Society Glue

This song started out as a way to explore modes of communication from the long past to now and think about what has changed but also remained the same and the impact that may have had on humanity. Looking in the mirror for humans has been a tool to gauge reality, although not always accurately, going back 8,000 years. 

 

As the thousands of years have gone by, that search for truth has constantly changed, some might say it’s more complicated today than ever before. We started out being able to talk to each other with grunts and eventually words, then our technology evolved and we could communicate over time and distance. That distance shrunk again when that ability became instant and virtual too. 

 

As all of our ability to communicate grows because of our technology, it becomes more glaringly clear and sometimes dangerous where we lack it. Which sources can we trust? It becomes less clear as more sources need to be questioned and can be hard to vet. Where do we get our news, how do we know it’s true? The details matter but it’s harder to discern what’s correct. It could be something our life depends on or a silly piece of misinformation that simply inconveniences us. 

In this confusion, our instincts guide us to rely on what we can see. Even though it has been proven that eyewitness testimony is utterly unreliable, it still feels solid because that’s how we work. Ironically when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we see the most intimate and distorted reality. That’s why it’s important that no matter what we do in that moment, we calm ourselves and say, it’s ok to not be ok.

Buy on Bandcamp

Hanging On OK

Winter (demo)

Rough mix of basic tracks. Produced by David Gans, co-produced and engineered by Jeremy Goody of Megasonic Sound. Gans on guitar and backing vocals. Javier Navarrette on percussion. Christian Crumlish on electric ukulele and lead vocals.

The Long Haired Kings
© 2023 At Swim-Two-Birds Music

verse 1
The long haired kings sing songs of love
As they turn their eyes to the skies above
With a grasping hand dividin’ royalties
The long haired kings forsake all loyalties

chorus 1
The long haired kings split up long ago
In a sea of treachery and vertigo
Yes, the long haired kings broke up long ago
In a web of luxury…  and treachery
And vertigo

verse 2
And the long haired kings sang songs of sin
Faced the Pearly Gates with a surly grin
With a broken oath and a grasping hand
The long haired kings pissed away the land

chorus 2
But the long haired kings broke up long ago
In a web of treachery and deep sorrow
Yes, the long haired kings pissed away the band
With a profane oath… and a grasping hand
And a grasping hand

verse 3
Then the long haired kings sung songs of woe
Of how the majors took their birthright long ago
With a willingness to sacrifice their kin
The long haired kings did their own selves in

chorus 3
And the long haired kings faded long ago
In a sea of verdigris and indigo
Yes, the long haired kings pissed away the brand
With a broken oath… and a grasping hand
And a grasping hand


Words and music by Christian Crumlish.

The Long Haired Kings

The Long Haired Kings (rough mix 2)

Demos 2016 - 2018

Hills

hello

His demons were well known. Maybe much more than they should be.
But that’s the price of fame, so they say.
And sure, you can focus on the would be’s and the could be’s, 
But that’s never gonna change a thing.
You must admit, he sure could sing.

If Chrissy had lived, if Cass had survived,
But that’s the price of death, so they say.
And sure, you can think about just how he could have done better
But that’s never gonna change a thing.
You must admit, he sure could sing.

CHORUS
Stephen took the melody, and Graham was soaring high.
He would find the middle ground and  fit in perfectly.
If life was a song, he might have been the king 
You must admit, he sure could sing.

He never found his true place, unless out on the water.
But that’s the price of fame, so they say.
And sure, you can speculate ‘bout lines he drew on the table.
But that’s never gonna change a thing.
You must admit, he sure could sing.

CHORUS
Stephen took the melody, and Graham was soaring high.
He would find the middle ground and  fit in perfectly.
If life was a song, he might have been the king 
You must admit, he sure could sing.

He Sure Could Sing

21 minutes of de-construction, eclectic, avant-jazz? who knows, but there is a whole lot happening here and it's beautiful.

Douglas Wilkerson composition, drum set and other percussion, vocal reprise / Michael Grimes, composition, synths, piano / Paul Richards, composition, guitars /Michael Billings, vocal reprise / Kyle Fraser modular analog synth magic / Colt Kraft, vocal reprise

Mixed and Produced by Doug Wilkerson and Michael Grimes (Dh8R's)

The Long Haired Kings (rough mix 2)

Layers of Meta