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Cargo Cult

by Crush Limbo

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1.
Lay out your cookies for Santa Clause Although there’s cause for uneasiness and a wish won’t make it disappear We know that hope will trump fear String rows of garland all around your glistening trees Hang bows and stockings from your mantlepiece and stairs. He is coming tonight out of the dark to bring light. [chorus] Line all your shelves with good tidings Wake up the elves who’ve been hiding Raise up your glasses in good cheer and sing with all those near and dear: 'All the best wishes for Christmas and the New Year!" The songs end; laughter, in time, fades. Gone, too, are the holiday cavalcades The yule log’s ashes lay across the hearth, (but) you can keep the passion lit in your heart all year round Shower gifts that fill bellies or warm hearts and inform smiles 'tween you and the ones you love a call erases miles No batteries required Nor a jolly fat soul in red attired So ... Line all your shelves with good tidings Wake up the elves w ho’ve been hiding Raise up your glasses in good cheer and sing for all those who will hear: "All the best wishes for Christmas (3x) and the New Year!
2.
She makes new memories; takes the old ones out of circulation. Their only mistake was living past their expiration dates. Everywhere, the evidence is thrown into a guileless face: photographs from every single far-flung place. [chorus] She’s flitting through the mist of the Pyrenees; floating on a wispy summer breeze. (She) says she’s finally found the bees knees and he’s the guy she calls “Replacement Me.” There, in your pocket, lies a constant reminder, buzzing your thigh. Wherever in the world she is-- don’t worry--it will show you where. She’s living rent free in your head; sleeping on a comfy four-poster bed; while you’re holed up in the tool shed, tugging on your pole instead. [chorus] She’s flitting through the misty Pyrenees; floating on a whimsical summer breeze. (She) says she’s finally found the bees knees. He’s the guy she calls “Replacement Me.” [bridge] She’s grooming him to a T, just another pet in her menagerie. [chorus] She’s flitting through the mist of the Pyrenees; floating on a whimsical summer breeze. (She) says she’s finally found the bees knees. He’s the guy she calls “Replacement Me.” She lives free of consequences, succeeding, but only at another’s expense. Don’t take it too hard, pal, grab a card and get in line. You’re one in an endless supply on a conveyer belt of readymade guys. You thought they broke the mold, but that’s just what she told you, oh well. [chorus] She’s flitting through the misty Pyrenees; floating on a whimsical summer breeze (She) says she’s finally found the bees knees. He’s the guy she calls “Replac ement Me.” [bridge] She’s grooming him to a T, just another pet in her menagerie. [chorus] She’s flitting through the mist of the Pyrenees; floating on a whimsical summer breeze (She) says she’s finally found the bees knees. He’s the guy she calls “Replacement Me.” He'll never be .. He'll never be replacement me.
3.
V1 I don’t recognize myself in your flattery, In fact I find it rather embarrassing because it’s only a matter of time before the fangs come out. I have no doubt. V2 The question is “when” not “If” some misread innuendo will become the next tiff and then we play the game: Who’s the biggest hero in your fantasy? in your fantasy. [chorus:] Transgressive. If I go and make a mess of things, will you forsake or think less of me? Because I’m not sure I can take it. You like to say you are progressive. Would you try to box me in if I willingly sin and become transgressive? V3 I don't think there's room on this pedestal and the air is very thin. i think I’d like to climb back down again. I don’t like the way this is taking shape I need to escape! [chorus:] Transgressive If I go and make a mess of things will you forsake or think less of me? Because I’m not sure I can take it. You like to say you are progressive. Would you try to box me in If I willingly sin and become transgressive? Transgressive Transgressive Transgressive Transgressive Regressive Obsessive Transgressive It's getting dark. It's so dark and cold.
4.
The Bird Has Flipped Drip by drip The teardrops slip into a deepening pool of sorrow What a gyp The bird is flipped and you’re feeling like there’s no tomorrow. Will you taste like sweet wine or just like bitter brine? Will I savor the drink or spit it out into the sink? Oh well  Are you the wisdom of a thousand years?  Oh well  Or just a mixture of my deepest fears? Oh well, oh well! You were 16 years old So much promise to unfold But let’s playback the recording of a future aborted The die was cast you ran hard, you ran fast But you never escaped those devils of your past Will you taste like sweet wine or just like bitter brine? Will I savor the drink or spit it out into the sink? Oh well  Are you the wisdom of a thousand years?  Oh well  Or just a mixture of my deepest fears? Oh well, oh well! [pre-chorus]] You’ve been living half a century but you haven’t yet learned your responsibility You wanna kill the verse Get right to the refrain duck out before the bow, skip town on a train You wanna flip the bird But the bird flipped on you You wanna kick some ass But the foot’s on the other shoe [chorus] The birdy flipped on you Now what you gonna do?
5.
Training 02:12
There are no lyrics ... yet ;). There may never be. But you can make up your own words :-).
6.
Make up your eyes in blue mascara. Wear your brave smile; their cracks won't scare ya. Wide angle frames obscure your shame. Dart 'round the room smash cut and zoom! These pom pom girls can be so cruel. When into their world appears a jewel. They ain't your type, all bluster and hype. This ain't your scene, it's so mainstream. You're rare; serene. Gem under glass this, too, will pass. They're so unkind but your beauty shines. Take your time: write your rhyme. They will grow old, but they'll never get wise. Wipe tear-stained cheek, runny eyeliner. Don't let 'em see you weak, the crowd at the diner. Don't avert your gaze - no glimmer of doubt. Life is just a maze for you to figure out. Gem under glass life goes fast. Leave them behind Let your beauty shine. Take your time: write your rhyme. They will grow old but they'll never get wise.
7.
He was sitting right across from her and there were others, similarly arranged similarly, casually arrayed. Let’s just say so we can move this thing along. But they had never been so far apart nor were their edges ever quite so frayed as they were on that very day. chorus: She was so full of life and he was dying in slo-motion And I should probably stop telling this right now History’s reworded by the loser not the winner just in case the meaning gets perverted just keep telling them its better than truth We’re speaking for you And no one really cares if you were once a first-class sinner Call me what you want just don’t call me late for dinner Have a good night He said, like whispering a curse Have a good night I think I double parked my hearse chorus: She was so full of life and he was dying in slo-motion And I should probably stop telling this right now I can do this standing on my head The judge, she gave me five I could do ten It would be funny If it weren’t so true She was genuinely happy and people were drawn to her She was gifted at weaving anecdotes from threadbare bits of nothing. I’d walk into a party, she’d be telling some tale. Everyone there, wide-eyed and transfixed. Stuck to her like magnets on a fridge She was moving them without a trace of effort or guile, just moving them into place like phrases in a poem. But they smiled at her and tapped their glasses who knew that the halo she wore was really just a trick of light, ya know like what happens sometimes I sat there pregnant with verse my viper tongue was well-rehearsed but averse to that crowd i said nothing aloud I just added cheeky letters to post it notes with traces of her pencil’s ghost Rearranging magnets on refrigerator doors at stranger’s houses to smite her
8.
O Cynthia! 03:10
O Cynthia I’ll sin for ya Will you sin for me in a symphony of desire? No need to light a fire; we’re hotter than the torch that sets the Devil’s forge aflame. And anyway, one fine day, we may wind up you and I, as toads or newt’s eyes swirling in a witches cauldron. Yes one day soon it’s true we’ll have to pay for all our youthful transgressions; we’ll be forced to make (tearful) confessions. [bridge] Pointed fingers, scarlet letters, all the better we should not wait to consummate. Then we’ll meet our fate as it comes. As the church bell tolls and the hangman beats his drum. [pre chorus] Oh sin with me Just behind that tree where the serpent lies with his wizened eyes You can sympathize with his lot in life. Oh sin with me before that sad day comes 'fore the setting sun lights a crimson sky. [Chorus] O Cynthia! I’ll sin for ya will you sin with me in a symphony of desire? Crescendoing higher Until we meet our fate Our date with infamy and the flames of the funeral pyre.
9.
Etude,'sup? 01:31
10.
I’m bound to disappoint you eventually; frustrate and annoy you, just you wait and see. Don’t crown or anoint me prematurely because I’m bound to disappoint you eventually. I’m found to disjoint most who come across me. Now I know it's hard to fathom this other side of me. We’re like Eve and Adam before the snake up the tree. “Ignorance is bliss” on that we can agree. But I’m bound to disappoint you eventually. [bridge] I shadow boxed and was decked by my ghost. My spirit animal applied for another host. Let’s promise each other we’ll never hide who we are behind some perfectly fictional lonely avatars 2x I’m bound to disappoint you eventually and you’ll frustrate and annoy me that’s ele-men-ta-ry Like Adam and his Eve after knowledge from the Tree We’re bound to disappoint each other that’s plain to see. I stroll around in boxers you prefer fig leaves. I like tighty whiteys you prefer fig leaves!
11.
I’m holed up in the corner of a broke-ass brain But I’m the best conductor Of my own crazy train My heart is being gutted So I’m up here alone Trying to make some beats With a rotary phone Oh I should just be happy That no one was hurt Oh wait—scratch that I was My shit’s buried in dirt I tried to be so woke I couldn’t fall asleep So I tried to make some Beats that go bleepity beep Some broke-ass beats W/ a rotary phone Look what he gets up to When there’s nobody home Broke-ass beats On a rotary phone Two cocoanuts, a gourd And a muthafukin scone!
12.
Drip by drip the teardrops slip into a deepening pool of sorrow What a gyp The bird is flipped and you're feeling like there’s no tomorrow Will you taste like sweet wine Or just like bitter brine Will I savor the drink Or spit it out into the sink? Oh well Are you the wisdom of a thousand years? Oh well Or just a mixture of my deepest fears?
13.
Don't Let That Boy ... Lay out your cookies for Santa Claus. Light up your runways made of candles, rope and straw. You may know Him tonight only if all is made right. Tune in the signal from the bamboo wireless. Baton of thimbles wave him safely home from flight. We may know Him tonight; only if all is made right. chorus But don’t let that boy corrupt you Don’t let his truth tear you down; No one can destroy or disrupt who you were before he came to town. So don’t let that boy corrupt you oh no. We never realized what was missing in our lives Until you showed us how to use electric knives We can’t live without Your canned goods, VD and gout. bridge: Don't let that world implore you Forget it’s lure, it ain't for you John Frum sprinkled fairy dust inseminating clouds rained down new iPhones virgin born and wrapped in shrouds. We were starting to doubt what we could afford to do without. chorus But don’t let that boy corrupt you Don’t let his truth stare you down; No one can destroy or disrupt who You were before he came to town So don’t let that boy corrupt you No, no.
14.
Feet Of Clay 02:05
Goin to work my temple is throbbing
 stomach hurts no sign of stopping 
You send advice 
from far away
 where life is sweet; 
no bills to pay.

 To think I once 
knelt at that shrine-- fed you grapes;
 poured you wine.

 Now I sit here 
dumb, dismayed 
the statue I built
 has feet of clay.
 
the statue I built
 has feet of clay.
 
the statue I built
 has feet of clay.
 Now I sit here 
dumb, dismayed 
the statue I built
 has feet of clay.
 All I needed was a bit of contentment Now my head is riddled with resentment. I just wanted to drop my line But you're the bait  it catches each time. Leaves grow thick  in the backyard pool Sky is dark its starting to cool. You send your love
 from far away
 where life is sweet
 no bills to pay
. Now I sit here
 dumb, dismayed. 
The statue we built
 had feet of clay
. (5x) 
The statue we built
 had feet of clay
. (3x)
15.
Millennium Man can’t understand the New World Order and the loss of God. He’s choosing a partner in the Danse Macabre. He feels like a toy for the Industry Boys: the new Golden Calf of the Cyber Age; the weapon and tool of his Father’s Faith. He’s been down this road before— seen profit seekers and carnivores-- size him up for a place on the grinding mill. So, he left his home and his bed Went on a search for the cutting edge All he found was Retro Kids in Shopping Malls. Not the end of the world for Millennium Girl She’s (just) got a bad case of the post-modern blues. She’s spending her future on yesterday’s news. Let the Chemical Rain wash them away: All the sinners and fools masquerading as saints. Leave them like bugs in a ring round the drain. We’ve been down this road before— seen profit seekers and carnivores-- size us up for a place on their grinding mills. Leave the gnomes in the shed Let’s go on a search for a different head Find ourselves to the door of the House on the Hill.

about

The songs on this album were recorded sporadically, in fits and starts, between August and December in Port Imperial, Weehawken, NJ--my temporary home after a fire gutted my home and studio in May of 2018.

Many of the songs were written during that time, as well, though some go back many years and are tunes I just never got around to recording. I'd like to think there is an overarching theme but, for now, all I can think of that ties these tracks together is that they were all recorded in the same space in roughly the same way.

There were a few other tracks I left off this album. They were my earliest attempts at recording in this new space/ set up and so they are on a separate collection called RiversEdgeDemos. Some would argue these tracks are also demos--fair enough--but I consider them, well, a bit more "considered" than those other few.

A few of the tracks are free to download (i.e. the Christmas track and the PSE&G one). All others are relatively inexpensive (but that doesn't make them trash!).

Cheers!
Colm (a.k.a. Crush Limbo)
December 25th, 2018

credits

released December 25, 2018

All instruments, voices, sounds by Colm Clark, except where noted on specific tracks.

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Crush Limbo North Bergen, New Jersey

Crush Limbo is the stage name of NY-NJ-based musician Colm Clark.

It's bedroom pop meets Tin Pan Alley -- a world where glam gets it on with André Popp, teasing midlife symphonies from tear-shaped guordalins.

And in the grand tradition of Sondheim, Wonder, Bowie, and the Beatles — melody is key, baby, and tunes are where it's at.
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