mine? From the edge of the sky I'll be following I'll be following you If I see you're a sign will you tell me if you're mine cuz I Might not know Might not know if I'll always have your beauty In my life In my life Two lovers take their time in the young century We're aware history won't find us at all and we like it that way Everything passes by And I'm not afraid to die As long as there's you and I If I see you're a sign, will you tell me if you're mine? From the edge of the sky I'll be following I'll be following you If I see you're a sign will you tell me if you're mine cuz I Might not know If I see you're a sign, will you tell me if you're mine? From the edge of the sky I'll be following I'll be following you If I see you're a sign will you tell me if you're mine cuz I Might not know Might not know but I always want your beauty in my life In my life In my...life

about

Ken Stringfellow's fourth solo album is an ambitious and wide-ranging travelogue that changes idiom almost song by song - sometimes within a song. Released in 2012, it acknowledges the apocalyptic legends that were foretold to transpire at that time: first in "4am Birds/The End of All Light/The Last Radio", the world comes to an end in a glorious technicolor mirror image of the Big Bang; this is followed by "Odorless Colorless Tasteless" which is narrated by God, having ended the universe, contemplates the ennui of his cosmic retirement. The album juxtaposes many such moments of intellectual flexing with passages of pure vulnerability.

Some fun trivia:

the vocal for "History Buffs" is the live-in-studio guide vocal Ken sang while leading the band at the piano.

to get the slurry effect of the vocals on "Drop Your Pride", Ken drank a full bottle of champagne before tracking!

to get the world-weary vocal sound for "Jesus Was An Only Child" Ken tracked his vocals between 3 and 4am.

"Superwise" was an improvised composition done while on tour in Italy, made in an afternoon and subsequently forgotten!

The "Sung" (sampled vocal) bass line and electronic percussion in "Even the Forgers" are an homage to the Beatles "I Will".

Most of the album was tracked at ICP Studios in Brussels with a core band consisting of Ken backed by J.B. Meijers on bass, Joost Kroon on drums and Pim Kops on keyboards. Incredibly, these tracks were cut at the same time as J.B. made his album "The Secret Year"; for J.B.'s songs Ken moved over to bass. The two artists would alternate -- the band would cut a song of Ken's, then one of J.B.'s - an astonishing 23 tracks were recorded in...3-4 days!

credits

released October 16, 2012

Ken Stringfellow - guitars, keyboards, percussion, programming, vocals
JB Meijers - bass
Pim Kops - keyboards, accordion
Joost Kroon - drums
TheLAB - drums, keyboards, guitar, percussion
Sonja Van Hamel - vocals, keyboards, guitaret
Annie Tangberg - cello
Eva Auad - vocals
Charity Rose Thielen - vocals
Roland Brunt - sax
Peter Van Soest - trumpet
Mathieu Vandenabeele - piano
Vera Van Der Bie - violin
Isabella Petersen - viola
Hideki Ikeura - trumpet
Craig Flory - sax
David Rockefeller - trumpet
Benjamin Herman - sax
Steve Mostovoy - trumpet
Sasha Tirupati - vocals
Dipesh Verma - percussion
Sangeet Mishra - sarangi
Khandekar - flute
Dora

Recorded at ICP Studios, Brussels; Le Domicile, Paris/St. Martin-de-Ré/Cussy-la-Colonne; EP Service, Schagen NL; TheLAB, Van Nuys CA; The Basement, Menaggio IT; Crackle & Pop, Seattle; The Satisfactory, Amsterdam; Studio Son, Amsterdam; Pratham Studio, Mumbai; Oosterport, Groningen NL; Wavelab, Tucson AZ

Mixed by TheLAB at TheLAB

Engineers: Michel "Shelle" Dierickx, TheLAB, Johnny Sangster, Ken Stringfellow, Dale Wathey, Reeky Dev, Julio Speziali

Mastered by Frans Hendricks

String arrangements on "Odorless, Colorless, Tasteless" and "Doesn't It Remind You of Something" by Annie Tangberg; string arrangement on "You're A Sign" by Sonja Van Hamel

Indian instrument arrangements on "Jesus Was An Only Child", "4am Birds", "Doesn't It Remind You of Something" by Sasha Tiripati & Reeky Dev

All songs by Ken Stringfellow (SOFT Rebellion Songs, BMI)
Except "Odorless, Colorless, Tasteless" by Ken Stringfellow/Annie Tangberg (SOFT Rebellion Songs/copyright control BMI) and "Jesus Was An Only Child by Ken Stringfellow/TheLAB (Soft Rebellion Songs BMI/TheLAB Experimental ASCAP)

Special thanks to Dominique without whose patience, guidance and love my life's mission would be impossible to complete. You're A Sign.

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Ken Stringfellow Seattle, Washington

A fixture on the music landscape, indie and otherwise, since the debut of his band The Posies in 1988, Ken Stringfellow has over thirty-five years of experience as a performer, composer, producer, arranger, programmer and more. In addition to his eight albums with the Posies and four solo albums, Ken spent a decade touring and recording with R.E.M and 17 years with Memphis cult band Big Star. ... more

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