Hermit-ville

Perpetuation
Attempted movement
A rouse

Seeking
Without action
Peering around corners
Unwilling to step

Parallel lives
Fighting the same middle
Open to everything
But one

Pretend conscience
Pretend enlightenment
Pretend intentions

Afraid to hurt
But hurting more
Hurt one free another
To what end

Placed where we placed
Wishing, wanting, desiring
More
But not really

Focus on contentment
Not moving on
Growth a facade
To indulgence

Fight or flight
Flight
Run away
Live to disappear

Stepping out shines a light
Back to hermit-ville

1. Room at the Top – Tom Petty
2. Swing the Cellar Door – Hey Rosetta
3. Skinny Love – Bon Iver
4. My Backwards Walk – Frightened Rabbit
5. Waiting for My Real Life to Begin – Colin Hay
6. Lucky You – The National
7. Search Party – Wintersleep
8. About to Walk – Throw Me to the Statue
9. Melody Day – Caribou
10. The Hill – Marketa Irglova
11. Almost Lover – A Fine Frenzy
12. Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
13. Why Does it Always Rain on Me – Travis
14. Hands on Fire – The Stills
15. We Still Need A Song – Hawksley Workman
16. Blood Bank – Bon Iver
17. You Were Loved – Hayden
18. Stolen – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
19. Roll Roll and Flee – Nikola Sarcevic
20. Poke – Frightened Rabbit
21. We Made a Pact – Hey Rosetta

Nothing’s Gonna Change My World

In the cities and the gutters

where our burdens all surrender

to the pressures of cold weather

& the pressures of one another

Along the sidelines of the city

where the buildings block the light

The hours tend to linger

as the winter discounts the light

Lock yourself inside.  Stay out of the cold.  If we could allow ourselves the freedom from pressure, from expectation….hmm.  That’s the good life.  But often, the heaviest weights we carry are the ones loaded by our own selves.  To lock yourself away, is to confine yourself with your greatest critic.  Go out to the city, that you fear.  Look for freedom there.

And the hopelessness of our descent

and the pressures under which we went

are buried in the shadows

of a Parkdale basement

I see history repeat itself

but stutter from the lies they tell

Use a war for distraction

while the politicians cash in

We continuously look for hope in others.  In ‘great’ people, bringing a ‘great’ change.  The only thing that seems to change is who we place this hope in.  The war just belongs to a new country.  A new society becomes the symbol of industrialized greed. or another of utter suffering.  ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’.  How many people know this, or have the bumper sticker?  How many people do it?

We give up.  Over and over again.  Something minuscule changes and we get a second wind…..then give up again.  Take a look at the ‘irrelevant’ moments of your past.  How many of them were truly dealt with or just moved to the bottom of the pile, buried under ‘more pressing’ maters.  We can’t deal with the small…we will never tackle the immense.

Now, emotions grow in rows and rows

Regurgitate the tv shows

The understatements that they sell

confuse the youth that guide themselves

We can buy the loss of faith

their vision blurs while they concentrate

Discard all your feelings

killing time while you wait

FOR LIFE

TO PASS YOU BY

We live the lives we created.  The change we seek, is merely a piece of what we created.  We don’t want it, it will never come.  We can’t live a ’sweet sixteen at thirty three’ (Hayden).  We will never achieve a station where longing is absent.  Allow it, seek it, but never stop moving forward.

FOR LIFE

TO PASS YOU BY

~Cuff the Duke

Something Simple

I used to do this with an old friend of mine.  We would build songs together 3000 miles apart, just posting and adding to what the other did.

I haven’t done it in a while & thought some of you write or want to write your own music/ lyrics.  So why not expand my experience outside the 2 person confines I’ve used in the past.  If it’s something your into, cool, use it and let me know what you come up with.

I’ve been using it for creating songs outside this specific music, it just gets me thinking.

It is just 8 simple parts layered together and repeated.  It is by no means perfect & I have yet to create any changes or builds to it.  It is basically the same 8 bars repeated 10 times.

C – Em in Progress

(it should be downloadable, just right click and save as)

Short and Sweet

Apparently I am lacking any originality of my own today, and relying on others works.  Whatever other people are good too………

1. Everything You’re Breathing For  -  The Parlor Mob
2. Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe  -  Okkervil River
3. Over and Over again  -  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
4. It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry  -  Glasvegas
5. My Backwards Walk  -  Frightened Rabbit
6. Halloween Head  -  Ryan Adams
7. Blue In The Sky  -  Joe Purdy
8. Open Heart Surgery  -  The Brian Jonestown Massacre
9. lbi Dreams of Pavement  -  Broken Social Scene
10. Summer Babe  -  Pavement

Strange

It’s strange.  I feel like I want to write, but also that I shouldn’t.  When I say write, really, I mean post to this blog.  It’s also strange, that I have been writing a lot of lyrics lately….mostly crap, but I’m fine with that.  It’s strange because I almost always write strictly music.  Music with no real focus or clear destination (as I never write lyrics).  I have never been the lyric man, but now I am writing lyrics with no music……..it’s very strange.

What does this mean?

Probably nothing……..

Lights at Night

My new mix…..It’s my driving at night, or really early morning when all the street lights downtown are flashing yellow & red.  It’s also really good stoned music.  actually it would be great acid or peyoti music….not that I recommend it, I don’t, but it would be a good soundtrack.  Blah enough talking……

1. New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 – REM
2. Red-Eye – The Album Leaf
3. I HpeYour Heart Runs Empty – Neverending White Lights
4. Bulletproof…I Wish I Was – Radiohead
5. Breathe – Angels & Airwaves
6. Search Party – Wintersleep
7. Brighter Hell – The Watchmen
8. This Longing – Neverending White Lights
9. Indifference – Pearl Jam
10. Lifeline – Angels & Airwaves
11. Fall Down -Pilate
12. Strange Days – Matthew Good Band
13. Come Undone – Duran Duran
14. Street Spirit – Radiohead
15. Samskeyti – Sigur Ros
16. Soma – Smashing Pumpkins
17. The Grace – Neverending White Lights
18. A Reprise – Pilate

Just testing

I’m trying to figure this out, so far not what I’m looking for.  But you may as well listen to some tunes…….

Black Heart – Hey Rosetta!

Its Not Me – Hawksley Workman

Galapogos – Smashing Pumpkins

Somebody – Deeche Mode

Kick Ass!!

So I may not have had a good grip on reality this afternoon, BUT………….I made a kick Ass Mix……….

It’s a little eclectic, and don’t always flow well, but something about it is awesome…………..

This mix has no name.

1.  Stem – Hayden

2.  Snuff – Slipknot

3.  Finally – The Frames

4.  Fly Straight – Aiden Hawken

5.  The Travel Song – Pilate

6.  Black Heart – Hey Rosetta!

7.  It’s Not Me – Hawksley Workman

8.  Galapogos – Smashing Pumpkins

9.  Somebody – Depeche Mode

10.  Happiness By The Killowatt – City and Colour

11.  Hotel Chelsea Nights – Ryan Adams

12.  Nuclear Daydream – Joseph Arthur

13.  Nutshell – Alice in Chains

14.  Footsteps – Pearl Jam  *(Live in Saskatoon BITCHES!!!)

15.  Guess I’m Doin Fine – Beck

16.  Twin Rocks, Oregon – Shawn Mullins

17.  Say Goodbye – Dave Matthews Band

I know I need to make a mix without DMB but whatever, apparently I’m really into them right now.

90’s Scream

I had to break up the mix.  Here’s part 1…..The Scream Along

1.  Lukin – Pearl Jam

2.  I’ll Stick Around – Foo Fighters

3.  My My – Seven Mary Three

4.  Through The Never – Metallica

5.  Sex Type Thing – Stone Temple Pilots

6.  Wind Up – Foo Fighters

7.  Pushin Forward Back – Temple Of The Dog

8.  Hey Man Nice Shot – Filter

9.  Blew – Nirvana

10.  Mudshovel – Staind

11.  Falling Away From Me – Korn

12.  Sober – Tool

13.  Brain Stew – Green Day

14.  Not For You – Pearl Jam

15.  Halloween – Dave Matthews Band

16.  Down In A Hole – Alice In Chains

17.  Lay Lady Lay – Ministry

18.  Tired Of Sex – Weezer

19.  Whatever – Godsmack

20.  Negative Creep – Nirvana

Part 2 will be a bit more of the typical 90’s self loathing, angst ridden rock that is Gen X.  That will be the harder one, there’s a lot of good shit.

Damn it!!  I just realized I forgot to put Suck You Dry – Mudhoney on the mix.  It should probably replace Brainstew….I may need to make Scream Along V1.1

I said I Would

I said I’d share so if you care here is the last thing i kinda did.

I wrote it just after getting back from New orleans. It’s a musical place. This was just an idea for a song.  I had no lyrics and just recorded one take to see if there was any potential.  I have yet to take it any further.  So it’s a little raw, recorded on just 1 open mic.  Also i sing!  I appologize if you decide to listen.

http://www.imeem.com/people/_yQcpwj/music/8-W2WA1-/jason_norman_love_in_d/