👏👏👏💙💙💙👍👍👍 ……… 🖕47

This song was written eight years ago as the darkness of the first Trump presidency was making itself known. And now once again we have the unthinkable -- this disastrous human being with power at his fingers.  And he's already busy spreading lies, fear, and hate.

Liisa Pentti https://soundcloud.com/liisapentti did guest vocals on this 2019 version, and it's the definitive one -- I love what she did.

Ever Since the Rainbow

ever since the rainbow left the evening sky
waiting and hoping seem such a waste of time
into the air we fly into the seams we dive
as if the dust of a broken down dream
could start the engine fire

the passage of time this endless ennui
rivers and threads between you and me
sleep and dream again and again
an old man's finger tapping on a window pane
we dream and breath we love and grieve
remember that we share the same blood and air

the innocent sunrise the whispering day
dark clouds rising that will pass away
I know that these things that bind you to the common marrow
will rise up in your veins to remind you
remember that we share the same blood and air

Spotify Link

Ever Since the Rainbow

Texte et voix La Gazelle https://soundcloud.com/amandine-esno
Musique par HyLGZ22

Le soleil dans les interstices parcourt ma peau encore chaude de tous mes rêves inachevés
je brave le sol froid sous mes pieds j’ouvre les rideaux sur mes possibles
ciel bleu et haut, mer sombre lointaine
c’est dans cette étendue que j’avance
tout m’appelle je frissonne à l’odeur salée de cet océan aux pins mêlés.

Je suis sorcière dans ma longue robe noire
ma langue murmure sans que je m’en aperçoive
d’antiques psaumes et des sortilèges habiles
mes mains pleines de charme caressent l’avenir
la certitude me tient debout la tête haute

Nous sommes des embarcations
lancées sur un océan agité
Certains devront sortir les rames
d'autres juste gonfler la voile

Les beaux senaus avantagés par leurs mats, leur robustesse
Et les esquifs plus modestes plus discrets
Seront par le vent ballottés
Sans cesse trouver son chemin et apprendre alors
Les tempêtes essuyées nous indiquent le nord

Les bateaux se croisent parfois se heurtent
Mains décharnées aux gouvernails meneurs

Je veux baisser les voiles
Jeter au loin rames et amarres
Desserrer les poings
me laisser amadouer
Bercée par nos langages adoués

Ne plus subir les courants
Laisser venir depuis la grève
Le flot et le jusant
Entre deux retenues deux courants je m'apaise

Mes pieds avancent dans les clapotis
je ne ressens pas les vagues
je les passe comme d’anciens habits
et ma robe se met à flotter autour de moi
de mes mains je salue les ondes les plus lointaines

J’appartiens à ce sable sous mes pieds à ces eaux qui m’appellent
à la terre toute entière c’est elle qui me dompte et m’apprivoise
c’est à elle que je me livre
je veux communier pour ceux qui luttent
je veux remercier pour ceux qui brûlent
je veux être nature et légère

Gothic Futuristic Oratorio #2

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” - Carl Sagan

Shining Star

Well hey now
have you ever just had enough
And hey now
Has it ever become too much

Dig deep, deep down inside
Feel the spark that keeps you alive

Be the one you are
See what you are

A shining star
That’s what you are
A shining star

In every beat of the heart
Is a testament to the part
Of the role we all play
Signed in D-N-A
Coursing through our veins
As foretold
It unfolds

So now, right now
Feel the wonder all around you
And now, right now
Know the mystery that surrounds you

Dig deep, deep down inside
Feel the spark that keeps you alive

Be the one you are
See what you are

A shining star
That’s what you are
Yea
Shining star
That’s what you are
Whoa oh
Whoa oh
Ahh

ShiningStar

Rain...too little of it and there is drought, too much of it and there are deadly, destructive floods, just the right amount and the earth flourishes; crops grow, gardens bloom, our spirits are refreshed and encouraged.  This song begs the questions; are mankind's plans, philosophies, charitable endeavors, or selfish goals like the rain that can benefit mankind or destroy it?  Do novel ideas work for the moral structure of humanity or is the ancient wisdom better? There are no easy answers to the questions Peter asks in the lyrics, but they are questions we should consider as we see the world aflame--which is another blessing of rain, it can put out fires.
Lyric/poem, singing and narration - Peter The Poet: @ soundcloud.com/user-264930040/tracks
Beautiful guitars left/right - David: @david-dunhamuser589535203
Music, e-guitar, mix, and masterful production - Seagull: @farout-music-studio
The gorgeous female voice: Clara Sorace.

Rain
And so it rains
Will it wash away tomorrow’s hopes,
Leave us stranded in our yesterdays
Clinging to the fraying ropes
Swinging helplessly in vain

And yet it rains
Both the means to life or drowning death
Spilling ‘cross the flooding plains
Sucking out the terminal breath
Forever and again

I stand here naked, cold and blue
Stripped of pride and freedom too
Aspirations drained, subdued
As heaven’s cloudbursts purge me through

And still it rains
Will it cleanse, refresh, renew the truth
Sanitise and ease the pain
Or launder filthy failure’s proof
To try and hide the liar’s stain

And it will rain
While lunatics still yield the whip
Indoctrination’s game remains
The crass politico’s iron grip
Will euthanise our children’s brains

……and so it rains

Rain (with Conny, Peter And David)

Back at my acoustic piano for my first song of 2025. 😊🎶🎹🌷

Thank you @wane-of-summer for a wonderful master. 😊🎶❤️❤️❤️

All my colours are on display
But it seems
That you want me anyway
Oh how we’ll grow

I’m no bed of roses
But you help me bloom…

Oh how time flies 
And the petals fall
Oh now I bloom
No thorns in sides
Oh how we grow

I’m no bed of roses
But you help me grow…

In full bloom…

All my colours
Are on display 
But it seems
That you need me anyway

BED OF ROSES (acoustic piano)

Cast of Characters:
Joe Stroffolino-- @joseph-stroffolino -- Taylor 114ce acoustic guitar, main vocals, harmony vocals, lyrics, composition 
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender HSS Telecaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – piano
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string Fender Precision Bass with a plectrum 
 
This song began as one of Joe's, lyrically centered songs, which he wrote and filled in with VST instruments. He came up with the lyrics by sharing ideas with fellow SoundCloud musician Michele Ansani.
   Knowing that Josh is a fan of his work, Joe offered this song to him in hopes that he'd share it with the rest of the band. Of course, Josh jumped at the opportunity to work on his song, and immediately shared it with the rest of the group. 
  Ken went to work first, adding his driving, excting drums. Josh was having a hard time coming up with a good bass line for it, until Ken suggested that he use the power of the 1/8 note to propel it. Tez was up next with his clever fills you hear throughout the first half of the song. Stephen came along right after and matched Tez's energy for the guitar fills in the second half of the song. 
  It was still missing a solo in the designated spot, though, so Mark stepped up with his innovative piano solo you hear in the middle. If it sounds a little mechanical, that's because he's using an arpeggiator to achieve the effect. We thought it sounded good in a song about AI, though. 
  Once all the parts were dialed in, and Joe had gotten all his vocals tuned up, we asked one of our resident pros, Stephen, to mix it for us. He did that and mastered it, too, expertly, as always.
  This is the first song we've ever done with Joe, and don't expect it to be the last. We all really enjoyed putting together, in no small part because Joe is such a competent, receptive, and gracious collaborator. We all hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it. 
Original lyrics by Joe Stroffolino (and Michele Ansani):
When I was thirteen I picked up my first guitar
it was my mother's, it only had one nylon string 
I tried to play it like a rock star
I learned to play the Coca-Cola jingle
So I could teach the world to sing
When I was fourteen, I put on six new strings
I learned to play Beatles, I learned a Bob Dylan song
I sounded out of tune but I tried to carry on
At fifteen I wrote my first original tune 
So bad it sounded like it might have been written by a baboon
When I was sixteen, I got a new guitar for my birthday
The metal strings sawed through my fingers 
But I continued to play
And the calluses formed and every day I learned a brand new chord
I was obsessed with that guitar and I never grew bored.
I wrote songs every day and most of them were a mess
But I believed that through hard work, I could achieve success
Malcom Gladwell wrote a book that said it takes ten thousand hours
To become and expert at your craft
But now all it takes is two commands and an enter
And in two minutes you have ten versions of the same damn new song,
You just have to choose the type
folk, rock, rap, pop, metal, jazz, trap or blues.
You don't even need to write the lyrics, 
your push a few buttons let the AI choose.
And people will think your songs are great even though you didn’t write or play a single note.
When I was 20, I did my first concert, it was time
it occurred in a village square
there were four cats all friends of mine
I was still using the plectrum and sometimes I got the chords wrong
at thirty I finally wrote what I thought was a decent song
It had a very well thought out structure
And a catchy vibe and beat
It was overly verbose but when I played it people tapped their feet
In my forties I stopped wasting my time
Work was more fun I was doing just fine

AI Sucks! (Eclectic Collective with Joe Stroffolino)

at the disco
goin’ all the way
with a speedball
on an empty day

i wonder if i stopped my cryin’
i wonder if i stopped now

crooked halo
all you’ve got today
your dependents
better back away

i wonder if i stopped my cryin’
i wonder who i’d be now

in the moonlight
goin’ all the way
to the river
gonna watch for day

i wonder if i stop my crying’
i wonder what i’d see now

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Cheesemont Paisely-Paisely, Jacques DiCroce, Janine Levinson, David Weiss, and Wheelwright for encouragement and the fine tooth comb.

Pity Party

I’m Keeping Score (open invitation for a collab from IPG1) 
IPG1 & Paploviante
Original Vocals from IPG1:
https://soundcloud.com/ipg1/im-keeping-score-vocals-92-bpm
Paploviante: E-Bass, Mix, Mastering and Music Composition. 
Picture Background P. Racle Senior (R.I.P)

I'm Keeping Score

Hey…. Hope you’re all well. Thanks for dropping by. These days, maybe like you, I can easily get upset about what is happening in the world… and like most of us, I have occasional moments of anger and despair, frustration and feeling at a loss. So I often seek solace in gardening and in nature. When I smile these days… it is not necessarily a happy smile. It is a knowing smile that I can share with the world.… So here’s a little banjo song with a smile. Mark

Out In The World

34

Hey there you orange stain
you're a convicted felon
With a laundry list of crimes you committed 
That you'll never have to pay for
You only ran for president to keep yourself out of a cell
So needless to say, to be fair to you, you'll probably burn in hell 

34 Times
34 Times
34 Times
Great big lies
34 Crimes
34 Crimes
You should be locked up for life

We are tired of the racism, the sexism and the ableism 
We mare tired of you transphobia the homophobia and biphobia
The filth and slime from underneath your teeth 
It's destroying, destroying, destroying 
destroying everything 

34 Times
34 Times
34 Times
Great big lies
34 Crimes
34 Crimes
You should be locked up for life

Look at you behind your big boy desk
You don’t look powerful, you look ridiculous 
You not a president who’s great 
You’re a president who hates

You make cuts to make it look your smart and powerful 
but your just a slob
Because you don’t have the cognitive skills it takes 
to do this job 

34 Times
34 Times
34 Times
Great big lies
34 Crimes
34 Crimes
You should be locked up for life

34 Times
34 Times
34 Times
Great big lies
34 Crimes
34 Crimes
You should be locked up for life

34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34, And there will probably be more

Thank you to my lovely Sander for mastering this old song of mine. 😊🎶🎹❤️


Lyrics. 
Once in a while
The stars collide
Once in a while
The waves will rise

I’ll be your diamond in the rough


Once in a blue moon
The heart will sing
Once in a blue moon
My heart will sing

I’ll be your diamond in the rough…

Diamond In The Rough

Music available on bandcamp https://thebargainbasementbutterflies.bandcamp.com/

The Bargain Basement Butterflies are gleefully inspired by Kraftwerk, Erasure, OMD, the Lightning Seeds, Depeche Mode, Howard Jones, The Cure, Laurie Anderson and a host of other terrific artists old and new.

Living Life and Making Music, because what else is one to do? 

Open to collaborations.
I do love to sing...or play.

34

The Bargain Basement Butterflies

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