Voice of the nation

Copyright 2024 Joe Stroffolino

Lots of people moving to the state of AZ
The desert seems like a nice a nice place to be
The only problem is there’s not enough H20
One day you’ll turn the tap and it’s not gonna flow
The climate keeps getting drier every single year
I guess we’ll have to take fewer showers and drink more beer

If you can’t stand the heat maybe you should get out of the kitchen
Maybe this isn’t the right place for you.
The sun up in the sky is 93 million miles away
But it feels a lot closer on a hot Arizona day

There’s not enough snowpack on the mountains up high
They say the Colorado river’s running dry
They’re ripping up lawns, replacing them with rocks
Instead of going barefoot, you walk around in crocs
The polar glaciers are melting in to the sea
I wish that they could scoop up an iceberg and drop it down on me

If you can’t stand the heat maybe you should get out of the kitchen
Maybe this isn’t the right place for you

Most of the rain falls in the summer
Monsoon season can be a real bummer
You get a big dust storm, they call it a haboob
You can watch scary videos on You Tube
You’ll be driving and suddenly you can’t see
You gotta make sure you don’t crash into a cactus or a tree

If you can’t stand the heat maybe you should get out of the kitchen
Maybe this isn’t the right place for you

A long time a ago, it must have been tough without air conditioning
People just had to sit around all day moaning and bitching 
Now the biggest thing we complain about is our high electric bill
As we lie on the couch watching Netflix enjoying the comfortable chill

If you can’t stand the heat maybe you should get out of the kitchen
Maybe this isn’t the right place for you
The sun up in the sky is 93 million miles away
But it feels a lot closer on a hot Arizona day

Can't Stand the Heat

Soul Quivers

Keksmagie

Silence By Zitou Itou & Albert Paule

Composition and Sampling collage by Synline.

Pray For Me

Cast of characters:

Surfers Like Us– @user-411502040 –Artur–composition, arrangement, and Fender Jaguar foundational rhythm guitar

J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ, envelope synth, vocals along with Josh

K2 and the Three [and the Four]-- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –four string fretless bass

Llanpsych– @llanpsych –Tez– Fender Stratocaster electric guitar

TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen–Fender Nashville Telecaster electric guitar, sitar, mix, master, and production

This song began its life in Poland, where our resident surf rock specialist, Artur, composed it on his giutar. He is a brilliant composer and expert player, so we're always glad to receive music from him.

Artur gave it to JJ to start the project, so JJ was first to the trough here, adding his breathy, moving organ and envelope synth throughout. Ken came along shorly after to give the song its heartbeat, adding his triumphant drums. As soon as he had a beat to play to, Josh added his four string fretless bass to the mix, completing the rhythm section.

Now it was the other guitarists turn to take a whack at it. Tez was first up, adding the magical the first and third solos, in the verse sections. He also lit up the intro and outro sections with some dynamic guitar solos, as well. Stephen went last, filling in the second and fourth solo sections in the choruses, as well as a textural guitar that you hear through most of the song. He also added the exotic sitar you hear in about the middle.

Once we had it in the bag, we asked Stephen to produce it for us, which he did in his always trained, professional manner.

This is the eighth song we've done with Artur over the past about year and a half. We adore his music and him as a person, too. If you dig this song, you should hop over to his page and have a listen in case you're not already familiar. He loves surf music, and wanted to note the passing of surf rock legend, Brian Wilson this week. Wilson was more than just Pet Sounds, although that album is top class. He was a surf rock pioneer, who influenced a whole genre of music; a genre that's near and dear to Artur's heart.

We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Surfers Like Us:
We all live between Sun and Moon
Love and Peace
That's all what we do

Between Sun and Moon (Eclectic Collective)

I had the very good fortune to connect with Andy H aka “Noobly” a few months ago over music that we mutually admired and we agreed to find a future opportunity to collaborate. This is the result. Noobly’s beautifully rich track, propelled by his soaring guitar work, felt like a kind of call to prayer to my ear. I tried to echo this somewhat in singing the bridge. Lyrically, just for kicks I used the Socratic Method to construct the verses (persuasion through Q&A) so that this song’s meaning becomes self-evident and hopefully more of a personal experience for each listener. Thanks for checking it out!

Prideful Pride

Do you remember the day when pride took you for its own
When a thief stole something precious in you

Do you remember the day when pride took you for its own
When a thief stole something precious in you
Did it happen when all of your friends cut you out
Was your heart set on winning something, but you lost instead
And when you were maimed did the anger in you surge
Can you mark the moment when you became someone else
Is your truth under layers of scar and combat
Are you the new thief, looting joy from everywhere

Prideful pride keeps piling on, on, on
Building your walls, can’t go wrong, wrong, wrong
Finding it hard to get along, along, along
Your pride is killing you, long before you’re gone, gone, gone

And in the end you’ll be left with nothing
A bright light that’s gone too dim
I have been in a prison of my own before, just like you
Until I let the facade fall
And was set free, free

Are things more difficult now that you are going it alone
And do you leave enough room for both your sadness and your anger
Does that wall keep scary things in, and the invaders out
Are you winning this imaginary war you think you’re fighting

Prideful pride keeps piling on, on, on
Building your walls, ’can’t go wrong, wrong, wrong
Finding it hard to get along, along, along
Your pride is killing you, long before you’re gone, gone, gone


Music/production - Noobly @ https://soundcloud.com/noobly-1
Lyrics/vocals - Todd J McLean
Artwork - Fukushima Greed, 2011 (mixed media) by Todd J McLean

Prideful Pride

After completing the song, I found a noticeable spread between the highest & lowest notes.  So I had a hard time with the vocals.  I could have altered the notes to fit the voice but in the end I decided to go with the original.  Please bear with my singing.

The lyrics is extracted from a lengthy poem I came across on the web.
In the end, perhaps the plot doesn't make much sense anyway.  So let's assume it's just for the sake of making a song.   See what you think.

Thanks much for stopping by.

[CREDITS]
Music / Vocals / Programming / Arrangement :  Michael C. Lynn
Lyrics  :  Neruda / Merwin
Electric Guitar Solo :  Dave Cleveland @Band_in_a_Box

[LYRICS]
The memory of you emerges from the night around me
The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea

In you the wars and the flights accumulated
From you the wings of the song birds rose

Cold flower heads are raining over my heart
I made the wall of shadow draw back,
Beyond desire I walked on

You swallowed everything, like distance
Like the sea, like time,  in you everything sank
In the childhood of mist my soul, winged and wounded,
In you everything sank

The happy hour of assault and the kiss
and spell that blazed like a lighthouse
I raise my song to you

I don't know how you could contain me
in the earth of your soul, in the cross of your arms

You girdled sorrow, you clung to desire,
sadness stunned you, in you everything sank
This was my destiny and in it was the voyage of my longing,
In you everything sank

.... Solo break....

You swallowed everything, like distance
Like the sea, like time,  in you everything sank
In the childhood of mist my soul, winged and wounded,
In you everything sank

You girdled sorrow, you clung to desire,
sadness stunned you, in you everything sank
This was my destiny and in it was the voyage of my longing,
In you everything sank
Ah haaaa

In You (Everything Sank)

An original song by J.J. Terrell

Left Behind

It’s really about the nights we shared
Underneath all the stars

Now that we’re apart, it’s hard to breathe
Thinking of the love, the dreams we weave.

Oh babe I need you back, it’s true

Memories linger, they haunt my mind
Every lonely moment, I’m left behind
I see your face in the setting sun
Without you here, I’m all but done

Time keeps passing, but the ache won’t fade
Our song still plays, in every serenade
If you could hear me, would you find your way
Back to my arms, where your heart should stay?

Ohhh babe, I need you back

Memories linger, they haunt my mind
Every lovely moment, I’m with you
I see your face in the setting sun
Without you here, I’m all but done

Oh babe, I need you back
It’s true


Left Behind

THIS TUNE CAME ABOUT FIRST WITH A TRULY AWE INSPIRING PIECE THAT ALEX FIRST SENT TO ME THAT WAS BEAUTIFULLY SPACEY AND AMBIENT BUT AT THE SAME TIME VERY BEAUTIFUL.  I BUILT UPON THAT BASE WITH INSPIRATION FROM THE 1956 FILM THE FORBIDDEN PLANET.  THE FILM DEALS WITH THE ID AND THE SUPEREGO AND MAN AGAINT HIMSELF.  I LOVE SCI FI AND THE SOUND I WAS INSPIRED TO ADD TO ALEX'S PIECE TURNED OUT TO FORM NOTHING LESS THAN WHAT I COULD CALL A MODERN DAY FORBIDDEN PLANET SOUNDTRACK.  AT LEAST IN MY HEAD, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS, I HOPE YOU FIND ART IN IT TOO, PEACE/LOVE/MUSIC, ROOTS!!!
https://soundcloud.com/alex-magic-art-productions

THE MINDLESS PRIMITIVE: ROOTS DUBMAN & ALEX MUSIC ART

*MY 2ND ALBUM, ILLUMINATED DUBS, IS ON BANDCAMP NOW...
https://rootsdubman.bandcamp.com/album/illuminated-dubs
🔊🔊👀👀👽👽🔥🔥👍👍🔊🔊👀👀👽👽


(First of all, thanks for reading this, listening to my tracks, or just checking out my profile.  I create original REGGAE, DUB, PSYCHEDELIC DUB, SPACE DUB, ELECTRO DUB, AMBIENT BEATS, and HIP HOP DUB.  Some of the artists that really appeal to me are LEE PERRY, Neil Young, DJ PREMIER, Mad Professor, PETE ROCK, King Tubby, Pink Floyd, Adrian Sherwood, DR. DRE, Scientist,  Thievery Corporation, Burning Spear, THE BEASTIE BOYS, NAS, WU-TANG and Culture.  Get some good headphones, sit back, vibe out, and meditate!  Enjoy the vibe!  BIG UP TO YOU!!!!
CHECK OUT MY COMPADRES IN MUSIC AT: https://soundcloud.com/sleeplesscollective