Pre-release clips from Eight Two's album Truth and Fun

Excerpts from Truth and Fun

Just a small clip from one of the new songs I have been working on. 
What genre does this sound like to you?

Excerpt from Gagabol Polka 0.22

another four bars from Gagobol Polka - it's not Rock its not Jazz, it is definitely not Polka!
The picture is of a "rabbit" I made out of stones along one of the trails I run on in Santa Fe - somebody else added the antlers.

Excerpt from Gagabol Polka - Nanana 0.23

This is another clip from one of the songs that will be on my new album. It is a song about free will and how language is both a prison and a key to freedom. It is also a fun, irreverent bundle of joyful, playful, wackiness that I thoroughly put my heart and soul into.  This song took me so long, that I had to do it for the pure weird joy of it.
Here are some of the ...words
"the game, of words

we laugh a lot
we smile at each other
whoever we meet is sister or brother
we have fun, we get along
we laugh when we're right, and laugh when we're wrong

we pout and turn 
our backs on each other
whoever we meet is a motherfu**er
we're too vain to get along
we laugh when we're right and cheat when were wrong"

Excerpt from The Game Of Words - Determinism M3LA

Here is another excerpt from one of the weird new tracks that will be on my upcoming album.
This song is about perspective. There is no existence without a point of view. I have deep philosophical objection to the idea that anything can exist without there a being a perspective from which to experience it. 
"When shall we open our minds to the conviction that the ultimate reality of the world is neither matter nor spirit, is no definite thing, but a perspective?"
― José Ortega y Gasset

This song confronts the ethical problem of how we distance ourselves from others by making their first person singular perspective into the grammatically "other"  - no person is a third person - we are all grammatical "first persons." The ramifications of this are that there really can be such a thing as truth, but only as that which exists within the bounds of first person perspective. 

I enjoyed creating this silly vocal sound, it is not an effect, I was channeling the voice of a talking doughnut, her name is Dough-lores. Up until I saw The Good Place, I thought I was alone in thinking philosophy could be fun.

Excerpt from POV Rhapsody - Roughmix 0.55

Here is another excerpt from my new album (coming sometime in the next few months.)
This is from a track called Validation Song. It is about me learning to look inward for my self worth. 
Self confidence is such a struggle for me, 
This song is an anthem for all those who fight with me to value ourselves for ourselves, and define success and approval on our own terms.

Excerpt from Validation - M1L

This excerpt is from a track about loving life, but more importantly valuing life. 
My philosophy is that all value is derived from and predicated on life, and therefore life should be the basis of all we value. 
This starts with valuing our own lives. This song is a celebration of living. So many of the things people do are hypocritical to valuing life - this song is about imagining a world where we no longer use our lives for anything that undermines the value of life. It is a fun pop punk song with a deep message, that life itself is the meaning of life.

Excerpt from Love Your Life - Roughmix 12

This preview clip is from the bridge of my new song People First. Rather than tell you what it is about here are some lyrics from this section:
"People matter more than laws, more than the borders. "
"No nation first!" 
"We all are people first: connected."
"Disconnected, we won't last."

Excerpt from People First - Roughmix 0.35

This excerpt is from a pirate song I wrote for my upcoming album. It is about the search for the ultimate treasure that leads us on the greatest human adventure, through greed, vanity, power, but finally the treasure is the "Blue Pearl" floating in space that brings us all together.

Excerpt from The Blue Pearl - Roughmix 2.6

This clip, from my upcoming release, is my ode to running, which is a passion for me. For a long time I had tried to write a song that expressed my love of running in a more nuanced way, in the end I just had to sit down and be literal about it. 
This excerpt jumps straight into the bridge, which is just a list of some of the runners who have made running extraordinary. Here are the lyrics from this excerpt:
"Meb, Geb, Grete, Shalane, 
Paula, Deena, Prefontaine
Amby Burfoot, Zatopek  
Mootai, Bekelee, Bolt, Joorek
Dibaba, Bikila, Goucher, Krar
Bannister, Shorter, Salazar
El Guerrouj, Endereba, KiprotIch, Coe
Lagat, Lewis, Moses, Owens, Flo, Mo
run, run into the wild,
run run just like a child,
run run run run run run run 
run, run like I can fly,
run, run without a why,
run run run run run run run... "

Excerpt from Run - Mix2 - Sidewalk Dancer

This pre-release clip is from LITS (life is too short). A dreamy, rambling song about how we would care more about the planet if we lived long enough to reap the consequences of our environmental abuse. The thesis of this song is that the longer we live the more long term our ethic must be, and this ultimately leads to a state of enlightened harmony.

Excerpt from LITS - M4L

A clip from my yet to be released song "Be Your Own Father" -  
"You can be your own Father, 
you can be your own boss, 
you can be your own savior, 
you can be your own God"

Excerpt from Be Your Own Father - M5L

This clip is from an instrumental song about a magic flute player who can summon the north wind. The flute part was improvised by a friend, I built up the other elements around the flute.

Excerpt from Flute Of The North Wind - M11L

This clip from POV Rhapsody is the build into the final chorus vamp. It has the energy of longing to heal the world - it walks the tightrope between uncertainty and hope.  
"There is a massive hole in hope.
Can you pass through, do you dare?
Do you care enough about truth, 
to undo it?"

Excerpt from POV Rhapsody - M3L 23

Stop worshiping youth and Love Your Life! Song about aging with grace.

Excerpt from Love Your Life - M4L - 04

One benefit to being an unknown artist (my last IMA award winning album sold less than 20 copies, and a year after release none of the songs had more than 20 plays) is that I can speak my truth to the wind - what no one hears, offends no one - as Terence put it “Veritas odium parit" (Truth breeds hatred) I am not worth hating.

Here are the lyrics from this excerpt:
"people matter 
more than places 
more than things
we matter 
more than money 
more than our ideas
we matter 
more than religion
and god
and faith
and bible
and our stories 
and our worries
and status quo
and I don't know why 
making good 
and surviving should 
be at odds 
with being good."

Excerpt from People First - M4L - 02

This excerpt is from my upcoming release about free will, truth and determinism. 
A question this song asks is, did I have a choice to write this song?

Here are some of the lyrics from this clip: 
"Do I have a choice to sing this song?
Are you predetermined to skip it or sing along?
If there's no free will how can I choose right from wrong?
Does belief in free will change my decision?"

Excerpt from The Game Of Words - Roughmix 0.6 - 01 - 04

This excerpt from Validation song starts in the bridge and includes some of the final chorus. 
This song is a mantra, hearing myself say this helps me fight my own crippling self doubt and low self esteem. I deeply care what others think of me and yet I so strongly wish to be free from this social anxiety and just be myself. 
Of course this song is also for everyone who wants to be liberated from the prison of approval.
I love you all.

Excerpt from Validation - DFT M2L - 4

This excerpt is the bridge and guitar solo from 'Be Your Own Father.' It is mostly instrumental with vocals and guitars, plus organ and some nicely detailed production instrumentation.
Hope is so important, it is what carries me through the valleys of loneliness and disillusionment. This song is ultimately about empowerment to find my inner strength and resolve not to give up my power to others, but be my own Father with a capital F.
"Hope a little longer, wait, and it will pass."

Excerpt from Be Your Own Father - Roughmix 0.3 - 04

This excerpt from 'The Blue Pearl' off of my upcoming album, starts with a simple bluesy guitar solo which I played through my Fargen Duo Tone - to get this sound I amped the guitar so loud that I it rattled all the light fixtures on the ceiling, which added to the thick dirty tone. 
This track is a pirate pop song about how finding the treasure of self realization parallels the journey of insight that both our individual selves, and our small shining blue planet, are one being - interdependent and interconnected. 
"We are all a point of blue,
you are me, 
and I am you."

Excerpt from The Blue Pearl - DFT M4L - 08

Today's clip is from LITS. It is about not letting the past hold you back and not being caught up in cycles of self-fulfilling prophesies.
"don't waste time worrying that you waste time"
"if you see, no future, there won't be one"
"yesterday don't give a fuck"
"impatiently, I am speeding nowhere"

Excerpt from LITS - DFT M4L - 07

Hey, I'm Eight Two (they/them)—a nonbinary, queer, neurodivergent genre fluid singer-songwriter and self-taught visual artist carving out my own space in the world of art rock. My journey began in the vibrant streets of Brooklyn in 2008, where I found solace and inspiration in the power of music.

As a multi-instrumentalist, my primary tools are the guitar and my voice, weaving together melodies that speak to the soul. From thought-provoking philosophical musings to uplifting motivational anthems, my songs are a reflection of my quest for creativity, connection, and meaning.

Despite navigating the world without social media or a phone, I'm here to share my sonic journey with you. Whether you're a fellow oddball, a seeker of truth, or simply someone looking for a bit of inspiration, there's a place for you in my musical universe.

So join me on this adventure as I craft my next album, fueled by authenticity, vulnerability, and a whole lot of heart. Together, let's explore the depths of our creativity, forge meaningful connections, and celebrate the beauty of being unapologetically ourselves.