problem - june 28, 2007

it's not feasible to love with restraint if we're to transcend these chains. it's only a problem; now i see it, i'm half done solving it. changing the script is not only an option, it's a gift. it's only a problem; now i see it, i'm half done solving it.

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breathe 2 - march 07, 2007

breathe through it all. breathe through the problem. breathe through the emotion. breathe, please. just keep breathing.

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breathe - october 28, 2006

i never wanted anything so bad as i want you. and it feels so blissful inside just to know you feel it too. no need to force the feeling, i feeling this healing reprieve. no need to force the crying, it comes without prying to deep. --it's never the same emotion i see the world through anymore. it's seems to feel so warming, i want to take this home-- no need to say 'i adore you' you know i'm here for you today. still i'll always say 'i adore you' a thousand times this way. i breathe in the air out of your mouth. i can't resist, i don't know how. i breathe in the love out of your mouth, i won't resist, i don't know how.

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beauty myth - march 29, 2006 (sonia - vocals, bass, percussion, pretty much everything. neil - guitar)

diffuse the lines, they disappear. a glossy cover unfolds to reveal. imagine you could be there too. it's in the eyes, they beckon you. enticing thoughts run through your mind. the more i look, i start to find. is this really how it is? i don't think so. can you stand the way you feel? they defined what's beautiful to us. a flash of light creates a glow. pages of objects to desire. the life the live is nothing real; it's how you look not how you feel. is this really how it is? i don't think so. can you stand the way you feel? they defined what's beautiful to us.

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just a thought - february 16, 2006

it was just a thought. didn't know if it'd work. i figured i'd give it a shot for all it was worth. these cracks are growing. these walls starting to change. the price is high i'm afraid, for us to blur crazy and sane. at least i tried. it was just a thought i didn't want to hide. at least i fought. at least i tried. i thought it would help. i thought you wouldn't mind.

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this song is about a memory. and the feeling it evoked. it's a good feeling.

stones - september 24, 2005

hand in hand, over stones. flashes behind, the air is cold. never knowing what to say in situations like this. i'm glad it's something i didn't miss. can't you see? don't you see? these rocks beneath have set us free, made us see, made us feel.

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i'm just glad i got to use the word 'mezzanine' in one of my songs...

marrying a lie to a truth (version 2) - february 22, 2005 (ryan - percussion. neil - vocals, guitar)

i'd like to tell him to change, but that's unnecessary, given his fate. i wish that i could do the same but that's unnecessary. a little too late. marionnette by choice. it would take more than i have to admit to all my fallacies; it's all the same. out on the mezzanine, the weight of everything bears down upon the wrong side and it's going to stay that way. marionnette by choice. just try and gauge just what could become of this. you're marrying a lie to a truth.

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when everything is said and done - february 04, 2005

setting myself away from the rest keeps bringing me back to this town. jumping through their hoops, trying to pass their tests. figuring out what's holding me down. there's more to come, but it's not gonna keep me from facing the sun. it's taking us years to get this right. maneuver through the crowd; they're blocking our light. don't hold it in, it's ok to shout, 'you have to see this, it's a wonderful sight!' it won't keep us from facing the sun, when everything is said and done. we're high; we won't come down for anyone, when everything is said and done.

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worksong - november 25, 2004 (amandeep -electric guitar. neil - vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, percussion)

feels like we're sleeping our lives away. seems like they never want us awake. slowed down, but we're still walking. we don't have the time. we don't want to wait. no will to rise. cut down to size. another night, another morning all going to waste. the line was drawn. they had been warned. we've gotten stronger, running longer, holding onto nothing more than just our song. we're so much more than just these walls we're breaking down.

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sigh - july 18, 2004 (ryan - vocals, keyboards. neil - guitar, percussion)

we don't need our prosthetics in this century. we cry out loud and we pray for our own heads not to bleed, or show some sense of need. we shall wallow and play the same old sigh, and breathe away. you can show me how you lost everything. your plight is more than i can stand to hear about. i can't bear how they moan and sigh, taking breaths away from our children's children, and have them out feeding livestock that sing out loud, and hear them coming from so far away, loudmouthing. sigh and breathe away. you can show me how you lost everything. your plight is more than i can stand to hear about. it's on the books. you showed i can't have everything. there's a time and a place, a river and a can of mace. sigh, moan and feel your inside. know that you have new feelings. don't let your outside pull you in. don't let the outside be your friend.

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i wrote these lyrics last august on a train in jersey in the middle of the night. it's basically about everything i saw out the window.

transit - february 14, 2004

hours at a time. flashes at a time. falling within the lines. there's no light for miles, there's no sign of life. nearer and closer still, the point of origin. might as well begin. there's no light for miles, there's no sign of life. there's no light for miles. we saw her pass us by.

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this song was more of a promise to myself than anything else. a promise to get out of philadelphia and move ahead in my life. a promise i have yet to keep.

walk - december 17, 2003 (sergey - violin. neil - guitar, piano, vocals, percussion)

take a step back, no need for masks. don't take me at face value. oh, look at you; glad to see you well, determined as hell. but i'm walking away today. i'm coming back for you. i'm walking away today. i'm not looking back, but it doesn't mean i'm leaving everything behind. i'm walking away.

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i wrote these lyrics a half hour ago. i like the way it came out; i could close my eyes and kind of imagine a story going along with this. it's nice.

seven hours ago - january 28, 2004

seven hours ago, you came to me, feeling all sorts of wonder for the things you want me to see so long ago. now i know. now you see why i felt so distorted so long ago. now you know. haven't got a thing to wear. i'm such a mess right now. haven't got a thing to say. i can't go out like this. i'm such a mess right now. seven hours ago.

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i wrote these lyrics about a month ago, outside a theater. my head's still reeling over how fast this song came together! i should get experimental more often...

marrying a lie to a truth - january 17, 2004

i'd like to tell him to change, but that's so hypocritical. i wish that i could do the same, but that's so fucking mythical. marionette by choice. it would take more than i have to admit all my fallacies. deficience in vision, a deficient cavity. marionette by choice. marrying a lie to a truth. marionette by choice.

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the lyrics in italics are the ones i wrote, and ryan did the rest. we really didn't know what kind of song we were going for; we just polished up the first part and then let it loose.

a fix of sorts - january 11, 2004 (neil - guitar, vocals. ryan - guitar, vocals)

spying for the other side, a bit of the same you don't drop your pride, knowing what to show and what to hide. i lost my color long ago. you knew what you signed up for, but they lied. it's such a sorry state, it's the state of the world, there's no debate. no point merely passing the blame. a fix of sorts, it's checkmate. back at home you'll be loved just the same. failing sound, failing sight.

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in hindsight, i see a lot of belle and sebastian influence in these lyrics. creating harmonies for the chorus was hard as hell.

yellow tape - december 13, 2003

it's an uphill climb for her, to feeling fine. we don't care what she thinks or says. it's an uphill climb for this child, but she feels inclined. no one cares what she does or says. we'll wait for the yellow tape. she's up all night, smoking, staring at the light. no one hears her crying, just her subtle lies. we'll wait for the yellow tape.

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recording the song made me realize that i have a rather large range with my voice. it affected all my future recordings.

i will (radiohead cover) - december 06, 2003

i will lay me down. in a bunker underground. i won't let this happen to my children. meet the real world, crawling out of your shell. with white elephants, sitting duck. i will rise up. little baby's eyes. eyes. eyes. eyes.

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what can i say? i was depressed beyond measure, and this was my best outlet...

nevada - november 20, 2003

call me when you're off the bus to nowhere. oh siren. sleep away your only chance in the spotlight. your future's nowhere in sight. oh siren.

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