Underdogs

Summer Rain

Changes

A Huge Thank You to my dear collaborator Frans Beelaard https://soundcloud.com/user-936947521 . I had send him this song in my version and it came back like this… :)
He played a bass line, 2 guitars, one lead and one rhythm. Also included is an acoustic drum track with 22" Zildjian ride & crash cymbals & tambourine and an acoustic piano track.
On top of that he also mixed and mastered the whole thing.
A great honor and pleasure for me.

The lines (edited, translated, modified, revised, retranslated, reedited…) originally derived from verse shards by two German poets: 
Stefan George (1868-1933), „Albagal“, 1892 and 
Durs Grünbein (born 1962), “Porzellan: Poem vom Untergang meiner Stadt“, 2006 and „Bericht von der Ermordung des Heliogabal durch seine Leibgarde“, 1999
I glued these verse shards together with a refrain.

During my research on porcelain I came along Kin Tsugi, a Japanese form of art, putting broken porcelain back together again. The picture shows such a piece.

Smashed Porcelain

1
Descend once more into the air-raid shelter. 
Observe:
Your ancestors, crowded together, in their final attire,

Comrades, hostages to mass hysteria,
How they curse, sob, 
Just moments ago uninhibited,
When the Führer arrived in the Mercedes of the Messiah.

How long ago was that, you ask ?
Man…
How long ago was that, you ask ?

2
Oh, I’m descending a marble staircase.
A headless body lies in the middle. Once again.
There, the blood of my dear brother seeps out.
I gently gather up my purple train.

How long ago was that, you ask ?
Gee…
How long ago was that, you ask ?

3
Oh, oh, ohh…
Only 
Caesar didn't care ´bout anything. 
As he watched with glee 
When Rome sank to ruins 
Like a tourist from overseas…

How long ago was that, you ask ?
Well…
How long ago was that, you ask ?


4
Why complain, latecomer ? 
The city long gone before you were there 
Ahh, those teary eyes - 
They’re different from grey hair-air-air…

How long ago was that, you ask ? 
Gee…
How long ago was that, you ask ?
Oh folks, I can't say.						

The only Word
For „Gone Forever“
Is „Today“.

Smashed Porcelain (wt Frans Beelaard)

You set out long ago, and you’re still enjoying your life.
Your goal is to find the essence within yourself.
There’s always just one goal — to be yourself.
But now’s the time to admit it to yourself, maybe...

...at the end of your journey, you might find a new world, one that could be better.
Maybe...
...at the end of your journey, among the stars, a small treasure awaits your discovery.
Maybe...
...but at the end of your journey, what will you do when you’ve lost yourself in your goals?
Sitting back in an armchair, you slowly count the passing minutes.

You’ve been traveling for so long, and you still love your life.
Your goal is to find the lights of the world.
There’s always one goal — to be selfish, too.
But now’s the time to learn the secret, maybe...

...at the end of your journey, you might find a small house where you’ll be at peace.
Maybe...
...at the end of your journey, you’ll buy all the secret objects of your desires.
Maybe...
...but at the end of your journey, what will you do when your dreams are gone?
Sitting in an armchair, you just count the years.

There’s always one goal — to be moral.
But now’s the time to confess the secret, maybe...

...at the end of your journey, you might find a torn flag to pick up.
Maybe...
...at the end of your journey, standing in the fire, you might save your small world.
Maybe...
...but at the end of your journey, what will you do when you no longer believe in principles?
Dreaming in your armchair, you’ll finally glimpse the lights.


HU.../

Elindultál, már réges-régen, és úgy élvezed az életed,
Célod az, hogy megtaláld majd önmagadban a lényeget.
Mindig egy a cél, hogy önmagad legyél,
De itt az alkalom, hogy magad bevallhatod, talán...

...utad végén megtalálhatsz egy új világot, mi jobb lehet.
Talán...
...utad végén a csillagok közt egy apró kincset, hogy felfedezz.
Talán...
...utad végén, mit csinálsz majd, ha céljaidban már elveszel,
egy karosszékben hátra dőlve számolgatod lassan a perceket!

Úton vagy már olyan régen, és még mindig szereted az életed,
Célod az, hogy megtaláld majd a nagyvilágban a fényeket.
Mindig egy a cél, hogy önző is legyél,
De itt az alkalom, hogy a titkot megtudhatod, talán...

...utad végén megtalálhatsz egy apró házat, hol jól leszel.
Talán...
...utad végén vágyaidnak titkos tárgyát mind megveszed.
Talán...
...,de utad végén, mit csinálsz majd, ha álmaid többé nem leled.
egy karosszékben üldögélve számolgatod csak az éveket!

Mindig egy a cél, hogy erkölcsös legyél,
De itt az alkalom, hogy a titkot megvallhatod, talán...

...utad végén megtalálhatsz egy tépett zászlót, mit felvehetsz.
Talán...
...utad végén tűzben állva kis világod megmentheted.
Talán...
...,de utad végén, mit csinálsz majd, ha elvekben többé nem hiszel.
egy karosszékben álmodozva megpillantod majd a fényeket!

Utad végén / At the end of your journey

Made in September 2023

Video; https://youtu.be/32Zn2RlE3EE

Victory In Struggle

Taylor 114 CE (Strumming my guitar)
Logic Pro BeBop Organ (Playing my MIDI keyboard)
Logic Pro Classic Electric Piano (Playing my MIDI Keyboard)
Drums (EZ Drummer 3)
Bass (PG Music Real Track)
Vocals and Back up Vocals (me singing).
Copyright 2025 Joe Stroffolino
***
Cover art:  photo of Halloween skeleton edited with Adobe stock images.
***
Won’t You Please Just Go
Verse 1
It used to be that right and wrong were clear cut, black and white
And people had the courage still to stand and fight the good fight
It used to be that folks could bridge across the partisan divide
Do the right thing and set their differences aside
Now the tech bros want to colonize Mars, and create a brand-new utopia
And if you’re skeptical of their vision, you’re just a luddite with myopia
They’re dreaming of a world of like minds, a place with no dissent
But too much group think has a way of becoming malevolent

Chorus
Won’t you go, won’t you go, won’t you please just go
Get on that rocket ship and fly to Mars (good riddance)
You say you’ll build a better society on the fourth rock from the sun
But there’s lots of work on Earth that still needs to be done.

Verse 2
Columbus sailed west and began a bold new age of exploration
But life on a barren rock seems like a recipe for frustration
It’s easy to be seduced by all that science fiction snake oil
but once you get to Mars, it’ll be nothing but drudgery and endless toil

Bridge
Seems like there are better ways for billionaires to spend their cash
Than living in a tin can on Mars like high-tech trailer trash.
They say the higher you fly, the harder you can fall;
Why trade a living planet for a dusty red ball?

Verse 3
Things can get kind of messy down here on good old planet Earth
You can turn tail and and try to escape this place of humanities birth
You can wipe the slate clean but there’s something in our DNA
You can make people march in lockstep but eventually there will be hell to pay.


Chorus
Won’t you go, won’t you go, won’t you please just go
Get on that rocket ship and fly to Mars (good riddance)
You say you’ll build a better society on the fourth rock from the sun
But there’s lots of work on Earth that still needs to be done

Won't You Please Just Go (to Mars)

LAURIE: Vocals, Lyrics, Keyboard, Composition.
SANDERS: Guitar, Drums, Bass.

THE KING’S VOICE (Laurie Schubert and Sanders)

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER

Fists of Fire

Five steps (each one with two parts) progressing along 3 minutes thru different styles: rock, psycho, pop, hard..., and finally back to the psychopoppy ones.

Letra / Lyrics:

No siempre he estado aquí (soy imperfecto) / I have not always been here (I am imperfect)

Cuando tengo frío, o tengo calor, / When I feel cold, or I feel hot,
cuando tropiezo, me quemo, o siento dolor… / when I stumble, I burn myself, or feel pain …

y  empiezo a pensar que no siempre he estado aquí, / and I start to think that I have not always been here,
y que todo en este mundo es ajeno a mí. / and that everything in this world is alien to me.

Pienso que este cuerpo / I think that this body
que me sirve para moverme / I use to move myself
no es todo lo perfecto que debiera. / is not as perfect as it had to.

Me siento extraño / I feel strange
donde tendría que estar a gusto, / where I should to be comfortable,
y me reconforto / and I feel better
cuando me relaciono bien con el mundo. / when I relate well to the world.

Empiezo a pensar en el tránsito; / I start to think about the passage;
que no siempre he estado ni estaré aquí; / that I have not always been nor will be here;
que mi vida es un entretenimiento / about my life being an entertainment
en el viaje a otro sitio. / along the trip to another place.

Y descubro lo profundo / And I discover the deepness
entre tanta superficialidad, / among so much superficialness,
si la meta de todo lo que hago / if the goal of everything I do
es comer y respirar, / is to eat and breathe,
¿qué clase de razón tengo en la cabeza? / what kind of reason do I have in my head?
¿qué soy yo dentro de este juego? / what am I within this game?

 descubro lo profundo / And I discover the deepness
entre tanta superficialidad, / among so much superficialness,
y me pongo a pensar, / and I start thinking,
y empiezo a pensar… / and I start to think …

y  empiezo a pensar que no siempre he estado aquí, / and I start to think that I have not always been here,
y que todo en este mundo es ajeno a mí. / and that everything in this world is alien to me.

Pienso que este cuerpo / I think that this body
que me sirve para moverme / I use to move myself
no es todo lo perfecto que debiera. / is not as perfect as it had to.

©1995 E-RUIZZO – ®2013 FRANCÉS RECORDS ;)

Image: "Rocky sprout", photo by Ruizzoidman

No siempre he estado aquí (Soy imperfecto)

All Originals RAW ROCK three piece power trio , but we mix it up musically. Our music are live takes . only one song as overdub talking Homeless Man, We have a big studio with double stacked PA ,then everything is mic-ed into Ableton, in another room . we like to record live and loud . keeps the energy up . So what you hear is how we sound live . 
Mike Sullivan Drums, Vocals
Jeff Moran Bass Vocals
 
All Live takes , not to much overdub keeps up the energy 
Mark Cumberland Guitar Vocals

MUSIC IS THE ANSWER

KIXX

Recent comments

Hobbymart Music

KIXX

DOLLY DEMELI

Collette

Related tracks