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High Times

by The Welfare State

supported by
Eric Gregory
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1.
Vertigo On Demand 03:15
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The mirror offers you a chance Your friends are waiting The veil is there for a purpose Step through--imagine a band It’s a gas until the future-- The future takes command It’s all here— Vertigo on demand. The wig you wear is a tight one Re-routes the blood from your head I saw you looking at yourself; I know what happens next. We’re not subjugated knowledge We’re more the corporate left. I saw you reading a rock bio, Safely shaking domestic sense. The next chord is in my pocket Tangled in lint & cat hair Do friends know you’re still in a band? Do they even care? I know we’re not so different I’m in a corner too We’re Dionysian statistics We’re mythological glue. Chasing the dragon’s gas It’s difficult to explain. Rock off. You’re divorced--now you’ve got a kid Your money’s your limit and your rule. You never ever practice It practices you Did you burn off all the excess— The fat that made you sad? It came and went— Vertigo on remand.
2.
After Years In Seclusion 03:08
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After years in seclusion We lost the taste For licking our wounds And licking our asses But something we didn’t see before Is everywhere— Eyes of starshit crossed with eyes of steel Generous and wider One hand scratching head sores Flashing lights & singing voices I move through construction Nights are bright and vice-less I want no woman, I want no man Strange body parts in crooked teeth We own nothing and It’s not a dream After years in seclusion We lost the taste For licking our wounds And licking our asses We wander—nobody’s safe But we never were I open my Touch me and I’ll touch you Not like a woman Not like a man Until this moment I would have done anything; I would have obeyed
3.
Man Of Least Resistance 03:46
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Across the skinny river Quiet on the Esplanade I thought about your arrangements I thought about your shitty songs Cough out the one sad song You can barely sing Dark matter in the studio Pro Tools will be the end of me I was never a wild child Violence & anomie are fine Topics for discussion Don’t touch me baby—Dmajor7 please. Ask me “do you need me”--do I serve a need? Close my eyes—the leap in the dark Because the artist’s touch—creates dark stars But no, the word is work. Alone in the Laundromat Holding off like Scheherazade The change in my pocket Equals the change in my head I don’t need you baby I don’t need your mastery Dark matter in our bedroom Realpolitik shat on my scene I was never a wild child Revolution & decadence are fine Topics for discussion Don’t touch me baby—Aminor to C to G Ask me “Do you need me”--do I serve a need? A life that’s lived--to the dizzy heights Oh shut the door--turn out the lights And where are the receipts?
4.
Choosing Crime 05:17
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Drinking, drugs and consorting with thugs A rational response to the appeals of success There’s no better method for obtaining bread Easy money is easy to spend A community of others, the indifference of brothers Some people play golf; I get off going through walls Alone & eerie, I stroke & I trade the things that are yours By law & decay. Wanting to do it Man, Wanting to do it Love to do it “Love” to do it would be the word It’s an ancient war and Hotel rooms in Paris are Surely worth Your kid & modest palace We get tough on me when I have a good time Short cuts to sanctions— I always choose crime Touching your money’s like touching your skin A sexual invert with everywhere eyes We get tough on me when I have a good time Short cuts to sanctions— I’ll always choose crime Wanting to do it Man, Wanting to do it Love to do it “Love” to do it would be the Word. I take more than I need I spend it easily I take more than I need I spend it easily I’ll take more than I need I’ll take more than I need
5.
High Times 04:03
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In your Spartan apartment We sleep on the floor Exhaust me--and prove you’re all man By morning, I’m not sure. How high do you rank Among all your friends? We do things on modular chairs Mean means come to exultant ends Can’t tell the difference (be)tween the suburb and the city That’s not a prison—it’s a high rise High times--I’ve got drugs you’ve forgotten High times--I’ve got an element of Blank High times--I’m here to reanimate losses High times--My tongue dissolves rank Me & my friends We’re uglier than you Sometimes you’re confused There are times your looks don’t fit you A loving hand splayed Channels irreducible rage Take me to your bank Give me a way to compete with you I steal his freedom when he’s deep inside of me People want to know what’s wrong with me High times--I’ve got drugs you’ve forgotten High times--I’ve got an element of Blank High times--I’m here to reanimate losses High times--My tongue dissolves rank You’re reading Wired You never look tired But you say you’re depressed How invested are you In the things that Turn you on? High times--I’ve got drugs you’ve forgotten High times--I’ve got an element of Blank High times--I’m here to reanimate losses High times--My tongue dissolves rank
6.
Roll Up The Stockings 04:50
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Roll up the stockings But let me in on your private grimace I’m not an everyday voyeur I know you wear your pride Please don’t take it off I promise to touch only myself There’s no big day coming There’s no big day coming There’s no big day coming There’s no big day coming So recreate that move again We’ll secrete secrets all night long Secrets are meant to be known Is this love’s limit? Does it begin in my eyes? It begins and ends and begins again I’d like to be your friend I like being impossible & you as an engine of convention There’s no big day coming There’s no big day coming There’s no big day coming There’s no big day coming So recreate that move again We’ll secrete secrets all night long Secrets are meant to be known Send me a virus My limits can’t contain I break up I break down Everything is already broken Send me a virus My body can’t contain Let me bite your arm
7.
G.OD. 04:34
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He’s not a whore. He’s just not sure That loneliness is such a bore. (Surfing long beach tides Along witches’ lines) (Surfing long beach tides Along witches' lines) I’ll always believe in rock & roll Limbs webbed and sticky-- 3 AM hope I roll with the “maybes” Though I’d love to be sure And every scene I make, I pause enough to get down And demonstrate Rapturous cool Shameless A body made for living Oh how to live within a body I’ve been told there will never be an end To this. He’s not a whore. He’s thoughtful and whoa He’d like someone-- Someone to tell (Surfing long beach tides Along witches’ lines) (Surfing long beach tides Along witches' lines) At the Carloff garage I get the parts for my vans I wash too many dishes But I own my own pad I owed a girl last night To the strains of “Beauty Stab” After folding her pants We let the pain move around With every hurt that hit, We paused enough to get down And demonstrate Rapturous cool Heightened A body made for living How to live within a body I imagine a better end To this.
8.
The Simplest Things 04:39
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You have to learn the simplest things, Which makes for difficulties. You speak such an awful lot The body wilts, those urges clot. You have to animate your pain To have someone to talk to And you speak such an awful lot The body wilts, those urges clot. Crawl to me Crawl away Adults are crawling We’re invoking sex Crawl to me Crawl away Adults are mauling Lurch, insult, and Back to love. Let’s have a riot Let’s have some violence Let’s have a riot Let’s have some silence. It’s time to expel dark thoughts And so you lose these dark thoughts What more could you do? What more could you ask for? You touch yourself in the strangest ways Sharp magic, a hot cough in the kitchen We pan for gold in our separate ways The way we change one day later Crawl to me Crawl away Adults are crawling What else turns you on? Crawl to me Crawl away Adults are mauling Lurch, insult, and Back to bed. Let’s have a riot Let’s have some violence Let's have a riot Let's have some silence.
9.
PJ Coker 04:28
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Where indulgence meets law But it’s so considered And what a soft sick grin I think the drugs delivered Stay one step ahead of the high Your eyes have force Your shake has tactics Mmmmm, you saw more No matter how shattered Stay one step ahead of the high The balance is off You can be hard to follow I thought I heard you squirm-- “That dude wouldn’t swallow” Stay one step ahead of the high What’s riding what? There was a shadow at dawn You dropped to all fours You thought you were stronger Stay one step ahead of the high The scene’s stayed the same It’s the players who’ve changed I care about you guys I just have nothing to say Stay one step ahead of the high You see a bird like no other But tell another story We wait for the payoff You’re the sense-bending glory Stay one step ahead of the high A molecular party But it’s only half-fun Slurred cells and selves Speaking as one Stay one step ahead of the high Yeah, booty calls count But they have limited worth If you’re tired of provisions You should be fucking the earth Where do you go--always racing the high? Oy Vey. There’s no outrunning the high The city grid is magic Block after block after block upon block on block upon block upon block.
10.
Beneath The College Garage 02:41
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Beneath the college garage I wait Cornered in invisible light My head is clear, uncategorized Body nearly abandoned to flight Sores as maps, attempted escapes Insides collapse, the smile of no restraint Harassment or love, hands cover my face I spell fortunes before I go straight Ya Ya Something had to happen, something had to change Ya Ya The pills, the pills, the performance of the brain He says I made a choice; I think I agree They say delirious, contagious certainties Okays wear me down, my eyes itch and fade I lick my fingers, try to keep the old ways Light-headed feels heavy, I sleep like a dog I wake to a world gone wrong I work for a world long gone Like Van Winkle--can’t believe where I've gone Ya Ya Something had to happen, something had to change Ya Ya The pills, the pills, the performance of the brain The coffee tastes shit on my lips The drive to work stops all by itself I wreck my head but it never sustains The pulverizing gives me new names I’m on and off – and laughing too I’m here and there – and laughing too In a large slug park where the tractors meet By the light of a light I caress my feet I'm something now - something you know and don't know Reborn, reborn, security guard proto I'm on and off - and laughing too I'm here and there - and laughing too I fully intend to see this through I fully intend to see this through

credits

released September 7, 2010

The Welfare State:

Kenneth Coleman - guitars, vox
Eric S Gregory - vox, guitars
Greg Odell - drums, percussion, vox
Fred Trujillo - bass, vox, keys

Recorded and mixed by Pat Kearns at PermaPress Recording Portland OR September 2009

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The Welfare State Portland, Oregon

Portland OR rock & roll & groove combo that made it's way from the 00s to the 10s. Guitars & reaching for the stars. Anthemic jamz for nowhere generations.

“Moves on from where the Velvet Underground left off at Loaded.”
- Richard Meltzer ... more

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