Rhapsody & Filigree, by Brian Woodbury

Rhapsody & Filigree

by Brian Woodbury

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Bruce Hamilton Inventive and witty songwriting/composing of the highest order. There's something wonderful around every surprising corner, including a lot of catchy melodies along the way.

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Comes in a 4-panel full-color fold-out eco wallet, designed by John Goss.

Includes unlimited streaming of Rhapsody & Filigree via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

edition of 500

$20 USD or more
Anthems & Antithets Volumes 1-4, on 4 CDs, 88 songs, 5 hours of music, in a handsome slipcase. Includes a full-color make-it-yourself insert that turns into a ten-side art object - a pentagonal trapezohedron whatnot! Also includes downloads of all 4 volumes, with pdfs of the lyrics and art for each volume. Digital download codes for each volume will be emailed within 3 days of purchase.

Includes unlimited streaming of Rhapsody & Filigree via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

edition of 300

$80 USD or more

1.	Theseus Rex feat. Tulasi Rain, Kye Adder & Rob Shapiro 09:17	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 NARRATOR: Rhonda’s living life at a standstill Born and bred on Anaheim landfill Help is on a Grateful Dead handbill Promising a way out of Bland-ville V E R S E 2 Hitch up to Marin where the streams flow To the kind of landscape her dreams know Crash in Larkspur inns where the beams show Fairytale begins, and it C H O R U S 1 Seems so Easy and high Free love Give it a try Still underage Passes backstage Snares a hero V E R S E 3 Jerry spots her wand’ring in flip flops Buys her tie dyes from the Haight’s hip shops Rhonda takes his ride till the trip stops Spills his bong and when the last C H O R U S 2 Drip drops Dregs in the sand A Dead head Ditched by the band One night of sex Makes Theseus Rex H Y M N 1 RHONDA: I shall bear your son Prepare him for his role Your heir and chosen one When he subsumes your soul (Jerry won’t answer me) V E R S E 4 NARRATOR: From the git-go junior is gungho With a faith in fathers the young know Picks up Dad’s guitar all high-strung. Though soon the high and mighty are C H O R U S 3 Brung low Coming of age False hopes Turning to rage Jerry rejects Theseus Rex THESEUS: Where’s my hero? H Y M N 2 Clear the stone away Retracing Jerry’s tracks And when I've learned to play Then I'll assume his axe B R I D G E 1 NARRATOR: Theseus hits the stand His Grateful Dead cover band Plays with a nimble hand In the court of his father When Jerry does not arrive August of ’95 Turns out he’s not alive THESEUS: And Mountain Girl blames me ORGAN SOLO C H O R U S 4 NARRATOR: Axe pawned Left at loose ends World tour Of opium dens Without a plan Afghanistan Dares our hero O P I U M D E N RHONDA: That land is full of woe And evil is in power Why did you have to go? I’ll wait for you each hour H Y M N 3 THESEUS: I keep my head down low RHONDA: Return to me someday THESEUS: I’m very rarely seen RHONDA: The drums of war are rumbling loud THESEUS: The poppies that I grow RHONDA: And I will wait until you THESEUS: Aid the mujahideen RHONDA: Come back Come back C H O R U S 5 THESEUS: Comrades I’m ready to serve God’s will Just give me the nerve Northern Allies H O V E R I N G Hindu Kush Helmand Heroin heaven Hide undercover NARRATOR: Then nine-eleven Uncle Sam falls for the oldest trick Where the weaker win a fight they pick Watch them beat him with a rock and stick F A S T M E T A L 1 U.S. COLONEL: I'll get Afghanistan Al Qaeda in a can Kill me some Taliban Call in fire on the mountain NARRATOR: Theseus gets a taste Allies are laid to waste Worst thing he’s ever faced Taking refuge in the mountain S L O W M E T A L Western armies battle the zeitgeist Massing in the name of the White Christ Taliban are getting their fight iced Till their hopes are dashed and their might sliced F A S T M E T A L 2 U.S. COLONEL: Mullah, your ass is mine You want me, get in line I'll show ya I got spine You’ll be singin’ “Blues for Allah” RHONDA: Come back THESEUS: Don’t shoot me RHONDA: Come back THESEUS: Don’t shoot me H Y M N 4 NARRATOR: And Theseus is caught He’s ragged and unshod The waterboard is brought They think that he’s jihad H Y M N 5 He tells them of his plight Of hiding in the cave The battles he helped fight The brothers he helped save H Y M N 6 NARRATOR: And when his tale is done THESEUS: My name is Theseus NARRATOR: They gasp at what he’s said THESEUS: I am a warrior NARRATOR: That he’s the bastard son THESEUS: I slew the minotaur NARRATOR: The son of the Grateful Dead G U N S A L U T E B R I D G E 2 U.S. COLONEL: Dude, is that really true? I’m Deadhead through and through This lightning skull tattoo Says you are my hero You’ll skip Guantanamo Where you were gonna go Man, you don’t wanna know ’Cause you are my hero In honor of Jerome And his Y-chromosome Tell Mom you’re coming home ’Cause you are my hero H Y M N 7 RHONDA: And he comes back from war Into the golden light To land on native shore All clothed in flags of white H Y M N 8 NARRATOR: In cargo he has stowed His mother lies in wait The casket ramps unload She misapprehends his fate Rhonda leaps off the Golden Gate F U N E R A L M A R C H V E R S E 5 NARRATOR, RHONDA, THESEUS, U.S. COLONEL: Sometimes life delivers a cruel trade Like a senseless bargain some fool made When it cuts both ways like a dual blade Tell ’em you’re not drinking the… C H O R U S 6 KoolAid Life isn’t fair Bad bet Made on a dare Heroes prevail Only to fail THESEUS: I’m no hero NARRATOR, RHONDA, U.S. COLONEL: He’s no hero. J A M O U T NARRATOR, RHONDA, U.S. COLONEL: Ah ah ah ah, etc. E N D I N G THESEUS: Aggh!
2.	The Other Brian Woodbury 04:22	lyrics	buy track
I N T R O “Know thyself” - that’s what somebody once said To get wisdom and to get ahead So I searched myself - on Google, that is Now I don’t know what is my self or his V E R S E 1 There’s a guy who has my name A guy who isn’t me He makes music, which is a shame ’Cause I make music. Now, you see where this whole thing is going to Since our name’s the same No way of knowing who it is gonna be Me - or the other Brian Woodbury V E R S E 2 That other guy who took my name I had it long before Hey! I won’t let him usurp my fame If he persists, then this is war ’Cause I’m the prior Brian here Hey - would you mind? He should cede his claim To me, the pioneer I deserve it more Me - not the other Brian Woodbury Me - not some trombone-playin’ wannabe B R I D G E 1 Why is he a musician too? You’d think one was enough While he gets knocks for what I do I get credit for his stuff This name not terribly uncommon Both first and last onto which he’s glommin’ No nome de plume for him So I’m bombin’ this Homonym ad hominem S O L O / I N S T R U M E N T A L B R I D G E 2 Why’d he have to go and get The moniker I got? There’s plenty better ones I bet Yeah, and he could have the lot I blame this same lame name phenomenon On some dumb humdrum whim of mom an’ dad Saddling me with this bad homina homina Homonym ad hominem V E R S E 3 That other guy who stole my name He’s not my evil twin No alter ego I try to tame No avatar I hide within No doppelganger dingaling But when the web takes aim We start commingling Till you can’t unpin Me - from the other Brian Woodbury We - are joined up for eternity Gee - I hope there’s not a number three For me - and the other Brian Woodbury
3.	Where It Came From 05:50	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 When Robin saw that chiseled stone She thought she’d found an ancient monument A totem that the earth had suddenly dislodged And something moved in her It took some work to find again Without a trail, eight miles from the road She swore Eugene to secrecy and brought him there They rested in its shadow, Couldn’t take their eyes away And soon the news got out. C H O R U S 1 Who knew where it came from? What mysteries it was there to show. How did it speak to them? They only knew they had to know, They had to know V E R S E 2 At first Dale thought it’s all a hoax Promotion for some science fiction film But once he reached the site, its presence blew his mind This had to be Kurt Brown It shared Brown’s otherworldly traits Those strange late earthworks built near Santa Fe The crowning glory of the artist’s long career Those other fools had no idea what jewel they’d stumbled on Dale was the only one... C H O R U S 2 Who knew where it came from What mysteries it was there to show. How would it speak to them? He only knew they had to know. They had to know. B R I D G E Finn saw alien travelers. George saw a burial mound. Mason saw a false idol, vowed to tear it to the ground. Marc and Michelle saw wedding plans, and sixty people came. Jill saw God. Zack saw a place where he could carve his name. V E R S E 3 When Yeong first found that solid rock She saw a way to carve her final piece She knew that it could take her more than fifteen years She hoped she had enough She never spoke a word of it The truth is that she liked to work alone Her giant little secret in the desert wilds “Don’t bring the people to your art, the art will find its way” It didn’t die with Yeong. C H O R U S 3 Who knows where it came from? What mysteries it was bound to grow? How did it speak through her? She only knew (only knew) she had to show (had to show) She had to know C H O R U S 4 Who knows where it comes from? This spark we can’t hold onto or let go Who gets to speak for it? Who builds the fire? (builds the fire) Who feels the glow? (feels the glow) Who will ever know?
4.	Two Halves 03:02	lyrics	buy track
1 All of the world is divvied up in two halves And have nots Beggars or choosers Keepers or losers Takers or givers Diers or livers Forked into two paths is all the world 2 All of the world is split into splinters Marathoners or sprinters Stayers or quitters Swallowers or spitters Slurp or savor Now or later Here or yonder Hoard or squander One marshmallow or two After-you or don’t-mind-if-I-do 3 All of the world is cut along rope lines Red carpets or breadlines Lifelines or deadlines Below the fold or headlines Gold or glitter Favorite son or runt of the litter Kick or punt Wait-your-turn or get-in-front 4 All of the world is cleft into cloven hoovers Suckers or chewers Talkers or doers Cynics or sinners End-timers or new-beginners Ruminants or ruminators Stick-arounders or see-you-laters 5 All of the world is rent into owners and renters In too one-percenters Persisters or relenters May Day or payday Borrowers or lenders All spent or big spenders Cash or credit Lose it or bet it Some regret it. Some don’t sweat it. 6 All of the world is broke into two bits Cherries or pits Profits or peanuts Dollars or donuts All you can eat or all you can stomach Spare some or zero sum Available or taken Stirred up or unshaken Woke or token Unheard or unspoken Pure or mixed It-ain’t-broken or the-game-is-fixed 7 But all of the planet is just one world
5.	We Are the Sun feat. Naomi Adele Smith & Johnny Unicorn 04:50	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 A We’ll never make it to another star There isn’t energy to get that far We don’t have time to take a trip so long And I’m not smart enough to show you I’m not wrong V E R S E 1 B We can’t upload our minds into the cloud To shoot beyond what physics has allowed We’re bound by sunlight, spirit, breath and will Though I’m not bright enough to prove I’m right, but still C H O R U S 1 We are the sun We are our only sun A beam of light - to everyone We shine All day long All night long All along V E R S E 2 The stars stare back into our distant past Can they detect our brilliant chloroplast? Or scan the skies to find our world of blue? Would we surprise them with the things our star can do? C H O R U S 2 We are the sun We are our only sun A beam of light - to everyone We shine All day long All night long All along B R I D G E Oh, don’t be sad Don’t go stark-raving mad Lost to the world you’re not leaving or saving You should be glad This is not a launching pad Good or bad We are the star The star that you’re craving G U I T A R S O L O V E R S E 3 There is no future world we’re bound to go You’ll never take my word for it, I know There is no heaven for us when we die The sun’s circumference charts our real pi in the sky P R E - C H O R U S Oh hear us, Starlight Star ray First star we see today Wish we might Wish we may Wish the wish away away C H O R U S 3 We are the sun We are our only sun A beam of light - to everyone We shine All day long All night long C H O R U S 4 We are the sun We are our only sun Through everything - we’ve ever done We’ve shone All day long All night long All along Shine, shine, shine, shine
6.	Dystopian Fantasy 01:41	lyrics	buy track
I don’t plan to see Your dystopian fantasy Why waste my time? Two hours stuck inside your stock apocalypse Don’t make me believe Up there on the screen like Nostradamus To every gullible Thomas who’s been taken in That’s not a threat, It’s a promise You say it’s only hyperbole Verbally You’d never believe that hype If it’s just a warning, Why make us want it to come true? If it’s pure escape, why are the heroes the only ones who can escape? What are you saying will happen to us? Yeah, no one’s forcing me But nobody’s forcing you. In a world, in a world, in a world, That’s invading our inner world Honestly, isn’t this one bad enough? Haven’t we had enough? Why can’t you foresee Your every fantasy can plant a seed? Your self-fulfilling prophecy profiteers off of me I don’t plan to see Your dystopian fantasy Your future’s wrong.
7.	Everybody's Gonna Be the Same feat. Jonathan Feinberg 04:33	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 A I’ve got a friend who’s scared of the future Doesn’t get bitcoin No social media She likes to live a life like her life once was I’ve got a friend who lives in nostalgia Back to the ’80s Make it the ’60s Something was realer Kickin’ it old school Rotary dialing More than a retro buzz P R E - C H O R U S A She says, the past was better Her last love letter Before prefab, rehab, jihad “We were all together. Aw, you should have seen what we had!” P R E - C H O R U S B But that rough and tumble Got tough and grumpy Like a crumpled up flier On a subway grate P R E - C H O R U S C Time is moving on The future’s coming closer Till her history is a fad to plunder from the past P R E - C H O R U S D That I told her, this I told her That I told her, this I told her That I told her, this I told her that C H O R U S Everybody’s gonna be the same Everybody’s gonna be the same some day Everybody’s gonna be the same Everybody’s gonna be the same some day V E R S E 2 A (variation) I’ve got a friend who is made for the future Early adopter Metaverse builder Redesign his DNA He’s ready for his implants P R E - C H O R U S A (variation) “You think that’s something? Ya ain’t seen nothin’ Day by day, I say hi, A.I., I can live forever. And I’m not even askin’ ‘May I?’” P R E - C H O R U S C (variation) Time is moving on And history comes with it. His tomorrow’s a fad It wasn’t built to last C H O R U S Everybody’s gonna be the same Everybody’s gonna be the same some day Everybody’s gonna be the same Everybody’s gonna be the same some day B R I D G E I see a world government And there’s no poverty One race who’re all the same color Some day appears They share the wealth equally There’ll still be assholes But once we’re abolishing slavery We’re already half the way there I would give it another four hundred years Give or take maybe a hundred years till C H O R U S Everybody’s gonna be the same Everybody’s gonna be the same some day Everybody’s gonna be the same Everybody’s gonna be the same some day
8.	How Soon We Forget, How Long We Remember feat. Amy Denio, Amy Engelhardt, Bill Burnett, Jonathan Feinberg, Paul F. Perry, Tulasi Rain & Johnny Unicorn 06:13	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 We are like water Our sounds, our scales, our DNA We flow and seep and spill And make our way We pour across the globe Change a little every day Until our descendants Can’t understand a thing we say C H O R U S 1 How soon we forget How long we remember How soon we forget How long, how long How soon we forget How long we remember How soon we forget How long, how long V E R S E 2 We’re like a folksong A shout some forebear did declaim He opened up his mouth And out it came To great, great grandma’s ear She changed the words, the tune, the name Our ancestors’ humming Has stayed but never stayed the same C H O R U S 2 How soon we forget How long we remember How soon we forget How long, how long How soon we forget How long we remember How soon we forget How long, how long I N S T R U M E N T A L B R I D G E It’s catchy, like a cold Like a virus ever changing shape Never growing old We must repeat, we clone, we ape, We must repeat, we clone, we ape V A R I A T I O N 1 How soon we forget How long we remember Member, member Member, member How soon we forget How long, how long Long, how long Long, how long How soon we forget How long, how long How long How long, how long How long V A R I A T I O N 2 How soon you forget How long you remember How soon you forget, so long V A R I A T I O N 3 How soon you regret How long you remember You never forget So long, so long V A R I A T I O N 4 And soon you’ll regret What long we remembered But do you forget Our song? V A R I A T I O N 5 What do you remember? What do you recall? V A R I A T I O N 6 What do you know? You remember? Do you recall At all? V A R I A T I O N 7 What do you remember? What do you recall? What do you remember? Not a thing at all I N S T R U M E N T A L V A R I A T I O N 8 Any trace at all (Any trace at all) You will be remembered (You will be remembered) I N S T R U M E N T A L C H O R U S 3 How soon we forget How long we remember How soon we forget How long, how long How soon we forget How long we remember How soon we forget How long, how long How long, how long
9.	The Honorable Mention 01:22	lyrics	buy track
I’m so humbled I’m humiliated The fact we can’t share this award Oh, man, I really hate it But to you - my brilliant fellow nominees I submit, surrender, bow I get down o’my knees Then to each one on my team, I pledge my eternal servitude. Couldn’t do it without you! Though I take the golden statue, you deserve it, dude. Moving on! To those who stuck with me, I’m honored by how true you are I’d like to thank you all by name, But you know who you are To all my fans and Insta-followers, Thank you for buzzin’ me I would go on… But, wait! Who won? (Awww) It wasn’t me?
10.	This Golden Hour 06:29	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 Gold, they came in search of gold Forty-Niners Over sea and fruited plane Gold, more than any bank could hold And where it panned out Mined every nugget, sluice and vein Till none remain P R E – C H O R U S 1 Who, as the aura left those skies, In the gloaming, felt a magic light arise? C H O R U S Stay beautiful And never be done This golden hour This lambent sun Die beautiful Forever re-run This golden hour This setting sun V E R S E 2 Cold, they fled the Jersey cold For Niles Canyon To cast the world in better light Unfolding as the sprockets scrolled “Rolling! Action!” Praising the rays of nearly night, A perfect site P R E – C H O R U S 2 What, in the blazing sun’s demise, Could be captured of the world a camera spies? C H O R U S Stay beautiful And never be done This golden hour This lambent sun Die beautiful Forever re-run This golden hour This setting sun B R I D G E 1 Sunk below a rose horizon Fade to shadeless dusk Luring with its near nocturnal musk Vesper time Slips sublime Daylight’s husk M I D D L E V E R S E 1 So, you left Boston, Mass And betrayed your first class On the way With no B.A. And a pawnshop guitar That you strung upside down to play By Frisco Bay M I D D L E P R E – C H O R U S 1 A sailor paroled from the war From Japan, to this Golden Gate shore For a smoke at the end of the trail The folk, those whose songs tell the tale M I D D L E V E R S E 2 And you learn every note of the tune On that old guitar Coffee bar You can’t beat poet’s rates For the black and gold plates on your car And belonging where you are M I D D L E P R E – C H O R U S 2 Here you and Mom were both drawn First to meet, then to marry and spawn this climb to the top of Mount Tam How I’m now the I that I am In gold I N S T R U M E N T A L 1 M I D D L E R E F R A I N In a burst, when that first tinge appeared Midas’ touch was reverse engineered Did that graze make a deep inner blush In the bays and the sage and the brush? You assumed that penumbral refrain Where the bloom had infused the terrain With a hue. Did this glow linger on Inside you, where that dusk came to dawn? I N S T R U M E N T A L 2 V E R S E 3 Old, they came in days of old With the ice floes To a wilderness unnamed Bold adventurers untold (Muwekma Ohlone!) Gone and each creek has now been tamed And the sky inflamed C H O R U S 3 Stay beautiful And never be done This golden hour This lambent sun Die beautiful Forever outrun This golden hour This waning sun B R I D G E 2 Evening glows its golden-most Before it goes to black Every epoch folds another back Every bend Finds the end Of the track C H O R U S 4 Leave beautiful Whatever you’ve won This golden hour has spun Before you lose the light Embrace the grace of night Be done With one last golden sun
11.	The Day the Music Never Died 04:41	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 Bach was very dead His cantatas all ignored His passions had been sung And long forgotten, with the harpsichord Till they brought him back on stage To take one last concertgebouw And propped him in the pantheon Which we’re still living under now C H O R U S 1 The day the music never died The old beat out the new The classics now don’t have to go When their composers do And everyone knows all the greats This Western canon saves (Saves) ’Cause they’re the masters We’re the slaves The future world was shoved aside The day the music never died The day the music never died V E R S E 2 And thus were handed down Timeless treasures built to last Our golden oldies, broke-the-moldies, Relics from an unsurpassed Past And while this universal art No longer moves your average bloke It is unchanged, imperious It’s serious Those recent genres are just a joke. C H O R U S 2 The day the music never died The world was made to wait The hottest trends of yore Now bore no expiration date The great Three Bs have no more hits To churn out from their graves (Graves) But they’re the masters We’re the slaves The classics could not be denied The day the music never died The day the music never died B R I D G E History is the river we all swim in High water marks we rate our present by (Bye bye bye) The current current where we play Could one day wash us all away And so we’ve built a levee But the levee is dry C H O R U S 3 ( E X T E N S I O N ) The day the music never died We yielded to the old To all be crushed by footsteps we would walk in, we were told And all that’s new must now compete With what drew bygone raves (drew bygone raves) A sumptuous feast we’re force fed Till it’s all the blue-haired public craves And who’re the masters? Who’re the slaves? When tried and true beats new untried If it’s familiar, let it slide Irrelevant and mummified The day the music never died The day the music never died The day the music never, never, never, never died
12.	Dilettante 02:39	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 I can comment with intelligence on all the books I haven’t read. I know each famous name and I can quote one well-known thing he said. What little that I’ve picked up I won’t hesitate to flaunt. I’m a dilettante. V E R S E 2 I dabble here and there in sundry crafts I never learned to do. I can’t play licks on my guitar, the ones that I ask others to. I have no business making art but I do what I want. I’m a dilettante. C H O R U S 1 I’m a dilettante. And I know it, though I don’t speak French. A dilettante. My thirst for deeper knowledge is not difficult to quench. V E R S E 3 I haven’t studied calculus, nor mastered any foreign tongue. I started when I was too old, or gave up when I was too young. Yet I proceed undaunted, for I never learned to daunt. I’m a dilettante. V E R S E 4 Now, I only know ten elements. No constellations crowd my brain. I’m never shy at speaking up on things I barely can explain. Yes, I’m a normal idiot but pass as a savant. I’m a dilettante. C H O R U S 2 I’m a dilettante. Oh, but don’t call me a philistine. A dilettante. The difference is I like to show I know what both words mean. B R I D G E A little knowledge is a danger, someone said, I don’t know who. It’s never been a risk for me, though mine might be a risk for you. C H O R U S 3 I’m a dilettante. I’ve got half a mind, and that’s enough. A dilettante. And I’ll keep dilettante-ing even if you call my bluff. Glinting like a zirconium diamond in the rough.
13.	Murderer feat. Brian Dewan 03:23	lyrics	buy track
A1. I dreamt I was a murderer Returned to the scene of the crime Like a creepy tale from Hollywood For the hundred thousandth time A2. I searched for what I’d overlooked For clues I might somehow have missed Then I found the corpse had disappeared In a classic film noir twist B1. I scoured my brain for evidence I couldn’t remember a thing And the only hint of homicide Was my conscience trying to sing A3. I woke up cold and out of breath The guilt - it was all I could feel As I played the dream in memory Convinced that the murder was real A4. But I have never killed anyone At least not that I can recall So I interrogate the fantasy That sold me on taking the fall B2. The accused profess their innocence They affect an insouciant stance With their alibis and coverups They don’t leave a whisper to chance A5. But what of the blameless penitent? Remorseful for deeds never done Who believes himself the trigger man Though he’s never handled a gun A6. I learned a lot from the cinema To root for the underdog lead Where that troubled dark protagonist Has the ethical code you should heed B3. But the code is painted scenery Propped up with a tired cliché Where I dream that I’m a murderer And the feeling won’t go away
14.	Intelligent Life 03:00	lyrics	buy track
V E R S E 1 We’re searching for intelligent life And we still can’t even understand trees Has anyone deciphered the bees’ dance? Not yet, but I bet that it’s the bees’ knees. V E R S E 2 We’re glad to have opposable thumbs Yeah, they come in handy helping us grab And walking on two legs ain’t too shab- by. Not to overlook that old gift of gab C H O R U S Does that lead to intelligent life? Get a bead on intelligent life? While the birds sing songs unknowable In everyone’s yard Why do we keep falling for that old canard? If we could read What we don’t heed Is it too hard to lead an intelligent life? V E R S E 3 We scan the heavens searching for signs For signals sent out ages ago And carried by some faint radio waves for the simple thrill of letting us know V E R S E 4 We’re building a machine that can think Or can fool us into thinking it can As if that fooling were no different than Our thinking we’re no fools, at least that’s the plan C H O R U S Does that lead to intelligent life? What we’ve agreed is intelligent life? While the lizards dart inscrutably In everyone’s yard Why must we be hoisted by our own petard? This world’s a-seed with all we need Is it so hard to lead an intelligent life? An intelligent life An intelligent life An intelligent life An intelligent life.
15.	Bad Timing 05:04	lyrics	buy track
Always late. Why? Stupid! No matter how early I leave, it’s never enough. Raskin says I have a “Bastard’s degree in Dilly-Dalliance.” Huh! But look who’s got a PhD in Kissing Ass. What is time? I shouldn’t be asking. I should be answering. It’s my job... Or it will be. Once we get the chronometrics experiment approved by the LHC! Working with the Large Hadron Collider. That is big time. Fuck! We gotta get this proposal in. Speaking of which, where is Raskin? Another Dinner with the Dean today? Did he finish his partial regression analysis, or do I have to? He cuts out early, I show up late. Stupid! Why would Dr. Kim say we're the same person? Just ’cause he’s never seen the two of us together? Hah! Not even close! We’re more like matter and anti-matter. Show up at the same time, we prob’ly would annihilate each other. Matter. What does it matter? It matters a whole fucking lot. To me, maybe not to you, Raskin! Shit! I’ve seethed away another minute I’ll never get back…Bye, lost minute. And now ten more seconds. They add up! Shut up! Enough self-incrimination – recrimination! Duh! Whatever! Oh, my god! Look at this mess. Who was the last one here? Raskin, you pig! Throw your lunch away, don’t leave it on my desk! Oh, shit, it was me. That’s right! Raskin had the afternoon off today. Mea culpa. That means “sorry,” Raskin! It’s Latin. You wouldn’t understand. But then you’d never apologize, would you? Latin, why didn't I take Latin? But I still wouldn't get invited to Dinners with the Dean. For all I know, it’s “meus culpus,” in the vocative mood. Did I just say, “the vocative mood?” Shut up! You’re the one who usually leaves the mess. I have the right to do it once. Plus I was running late. Shut up! Why did Dr. Kim even put you on this proposal, Raskin? You wouldn’t know a zeptosecond from a yoctosecond. Your only interest in Planck time is to detect a quantum anomaly, for your ludicrous simulation hypothesis. Your “glitch in the matrix.” I know, "Don’t call it matrix.” But you treat our proposal like some glorified thought experiment. Ugh! Enough about Raskin. Focus. I guess that he’s good at the stuff that he does - being center of attention, going to conferences, getting published! Forget about him! I’m sparter, I mean, smarter. I know what I mean. Stupid! Why am I telling me? People who talk to themselves are geniuses, you know? Narration is something the brain does to make the “illusion” of control. “Illusion”! “Procidat deceptionem!” No, not Harry Potter. It’s Latin again! I don’t speak Latin, but I can say “illusion” in many languages. “Khuurmag baidal!” Mongolian! Genius! (Well, Google translate!) Of course, it is an illusion, Raskin. The asymmetry of time is an observational artifact of the illusion of consciousness. If you ever paid attention to what I’m trying to do here. Instead of hobnobbing with celebrity physicists. Time is an emergent manifestation of quantum entanglement. Objectively, there is no time. And there’s no time to be going on and on about this. Shut up! Blah, blah, blah. Least I didn’t have to sit through a Dinner with the Dean, with you hyping your simulation theory. What a waste of time. Fun for you, I guess. Guess? The point is not to guess, but have a high statistical probability. Confidence interval going out to 6 sigma? ’S not an illusion. I wish. I wish all the time. Listen to me! Guessing and wishing. Next I’ll be sending thoughts and prayers! I’m cringing! No wonder I’m not Dr. Kim’s favorite anymore. No. Wonder. That’s what I want! NO WONDER. The absence of uncertainty… about uncertainty. Of course, the whole point is to wonder! That’s why we got into this, isn’t it, Raskin? How so fuckin' lit this experiment’s gonna be. Two occurrences separated by a singularity, approaching simultaneity - the arrow of time breaks down! The informational temporal manifold of the universe is reduced to nothing. What’s the secret of the multiverse? Say it with me: Timing timing timing. Location location location. Now, ain’t that a little more wondrous than “It’s all just a video game”? Wondrous. Honestly, it all comes down to I like my illusion better than yours. But aren’t you supposed to be the wonderkind who can get our proposal approved, for the Large Hadron Collider? What’s your secret, Raskin? Right place, right time? Hey! Is somebody here? Shut up, for fuck’s sake! No, you shut up! Oh, hey, Raskin! It’s about time.
16.	When Byron Swam 01:34	lyrics	buy track
When Byron swam the Bosphorus, The foam aglow with phosphorus, His triumph was a loss for us. His light will ours outlast. Or did he swim the Dardanelles? And soar as had that bard done else- Where, heeding bells with ardent knells Of Golden Ages past? Oh, hell! it was the Hellespont I curse that ne’er do well his spont- aneity, his zealous bond To cross that isthmus vast. But wait! It’s not an isthmus but a strait.
17.	Our Cattywampus World 02:51	lyrics	buy track
A1. When the moon looks down upon us She is blind as she is shining With no memory of her birthing On our cattywampus world B1. Our cattywampus world Gives us summer and winter We get days that are shorter Till the long ones arrive B2. Our cattywampus world Gives us feast and famine Gives us barter and conquest Makes the fittest survive C1. This planet out of kilter Spawned the birds and bugs and flowers In disparate patterns, forms and colors The desperate plumage of a billion hours A2. Like a wooden-legged dancer Who, still living with the trauma Of an ancient violence, somehow learned to make the most of it B4. Our cattywampus world It was thrown off its axis Into this rakish angle On one day long ago B5. In the blink of a moment Completely upended Into cock-eyed rotation All in one savage blow C2. A celestial intruder Raped our molten mother ocean Delivered our silver stillborn daughter To stare at, in perpetual motion A3. Nightly we face this reminder From this rupture, we are living Our lifeblood flows from what was riven On our cattywampus world
18.	Brief Mass feat. Anand Brian Darsie, Kathi Funston & Tulasi Rain 07:41	lyrics	buy track
K Y R I E Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. G L O R I A I. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis. II. Laudamus te; benedicimus te; adoramus te; glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. III. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. IV. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dextram Patris, O miserere nobis. V. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. VI. Amen. C R E D O I. Credo in unum Deum; Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. II. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, Et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt. III. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: et homo factus est. IV. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas: Et ascendit in coelum. V. Sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni non erit finis. VI. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum, et vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per Prophetas. VII. Credo in unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. VIII. Confiteor unum baptisma, in remissionem peccatorum. IX. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum et vitam venturi sæculi. X. Amen. S A N C T U S Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis. B E N E D I C T U S Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis. A G N U S D E I Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei. Dona nobis pacem.

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Anthems & Antithets Volume 4

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released July 25, 2022

Produced by Brian Woodbury
Mixed by Dan Cubert, and Danny Blume (How, Golden)
Mastered by Danny Blume
Design by John Goss
Brian photo by Cat Gwynn
Andy Sanesi uses DW drums, Sabian symbols, Remo drum heads, Vic Firth sticks and Beato cases

Brian Woodbury: vocs, gtrs, bass, piano, keys, synths, perc, autoharp, kalimba, uke, programming, arranging, FX, misc.
Marc Muller: gtrs (Halves, Sun, How, Died); banjo (Soon, Murderer); mandolin (How)
Jim Kimo West: gtrs (Theseus); gtrs, bass & co-arranging (Where)
Sam Woodbury: gtrs, bass, keys & co-arranging (Timing)
Eli Brueggemann: piano (Theseus, Sun, Died)
David Witham: piano & co-arranging (Other); piano (Dilettante, Byron)
Peter Lurye: piano, keys & co-arranging (Where)
Elma Mayer: co-arranging (Byron)
Dan Lutz: bass (Theseus, Died)
Edwin Livingston: bass (Other)
Bob Drake: bass (Dystopian)
Oren Bloedow: bass (Honorable)
Andy Sanesi: drums (Other)
Jonathan Feinberg: drums (Halves, How, Mass); drums, perc (Where, Sun, Died, Murderer); drums, perc & co-arranging (Intelligent); vocs (Same, How); bgd vocs (Mass)
Chris Cutler: drums (Dystopian)
Emedin Rivera: perc (Same)
Pete Korpela: perc (Golden)
Sara Parkins: violins (Where, Same, Golden, Murderer, Intelligent)
Ben Powell: violin (How)
Mark Hollingsworth: woodwinds (How, Golden, Murderer, Cattywampus)
Soli Jones: oboe & English horn (Same)
Chris Tedesco: trumpet (Intelligent)
Dr. Brian W. Woodbury: trombones & co-arranging (Other); trombones (Halves, Murderer, Mass)
Devon Taylor: tuba (Murderer)
Tulasi Rain: vocs (Theseus, How, Mass); bgd vocs (Where, Golden)
Kye Adder: vocs (Theseus)
Rob Shapiro: vocs (Theseus); bgd vocs (Mass)
Kathi Funston: vocs (Honorable, Mass)
Johnny Unicorn: vocs (Sun, How)
Naomi Adele Smith: vocs (Sun); bgd vocs (Mass)
Brian Dewan: vocs (Murderer)
Amy Denio: vocs (How)
Amy Engelhardt: vocs (How)
Bill Burnett: vocs (How)
Paul F. Perry: vocs (How); bgd vocs (Golden)
Anand Darsie: vocs (Mass)
John thomas Oaks: whistling (Murderer)
Dan Cubert: FX (Theseus, Where, Dystopian, Honorable)

All songs written by Brian R. Woodbury and copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI), except:

"The Other Brian Woodbury" written by Brian R. Woodbury & Dr. Brian W. Woodbury, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI) and Brian W. Woodbury (ASCAP);

"Where It Came From" written by Brian R. Woodbury & Peter Lurye, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI) and Palco Music (BMI);

"Two Halves" written by Brian R. Woodbury & Kimara Sajn, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI) & Precognitive Music (ASCAP);

"How Soon We Forget, How Long We Remember" written by Brian R. Woodbury, Amy Engelhardt, Paul F. Perry, Jonathan Feinberg, Amy Denio, Bill Burnett, Chris Rael, Cindy Shapiro & Marc Doten, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI), I ARE Music (ASCAP), Paul F. Perry (BMI), What Are Songs (BMI), Spoot Music (ASCAP), Bill Burnett (ASCAP), Morbid Stork Music (BMI), Lost in Sound Music (ASCAP) & Plastic Artichoke Music (BMI);

"Murderer" written by Brian R. Woodbury & John thomas Oaks, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI) & Caliora Music (ASCAP);

"Bad Timing" written by Brian R. Woodbury & Joe Moe, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI) and GoJoeMoe Music (ASCAP);

"When Byron Swam" written by Brian R. Woodbury & Elma Mayer, copyright 2022 Some Philharmonic Music (BMI)

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Brian Woodbury Los Angeles, California

Brian Woodbury is a Los Angeles composer, lyricist and bandleader who writes musicals, post-modern jazz compositions, quirky pop, country songs and music for children's TV.

brianwoodbury.com

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