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1. |
TV Dinner
03:31
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Overworked
Underpaid
Locked up in this godforsaken iron cage
Full reserve
IRA
Can’t afford to let up or I’ll be replaced
Clocking out
What a day
Can’t wait to unwind in front of my display
Automate
Disengage
TV dinner welcomes with a glowing face
Remote control
Mutes the pain
Loving arms of loneliness take hold again
Turn the dial
Touch the screen
More alive than any sense of “species-being”
Filtering
What is real
Precondition everything I need to feel
Tube IV
So aesthetic
My swollen eyes are anesthetics
CHORUS:
A one-dimensional decline
The infrastructure is internalized
The individual resigns
Experiences are commodified
Second course
Substance lost
Boredom an alternative to conscious thought
Stimulate
Tantalize
Another form of anomic suicide
Falsify
Fabricate
My utensils scrape the bottom of my plate
No dessert
Full and void
I’m content to fall asleep to white noise
CHORUS:
A quantitative frame of mind
Pain and pleasure assimilate
The economy tanks but I’m feeling fine
Just as long as my paycheck provides me an escape
An escape
Any escape
Try not to think about it
Try not to think at all
Try not to sabotage the little hope I have at all
Try not to think about it
Try not to think at all
Try not to care which one of us is holding the remote control
I will consume
I will consume
Consume
© 2006 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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2. |
Amphetamine Housewife
01:56
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Amphetamine housewife (REPEAT 4x)
Never mind the dental care
She’ll lose her teeth within a year
Worried that she’ll pose a threat?
Get her hooked on crystal meth
Give that bitch a little line
She’ll clean your house in record time
When she’s twitching for a fix
She’ll suck and swallow every bit
Amphetamine housewife (4x)
Feeling that she’s getting fat?
Tina will take care of that
Drugs suppress her appetite
And keep her working through the night
Wait until she’s coming down
And then start slapping her around
If she’s trying to get clean
Pick apart her self-esteem
Amphetamine housewife (4x)
Broken will, heated arguments
Lying still, pressed against cement
Toilet bowl mirror
Guess what’s for dinner?
Cigarette is half-extinguished
Way too faded to conceive this
Vomit, tears, and Clorox
Bruises and Botox
Amphetamine housewife (5x)
She’s dead
© 2006 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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3. |
Nice Guys
03:54
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So many nice people in this world
A cesspool of kindness and ethical blindness
So please excuse my sarcastic tone
I’m a bit underwhelmed by the samples shown
Mr. boisterous fraternity guy
Phi Kappa Asshole with bloodshot eyes
Get drunk and fight every night
Idolize Bradley, belittle women’s rights
Homophobic, racist, and don’t give a fuck
Hey, and do you think you could drive a bigger truck?
So wear your baseball cap to the side
To let everyone know that you’re a nice guy
So damn cool
We’re so impressed
Lots of chicks and a barrel chest
‘Cause you’re a “real man”
Punch for punch
Gonna piss in your face once you pass out drunk
I’m a nice guy
You’re a nice guy
He’s a nice guy
BUT ALL OF YOU ARE ASSHOLES
I’m a nice guy
You’re a nice guy
She’s a nice guy
BUT ALL OF YOU ARE ASSHOLES
Nice guys rule the planet
I just can’t understand it
Conquer divine by deception and lies
Social Darwinism and an overdose of pride
FUCK OFF JERK OFF
I don’t want to hear it
FUCK OFF JERK OFF
Read into the lyrics
So let the blood you spill quench your thirst
Everybody knows that nice guys finish first
Mr. wife beater, you’re next on the list
Such a nice guy who speaks through his fists
Prick with a penchant for messing with heads
A broken nose for dinner and breakfast in bed
Alcoholic, paranoid, and suicidal too
But you’ll probably kill her before she gets away from you
She quivers in a pool of blood and cries
But all your friends say that you’re a nice guy
Have a drink
This one’s on me
Look, you’re doing fine
Losing to your disease
Comatose
I’ll pack your bags
Bury you alive
Castrated and gagged
I’m a nice guy
You’re a nice guy
We’re all nice guys
BUT ALL OF YOU ARE ASSHOLES
She’s a nice guy
He’s a nice guy
K.Y.’s a nice guy
BUT ALL OF YOU ARE ASSHOLES
Nice guys rule the planet
The public demands it
Conquer divine by deception and lies
Social Darwinism and an overdose of pride
FUCK OFF JERK OFF
I don’t want to hear it
FUCK OFF JERK OFF
Read into the lyrics
‘Cause everybody gets their just desserts
As long as you remember that nice guys finish first
Bohemian Grove
The 700 Club
The “Daddy doesn’t love me’s” who worship Bettie Page
Stormfront, RAHOWA
McCarthy, Reagan, Bush
They’re all a bunch of nice guys
BUT ALL OF YOU ARE ASSHOLES
Nice guys rule the planet
There’s no way around it, damnit
Keep fighting for your piece of the pie
Everybody knows that you’re a nice guy
Nice guys destroy the planet
It’s a fucked up pandemic
You might be the corn in everybody’s shit
But as far as I’m concerned you can suck my dick
© 2006 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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4. |
Bishop to Pawn
04:27
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Roman Catholic scare tactics, indecision, God, here we go again
The bureaucracy of Christ compels you to vote like a model constituent
“Forming consciences for faithful citizenship”
Doctrinaire politics
Catholic answers “non-negotiable” even if you don’t believe in God
No right to marry whom we love with equal recognition under law
No right to die when suffering, no women’s right to their own bodies undeterred by the prerogatives of men
Our desires, lives, and bodies must be legislated by the Vatican
“Forming consciences for faithful citizenship”
Undermining democracy since 1976
Coercion through a patriarchal one-sided dogma passed on as “debate”
Bishop to pawn
A familiar pastime
But what’s our present state?
Undemocratically appointed group of abstinent, imperialistic men
White cloak, white hair, and white skin define the “common good” for everyone
Forming consequences of faith-based citizenship
Undermining democracy since 1776
Coercion through a patriarchal one-sided dogma passed on as “debate”
Bishop to pawn
The diocese gets a tax break…checkmate
What’s our present state?
What’s our present state? (x4)
© 2007 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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5. |
Broken Windows
05:15
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Welcome to the land of the free
Where the poor get prison and the rich live in gated communities
Whatever happened to public space?
Not in my backyard, this is budding landscape
Change a few laws and incite a scare
Cripple the infrastructure there
Districts evicted, costs inflate
To free up valuable real estate
Crime and homelessness labeled a lifestyle choice
Social contract broken, they have no voice
See? These blighted ghettos are a mess
Gentrification at its best
Vets, addicts, mothers, children, tramps, and blacks
Gotta force these UTE's out ASAP
Round 'em up and keep our assets clean
From NYC to Chavez Ravine
If we pretend
That they're not there
Then maybe they
Will all go away
It's not our fault
Just the result
Of their own choice
To default
You broke your window of opportunity
No culpability
I'm sorry for your plight but quit looking so pissed
I've got my own problems to deal with
Quit begging for change and apply for a job
You ruining my one day off to shop
With your sunken eyes and pungent stink
Don't look at me, I didn't do anything
To deserve to feel so goddamn guilty
If we pretend
That they're not there
Then maybe they
Will all go away
Walk right on by
Cold as the night
Only the strong
Can survive
You broke your window of opportunity
No culpability
There's another two on Pacific Avenue
Can't understand why they choose to live how they do
Avoid eye contact as I briskly walk past
With my shopping bags full of useless crap
If you're going to beg, then you might as well
Tell me a joke or look a little more thankful
Here's my last dime, hey, I feel better already
Time to hit the Mall and spend some money
We need fences, we need borders
Privatize and prevent disorder (REPEAT)
Don't give a shit if there's no public restroom around
Get on the bus and get the fuck out of town
Force 'em out to preserve the American Dream
From San Francisco to New Orleans
Criminalize their means of sustenance
To maximize redevelopment
Giving every hard-working capitalist the right
To the pursuit of property and life
If we pretend
That we're immune
And this cannot
Happen to us
Give it some time
Fiscal decline
You may just cross
The poverty line
Don't break a window 'less you plan to pay the price
Our quality-of-life
Don't go burning bridges 'less you're ready for a fire
Your civil rights expire
© 2008 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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6. |
Meat Market
03:30
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It began as a dream
And when I woke up
I stopped looking at the mirror like a magazine
Now I’ve dropped my guard
Redefined my place
In a petty scene of pseudo-stars
Where passion and love
Are second to pissing contests and drugs
It’s never enough
So eat your fucking makeup
Play the Blank Club
Sell your soul and break up
After party blues, attitude and booze
Always on display, can’t afford to lose
Because we’ve always done it for the children
Gotta hit up that disposable income
Take a good, long look at yourselves
Lighten up, have fun and enjoy it while you can, because
If you don’t feel the music then why even call yourselves a band
Let your business sense redefine your insolence
I’m incensed by your cookie cutter pretense, hence
Please understand
I’m on the rag
Because rock stars are businessmen in drag
Mercenaries for hire
Killing in the name of everything that’s tried and true and tired
Just like Upton Sinclair
Aiming for your hearts and hit your stomachs in despair
So pave the way for a San Jose music scene beyond repair
You strike a pose
You dress the part
But sound like shit and break my heart
Dim the lights, trade your inhibitions
For a slab of meat and assume the position
The market’s always open
Stockpiles of aspirations to be broken
Replaced with crafted, careful talk and posture
Win some sons and daughters
Sexual partners, record labels, street credentials, and enticing tasty fame and fodder
Hell! Why even bother?
But it’s been said that every band sells out
Some more than others, I’m sure, I don’t claim to doubt
It takes some business sense and not just pure ideals to pay the rent
But everything’s that’s spent should support a dream, not a fucking machine
So once again
Please understand
I’m on the rag
Because rock stars are businessmen in drag
Mercenaries for hire
Killing in the name of everything that’s tried and true and tired
Just like Upton Sinclair
Aiming for your hearts and hit your stomachs in despair
So bring a plate, and feed your face, and pretend you even care
Suck out the corn you got stuck between your teeth
Wipe off the shit you got smeared across your cheek
Cut off your fat and get wrapped in plastic sheets
Remember that you are what you eat
© 2006 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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7. |
Lament
03:37
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My love for you is only matched by few
And as I take you to heart, it tears me apart
Your very taste another flavored grace
My only peace of mind found in unwilling eyes
As we lay uncomfortably numb within each other's arms
Going to break you in half but I mean you no harm
CHORUS:
A method as kind as a bullet inside of a gun
Reaching out with a godless decline
Defaced and betrayed by the stereotype we portray
Sensibility withers away
My lament to you
My lament to you
The hate I feel is undoubtedly real
And as I resist the urge, you binge and you purge
A sense of freedom as one of us comes
The greatest joys of sex are found in excess
Disregarded, disillusioned, dormant to a grave
Nothing is enough in spite of everything you gave
REPEAT CHORUS
Well, my wrists may be thick, it's true
But they're thin enough to cut right through
Permanently leave a mark upon your spotless record
And at my requiem, would you please make sure
That they don't try to censor my suicide letter
A testament to the ones who helped me pull the trigger
And the best I could do was the worst you could ever hope for
I said the best I could do was the worst you could ever hope for
I'm fucking cracking up
I'm fucking cracking up
I'm fucking cracking up, yeah
© 2005 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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8. |
Church and State
05:17
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This is the church and this is the state
What have we got? HEY! Religious mandate
Truman talking like His right hand man
Now Godzilla’s gone wild in Japan
But God never gave us the bomb
The greatest good always has a greater wrong
Neo-conversionists always smooth talkers
Big Brother’s got nothing on Our Father
CHORUS:
KEEP ‘EM SEPARATED
Is it a question of faith or an answer that’s prechosen?
KEEP ‘EM SEPARATED
Tax the churches if you can’t keep our schools open
KEEP ‘EM SEPARATED
Can we take twelve steps without a spiritual intercession?
KEEP ‘EM SEPARATED
Keep religion and state free from each other’s intervention
Your Bible Belt leaves me with welts
“Wall of separation?” NO! So go to hell
Some things are just better off detached
Religious Right is a testament to that
Satanic panics and communist plots
Freedom of religion means freedom from loose talk
Rhetoric framing a patriotic pretense
The 1950s was a great decade, wasn’t it?
REPEAT CHORUS
This is the church and this is the state
What have we got? HEY! Religious mandate
Truman talking like His right hand man
Now Godzilla’s gone wild in Japan
But God never gave us the bomb
The greatest good always has a greater wrong
Neo-conversionists always smooth talkers
Big Brother’s got nothing on Our Father
REPEAT CHORUS
© 2007 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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9. |
Daddy's Girl
02:46
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Your whole life’s been a stage
Idolize Betty Page
Account your culture well
And hide inside your shell
Claim that you’re an outsider
While laughing at the losers
You always dress the part
Black makeup looking sharp
Patented Myspace pose
Hot Topic branded clothes
Tattoos and fishnets
A self-inflicted silhouette
Hang out at coffee shops
An audience when you talk
A definitive gaze
With everything you say
Designer anguish breeds
Unwanted sympathy
Misunderstood? Not quite
I think I’ve got it right
Don’t flatter yourself, hun
You’re not the only one
Who has a deadbeat dad
And now you’ve got it bad
Daddy doesn’t love you
Daddy doesn’t love you
And now you’ve got some issues
‘Cause your daddy doesn’t love you
He looked into your eyes
Without saying goodbye
Now cockiness conceals
The way you really feel
And now you’ve got a son
An Oedipus to come
It’s not a big surprise
You date the nicest guys
Convicted felons and skins
‘Cause they remind you of him
Surround yourself with scum
A pity party of one
A perfect Suicide Girl
Waiting to be unfurled
Scars on your wrists a crime
Try up and down next time
Your brain not worth the bother
Because you miss your father
Wishing he gave into
Incestual taboo
That pop had popped your cherry
No wonder men are scary
We both know one thing’s true
Your daddy don’t love you
Daddy doesn’t love you
Daddy doesn’t love you
So pack yourself some tissues
‘Cause your daddy doesn’t love you
Your daddy doesn’t love you
Your daddy doesn’t love you, boo-hoo
And now you’ve got some issues
‘Cause your daddy doesn’t love
Daddy doesn’t love
Daddy doesn’t love you
© 2006 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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10. |
Then Gwen
03:58
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I see true beauty in you
It truly terrifies me
To know I might be one of them
Those closet cases you hear
It isn’t natural
Less than a gay or lesbian
Searching through Craigslist endlessly
My picture is a whore
Preference or fetish, who’s to decide?
If they could see things equally
You’re no less a man than I am
But no less a woman in my eyes
Question my orientation
Question this gender system
A prison of the heart and mind
Maybe it’s not so simple
To naturalize a label
My shade of grey is undefined
Searching through San Francisco
I left my heart at Divas
Your trump defeats my King of Clubs
If they could see you as more
Than sexualized or sordid
A human capable of love
Gender
Gender
Your face is precious to touch
Not a matter of convincing
Taught me how to cry on command
Appearance not a pretense
Genitals do not define you
Lifestyle or not, it’s what I am
And what you are
Isn’t confined to some typology
Genetics or psychology
When all that’s left is you and me
And after all those sexual politics
Regardless of our rhetoric
We’re all a bit androgynous
Gender
Fuck your gender
© 2006 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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11. |
An Elegy for Men
03:30
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Body, soul, pride, family, paycheck, life under control
Silence golden, idle strong arms grasping, still losing hold
It’s my burden to bear, my failure to live up to
Don’t take it away, I can’t feel shame without you
Now you’re a man…and now you’re less of a man
Now you’re a man…and now you’re less of a man
The greatest pain can never scratch the surface
The greatest shame always serves a greater purpose
Never regret, envy, or question
I drink and aspire for perfection
The architecture of manhood collapses
Be aggressive, or at least don’t be passive
I hear my critics and I believe them, but I won’t let them win
Now you’re a man…and now you’re less of a man
Now you’re a man…and now you’re less of a man
You’ll never live up to this
None of us could ever live up to this
We’ve learned to deny everything
We’ve learned to deny our feelings
And you beat her…and you’re better
And you beat him…and you’re grieving
Welcome to the men’s club, boys
Leave your babies to drown at Bohemian Grove
© 2007 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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12. |
Drive
03:32
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A philosophical prostate examination
Try to remit metastasizing shallow salutations
A privileged few who carry the voice of legislation
Room for two
(But not) me or you
Lack of labels or kinship makes me second-class
My tongue’s so lodged in my cheek that I can taste my own ass
And as a matter of fact, the scenic route is faster
Cruise control
Bought and sold
I swallowed more than my pride in smug, self-righteous San Francisco
Do I get to decide my options over roles? Well, honey, I don’t think so
Am I in the driver’s seat or am I just along for the ride? (Don’t know)
It’s a bit of a stretch, nowhere close to there yet, performing in this dog and pony show
I’m pissing in the wind, I know
I don’t mean to debase your heart and perseverance
But I’m not seeing the rallying point of blind allegiance
You’ve got a license to drive but I don’t have insurance
Dead inside
Thanks for the ride
A proposition detours us from a fender-bender
But the collision ahead is one we should remember
At least the traffic jam will bring us all together
Catty talk
I’d rather walk
Come on and craft me an inauthentic catch-phrase, photographic identity and niche
Hand over the keys, I’ve been drinking too much and don’t wanna end up in a ditch
Everything is better said and done by someone else(’s pitch)
Don’t piss on the seat, do I have to repeat these dribbling self-regarding pricks
Point that finger within to find out
If you’re malignant or benign
© 2009 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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13. |
Change
05:52
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Checking in, checking out, coming in, clocking out
I think I’ve done this before
Searching ‘round, taking off, moving on, jerking off
Hangovers and holdovers
Is my existence this uninspiring
I only live when I’m fantasizing
What I could have been, who I could have been with
Where I should have lived, when I’m gonna make it
Why do I only recall wasted years
I can’t go any more West than right here
The more I change, the more I’m set in my ways
Story of my life, and I wrote it all on a single page
Could you spare some
Change
Take a break, go along, nothing right, nothing wrong
Perfunctory existence
Stock-still, acquiescent, same shit, permanence
Mistaken for persistence
Measure myself against nemeses and friends
They’re all a means to feel insufficient
Living my life like a failed suicide attempt
Full of regret and with a will free of substance
I’m hanging on by a single interwoven thread
Hey, lady Fates, could you spin some ambition instead
And spare some
Change
I build my castle in the sky
Long live the king until I die
I build my castle in the sky
Love live the dream until I die
(REPEAT)
I don’t know what the fuck I want
But I know that I need it now
I don’t know what the fuck I want
But I know that I need you now
(REPEAT)
Better see, better if, better be, better with
Does it get better than this?
Better then, better how, better when, better now
It could be better than this
(REPEAT)
I swear…I swear
I swear
© 2007 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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14. |
Dead Samaritans
03:12
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Machine gun wielding martyrs and pseudo saviors bearing knives
Vowing retribution with no intention to survive
Carried through existence by such Samaritan desire
Kamikaze missions that indecision will inspire
My mind bends, flexing and perplexed
Never knowing what they're capable of next
My soul burns, wretched and inept
Never knowing their causes to go effect
Valued but declined
Concluded yet undefined
Flag of evolution made up of decagons and colored lines
Soldiers of misfortune slaughter for their country's creed
Casualties of war have no choice in what to believe
Ultraviolence bleeding from the television screens
While reporters do their best to capture images and screams
My mind bends, flexing and perplexed
Never knowing what they're capable of next
My soul burns, wretched and inept
Never knowing their causes to go effect
Savored but underscored
Forever yet nevermore
An Armageddon consisting of the human race we're fighting for
Valued but declined
Concluded yet undefined
Flag of evolution made up of decagons and colored lines
Savored but underscored
Forever yet nevermore
An Armageddon consisting of the human race we're fighting for
© 2004 Walter Campbell/NVS Music, all rights reserved.
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NVS San Jose, California
Started in 1999, NVS is a high-energy band from San Jose, CA blending various influences to create music and lyrics encouraging thought and feeling while embodying the best aspects of late '80s/early '90s alternative rock.
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Features "Kill All the White Man" by NVS. 42 bands, 13 countries.
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Walterpurgisnacht
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A compilation of Walter's solo material ranging from psychedelic synthpop to experimental noise released under his alias, Dickie Snakedick.
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The Thing is one of my favorite movies, so when I saw the title and album art, I knew this immediately needed to join my collection. It certainly didn't disappoint. This album perfectly captures the mood of the film (and likely the book as well, which is still on my to-read list), and the last track especially captures the horrific nature of the transformations.
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Another perfect release from contemporary emo powerhouse Run for Cover records.
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