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1977 Firsts
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1985 Cacappella
1986 Eye Beater
1987 Guitarded
1988 Kim 1
1988 Kim 2
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1999 Simulameous
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2000-2008
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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
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2007 And Another
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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
View printable CD cover for album: The Key of G Click on the thumbnail to view a printable cd sleeve.

Track List

# title lyrics time download listen started recorded rating
1 Intro lyrics 0:08 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
2 Information lyrics 7:50 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
3 Gadgets lyrics 5:17 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
4 Context lyrics 1:02 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
5 Pretty lyrics 3:03 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
6 Reprise lyrics 2:03 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
7 Response lyrics 1:17 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
8 Days lyrics 2:10 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
9 Sleep lyrics 0:43 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
10 Re-Intro lyrics 0:24 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
11 Light lyrics 3:06 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
12 Control lyrics 1:12 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
13 Tremolo lyrics 1:06 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
14 Change lyrics 1:05 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
15 Key lyrics 7:59 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
16 Infatuation lyrics 3:35 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
17 Walk lyrics 7:57 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
18 Delicacies lyrics 3:53 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
19 Calling lyrics 2:52 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
20 Gab lyrics 0:31 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
21 Alaska lyrics 6:13 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
22 Vow lyrics 0:47 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
23 Forks lyrics 2:33 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
24 Coda lyrics 2:11 download listen locally - 2002-12-17
Total 68:57 play all locally album rating:

Notes

I recorded these guitar-and-vox improvs in a few hours on 2002-12-17 and then mastered them to CD the next day. Everything was recorded "live", with no overdubs or sequencing, and the editing was mostly to remove between-song chatter. My goal was speed, not fidelity. The lyrics were part love note, part sermon, and part gear demo. The recurring themes were: indulgence, spontaneity, and focus.

Gear:

I played my electric guitar through the Pod Pro and then an amp, and recorded the guitar and vocals to 4-track. The following day I transfered the audio to PC using Sonar, which I also used to split and edit the tracks. I mastered with either Sonar or Cool Edit.

Participants

Name Performed Wrote
Travis Emmitt electric guitar, vocals, talking music, lyrics

Songs

Intro

This quick introduction kicks off the album with humor. It states the dual focus (Giovanna and gear).

Lyrics to "Intro":

all right, this is for giovanna

you know, i actually recorded a whole bunch
but i forgot to press - i forgot to unpress
the pause button, so it's kind of embarassing

here goes
(c) 2002 Trex

Information

Garage rock in my living room! The music reminds me of Joy Division. The lyrics are about making decisions. They focus on relationships, but also make references to the music.

Lyrics to "Information":

INTRO:
  1 2 3 4

CHORUS 1:
  you've got all the information
  you need to assess the situation
  you've got all the information
  you need to assess the situation

  so what are you going to do with it?

CHORUS 2:
  you've got all the information
  you need to control the situation
  you've got all the information
  you need to control your situation

  so what are you going to do with it?
  and what are you gonna learn from this?

BRIDGE:
  you've got all the information
  that you need right now

  time to strategize
  time to be wise

  so I couldn't sleep last night
  stayed up until 6
  making a tape for you
  expressing my thoughts

  i was intending to drive over there
  and drop it off
  so you'd see this morning

  but then i remembered my day alone
  and how i just didn't want to talk
  i didn't want to be anywhere socially
  didn't even want to go for a walk

  of course, that day passed
  and the next day went pretty fast

  so here we're getting older
  the days are growing colder
  things are flying by

  i once wrote a lyric
  that i will stop the guitar to recite
  it's from the song "artificial life"

  "sun like a rocket through the sky,
  one less day before i die"

CHORUS 3:
  you've got all the information
  you need to control the situation
  you've got all the information
  you need to control the situation

  you've got all the information
  you need to control the situation
  you've got all the information
  you need to control your situation

VERSE:
  you can either wait forever
  or you can take a chance
  decisions come every day
  they define who we are

  you can be safe
  or you can be daring
  i don't think you can get everything
  by staying in your room
  by staying in the womb
  by staying in the womb
  by staying in the womb

  we're just little babies
  learning about life
  we're just little babies
  learning about life

  and about how to play guitar
  and about how to drive a car
  and how to walk far

CHORUS 4:
  you've got all the information
  you need to control the situation
  you've got all the information
  you need to control the situation

VERSE:
  what?
  do what? do what? do what? do what?
  do what? do what? do what? do what?
  do what? do what? do what? do what?

CHORUS 5:
  this is the gift of information
  i don't want to put on any pressure
  this is a gift of information
  and some crappy music too

  this is
  this is a gift of information

SPOKEN:
  i need to learn some new chords
  but to show you that i am not afraid
  of venturing from the safe
  to a two-chord sequence
  i'm just gonna wing it
(c) 2002 Trex

Gadgets

This track starts off talking about "techno-indulgence", but wanders around a lot. It's most autobiographical, stream-of-consciousness spoken word, with occasional lyrical patterns.

Lyrics to "Gadgets":

see, the thing about gadgets
gadgets are good
they can inspire
they can disguise
they can forgive your mistakes

a good gadget is like a good friend
it will stay with you until the end
a good gadget will make you smile
it will make you reach
further than you've reached before

a good gadget will encourage you to indulge
and that is exactly what we should do more:
indulge
the key is to be responsible while indulging
make sure everything that you do
won't be regretted

so i only got about 2 hours of sleep last night
and guess what i was thinking
while i should have been sleeping
i was thinking about a very special person
that i was a bit worried about

but i have faith
everything will work out
i have faith
everything will work out
i have faith
everything will work out
i have faith
everything will work out

and i have faith
everything will work out
i have faith
everything will work out
i have faith
everything will work out
i have faith
everything will work out

this is an example
of the sort of thing i do
to annoy the neighbors
and to while away the hours
while i wait for a phone call
or an email
or a surprise visit
or any sign of all
that someone is thinking
that i can be entertaining
that i can make them happy
anyone at all
well, not anyone at all
not just anyone at all
(c) 2002 Trex

Context

This talks about switching contexts while I fiddle with effects. It's not a smooth segue, but that's part of the point of the lyrics.

Lyrics to "Context":

again, the gadget can save the day because
you can make things sound differently
you can put things in a different context

well, and if the context is too similar
from the one previously, you can do things
to make it a totally different context
things like this

well, the key is to find a good next context
you've just gotta search for a while
and then you find something that's pretty
(c) 2002 Trex

Pretty

I was gently fiddling with guitar while improvising some poetry.

Lyrics to "Pretty":

and then you make adjustments
to make it even more pretty

and i don't know where tuning the guitar
comes into the analogy, but it should

as the rain falls outside
and the leaves blow
and the clouds float
and the ducks peck at fleas on their bodies
and the worms wriggle on the sidewalks
and as the people bicycle by
and as the joggers jog by
and as the doggies dog by

someone's in his room, smiling
and someone oughta be in her room, smiling

maybe if the guitar were better
the smile would broaden

or if the vocalist
worked a little harder at vocals
i don't know; it's kinda introverted
but anyway

the question is to wait or to grab
and when it's things like gadgets and places,
i like to grab
but when it's things like people,
i want to make sure...

[sigh]

someone's at the door
(c) 2002 Trex

Reprise

This reprises "Information". I didn't remember the tune fully, so wasn't able to extend it any further.

Lyrics to "Reprise":

CHORUS:
  so now you have all the information
  you need to control the situation
  you have all the information
  you need to control the situation

  it's up to you what to do
  it's up to you what to do

VERSE:
  i hope you like the gift of information
  if you didn't that's okay
  there's other days
  and other situations
  where you can apply the information

  this is so geeky
  this is so dorky
  this is so silly
  this is so ridiculous

  because i didn't even give you
  all that much information
  but you got information
  and i think you have a sense
  and sense is really important
  sense is all important

  [ring]

  there's the phone
  probably neighbors getting pissed
  hold on
(c) 2002 Trex

Response

I recorded this right after the phone call in "Reprise".

Lyrics to "Response":

ah, actually it was you

we had a phone call
a phone conversation
and we talked about the situation

sounds like you got a lot of thinking to do
sounds like i got a lot of drinking to do
heh heh heh

and a lot of guitar practicing... oopsie!

i guess i'll figure something out
and i will figure something out
some strategy
so that you can learn to trust, trust
trust, trust, trust, trust in travis

and if i play guitar like that
i'm really gonna earn your trust
so let's just do this
(c) 2002 Trex

Days

This is about introversion and regret. For some reason I affected a southern accent. The guitar part is very simple (a bass riff).

Lyrics to "Days":

and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 days pass
and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 days pass
and another 5 days
and another 5 days
and another 5 days
and another 5 days
and another 5 days
and another 5 days

you can continue that
and eventually
we're in our grave

looking back on the 5 days
looking back on the other 5 days
what did we do with those days?
what did we do with those days?

did we sit in our room?
did we stay to ourselves?
did we share our time with others?
what did we do with those 5 days?

what did we do with our days?
what did we do with our days?
what did we do with our 20s, our 30s, our 40s?

what did we do with our days?
what did we do with our days?
what will we do with our days?
what will we do with our days?

something, something, something
something, something
yeah, uh huh

driving in the car for days
looking at the sky for days
praying for rain on every dry day
praying for sun on every rainy day

praying for change
we're praying for change
praying for change
praying for change
but we're scared of change
but we're scared of change
but we're praying for change
what we're really praying for
is some sort of guidance
(c) 2002 Trex

Sleep

I was tired. The recording was nearing the end of the side of the tape.

Lyrics to "Sleep":

2 hours of sleep
2 hours of sleep
and i wanna weep
about 2 hours of sleep

i wanna lay on the floor
i wanna sleep
got 2 hours of sleep
and i feel like i wanna weep

well, the tape's about the end
the story's about the end
but another story will come
and it will be our new friend

2 hours of sleep
and i'm gonna weep
and i've gotta say:

it's fun focusing on you
(c) 2002 Trex

Re-Intro

This is a second introduction, started off the second side of the tape. For some reason I used a strong southern accent; I probably was feeling self-conscious.

Lyrics to "Re-Intro":

hi, this is travis
it's, um, the 17th december 2002

this is for giovanna,
one hot mama!

seriously though,
this is my little guitar solo

i'm just gonna noodle a bit
and talk a bit
and try and keep it nice and light
(c) 2002 Trex

Light

This improv is fixated on the word "light". It starts off silly but then turns "profound" and eventually talks about priority.

The background voices are bleed-through from the 4-track. I probably could've fixed it, but I wanted to finish the album quickly, so we're stuck with them!

Lyrics to "Light":

light
light like a baby's bottom

light
light like a corona beer

light
light like a halogen lamp
that's about to fall over because
there's something pushing up against it
and that something is something that
i can't think of right now
because my brain is feeling a bit light

light as in
what's up in the sky and makes us happy

light as in
what's on the computer screen
and lets us see things
that other people are saying

light as in
the little night-light in the bathroom
that makes it easy to get up
and go to the bathroom
and wash my face and hands at night

light as in
the light in the kitchen
which lights all the food
and also shows all the specks on the floor

light as in
what's not outside
because it's dark outside
i guess there's street lamps and all

light as in
the little leds on the cd player
showing me that a cd is ready to be played
it's kind of comforting to see those things

light as in
the little keyboard light on the keyboard

light as in
the light in my eyes when i see you

and so
on the other side of the room
we see a chair
it's wooden
and in the chair sits nobody
it's an empty chair
it's a wooden chair
and has a shirt on it
and there's lamp and a lamp and a lamp
and another lamp
these are the things you can look at every day
and there's a phone book on the table
and there's a box that had gifts in it
and i forgot to thank my parents for the gifts
and i'm gonna have to do that soon
that means that i need to go to my room
put down the guitar for a while
but i won't do that for a while
because i'm doing this for you
you're my priority now
and i have a feeling
i have a feeling
you will always
you will always
you will always be a priority
be the priority
be the priority
be the priority
(c) 2002 Trex

Control

The theme was control. I started talking about controlling gear, but ended up talking about how we control our lives.

Lyrics to "Control":

my fingers suck at the guitar
luckily my -
there's other parts of playing that cut -
there's other things to do
when playing the guitar
than moving the fingers around

there's other responsibilities
other ways to kinda figure out
how to get good sounds out of the guitar

you can change the sound of the guitar
you can do things like change the volume
change the tone
you have control over the guitar
if the guitar doesn't sound good today
you can change it, make it another way
make it sound good
make it sound really rude if you want
that's what you can do with the guitar

and it's also what you can do with your day
if you just want to think that way
you can take anything in your day
and make it better, find a better way
to make your day full of smiles
full of everything you want

yeah, i think we need more tone
i think we need some delay and compression
actually i think we need delay and tremelo
it's kinda psychedelic, right?
(c) 2002 Trex

Tremolo

This has lots of tremolo, a few chord changes, and not not much else. Bleed-through from the 4-track gives it a moody ambience. The lyrics apply to gear and life.

Lyrics to "Tremolo":

see, everything has boring bits
and weird changes
and really weird changes
(c) 2002 Trex

Change

This tries to strengthen the analogy between music and life.

Lyrics to "Change":

life is a song
and if we're the musicians
we can't really go wrong
because we can change

we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything
we can change everything

except our ability to change

there's no big insight on here
but i will try to give you some info on here

so, an example

okay
so we're talking about lack of concentration
(c) 2002 Trex

Key

This was an exercise in concentration. It also became a motivational song.

It starts off sloppy and silly, but once I stop talking and focus on the guitar, it settles into a nice groove. That groove, in fact, is my favorite moment on the album. The chanting, gospelly vocals at the end are pretty cool too.

Lyrics to "Key":

we take a walk
and look at the trees
look for the squirrels
and the butterflies

we look at moss
we smell the fresh air
and it is good
and it is good

we help our friends
we give them time
we have our patience
we give them smiles

we give them money
when they're in need
we give them food
we give them bread

we treat our friends good
we treat our health good
we treat everything good

except we're not nice
to people who
are mean to other people
because they deserve
for us to be rude to them

don't kill the guitarist
he can't help playing bad
don't kill the vocalist
he can't help that he can't sing

don't kill the travis
he's just trying to be funny
he's just trying to help
trying to be
trying to earn his money

playing on an amp
in a gold
playing on an amp
with an old guitar

plugged into his pod pro
which is just a silly name
for a little red box
that makes the guitar
sound like different sounds

somethings are boring
but what really matters

is how we find
the good things there
in the boring life
in the boring life

if we find good things
and make them better
if we improve things
we can be smiling and happy

the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying

the key is keep caring
the key is keep caring
the key is keep caring
the key is keep caring

the key is keep laughing
the key is keep laughing
the key is keep laughing
the key is keep laughing

the key is keep smiling
the key is keep smiling
the key is keep smiling
the key is keep smiling

the key is keep forgiving
the key is keep forgiving
the key is keep forgiving
the key is keep forgiving

the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying

the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying

the key is have faith
the key is have faith
the key is have faith
the key is have faith

and the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying
the key is keep trying

it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better

it's gonna get better
it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better

it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better

it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better

gotta have trust now
it'll get better
gotta have trust now
it'll get better

gotta get better
it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better

you'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better
it'll get better

just gotta have faith
you just gotta have faith
you just gotta have faith

that things will always
work out in such a way
that you end up smiling
at the end of every day
(c) 2002 Trex

Infatuation

I felt on a roll after "Key" and came up with this pop-punk ditty. Yeah, I screwed up half way through, but I love the choruses. This is my favorite song on the album.

Lyrics to "Infatuation":

VERSE:
  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room

  i think about you, i think about you
  i think about you, i think about you
  i think about you, i think about you
  i think about you, i think about you

CHORUS:
  you call it infatuation
  you call it infatuation

VERSE:
  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  i think about you, i think about you
  i think about you, i think about you

  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  i think about you, i think about you
  i think about you

CHORUS:
  you call it infatuation
  i call it a realistic situation
  you call it infatuation
  i call it a natural situation

  you call it infatuation
  i call it a blissful situation
  you call it infatuation
  i call it a wonderful position

VERSE:
  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  i think of you, think of you
  think of you, think of you
  ahhh

  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  i think of you, think of you
  think of you, think of you

  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  i think of you, think of you
  think of you, think of you

CHORUS:
  and you call it infatuation
  i call it a wonderful situation
  you call it infatuation
  i call it a blissful situation

  you call it infatuation
  i call it a natural situation
  you call it infatuation
  i call it naturalization

VERSE:
  one last time

  in my room, in my room
  in my room, in my room
  your face is the glue, face is the glue
  face is the glue, face is the glue

  of my mood, of my mood
  of my mood, of my mood
  in my room, your face is the glue
  of my mood

CHORUS:
  you call it infatuation
  i call it a natural relation
  you call it infatuation
  i call it a lucky situation

  you call it infatuation
  i call it a realistic situation
  you call it infatuation
  i say congratulations
(c) 2002 Trex

Walk

This leeches off of the momentum from "Infatuation". My improvisational muscles were exhausted, so it doesn't have the same tunefulness. It sounds heavy-metal, probably influenced by Julian Cope's spin-off band, Brain Donor.

My attempts to inject humor fell flat. I got frustrated, then calmed down, and ended up with the semi-clever "not every" bit. The highlight for me is when I stumbled upon the phrase "The Key is G".

Like many of my walks around here, this song wanders through a variety of scenery. How to finish this paragraph, I don't know.

Lyrics to "Walk":

takin' a walk, takin' a walk
takin' a walk

what do you get when you cross
a little boy with a tree leaf?

i don't know!

not every joke has a punchline
not every song sounds good
not every day is sunny
but we control what's good

not every show on tv
makes us glad we watched it
and not every stranger on the street
makes us feel good we waved

not every minute of the hour
is full of smiles and giggles
and not every chair in the lounge
is without holes

and not every car on the highway
has a sober driver
and not every guy with a guitar
knows what he's doing

and not every microphone
not every microphone

not every microphone
hears everything i say

some microphones
just happen to be pointed another way

one at the amplifier
another at my mouth
hear the guitar on fire
my vocals going south

one at the amplifier
another at my mouth
hear the guitar on fire
my vocals going south

the key is
the key is g
ha ha ha
oh that's funny; i'm gonna say that again

the key is g
the key is g

neighbors pounding on the door
amplifier buzzing through the floor
the windows, the trees in a roar
and everything being a bore

la da da da... [scat]

the key is g

the key is g
not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t
the key is g
not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t

the key is g
not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t
the key is g
not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t

the key is g
not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t
the key is g
not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t, not t

the key is g
naughty g, naughty g
the key is g
naughty t, naughty t

the key is g
naughty g, naughty g
the key is g
naughty t, naughty t
(c) 2002 Trex

Delicacies

This talks about how beauty (delicacy) can emerge from apparently "ugly" sources. As on many of the songs on the album, the lyrics use the gear as an analogy for life in general.

I noodle around with distortion for a while. After I mess up, I start talking about indulgence.

"Delicacies" can be considered indulgent; hence the [double-meaning] title. Speaking of delicacies, I think "brie" might have been a freudian sleep.

Lyrics to "Delicacies":

so we can transition into something
a little more delicate
delicate
not as harsh
that's really delicate
actually, that could be delicate
there can be delicacy
delicate moments
starting with something as rough as this
there can be beautiful moments
starting with something as grungy as this

all right
actually there's a limit
to how much you can get out of punk chords
and [babbling]
at this point that's about all i know
on the guitar

yeah, this is self-indulgent
but i think that's important
that people be indulgent
and that they brie -
be enthusiastically indulgent
and proudly indulgent
um indulgent is, is, is --

let me just put it this way
i wrote in a story once:

the key of life is living
the key of life is living

actually, the key of life is g
at least on this

ok, so here we go
(c) 2002 Trex

Calling

This starts off talking about phone calls and ends up talking about practice and routine. The music is aimless, low-energy improv. I was barrel-scraping.

Lyrics to "Calling":

when things annoy you
feel free to give me a call
when things really piss you off
or depress you
feel free to give me a call

any time of day
it can be 3:30 am
any time of night
i'll answer the phone

i need to think of a new chord progression
yeah
i'll come up with something
or just return to what works

my piano practices are similar
no real technique
it's all about feel

enthusiasm
blind enthusiasm
and concentration

nothing wrong
with staying with what's working
unless it's not really working
in that case, it's time to move along
(c) 2002 Trex

Gab

This is mostly talking (directed at Giovanna), with only a tiny bit of guitar at the end. It's a brief overview of my gear setup and plans the album. This is where I decided to call the album "The Key of G".

Lyrics to "Gab":

well, i don't know
that might have been working

there is no theme to this
it's just basically me sitting with a guitar
plugged into one part of the 4-track
and then microphone plugged into the other part

and i guess at some point i'm gonna mix these onto a cd
it's gonna be a weird cd, buy hey

and maybe i'll --
i'll try to get that done before 9 tonight
in case you come over
because wouldn't that be cool to go from like nothing to a cd
in a few hours like a complete cd

i don't know what i'll call it
probably the key of g
that would be a good one:
the key of g
(c) 2002 Trex

Alaska

I was brainstorming topics and decided to sing about my first trip to Alaska. For some reason I told it in the second person. The beginning is very sloppy, but then things smooth out into a decent groove and interesting lyrics.

Lyrics to "Alaska":

the train leaves the station
the bus leaves the depot
and the ferry flies to alaska

it's cold up there
you might see a bear
don't worry, the lyrics will get better
will get more insightful

as i get more into it
doesn't help that the chord --

2 hours of sleep, 2 hours of sleep
2 hours of sleep, 2 hours of sleep
hurts my brain, hurts my brain
hurts my brain, hurts my brain

2 hours of sleep, 2 hours of sleep
2 hours of sleep, 2 hours of sleep
hurts my brain, hurts my brain
hurts my playing, hurts my playing

first you take the ferry
through the islands
and then you get on the solarium
where you sleep

you get off at juneau
and look at a glacier
your first taste of alaska
it's pretty neat

a couple hours later
you arrive in skagway
or haines and you take a bus
across the yukon

suddenly, huge mountains
eternally snowy
cold top passes
and then down into the flat lands

the yukon is long and big
full of trees
and frost heaves

it's still
40 thousand people live there
which is nothing
considering how big it is
and how much there is to see

the bus takes you through small towns
across beautiful bridges
next to idyllic lakes
full of wildlife

it feels like an adventure
'cause that's because it is
at any point
a bear could come out of the woods
and scare everybody

you see eagles
and you see caribou
and all these things
they have an effect on you

new things in nature
so invigorating

and you get off at fairbanks
a day and a half later
and then go back to shopping malls
and parking lots

and signs
and stop lights
and gray cement
and black pavement

so you hop on the train
and go down to denali
and suddenly the mountains
are all around you

and you realize how small we are
how tiny
we are as people
as animals

we are so humble
we've gotta believe
our job is simply
to live and leave

after denali awes you
you head down south
to los anchorage
and then the gray comes out

it's the city again
nice to have pubs
but the sidewalks and the pavement
put a damper on things

so you take the train to seward
beautiful mountains, beautiful water
boats there parked like in bellingham harbor

and you get on the ferry
take a ride to valdez
see the icebergs
and whales and porpoises

and then you get off at homer
beautifullest postcard
water, backed by mountains
it drops your jaw

and then you go back up to the kenai
blue, blue river
people fishing for salmon
dog sleds

dog, dog sleds

and you're in alaska
(c) 2002 Trex

Vow

This is more babbling. I really don't have any insightful comments to make about it. Sorry!

Lyrics to "Vow":

and you vow
to never
ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever
take nature for granted
or destroy things
or be mean to people
or conform
just for the sake of conforming

because most people don't see
what you can see up there down here
every day, up there, wherever you are
you can see

oh that's so cryptic
(c) 2002 Trex

Forks

This is yet more gabbing about gear and life. I was completely out of steam.

Lyrics to "Forks":

i'm gonna end on a very pretty chord
once i find out how to play it
and i guess that's the whole point of life,
right?
finding the pretty chords
learning how to play them
over and over, over and over
that's not a very pretty chord
but i can find a pretty chord
ewww, that's not a very pretty chord

that's better
it sounds like a church organ

god is good
god is everywhere
do i need to go to confession?
do i need to cut my hair?

god is not funny
in his presence i'm a dork
you know the next rhyme is gonna be fork

speaking of forks
this needs a tuning fork
and i need an eating fork
because i need to eat dinner fork

our lives have forks
we choose which path to take
left or right, left or right
left or right, left or right
left or right, left or right
left or right, it's up to you

it's up to you, it's up to you
it's up to you which fork you take
it's up to you which fork you take
it's up to you which risks you take

it's up to you which path you take
it's up to you which life you make
it's up to you which cake you make
yes, i'm not gonna rhyme with make
by saying bake

it's up to you, it's up to you
i think i'm used up
but i do look up to you
and my guitar looks up to you too

i know it's just a tool
i know i'm just a silly fool
we both look up to you
in this human zoo
(c) 2002 Trex

Coda

I noticed that I was nearing the end of the tape, and so eeded to finish the album quickly. I attempted a reprise of "Information", but forgot the music. I didn't remember the lyrics perfectly either, but they're close enough to give the album a sense of circular closure.

Lyrics to "Coda":

so i'm gonna go back to where i started
which is this

you've got all the information
to control the situation
you've got the information
to control the situation

you've got the information
to control the situation
you've got the information
it's a good situation

it's a good situation
you control the situation
it's a good situation
you control the situation

you're meeting new relations
in this good situation
it's a good situation
you control the situation

i gave you information

buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh
bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye...

see ya!
(c) 2002 Trex