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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Bees of the Invisible, Gentle Brontosaurus Live: Jurassic Park 'n' Ride Tour 2016, and Names of Things and What They Do.
1. |
Soft Things
03:36
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Paul Simon sings he’s soft in the middle
I’m soft in the middle and I’m wasting my breath
Anna Bertha saw her bones in her hand
and cried out, I have seen my death!
Anna Bertha, I have seen my death too
Waves of the working days grinding me into sand
Anna Bertha, I have seen my death too,
skeleton hiding inside my warm soft hand
in my hand
Chorus:
When she touched the feathers of the ghost-white owl
and her fingers sank right in
Or the ripe persimmon, red as rust,
wet honey under the skin
Your hand in mine with your flesh so fine,
cold bones, warm hand, gold rings;
Soft things, soft things
Black frame around his portrait like the frame that runs
Around the X-ray or the computer screen
I keep forgetting that Eric’s gone
but he still shows up sometimes, living, in my dreams
Sometimes you feel like nothing at all
So soft when I take your hand in mine
And then I feel like nothing at all
Snow and static on the inside
On the inside
Glory days of wine and bruises
All the things that he refuses
Floating world that occupies my time
I wanted to grow up wise and wild
But I’ve been old since I was a child
Tried to fly and melt and fall
But I float down like feathers, like nothing at all
Nothing at all
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2. |
Rabbit Test
03:36
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Junior year, I got some bad news
Trying to study from my book about biology
Kept on staring at the sentence:
"Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"
The words were blurred, my hand was shaking
Two lines, parallel and blue
You have a choice, you have to make it
The rabbit died and I don't know what to do
So I'm standing in the kitchen with the stereo singing
And the buzzing of bees in my head
Dreaming of the sound of church bells ringing
But I looked out the window and saw the church sign instead:
"Don't put a period where God put a comma"
And what if there's no period? God!--
Little comma, lines continuing
Little comma, I think of my mom,
Nineteen, in the kitchen
Phone like a crescent moon pressed against her ear
Saying, "I'm sorry, I'm going to keep her"
Light down the lines saying comma no period here
Comma curves like the crescent moon in the sky
Or the spine of a specimen in formaldehyde
Half-made salamander with its moon-black eye
I'm sorry, I can't keep you
Tail of the phone line curling down in the dark
Pale spine pressed up on my ear
I whisper to the gills of the moon in the dark
I'm sorry, there's no room for you here
Black water, white fish in black water,
I go towards the mirror in the dimming light
In the dark of the hallway I look like my mother
Mother, comma, goodnight
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3. |
Snacks on a Plane
04:08
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Shoegaze noise
Drowns the sound
Reading light haloes saints
Window shades down
Little bottles
Chase your sorrow
Drinking westwards
Into tomorrow
Can't catch me, you can't catch me
Can't catch me, you can't catch me
Can't catch me, you can't catch me
Can't catch me, you can't catch me
Outside countries, outside time
Reading Skymall
Reading Hemispheres
Watching stewardesses
Thin as atmosphere
Ginger ale
Tastes like flying
This descent
Feels like dying
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Everything's so cold in the outer air)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Looking down on clouds like a blanket)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (And the land is so empty everywhere)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Chase the sun but you won't catch it)
Outside countries, outside time
Anthill houses
Growing taller
Like a dinosaur sponge
Or maybe I'm growing smaller
Closing up
Like a telescope
Shrinking down
Till I become a photo
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (I'm scared of takeoffs and of landings)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (I'm scared of continuing and scared of endings)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Metal capsule speeding like seven-league boots)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Let the wind pull up my coward roots)
Outside countries, outside time
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Feeling footloose and duty-free)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (With the stars up above and the cities down below me)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (Shining out in the dark)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (And this plane's shining too like a traveling star)
Outside countries, outside time
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (There's always something that you're running from)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (There's always something to leave behind)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (If you don't have something you're running from)
Can't catch me, you can't catch me (You're probably just not trying, darling)
Outside countries, outside time
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4. |
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Like the quick red fox and the lazy brown dog
The tiger jumped over the fence at the zoo
She imagines him running down Ocean Avenue
But he was shot like a dog, like the animal he was
Sometimes the world will punish you for being who you are
Eleanor at the end of the world
With her science fiction books and melancholy art films
Earth Abides, Rivers and Tides,
The Dawn of the Dead, and she's lying in bed,
thinking, how did I get here?
And who will take me away?
In her dead-end job at the local coffee shop
Seems romantic when you're not paying the bills
Oh, Eleanor, at the end of the world
It might be better
Walking through the silent city streets with nobody around you
It might be better
Broken windows under ivy, remnants of society in a handful of dust
Oh, Eleanor, at the end of the world
And she falls
And she calls
Oh, Eleanor, at the end of the world
All the bats are dying in their warm black caves
And the bees are dying in their honey-golden hives
College is a love song to doing what you want
but when you jump the fence, it's time to face the consequences
Writing essays
Applying for an MFA once you have the money
Eleanor at the end of the world
Watching zombie movies and apocalyptic films
La Jetee, 28 Days Later,
The Walking Dead, and she's lying in bed,
thinking, how did I get here?
And who will take me away?
It might be better
Walking through the gathering darkness with nobody around you
It might be better
Tigers in the avenue, running from the city zoo, radio silence
Oh, Eleanor, at the end of the world
And she falls
And she calls
Oh, Eleanor
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5. |
Isonone
03:58
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I had a dream about you last night
But I woke up to find there was no-one in sight
And I said
Whatcha doing in my head?
And I said
Whatcha doing in my head?
And then I saw you a second time
But your baby tooth, it looked just like mine
I don't know why you always held it up so high
I don't know why you always held it up so high
First time I saw those crooked eyes
Didn't need a sign, I didn't need a
First time I saw those crooked eyes
Now I'm living in someone else's time
Someone else's time, someone else's
Now I'm living in someone else's time...
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6. |
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Didn't they tell you when they locked the doors
Didn't you notice when they swept the floor
They left you here and never said goodnight
Didn't they tell you it was time to drink
Didn't they tell you it was time to dream
Under flickering fluorescent REM
What kind of mechanic wouldn't hear the clamor?
go on and scream like you're not going to listen for an answer
but we've got to grow in this quickening clime
I'm afraid I'll hit the sky
Blue screen is a
slow death
Blue screen is a
slow death
Your friends have all given up and quit
But you burn down to your last filament
Though not as bright as you once had been
Your connections have begun to fray
But you still haven't become afraid
Of falling prey to the incessant din
What kind of mechanic wouldn't hear the clamor?
go on and scream like you're not going to listen for an answer
but we've got to grow in this quickening clime
I'm afraid I'll hit the sky
Blue screen is a
slow death
Blue screen is a
slow death
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7. |
Carrion Birds
05:26
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Paper clip
neutrino detector
lincoln log
reactor core
dirty bomb erector set
with Lego blocks, now happenstance
is in the hands
of the absurdly young
carrion birds
carry on, carry on
carrion birds
carry on, carry on
feral packs
of pterodactyls
hovercraft
traffic jam
circuitbent drone attack
with elemental yoga mats
now runningwear in camouflage
is the style
terror is for the naive
cynicism reigns supreme
I'm growing fond of death and taxes
fickle friends but seldom absent
assets to ashes, dividends to dust
carrion birds
carry on, carry on
carrion birds
carry on, carry on
Paper clip
neutrino detector
lincoln log
reactor core
dirty bomb erector set
with lego blocks
now there's nothing left
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8. |
Bruce Willis
02:37
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i met a girl with dayglo hair
orange you glad that she was my fare
rods and cones, it hurts to stare
fluorescing in the neon glare
between the wind and the rain
between the earth and the flames
it will not be the same
i will not be the same
someday i'm going to make her mine
a paragon of paradigm
i've loved her since the time she toddled
only an hour self-unbottled
i met a girl with skin of blue
men don't cry but i was moved
before she died she told me what to do
but who will protect who?
someday i'm going to make her mine
a paragon of paradigm
i'll be the spleen, she'll be the spline
i'll get to say the final line
i'm not here to make your scene
(leeloo, leeloo, leeloo, leeloo)
yeah, it's green, man. super green.
(leeloo, leeloo, leeloo, leeloo)
what was it you said to me?
(yippie ki yay, Mr. Falcon)
now i have a machine gun
ho ho ho
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9. |
Caroline
03:30
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she pardons the parson for arson,
saying, "so ardent an artist he is!"
and orders her good-humored roomer
out on border patrol
when petrol wanes she pirates
an irate pilot in violet velour
for the sake of our island inviolate
advocating violence to keep us secure
I guess
I'm a little bit obsessed
with our regal regentess
benevolent dictatrix
matron to our micronation
without her this atoll would take its toll
without her we'd be no nation at all
For now I'm in a state of Caroline
in a state of Caroline, in a state of Caroline
patron of the arts, she makes us an ark
in one-eighth scale
awakens at dawn to take in the song
of grey noise on the radio
we're all alone and so we postpone
the signing of our constitution
written in sand, her elegant hand
subsides into the ocean
I confess...
[rest of chorus]
we survived the famine with most of our
sanity intact
the families of those we lost doubt our
humanity
we watched cartoons
until the harpoons came
famished we supped upon
salmon and manatee
what doesn't kill you gives you cancer
what doesn't kill you is saving you for later
The state of Caroline
I'm in
is now just
a state of mind
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10. |
KFC
03:06
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https://twitter.com/cat_beltane/status/329686743550947328
Bunting bird, turn out the lights
It's nighttime, let the curtain drop
Eat all you can tonight (little ortolan, keep on ordering)
In the dark, you don't know when to stop (stop calling me, stop, stop calling me)
You were plump and perfect, I drowned you whole
In the velvety dark #IATETHEBONES
Salt in my mouth and I don't know if it was blood from a cut or the wine that I drowned you in
Or something else of yours, little bunting, little ortolan
Drape my head with a veil
Hide my shame from God
Name my desires and my guilty silken pleasures
I know that my appetites are wrong
Last supper before your Judas kiss
Last night I told you all I wanted was this
Under the sheets and I can't hold onto you or anything, not anything
In the darkness I feel that I could eat up everything, little ortolan
In the bright light of day
I know when to walk away
But in the dark, I'll DOUBLE DOWN and I'll swallow you whole
ALL IS PERMITTED, I'll bite your bitter bones
Drape my head with a veil
Hide my shame from God
Name my desires and my guilty silken pleasures
I know that my appetites are wrong
Bunting bird, turn out the lights
It's nighttime, let the curtain drop
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11. |
Stay
05:30
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Stay
Into the morning
It's a long road to morning
I don't know the way
Stay
You brighten the darkness
A light in my darkness
I'd like you to stay
Now
Awake after midnight
A boat you left drifting
My dear
I'll wait here forever
At least until morning
Stay
Stay
I'm left
At the doorstep of longing
You slip away sleeping
I wish you would stay
Eyes close
Like a guillotine falling
Trap door at the gallows
I wish you would stay
Now
Alone after midnight
Counting the hours
Dreams
Coursing inside you
Do you like them better
Better than me?
Stay
Stay
Stay
Please stay
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Gentle Brontosaurus Madison, Wisconsin
"Sweet, sunny and just a little bit twee, this indie pop quintet will make you want to dance and hug your friends... With
folk and jangle-pop influences, [Bees of the Invisible] features smart lyrics, thoughtful instrumentation and enchanting songwriting." --Isthmus
"expert-level indie pop... effortless, breezy fun interspersed with harder-edged rockers" --Expansionista! zine
... more
Gentle Brontosaurus recommends:
everything is everything
by red tape diaries
Including Jon and Huan-Hua (and Nick)
go to album
Including Huan-Hua and Nick
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Indietracks Compilation 2018
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supported by 5 fans who also own “Names of Things and What They Do”
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go to album
Indietracks Compilation 2015
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supported by 5 fans who also own “Names of Things and What They Do”
Is it that time of year already? Can't wait!!! Some great tunes on the comp this year.
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Away From The Castle
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Video Age make cute and upbeat power pop that's both quirky and classic at the same time.
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Nature of Things
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Effortlessly juggling mood without slowing down or stopping to question themselves, the Singaporean band give new life to an age-old indie ethos.
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