Voice of the nation

90’s indie vibes for your listening pleasure — Manchester in the house

Can’t sleep ?

"Whatever"is an '80s-style rock song. It talks about the world of disposable and temporary things we live in, where nothing lasts long enough to become real. Friendships, relationships, love — everything is plastic and fleeting. A time without memories.

Whatever (Tanto Faz)

It’s just like that, the way I recall,
Blurred-out words, nothing real at all.
I hit the street, but I’m not there,
Can’t see you — green or red, I don’t care.
I walk ahead, try not to glance behind,
Where I go, you don’t cross my mind — that’s fine.
What’s gone is gone, it won’t return,
The future waits, no need to burn.
It’s gone, it’s done — no more glory,
The fire wipes out every story.
Time just moves, it won’t relent,
Chasing wins, it kills the present.
And memory? It fades, it dies,
Just disappears before your eyes.

++++++++++PORTUGUES

Tanto faz é um rock estilo anos 80. Fala sobre o mundo de coisas descartáveis e temporarias em que vivemos, onde nada dura tempo suficiente para se tornar verdadeiro. Amizades, relacionamentos, amores...tudo é plastico e passageiro. Um tempo sem memórias.

Tanto Faz

É bem por ai, é como eu me lembro;
Palavras difusas, tudo fake;
Descubro a rua e não me vejo;
Não te enxergo, verde ou vermelho;
Sigo em frente sempre tento não olhar pra trás;
Pra onde ando não te percebo, tanto faz;
O que passou, passou. Não volta jamais;
O futuro te espera, fica em paz;
Passou, passou, não tem mais glória.
O fogo varre toda a história.
O tempo sempre segue em frente, buscando a vitória despreza o presente.
A memória se diluí, se desfaz.

Whatever (Tanto Faz)

I have been hearing so much AI music lately on SoundCloud and these  thoughts have been percolating with me for a while and finally they coalesced into a song. (created without the use of AI).
***
Vocals & Back Up Vocals: Joe Stroffolino
Guitar Strumming Track:  Joe Stroffolino Taylor 114CE
Drums: EZ Drummer 3
Bass: PG Music Real track
Piano:  EZ Keys2 
Synth Bass: Logic Pro 
***
You got tired of struggling so hard to write a great original song
And then this amazing newfangled technology came along
Now you’re using AI to create music, and it’s a much easier process
And you’re convinced you found the ticket to achieving great success.
You tell yourself you’re a great artist because prompting takes a lot of skill
But deep down you know the AI did most of the work and you swallow the bitter pill
People complement you on your guitar playing and they tell you your voice sounds great
It makes you feel so good but you don’t ever set them straight
Those classic rockers used to write 10 or 12 good songs every couple of years
Now you’re posting two or three songs a day and hoping for a bunch of cheers
You’re rolling the musical dice, hoping you’ll come up with a catchy viral hit 
But there’s so much music flooding the internet that no one gives a shit
You tell yourself you’re a great artist because prompting takes a lot of skill
But deep down you know the AI did most of the work and you swallow the bitter pill
People complement you on your guitar playing and they tell you your voice sounds great, it makes you feel so good but you don’t ever set them straight
Some people believe we’re living in simulation and none of this is real
We’re just digital creations in a computer with the ability to feel
But even if that’s not the case, we’re quickly, heading to a place where no one’s going to be able to tell the difference.
You used strum your guitar, trying to capture lightning in a bottle and the songs that emerged came from you.
And now the songs you write with AI, what they’re saying, you don’t have a clue.
Music used to feel therapeutic, it was a window on your soul that you could share.
But now something feels missing because your songs no longer lay your heart bare.

Prompting Takes A Lot Of Skill

The Lovely Blue Waves

My EP SUPERNOVA contains two Japanese songs, and this is one of them. I have never released a song in Japanese before, but I took the plunge and decided to release these. It's a song recorded in one take with my acoustic guitar and vocal. The tempo is middle tempo (I didn't use the metronome function so I don't know the BPM). 3m58s. The main genre is Folk. This is a gentle and slightly blue song. Link to major platforms : https://linkco.re/E2aRhZS6

Lyrics : (Alright)

悲しい湖を通り過ぎ
僕は明日へと辿り着く
もし僕が人生を捨てたなら
あなたは三度笑うでしょう

Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be

見知らぬ人に笑われて
僕は明日から戻るでしょう
僕の果てなき探究は
きっとあなたへと帰ってゆく

Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be

涙を見たくて
涙を流したくてOh
僕は僕は
きっと戻るね

悲しい湖を通り過ぎ
僕は明日へと辿り着く
もし僕が人生を捨てたなら
あなたは三度笑うでしょう

Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be
Let forever be

FOREVER BE

(Music: Hans-Michael Albers, Lyrics: Terry Reeves)
Terry Reeves:  Vocals
Hans-Michael Albers: All instruments, Arrangement & Production

Today, 22nd. August 2025, marks 13 years since our dear brother Bri succumbed to the deadly combination of leukaemia and Guillain-Barré syndrome.  Watching him through 2012, unable to do anything for himself and increasingly confined to a hospital bed is something none who loved him will ever forget.  
He has never been (and never will be) forgotten, not only for the music he created but for the force of nature he most certainly was.  In 1964, our Mum & Dad bought him an entry level acoustic guitar as a Christmas present and his progress on the instrument was something to behold.  By the time he was 18, he’d bought himself a Gibson Les Paul on HP (24 payments of five pounds and thirteen shillings per month) from Selmers in Charing Cross Road, London.  He joined a band, somehow co-opting me in as lead singer at the tender age of 15 (still a schoolboy, no less) and over the ensuing ten years, formed bands of whose line-up I was always a part, graduating from singing to percussion and eventually drums.
There being guitars laying around the family home, Tel took to playing and encouraged by Bri, never stopped.  Fast forward another five years and he too started writing songs so that by ’82, the 3 of us decided to form a band (Root Division) to play them.  It’s a truly special thing to be in the same band as your brothers and recording those songs became something Tel and me still remember with an abiding nostalgia.  No wonder we still talk about those days…
This song started life as an instrumental, written by Hans and of course, it’s brilliant as is but Tel liked it so much, he asked if he could write some lyrics and a vocal melody.  Being a generous fellow, our dear friend from Hamburg said he’d love to hear what Tel had in mind.
His basic idea was to incorporate as many references as he could to Cripple Club tracks, in celebration of the firm friendship we have formed in together recording what amounts to over 50 songs.  There may be a few of you who can spot one or two…
So this is for you, Bri.  We love and miss you, sweet brother.
(Gary Reeves)

Last Summer day reasons
Hamburg always shines
Shadows of Superheroes
Another surprise will come in time
Click toward a pension
From birth but never knew
Surprised to find a blackbird
In the flames as the music grew

Touch wood for satisfaction
CC music every day
Root of strong existence 
Step off the world to feed the phrase
Another Titan message
Titanic stories past
Image of a fraying edge
Never thought hang of time would last

It’s the time, it’s the place
It’s the only performance I can show my face

Last chance for singing
Avoid resistant tide
Pleasing distant garage
Remember 4 to 3 to 5
Stars in space that linger
Soaking up the blue
Palette of sunshine yellow
Mix to green for go - but for who?

T,G & H, Two and you!

LAST SUMMER'S DAY BLUES - CRIPPLE CLUB

QUE FONT NOS DIRIGEANTS

Every Now & Then

The Snow Queen – The Forest
September 2025
Duration: 2:45
Listen to more music from the Snow Queen ballet at: https://soundcloud.com/bruce-klepper-1/sets/the-snow-queen-music-for-danse
Music for Danse Etoile Ballet (www.danseetoile.org) who will be performing The Snow Queen Ballet January 2026 in Colorado.
For strings, shakuhachi, bass flute, heckelphone, marimba, double bass, field recordings, timpani and percussion

The Snow Queen - The Forest

I feel like anybody could relate to this one🫶🏻

Home

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
https://linktr.ee/joe.stroffolino
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.