albums
Compilations
2012 Casio Picks
2012 Piano Picks
2012 Acoustic Picks
2012 Electric Picks
2013 Trex Video
Childhood (1974-90)
1977 Firsts
1978 Seconds
1985 Cacappella
1986 Eye Beater
1987 Guitarded
1988 Kim 1
1988 Kim 2
1988 Kim 3
1988 Kim 4
1988 Kim 5
1988 Kim 6
1988 Kim 7
1988 Kim 8
1988 Kim 9
1988 Kim 10
1988 Kim 11
1988 Kim 12
1989 Kim 13
1989 Five Dollar Drummer
1989 Wino Three Girls
1990 A Caustic Gutter
1996-1999
1996 NoVaSoCa
1996 Fullerton
1997 Soundtracks
1997 Walk Around
1997 Riding the Greyhound
1999 I Mowed
1999 Simulameous
1999 Yikes
1999 Piano Farte
2000-2008
2001 Marathon
2001 Days Like These
2001 Alcan Back
2001 Sleepy Sloppy
2001 Dad Day Jam
2002 Unfit
2002 The Key of G
2003 Daffy Day
2003 Januweary
2003 Post-Key
2003 Fatiguitar
2003 Oh No
2005 Waiting
2005 Sun Strike
2006 Stinky Room
2006 Schtupid
2007 Coy Pun
2007 Post-Ides
2007 Post-Ideas
2007 Post-Ideals
2007 Warble
2007 Another Same Day
2007 And Another
2007 Bald Ballads
2007 Lunch Broken
2007 Mayo
2007 Mayon
2007 Mayonandon
2007 Mayoff
2007 Juneo
2007 Juneon
2007 Juneonandon
2007 Two Song Rule
2007 Cavy Fury
2007 Infinity Daze
2007 Fall Start
2007 False Tart
2007 Fall End
2008 New Ear
2008 Decadend

Track List

# title lyrics time download listen started recorded rating
1 Filmy Reggae - 3:12 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
2 Driving Dark - 2:30 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
3 Clutzwing - 2:39 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
4 Baby House - 0:29 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
5 Baby Trance - 2:06 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
6 Wow lyrics 2:19 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
7 Heavy Rite - 4:08 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
8 Classickal - 0:45 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
9 Whatevah lyrics 3:28 download listen locally - 1997-01-??
10 Tuner lyrics 3:28 download listen locally - 1997-01-18
11 Family Values lyrics 7:06 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
12 Happy Trav lyrics 1:06 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
13 Drunk Crush lyrics 4:04 download listen locally - 1997-03-28
14 Wimp lyrics 3:36 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
15 Thrasher lyrics 3:04 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
16 George Jarret - 8:26 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
17 Poor Hubie Intro lyrics 0:11 download listen locally - 1997-04-17
18 I Don't Know What to Do lyrics 7:20 download listen locally - 1997-04-17
19 Toothpaste lyrics 4:19 download listen locally - 1997-04-??
20 Instrumental Shame lyrics 1:00 download listen locally - 1997-04-??
21 Shame Knack Blues lyrics 1:29 download listen locally - 1997-04-??
22 A Million Hours lyrics 5:24 - - - 1997-04-??
23 Fast End - 0:24 download listen locally - 1997-04-??
24 Why Doesn't This Thing Work lyrics 0:03 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
25 Basstar Intro - 0:22 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
26 Struggle Strum - 0:34 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
27 Walk Around with You lyrics 2:00 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
28 Strum Wave - 0:12 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
29 Strum Thump - 0:14 download listen locally - 1997-0?-??
30 That's It lyrics 0:02 download listen locally - 1997-04-??
Total 76:00 play all locally album rating:

Notes

After living in big cities (Northern Virginia and Los Angeles) for two years, I was sick of concrete and traffic, and wanted to move to a smaller town. I also missed the playful and enlightening moments of college life, and decided to apply to graduate school.

Meanwhile, I was breaking up with my girlfriend (boo), making new friends (yay), getting bored with those new friends (boo), and finishing the most difficult Tripecac album to date, Where's My Muse (yay).

The Trex recordings from this period are full of emotion: frustration, impishness, reflection, humor, wistfulness, hyperness, despondency, etc. These songs are the "soundtracks" to my ups and downs during that time.

Songs

Filmy Reggae

I recorded this and the next few songs on the floor of my parents' house in Charlottesville. I don't know why I wasn't up in Alexandria yet; maybe I was on Christmas break?

Anyway, the first 6 songs all use Anand's old keyboard (Yamaha PS-470), which he sold to me for $50 or so. The recording quality is muffled and noisy, but I like the vibe of the tunes.

This first song is a melodic reggae ditty which felt like a soundtrack to a film. Despite the sloppy solo, I like this song's bounce.

Driving Dark

This is a lot darker than "Filmy Reggae". It's also very repetitive and "driving". I think it was mostly improv; the chords which start before the 2:00 mark seem adlibbed.

Clutzwing

The title means "clutzy swing". I don't know if I would call this "swing", but it certainly is clutzy.

The most interesting part (to me) is when we hear my fingers banging on the keys. This unintentional ambience made the song sound more "live" (which it actually was).

Baby House

This was supposed to sound like "house" music. I don't even remember what house music is anymore. All those electronic genres got sort of jumbled together at some point.

Anyway, this is fast, repetitive, and very short. I tried to add melody but it was too fast, so I gave up.

Baby Trance

This track's a lot cooler (than "Baby House"). It's got a nice little groove going. Yeah, it's not really "trance", but none of my stuff sounds like real music anyway, so that's okay. I just wish it were longer.

Wow

This song is named after the "wah" sound of that bass instrument. The subsequent melody kinda messes things up by obscuring the bass, but oh well. That's what I get for recording with a dictaphone.

The phone rings at the end, which is a funny way to end this series of keyboard-based improvs.

Lyrics to "Wow":

hello?
  

Heavy Rite

I thought this sounded dark and trancy, like Julian Cope's "Rite" series. It's kinda relaxing. I like it.

Classickal

I thought this classical song sounded pretty sick. I still do. Barf! Fortunately, it's very short.

Whatevah

This final piano song is boring and feels long and boring and long and boring and... Yeah. I got bored with it too; hence the "whatevah" at the end.

Lyrics to "Whatevah":

whatevah
  

Tuner

I was now moved into my apartment in Alexandria. My dad let me bring his acoustic guitar with me, which resulted in a lot of fun recordings.

This song is the first in a series of guitar jams. It's an improv with some silly lyrics. It's very rough in the beginning but gets more cohesive as it goes on. Or does it? Oh, never mind; it's rough all the way through.

Lyrics to "Tuner":

18th of january 1997
this an improv

and i look around
and i wonder
where are all the people that can sing?
where are all the people that can play a guitar?

and i wonder
where are all the people that can tune a guitar?
and i wonder
if i were a tuner could i go very far?

i look around
and see an empty room
if i turn my head real fast
everything seems to zoom

pay attention to the minutia
every single second
information overload
no, i don't think so

it's something
unexpected
but you don't guess
where i'm going next

but then it's always
return to the familiar
play it safe
don't take risks

and i wonder if i am a tuner
i wonder if i am a tuner
i wonder if i am a tuner

would i make my mind be tuning stuff
every day
every day
every day
every day ay ay ay

i don't call that an "a"
that's an "f"
  

Family Values

This shows off my pitch-black sense of humor and my excellent, excellent guitar skillz. Ha!

The song starts off innocently enough, with bouncy and tuneful guitar. But then it strips down and darkens... and then the lyrics start. Oh, what lyrics! Be prepared to cringe.

Although the words are horrid and bound to offend people, they always make me laugh, and my quick (though perverse) thinking makes me a tiny bit proud. What, proud of this pile of potty humor? Yeah, kinda; I must admit.

Note: Despite the offensive nature of this song, I've uploaded the mp3 so that you can hear the glint in my eye and tongue in my cheek.

Lyrics to "Family Values":

monster walked across the room
and he hit the girl on the side of the face
with a microwave box

and the girl
didn't know what to do
so she hit him across the face
with a sledgehammer receipt

they fought all night
bruised and bloodied
the monster and the girl

well, it's no laughing matter
it's ??? not something to ??? or make stupid songs about

even if they're extra witty
even if they have a special something
even if they're extra witty
even if they have a special something

the boy reached over to his sleeping sister
and caressed her buttocks
the girl responded with alacrity
and placed her hand upon his knee

and said "you wanna please me?"

incest is not something to laugh at
even if you make songs that are extra witty
even if you make songs that make people cry
with laugher and good feelings

what's coming next?

the dog was walking in the bathroom
and he found something really nasty in the toilet
so he carried it to the living room
and he dropped it on the floor so the others could enjoy it

they say, "hey, you gotta learn to flush"
"hey, after you're done with that, remember to brush your teeth"

bathroom humor, you gotta love it
bathroom humor, you gotta love it
bathroom humor, you gotta love it

and the mother walked into the room
and everything ???
and the mother walked into the room
and everything ???
??? was so ???
and the mother walked into the room
and everybody got sad
and the mother walked into the room
??? been mad
everything went quiet
everything went quiet

dad he took out his belt
and said "what's this fuss all about?"
and the kids they started to get scared
and the mom she got prepared
she got the band-aids out of the bathroom
she got the rags out of the cellar
she closed the doors
she locked the windows

and the dad starting laying into them with his belt
he said, "honey, get the gun; i want this one"
he pointed at the little boy
he said, "boy, if you ever touch your sister again
i'm gonna blow out your brains"

the boy said "dad, what are you talking about?
i only touched her a little bit
not like you touch her
she's both of ours
we can share her"

family values in the 90s
  

Happy Trav

This little a cappella ditty sounds positively uplifting after the dark-and-naughty ("Family Values"). Since it doesn't use the guitar, I'm guessing I recorded it on a different day.

Lyrics to "Happy Trav":

happy trav would be ???
happy trav would be screaming ???
happy trav would be playing the computer
happy trav would be talking to you

happy trav he would be talking to you
happy trav he would be talking to you
happy trav he would be talking to you
happy trav would be talking to you

happy trav would be talking to you
happy trav would be talking to you
happy trav he would be talking to you
happy trav he would be talking to you

oh sad trav he used to giggle
sad trav staring at the phone
sad trav he's walking around
sad trav ??? gone

but i'm saying

happy trav would be talking to you
happy trav would be talking to you
happy trav he would be talking to you
happy trav he would be talking to you

happy trav he would be talking to you
happy trav would be talking to you
happy trav would be talking to you
happy trav would be talking to you
  

Drunk Crush

I was very drunk, and singing/talking about a crazy night on the town with some new pals, including a girl on which I had a small crush. Nope, this is not very cool!

On paper, these lyrics are almost as cringe-worthy as the ones in "Family Values", not from being offensive but from being a little too open. However, they get funny when I start singing about the roaches in my apartment. Not that the roaches were funny at the time; they drove me nuts.

Lyrics to "Drunk Crush":

28 march 1997
after the fun of almost being arrested
tina driving drunk
she got out of it by claiming her contacts were foggy from crying so much
she was crying; she was depressed
but we got home, nevertheless
it was tina, patricia, me, ramon, and noemi

this is supposed to be a song
so i will sing it
i will say that ramon was a very pleasant
if there were anyone else who liked noemi
anyone with less charisma, less honesty, less earnesty
then i think i would have been disappointed in their relationship
but he is such a nice guy
i cannot help but like him
i cannot help but be happy when he and she are together
which is the conundrum
because i feel like i think i should be singing

i feel like i have a small little crush
on a girl called noemi
oh she's from spain
she has blonde hair
and she's ever so cute
and she might like me a little bit
but i cannot tell
when europeans like people
because they just kiss them all the time
even if they are friends
i was in the bathroom
and two girls came in
there's bouncer called frank
and he watched as they peed
and they peed and the peed
and they came to me
and they kissed me
one girl she kissed me on the cheek
and she said "i know you are gay, i know you are gay"
i said "what is it, the 2 earrings?"
and she said "no, i know you are gay, i know you are gay"
"i just know you are gay, i know you are gay"

there's a roach crawling on the floor
and right now i stepped on him
oops he escaped
damn it
die!
even though i sing
i still have some hate
building up inside of me
because he's still alive
is this song just an excuse to sing
i find a crunched roach body on my floor
and i deem it is the one that i crunched before
so i throw himn in the toilet and i feel relieved
but is that the only one? i start to feel peaved
because maybe there are some
some in my bedroom
i will be pissed if there are some in here
'cause this is my sanctuary
this is my blessed sanctuary
if there are roaches in here
i will grow pissed i fear
i fear what i'll do
why is my closet door open?
what have i done?
what have i done?
what have i done to the travis the fun?
what have i done?
what have i done?
i have poisoned the life out of travis the fun
poisoned the life out of --
spraying the poison to kill all the roaches
spraying the poison to kill all the friends
spraying the poison to keep me safe
but here's the point
it's 3:48 and i'm alone, ha ha
it's 3:48 and i'm at home, ha ha
it's 3:48 and i have to brush my teeth now
i am all alone, all alone, all alone
no messages on my phone
here's the state i'm in
i rush to the bathroom
i see the roach in the toiled
i wonder what is he doing here?
i threw him in here before
because memory has been disposed
all of the memories no more
all my memories
  

Wimp

I seriously doubt that this was recorded on the same day as "Drunk Crush"; it has a different instrumentation and sound much more, um, sober. The lyrics are self-centered (as usual) but tuneful and kinda funny.

Lyrics to "Wimp":

i sing very gently
and i walk around and sing
and i sing very gently
??? sing

i used to sing
almost every day
i used to sing
everyone thinks i'm gay

sing so gently
do you think i'm effeminate
'cause i sing so highly
do you think i'm a wimp?

the phone
pretend that i'm not home
'cause i'm a hermit yes i know

'cause i sing very gently
do you think that i'm a wimp?
because i sing very gently
and do you think that i'm a wimp?

i sing very sweetly
at least that's how it sounds to me
and i sing so very honestly
can't say as much for my guitar playing
'cause it's all pretentious

i'm just pretending to play the notes
i'm just pretending that i know what i'm doing
but in reality i am stinky
  

Thrasher

This song consists of me thrashing away at the guitar and complaining about how much it hurts. It's not as embarassing as the previous songs, but not as tuneful and funny either. I think I prefer the other ones.

Lyrics to "Thrasher":

uh-mm
man, left hand is tired
ow
ow
ouch
  

George Jarret

The presence of piano indicates that I was back in Charlottesville. From the title, I'm guessing that I was trying to sound like a cross between George Winston and Keith Jarret. Hmm.

It's not all that great, but at least it isn't offensive. Right? Is "inoffensive" the best compliment we can pay to songs on this album?

Poor Hubie Intro

I was recording over a tape that my friend Hubie had made me, and I was feeling bad about it.

Lyrics to "Poor Hubie Intro":

i'm recording over a tape hubie made for me back in the 1990s
this is 1997
it's the 17th of april
i'm about to just waste some time playing my stupid guitar
  

I Don't Know What to Do

Pure improv. At least it's only slightly offensive.

You can hear Hubie's voice in the background. Not a very high quality tape. Or a very high quality song.

Lyrics to "I Don't Know What to Do":

i already wasted about an hour on this
no, i'm exaggerating; i only wasted about 20 minutes
but it felt like an hour because i got nothing done

you tell me that you don't know
oh
i wish i could sing ???
let's try this again

you tell me that you don't know why
oh my voice irritates the heck out of me
so it's gotta irritate the heck out of you
so it's gotta irritates the heck out of both of us
no, it won't do ???

gotta find some way to fill up the creepy terse gaps
terse? no sparse
the sparse sounding song
i'm not playing wrong
i'm just not playing much
all right i'm playing a little strums every once in a while

and i don't know what to do
should i call it quits?

not as cool when you hear it live
when you hear it over and over again

no, this is not a dramatic, pregnant pause
it's called brain death
i can't think
okay i can't sing
i'll just irritate myself, even more
oh i'll try, i'll try it so hard
just endure, okay?
i'll get really close so i don't have to sing loudly
poor hubie

you tell me that you don't know
okay
you tell me that
you tell me that
you tell me that you
you tell me that you
you tell me that you
you tell me that you
all right, forget it
i gotta make up my own thing

ah, man
every version of this gets worse and worse
maybe if i stand up i'll play better
sounds better

blue shirt, tuck it in
big guy, suck it in
hairy lip, clean it off
dry skin, lotion

oh, so sloppy

look like duck
quack quack quack
i don't give a mmm
about a snack like this

i'm gonna play like this
i'm holding the guitar so that the mast
or whatever it's called is pointed straight up
and it's resting against my cheek
it's kissing my cheek about my ears

you know, i bet if i get...
if i, um, like, asphyxiate myself i probably can think better
'cause right now it's like all the oxygen cells are acting as inhibiters
but like when i'm really drunk of something
everything comes out, just pours out, just...
it's not like turrettes; it's like travettes
it's like the feminine side of me
the uninhibited side of me
it's the side of me that doesn't have to be mr. macho
it's the side of me that sounds gay but i'm not really
believe me
i'm making faces while i'm saying this
why is it that all my gay...
all my gays have southern accents?
either southern british, i can't do it right
either one makes it goofy goofy goofy
see if i look at myself in the mirror long enough i crack myself up

i don't know what to do
should i call it quits?
this song is really stupid
it's the pits, pits, pits

all right, i want to stumble upon the song design philosophy of the fall
???
there's something very appealing about their early stuff
but i still think they had some degree of musicianship
it wasn't just pretending he knew how he knew how to play guitar
singing into a stupid dictaphone in his room
??? the fall at least have had an audience
else they wouldn't have made the live albums they did early on
like "live at the witch trials"
i don't know if that's really a live album or not
i haven't heard it yet
i mean, it would be interesting
people say it's really good; other people say it's really caustic
the whole fall thing is caustic
it's kind of like pretty-boy mark smith, terrence bostic

i don't know what to do
i'm not really clever
after 10:26 and
i don't know what mmm

mmmm
  

Toothpaste

Interesting jangly sounds on guitar plus silly, inoffensive™ lyrics make this a winner! It's actually catchy in moments, but then sort of loses it in the middle. Oh well.

I don't know if i recorded this the same day as "I Don't Know What to Do". My notes say that the tape ended in April, so that's my closest guess.

Lyrics to "Toothpaste":

i smell toothpaste
ah, i do
i really do smell toothpaste
all of a sudden i will tell you
gotta do something about my voice
gotta do something about my voice
gotta make it a little less freaky

toothpaste
toothpaste
toothpaste
toothpaste
toothpaste

i smell toothpaste
i smell toothpaste
i smell the toothpaste
i smell the toothpaste

all right, i gotta have some bit of a singing voice
do not be very...
this is annoying
but

gotta have that toothpaste
gotta have that toothpaste
gotta have that toothpaste
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and
1

gotta have that toothpaste
gotta have that toothpaste
gotta have that toothpaste and that toothbrush
gotta brush them every day

gotta have that toothpaste
gotta have ???
gotta have that toothpaste
and brush them every day

gotta have that toothpaste
gotta have that toothpaste, toothpaste, toothpaste

some mistakes i would get paid a lot of money
they think i was happy in mine [?]
to play these 3 stupid chords
and sometimes
???
the ???
  

Instrumental Shame

This is an instrumental version of "Shame Knack Blues". It's okay. Kinda cheesy, though. At least it's short.

Lyrics to "Instrumental Shame":

as you can see i don't know what i'm playing
but i still play
  

Shame Knack Blues

This is a blues improv. Not too bad. You can hear music in the background; it's probably bleed-through from Hubie's tape.

Lyrics to "Shame Knack Blues":

i have a knack for a rhyme
but i don't have the time
to get really good
it's a shame

i have a knack for the strings
but i don't understand a think
i don't know what i'm doing
it's a shame

it's a shame, -ame
it's a shame, -ame
i play all day, day
i play all day

oh it's a shame, shame
oh it's a shame, shame
i play all day

i got a knack for the strings
alone in my room
i have inspiration occasionally

i have a knack for my fingers
and all the right places
it's just notes to me

i have a knack for the blues

that stunk!
this is what i get for 6 1/2 hours of sleep
in fact, i think i'm so depressed i'll sing the blues
  

A Million Hours

Can you hear Bob Marley in the background? That's from Hubie's tape.

The stuff in the foreground is the thematic prequel to my "Artificial Life", which I recorded around the same time (on 1997-04-19). It's rough, but kind funny. Like many of the songs of this album.

Note: I'll probably have to censor the profanity before uploading the mp3. This is a shame, because it's a pretty cool song.

Lyrics to "A Million Hours":

the last song is very sentimental
it's deep, it's dear to my heart
everything like that and uh
it's supposed to be a cappella
but i don't know how to sing
here it goes
i've gotta at least hit one note so i know what key to sing in
all right
here we go
this is my opus
the big mama

if i had a million hours
oh, no, that's not it
let's try again

if i had a million hours i would spend it all on the computer
and if i had a million days i would spend them all on the computer
i'm not stating my intentions, i'm just stating the realities:
that i would spend all my life on the computer if i could

if i had a million hours i would spend it all on the computer
mmm, here we go
if i had a million hours i would spend it all on the computer
close, let's try again
if i had a million hours i would spend it all on
i would spent it all
i would spent it all
i would spent it all on the computer
if i had a million hours i would spend it all on the computer
that's better; ready, here we go

if i had a million hours i would spend it all on the computer
and if i had a million days i would spend them all alone
and if i had a million dollars sitting on my dining room table
i'd put it all in the bank and i'd live just the same as i'm doing now

oh do you call this a lack of ambition
do you call this a lack of common sense
do you call this a lack of wisdom
or am i just a hermit in disguise as a person
am i just a hermit in sheep's clothing
and oh am i just a hermit playing the guitar in my room all alone
with a million dollars and a million days and a million minutes
and all that crap

let's try it again

oh if i had a million dollars i would spend it all on the computer
but if i had a million dollars i would spend it all on the computer
all right
maybe some of that time i would put to some music
maybe some of that time i would put into something productive
maybe some of that time i would make a stupid story
that i would take to my friends
and say "i have accomplished something today"

oh if i had a million dollars i would spend it all on a f---ing computer
oh if i had a million dollars i would spend it all on a f---ing computer

a million hours
a million days
a million times
a million ways
to waste my life away

a million hours
a million days
a million girls
a milling f---ing faces

oh if i had a million friends i'd tell them all to meet me on the computer
if i had a million means i'd have a million ends on the computer

a million hours
a million dollars
a million f---ing hungry f---ing faces

a million hours
a million smiles
a million dreams
a million miles away
away

oh if i had a million dollars i would spend it all on a computer
let's be realistic hear
if i had a million bucks i could give a f---s
and if i had a million friends i would never see them again

a million dollars
a million faces
a million people
a million places
a million smiles
a million charms
a million
a million notes that i will never play
  

Fast End

This is just beating on the guitar faster and faster.

Why Doesn't This Thing Work

Yet again, blaming the equipment.

Lyrics to "Why Doesn't This Thing Work":

why doesn't this thing work?
  

Basstar Intro

Basstar = playing bass lines on guitar. Clever, huh? Neither is the music.

Struggle Strum

I was struggling to strum some chords. This is pretty bad, but thankfully short. The chord at the end is the best part.

Walk Around with You

Falsetto? Dunno why. I made this up as I went along. It's moody and sad. I don't know all the lyrics. I was watching a movie while I recorded it.

Lyrics to "Walk Around with You":

and i walk around with you
and i walk around with you
and i walk around with you
and i walk around with you
and i walk around with you

and i walk around with you
and i walk around with you
and i walk around with you
i think i talk about my ???
'cause i ???
to pretend ???
???
??? my blanche mold

and i walk around with you
  (with you)
and i walk around with you
  (with you)
and i walk around with you
  (with who)
and i walk around with you
  (with who)

and the movie that's on
the sound went off
i'm playing the guitar
while i watch north by northwest
  

Strum Wave

I was strumming, getting louder and softer, like a wave. Very short.

Strum Thump

More inept strumming and thumping on acoustic guitar.

That's It

Yay, it's over!

Lyrics to "That's It":

that's it