“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” — Bertrand Russell

KNOWsutra  ⚆  where questions matter

INDIEsutra 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥

Rock ain’t a seminal sutraGENRE of my Banana Bible, but(t) psychedelic sure is… and I just freaking love this song!

Lyrics nspired by Nina Hagen “Personal Jesus” and song dedicated to one of my favorite psychedelic spirit daddy (lol), Frank Zappa. 

+ Special credits go to my darling Max (who’s probably on SoundCloud, somewhere, and not in New York yet:) for the  mighty Nina Hagen inspiration <3

Seminal Bollocks • Biblical indiePunk Pop Rock Chanson •  sutraKNOW Augmented Idiocy Music

This is like a prayer—for honesty, equality, and clarity. This version is the most barren of “Queer Almighty”, which is one of the first songs I wrote, and very dear to my heart ❤️‍🔥 

Fun fact: it’s also only 1 of 10+ versions of that song I love, so you’ll hear it again, hehe 🍌

Fun fact 2: I made a video version, up in the clouds, with smoke actually blowing out of my ears 💨

Blessed Be Queers Almighty • Sunday TRIPhop Prayer • sutraKNOW

V.1 (of 3) of a lofi hypnotic trip hop of “They muddy the waters to make it look deep” aka “Nietzsche’s Gift” #sutraKNOW

Nietzsche’s Gift V.1 • LOFI Jazzz • sutraKNOW

V.2 (of 3) of a lofi hypnotic trip hop of “They muddy the waters to make it look deep” aka “Nietzsche’s Gift” #sutraKNOW

Nietzsche’s Gift V.2 • LOFI Jazzz • sutraKNOW

V.3 (of 3) of a lofi hypnotic trip hop of “They muddy the waters to make it look deep” aka “Nietzsche’s Gift” #sutraKNOW

Nietzsche’s Gift V.3 • LOFI Jazzz • sutraKNOW

Good ol' remix 
--
God knows 
Who knows 
WHY WHY
Who cares, 
No one 
knows why
why war
whose woes
Pain, Fools
feelings
why lie?

Predators (always Inspired) 2

Predators (always Inspired) 4

Predators (always Inspired) 5

This is an older song, which has several variations--def not my best musically, but the lyrics are very dear to my heart, and if I get you to read (my darling muse) Leonard Cohen's poem "Everybody Knows" too, it's totally a win-win already... as everybody knows (ha) <3
--
@bananasutra lyrics:

Verse 1
Can we forget the fools tonight and just dance?
Can we let go of hate, take a fearless stance?
Can we leave behind fear, just give peace a chance?

Chorus
’Cause everybody knows we can’t fight fire with fire
Everybody knows that’s a fool’s desire
We can’t end hate with more of the same
Everybody knows love can heal the pain

Everybody knows we can’t fight racism with racism
Everybody knows we can’t fight sexism with sexism
Everybody knows we can’t fight greed with egoism
Everybody knows, but can we break the system?

Verse 2
Can we forgive drama, lay our burdens down?
Can we rise above dogma, wear peace as a crown?
Can we turn wounds to wisdom and spread it around?

Chorus
’Cause everybody knows we can’t fight fire with fire
Everybody knows that’s a fool’s desire
We can’t end war with more blame and shame
Everybody knows love can heal the pain

Everybody knows we can’t fight racism with racism
Everybody knows we can’t fight sexism with sexism
Everybody knows we can’t fight fear with cynicism
Everybody knows, yet we live the schism

Bridge
So let’s lift each other, try to understand
Break down the walls we built by hand
Can we learn from the past, rewrite the script?
Or is history bound to keep us gripped?

Outro
Everybody knows, but will we dare to change?
Everybody knows it’s time to rearrange
We’ve seen what hate can do, it’s old and worn
Everybody knows it’s time to be reborn

Everybody Knows (not) [6] • psyROCKsutra

This one is a variation in my "why wars" series, and like a letter, addressed to my real and imaginary friends who believe war is right... because maybe we could learn some right and wrong from a simple song?
--
A stroll down history’s lane
@bananasutra lyrics <3 

Let’s take a stroll down history’s lane
Where power thrived but truth was slain
Look at the Inquisition’s fiery grip
Burning lives with a righteous lip

And Stalin’s purge, so cold, so cruel
Millions lost to a paranoid rule
Then there’s Hiroshima, skies set ablaze
They said it would end the war’s cruel days

What don’t we get about right and wrong?
Could we learn it from a simple song?
What makes us think, what makes us trust
That means don’t matter when ends are just?

Oh, what don’t we see, what don’t we understand?
History’s lesson is close at hand

Apartheid’s chains in South Africa’s land
A legacy carved by a ruthless hand
They said it was for order’s sake
But left a trail of hearts that break

The Great Leap Forward, Mao’s great plan
Left fields of famine across the land
The Salem witch trials, the innocent blamed
Hysteria stoked, and lives were maimed

What don’t we get about right and wrong?
Could we learn it from a simple song?
What makes us think, what makes us trust
That means don’t matter when ends are just?

Oh, what don’t we see, what don’t we understand?
History’s lesson is close at hand

A stroll down history’s lane • PIANOsutra

Another KNOWsutra EP, with 12 variations of 3 old songs, about truth and religion—inspired by this quote from the (brilliant, deep, subtle, and lovely) one and only Joseph Campbell: "Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically. But when it gets stuck in its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble"... because, oh boy, ain't that true, heh Murica?! ;)

@banasutra lyrics x3:

—
(V1) Metaphor’s Edge

[Verse 1]
On the edge of belief, we teeter and sway,
Caught between fact and the words we obey.
But a story untold is no story at all,
Yet frozen in truth, it leads to our fall.

[Chorus]
Oh, take the edge, the metaphor’s kiss,
Find the meaning that others may miss.
Don’t get stuck in the riddle’s disguise,
For only the open can truly be wise.

[Verse 2]
Wolves in the sheep’s clothes, prophets of gold,
Tell you the gospel, but the message grows cold.
The tale is the journey, not the walls that confine,
To walk with the wind is to walk with the divine.

[Chorus]
Oh, take the edge, the metaphor’s kiss,
Find the meaning that others may miss.
Don’t get stuck in the riddle’s disguise,
For only the open can truly be wise.

—
(V2) Sacred Shadows

[Verse 1]
Whispers in the dark, they speak of heaven’s gate,
A tale so ancient, but twisted by fate.
We worship the shadows, forget what they’re for,
In the light of the moon, we must search for more.

[Chorus]
When the sacred becomes stone, the spirit slips away,
You’ll lose the dance of night for the brightness of day.
But it’s in the shadow that truth comes to play,
Hold the sacred as fluid, don’t let it decay.

[Verse 2]
The stars above speak in riddles, in shapes we misread,
We build temples of answers, but they’re just what we need.
To feel safe in the chaos, to feel known in the void,
But if you make it concrete, all the magic’s destroyed.

[Chorus]
When the sacred becomes stone, the spirit slips away,
You’ll lose the dance of night for the brightness of day.
But it’s in the shadow that truth comes to play,
Hold the sacred as fluid, don’t let it decay.

—
(V3) The Song of the Universe

[Verse 1]
Every story’s got a secret, hiding in plain view,
It’s a mirror for your soul, shaping what you knew.
But you’ll drown in deep illusion, if you take it word for word,
When metaphors become the law, meaning gets blurred.

[Chorus]
Oh, the trouble with truth, when it’s set in stone,
Is that it loses its mystery, leaves you all alone.
Dance with the shadows, don’t hold on too tight,
For the song of the universe shines in metaphor’s light.

[Verse 2]
Priests and prophets, saints and fools, all walk the same line,
But the more they cling to “truth,” the further from divine.
The symbols are the guideposts, not the end of the road,
But some mistake the map for the meaning it showed.

[Chorus]
Oh, the trouble with truth, when it’s stuck in the past,
Is that it forgets it’s a tale, not a spell meant to last.
Dance with the shadows, don’t hold on too tight,
For the song of the universe shines in metaphor’s light.


[04] Joseph Campbell's Truth Metaphors - The Song of the Universe - KNOWsutra Oh Lordy Dreamy Dubby INDIE

… because life on earth is a Psychedelic Cabaret, and “music is the only religion that delivers the goods” (like Frank said). 

To be clear, all I really know is I dunno shit about fck (like Socrates said:)—music and songwriting included. But(t) I feel it, the music, so damn deeep in my soul! I’m just a humble existential fool, a silly banana who likes to play and share, to question and learn. Words are my oldest best friends, hearing myself sing is a freaking miracle (trust me on that lol), and I believe curiosity and #gratitude are the keys to happiness… So voilà, there’s that.

Also, (if you’re curious) BananaSutra is not just a made up BS brand kinda word, it’s actually the name of my DIY Bible—a collection of songs telling true stories of faith, to help me (and perhaps you) make sense of a world gone wild, like bananas gone foul in shallow ignorance and deadly malevolence… Think of it as an agnostic testament of sorts, an audio book of songs with quirky lyrics about things that matter, like the definition of right and wrong, and the meaning of truth, joy, justice, peace, grace, and awe 🕊️

Some call it Artificial Intelligence, but(t) I call Authentic Imagination, Alternative Ideas, Augmented Innuendos, Abstract Illogisms… hopefully, you get the gist? The point being, life is the story we tell ourselves and LYRICS matter—each @bananasutra song has a wondering root and a loving purpose, guided by one of (my) 7 (bananas) sutras: 
- KNOWsutra : is it fair?
- BLOWsutra : is it foul?
- SHOWsutra : is it fun?
- GROWsutra : is it fear?
- FLOWsutra : is it free?
- GLOWsutra : is it fab?
- BOWsutra : is it awe?