Sugar (2024) Anthology CD4 Track 06

feeling ok

'brown flowers' 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJNklB-uNg3/

Well, I'm not quite alone.
I have you, I guess.
I always knew I'd be a mess.
What more can I say,
My life's in disarray. 
And I keep cavin' in to stress. 

And it makes me fuckin' crazy.
Yes, it makes me quite insane.
Why can't no one fuckin' pay me
to exist within this game? 

Behind on mortgage payments. 
Ain't got no food to eat.
I'm 'bout to lose my children.
Shufflin' my feet.
I swear, they're tryin' to kill us.
I won't claim defeat.
I will take this to the street.


brown flowers

Old Scrotum Jar

Cast of characters:

The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — VST orchestration, vocals, lyrics, and composition

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

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, Fender Precion four-string fretted bass, and Roland Phantom synthesizer

TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T model electric guitar

Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – VST string arrangement

Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, mix, and production

 This song began as a musical letter written, composed, and sung by Carl to Eclectic Collective. Carl and Josh had been sniffing around each other's pages, admiring each other's work and collaborators. So Carl reached out with this friendly, uplifting song, as a gift to the band. 
  Ken was first in line, adding his awesome, driving drums to give us a heartbeat to build upon. Josh came along next and completed the rhythm section with his trusty four-string fretless bass. Stephen was next up to bat, adding his dynamic raspy guitar, which almost sounds like an electrified fiddle. Next up, Mark followed with his trippy synth and powerful strings to add to Carl's original composition. 

  We had it pretty much done sounding, but wanted to spice it up a bit, so we came up with the idea for a coda. Josh added his bass and synth for it, and Tez came up with the thrilling guitar part of it, as well. Tez also added the thrilling guitar intro, too. 
  Once it was in the can, we asked Tez to mix and produce it for us, which he did in his always expert fashion.

  This is the first song EC has done with Carl, but we know it won't be the last. We all admire him for his creativity, proficiency, and prolificacy. His page is worth a stroll, too, as it contains a lot of gems.

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

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark: 

Hey Collective Seeds,

Let's work things out across that water
There's a cable under sea,
We can send all sorts of...
Music/Words/Sounds - It's insane!
Look Lads,
That's life in the fastlane!

So it's ones and zeros
Mine and yours and theres
We are all heroes...

Watching the fire,
From a distance we're warm
But not from their mire,
From this musical charm.
It's a bonfire,
An inferno.
Earth got plenty to turn off...

So we can sing to love
And we can play for more dove.
Let's combine our powers. Collective!
A Paddy/Yankee toasted sandwich

Tex festival streak
Psyched for more free
K2 to peak
Mistermark chimes ' found life fought
Give, You Entheogenic Psychonaught
Collective lands
Psyched for more free

Dear Collective - (Eclectic Collective and The Beautiful Dark)

I decided to take another stab at this song and play my guitars.
Guitars: (3 tracks): Taylor 114ce strumming and Fender Squire (strumming and picking) 
Keys: Logic Pro Session Piano  with sounds from Native instruments
Drums (two tracks): EZ Drummer 3 and PG Music (panned left and right)
Copyright 2025 Joe Stroffolino
***
Sea monkey’s are just brine shrimp
Easier to take care of than a pet chimp
You just buy a kit and that’s pretty much it
Much less work than a cat a dog or a pony
But those pictures that they put on the box are definitely phony
Sometimes it feels like we’re just a bunch of sea monkeys in a jar
Living on this great big rock orbiting a star
We pray to God for assistance but what if he’s just a little boy
And this world that we live on is just his latest toy
What if we’re living in some kid’s jar and the sun is a lightbulb
It’s not really a star
What if every time the human race takes it on the chin
There’s some kid looking down staring with a silly grin
Eight billion humans on the planet earth and we’re all trying to get by
I wonder if those sea monkeys knew the truth would they still even try
Did he sprinkle some eggs in the water and wait for the fun to begin
Did he watch he watch us fight our wars and root for the good guys to win
When the black death raged in the thirteenth century and good people started to die and he saw all that pain and and suffering did it ever make him cry
Eight billion humans on the planet earth and we’re all trying to get by
I wonder if those sea monkeys knew the truth would they still even try
Eight billion humans on the planet earth and we’re all trying to get by
I wonder if those sea monkeys knew the truth would they still even try
Sea monkey’s are just brine shrimp
Easier to take care of than a pet chimp
You just buy a kit and that’s pretty much it
You just buy a kit and that’s pretty much it

Sea Monkeys In A Jar

Below The Sky (ft Wilfried Hanrath; https://soundcloud.com/wilwilwil )

This was a 3-way collaboration that began during 50/90. I loved Simon's musical track, and he agreed to let me write lyrics for it. Bruce (Epic Dreamery) agreed to join our team to complete the song. I hope you like it as much as I do :)

(Lyrics: Andrea Brennan
Guitars, Bass, Drums: Simon Ashby
Vocals, Synths, Production/Arrangement: Epic Dreamery)

AURORA’S EMBRACE

The sun is setting, low in the sky
Slowly, surely, It kisses the world goodbye
A dusky glow is all that’s left, as she closes her eyes 
Nighttime arrives

Aurora slumbers  Aurora slumbers 
Tucked in her bed, under a blanket of darkness
Aurora slumbers . . . The day draws to an end
But the world keeps on turning around, safe and sound . . . in Aurora’s embrace
With each night, there comes a new day, under the watchful eye of Aurora’s embrace

In the wee hours, the goddess will glide
Upon her chariot of fire, through a starlit sky 
Forging a trail of colors, that shimmer as she rides
When the time is right . . .

Aurora slumbers Aurora slumbers 
Tucked in her bed, under a blanket of darkness
Aurora slumbers . . . The day draws to an end
And the world keeps on turning around, safe and sound . . in Aurora’s embrace
With each night, there comes a new day, under the watchful eye of Aurora’s embrace

Aurora awakens . . Her duty awaits. . . She heralds to the world. . .the dawn of a new day

The world keeps on turning, turning around, in Aurora’s embrace
With each night, there comes a new day, under the watchful eye of Aurora’s embrace

AURORA'S EMBRACE

Mr Menator - Intro
Le Rat Luciano - De Un
Mutant Clan - On and Amp
The Prodigy - Break and Enter
Glitchy dot Phong - Ritz
Nicolas Jaar - Can't See What Is Burning There
The Bangles - Walk like an Egyptian
Clay Young - Robot Disco Freak Out
Jonus Eric - Mirrors
Quick on the Drawing - Wild
Mtlsir - Track 1
Mr Menator - Blast
Donnacha Costello - Color Series Olive B
Dopamine Circuit - Please Come Home
Com Truise - Flitghwave
Mf Doom - Thank Yaah

Olmec Selections Volume 1

Afghanistan Ranking: https://soundcloud.com/josef-schweinzer/sets/ramixjoeworldcontest2025?si=7b6d66787431400abf977ab5042aa887&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Originaltitle: افغانستان (Afġānistān) - موږ ګامونه اخلو (Mog Gamuna Akhlo)

Afghanistan is a landlocked country at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, bordering Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the People's Republic of China, and Pakistan. Three-quarters of the country consists of inaccessible mountainous regions.

After the Soviet invasion in 1979, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan supported and financed mujahideen against the Soviet-backed government. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the mujahideen defeated this government in 1992. However, the division of power failed due to rivalries; the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban militias came to power in 1997 and rigorously enforced a radical interpretation of Islam, particularly Sharia law. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States, the Taliban regime, which had sheltered members of terrorist organizations, was overthrown in the War on Terror, which was largely led by the United States. Since then, this war, which was also waged in Afghanistan, has dominated events for a long time. The country established itself as a democratic, Islamic republic through the 2004 constitution during the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but was ruled authoritarian throughout its existence. Following the withdrawal of international troops at the end of August 2021, the Taliban quickly regained control of the country and proclaimed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. There, the Taliban rule in a totalitarian manner and commit even more massive human rights violations. Among them, there are many arbitrary arrests, torture, and killings. Women are oppressed, and freedom of expression is severely restricted. Afghanistan has ranked by far last in the global Democracy Index every year since 2021.

The country has been shaped by more than four decades of civil war. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is considered catastrophic. Many people in Afghanistan live in extreme poverty and suffer from hunger.

Afghanistan - Mog Gamuna Akhlo

This was my third time working with the Eclectic Collective on a track. Unlike the other couple of times that were based around ideas that I came up with, this time I was just along for the ride! I was happy that Ken reached out and invited me, figuring I could help add some 80s style synth nostalgia to this fun piece. 

Cast of characters:
K2 and the Three [and the Four] -- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, acoustic guitar, song and vocal melody composition
Joseph Shenton -- @joseph-shenton -- lyrics
Gaz Brownie — @user-755327533 — Gaz — vocals, vocal harmonies, and lyrics
one man verity show – @one-man-verity-show – Scotty – electric guitar intro
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Les Paul Custom electric guitar, mix, production, and mastering
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar
Tea R. Sea @tea_are_sea -- Terry – low synthesizer
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – Fender Precision bass and high synthesizer

This song began a few months ago as an idea Ken had to make the quintessential Gen X song. He structured the chords, beat to appeal to anyone of a certain age group, of which most of the folks in the band are a part. He even played wrote it on his acoustic guitar and came up with the vocal melody, which Gaz put a shine on for the final version. Once he had the form of the song down, he tapped the incredibly talented Joseph Shenton to write the lyrics. Gaz not only superbly sung four part harmonies for this, but the came up with the lyrics for the break parts, too. 

When he first envisioned it, Ken thought it would be fun to invite as many musicians as we could onto it. However, for whatever reason, it stalled out and sat untouched for a couple months, with just Stephen's foundational guitar, Scotty's thrilling guitar intro, Terry's lush, low end synth, and Josh's bass to hold it down. Then, Ken had the great idea to invite Gaz to sing it for us. His awesome vocal track inspired us to heat up the kiln again, and put some real effort into bringing it to life. On that note, Josh redid his bass part to match Ken's rocking drums, as well as added the high, melodic synth you hear throughout. Tez came in last with the fiery guitar fills and solo, which you can hear throughout, as well. 

Once it was all in the bag, we tapped Stephen to produce and mix it, which he did in his always pro manner. 

This is the first collab Eclectic Collective has done with Gaz, but we all hope it won't be the last. He is one of the finest singers on the Cloud, and we're honored that he would sprinkle his magic on this song with us. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Joseph Stenton:

Where were you on those days gone by
Were you out by the tracks where the lone train whistle cries
Or kicking up rocks on those dusty roads of dirt
Or skating on streets paved with gold
Or wrestling upon the grass beneath endless sky

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
Were you tugging at the stars too
In an attempt to release their light
Bonded by hours
To a brotherhood we believed would never die

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
From within this dull petrification of time
Comes a crystalline memory
Of those long lost moments, now born free 
Of come what might, come what might be

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
With a tape in the walkman
Playing the soundtrack of passing time
To these moments of our lives
That once burned bright but never died

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Generation X - with Eclectic Collective ft. Gaz Brownie

Even as a small child I wanted to learn a musical instrument...

...since there was a music school in our small town where I grew up, but it was limited to the activities of the local musicians' band, the choice was rather limited... because piano, guitar or saxophone were not offered and that's why I decided me for the trumpet, which was not used for cast-technical reasons, so the FLÜGELHORN became my instrument...
In my youth I turned my back on music and was active in sports towards the end of my teenage years.

Afghanistan - Mog Gamuna Akhlo

Ramixjoe ♈︎

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