Random Noise Bursts is a collection of material mostly from around 1985 and 1986, when I was living in a rundown office in a semi-abandoned industrial area in Corvallis Oregon. Out my front window I could see the beautiful vista afforded by the Union 76 fuel depot on Highway 99. Most of the material was written in the early 80's, and recorded on a used Radio Shack 4-track reel to reel tape deck. The drum machine was a Korg ddm-110, one of the first drum machines to have actual sampled sounds that was affordable to someone working as a cook.
The songs were recorded in three stages, first the drum machaine while I played bass, then the rhythm while I sang the lead part, then lead guitar, perhaps while singing a harmony part. Occasionally a fourth stage to add an additional harmony.
Lyrics
Bats Hang Out
Bats hang out at the street lights, whilin' away those long nights.
Cats hang out in the alleyways, hiddin' out from those cold, cloudy days.
Prowling around lookin' for fun, a growlin' sound, callin' for the sun.
Time on the hands of the clock on the wall,
Countin' seconds and the rain as it falls.
Chorus:
But all I know is what I read in the papers,
All I see is what I see on TV,
Smokin my mind away in cigarette papers,
I need a little help to be free.
Cops cruise out in their cop cars,
Drunks drink up at the usual bars,
Space men space out and dream of the stars.
And I find, I fill in my time,
findin' new ways to draw the old line.
More red here, pick up the blues,
Cut back on the black, it's a whole new tune.
[Chorus]
Last night standin' by my bed,
My guitar was talkin', and here's what it said,
True blue skies, mirrored in your eyes,
Show surprise, are you hypnotised?
It said, you and I, laugh and cry,
Read 'em and weep, go back to sleep,
Eat foods, chang moods, stand, sit, take a shit, this is it!
This is all there is, it's all sensation, anticipation of elation,
Is the same as achieving a dream.
[Chorus]
Doorway
She stands in a doorway, the window throws light on the floor.
Paint peeling, gravity tug, surface of the door.
Carpet sitting solid laying, track, for walking.
Nails trimmed, rings, fingers, her smile isn't talking.
Oh-ohh.
Chorus:
Ocean surface swelling, changed and never changing,
Conversation spilling out, arranged by rearranging,
Spell out the sentence, spit out the phrase,
Tear down de - fences, dance in de - haze,
Chew up the words, spit out a rhyme,
Songs of the birds, changing in time.
She listens with one ear, scanning the air waves,
Knowing she only has, her soul to save,
Breeze through the window, soft on her skin,
Radio station information, moving out, coming in.
Oh-ohh
[Chorus]
She stands in a doorway, she sits in a chair,
She turns the sound as she, brushes her hair,
Sound from the tea pot, sound from Spot the dog,
She turn in the sound in the, air, like a fog.
Oh-ohh
[Chorus]
My Letter
This is my letter that I could not write you,
That you would not read.
This is fantasy, this is reality,
This is the fine line.
The whitest of light throws the blackest of shadows,
Here is my gray zone.
I turn to face you and there is no trace of you,
Lights on but nobody home.
Noise In My Blood
I didn't come here to make an impression,
Didn't come here to make a depression,
Just got a feelin', gotta get it out,
Sometimes scream and I sometimes shout.
I got a .. Noise in my blood, from walkin' in the streets,
I got exhaust in my mind, walkin' in the streets,
I got a tune in my head, sittin' in a bar,
And there's somethin' that you said,
Drivin' in your car.
I didn't come here to blow your mind,
I just came here to fill space with time,
And keep the walls from fallin' in,
From lack of vital, sound within.
I got a noise in my blood, from seein' you walk,
I got exhaust in my mind, from hearin' you talk,
I got a tune in my head, and it won't let go,
And there's somethin' that you said, I can't let go.
If wishes and Horses
If wishes were horses, beggars would eat them,
Unseen dark forces, how to defeat them?
Red light, green light, and mother may I,
One bite, two bites, and you ate the whole pie.
Chaos and madness, personal daemons,
Go to bed shakin' and wake up a' screamin',
God's in some alley, and he's shootin' up dope,
Bought from a whore, who's pimp is the Pope.
And I'm cryin' out, "God, how can you let this be?"
The echo, "I'm pushin', it, can't you see?
The only one and lonely, Cosmic Jive-Head,
Not quite alive, but I'm never quite dead."
Time will pass, and the oceans go dry,
The sun will inflate and swallow the sky,
Don't burn my toast, and please serve it dry,
'Cause the moment I'm in is my sweet bye and bye.
