Swedelife!

Baby - Birds

Download: Birds by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 12: Birds 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 3:29

Bab likes to repeat a phrase or a word for a chorus. It's his thing. His style. His poetry. I like the way this one comes out. Here she comes. Bab walks on eggshells.

Birds features some nice pedal steel by Dave Mayer.

It was summer of 2001 and Bab and Jen were planning a trip for September to see our friend Coluzzi in New York...

12 birds

nature brought us together
madness tears us down
i was thinkin' about tomorrow
i was thinkin' about that today
could be someone that i know
or a stranger i suppose
could be all of them in one
isn't she pretty

here she comes (4x)

i was thinkin' eventually
we could fly away like birds
i was thinkin' about tomorrow
i was thinkin' about that today
in the distance i could see
the girl who could possibly be
the girl who says she'll marry me
isn't she pretty

here she comes (12x)

i was thinkin' eventually
we could fly away like birds
i was thinkin' about tomorrow
i was thinkin' about that today

scarp drums
spoons piano
dave pedal steel/ guitar
bab guitar/ the rest

Download: Birds by Baby

Baby - Punk Bitch

Download: Punk Bitch by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 11: Punk Bitch 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 2:12

2001 was bad... 2002 was fucked. 2002 Boo hoo. Too much went on in the lives of those close to this thing to mention. Let's just say that a lot of shit happend. 2002 Boo hoo...

Thank god this song kicks ass.

Here are bab's lyrics and notes from 9/12/2001

11 punk bitch

1969, gonna suck iggy pop like a bottle o' wine
1972, gonna pogo like a ghost and say fuck you

punk bitch you're a stupid motherfucker your a
punk bitch gonna take it up with you sucker, etc... take it up now

1986, g.g. gonna peepee and do some tricks
1991, gettin' married to jesus with a shotgun

punk bitch you're a stupid motherfucker yeah your a
punk bitch gonna take it up with you sucker, etc... take it up now

2002, boo hoo

history, prophecy, or tomfoolery ?

scarp drums
spoons piano
bab the rest

Download: Punk Bitch by Baby

Baby - YANAJ

Download: YANAJ by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 10: YANAJ 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 0:45

Raw, distorted, grating reprise of You Are Not Alone Jen...

From Bab:

10 yanaj

same words as 2. spoons suggested doing this song ala gbv. i think he probably didn't want to play it anymore seeing as this song had umpteen versions over the course of the sessions. i did what i was told like a good little baby. this is the result. now eat your vegetables.

bab

Download: YANAJ by Baby

Baby - This Is My Body

Download: This Is My Body by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 9: This Is My Body 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 0:00

I'll post the lyrics and notes later.

Here is my feeling about this track... Bab has written a few songs where he seems to put himself in martyr's shoes. He's alone in his struggle against the forces against him. Physical, artistic, emotional, etc. There's a loneliness to these songs that comes through to me. I'm not trying to get into anyones head, this is just how I feel about this track. Of course there's the Jesus thing. But I don't want to touch that one...

9 this is my body (alexander/ strachan)
just a cartoon or tragicomedy
in my room my eyes open to see
wake for today is tomorrow


this is my body now wasting away
this is my body now wasted this way
this is my body christ wasting away

lesions and sores accost my hands and face
a cocktail to postpone this trageday
wake for today is tomorrow
wake for today the new sodom

this is my body now wasting away
this is my body now wasted this way
this is my body christ wasting away

yeah i got time for all these dreams
i got time or so it seems

this is my body now wasting away (5x)
this is my body now wasted this way
this is my body christ wasted this way

wake for today is tomorrow
wake for today

i felt that the spirit of dale was in the room when writing this song. the tenor and sound were very much like a dilsong. i copped a couple licks and words from a long remembered crackpiece called i got time, and crammed 'em into t. i. m. b., juxtaposed to the standard j.c. metaphor employed in various other babjingles. enjoy!

scarp drums
spoons piano
bab the rest

Download: This Is My Body by Baby

Baby - Jackass

Download: Jackass  by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 8: Jackass, 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 3:15

Jackass rawks. Bab Pukes at the end of it. That's really him puking. Listen to the vomit pouring into his hands. I don't know what you think, but that's rock 'n' roll.

I uploaded more photos today and changed the design for the site again. I have no idea how many times I might change the site design. But I'm going to stick with this one for awhile. I like the green from the elephant. Kinda puke green. Just like this song.

Here are bab's notes. Again, these were written in Manhattan on 9/12/2001...

  jackass

kinda sounded like a pixie or a hit and run
had a sorta bryter layter fucked up sense of fun
while all the kid's were screaming the ringin' in his brain
grew into a cacophony kinda like coltrane (soultrain)

i'm not a jackass (4x)

as he went on to fortune all the little cute
kiddy punk rockers, made him wanna puke

i'm not a jackass (4x)

shoot me

i'm not a jackass (4x)

i'm not (4x)

(puke)

the recording of jackass was the first sign of the magic. it was a hot day and i wanted to truly convey the frustration of being a jackass (not). during the second take i was singing so hard to achieve "the goal" that i started to feel faint from the heat and intensity. as i propelled forward my "singing" began to  cackle, then crackle and finally bray like a donkey in heat (hee haw). finally as i sang the last not i pushed thru to the other side of the magic and puked. my reflexes were fast as i caught the spew in my cupped hands and gingerly carried my prize to the sink for deposit. i cleaned myself up, dabbed the bile streaks off of bilbolb's marshal jcm 800 and ran to the deck to see if this boon, nay bonus, nay GIFT was captured on tape. bon appetit!

d$ drums
spoons rhodes
bab the rest

Download: Jackass by Baby

Baby - Laughing

 

Download: Laughing by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 7: Laughing 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 2:58

Laughing allows us to slow down a bit. Breathe a bit and contemplate what we're listening to. I know one thing about this song. Bab recorded it live with just his acoustic, then rewound the tape, hit record and  played it again on a different track. The result is string theory. Two dimensions intertwined, weaving in and out of one another. Syncing and resonating between the two is a lovely, lonely song.

Here are the notes and lyrics. He explains it better than I do:

7  laughing

picture yourself a conjurer of dreams
incanting in song, soothsayer of anythings
time tripping forward to yesterdays made avail
picture yourself laughing
laugh laugh laugh laugh
laughing

picture yourself a scientist of feeling
through roses and past, you can't stop seeing
the future that blooms, the good side of everythings
picture yourself laughing
laugh laugh laugh laugh
laughing


during the creation of this album i had the realization that many of my songs present and past had predicted occurrences that would happen in the future. from death to love to illness, etc... some could be construed as coincidence while others were so frightening in their accuracy that i had to believe this to be more than chance. this led me to further song analysis and further predictions dating as far back as '81. many of these songs came to me in dreams and new dreamsongs were occurring at an alarming rate. i talked excitedly to beach, spoons, jen and others and we laughed our asses off about the possibility of me being a soothsayer thru song. we called me nostrababus. this concept coupled with the idea of music being magic was the basis of this song. i think laughing brings us closer to god and that laughing is magic and that god is magic. god = magic = music = laughing i think might be the proper equation.

in the recording of laughing no effect, headphones, click track, visual cue, or monitor was used. i basically played and sang it and then rewound the tape and played and sang it again on a separate track. i did these two tracks without the use of headphones for two reasons:
a) to see if they would somehow thru the magic come out perfectly in sync with each other. or
b) to see if i could conjure some other form of magic by just closing my eyes and believing. this is what happened.
do the math.
laughing is dedicated to john lennon, paul mccartney, brian wilson, roger mcguinn, syd barrett, david gilmore, nick drake and dale strachan, all of whom at one point or another had the power to create the magic. i tried to put a drop of each of their potions in the song. should i shut the fuck up now?

bab guitar/ vocal
bab guitar/ vocal
god the rest 

Download: Laughing by Baby

Baby - I'm Not Smilin'

Download: I'm Not Smilin' by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 5: I'm Not Smilin', 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3, 5:36

Damn, I'm not smilin' either. I'm pissed off. Fuck this shit! I wrote this a while back. I thought I'd re-post it in light of today/night, whatever.

What the hell is wrong with people? I'm telling you right now, that getting caught up in the hype of the music industry lifestyle or thinking that its anything to be admired or sought after is a complete waste of time. Most people involved in the industry have some sort of complex. Something is wrong with them. Perhaps it's a disease. I don't know. But to put a musician or an artist or some person born with the ability to stay on key and shake their ass on a pedestal is a ridiculous thing to do. And to think that because you call yourself a manager or an A&R person or a record executive or anything the like makes you special is delusional. Thinking that you know how to market an artist also makes you delusional. No one is more important than anyone else no matter what. No matter who they are or where they come from or what they do or what they say or what they look like. A person is a person is a person. Placing importance on this beyond what it truly is-- a way to pass the waning moments until your inevitable demise-- is a waste of that precious time.

Be yourself. Be true to yourself. Be honest. Don't care what people think about you. Do your best. Work hard for no one else but you. You are all that matters. Seek out truth. Your spirit will feel much better for it.

I'm not sure where I was going with that. But it felt good reading it again. I guess I'm tired of bullshit. Who isn't? And there's been a lot of it around lately.

Tomorrow: What this is all about.

Here are the lyrics to I'm Not Smilin':

5  i'm not smilin' w/ reprise

let the rain drown my pity sitting shitty with no floor under me
you woke from a bad dream, scream, cry, kick me in the balls send me away
she come she come she come she come she come she come
she come she come she come come come come
i'm not smilin'

the rain that washes all my sins into the gutter that flows to the sea
goes up thru polluted skies pours down to fill my pain inside of me
she come she come she come she come she come she come
she come she come she come come come come
i'm not smilin'

choose one :
a) the organ is the instrument of the devil
b) spooner's hands are the devil's playground
c) $ is the root of all spooner
d) c) = e)
f) ?
g)

scarp drums
spoons organ
bab the rest

Download: I'm Not Smilin' by Baby

Baby - Mary

Download: Mary  by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 6: Mary, 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3

On the 5th day of Swedelife my true love gave to me. The 6th song from Pourquoi...
Yes this one is out of order. My fault. I'm still working out the kinks. I'll have the 5th track available tomorrow for all you desperate audiophiles out there...

Mary is an epic piece. Clocking in at over 7 minutes and 9 megabytes, this track is a swooping allegory of the entire album. It moves. It travels. It's one of my favorite songs on this album. Maybe that's why I'm eager to release it.

By this time Bab has realized that the subject matter in the songs he's written over the past couple of years prior to Pourquoi has come to pass. His songs are predicting the future. So because of this, it's making him nervous about the current batch he's written along with some of the visions he's had during the writing process...

Again, I'll post the lyrics and notes for this track this evening. Like I said, I'm still working out the kinks of updating a blog of this nature on a daily basis...

6  mary

she has days with cloudy skies oh yeah
a heartbreak kiss in all her sighs oh yeah
to make herself happy no one else can be
quite as sad as she
drunken discord slurs her words together
fall down as she's dissing the hairdresser
mary crack a smile distant for awhile
bags under her eyes

she's cryin' (4x)

the magician's birthday was a joke
pulled a couple tricks to please the folk
when the air had cleared mary disappeared
in a puff of smoke

she's cryin' (6x)

burn, crawl and blister yeah (4x)

she's cryin' (6x)

she has days with cloudy skies oh yeah

scarp drums
spoons rhodes
jen bass
bab the rest

Download: Mary  by Baby

Baby - Cactus Flower

Download: Cactus Flower by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 4: Cactus Flower, 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3

Here we are on day four and track four of Baby's Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!.

I was pinging Cale today and he was saying that it was funny that the technology finally caught up to this concept. I hadn't thought about it like that, but he's right. We've been wanting to do this for years. This wasn't possible not too long ago. Certainly not when we first started it, and definitely not with the added distribution methods such as podcasting.

Example: the tracks are now hosted by Ourmedia. It's an incredible service developed to assist sites just like this. They are creating an environment dedicated to supporting the efforts of artists everywhere with digital media to share. I no longer need to worry about disk space or bandwidth. It's a beautiful thing.

Speaking of beautiful. The image of the Cactus Flower was graciously provided by "astrocruzan" at flickr. Please check out his other amazing works. Thanks Don.

More on the making of this album... Bab was scaring me and others with his wild ideas. I remember getting off the phone with him and feeling sick to my stomach. Like he uncovered a disturbing secret that should have been left alone... more tomorrow.

For those of you who don't know, Bab is Tim Alexander. Not of Primus. But of Bab. He wrote, produced, and engineered this album.

Here are his notes and lyrics for Cactus Flower:
4 cactus flower, non?

christian was a runaway
her mother was a drag
worked with antioxidants
and made body bags
do another line of blow
yaketty yaky yak
cobwebs streaming from her nose
teabag his ballsack

mother what you had me do
mother what you had me do
mother what you had me do
mother what you had me do


flew down south to mexico
in her gold cadillac
frigged herself with vaseline
in the yucatan
blew a circuit in her brain
on mezcal and peyote
impaled herself on a prickly pear
and howled like a coyote

cactus flower
cactus flower
cactus flower
cactus flower, non?


second bab blow reference in entire song thing time continuum bulb etc...

pop drums
bab the rest

Download: Cactus Flower by Baby

Baby - Medicine

Download: Medicine by Baby

Artist: Baby 
Album: Pourquoi Liquoi Sisz Boom Ba!
Track 3: Medicine 160 kbps 44kHz Stereo MP3

Cut three from Pourquoi. One thing that I love about this album is the mixing of styles with a cohesive vision and feeling. It's almost like theater. Ebbs and flows, repeating themes, etc. It's a grand work. I think you'll agree over the coming weeks.

The reason why I'm doing this is because I love the music. I feel that others need to hear it and hopefully will appreciate it as much as I do. There are other reasons too, which I'll get into later, but for now just dig the sound.

As Bab was in the middle of recording this album, he kept calling me and telling me about his wild visions. All of a sudden he said that his songs were predicting the future. And you know what? They were. He was tapping into the "crystal shit."  We were calling him "Nostrababus."
It truly was getting freaky.

I'll have to post the notes and lyrics tonight. I don't have them with me right now.

>> Here are the notes and lyrics from Bab...

3 medicine

medicine sticky like candy in the sun
put to rest all of the demons that come
medicine

and the nite in his eyes
wants to shine like his gun
and the lies on his tongue
taste like medicine
medicine

pipe bombs filled up with sugar and toy guns
to massacre all the toy children as they run
medicine

and the nite in his eyes
wants to shine like his gun
and the lies on his tongue
taste like medicine
medicine

and the nite in his eyes
wants to shine like his gun
and the flies on his tongue
taste like medicine
medicine


mommy medicine (3x)

see story after 2

d$ drums spoons rhodes/ mellotron bab the rest

Now take your medicine.
Download: Medicine by Baby