SpinTunes 25 Round 1 Challenge - 'A Day in the Life'

[BoffoYux]

Huey Long's Big Strong Thick Pink Magnum Opus - Asphalt

The smell of asphalt and cigarettes
Spoils the summer bouquet
The sun’s distortion blurs the air
The blinding light of mid day

You find yourself paralyzed
Though the sidewalk burns your skin
You take another drag of hot tar
And reflect on what has been
Done
And cannot be undone

The footage from the ATM
Had come to light with the dawn
It testified and justified
The weapon the you had drawn
They couldn’t hold you no more
The pig in charge said let’s go
And released you without charge

You’d seen the gun, in his waistband
He put it there so’d you’d know
As he reached for it with his hand
Time began to slow

You found yourself, paralyzed
Until you felt the adrenaline
Pulled the knife from your pocket
And drove it into him
Oh
Over and over again

And the ambulance, when it came
Arrived twenty minutes too late
You’d trained well, and you made sure
He left the scene in a bag
And when the pigs finally showed up
you promptly shut the fuck up
And let them take you away

They knew you were too poor
For a lawyer that’s for sure
So the police’s non stop browbeat
Didn’t fuckin’ cease
They kept you in that room and
They cuffed you to a desk
Amplifying all the voices
That were screaming in your head
They the doubts fester
Left you free to question whether
This was self defense or murder
Let you really fuckin hurt for it

Let the blood on your hands sink into your soul
Get underneath your nails and soak deep under your skin
And when you were looking at your lowest that’s when you were told
You killed a man with a broken mind who wasn’t control

Now the smell of asphalt and cigarettes
Spoils the summer bouquet
You sit out on the stations concrete steps
In the blinding light of mid day

You find yourself paralyzed
Though they said that you’re free to go
You know you’ll never ever be free
From the gash that knife cut in your soul

From the vocalist/programmer:
This song is inspired by events that occured to me when I was in my undergrad. I was accosted on the street by a man demanding my jacket and cash, and then that I take him back to my place so that he could get more cash. He showed me a revolver in his waistband as a threat if I didn't comply. However, throughout our exchange, he was unaware that I had an open balisong in my jacket pocket, and if need be, I was prepared to lethally defend myself. Similarly, I was unaware that the man in question was intellectually disabled, and not fully aware of his actions. In reality, I was able to talk my way out of the situation--eventually he was found by the police and detained, where it also came to light that the gun he was threatening me with was fake. He ended up hospitalized rather than in prison, which I considered to be the ideal situation. The song is told in a deliberately nonlinear narrative, based on clinical experiences with memory issues in cases of moral injury and ptsd, and explores an alternate possibility, where I had in fact used lethal force to defend myself, and had to live with those consequences (as well as some deliberate changes to the situation to simplify the narrative and develop a stronger mental aesthetic). Ironically, this is the inversion of my actual PTSD-like symptoms that came largely as a function of not having defended myself, and therefore put others at risk of harm. This is to reinforce the idea that in some cases, there are no right answers, and we have to deal with consequences regardless of our choices.

[BoffoYux]

Möbius Strip Club - Angela

Coffee cooling on the counter
Forgotten in its place
A pensive sense of worry
Drawing lines upon your face

The kids are getting antsy
The car is packed to go
A Final day of holiday
And then we’ll hit the road

Angela!
It’s not like you to wander
Angela!
Nor precious time to squander
Angela!
We need you with us here and now-
Angela!
Where’d you go?


Suits adorned on sandy shores
And towels shroud the sand
While the playful ocean breeze
dances with your curly strands

Sapphire waves cascade amidst
The shouts of children’s glee
And off you swim along the bluffs
A spot of green against the sea

Angela!
It’s not like you to wander
Angela!
Drifting over yonder
Angela!
We want you with us here and now-
Angela!
Where’d you go?

Rays of sunlight turn to gold
As shadows creep along the ground on
The empty towel next to mine
Tells me you are not around

Scanning the horizon’s edge
Reveals no trace of you
And not a single swimmer here
Has seen a woman passing through

Have you fallen fast asleep
Upon the craggy dunes?
Have you swum around the point
And found yourself marooned?

I cannot see your curly hair
Bobbing in the waves
I cannot hear you calling back
As I cry your name

Angela!
Have you seen her swimming here?
Angela!
Wearing green with curly hair?
Angela!
It’s not like her to wander
She’s never dare to disappear
I expect her to be with us here
And now she isn’t anywhere

The stars have gathered and dispersed
The coast guard’s come and gone
Nothing left to do but drive on
Home into the breaking dawn

The road is long and unforgiving
The house is deadly quiet too
And on our bed a lonely note
Is all that’s left of you

Angela!
I cry into the darkness
Angela!
I rail against the pain
Angela!
How could you leave me here and now
Angela!
You were mine, and mine alone!

MissCalcul8 and I were having a lovely beach day, sitting on the rocks and painting the cliffs, when a man swam up to us asking if we had seen his curly haired wife. A while later two young girls swam by from the other direction asking the same (adding that her bathing suit was green). We unfortunately hadn't seen anyone with that description. Later we hear shouts of "Angela!" from down the shore and again many times as the man searched by speedboat around the coast. After a while we didn't hear anything so we chose to assume she was found. The mystery of it all inspired us to write this song for her.

[BoffoYux]

Boffo Yux Dudes - Say Hey!

I wake up every morning, I know just what to say
Early day the sunrise, and I rise with the hey
I brush my teeth and set out with a song in my heart
I spread my joy to everyone and that's the place to start


I love to go Hey!
It passes the day
'cause when you go 'Hey'
You have something to say!

You can Hay in the Stack
You can Hay on your back
You can Hay On the ground
While you're rolling around!

I hear the shouts at midmorning when everyone's outside
Our call is so infectious, there's no place to hide
I always say 'Hey' do you want to play?
Cause when you shout 'Hey' it stops all the gray

Is Hey just for Horses?
I think they'd say 'Nay'!
'least thats what I hear
when they start to bray

You can Hay in the sunshine
In the hot Noon sun
You can Hay in the afternoon
When the workday is done


Nothin left to say buy Hey!
Nothin left to say buy Hey!
Nothin left to say buy Hey!
Nothin left to say buy Hey!

And then when night is falling and we all settle down
It calms my tired eyes to hear that gentle sound
So I'll say it once again again 'till the next day come
It puts you to sleep when day is all done

Chorus:
Hey! Hey Hey Hey!
Hey! Hey Hey Hey!
Hey! Hey Hey Hey!
Did you say Heeeeeeeeey!

Hey! Hey Hey Hey!
Hey! Hey Hey Hey!
Hey! Hey Hey Hey!
Did you say Heeeeeeeeey!Heeeeeeeeey!

Say Hay, Say Hay!
Did you say Heeeeeeeeey!Heeeeeeeeey!

Say Hay, Say Hay!
Did you say Heeeeeeeeey!Heeeeeeeeey!

Say Hay, Say Hay!
Did you say Heeeeeeeeey!Heeeeeeeeey!

[BoffoYux]

Dog Star Pilot - Only Thing

Woke up in Avoca, Capri Motel
I know it was dark when I pulled in but what the hell?
Seems the coffee maker is broken
There’s a red stain on the rug
I start to question all my choices
you know, the way one does

Pack up my few belongings and I’m ready to go
Forget whatever I was thinking and head down the road

Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska
Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska

Stick right to 80, see pals in North Platte
Take a little break and then keep moving after that
This state is straight and flat
and wide and square as a block
All the way from Omaha to Chimney Rock

Keeping it together and rolling down the line
Wherever you are right now you’re not on my mind

Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska
Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska

Maybe my momentum will carry me all the way to Laramie
No matter what we leave behind
we’re always heading towards something else

Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska
Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska
Today the only thing I gotta do is drive clear through Nebraska

I am in the process of moving into a new house. I spent the day emptying one storage unit and there’s another one to go. There is no telling which plastic bin has my Recording equipment in it because I’m very bad at labeling things. My only option to participate in Round 1 was to do this song a cappella using an iPhone app.
The song is based on a trip I took this summer crossing the country, heading for the coast. Any similarities to persons, living or dead is coincidental and names were changed to protect the innocent.

[BoffoYux]

Fluke Wilson - Tommy Bahama Backfire

Well my mouth hasn't been this dry
Since the last time my mouth was dry
And this cloth tied to my face
Isn't doing much to help the case
And i cant guess where i am
But ill do the best that I can

It was closing time at the bar
And i was getting busy in a car
And I felt her hand slide up my back
And that's about the time
Everything went black

So i tink im inside a trunk
On a dirt road crust I feel every bump
And i dont know my real offense
Maybe it's a lack of common sense

The hatch pops open, here's my chance to clear it up
Lets talk for a moment this is just a bad mix up
I was in the wrong place and my timings even worse
Am I wearing the wrong shirt?

Please allow me to explain
I met a man when I got off the plane
Who saw a lack in my attire
He said I would be the perfect buyer

You need to change your threads man
These folks eat tourists up
Come back to my closet
I promise I can fix you up
This wont cost you a penny
I'm just glad I found you first
In fact I have the perfect shirt.

In retrospect this plan was poor
Im a fool for thinking what a score
I guess I should have done the math
Who stores weapons inside their bath?

I call upon you juddah, praise allah, or even buddha
Just someone send a savior or a hand
I know its been a while but I should die from style
Tell these fellows that I’m not their man
I was in the wrong place and my timings even worse
I’m just wearing the wrong shirt

Hey man slow down for a second
Put your silver tongue to rest
You match the description perfectly
This is for the best

Hey man this won’t hurt a bit now
In fact its gonna hurt a lot
But once we rake you over these coals
You’re gonna talk
You're gonna talk
And tell us what we want
You're gonna talk

[BoffoYux]

Sober - Long Way Round

Kandahar to Kyrgyzstan, Leipzig to Baltimore, Seattle to Narita, Haneda to Misawa
That’s 24 airborne hours til touching down
When you’re a world away every way is the long way round

Now, this was back in 2012. I’d spent six months in the desert running all around
Tryin my damndest to get into any kinda trouble I could find
Well as you can imagine, I was mighty anxious to get home
Little did I know that trip’d be a hell of a time

Well the gettin there was kind of a different story
There was all kinds of training and testing and equipping to do
So off I went, from my duty station in Japan to Fort Dix in New Jersey, then Lackland in San Antonio and on and on and on
So heading east from Japan made perfect sense

Now Leipzig, that’s a funny bit. They got a special terminal there
Set up just for US military folks passin through
That’s a smart thing, because they sell absinthe and jager
The last hard liquor you see heading downrange, and the first you see comin back

Now when you leave Afghanistan you might go through kuwait
I heard stories about that place, but I ain’t never been
But in Manas, that’s Kyrgyzstan, you get to have two beers per day
To make ‘em count you get Baltica number 9. It ain’t good, but it’s tall and strong as sin

It’s funny, when you’re coming home, at one point your flights go from military to commercial
So there you are, in seat 34B, gettin that fine Afghan dust on the sleeves of the commuters in 34 A and C
But maybe on one of them flights you’ll get an upgrade to first class on account of your Afghan dust-encrusted duds
But when you’re in uniform, you ain’t supposed to drink in public, so apart from the legroom, the gesture feels kinda empty

Now those that know are well aware, and plenty of jokes have been made
About how military intelligence ain’t always the best
But who among us hasn’t got a bit turned around
Cause you know sometimes if you wanna go east, you gotta go west

[BoffoYux]

miscellaneous owl - Don’t Look Back

Ever since your funeral
Things haven't been the same
And they tell me
Not to dwell on the past
But it's not as easy as that, you know?

On a cool September morning
I pick up my guitar
Walk past the all-night bars
And the old junkyard
And the crust punks
Sitting in their tents
Sharing their dumpster bagels
And their half-smoked cigarettes

Three dogs growl
Huddling close
In their nest of sleeping bags
And their owners' tattered clothes
Watchful as a guardian
Of the underground
I hurry past them to the subway stairs
And make my way down

Pay my fare
To the ferryman
Climb aboard the empty train
And ride it past the end
Leave behind the living
So I can see you again

And I don't look back
Don't look back
Don't look back
Don't look back

And I thought that if I wrote a song
That captured what I feel,
I wouldn't have to feel it anymore
That you could walk back through that door
Finally I wrote it
So now here I am
To bargain with the dark
And I think it's going to work

If I don't look back
Don't look back
Don't look back
Don't look back

[BoffoYux]

Joy Sitler - Cigarettes and Microgreens [SHADOW]

Content warning: Addiction, Disordered Eating, Self Harm

Smoked a cigarette last night

My first one in a couple years
I just had to bum a light
I’d had one too many beers
The doctors told me not to do it
The doctors told me all the risks
But I was really going through it
And I just had to take a hit

Can’t live it up, can’t live it down,
Can’t break these habits that I’ve found
Can’t stand the sight, can’t stand the sound
Of my blackened lungs as I cough them out

Yesterday I tried just not eating
Cause the doctor said I was needing
To lose some pounds to come around
So I swallowed hard and started feeding
On a diet of not enough
It’s going rough, my stomach’s howling
At the plate in front of me, only micro greens and a diet something

I can’t keep this up, can’t keep it down
Can’t fill my cup and shed another pound
Can’t stand the sight, can’t stand the sound
Of my reflection as my stomach growls

Last night I tried just not sleeping
Cause my mind wouldn’t stop repeating
“You’re not enough, they called your bluff”
So I worked myself up till my heart was beating
Twice as fast as it should have been
I was caving in and my arms were bleeding
If I wouldn’t have cut them out I’d be better now but the scars aren’t healing

Can’t break it up, can’t break it down
Can’t get back up when I hit the ground
Can’t stand the sight, can’t stand the sound
Of my own voice even as I drown

It's a rough world out there. Coping mechanisms are a difficult thing to keep under control sometimes, but recently I've been doing much much better than these lyrics imply. Stay safe, friends.

[BoffoYux]

Vehicles of Beware - Terminal [SHADOW]

Verse 1
One hour too late
And the difference it made
For the plane supposed to take him away
There's no option she said
Speaking letters in red
Replacements won't come right away
Far flung from heroes and heroines
Just connections benign and mundane
He'd arrived there in time
But had to wait in a line
So he more than an hour too late

Verse 2
Two minutes too late
Or you could get a plate
And a table the kitchen just closed
There's a vending machine
Down by gate number three
You'll just have to sleep in your clothes
Lights going out down at the terminal
Nothing to do but to wait
In his hour of need
He would beg cry and plead
He was only two minutes too late

Bridge
Oh this day's getting worse
Surrounded by strangers
And I'm no closer to my destination
No this isn't the first
Time I've been waylaid
But haven't I paid

Verse 3
Ten seconds too late
In the twisting of fate
She was here and just closed her eyes
She'd held on so long
But tide was too strong
Her condition was too compromised
Making his way through the hospital
Racing towards her with haste
Through no fault of his own
She'd been left all alone
And he was twenty four hours too late

One day of delay probably isn't the end of the world....unless it is. This is not based on a true story, but definitely inspired by the feeling of being in transit and delayed by forces outside your control.

I only realised how short the duration was as I listened back to the first mix - I guess there's not much else to add to the story for that day.