1. |
Drowning
03:05
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We’re all crawling to the beat of the mass march
Our good name has been dragged through the dirt
Blood freaks need another victim
The dead god wants to take on the world
But we are living in a simulacra;
a copy of a copy of a previous set-up
Cold War, eternal, justified Slack,
or the nuclear remittance of our souls to the wrack
Frail, old, and weak:
the local warlords are repeating their plots
They’re full of leaks;
their skin is peeling and revealing the rot
Spun out from the high of a century.
Killing hope is the name of the game
You will bow to the god of finance!
We’ll sanction you to death as a payment in advance
The American titan seeks out it’s prey,
but if you buy blood, we’ll look the other way
I’m drowning in stats, and the numbers are fucked
Who’s buying their shit? Who’s passing the buck?
The veil has lifted to reveal the claw;
We should sever the hand that forms the claw
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2. |
Personality Proxy
03:04
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I want to kill myself, drop out, start a cult
Use everyone to enhance my own ego
Gain a following, and command them to destroy
all the lesser bands and lay waste to the land
I don’t even like music!
I need it like a knife in the back
Drag it to the depths of the pit!
It’s shit
We always suffer when we hold each other’s hands
Space! Image! Exile!
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3. |
American Gaullist
03:28
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American Gaullist trapped in a bubble,
Tryna pull himself out the rubble
Can't find the "I" or the "why" in collectivism
Push and push and push has always been the mission
Broken man crying out in the night time,
Wondering "when the fuck is it my time?"
Visions and promises of a life of splendor
Don't you feel a little bit misled?
It's quiet in the street,
We all have gone to sleep,
The waters getting high,
Theres no will left to fight
And it wont go away!
The pounding in your brain,
Another endless day,
Another dept to pay,
Did you really think that you'd win the rat race?
Do you miss all of the things that you displaced?
The dream cannot be dead if it never existed,
It's arrogance that you call will
It's not what they have it's what they steal!
It's not what you're told it's how you feel!
It's not what you've been it's what you make!
It's not who you are it's what you hate!
It's quiet in the street,
We all have gone to sleep,
The waters getting high,
There's no dark without light
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4. |
Turnscrews
04:22
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This is a bullet for the dead god,
outmoded and sick.
A dirty polemic for an old fraud,
running out of new tricks.
Live from my father's debris,
alienated by what I see.
Does anything belong to me,
or have I been deceived?
It picks apart all the carrion
and says it's for you.
It would cannibalize it's own flesh
if it turned a better revenue.
Phantom limbs reach everywhere,
tearing down yours to get what's theirs.
The third world lives like a target,
but that's the cost of freedom in a buyer's market.
All that is solid melts into air.
Hypernormalized, but I don't care.
Are you happy with where we're at?
Are you feeling fulfilled?
You're in control of your life,
but just within the limits of the script they've built.
It's not equipped for empathy,
marginalizing so mercilessly.
Oh, you think it's all supply and demand?
Well here comes the invisible hand!
All that is solid melts into air.
Hypernormalized, but I don't care.
If it's coming for them, then it's coming for you.
Futures on life have been devalued.
Maintain, decay, and compose:
a cycle designed to centralize in the home
wealth, power, control.
A cycle designed for those who are in the know.
We have been remanded and cannot step out!
It has been demanded that we taste the ground!
You may not see them, it's certain they see you!
Freedom is contingent upon turning screws!
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5. |
Every Body is a Mirror
04:22
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I like you!
Or at least, I like the idea of you
I like the idealized reality-construct version of you
that I've created in my head
I can use it to avoid any conflict that may arise
from either of our real (or imagined) personality flaws
That idea is projected onto you in the real world,
which becomes my perception of the real you;
I like you.
Every body is a mirror
if they want to be
Look around,
See that man move his molecules.
He goes,
what does he know?
Every body is a mother
If they want to be
Look around
See them all move their molecules
They go
What do they know?
All of our pieces:
Nameless, formless
Gathered over a lifetime of collecting junk
Trying to cobble together something that makes sense
to avoid the sad homunculus.
How do you define a person
Words, actions, or self-perception?
Could you look in the mirror
And tell me who you are?
And could I ever see it?
Begging for the
Antibodies,
Look at yourself!
Touching mother
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6. |
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Do you think about power
When you're talking to your friends?
Do you jealously guard it
As a means to an end?
Do you hold it up?
Break it down?
Put it to the test?
Pull it out
Or keep it close to your chest?
Is it right
(Deploy your last words
to burn it faster!)
To feel wrong
(Destroy the casters!
The idle bastards!)
When you've burned
(Avoid distractors
and sneering actors!)
For so long?
(Subtract detractors!
Subvert disaster!)
Five five five five
It's reclamation time
Is your god alive
in your mind?
Higher! Higher! Higher!
We're always climbing, but the
Ladder! Ladder! Ladder!
Never stops
If you flex your weight
On to someone you love
Then the people you hate
Will always sit above
Five five five five
It's reclamation time
Is your god alive
in your mind?
Five five five five
When does it come to us?
Step into night
It's alright
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7. |
House Plant Intellect
02:48
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Its just like music to my ears
The sound of thunderous drums
Its expectation and its fear
A sign of what is to come
Try to move with intention
Every shape-shift must be precise
Are you still fit to rule this wreckage?
Are you willing to roll the dice?
A bloody nose don't look bad in the dark!
Break your bones and turn it into art!
Its so subjective just to see straight
Move on, an unrequited love
And if I knew the point would I wait?
What would it take to rise above?
The writing on the wall is getting lost
House plant Intellect! Turn it off!
Move and move and move until it hurts!
Ive lost my footing, in all this dirt!
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8. |
Pain Monitor
03:15
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Become alive
I trickle out of bed, undefined
Turn on a dime
The words and pictures scrape against my mind
I cannot try
To kick against the pricks without getting low
Look in your eyes
I want to hate you, but I empathize
You've run out of time
To make a better life
Now you lash out like a child
But if you look, you'll find our interests coincide
If you want to go, then you don't have to go
If you want to go, then you should stay
Life denies the forms it takes
Turning back into words
Seething from all it's past mistakes
Hoping that you haven't heard
Wanting for better, but pushing for worse
Seeing the future from the back of a hearse
Crumpled in the corner
Tears stained on its face
I don't want you to go
But you could say no
I know it's slow
You want to go home
A walk from one place to another
Won't change your mind
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9. |
Isopropyl Sunrise
03:45
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There is a surprising amount that can be learned
From the creatures of the world
Who will let their backs turn as the
Isopropyl sunrise
Claims us all in your eyes
There is surprisingly little to be earned
When you spend the summer working
At your dad's investment firm as the
Isopropyl sunrise
Claims us all in your eyes
It spits!
Like hell!
It burns!
Your shell!
You've been
Reborn.
You've been
Reborn.
Dress to impress
The boss will appreciate it
When you're down
Gnashing teeth on the Sound
You're still on the list
Blood on the frame of your home
Cannot stop the unknown
It spits!
Like hell!
It burns!
Your shell!
You've been
Reborn.
You've been
Reborn.
Make your confessions
Assess your possessions
A life contributing
To global depression
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10. |
The Noose
06:02
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The future’s cast, no time to waste,
Finite amount to make your case:
This is a life, this is a place,
This is a picture of the place.
Small feats are anybody’s game.
You build the picture, you made the frame.
You are the one who breaks the mould,
But now you’re getting old.
Half the time to all the time you need that noose around your neck.
Half the time to all the time you need that noose around your neck.
Time stiffens it's hold
Pull the straps on the bed tight
Good night
Nail the clock to the wall
Half the time to all the time you need that noose around your neck.
Half the time to all the time you need that noose around your neck.
I’m just waiting for a light
Breach into me and push
Reduce me to a slump
Pulled out into the rip tide
Mangled on the rocks
This body's had enough
I want my money back
Born naked in the dark
Oh god, don't feed me to the light
Breach into me and push
Reduce me to a slump
Pulled out into the rip tide
Mangled on the rocks
This body's had enough
I want my money back
Born naked in the dark
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Bad Optics Seattle, Washington
Bad Optics is an art punk band that creates music for the encroaching singularity.
Bad Optics recommends:
The Deep, Bright Below
by Actionesse
Actionesse is a god damn force of nature, and a band you should absolutely see live if you have the chance!
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Flesh Produce is one of the best bands in Seattle. Just do yourself a favor and catch one of their shows.
go to albumIf you like Bad Optics, you may also like:
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