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rose city radio

by The Acid Rains

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ee-la
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ee-la i think of that spoken short story/poem of yours called ghosts. this first song feels like all the vivid story telling in that but with the added treat of your swooning vocals. definitely adding this to my collection of songs by you that i find myself consistently coming back to every other late night or rainy day Favorite track: The Alice Hotel (Est. 1928).
mathew
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1.
The Alice Hotel (Est. 1928) 07:03
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I more than half-stumbled into the Alice Having gotten already rotten on the rain Turns out I knew both barkeeps from school But I could really only place the one’s name There were six bands that night, all metal and punk The drummers were, of course, the real stars The singers unshaven driving home later Stuck in traffic, stuck in their cars I happened to say to a longhair offstage You did such a fine job tonight He almost couldn’t handle the compliment Me having given it away all so light Thanks he says, no one ever does Not that they understand what I say The guitarist writes most of the lyrics I just stay hidden in the centre of the stage There was a man across the table, maybe 50 or so Through the haze now that’s what I think I couldn’t tell if he was with the blonde Or just himself and his stool and his drink Maybe it’s the music but when I find myself here I can’t fully bring myself to dance Owing firstly for me not knowing how & hardly knowing what to do with my hands If that was my last shot, at least we sorta hopped I’m pretty sure at least I shook my leg I met my new best friends, a whole series of events He told me firmly his birth name was Reg That’s Reg he corrected me, politely of course As I pushed a mosher to and fro It’s Reg he nearly begged, here’s my number right here In case you forget what you know In retrospect it was obviously a fake Jotted down and smeared as it is I can almost see the forgery When I compare my handwriting to his For reasons unknown or known just to the town Always a squad of six cops shows up I can’t tell if they just like the music Or if that whole night was sort of a bust Either way no trouble came at least not uniformed in blue I seem to recall mounting Jakey’s shoulders Having past the point of “nothing I wouldn’t do” I got up alright and we headed for the pit He gave me an experimental bounce or two That’s when the bouncer said you yeah you I can’t have anyone hurt in my saloon Retrospectively I gotta have respect The guy being honestly a pal He said conspiratorially that he’d normally approve How I didn’t the skids I’ll never know now A door guy so friendly he was looking out for me Not just for business as uszhe Smokey lowered me softly as air Onto the floorspace so hard and so smooth I managed to make it to the ladies bathroom door Politely informed I took a wrong turn Said hi to the guy playing the VLTs Who said you wannabe musicians never learn He was wearing camouflage, maybe But no ideological bridges were crossed I asked him if he liked the tunes He actually did, he said taking another loss I did a quick U-turn and headed the other way Having had my fill of conversation Arriving at the trough I found at least three guys And I think something got lost in translation The next time I found myself having to piss I walked all the way to a 7-11 Compared to the comparison underway at the Alice The fluorescents burned something like heaven The third band on the bill had a spidery synth guy My friend called them Nazi youths The singer had the haircut to be fair And never smiled, not a single tooth Regardless of political persuasion They didn’t quite fit the scene Aiming more for the goth-pop angle Which my metal friends thought obscene I didn’t hate it but I sure can’t remember it Come to think of it now I just recall the synth guy’s cape Y’know, it might have included a cowl
2.
Laundry Tension 01:02
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There's just so much tension on the mats today Garbage black, prematurely grey Moody, but in the mood to get out Everybody talk quietly now Now this might take some of your time I hope you brought along some wine Possibly a book or two Share a stranger's look or two Tension headache, go away Garbage black, prematurely grey, prematurely grey There's so much tension on the mats today
3.
The Fucking Swans 02:10
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The fucking swans Practically older than me They were never retired, no They just got mean The fucking swans The fucking swans and they bark with glee Some mirror lake conspiracy The fucking swans bleach white my memory The fucking swans Fuckin run this town A church on the lake And shopping carts all the way down Throw them a fry Fly away with the prize Dyou wanna die tonight with me Take a swan dive with me The fucking swans…
4.
I Was Mostly Joking 01:12
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Down by the racetrack Where all the kids shoot smack And I got my money back One at a time Don't chase me, I've had enough dreams They're just like split cards Jumpy racecars When I said that to you, I was mostly joking I was only choking on my rage It was mostly snowing Opening and showing us the rain Don't chase me, I've had enough dreams
5.
My Rictus Grin 02:46
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Were you there at the same time Clock is running on saints time all the way home And was i there on my dime? Finding coins in trouble wherever i go Getting home Going out Now it’s me now it’s everybody else Which lines will you trace when you touch my face Sitting in my place, heading in Smile my rictus grin Are you there at the races I was there with a facelift getting lonely again Did i get a line on an equine? Runnerups in trouble soon to be on the mend Kicking dirt Getting zen First its me now everybody bends Which cares will you tend to first when you stroke my fir Twistin in my shoes, freeze the sin smiling my rictus grin kicking dirt! getting zen! first its me now everybody’s doing the bend... shoving past! shoving in! smiling my rictus grin shovels out! diving in! smiling my rictus grin! raining dirt! raining dirt! all dressed up, ok im in smiling my rictus grin...
6.
If So (I'll Send a Rose) 02:53
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do you think that’s bad if so i’ll send a rose along with my regrets including those i haven’t thought of yet and if it’s good i don’t expect i’ll hear a thing from the post just yet sometimes for a second i think of destroying everything that i own and throwing away all those that i know and how would i know how could anyone ever know and there’s every chance i’ll never tell you so im going back to the simple rhyme life i want facts i can cut with a knife i want brats under bitters and strife those who see ruin are harmless and nice do you think im glad if so ill send a rose or something a little less on the nose along with all my best which i dont even have yet and if i am then i expect nobody to tell me yet and don’t they alll deserve a sick kind of respect
7.
Screaming at Horses 04:21
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i spent half my sad life screaming at horses and half my life screaming at you somebody told me to smoke em if you got em you can’t actually believe that do you improving barbwire communications, at least i try you don’t seem to understand i don’t know why but sometimes when i creep past by i see understanding in their eyes and im screaming at the horses im dreaming of being left behind and i am jumping graveyard gates while you are getting high and ive been screaming at the horses and ive been screaming at you and you say it’s not over yet no, that can’t be true don’t you bolt now this is not a race my friend please do not kick me in my face again and im screaming at the horses...

about

this is almost a concept EP about a smallish city (pop. 18k according to the latest wiki-check) called Camrose, AB. Famous for its dead & retired hockey players as well as its population of rude swans and hungry town-deer, it's not special but it's a place i know alright. of course, if you try to make a concept album you'll find it mightily difficult to do so if you have some other songs that have nothing to do with it, and so this also includes the Other Songs i wanted to include.

it was going to be called 'NORTHERN GOTHIC'. i don't know if i made the right choice.

my favourite song right now is 'my rictus grin'.

recorded starting at some point last winter up til a few days ago, whenever that was (in both cases). the winter thing is only really noticeable on 'screaming at horses' where it is blindingly obvious that i have what i thought was a cold but was indeed influenza about to lay me out somehow for over a month during that bitter time. that song was recorded lying in bed with my guitar. if you can get past the bastardly bad recording quality you might like it; i think it's one of my better ones, maybe. it has what i believe to be my first fade out.


'if so' also dates back, 'i was mostly joking' could possibly be considered an outtake from 'december 88th', as well as a few others that i might or might not put out at some point.

the first song is almost entirely factual, personal, at least thru the memory haze of a couple years.

lyrics for every song available here, if you can't hear thru the hiss and manage to get curious.

thanks... james and the acid rains, xo xo

credits

released May 2, 2019

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The Acid Rains Edmonton, Alberta

i write songs, play guitar and sing

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