1. |
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you feel more accomplished
when you do many things in a day
but more and more often
your job gets in the way
of the things that you want to do
so you delay…
and you delay and you delay and then you die
and you’re dead and no longer wonder why…
working for a living is the way to survive
working for a living for the rest of your life
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2. |
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sometimes the best thing
a man can do for a woman
is shut up
sometimes a man’s got to stop thinking about his dick
and shut up
sometimes the best thing
a man can do for a woman
is shut up
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3. |
ii. working
03:44
|
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working’s not so bad
but working’s not that great
working in the delusions
of the capitalists’ dream
doing stuff for money
wherever it may lead
plastics fill the ocean
plastics cover the beach
working for the plastic man
in his plastic coated sleep
plastic bloats his belly
why can’t anyone see?
the piles heaping higher
my thoughts are sinking lower
no humanity, no time to dream
in this scared dim lit enclosure
"just glue your eyes to the plastics
and make them piles grow"
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4. |
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|
if people aren’t working, what will they do
but sit at home idle
and stew and stew and stew
you dig a big hole
and pull out the goo
to reshape the world and the idea of “you”
staring at the screen
doing it for a living
saw some pictures
typed some words
then silently watched the birds
if people aren’t working,
what the hell have you
but a mass of idleness
through and through and through?
one hopped across the parking lot
one perched up in the tree
another swooped at the smaller birds
on the other side of the street
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5. |
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|
well, here are we
our planet is dying
heaving, gasping for air
all the beautiful erased
its vital signs fading
passing on into that grey day
our life support is strangled
slowly suffocating
heaving, gasping for reprieve
the planet is dying
its vital signs waving
over their precipice
and we go when it goes
and we go when it goes
and we go when it goes...
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6. |
v. (reprise)
01:50
|
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|
working for a living for the rest of your life
working for a living while the biosphere dies
|
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7. |
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iv. minimum wager
pay me for the hours
not for the work nor the effort
but the hours i’ve wasted here
serving the interests of the money
and the boss man
for the money i give him my life
for the payment they take back again
i’m so bored, so tired
and my body tells me it’s time to go
i’m through packing shit the billionth time over to an end nobody knows
v. disconnecting
they want perfection
and they expect it cheap
and they expect it fast
so they can go back to sleep
nothing’s ever enough
the delusions fail to placate
ownership is intangible
it's abstract, fiction
tears holes through the dream
vi capitalist dogs
were you searching for purpose,
convinced you might belong
at your bullshit job
singing a song for the bürocrats
and capitalist gods?
are you climbing that pyramid
your eyes gleaming and wide?
do you feel at ease with these delusions
and greed and pharaohs
and capitalist gods?
won’t it be so easy
once you’ve consolidated control
and use the species to serve your demands
like royalty, like capitalist gods?
like royalty and capitalist dogs
|
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8. |
ix. no time to dream
02:00
|
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|
no time to dream
no time for restful sleep
working took it away from me
working took you away from me
no time for whatever I please
no time to figure out what I need
no time to dream
working took my dreams from me
|
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9. |
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|
you feel more accomplished
when you do many things in a day
but more and more often
your job gets in the way
of the things that you want to do so you delay
and all hope having control of your life slowly starts to cave
and all hope having control of your life slowly starts to drain
and all hope having control of your life then quickly starts to fade
and eventually all hope for control ends
because you're working for a living
|
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10. |
landed
03:31
|
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|
farmer oh farmer where did your farm go
to the realtors in the city to build those new condos
in the fields of canola, where your tractors used to roam
on the land your grandfather stole?
stacks of money piled to the sky
tower over fallow fields and cast onto them their shadows
toxic tailings, leaky ceilings, black mold growin’ up the walls
desecration rights to the highest bidders
the mayor sips his coffee with some millionaires at the mall
briefcases full of demands and their chequebooks of course
a round of handshakes and they leave grinning ear to ear
and tomorrow they send in the tanks
farmer oh farmer where did your farm go
to the realtors in the city to build that new shopping mall
in the fields of canola, where your tractors used to roam
on the land your grandfather stole?
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11. |
kunststoff
03:34
|
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|
factories make plastics
and sell them to the stores
people bring them home
to release on their own
some of them are melted down
to lesser plastic types
others are scattered
over every part of the world
plastic for the gutters
plastic for the lakes
plastic for the forests
plastic in the food chain
plastic in the oceans
plastic in the sands
plastic in the children
the fish fill their bellies
with tiny pieces of plastic
floating around in the oceans
accumulating over the years
the birds swoop down
and scoop up the fish from the water
and after a little while
the birds die down on the beach
the bodies of dead birds
stretching as far as I can see
forever after they’re gone
the plastic from their bellies
will remain
plastic for the gutters
plastic for the lakes
plastic for the forests
plastic in your clothing
plastic in your bloodstream
plastic in the sands
plastic in the children
|
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12. |
river
02:04
|
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|
the river is my mother
the river holds my soul
i will stand by her side
and watch her powers flow
the river is my mother
the river is my hope
together we’ll protect her
and the black snake will not grow
damn the oilman
who came to dig a hole
and drive the black snake through her
and drive the black snake through her
the river is my mother
the river is my soul
together we’ll protect her
and the oil will not flow
the oil will not flow
the oil will not flow
the oil will not flow
the oil will not flow
dedicated to J Reznicek and R Montoya
|
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13. |
||||
|
blockade hannover, dec 2nd, 2°C
you weren't able to move
fastened to the pyramid
the cops broke your legs
when they dragged you away
the crowd got cold, cold showers
from those cold, cold blue machines
the police chief gave his statement
and it pleased the bourgeoisie:
“when the nazis march in the streets
they can guarantee protection by the police
they can hide behind us coppers and dream
of Gestapo uniforms and genocidal schemes”
well hey that’s just how state power goes
and hey that’s just how state power grows and grows
and hey that’s just how state power goes
but hey…
|
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14. |
bread + water
01:20
|
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|
bread and water
a job’s just a job
everyone is so helpless all alone
condemned to the darkness of the night
all you really need is a little light:
evict the landlords,
fire your boss,
send the police to jail,
media blackout corporate news
and the idea that in capitalism we choose
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15. |
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16. |
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17. |
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18. |
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19. |
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20. |
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Graham Janz recommends:
ToooT Suite
by Arthur & the A-Tones
Arthur and I have worked together, it's true. Especially on this small concept album about toilet paper.
go to album
The Only Punx In Town
by moledebater
It's true I played bass on this album and some other Moledebater EPs. Many of these songs are close to my everyday life. Like when I'm cleaning up garbage and think "whose mess you gonna clean up"?
go to album
Hip Hop Scotch, Get Goin'
by Horsebag Mama
I'm on this album too. Why not, right? But I shouldn't take too much credit, if you read the credits. I cut my hair and Ben and Marshall stopped hanging out with me until it grew back.
go to albumIf you like Graham Janz, you may also like:
Tender indie rock from Boston artist Tiffy, with pillowy synths and heavenly vocals.
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Entirely analog, lush melodic pop with a tender heart from L.A. artist Human Barbie sounds bigger than the bedroom project it is.
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featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 1, 2013
go to album
