Get all 30 Crush Limbo releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
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1. |
Armchair Psychology
03:34
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With your new age books
and your undercooked philosophies
will you cure the world
or just spread more of its maladies?
In your search for truth
Is there an azimuth of reality
or does your compass north
drift towards pure fantasy?
[chorus]
Grab the mirror off the shelf
Oh doctor, heal thyself
Let the light expose ambiguity
You should take more time
to know your own mind
‘cause I’m doing fine
without your psychology
There you go again
With your your dimestore
zen theology
Quoting Tao Te Ching
Don’t mean thing
If you’re still not free
[chorus]
Take a line of Frost
find your high horse lost in the forestry
Behind the fawning elves
and the fools that dwell in your sophistry
With your new age books
will you cure the world
or spread more of its maladies?
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2. |
AI Was Replaced by AI
03:18
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He rarely missed a day of work
His default smile was more a smirk
He never deigned to kiss the ring
or dance a jig before the king
Arnold Irving wasn’t serving any purpose
“Quirky,” “unnerving” were listed in his file
With the year-end calibrations approaching
The office gossip wondered aloud
Will AI be replaced by AI?
The Managers reviewed their budgets
These calibrations were Lord of the Flies
They sat around like high court judges
Deciding who gets to live and who dies
Arnold Irving wasn’t serving any purpose
“Quirky, unnerving” were listed in his file
With the year-end calibrations approaching
The office gossip whispered aloud
Will AI be replaced by AI?
With KPIs and peer assessments gathered
The C Suite eyed the only goal that mattered
If the stock price fell, heads would have to roll
Wouldn’t be theirs; the grunts would have to go
“This Arnold Irving isn’t serving any purpose
‘quirky, unnerving’ — it’s right there in his file …
“It says he works hard, but he also want a raise
Think what we’ll save if we don’t to pay.
It’s time AI was replaced by AI.”
That time AI was replaced by AI
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3. |
Break Machines
02:53
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4. |
Invisible Cities
04:52
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V1
A gray-bearded man
with a wine-weathered face
and scars on his arms
like twisting dark streets
and ink on his skin
like murals on walls
a sailor on shore
with a fine-painted moll
[chorus]
We go searching for
invisible cities
we lived in a dream
by the light of a star
We keep yearning
when we reach El Dorado
for we’re never at home
with the people we are
V2
Litigate your past
and demand retribution
You never stood a chance
Due to poorly-sewn sutures
in the skin of the man
whose streets you are tracing
lifelines on hands
show a necrotic future
[chorus]
We go searching for
Invisible Cities
We lived in a dream
By the light of a star
We keep yearning
When we reach El Dorado
For we’re never at home
With the people we are
ooo
[Bridge]
V3
The streets are a maze
a minefield, a puzzle
Only way through:
sift through the rubble
And trip on the stones
of uneven measure
stub all your toes
you’re breaking new ground
[chorus]
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5. |
Class Act; Uptown A
02:48
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Used to see him every day
on the Uptown A
that clown’s one bad hombre
He was out there sellin' ludes
like it’s 1975
can’t believe he’s still alive
And yet somehow he survived
straight up hustler
pullin’ scams and pushin’ jive
[chorus]
They say he’s
from an ancient brood
of felonious saints
with dodgy attitudes
He’s a grifter in grease paint
there’s a litany of complaints
made by countries and states
Heaven knows
where he’ll wake up
smeared in some john’s makeup
50 smackers on the dresser
Does a harlequin hide
or a charlatan reside
Will you be his confessor?
Another grimy place
finds him washing off his face
Does he recognize himself?
[chorus]
They say he’s
from an ancient brood
of felonious monks
with dodgy attitudes
He’s a grifter in grease paint
there’s a litany of complaints
Made by countries and states
Clocks in for another shift
Rides the lift
another ho-hum grift
Disappearing, he folds up tent
Some new town; heaven sent
We wait and wonder where he went
Past due on the last month’s rent
When we look into the mirror
without question, without guile
Do we recognize ourselves
or see his smile?
[chorus]
They say he’s
from an ancient brood
of felonious saints
with dodgy attitudes
He’s the grifter
in grease paint
there’s a litany of complaints
Made by countries and states
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6. |
Coulomb's Law
03:18
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7. |
Nice to Meet You
02:49
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Ab (Dm F Bb Gm) E7
If I seem to put on formal airs
It’s not down to arrogance
or angst – au contraire
Ab ((Dm F Bb Gm)
After all this time
Bb.
you’d think I’d just relax
C#m
but even around intimates
Ab
I pose and I act
Ab (E7
The other day I called
(Am ) Bb
I made you laugh
C#m (E7
But not with a joke
F# (Am C7
Instead, with a gaffe
B
Nice to meet you
Not what I meant to say
B
you knew I blundered
G
and I’ll never live it down
B
Nice to meet you, a flub
C#m
one makes in debut
A
But I think it works for us
E
it still holds true
A
For after all this time
E
our love still feels new
I’m not one to over analyze
Who am I kidding, I do it
every chance i get
Is it a Fruedian slip (that’s hip)
some secret desire
to treat every day
like the first time we’ve met ?
B
Nice to meet you
G
Not what I meant to say
B
you knew I blundered
G
I’ll never live it down
B
Nice to meet you, a flub
C#m
A rookie miscue
A
But I think it works for us
E
It still holds true
A
For after all this time
Ab
our love feels like new
C#
Nice to meet you
A7
Not what I meant to say
C#
But I think it works for us
A7
Because it still holds true
Absus4
For after all this time
C#
our love still feels like new
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8. |
The Kites of Zenobia
02:35
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9. |
Kill Your Darlings
03:16
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10. |
Meth Hedd
03:14
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Meth head
such a flirt, such a tease
giving head
to any old geezer in her bed
You’re just another passing guy
left for dead
Stuffed in the bags
inside the freezer of her head
Don’t even try
For she will justify
the death threats
You're just another passing guy
Do as she said
Don’t even pause to wonder why
go where your led
There’s a beast inside
it’s time that it were fed
Doo doo doo
I’m so lucky to be alive
I feel yucky so yucky inside
At night
she sings a gentle lullaby
just before bed
and you think she might cry
her petals dead
(is she) a shrinking violet
creepy vine instead
or just a chemical lie
gone to your head?
Doo doo doo
I feel lucky to be alive
I feel lucky to be alive
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11. |
paciFIST
03:29
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V1
I switched allegiances
'cause I wound up in a tryst
with online bomb throwers
and verbal anarchists
V2
Peacemaker, harmonist –
are lofty pursuits
but not with zip-tied wrists
and necks stepped on by boots
[chorus]
Pacifist, in your airy mist
How’s it feel up there
on your moral high ground
Tyranny, is nearer me
and the sword of Justice
ain’t nowhere to be found
Diplomacy, a worthy plea
but easier said than done
You with your quill pen
and me w/ with my gun
V3
Down here there’s bomb smoke
burnt limbs and fetid stench
But otherwise it’s clear:
We fight the good fight
V4
Statecraft, protest, dialogue
are always better choices
Except when gunboat diplomacy
strips us of our voices
[bridge]
I'm just like you, I think
We both crave peace
And I'd never grab
more than my piece (oh behave!)
If push comes to shove,
Would I sooner stand and die,
than yield to a tyrant’s
filthy hand in my pie - I think so.
[chorus]
(former) Pacifist, you will be missed
How’s the air down there
With dirty boots on the ground?
Tyranny, is nearer me
and justice ain’t blind
It’s just nowhere to be found
Pacifist with wisdom kissed
and sunshine blessed
on your moral high ground
[repeat chorus]
Misery is nearer me
All the wishing wells
go straight to hell
Pacifist, you will be missed
How’s the air up there
on your moral high ground?
Diplomacy, a worthy plea
but easier said than done.
You with your quill pen
and me w/ with my gun
[outro]
Oh, you with your quill pen
and me w/ with my gun
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12. |
Simple Goth Girl
03:25
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13. |
Rainbow Halo
03:20
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Sorrow, grief.
Dashed hopes
Pacing round
the backroom of my mind
Dark fugue.
Hard to cope
Affecting how
I deal with everyday
Sunlight
is a disinfectant
But I stopped expecting
it to shine on me again
[chorus]
Rainbow halo.
Your colors chart a path
When I’ve got nowhere to go
Day glo, pain goes
prism of options
are open to me
Fog lifts
clouds part
Sun chases
shadows from my mind
Time shifts
perspective around
raises pines
from acorns in the ground
Broken pieces
of multi-colored glass
Semi-circle
shining from the grass
[chorus]
Rainbow halo.
Your colors show the way
When I’ve got nowhere to go
Day glo, the pain goes
prism of options
are open to me
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14. |
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I merge into a faster lane
and it becomes a parking lot
I’m riding on an empty bus (train)
a cougher sits down next to me
I go out dancing in the rain
Dyspeptic seagulls take their aim
I choose the line that says “Express”
The cashier goes and takes her break
Oh lordy won’t you hear my plight
The cosmos has me in its sights
Heaven won’t you hear my plea
Why does this al-ways hap-pen to me?
Why ... Oh why?
I look for shortcuts all the time
But I waste time and never get it back
Find the quickest way to the sea
I wind up in a cul-de-sac
Your sandcastle made people cheer
Mine was better but high tide came
The universe sees me and sneers
When bad things happen, who’s to blame?
Oh lordy won’t you hear my plight
The cosmos has me in its sights
Heaven won’t you hear my plea
Why does this al-ways hap-pen to me?
Why … Oh why?
I read a thrilling mystery
but someone tore out the last page
I’m pissing in the wind again
Own goals, ennui, and endless rage
Oh lordy won’t you hear my plight
The cosmos has me in its sights
Heaven won’t you hear my plea
Why does this al-ways hap-pen to me?
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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.
... more
Crush Limbo recommends:
Mark Lesseraux - Get Your Back Up Off The Wall
by Mark Lesseraux
Far from "by-the-numbers," Mark's covers are revelatory: they bring out aspects of the originals one didn't know existed. Highlights: Dancing in the Dark, Buick Mackane, You Dropped a Bomb on Me.
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The Australian art prog trio departs from their previous sound and lean into a mellow and surreal soundscape.
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