Love it! 🍒💋🍀💓💓🍓🤤💓💓

Не развлекать, а зажигать. Не оглушать, а пробуждать. Не украшать, а тревожить. Истинная цель искусства — революция — ума, сердца, самого общества.!!

And cool track otherwise too ;) The whole is greater than sum of it's parts. <3

I'm new to this kind of thing, but the spoken word against the rhythmic backing works really really well. Very interesting indeed!

Interesting style you have, is it going to catch on. Very futuristic. Great talking voice flows delightfully 👍👏👏

WATER TO WINE
 
Words & Music: Goff Johnson
Vocals: Todd J McLean
Keyboards & Rhythm Guitar: Goff Johnson
Drums and Hammond Organ: Kat Hendrix
Lead Guitar: Tim Porter
 
Mixed and Mastered by Kat Hendrix at Absolute Time Studios, Vancouver, May 2025
 
About the Song

"Water to Wine" is a song about the appeal of perfection we often see online, contrasted with the seemingly unremarkable and ordinary lives that most of us lead. It’s a reflection on the emotional toll that comes from chasing validation through likes and follower counts— and the emptiness that can follow when the spotlight fades.

Our value, though, goes far deeper than what shows up on a screen and authenticity holds more power than appearances. Take a deep breath and if we look up from the scroll and take a brave look at the world — and each other — we might find something much more real!

Behind the Song (from Goff Johnson)

Ironically, while the message of the track talks about isolation and the cost of surface-level connection, the making of Water to Wine was the exact opposite of that! It came to life through collaboration with the incredibly talented Todd J McLean, who, in addition to his awesome vocals, and red-hot music connections, also created the cover art (Woman in Yellow Chair) for the track! The overall result is something far richer than either of us could have created alone.

Working together brought depth, direction, and new energy to the song — proof that the best things happen when we connect for real. No filters, just music, shared purpose, and mutual trust!

Final Notes (from Todd)

This is my first collaboration on SoundCloud. I could not have been more fortunate than to work with Goff Johnson, an immensely talented singer/songwriter/musician. When I first came across Goff, I listened to his entire Stories of Stardust album end-to-end and I was so impressed with this concept and significant body of work. I highly recommend checking it out on Goff’s SoundCloud page. https://soundcloud.com/goff-johnson/sets/stories-of-stardust?si=9db35566a42747b9b63a5780334f67ea&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Although Water to Wine is not part of Goff’s Stardust series, it is nonetheless a beautifully written song and it’s been a privilege for me to sing it. Besides, I love to sing the Blues. Thank you so much, Goff!

We owe a huge shout-out to both Kat Hendrix, a master musician and our producer, and Tim Porter, a virtuoso on guitar. It is a real privilege to work with these West coast legends.

Lyrics: 

Verse 1
Someone wrote a playbook for perfection 
with lives of photo ops, their outtakes seldom seen 
today a star, the next you’re a pariah 
“Be Kind” they say, but that ain’t what they mean 
 
Chorus: 
Well I never watched the water turn to wine, 
and i never took a flower out of the desert, 
but i walked until my feet bled, and I looked until I was blind, 
and I reached out for a hand to hold in mine 
 
Verse 2 
Well there’s nothing quite as quiet as “the silence” 
after fame has passed, so flashbulb fast, away 
and i wonder if it really makes a difference 
cos the next in line wait for their time, to shine but not to stay”

Chorus: 
Well I never watched the water turn to wine, 
and i never took a flower out of the desert, 
but i walked until my feet bled, and I looked until I was blind, 
and I reached out for a hand to hold in mine

Cover Art: Woman in Yellow Chair, Todd J McLean

All rights reserved

Water to Wine

This track is my very personal take at the Koan "Hear the Clap of your Hand". My lyrics version (https://soundcloud.com/konrad-spittelberg/the-clap-of-one-hand-pp) might make things clearer. (yes, this is my sneaky strategy to guide you from one song to another :-))

Compositionwise, the track is roughly split into two equal parts. The first part introduces its cinematic theme in the very beginning, taking it thereafter up several times with slightly different accentuations and rhythms which gives it a fresh feel with different highlighted nuances in each repetition. Several interludes contribute to the cinematic feeling. 

The second part, starting @1.53 starts by a more Jazzy version of the main theme. However, from 2.20 onwards, it is very restricted in its harmonies - only two harmonies are used from thereon until the end, C major and C# major. The tension arises purely from the rhythmic changes (such as the shift from 4/4 to 3/4 @3.17 and back), climaxing at the end.

The Clap of One Hand (Piano Miniature)

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What is Art? The Mirror, The Hammer // Buses The Floor Mix / Final Destination 
//
lyrics written by fictionalive / music written, produced and provided by mobygratis.com, fully licensed, and arranged, mixed by fictionalive // fusion of it all - fictionalive with the popoems series and the hyper media reports / fair use only // june 21, 2025
//
/
CRITICAL ESSAY:
/
What Is Art? Beyond Entertainment—A Manifesto for the Lost

Art, once the sacred language of the soul, has been reduced to wallpaper for waiting rooms and background noise for scrolling thumbs. 
We have forgotten its true power, its ancient purpose: 
to awaken, to challenge, to heal, to wound, to unite, to divide, 
to make us feel, to force us to think.

What is art? 
Art is the mirror and the hammer. It reflects our world, but also shapes it. It is the question and the answer, the cry and the comfort. Art is the voice of the voiceless, the protest of the oppressed, the laughter of children, the tears of the lonely. It is the coded message smuggled past the censors, the mural on the crumbling wall, the song that echoes in the darkness.

The deeper meaning? 
Art is the search for meaning in a world that resists it. It is the bridge between the finite and the infinite, the mortal and the divine. It is the act of creation, the defiance of oblivion. When we make art, we say: "I was here. I felt. I mattered."

Its purpose? 
Not to entertain, but to ignite. Not to numb, but to awaken. Not to decorate, but to disturb. Art’s true purpose is revolution—of the mind, of the heart, of society itself.
/
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II. PAMPHLET:

TO THE HUMANOIDS DRIFTING INTO THE VOID
Wake up! 
You scroll, you swipe, you laugh at the meme, you forget the painting. 
You hum the jingle, but you cannot recall the protest song. 
You have traded the fire of creation for the flicker of a screen.
Art is not your sedative.
 It is your alarm clock. It is the storm that shakes you from slumber. 
It is the howl in the night that reminds you: you are alive.
Reclaim art. Demand more. 
Seek the works that unsettle you. 
Create the things that frighten you. 
Let art be your compass out of the abyss.
/
/
III. POEM:

The Cry for Revolution
Art is not a lullaby, but a battle cry. 
Not a curtain drawn, but a window shattered.
Raise your brushes, your pens, your voices— 
let them be swords against the silence. 
Let color bleed and music roar, 
let words ignite the sleeping core.
We are not here to entertain, 
but to awaken the world again.
/
/
IV. FINAL CALL

Captain, the time is now. 
Let us slice through the numbness 
and reclaim the purpose of art. 
Let us create, disturb, awaken, 
and remind the world: 
Art is the revolution. Art is the meaning. Art is the fire.
/
/
//

What is Art? The Mirror, The Hammer // Buses The Floor Mix / Final Destination



Disciple of Pain

I wake up to the silence
To that memory of you
Entombed by bad decisions 
Crucified by your truths
I can not hear your footsteps
This change is like a chain
You were my religion
And me, I'm the disciple of pain

Now I pray for resurrection
As I choke upon my sin
The gospel of another
Has renewed your faith again
The blood, the body of our love
For you a fading stain
You were my religion
And me, I've become your disciple of pain

This sermon that I'm sharing
I'll be preaching it again and again
The hurt, the hope, the healing
The raw, the rage revealing 
Let's stand up and face it again

So if you feel a sadness
Engulf and empty you
Get off your knees and get to work
Let the hurt empower you
When you can not feel your future
It's still there but it's just changed
The end can mean beginnings
We all are disciples of pain
One time or another
We all are the disciple of pain




Disciple of Pain

Composition and Sampling collage by Synline.
Photo by FotoDuets

Can't Take It Anymore

Original composition and drum programing (Addictive drum) by Neno J.
Electric guitar Yamaha SG, recorded directly using multi effect Hotone Ampero 100, Valhalla effects, Bass guitar Ibanez
July, 2025.

Jazz meditation

Matrix

On The Sea

FAMILY

An album written and produced by jrdn!

Available on all platforms 7/25/25

ON ALL PLATFORMS 7/25

not now, i'm busy

A gentle Japanese piano melody and deep modern bass blend together, painting a peaceful moonlit night.

Moon Gazing - Otsukimi

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/
/ -- . .  -- . -- .. --  I AM LIVING PROOF
/
//
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For This Is The Voyage, The Legend, The Song – Where We Belong
/
/
/ 
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Keep shining
/

What is Art? The Mirror, The Hammer // Buses The Floor Mix / Final Destination

fictionalive

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