Radio Retribution
Two can play at this game
You took away our rights
Lets join the fight

We're the masses
Just getting started
Safety in numbers
We're heavily guarded
                 
You have opened 
A Pandoras Box
Your Minority Opinion 
Won't turn back the clocks

You should have thought
A little harder
You've become a 
Fire starter
                 
What you started 
We will finish
In the streets
What you've diminished

You underestimated
Our growing force
And what we'll do
At any cost

Chorus

Radio Retribution
The voice of the people
Broadcasting
From a church steeple

I have all kinds of feelings about the future of America. In history, America has gone through similar times – in my lifetime, the Viet Nam War and all of the socio-political upheaval was pretty serious – along with the assassination’s of two Kennedy’s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X. There were the Weathermen , beats, Black Panthers, KKK, John Birch Society and the whole hippy thing. Then LGBTQ at the end of my “young adult” years.

There were many really great things that came out of the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and while the recent GQP posturing and now Supreme Food Court decisions attempt to push us back to the 50’s. It just ain’t gonna happen. One person pointed to what happened in Iran and Hungary – but while I feat the worst – America has way too much diversity and there are so many different groups – and all seem quite entitled. Iran and Hungary and are smaller and much more “homogenous” than America. American’s will just ignore these new laws and do whatever they want. They will do this because once Donald Trump is acquitted of any and all crimes, we will ALL realize that Lawlessness is the New Order.

I suppose I’m at the end of the Boomer Generation – and we have had way more than enough of setting social policies and whatnot in this country. Many are dying off – and this will accelerate. Unless some miracle happens – and the Democrats figure out how to put a candidate for president that is young and maybe along the lines of Bernie Sanders – outspoken and salt of the earth type who can appeal to the right as well as the left – I fear DeSantis will be our next president – and like the current Supreme Food Court – try to push us back to some halcyon bye gone era that only the oldest of Boomers lived through. Its all 100% pure pandering to the Low IQ MAGA crowd. But as in Idiocracy, it will work.

If the younger generations stand up and demand their rights – many of the scary things we are seeing today will not be as bad as we fear – or as good and we hope. That is what I think the best situation will end up being. I don’t expect a civil war – but do expect civil unrest. At this point its a hope of mine. Or – maybe younger generations will play their game machines – never look up from their phones – and the bastards will just steam roller over everyone. I think Clarence “Coke Can Pubic Hair / I believe Anita” Thomas – even said people will be too busy looking at their phones and not even push back. Sure hope he’s wrong.

The GQP and Supreme Food Court will experience heavy blowback and even a huge pendulum swing after their “base” realizes their life has gotten worse rather than better. And when whites lose their majority status in less than 20 years, all of this will implode. Sadly, we will have a good 10 or so years eating shit.

I did have a fun dream today that we would end up with civil unrest – due to people saying “No fucking way” to the Maggots and Supreme Food Court douche bags – and that I was part of it running a clandestine pirate radio station.

Americans are idiots
Spoiled brat babies
Willingly infected
With Trumpian Rabies

Incredibly dumb
Thinking we're smart
Willingly ripping
Our Democracy apart

If you want to see
The total enemy
Look in the mirror
Its you and its me

Its up to us
To carefully choose
Democracy or be
Red White and Screwed

In the darkest garden corner
Sits an iron garden gnome
With his bloody pitchfork
There he calls his home

Don't take your eyes
Off this garden gnome
He's hungry for your flesh
He'll cut you to the bone

He used to be a happy gnome
What made him go bad?
His fall from victory garden grace
Made all the town folk sad

Some say it was a girl
Some say it was the booze
The real reason for his deep down fall
Someone stole his shoes!

Ah yes, the lazy, hazy, gothic days of summer. . . . . (whistle when you walk past the garden . . . )

Playful
Happy
Personal
Space
Mind
Inside
Your 
Mindful
Place

Never
Hear
Outside
Noise
Stay 
Centered
With your
Joy

Happy
Carnage
What
The 
Fuck
Let
Go
Run
Amok

Your
Happiness
Is
Your
Freedom
Never
Mind
The
Bullocks
Ballocks

Todays post and song is totally dedicated to a very dear childhood friend – Mark Gray:

http://www.marksartworld.com/

There’s too much to write about regarding our past history – but the cool thing is that we were both from NJ – and his Mom and my Mom were from the U.K and immigrated about the same time – they were best friends. Most ironically – his family and my family moved to the SF Bay Area just by less than 10 years apart – and by total coincidence and for different reasons – but here we are.

Some things in life are totally unexplainable – and maybe there is a sort of art of soul. Serendipity rocks. I wrote the lyrics based on how Mark and I would draw, paint or just goof around in pure joy with no encumbrances of the outside world when we were kids- and there is no reason to stop because you are an adult! You control your freedom – freedom is a state of mind – not controlled by the state.

Mark – this song was totally inspired by you after our recent conversations – and I forgot to tell you – my favorite paintings of yours are of the Jazz players – and that I absolutely love Jazz of all kinds. Jazz is the sound of soul – playful soul.

The cello and bass were plenty enough for todays song. I’m really loving playing these two instruments together – the interplay has been very nice every time I’ve tried it.

Life is but
A short love song
Enjoy it now
It won't last long

Sometimes up
Sometimes down
Only once 
This record spins round

Watch the clock
To slow it down
Boredom sets in
All around

Time flies by
When having fun
Ephemeral Logic
Can't be undone

Chorus 
Hey time keeper
Please freeze time
Tie its hands 
Don't tie mine

I’ve wanted to write a song that is like Joy Division with Ian Curtis for quite some time. In the studio it does have a whiff of their sound. It doesn’t sound as much in this final mix, but just using Bass and Cello is something Ill pursue for the next several songs.

It was a fun day.

Caught red handed
Scene of the crime
Evaded police
For a very short time

Flew down the road
With tremendous speed
Ran red lights
With the greatest of ease

Luck ran out
Wall of cars ahead
Light changed colors
From green to red

Hit the brakes
Flew into the air
PF Flyer 
Lost her life there 

No seat belt or
Safety device
Stolen goods paid 
With her dear life

You can hear her
Late at night
Ghastly moaning 
At that site

Chorus 
PF Flyer 
Crazy Girl
Left this earth
In a whirl

This is a true story – that happened this last weekend very close to my house. In fact, I was coming home from the gym and saw the fire, police and ambulance vehicles surrounding the crime scene. I took a turn so I wouldn’t drive past it – at first I thought it might have been a cyclist or several cyclists hit by a car – since on the weekends this area is very popular with cyclists and there are literally packs of them riding in tandem. Turns out it was just the two people feeing the cops and the way the car ended up avoided slamming into a wall of cars at a stop light, cyclists, pedestrians – (if there were any at that time). So, it could have been far worse – but its sad nonetheless.

Its tragic for sure – the people involved have families that are now mourning, but there is so much to wonder when someone steals something and then has a very high speed pursuit that ends in their death.

I took out my short Gretsch Bass and then played cello on top of that. It worked out very well.

Puppets we are
Throughout our lives
The happiest of us
Do not have strings

We didn't ask to be born
But here we are
Living our best lives
Under the stars

If you have strings
Try to break through
Its not what you say
Its what you do

Chorus
Tethered to nothing
Except ourselves

Yes, metaphors are always the “safest bet” when writing lyrics. I suppose being direct has its place, but I do like the fact that your metaphor could relate to someone else in a different way.

The “Puppet on a String” or “I’m not your puppet” idea has been done many times. I decided to try to use in in a slightly different way – especially when I thought about Roe V. Wade and all of the outcry over it. I realized that while we are controlled to a certain extent – most of us fly under the radar and the government doesn’t know or care about us. That in itself is a freedom – think about it.

I also realized that no matter what the government decrees – people are going to do what they want – they will get creative and outsmart government every time. I have already heard about how people will circumvent these new laws – and they are very creative – and I applaud them.

So the metaphor is that no matter who or what tries to control us – we still have our own freedom of thought – and there is not – nor ever be any “thought control” unless you willingly let someone brainwash you. If you want to get caught – speak up – else lay low. Even Russians and Chinese have freedoms. Americans can learn from them – especially since we are headed that way – the good news is that in America – the Almighty Dollar will always Trump religion or laws. If people boycott / protest / drop out en masse – the American Government will buck up – even if its an Authoritarian Regime. Without the Almighty Dollar – any government that someone wants to prop up will have its Achilles heel there . . .

I also realized that there is no such thing as complete freedom – not for humans, plants or animals. There are just some things we all have to do that is beyond our control. Animals might be free – but also hunted. They also have to hunt, etc.

Country road
That's overgrown
Leading to a home

Abandoned home
That's all alone
Its owners left this earth

Mantle pictures
Old firewood 
Cobwebs everywhere

Dusty floors
Leaking roof
Empty for years

The apple tree 
Still has leaves
And old sour fruit

Its been there 
For all these years
Guarding the secrets

Chorus 
The owners died inside
Their souls have left this earth
Country road
That's overgrown
Leading to a home

Today is the first day that I tried using a Dulcimer in my full recording studio – I had only used it before with FL Studio on the Fire tablet – when I was really laid up and sitting on the couch in the living room after surgery.

Its a great sound – very folksy / country sounding – sometimes sounds a little like a banjo and sometimes a piano – which is very cool. It really hit the spot when the guitar didn’t easily match the cello part or the singing. I wrote the cello part yesterday and just thought “meh” – but the whole thing did turn out better than I had expected. I do think the song matches the photograph / assemblage. I had a really hard time coming up with lyrics – and because I’ve been on my socio-political “rants” lately (which are always fun – but are also kind of mindless) – I wanted to try again to do something metaphorically that can be interpreted by the listener. I totally met that objective. It does take a lot more thought and “noodling” to try to achieve this sort of thing – but I do know (and apologize) for my rants – which hit people over the head. Its just lately – I needed a way to vent – call it musical therapy.

However – the metaphorical approach is better in many ways . . . me thinks . . .

I love it when this happens – some nice “happy accident”. I’ve had things go the other way too – start out with a killer part but the song falls flat . . . Not my best song ever – but better than I had expected anyway . .

Lizard tongue
Mark of the beast 
Their Snake eyes
A Devils feast

Hypocrites
By the score
Spew their venom
Forevermore

---

Speak in tongues
Like politicians
Money is
A Fake Religion

Suckers lust 
For someone else
To do their thinking
For themselves

---

Its been like this 
From the beginning
Religion is fake
Your head spinning

Choose your prophet
See them profit
Stuff your dollars
In their pocket

Chorus
Snake eyes
Its No surprise
Its their wish 
Vote 666