Friday, August 15, 2008

Charted

I posted this video down with the lyrics as well... but here it is again.

This is an original I wrote back in 2006.

The Stone

This is The Stone by Dave Matthews... Used to cover this a lot. Not my best cover of it, but not bad...

Lucky

This is Lucky by Radiohead... Fucking love this song!

Trailer Trash

OK... So now starts my video posts... These are my current youtube videos. Gonna start with my cover of Trailer Trash by Modest Mouse...


Talking

Ok... So this is an OLD ass song... Wrote it when I was like 18. It was inspired by Ryan Adams... I just wanted to write an upbeat country song. This is what emerged.

"Talking"
All words by Grant Walker, All rights reserved

Well the sun aint gonna shine forever
You gotta take what you can get
And pray that you do not forget
But I got trapped by her sugar
Alone in bitter emptiness
And thus I must digress


I said love, love don't you turn your back on me
and I said love, love, oh why won't you let me be
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep

Well tomorrow is only the next day coming
And many more lie ahead, before I can rest my head
But the sun aint gonna shine forever
You gotta take what you can get, and pray that you do not regret

I said love, love don't you turn your back on me
and I said love, love, oh why won't you let me be
I said love, love, you got me beggin' at your feet
I said love,
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep

Well the sun aint gonna shine forever
You gotta take what you can get
And pray that you do not regret
Because the sun aint gonna shine forever
No the sun aint gonna shine forever
ohhhhh
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep


But I said love, love don't you turn your back on me
and I said love, love, oh why won't you let me be
and I said love, love, oh you got me beggin' at your feet
I said love,
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep
You got me talking in my sleep

"Exits"

I forgot about this one too... This Scott and I started recording and abandoned for a while... I am currently revamping it and finishing it.

It is about the disconnection between people, and how it is easier to separate and try and go our own ways than actually connect... But how this separation is what actually keeps us down. There is also a Radiohead allusion thrown in... See if you can find it! I wrote it after realizing how isolated they felt while making a documentary during the OK Computer tour (hint there)...

"Exits"
Words by Grant Walker, All Rights Reserved

Everyone flees to the fire escape
But the railing is rusted shut
Tired of running from ourselves
We're just flailing inside our ruts

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Sleeping tight with minds on cruise control
Creeping up slowly into separate factions

But you're feeling, you're feeling it out
Yeah you're feeling it out, yeah you're just feeling it out

Well meeting people is easy or so I have heard
Hanging on for dear life onto all of your words

But you're feeling, you're feeling it out
Yeah you're feeling it out

But you're feeling, you're feeling it out
Yeah you're feeling, you're feeling it out
Yeah you're just feeling, you're feeling, you're feeling it out

Sitting on the porch drowning auto transit
Searching for all the convenient exits

But you're feeling, you're feeling it out
Yeah you're feeling, you're feeling it out
Yeah you're just feeling, you're feeling, you're feeling it out

Footing

This song was featured in a documentary not too long ago. I kind of forgot about until recently. I wrote it in 2006. First song I wrote after Nathan Davis passed away.

"Footing"
All lyrics by Grant Walker, All Rights Reserved

And you sit high above your golden sun
And you say that nothing here is worth taking away
Run away from all your superstitious fears
And I'll stay and take the blame for all your filthy lies

But here I stand and here I fall
My iron cold back up against the wall
And I have loved, and I have lost
It's the in between that hurts the most
Yeah... Yeah... Yeah..

And you say that I was never worth the wait
Mary Jane she stays to comfort me inside your wake
Now awake from all these horrifying dreams
Mistakes are what makes us human anyway

But here we stand and here we fall
With no direction at all
Now some are lost and some are found
But to forgive is the most profound
Yeah... Yeah... Yeah...

Caroline, You're tangling me inside your pines
But it's fine, I know my muse lies deep inside
So I'll stay and work a little harder on my play
Don't be late, or I leave you inside of my wake

But here I stand and here I fall
With stone cold roses up against the wall
Now I have loved and I have lost
I'm happier now you're not around
Yeah... Yeah... Yeah...

Friday, August 8, 2008

Everything In Its Right Place

Zombies filter like sheep onto the street of a city fast asleep while the lady in the isle stares innocent as a child unknowing of the vile acts of freedom behind her back. All Points West. Its here that my idea of a concert experience has changed. A half assed festival with an all star line up.

The first night was packed with energy and emotion. I must say that the festival itself was very poorly run. Very little artwork, no one holding anything, no open "feel the love" kind of attitude. Being a bunch of New Yorkers you of course get the bull shit city folks ruining the crowd. I was told by one guy to stop singing, and I wanted to say "fuck you, you obviously don't understand what a concert is about, and because of that you don't even deserve to be here"... Instead I just shifted my way away from him.

However the fans didn't bring the music down. Andrew Bird had a great turn out for the size of act he is, and played well beyond the talents of most main stage acts. His fiddle blazed and pricked the audience and sent them into a frenzy many times throughout his set. A handful of new tunes were played mixed with favorites from past albums... Most notably my favorite album The Mysterious Production of Eggs. 

Of course the main spotlight of this article will go out to Radiohead... My main reason for going in the first place. Not only did they not disappoint... They played with a precision that I have never witnessed before. The ability it takes to perform such crazy tracks as "Pyramid Song" live is uncanny. Every tune was performed flawlessly, with Tom and Johnny bouncing around like they were still school lads banging heads in a garage.

The beginning of the set kicked you right into groove with 15 Step leading the way. Other highlights of their set definitely include Paranoid Android, Cymbal Rush, Pyramid Song with a special thank you to NYC, Lucky, How To Disappear Completely, Everything In Its Right Place, Street Spirit, and House of Cards... Well it's actually pretty fucking tough to pick highlights from a show like this. It has redefined what I expect out of a live concert.

The light show was amazing... The icicles they have are mesmerizing flashing red and green and dripping with life. The video work was also very intriguing... Being manipulated into sepia tone or overlaid with images of sound wave generated graphics.

I will write more tomorrow night. For now I must rest. I will end with their full set list!

1. 15 Step
2. There There
3. Morning Bell
4. All I Need
5. Lucky
6. Nude
7. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
8. The Gloaming
9. Optimistic
10. Videotape
11. Reckoner
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Places
13. You and Whose Army?
14. Idioteque
15. Climbing Up The Walls
16. Bodysnatchers
17. How To Disappear Completely

Encore 1
18. House of Cards
19. Pyramid Song
20. Paranoid Android
21. Dollars and Cents

Encore 2
22. Street Spirit
23. Cymbal Rush
24. Just
25. Everything In Its Right Place

Friday, August 1, 2008

Illusions

Ok... One of my few Political songs. I wrote this right after Bush got re-elected... I was 19 I think at the time... Maybe 20.

"Illusions"
All lyrics by Grant Walker, All rights reserved

Hail to the thief
They cried from the street
And you, you've taken control
Of what no one should own

Freedom is
Such a colorful Illusion
Painted on
The smog and the pollution
We are slaves
To a walled off street
We're no better
Than the cows and the sheep

And you, You've taken disguise
And you, you made your stocks rise
And doesn't it feel sweet
To take from those who need

Freedom is
Such a colorful Illusion
Lost among the smog and the pollution
We are slaves
To a walled off street
We're no better
Than the cows and the sheep

Hallow have the eagles eyes become
An Iron, and Iron fist... Backed by guns

And time
Has come
For a
A new revolution
One
Last solution
And a
A new constitution

Leave It All Behind

OK... So this one I forgot about. Wrote it when I was 19, and was partially inspired by Nathan's life and partially inspired by mine.

"Leave It All Behind"
Lyrics by Grant Walker, All rights reserved

Take your time
To find a way, back home
Leave it all behind
Free your mind
Forget what you have known
Leave it all behind

It's three A.M.
Your demons are at play
The mirrors on the table
The razor's on it's way
It's the same old shit
That happens every night
You lost all your reason
And you're blinded by your fright
You are trapped in the memories
Of the years that have passed
You're locked inside a maze
Deep within the hour glass

And take your time
To find a way back home
Leave it all behind
Free your mind
Forget what you have known
Leave it all behind

Shut your mouth
There's nothing more to say
I'm tired of the lies
That you've been preaching everyday
Yeah you think you're a god
But you can't face your reflection
Yeah, you're too scared to look
Because of fear of self rejection

So take your time
To find your way back home
Leave it all behind
Free your mind
Forget what you have known
Leave it all behind
Leave it all behind
Leave it all behind

Cigarettes and Weed

So I wrote this when I was just a teen... Still love it and it is one of my most catchy tunes as well as one of my most popular.

"Cigarettes and Weed"
All lyrics by Grant Walker, All rights reserved

Aint got a dollar in my pocket, or a penny in my shoes
I'm packing all my bags cause there aint nothing to loose
While in the Carolinas, I learned to play guitar
And everyone was telling me "Son, that aint gonna get you far"

Well I went about my business
I said I'm doing fine
The changing of the seasons
Has made me loose my mind

So I moved into the city and found myself some pay
I sat on the couch and watched my dreams fade away
I wasted all my money on cigarettes and weed
I burned away the dollars just to fuel my greedy needs

Well I went about my business
I said I'm doing fine
I may have lost my reason
But I'll never loose my rhyme

Didn't have to be this way
It was me who let it slip away
I just hope I'm not too late
Another ghost of yesterday

But I have too many now
And I need to break free some how
And find my way