it takes a real effort to figure out what most of these songs are about. then again, that seems to be the main point of it all. the majority of the album is an expose on how humans have lost touch with their own nature and spirituality. real needs have been replaced by an artificially produced life, mass marketed and cheaply purchased. ideals like freedom only exist in far away places that individuals have no hope of reaching. yet, even those few who are lucky enough to have material wealth, to be able to roam in open space, or even in their own minds, share a blindness to the fact that every single one of us is part of a bigger plan, and that’s just considering this physical human form. the wanting of more and more of this life, without any true appreciation of the fragility, is a common thread on the album.
i divide this nine track disc into two halves; the first four and the last four. the middle track, bunnies, is the only one where the brief period of true living exists, and it is only sort of hinted at. if the last half of the album is related to the first half, it’s in the telling of the sad end, the decay after the world has taken its toll. the time on earth is short, the end is hard, but there are hints, particularly in the tone and in the final song river of love especially, that it isn't all bad. there is some relief and ultimate freedom after the last yard sale.
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here is a message from strangled darlings, which came in an email just this morning.
Hello far flung friends!
Six months ago, on the longest day of the year, we left our hippest of twee cities to move into a 12 x 18 foot rolling green room & new home (Code name: Shakeyhouse). The American RV, with it's timeless brown swooshes bedecking the sexless square walls gets a new type of client: The Indie Band. We are reaching out to you dear listeners, Steve Albini style, in an effort to eschew acts of corporate greed, ripped mp3's & sheer musical monotony to deliver something live to you from Strangled Darlings.
Since that auspicious Solstice half a year ago, we have logged 14,000 miles, playing 85 shows in 29 states in ShakeyhouseRV. I am happy to report the toilet still works & no one has been murdered. Instead we shall winter in sunny Florida with stops in Alabama & Louisiana.
The funtimes with snow birding will end in early March as we climb northern the to salt crushed roads of the midwest and the True/False Festival in Columbia, MO. I'll be saving my fleece. We'll be back in DC (among what JFK called the "Northern Southerners") by late March to climb back up I-95 to mud season in April's Vermont. Wait for our comeuppance then.
And to our fair moist Portland! Forestall your espresso suicide! We return for a summer kiss in endless July. And yes, absence surely makes our hearts grow fonder. For details on where we’ll be and when, see our rather ambitious and ever-changing tour schedule here.
Oh, yeah, and in the meantime, we’ve recorded a new album (yeah that's right), Boom Stomp King. We cut some new videos too. Stay tuned for details. For now, a little teaser from a tune honoring exploits of Neill Armstrong. (Try beating this for your next FB post, "Took one small step on extra-terrestrial heavenly body today.")
Six months ago, on the longest day of the year, we left our hippest of twee cities to move into a 12 x 18 foot rolling green room & new home (Code name: Shakeyhouse). The American RV, with it's timeless brown swooshes bedecking the sexless square walls gets a new type of client: The Indie Band. We are reaching out to you dear listeners, Steve Albini style, in an effort to eschew acts of corporate greed, ripped mp3's & sheer musical monotony to deliver something live to you from Strangled Darlings.
Since that auspicious Solstice half a year ago, we have logged 14,000 miles, playing 85 shows in 29 states in ShakeyhouseRV. I am happy to report the toilet still works & no one has been murdered. Instead we shall winter in sunny Florida with stops in Alabama & Louisiana.
The funtimes with snow birding will end in early March as we climb northern the to salt crushed roads of the midwest and the True/False Festival in Columbia, MO. I'll be saving my fleece. We'll be back in DC (among what JFK called the "Northern Southerners") by late March to climb back up I-95 to mud season in April's Vermont. Wait for our comeuppance then.
And to our fair moist Portland! Forestall your espresso suicide! We return for a summer kiss in endless July. And yes, absence surely makes our hearts grow fonder. For details on where we’ll be and when, see our rather ambitious and ever-changing tour schedule here.
Oh, yeah, and in the meantime, we’ve recorded a new album (yeah that's right), Boom Stomp King. We cut some new videos too. Stay tuned for details. For now, a little teaser from a tune honoring exploits of Neill Armstrong. (Try beating this for your next FB post, "Took one small step on extra-terrestrial heavenly body today.")
Thanks for your support,
George and Jess
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