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/ 02 July 2009
It seems there was a lapse tonight in my ability to become easily distracted, and I was able to finally get around to the mammoth task of tagging all of my mp3's and re-uploading them in zip files for easy downloading. I hate tedious jobs like that, but it was worth it! Everything is now nicely organized into album folders, and when you download the zip files you will not only get the lyrics, album art, and songs all in one but every song is properly tagged so they will no longer show up as "unknown artist" on your mp3 players and on your computer! The songs can be downloaded from our webpage (in the mp3 section), our myspace (www.myspace.com/theloadedwhispers), and from quixodelic records (www.daydreamgeneration.com)
Apologies to everyone who has requested this of me for such a long time. Hopefully, now there will be less confusion and frustration with the new "system" (Right now I'm laughing at the fact that I would regard simple and logical organization as a system! haha...I'm just so not used to being pulled together and not going off in a million directions at once)
Thanks for your patience and happy listening.
x Syd
A review by Steven Small
/ 02 June 2009
We recently recieved a flattering review from Steven Small of Quixodelic Records (Utica Flower Co respectively). This is the first time that someone has really understood where we are coming from, from the signposts in my music of our greatest inspirations, to the feelings we are constantly striving to convey. It's always important not to hang on reviews - whether they are negative or positive. This will deter honest communication with the muse. You should ALWAYS create art as if no one will see/hear/know of it but yourself... But, it sure is a nice feeling to find out someone gets what we are doing. Thank you Smally!
Syd Lane from The Loaded Whispers says there are two kinds of music - “That which moves you, and that which doesn’t”. I challenge anyone to tell me that the music she and poet partner-in-crime Jeremiah James make doesn’t fall into the former category.
From the first song I ever heard (”Easily Loved / Easily Hated” on Daydream Generation 6) I knew that this was very special music, but nothing prepared me for just how mind-blowingly great a full-length Loaded Whispers record would be. It was a weekday and with an early morning working start I was planning on being asleep no later than midnight when I first downloaded “All Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth”. My intention was to listen to a couple of songs before I drifted off. In actual fact from the moment “I’ve Got Sunshine” magically burst into my ears utterly stunning me to the pillow in amazement, there was no way I was drifting anywhere until the last notes of final track “Up The Shore” had rung out.
The composite elements of this self-recorded Dublin duo are actually quite simple. Syd Lane has one of the most incredible voices you are likely to ever hear, gliding and soulful, carrying hers and Jer’s words over stripped back tremelo electric guitar or shimmering piano melodies. At the root of it all is simply great songs - heartfelt without being mawkish, and cool enough to carry even the most charged of emotional content to a different stratosphere in your mind. An instantly recognisable breeze of sound blows through the recording moving it in the same direction, so even though a whole handful of genres are toppled like dominoes (psychedelic folk, piano pop ballads, Pixie-esque guitar, country-tinged folk blues, and 60s acid rock & roll), it’s the consistency that kills you - that feeling that the flawless songs surely at some point much reach some kind of logical conclusion and snuff out. But no, even as the playful (and damn brilliant) Carpenter’s nod right at the very end makes you grin, The Loaded Whispers are still whispering away from you.
Stand out tracks? Oh where do I begin? “I Got Big Dreams” is beautiful and poignant and timeless, could have been written in any of the last five decades and been loved by any of its generations. “Tell Me How” is almost like hearing Nico hitting high notes - so good that it appears (quite rightly) twice on the record. “Eidolons” is a feisty boy/girl duet full of fire barely concealing the laughter below the surface. “Charlotte” is the kind of song that someone would have sold their own Grandmother for to put in Marianne Faithful’s mouth in 1965. “Suicide In The Trenches” is a lyrical heavyweight synchronised to perfection in Syd’s voice. And if I had to pick a favourite of all the songs it would probably be “Sick of Writing Sad Songs” - I don’t think a day has passed since I first heard this record when I haven’t gone back to it at least once, with it’s rolling majestic piano and understated explosive melodies. Some days I’ve listened to more times than I can count on my fingers and toes.
So there you go. If you haven’t heard The Loaded Whispers before then now’s your chance - I can vouch from experience that “Artists Use Lies…” is as great an introduction to a genuine talent as you are going to find this year. And if you already know about them, then I’m sure you will have been nodding your head in agreement through these clumsy paragraphs where I’ve attempted to convey just how great a record this is. Sometimes when you discover a band whose music you love you get an insatiable urge to go out and find every song they’ve ever recorded and gorge yourself over the following weeks and months and hopefully years of your life. In this instance though, I feel completely different - I want to savour this one, give it weeks at least to go back to it again and again, hear things I didn’t hear the first twenty times around, and re-hear the things I’d happily hear twenty times more. Listening to it now as I write this I still feel as stunned as I did when I first heard it on the wrong side of midnight. Long may the wind of song whisper.
You can download THE LOADED WHISPERS
“Artists Use Lies To tell The Truth” for FREE at our Quixodelic Record Store!
Download our album at Quixodelic Records / 19 May 2009
Special thanks to Smally at Quixodelic records for putting out our latest record
"Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth".
You can download the album for free at
Quixodelic Records.
Quixodelic Records is home to many amazing musicians, and all the music is free. It's so rare to come across a venture such as this. Even in the midst of this money obsessed world, Jer and I have discovered that the dreamers are still out there, and we are not alone. What a lovely feeling.
Peace and understanding,
Syd
Music From the Adventures of Pete & Pete by Polaris / 06 May 2009
By far, the best record I have heard in the last 2 years is Music From the Adventures of Pete & Pete by Polaris. This is an old record, the soundtrack to one of my favourite television shows of all time. The music, and the show are intertwined and deeply intrinsic to each others existence but in my opinion The Adventures of Pete and Pete is a show formed almost entirely around the brilliance of the music. This record is an absolute pop sensation. Every song is overflowing with so many clever little details which are discovered after every listen. I still hear things in these songs I never heard the last time I had the pleasure of listening. And Mark Mulcahy's voice.... He is one of my favourite singers. I can hear so many singers who have been influenced by the way he sings, like Thom Yorke for example.
If you "get" this record, truly understand it, you will know it to be really special. Unparallelled in its genius. This is emotional, believable music which will comfort, excite, and bring you to tears. This is music that expresses the sentiment I hold closest to my heart which is that the truest excellence is in simplicity. And, if you are an unfortunate soul who doesn't "get" it then I can only pity you!! A world where Polaris' music is regularly played on the radio is a world I want to live in. GET THIS RECORD! Your emotional soul's salvation depends upon it.
FEAR NO ART!
Syd
10 Songs / 15 April 2009
I neglected to take notice of the fact that we are now permitted to upload ten songs onto our profile on myspace (http://www.myspace.com/theloadedwhispers). I spent a long time trying to pick and choose from all my songs, and ended up asking Jer and picking randomly. I cannot choose favourites! When I pick one, I realize that by choosing something I have blocked out all other possibilities and then I take it back and ponder some more. Finally, I have settled on:
Not A Poet Be: This is a song I've recorded most recently and will be released on the record I'm putting out in several weeks under my own name, and not as The Loaded Whispers. The lyrics are adapted from a poem Jer wrote several years ago. Most of the time, my songs come to me in their complete and whole form. I hear them in my head, and put them down exactly as they appear to my minds eye. This song was no exception. I was feeling incredibly overwhelmed with the recent understanding I have come to, which is how lonely it is to be peerless. How difficult it is to stand unwavering, alone, declaring your emotional honesty to the tempest of humanity. Though, given the option I'd never sacrifice my ability to create. It isn't easy, it's a damned heart breaker even, but who cares? Easy would be boring. I love the struggle, the constant fight to live, and to prove you're making the most of your time here. I'm always reminded of what life means to me, and I spend my days in loving contemplation. Ignorance is no bliss to me. I find solace in understanding the terror and the joy.
Easily Loved / Easily Hated: It's quite simple really. Most don't understand me, and they jump to opposite ends of the spectrum rather easily. I am easily loved, and easily hated. When I said to Jer I was easily loved and easily hated he said "You must be doing something right". I can dig that.
Enable This: "I used to care, but things have changed". The inspiration for this song was when I came to realize that you can only be hurt by others if you care about what they think and feel. When someone only ever hurts you, enjoys making you sad, judges you and puts head trips on you, then you have to ask yourself why it is that you want this persons love or approval. Know your worth, find your own love, and never look back.
Yellow Rose Lane: A dream I had, of a feeling and a time that was not mine and never could be. I was listening to a lot of Scott Walker and Francoise Hardy at the time, and like everything else I adore, they got inside my head and haven't come out yet.
Entropy: This song is a poem Jer wrote many years ago. When I heard it, I was so moved that I had to put it to music. I think it is one of his most feeling poems, he was one with his breath at the time he wrote it.
Say Yes: This song is by the late but never forgotten Elliott Smith. I covered this several years ago, to go on an Elliott Smith covers compilation. I love covering songs, because I want to bring important music to people. Many people have asked me about this song, and in directing them to the composer they were able to find a musician who they may not have otherwise thought about. I think Elliott Smith is one of the great songwriters of our generation, and everyone should hear his songs.
Tomorrow Whispers: I'm not sure how this came about. I was playing guitar, and reading all the writing on our walls, and I kept coming back to "Tomorrow whispers while yesterday screams" which is a line Jer wrote. Under that, I had written "Rather than love, money, faith, fame and fairness, give me truth" which is something Henry David Thoreau determined. Suddenly, the guitar line was born and the melody followed very shortly after.
Tell Me How: An inability to deal with the feelings in a situation, and the subsequent frustration which followed brought this song forth. There is no obscurity here, it's an exhale. It's the thought, that I was born a long way from home.
Letting Love Guide My Soul: A song adapted from a poem Jer wrote. I found the poem to be very beautiful in its simplicity, and as I was reading it, the melody poured out immediately. I adored its message, and it was of great import to me. I hope I grow wise and not bitter, letting love guide my soul every.
Butterflies: This song almost didn't make it out. I have MANY songs I refuse to show anyone, not even Jer. I showed this to him several years ago when I recorded a vocal melody to his poem, and immediately I gave into my fears and refused to let the song out again. Jer has always pestered me to release this song because he loves it, but I always felt too exposed, like too much of me was in it and that I should hide it from the world. Every 6 months or so he'd ask me about Butterflies, and each time I'd tell him to forget about it and give up because there was no way I was letting anyone hear this song. Finally I caved in, around the same time that I began to lose my inhibitions through no longer caring (no longer hanging on the approval of others). I'm glad I let it go, because I do love this song and he was right to keep pushing me.
FEAR NO ART!
Syd
Tell Me How Part Deux / 20 March 2009
I originally recorded two versions of Tell Me How, and decided to put one on the record while sort of ditching the other. I went back today and listened to the one I gave up on, and I decided I rather like it.
Here it is.
Tell Me How Part Deux Right click, save target as, voila the song is yours.
FEAR NO ART!
Syd
How I record / 19 March 2009
I've been asked many times how I record my music. This post will answer that question.
I use a Roland RD-700GX electric piano, a Roland KC-550 piano amp, a Fender Telecaster, a cheap little Behringer guitar amp, a Tanglewood acoustic electric, a Line 6 POD X3, Cubase studio software, and an E-MU 1829 soundcard. I also use an autoharp, a melodica, a cheap little Harley Benton jazz bass, a flute, and tambourines and shakers. Recently, a friend has lent me a Steinberger Street Guitar and a Blade electric guitar which have been extremely inspiring for me.
I record my vocals and instrumentation simultaneously, rather than overdubbing. So whatever I can play and sing at the same time, I will do. I used to record instrument tracks and sing over them, but I find that recording my vocal and instrument at the same time brings out a more honest performance from me, where my guard is completely down. The POD has been brilliant for me, it made live recording viable again and I've loved every moment of it.
What I will say is that it is NOT about the equipment. Not at all. Yes, over the years I have acquired these instruments but what I learned was that it was never necessary, moreso icing on the cake. I recorded Sola with a little computer mic and my dads old acoustic guitar on N-Track studio. Later I began to delve into midi recording, and have now come back out of that. How I record now is essentially a slightly more advanced version of what I did with Sola. All you need is a mic, and a simple (free, or extremely inexpensive) studio program such as N-Track and you can make beautiful music. It's more interesting that way too, because necessity is the mother of invention, and I really prefer more lo-fi, rough sounding songs that have a real swagger. Listen to The Moldy Peaches or The Brian Jonestown Massacre or Daniel Johnston or Jad Fair or The Velvet Underground.
The most important piece of the puzzle is the songs, and the feeling!! So many people forget the songs nowadays... They have all these amazing sounds they can create with all their programs and knobs and buttons... But underneath all of that bravado is no song, and no real feeling, and thus it's an excercise in futility. A dick measuring contest.
HERE IS THE TEST: If you can't cut your song down to nothing but a voice and a single instrument without it still sounding great then you don't have a song. If taking away the fancy production value of your song means you're left with nothing then you haven't written a great song. If your song is shit, then no amount of sparkley magical sounds and effects will make it work.
If you HAVE written a great song, then it won't matter if it's scratchy and rough and loose... It won't matter how you record it. You could do it on a simple dictaphone if you like! Your song will shine through. There are people out there who can feel and understand great music regardless of the package it comes in, and besides that fact - Your only concern should be impressing yourself, not others. Someone once told me, to make music as if no one will ever hear it but yourself. That is truth.
FEAR NO ART!
Syd
Best Radio Station Ever, and Jers role in The Loaded Whispers / 19 March 2009
The Loaded Whispers radio station on lastfm.com is the most brilliant radio station of all time. No, I'm not just saying this because it stems from my band. This station plays truly incredible music! I couldn't be happier with the music that gets linked to mine.
The Loaded Whispers Radio Station
Today, while listening I've heard I'm Unkind by me, Come Back From San Francisco by the Magnetic Fields, Know by Nick Drake, Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Neil Young , Lua by Bright Eyes, All Day and All Of The Night by The Kinks, Blowin' In The Wind by Bob Dylan, So Alive by Ryan Adams, Sleepless Nights by Gram Parsons, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side by The Smiths, Baby Britain by Elliott Smith, To Die A Virgin by The Divine Comedy, In A Funny Way by Mercury Rev, Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground) By Grandaddy, Pale Blue Eyes by The Velvet Underground, Itchycoo Park by The Small Faces, Chord Organ Blues by Daniel Johnston, Little Moses by The Carter Family.
These are some of my favourite bands. All of this music is the music that made my own music possible. Art doesn't exist inside a vacuum, and I'm like a sponge absorbing all of the influences Jer brings my way.
In fact, really that is Jers most important role in our little artistic collective. He finds great music and brings it to me. Over the years he has accumulated a massive golden music collection. He has an ear for songs, and he's never wrong. He instinctively knows what music is important. Not only does he have an ear which recognizes great melody, but he has an instinct for words. First meeting him, his poems were like a magnet I couldn't ignore. When I read his thoughts and dreams, his point of view, I just knew I had to write songs around those words. It has now evolved into my stepping out of my comfort zone and being comfortable and brave enough to write my own words... But Jer's knack for cadence and rhyme is undeniable. A perfect example of that is his contribution to A Beautiful Sadness. He wrote the second verse to go with the first verse which I wrote, and the end result is seamless even though it was my story. He understood, he said what I wanted to say.
People are ALWAYS asking us why Jer doesn't play an instrument, why he doesn't become more involved in the music. The arrogance of that question never ceases to shock and disgust me. First of all, no one should just play an instrument for the sake of it - not everyone is a musician and not everyone can or should be. It's a gift, a calling, something which cannot be faked and if you are not a musician you cannot pretend to be one. Second of all, why is it percieved that what Jer does is not enough? He is the cultural minister for The Loaded Whispers and a hugely talented writer. His being around me is paramount for the music to happen. He makes it possible for me to create my music, by giving me an arena of freedom where I get to concentrate solely on music, by showing me the songs that changed my life, and by writing the words that moved me to wrap melodies around them. So, to suggest that he has to be playing guitar because he 'looks the part' or because he should be 'doing more' is pathetic and it demeans both Jer and I.
WELL. I've said what I wanted to say.
Fear no art!
Syd
Beautiful Imagery from Maco / 12 March 2009
The cover of our new record Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth is a gorgeous photograph taken by the seriously talented
Maco. (see her flickr account
here.) I found her photographs online, and when I saw this photo I fell in love... It looks like what I see in my dreams, all hazy, and pretty and so rich with colour. I asked her if I could use her photo as my cover, and she kindly allowed me to do so.
It's with situations such as this that I appreciate the internet so much. To live in a world where a girl in Ireland can connect with a girl in Japan and art can be intertwined so seamlessly is a wonderful thing. So many amazing doors to open, and walk through with ease.
Do check out her webpage, and her ethereal photography. She is a very talented artist, her eye is remarkable.
FEAR NO ART!
x Syd
New Record up, Free download / 4 March 2009
My new record "Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth" is now up and available for free download.
It can also be listened to (and downloaded) on Lastfm. com
Fear no art!
Syd Lane
Jeremiah James is a mirror for anguish / 13 Feb 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX90tiQt-LU
Lastfm.com / 6 Feb 2009
We are now on Last fm (
Our page on last fm) which is kind of cool, as I think it makes it easier to listen to our tracks. They are all free to download from there as well with the exception of Obliterate the Myths.
Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth will be released very shortly. I am still recording, but I've decided on the final songs for this record. I'm really excited about this one. I've so enjoyed my switch over from midi to real time. I'll never go back to midi again! But hey, you have to start out at the bottom using whatever is available to you. Jer has really set up my studio over the last few years, and I now have almost all the instruments I need to play live rather than having to resort to synthy sound bites. If it wasn't for Jer, I'd still be recording through a second-hand computer mic with just me and my fathers old guitar. Although in saying that, those days of simple beauty will always be precious to me. A record is a moment in time, one you can never re-create. Even if I wanted to do Sola all over again now, it would never have the same feel it did then. We are always changing. I'm not the same person I was then, as I'm not the same person I was yesterday. Change or die!
Peace and understanding,
xx Syd
Just a thought... / 26 Jan 2009
Intriguing thoughts for the day.
Never destroy when you can create!
Thank you Brian Wilson for that gem.
One other...
Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.
Thank you Oscar Wilde for that sentiment.
Also, isn't the organ in "America" by Simon and Garfunkle so divine? I adore that organ... Swirling melodious driving wonder.
x Syd
Our current favourites / 25 Jan 2009
Some of the songs we've been listening to lately.
Sweetness - Yes
Good Times - The Animals
Cause I love her - Brian Jonestown Massacre
Why I Cry - The Magnetic Fields
Your Long White Fingers - The Gothic Archies
Lovers from the Moon - The Magnetic Fields
Waiting for October - Polaris
Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters
1842 - Samamidon
Moonchild - King Crimson
Grey Dawn - William Carpenter
Jug Band Blues - Syd Barrett
Beautiful Isle O'er the Sea - Anita Carter
Delia's Gone - Johnny Cash
One Too Many Mornings - Bob Dylan
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield
Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces
I See A Darkness - Bonnie Prince Billy
A House Is Not A Motel - Love
All I really Want To Do - The Byrds
Eight Miles High - The Byrds
I Wasn't Born To Follow - The Byrds
I Can Hear The Grass Grow - The Move
Lazy Sunday - The Small Faces
Alone Again Or - Love
Dim Lights - The Flying Burrito Brothers
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Bob Dylan
Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen
Up On Cripple Creek - The Band
Lola - The Kinks
Waterlook Sunset - The Kinks
Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks
Watching The Wheels - John Lennon
Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale - Love
Here Comes The Nice - The Small Faces
She's Not There - The Zombies
Lazy Observations / 25 Jan 2009
Why do listeners/journalists/lazy observers compare musicians to eachother based upon sex? Any time there is a female musician who makes music which isn't along the lines of the Pussycat Dolls or Kate Nash she is compared to Kate Bush. Regardless of what the actual music sounds like, regardless of whether the songs that this girl writes are in a similar style as Kate Bush or not. They are compared, because they are girls. No one ever thinks of comparing a female to her male 'counterparts'. She can only ever be compared to other girls. I recently heard the band Florence and The Machine being compared to Kate Bush. This, I DO NOT understand. Their music is nothing alike! Even their way of singing is nothing alike. Where the hell did this comparison come from?
People do this to me all the time. They tell me I sound like other girls, whose music is NOTHING like the music I make. We're only compared because we're female. I had someone recently tell me that I was like Katie Melua. What? Our music is nothing alike. Infact, even our voices are nothing alike. Why such a comparison? Simply because we both have vaginas? I always get the Mazzy Star comparison - which I understand in the sense that we both have soft voices and perhaps sometimes sing in a similar manner. But our songs are nothing alike, I have never even listened to many Mazzy Star songs and do not draw inspiration from them so this comparison doesn't make sense to me.
I don't generally like comparing myself to other musicians because I think it detracts from the music we are all making. There are only two kinds of music, that which stirs the soul and that which doesn't. I wish that people could describe music without comparing it to other music. Describe it on it's own merit. I guess people need signposts along the way. But, I don't appreciate automatically being compared to other females simply because we are female.
I have to wonder why a comparison of a female musician to a male musician is so rare. I have ideas about why this may be so, but I am hesitant to mention them here. At least, for now. Jer tells me that he thinks my closest modern contemporaries are Elliott Smith, Grandaddy Spiritualized, The Super Furry Animals at their most tender, Travis, The Manics for my fearlessness, Ryan Adams. Jer knows his stuff.
Peace and understanding,
x Syd
The Best Of The Daydream Generation 2008 / 31 Dec 2008
I was shocked recently to find out that my song "Easily Loved / Easily Hated" was voted onto The Best Of The Daydream Generation 2008.
The Daydream Generation is a wonderful compilation project we had the pleasure of being included on in the last few months. It's all done for free, with only passion for music in mind, so of course we wanted to be in on it. It's a true labour of love, like the music I make.
Anyway, there was a vote for the most liked songs of all the compilations of 08 and then a subsequent compilation has been released: "The Best Of The Daydream Generation 2008".
You can download the compiliation on the daydream generation website:
http://daydreamgeneration.com
Please do. Jer and I both dig the songs that are on it. It's worth checking out.
Peace and understanding everyone. As always, FEAR NO ART!
- Syd
Pagan Times / 13 Dec 2008
Our new webpage is up. Special thanks to Syd who put in yet again all the hard work and creative energy into making it the beautiful virtual home our music has always deserved. Time to let the past float away. It is now a foreign country. Onwards once more into the unknown. We have yet to play a show where we are not hindered by forces outside of our control as we go into Wednesday our final gig of the year with our beloved telecaster still in the repair shop waiting on parts. So a special thanks to our good friend and band photographer who lent us his very cool electric guitar. This has been an extraordinary year we have learned so very much. The winter solstice is just around the corner so we will both be reflecting on another year and at the same time giving a solemn remembrance to our pagan forebears. 3 albums recorded and a whole batch more songs to get down not a bad 2008. So happy winter solstice to all and here's to a healthy creative 2009 where our reach can once again exceed our grasp.
- Jeremiah
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Seeking approval of others / 28 Nov 2008
This post was inspired by a comment I read earlier today about a musician who was saddened over someone saying horrible things about their music. I'm mostly repeating here the comment that I made to this person.
Being insulted, hearing negative comments about what you create comes with the territory.
My entire family is not only completely disdainful toward my music, but calls me a fake. At best, they ignore my music entirely. At worst, they feel it's their right to judge me and what I create in the most awful and unfair way. No one I know even acknowledges the fact that I'm a musician. I rarely get compliments, and am mostly met by apathy or negativity.
When someone makes negative comments about myself or my music, I feel nothing. Would I stop making music because they don't like it? No. Would I change the music I make in order to please that person? No. So, why on earth would I be saddened by their judgements? And, likewise if someone compliments me or my music I feel nothing. I appreciate that they liked it, but their liking it (or disliking it) has nothing to do with the reason I created my music in the first place.
It is a brave thing to put yourself out there, especially in anything creative, because other people then feel they have a piece of you... But, you can't get yourself down over someone else not liking what you've created.
I don't seek approval of others for who I am as a person, how I live my life, or the music I make. You can't please everyone, and trying to is a one way road to losing your mind.
Self worth in creating, or indeed in life cannot and should not come from the outside.
FEAR NO ART!
Syd
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Eidolons / 24 Nov 2008
The spirit of Daniel Johnston flowed through us this afternoon and helped us to issue forth yet another statement of intent.
Syd wrote a song called "Eidolons", and it is now up on our Myspace page.
Go listen. Stay tuned.
- Jeremiah
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Beta Band / 20 Nov 2008
If you have never heard this band before, go listen now.
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Agenbite of Inwit / 13 Nov 2008
How do you put a price on a song? Exactly the same way that you could put a price on a warm summer breeze, or charge someone for viewing the sunrise.
For me, making music is not a choice. It is not a job, or a hobby. It is necessary for the survival of my soul, my heart. My salvation does not have cash value.
The fact that I must put a dollar value on my music does not sit well with me.
Jer and I are the only ones I know of who offer up everything we have, 'for free'. I cannot empathise with the idea that I should make my music, and then keep it locked away, only releasing it to those who will exchange money for a listen. We have everything we need and more - a roof over our heads, some clothing on our backs, food to eat... We want for nothing. We are very lucky.
Why should we sell the one thing that is our escape from this economic apparition we're all mired in? Our music is our refuge from all of that nonsense. We have more fun playing in our livingroom, than we have ever had playing at any show, or hearing our song on the radio or selling records.
No one I meet understands this. Those who say they do, quickly show their true colours.
I must have been a minstrel in a past life, traveling from town to town, singing for my supper and a warm bed at night. That is the only reality which makes sense to me. I can't quantify music financially. I can only see sharing my form of expression with others in exchange for care and consideration.
I get no joy from money. All I want in life is to be safe, clothed, fed, and loved. To be free to create, and to know that my word is impeccable, that I live in a way that mirrors my feelings.
Everything else is needless, and has no place in my dreams.
FEAR NO ART!!
.Syd Lane
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Christmas 'round the corner blues / 10 Nov 2008
It's very difficult to describe exactly what's going on at any given time but there is no excuse for not asking those tricky questions on the tip of your tongue. Dying, living, fucking, breathing. A plague on all our houses. We did it man we played for the Rev. Our steely nerve gives us renewed hope. I think we can change our world. Last one in, turn out the lights. It's candle time now. The fakers are running amok. Buy this sell that. There is poetry in the dying of the year. If you can figure out how to sell your misery I'll buy it on credit. Then it's you , me and the leader. Credit where it's due. It's always fucking due. I'm still trying to find our corner. Put up the lights. Chop the tree. Roast the meat. Pop the cork. Then wallow in what it is you're lacking. Who knows maybe one day you'll find out what's really going on. We don't need it. Let the darkness envelop. Cherish the dying of the light, for only in dying can it be gloriousy reborn. All churches are empty halls of delusion.
- Jeremiah James
"the living today
is just getting so bad
there's a look on your face
and it says"you've been had!"
you can take all my money
but don't make me mad
cause there's nobody meaner than
(me)"
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A Beautiful Sadness / 19 Oct 2008
Hello all, Syd Lane here.
Today I finished recording the first song on our next upcoming record which is entitled Artists Use Lies To Tell The Truth. The song is called 'A Beautiful Sadness'.
We'd like to take a moment to thank the universe for this little gift that we were able to harness, and a special thank you to the equipment for not fucking the process up entirely. The ghost in the machine was on our side today! Here's to the next one.
A Beautiful Sadness
Music by S. Lane
Words by S. Lane and J. James
A beautiful sadness, go ahead and sulk
I'm trying to love you
I sing 'cause it's useless to try and talk
I'm breaking from the bitter constraints of blood
Tonight all the stars are aligning
The morning will break
I see your eyes there a glowing
How much can we fake?
One day you will walk to my river and bathe
Yourself in it's plenty
By then I'll be long gone and all alone
You're seeing I only had love in my heart
Tonight all the stars are aligning
The morning will break
I see your eyes there a glowing
How much can we fake?
Opening for Mercury Rev!! / 10 Oct 2008
We will be opening for Mercury Rev along with Adam Snyder in Waterford on the 30th!! This is such an absolute dream come true for us, I still cannot believe it has even happened.
Mercury Rev's music has been such an important part of both of our lives... When Jer brought me Mercury Rev, it was a revelation. I had never heard such music... Gentle notes and adoring turn of phrase, an endlessly cascading beautiful warmth... Music which makes you feel loved. When I heard Mercury Rev for the first time, I thought 'THIS is it. This is life affirming. This is what it's all about.'
The love of music is what brought Jeremiah and I together, and Mercury Rev was and continues to be a huge part of that connection we formed. And now we get to open for them! :) I'm completely humbled by this experience, and I can't wait to just get on stage and let the muse take me.
Culture sucks down words. Itemise loathing and feed yourself smiles!!!
S. Lane
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New batch of songs for download / 05 Oct 2008
I just finished recording the latest batch of songs, all together of which we are calling 'Nurturing Empty Screams'.
This record is available for free download on our myspace, like all the rest of our music.
I'm really enjoying our new recording set up... Everything is recorded live, midi is out the window, and it feels so good to play these songs.
No Jealousy, No meanness, No cruelty!
- S. Lane
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SHE / 30 Sep 2008
There is no greater joy than that which she creates. If only she could believe it. People are interchangable except her. She is the constant. She is my cornerstone and I'm lost without her. Easily loved easily hated. I have been toiling in an economic hinterland for 4 solid weeks with little time for tenderness. Now is the time for reassurance. One day, and of this I'm certain, One day she will be looked to but I fear by then it will be too late for her. Immortality is hers and I could never ask for more. She is Stephanie Lane. Poet, musician, artist, contradiction, pagan, visionary, lover one and all yet so much more. Don't let the bastards grind you down my angel !
"There will be other songs to sing
Another fall another spring
But there will never be another you"
J. JAMES
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How much can you fake? / 28 Sep 2008
The machines have won. Nice to know. No uncertainty anymore. The streets are alive with boredom. No jealousy No meanness No cruelty. The poor protect the wealthy. It's everywhere. You're not pretty enough. You can never be pretty enough. The feminine ideal ? Pre- pubescent males. In the paper, the tv, the idiots news. Aw man the arrogance of me. Maybe I'm wrong but if I'm right, What then?
"Tonight all the stars are aligning
The morning will break
With love in your eyes all a glowin'
How much can you fake ?"
J. JAMES
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Kill your idols. / 26 Sep 2008
There's a cold wind blowing. The new record's done. Lane is a genius. A surrogate sister to "Nurturing Empty Screams" will follow shortly. Happiness is a cheap concept. Only the mind can be beautified eternally. Artists use lies to tell the truth, remember that. Kill your idols. Non violent direct action. Never lose your sense of wonder. Come on come on into the future into the future. Never dilute the past. Strengthen your world view. Famine and days of plenty. The machines have won. Paranoid humanoid. Have a drink have a dance and play. Tomorrow will be different. Obliterate the myths, Now !
J. JAMES
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