September 2002

By the time A Bunch Of Songs was signed, sealed and delivered, Alex had a bona fide pop hangover. He exercised such intense anal retentiveness during the recording process that he wanted to let his golden locks hang down and record something raw, and with a slight stench of body odor. The result was an album of singer/songwritery songs recorded live on an acoustic guitar with just one microphone. It is indeed very raw, complete with bum notes and all. And like Honey, I Shrunk The Meat Grinder, it was recorded in two days; however, the two albums could not be more different.

Track Listing

(click titles for lyrics)

1. Cold

   Icicles and cubicles
   Dangerous and reckless
   Time to time I could feel warm
   Time to time I could feel dead
   Icicles and cubicles
   Tree to tree in frozen webs
   Time this time I’m feeling wet
   Time this time I’m feeling cold
   And now the flood comes in
   Flows from north to south

   And it’s never cold

   Angry men and lonely kind
   Trumpets from the water
   Here and here I’ve stood my ground
   Here and here I stood around
   Angry men and lonely kind
   Calling from the oceans
   At parallel 45
   It’s always cold but safe from frost
   And now the flood comes in
   Flooding the valley floor

   And it’s never cold

   Look away from the poles
   Took away from ozone holes
   Echoes off the hills
   Frozen, the echo kills

   And it’s never cold

2. Sacramento Gold

   They’ll walk inside your footsteps
   They’ll walk into a mountain
   They walk the gold country
   They walk through the ditches

   Sacramento holds
   Sacramento holds
   Sacramento gold

   So why do they walk when everyone talks?
   They saw something long ago
   They’ll walk inside your footsteps
   And make up a mountain

   Sacramento holds
   Sacramento holds
   Sacramento gold

   Since then they looked for Sacramento gold
   Sacramento gold
   Since then they looked for Sacramento gold
   In hopes they’ll behold
   Since then…

   Sacramento pulls
   Sacramento jokes

3. She Wants To Kiss Me

   Before I hold your hand
   I’m in a band
   There’s just one man in this band
   Didn’t fight in ‘Nam
   But I like to jam
   Until there’s one man in this band
   They make you keep both eyes open
   Thanks to you my kazoo is broken

   Thank you very much!
   She wants to kiss me and play Parcheesi

   Don’t touch my back
   Don’t touch my back
   Don’t touch the small of my back
   But touch my six pack
   I’m just kidding, don’t touch my six pack

   I’m not blowing you off
   I promise I’m not blowing you off
   Okay yeah, I really am blowing you off
   Hey check it out, wheat thins!

4. November

   In my time I could not find a simple mind
   Just to leave this hanging world in search of stars
   Stars to justify the way we die
   There is a place to go where nothing blows
   As I grow old the field grays and fades
   I have no fear of places I should not go
   The life falls out of magic lands this year
   But this happens in November

   And if I could sing a song to turn you on
   I could see a thousand skies, a million suns
   My heart could break for you, but I’d be real
   Hang this sign for me, I’d rather be
   Nightly winds can’t find me anywhere
   Sunrise only happens in the north
   The life falls out of magic lands this year
   But this happens in November

   And if I could sing a song to turn you on
   I could see a thousand skies, a million suns
   And this happens in November

5. The River Why

   Sometimes we can love too much
   Sometimes our fear is getting caught
   Sometimes we hear from miles away
   Sometimes a song is all we need
   To remember our oldest dreams

   We never knew about the Garden World
   Which side to take, which way to think who dies
   And we will never die
   We will never die
   Even with the end at hand

   Oh my, I hope I can make them laugh
   Oh my, a song takes on this life
   Oh my, it’s the same with all my love
   Oh my, I fear I’ve gone to sleep
   Dreams don’t come to me this way anymore

   There’s a new character in an old play
   She’s going on and on and growing old…

   I recall this story I’ve known before
   I recall years ago on the lake
   I recall a girl over on a rock
   I recall but she was dreaming too
   Ages have gone before I turned a page

   And we will never die
   We will never die
   Even with the end at hand
   And we will never die
   We will never die
   Even with the end at hand
   Caught up in the River Why

   It’s just a story…

6. Just Like That

   Just like that
   I’ve gone away
   Just like that
   I’ve turned away
   Just like that
   And what’s that
   Drop of the hat
   I fold my hand
   ‘Cause I can
   And I hope you know
   Just like that
   But that’s not
   Any way to act

   You leave me here
   Cold and warm
   ‘Cause I loved you so
   And you’re gone
   Just like that

   Bring me home
   I feel cold
   Bring me home
   It must be snowy outside
   In or out
   But that’s not
   Any way to act

   The sun is just another star
   Just like that

7. Thinking Of Ewe

   Dear John
   I was a raccoon
   Nocturnal activity
   Dear John
   I was a cat
   With my black cat tiger eye

   Dear John
   My eyes won’t shut
   It’s a pupil revolution
   Dear John
   I’m quite the grimace
   Grimacing in the dark, oh my heart

   I was awake
   I’m thinking of ewe
   I’m thinking of sheep
   I’m thinking of rams
   I’m thinking of lambs
   I’m thinking of fences
   Long jump maneuvers
   Ad nauseum
   One after the other
   Forever they leap
   Until I sleep

8. The Storm Pt. 5

   There hasn’t been snow for seven years
   There’s been only rain since last November

   There hasn’t been snow since the last Ice Age
   And we’ve all seen the bruises on the Sun

   But the ice never gives
   Never gives
   The ice never gives
   Never gives

   I think I see a mammoth on the plateau
   But there hasn’t been snow for as long as I know

   Nothing can drag me down
   Watch the snowflakes on your crown
   Can’t you see me run through the blizzard?
   The storm keeps trying to drag me down

   Sometimes the sky is on fire
   And sparks fall from violent clouds
   Everything is completely done
   The fires don’t burn
   Here I walk on the path of ice
   And it never gives

   Nothing can drag me down
   Watch the snowflakes on your crown
   Can’t you see me dance through the blizzard?
   The storm keeps trying to drag me down
   As I fight the Ice Age

9. Walk It Off

   Can I start all over?
   University had its way with me
   And now I need company
   Maybe that or climb a tree
   I admit I couldn’t handle the change
   Tried to rearrange in frustrated rage
   Don’t cry at Christmas dinner
   Because yeah, I’m such a winner

   I can walk it off

   What’s the prognosis?
   I think I’ve developed a nasty psychosis
   But I’m back with a vengeance
   I’m back in the game with my old flame
   This is a game, the most dangerous game
   Do you hunt men for sport that hide in your fort?
   There is never resolution
   Welcome back institution

   Am I allowed a bad year?
   Allowed to live in fear of life?
   Am I allowed a bad year?
   Allowed to live in fear of change?
   Well you can watch it toggle

   What’s wrong with me?
   I keep dropping my keys
   Spitting out blood from these wisdom teeth
   Puts an end to an era
   Like Vega kicked out of Lyra

   So let’s break out the CB, Tyler Shortt
   Drive around and confound the average citizen
   Yeah we did this last summer, remember?
   The funnest thing ever

10. Scenes From An American Restaurant

    My head is feeling like a Holy Roller
    The voice of God is making me seem crazy
    I’ll fit into any institution
    But I can’t help myself from hearing voices

    My head is bigger than a roller coaster
    I’ve seen the Matterhorn and it doesn’t compare
    Holy Rollers and roller coasters
    Everyone must have a toaster
    Got to decorate with posters to cover up your paint job

    Oh no, another anxiety attack
    It’s the fifth one I’ve had this week
    Fear and dread, might as well be dead
    You say you’re just following orders

    It’s kind of weird if you’ve been hearing voices
    It’s not rational or substantial or usual
    You don’t have do to what it tells you
    You wish you knew how to not follow orders

    My lungs turn oxygen to helium
    So my cyborg head fills up like a balloon
    It affects my speech and I come off like a loon
    G-men say it’s just a weather balloon

    I tried the drink and it solved all my problems
    I played the game and I came out the winner
    Because I take life by the teeth and I don’t look back
    Now I’m stopped dead and it’s all been unaccounted for

    One man told me that life is a buffet
    Take what you want, you can burn the calories later
    He keeps a Bow-Flex that he’s never used
    In his office at work so he can pay his dues

    In the waiting room
    In here, it’s okay to do nothing
    As long I read a magazine
    Highlites and Highlites for teens
    I may be sick, but at least I’m clean

    As you can see, I’ve been watching too much TV
    It’s sitcom hell, but it’s funny, dude
    The man can’t tell if his wife’s in the mood
    It’s home and work and work at home
    What else is there to tell?
    Speaking generally, the average man is an avid fan
    Of anything but C-SPAN

    There are two worlds in the natural world
    In one you have a family
    In another you work for money
    You can’t tell me if there exists a third
    We won’t go there now anyway
    You’re a bum by night and a slacker by day

    One man told me that life is a birthday party
    Every day you’re born and every day you die again
    I don’t have time for lessons in Zen bullshit
    Because every day we die and we can’t came back to tell

    I’m late for work
    I hate my wife
    I hate God and this sitcom life

11. All Things

    It’s not an accident
    We aren’t random events
    If you blame it on the chemicals
    Then I think you miss the point

    There is order in the universe
    I know it doesn’t make sense
    See the traces and courses
    I don’t speak of the divine
    When I say I see a sign

    Why is the Moon the same size as the Sun?
    Why did it have to be this point in history?

    All things…
    All things…

    You don’t have to choose
    Between science or God
    Because I don’t believe in God
    I think everyone is wrong

12. Beam Me Up

    Write them yourself, genius!