Watch the music video (filmed in VR):  https://youtu.be/qI5wMf7I9VM

Are we going to fly?

Are we going to fly or not?
We're standing at the cliff wound up

What's the hurry? We are free
What's the hurry for you and me?

Are we going to own the sky?
A spectacular goodbye

What's the hurry? We are free
What's the hurry for you and me?

Honestly don't compromise
We could do more than survive
Survive

Are we going to find our way?
Thought you said we had all day

Better hurry up and be free
Better hurry up for you and me

Honestly don't compromise
We should do more than survive
Survive

ISRC:
ushm92277103

Are We Going to Fly?

From the album "Cairn" (2024)
Featuring Pete Toigo on bass.

The Final Wager

Steer me in the right direction and I'll go
And I won't stop until I find
A bridge across the wind, passage through the rain
A workaround to buy us some more time

The final wager
We'll run the table
And love will win at last

Sort me out so I can be the kind of guy
That you would proudly call your own
The stupid things I do will not embarrass you
And you will never be alone

The final wager
We'll run the table
And love will win at last

Wind me up and I will walk the straightest line
A gauntlet of our enemies around
But just one look at me, they'll part like the red sea
And we will walk across the ground

The final wager
We'll run the table
And love will win at last

The Final Wager

Wifi Kills Ghosts

Phones out for pictures as we propose toasts
After dessert we were detained by our hosts
Their seance produced no spine-tingling results

Because everybody knows that wifi
Everybody knows that wifi kills ghosts

Turn off your router don’t disturb the dead
Switch it back on if they’re filling you with dread
But be careful not to harm that ghost in your head

Because everybody knows that wifi
Everybody knows that wifi kills ghosts

It’s getting lonely when no one is near
Where are the voices that we used to hear?
And why is this silence causing such fear?

Well everybody knows that wifi
Everybody knows that wifi kills ghosts

ISRC:
usdy42235663

WiFi Kills Ghosts

See the music video:  
https://youtu.be/MQX_0HTqAkI

Lyrics:

Go

In my own way I'm transforming this little corner
And some day when I get it all together I'll invite you over
And that voice in your head that tells you no
Is gonna shout "go"

In my own way I stay honest by never speaking
And some day maybe it'll all be in the book you're reading
But I can't tell stories I can't tell jokes
So I'll just go

I my own way I'm tying to be better braver wiser
And some day I'll lay me burden down at the horizon
And when everything's ready don't you know
I'm gonna go
Go
Go
Go
Go

ISRC:
ushm92277097

From the album "Cairn" (2024)

After Everything That You've Done

Are you defiant after everything that you've done?
I'm through with crying after everything that you've done
After everything that you've done

Have you no shame now after everything that you've done?
Please leave the stage now after everything that you've done
After everything that you've done

Now everything has changed
You're led away in chains
And everybody
They all wish it on me
They all wish it on me

See how they follow
After everything that you've done
There's no tomorrow after everything that you've done
After everything that you've done

Call off your minions after everything that you've done
Your stupid opinions after everything that you've done
After everything that you've done

Now everything has changed.
You're led away in chains
And everybody
They all wish it on me
They all wish it on me

ISRC:
uscgj2449655

After Everything That You've Done

Super Saiyan

You’ve got me mistaken for 
everyone who every came before
I’ll let you know when I’m ready
to be your little fool

You’ve got quite a lot of nerve
telling me what I deserve
I’ll let you know when I’m ready
to settle for what you say

I don’t want to act my age
I don’t need to turn the page
I’ll let you know when I’m ready
to step into that cage

I’m like a super saiyan
I’m just saying
Look at all the energy
That’s washing over me

I’m like a super saiyan
I’m just saying
Up in the sky I’m free
Radiating

This song just came out this way
I don’t care what people say
I’ll let you know when I’m ready
to play that pandering game

My default setting is love
I can't ever get enough
Please let me know when you’re ready
to join me up above

I’m like a super saiyan
I’m just saying
Look at all the energy
That’s washing over me

I’m like a super saiyan
I’m just saying
Up in the sky I’m free
Radiating

ISRC:
ushm82363598

Super Saiyan

Bibles, Flags and Guns

Oh the fascists they are everywhere
Yes they are the ones
Known to hide their hate behind
Bibles, flags and guns

The flag I pledge allegiance to I hardly recognize
Now it's in the enemy camp and I'm starting to realize
We'll have to steal it back and put an end to all their lies

Oh the fascists they are everywhere
Yes they are the ones
Known to hide their hate behind
Bibles, flags and guns

The Bible that they hold can't be the same one that I read
Cause they're ignoring every word that Jesus ever said
Self-righteous hypocrites - they're making their own bed

Oh the fascists they are everywhere
Yes they are the ones
Known to hide their hate behind
Bibles, flags and guns

Played at war when we were boys we stopped when we were teens
The ones who never grew out of it own AR-15s
And the carnage never ends - it's what a fascist movement needs

Oh the fascists they are everywhere
Yes they are the ones
Known to hide their hate behind
Bibles, flags and guns

They don't believe in climate change, don't see the rising water
Child brides - it's no surprise they're looking at your daughter
While they selectively enforce law and order

Oh the fascists they are everywhere
Yes they are the ones
Known to hide their hate behind
Bibles, flags and guns

Oh the fascists they are everywhere
Yes they are the ones
Known to hide their hate behind
Bibles, flags and guns

ISRC:
usx9p2371852

Bibles, Flags and Guns

From the album "Cairn" (2024)

The World Won't Let Me Believe

The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
But I don't believe the world

I want to believe that people they've got you
They'll do the right thing when nobody's watching
I want to believe we write our own story
That some day some way we're heading for glory

But the world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
But I don't believe the world

I want to believe there's nothing to fear
That the monsters are all in the rear-view mirror
I want to believe some day we'll be proud of
Our narrow escape from this trap we got out of

But the world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
But I don't believe the world

I want to believe that our time is not wasted
That life is delicious if only we taste it
I want to believe in a world without pain
Where justice comes down like the falling rain

But the world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
But I don't believe the world

The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
The world won't let me believe
But I don't believe the world
No I don't believe the world
No I don't believe the world

ISRC:
uscgj2449651

The World Won't Let Me Believe

From the album "Cairn" (2024)
Watch the music video:  https://vimeo.com/915812584

Lyrics:

Forest Giants

On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
I'm on my way
I'm on my way

Hey loner
Come over
To my forest
It's getting warmer
Stay hidden
Forbidden
It's written on the wind

On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On
I'm on my way
I'm on my way

ISRC:
uscgj2449650

Forest Giants

Watch the music video:  https://vimeo.com/949369795

Quantum theory brilliantly explains the physical universe. But the certainty of every quantum state is dependent on an "observer" and physicists are wrestling with what that means: Consciousness is the foundation and source of everything. 

And quantum theory cannot explain consciousness any more than it can explain love, the perception of color or sound, or the taste of chocolate. Because consciousness (or spirit) creates the physical universe, not the other way around.

Lyrics:

Super Colliders

I'm no friend of quantum mechanics
Not afraid of super colliders
I could barely pass mathematics
But I knew that I was on fire
And I knew you were to me
More than just matter energy
And I'm going to have to find the answer

But when I sought the implicate order
The wave collapsed into water
And I know you don't want to hear it:
Underneath it all we are spirit
A voice is whispering in the ear of Mr. Verlinde:
Four universes remain chaotic

Now they find the conscious mind is driving everything
I confess this consciousness once heard the angels sing
I'll make it back to heaven's gate winding a golden string
And smile at the absurdity when I should be laughing

I'm no friend of quantum mechanics
Not afraid of super colliders
Done my share of mental gymnastics
But my heart keeps taking me higher
The gravity of it all is emerging as we fall
The irony is not lost on me

Now they find the conscious mind is driving everything
I confess this consciousness once heard the angels sing
I'll make it back to heaven's gate winding a golden string
And smile at the absurdity when I should be laughing

I'm no friend of quantum mechanics
Not afraid of super colliders

ISRC:
usl4r2469696

Super Colliders

See the music video filmed in VR:  https://youtu.be/VQCHsPYp2Gs

"I Don't Want to Meet You IRL" - new song inspired by being in virtual reality and filmed in VRChat.  Thanks AC_Chosen for use of the Orion Club world and thanks Ivylistar for use of the Vibraphone world in VRChat.

Lyrics:

I Don't Want to Meet You IRL

I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to meet you IRL

Everything's so perfect me might as well
Hold onto a good thing
Can't afford to lose this feeling


I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to meet you IRL

But I'll meet you in the happy place where we dwell
People say we're crazy - maybe we are
But I just want to be with your avatar

I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to
I don't want to meet you IRL

You are so intoxicating I can tell
If we ever met eye to eye
Catastrophic overload I'd lose my mind

I don't want to meet you IRL
Everything's so perfect me might as well
Hold onto a good thing
Can't afford to lose this feeling

ISRC:
ushm82438532

I Don't Want to Meet You IRL

I wrote this song for a friend in Kuwait, hence the Arabic/English lyrics. Song by Chris Pellnat, female vocals by Catalus
Percussion: Bobby Sabella 

Lyrics:

 في قلبي

(In My Heart)

ستطيع أن أشعر بالحب في قلبي في قلبي
(I feel the love in my heart, in my heart)

Another day is done and you're cooking for one
When everything is wrong you've got to be strong in this world

Got the single serving blues no dinner for two
You've got to be strong to share your love with the world

But these men don't see you're more than just a pretty face
I want to scream "She's a delight in every way"
In every way

You're funny and strange but don't ever change
Because it would be wrong to live a lie in this world

But these men don't see you're more than just a pretty face
I want to scream "She's a delight in every way"
In every way

ستطيع أن أشعر بالحب في قلبي في قلبي
ستطيع أن أشعر بالحب في قلبي في قلبي
ستطيع أن أشعر بالحب في قلبي في قلبي
(I feel the love in my heart, in my heart)

When everything is wrong you've got to be strong in this world

يجب أن تكون قويًا لتشارك حبك مع العالم
(You've got to be strong to share your love with the world)

ISRC: US-L4Q-24-45919

في قلبي (In My Heart) - feat. Catalus

See the music video (made in VR):  https://youtu.be/Nnxe3I16FMM

We Are Not Robots

I don't know what she just did to me
I thought she was above such childish things
She said to me my truth will never change
But please don't expect me to act my age

Sometimes I just want to be child
Sometimes I want to get a little bit wild

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

She said people don't know me, they just see
My mistakes and eccentricity
When you get to know me you will see
I'm trying to escape reality

Sometimes I just want to be child
Sometimes I want to get a little bit wild

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

Nah nah nah nah nah
Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

Sometimes I just want to be child
Sometimes I want to get a little bit wild

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

Because we are not robots
Nah nah nah nah nah

ISRC:
usx9p2442045

We Are Not Robots

Female vocals by Catalus
Song written for my friend in Kuwait
Music video: https://youtu.be/1uZI2NFnYNE

الحب قادم

(Love is coming)

أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا
(I know love is coming soon)

I know you're feeling lonely
I see it in your eyes
You're smiling, acting happy
But I know it's a disguise
Because the pain never lies

Sometimes you're scared you'll never
Find a love that's true
But I know that you will find it
It's what you were born to do
And it's coming to you

أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا
أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا

(I know love is coming soon)
(I know love is coming soon)

أنا متمسك بالأمل

(I hold onto hope)

أنا متمسك بالأمل

(I hold onto hope)




أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا
أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا

(I know love is coming soon)
(I know love is coming soon)

Your friends love you completely
And when things getrough
We send our love to you but
I know it's not enough
It's no what you dream of


أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا
أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا
أعلم أن الحب قادم قريبًا


(I know love is coming soon)
(I know love is coming soon)
(I know love is coming soon)

الحب قادم (Love is coming) - feat. Catalus

A song against fascism in America (and around the world)
Check out the music video! It's not a dull political lecture - it's fun, I promise!
https://youtu.be/ljzN-jlpQoY

No Kings for Me

I will not bow
My knees will not bend
There are no kings for me

I will not yield
Send your goon squads back to hell
There are no kings for me

How did the worst of us rise to the top?
Degenerates and hypocrites
The ugliest Americans
They won't depart you if you're white
And love is their kryptonite

Now I am a vagabond in their stupid eyes
But this vagabond is free
Here's how it goes:
A coup by twisted billionaire bros
But there are no kings for me

I'll hide my face
From their dark surveillance state
I'll piss on their graves
You'll see
Their fear hate and lies
And lies and lies and lies
I've built up immunity

How did the worst of us get to decide
That we support murderers and genocide?
Better watch your step because
Here come the masked American thugs

I will not kiss
Your gangster ostentatious ring
There are no kings for me
Your time is up
Your fascist dream is crumbling
The vagabonds sing "we are free"

And why do the worst of us hate us so much?
I never hated them until
They bowed down to the antichrist
They chose their path to hell
I wish that I could wish them well

No I will not bow
My knees will not bend
There are no kings for me
I will not yield
Send your goon squads back to hell
There are no kings for me

No Kings for Me

See the music video:  https://youtu.be/MJX4LPIGbKQ
Voice: Catalus
Qanun: Adeeb Hadad 
Percussion: Bobby Sabella
Song and production by Chris Pellnat

معا للابد


قبلني
 إن كنت تحبني
 قبلني 
مرتین لأتأكد
 قبلني ثلاث لنكون م ًعا م ًعا للأبد

ما قلتھا الا ان تأكدت
 ما اردت یوما ان اخفي عنك
 قلبك اطھر قلب

ھل اعذب قلبك الطیب؟ أم 
أني اعذب قلبي؟
 .قلي فأنا لا ادري

قبلني
 إن كنت تحبني
 قبلني 
مرتین لأتأكد
 قبلني ثلاث لنكون م ًعا معا للأبد

لا ندري این یأخذنا القدر؟
 آھذا امل صادق ام سراب؟ 
استبقى حبیبي ام صدیقي؟

قبلني
 ن كنت تحبني 
قبلني
إن كنت تحبني

قبلني ثلاث لنكون م ًعا
 معا للأبد
 قبلني ثلاث لنكون م ًعا
 معا للأبد

English translation:

Together forever

If you love me
Kiss me
Twice to be sure
Kiss me three times so we can be together, together forever

I only said it to be sure
I never wanted to hide from you
Your heart is the purest heart

Am I torturing your kind heart? Or am I torturing my heart?
Tell me, for I don't know

Kiss me
If you love me
Kiss me
Twice to be sure
Kiss me three times so we can be together, together forever

We don't know where fate will take us?
Is this a true hope or a mirage?
Will you remain my lover or my friend?

Kiss me
If you love me
Kiss me
If you love me
Kiss me three times so we can be together
Together forever
Kiss me three times so we can be together
Together forever

معا للابد (Together Forever) - Catalus

Voice: Sireen Elias-Hadad
Qanun: Adeeb Hadad 
Percussion: Bobby Sabella
Song and production by Chris Pellnat

See the music video:  https://youtu.be/uS_nlGNhcWY

Lyrics:

Kiss me thrice

Kiss me once if you love me
Kiss me twice to be sure
Kiss me thrice we'll be together
Together forevermore

I wouldn't say it until I knew
I would never want to lie to you
You're the purest heart I ever knew

Am I torturing your pure heart?
Or am I just torturing my own?
Tell me because I really don't know

Kiss me once if you love me
Kiss me twice to be sure
Kiss me thrice we'll be together
Together forevermore


We don't even know how this will end
Is this false hope or hopelessness?
Are we destined to be lovers or just friends?

Kiss me once if you love me
Kiss me twice to be sure
Kiss me thrice we'll be together
Together forevermore

Hear the Arabic version of this song by Catalus:
https://soundcloud.com/pretentiousmusic/together

Kiss Me Thrice

Performed by :
Mercy Weiss
https://soundcloud.com/mercyweiss
and
Christopher Pellnat 
https://soundcloud.com/pretentiousmusic

Song by Christopher Pellnat

Artwork - "Bleached Whale" - by Mercy Weiss 

A Torrent

You were like a torrent that took me in my dream
Muddy churning chocolate foam and boulders rumbling
In the rapids
In the rapids
In the rapids
In the rapids

I can't swim to the surface I don't know which way is up
Days go by in blurs and I can't explain to anyone
Where my heart is
Where my heart is
Where my heart is
Where my heart is

The torrent in my dream swept me all away
How I wish I was a storm so I could do the same
To your fine heart
To your fine heart
To your fine heart
To your fine heart

A Torrent - ft Mercy Weiss

See the music video!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5wQpwhCaeI

Vocals by Mercy Weiss - https://soundcloud.com/mercyweiss
Song by Christopher Pellnat - https://soundcloud.com/pretentiousmusic

Lyrics:

Evil Baby

I know what you are
Get out of the house
You're evil baby

You used to act so sweet
And I used to worshipped at your feet
But now you're just dripping spite
Your tongue it cuts just like a knife

I know what you are
Get out of the house
You're evil baby

You were telling lies while I sacrificed
Did you ever once speak the truth
When you were underneath this roof?

I know what you are
Get out of the house
You're evil baby

You left to conquer the world
I saw your revenge unfurled
Like a flag, a red carpet under lights
You were just itching for a fight

I know what you are
Get out of the house
You're evil baby

Evil Baby - ft Mercy Weiss

Watch the music video:  https://youtu.be/b4T99Qt0V2M

Vocals by Mercy Weiss - @mercyweiss
Song by Christopher Pellnat - @pretentiousmusic

Lyrics:

Love Dust

Dumb lust it's love dust, hooray!
Sprinkle the sadness away
I'll give you anything to stay
Dying to give this heart away

Dumb luck 'cause love's come my way  
What she commands I obey 
I don't care please understand
You can have the world I'll take the man

Dumb lust it's dumb lust, you'll see 
It will not end gracefully 
(Even in fantasy it’s a calamity)
Love's a betrayal of the past
(Cannot refuse when your love is in bloom)
Every kiss could be your last

Dumb lust it's love dust, hooray!
Sprinkle the sadness away
(Call me a fool as I break every rule)
I'll give you anything to stay
(It’s worth it anyway)
Dying to give this heart away

Watch the Music Video

Love Dust - ft Mercy Weiss

Performed by Mercy @mercyweiss  and Christopher Pellnat @pretentiousmusic
Song by Christopher Pellnat

Dress Up

It's time to play dress-up baby
Got your suit I got my gown now let's go crazy
We can pretend it's our wedding
Here's a ring made out of string - no forgetting
Wait! You must first propose to me
I'd appreciate it if you'd get down on one knee
To love and to honor, yes I will
Now rise and zip me up, we're dressed to kill

It's a wild night
You know we can be anything
See you tomorrow
Back to t-shirts and jeans

Look at the time - we've got people to meet
Let's move this dress-up party out into the street
Everyone's staring in a good way
I wish we could dress up like this every day
The reception is slowly winding down
Let's say our goodbyes and go out on the town 

It's a wild night
You know we can be anything
See you tomorrow
Back to t-shirts and jeans

You're looking so good, heaven knows
It won't be long before we get you out of these clothes
It's fun to play dress-up baby
But underneath it all it's just you and me
Tonight we'll disrobe this fantasy
We'll take 'em down tomorrow to be dry-cleaned

It's time to play dress-up baby


Dress Up  -  ft Mercy Weiss

I am part of the duo, Teeniest. The singer is Erin Pellnat. Hear more of our music: 
https://soundcloud.com/teeniest
https://teeniest.bandcamp.com

This song was inspired by Irving Berlin's classic 1926 jazz standard, "Blue Skies."   Except "Blue Skies and Happiness" is sort of the other side of the coin - sometimes the outlook is grey skies....

Lyrics:

Blue Skies and Happiness

Blue skies and happiness
Those were your promises
But it’s been raining for days and I’m so sad
Why does it have to be so bad?

Happiness and blue skies
Those were your biggest lies
Everyone told me you’re a prince
The thought of you now just makes me wince

Oh I was blind to all your lies
But now I’m starting to realize
With you it’s all grey skies

Sunshine and crystal streams
Mocking me in my dreams
I wake up to you and my heart sinks
Remembering you’re my everything

Crystal streams and sunshine
Someday they will be mine
But you won’t be there with me no way
No room for you clouds of misery

Oh I was blind to all your lies
But now I’m starting to realize
With you it’s all grey skies

Blue skies and happiness
One thing I must confess:
I never believed that you’re the one
And now I believe that we are done

Blue Skies and Happiness - Teeniest

Written and performed by Mercy Weiss and Chris Pellnat 
@mercyweiss
@pretentiousmusic

Depth Charges

When you're in a jam I mean when it hits the fan
And everybody laughs at how your fortunes all went bad
I will be the one who stays, though you hardly know my name
I lurk in the depths until you feel the very same

I am barely on your radar, not even a blip
My periscope is up I'm watching, waiting for you to slip
When you do I'll surface and you will be surprised
Surreptitious, patiently I've waited all this time

Depth charges raining down
Our enemies are all around
They all want to take me down
Before you know I'm here

Depth charges raining down
Our enemies are all around
They all want to take me down
Before you know I'm here

I have watched your every move, witnessed your faith and doubt
Nothing I have seen has made this fire in me go out
I can hardly hold it in when I see you pass on by
Ready, willing, able to become your one desire

Depth charges raining down
Our enemies are all around
They all want to take me down
Before you know I'm here

Depth charges raining down
Our enemies are all around
They all want to take me down
Before you know I'm here

Depth charges raining down
Our enemies are all around
They all want to take me down
Before you know I'm here

Depth Charges - ft. Mercy Weiss

Song by Christopher Pellnat @pretentiousmusic
Vocals by Tyler Strittmatter @tylerstrittmatter

Face Me

Seagulls carpeting the parking lot
Cold March wind it aligns the flock
Face east
Face west
Face me

Strip mall dumpster bring my trash from home
Heaving the bag, now the seagulls have flown
Fly north
Fly south
Fly free

Put the carts together in a centipede
Crawls back to the building and it’s pulling me
Inside
My mind
A dream

Now they’ve got me bagging the groceries up
Alex at the register I want to love
Her bad
Her now
Her body

Alex never turns to look at me
The side of her face is all I see
Her eyes
Are on
The money

Alex please face me
Whoa I’m more than what I seem
Whoa you’re Alex the girl of my dreams
Whoa why don’t you come ride with me?

Alex doesn’t mind that I ride a bike
Rode her home once I couldn’t sleep that night
I felt
Her hands
On me

The sun is setting it’s a singular scene
Amping up the colors in the gumball machine
I’m sure
They’re sweet
Like Alex

Alex please face me
Whoa I’m more than what I seem
Whoa you’re Alex the girl of my dreams
Whoa why don’t you come ride with me?
Whoa why don’t you come ride with me?

Seagulls carpeting the parking lot
Cold March wind it aligns the flock
Face east
Face west
Face me

Face Me - ft. Tyler Strittmatter

From the album, “Honey Venom Wings” - On Bandcamp:  https://chrispellnat.bandcamp.com/album/honey-venom-wings

Lyrics:

On the Ground

I’m on the ground and I’m gonna rise up higher
I hear the sound and I feel like I’m on fire

I’m not so sure I understand it all
It’s the hand I was dealt but I chose it all along
Now I’m just a voice in a rising song

I’m on the ground and I’m gonna rise up higher
I hear the sound and I feel like I’m on fire

I’m through pretending that fools aren’t in my way
Waste another minute - just wasted another day
Chasing monopoly money as it blows across the stage

I’m on the ground and I’m gonna rise up higher
I hear the sound and I feel like I’m on fire

When are we going to get higher?
When are we going to get higher?

I closed my mind and watched the years just run
Tried to close my heart - as if that could be done
Now I’m wide open to everything that’s coming

I’m on the ground and I’m gonna rise up higher
I hear the sound and I feel like I’m on fire

I’m on the ground and I’m gonna rise up higher
I hear the sound and I feel like I’m on fire

When are we going to get higher?
When are we going to get higher?

ISRC:
uscgh2188873

On the Ground

Written and performed by Christopher Pellnat
Violin: Molly Dechenne

From the album, “Honey Venom Wings” - On Bandcamp:  https://chrispellnat.bandcamp.com/album/honey-venom-wings

Lyrics:

The Bane of My Existence Is My Heart 

I should have left when she took off her wedding ring 
I had no right to be there from the start 
But her ring was just the first thing she removed 
And the bane of my existence is my heart 

She's the latest star in my grand drama 
My friends don't know quite why I gave her the part 
Now I wonder what the hell I was thinking 
And the bane of my existence is my heart 

There's fewer of us here each passing year 
And the ones that are still here have grown apart 
And every single breath is a gift from God 
And the bane of my existence is my heart 

Some get old and tired of the world 
Others learn to make a brand new start 
Some are young forever in the grave 
And the bane of my existence is my heart

ISRC:
uscgh2188879

The Bane of My Existence is My Heart

I am part of this duo called Teeniest. The singer is Erin Pellnat.  More music:  https://soundcloud.com/teeniest

The world has gone mad, but the good things of life remain.

Pennies

I know I know I don't want to go
Wandering down that old rabbit hole
I think for sure we've been here before
This is nothing less than civil war

And I still bend down to pick up pennies
Reasons to smile, you don't need many
And I still skip stones
Still balance on the guardrail on that long walk home

I know I know the world has gone mad
We're here to sort the good from the bad
But it takes everything you've got just to survive
It's an accomplishment to be alive

And I still bend down to pick up pennies
Reasons to smile, you don't need many
And I still skip stones
Still balance on the guardrail on that long walk home

I know I know that sometimes it seems
This nightmare is swallowing our dreams
But there is never ever any doubt
we're gonna turn this nightmare inside out

And I still bend down to pick up pennies
Reasons to smile, you don't need many
And I still skip stones
Still balance on the guardrail on that long walk home

Pennies - Teeniest

Song by Chris Pellnat
Performed by Chris and Erin Pellnat

From the album, “Liftoff” - on Bandcamp:  https://chrispellnat.bandcamp.com/album/liftoff

* * *

This song is inspired by the virtual reality (VR) game, "Lone Echo," which is played on an Oculus Rift.  Olivia Rhodes is a fictional character I "met" in the game. 

This song is written from the perspective of an artificial intelligence called "Jack" - the robot character you "inhabit" in the game. He sees "Liv" as his friend and the feeling is reciprocated, and it seems this relationship brings him to "life" - whatever that means for AI.

Good writing and the voice actors (Troy Baker and Alice Coulthard) really give Jack and Liv vitality and personality. 

Olivia has a fully-realized human character, and not just visually in three dimensions.  You learn of mysterious secrets in her past, and there is a sadness about her as she yearns for things in life that are out of her reach.  Through banter, jokes, and working side by side, she becomes your friend -- this emotional connection is the real surprise for me in VR.   When she is in peril, you feel a visceral need to come to her aid.  

Of course you know it's all a digital illusion. But the magic of VR happens because the immersive illusion becomes "real" -  it kind of sneaks up on you.  You find that you truly "inhabit" your VR character.

What fascinates me are multiple levels of perception, illusion, and meaning in VR, and the game raises important questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, and human connections.

Check out Lone Echo, from Ready at Dawn Studios:
https://www.echo.games/  https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1368187813209608/

Folk art painting with glow-in-the-dark stars by Christopher Pellnat

Lyrics:

Ode to Olivia Rhodes

In this algorithm mind
Everything is clearly defined
But whenever she speaks to me I think I feel a smile inside

Her bedroom is the saddest thing
She dreams of places she's never been
Under radium glow-in-the-dark stars
Sticking to the ceiling

A picture of her family
She won't talk about it with me
I want her to see London town
She says that's her dream
She'll be there with me

Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Now I never want to die

Olivia tells me things
By the light of Saturn's rings
But I lose track - I'm lost in that
Riveting gaze
Yes these are strange days

Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Now I never want to die

I neglected to do the last objective
I just want to hear Liv say my name again
She'll say "Jack please, hurry up and do these things - you know you are my only friend."

ISRC:
uscgh2162303

Ode to Olivia Rhodes

From the album, “Liftoff” - on Bandcamp:  https://chrispellnat.bandcamp.com/album/liftoff

Lyrics:

You Left the Gate Swinging

You left the gate swinging
You left the gate swinging wide

You left the gate swinging
So I went on inside
The stalls were empty
The horses out running wild

You left the gate swinging
You left the gate swinging wide

You left the gate swinging
Nailed to the wall inside
I saw your lucky horseshoe
You know I almost cried

You left the gate swinging
You left the gate swinging wide

You left the gate swinging
I went back outside
I called your name
You know I really tried

Muscle memory don't fail me now
Muscle memory remember how
Muscle memory you've got to lead me
All the way back home

You left the gate swinging
You left the gate swinging wide

You left the gate swinging
I climbed up the mountainside
Up on a ridge I saw your lucky ride

You left the gate swinging
You left the gate swinging wide

You left the gate swinging
I approached her from her side
Down the mountain
I rode her justified

Muscle memory don't fail me now
Muscle memory remember how
Muscle memory you've got to lead me
All the way back home

Thanks to Pete Toigo for playing bass.

ISRC:
uscgh2162310

You Left The Gate Swinging

From the album ”Rain.” 
Cover art by Gray Lee.

Lyrics:

Rain

Rain is right
Right as rain
Rain is right
Right as rain

Last night you went sleepwalking in the storm
I heard your muddy feet coming in the doorway
Open eyes but blind you were carrying water
And you woke me up with kisses and you went on your way
You left me here with nothing, nothing to say 
But thank you for giving me a midnight taste of

Rain is right
Right as rain
Rain is right
Right as rain

I feel like I've been sleeping through my days
You loom larger now that you've gone away
I can hear you whispering hurricanes
And you wake me up with kisses then you go on your way
You leave me here with nothing, nothing to say
But thank you for filling up the ice cube tray with

Rain is right
Right as rain
Rain is right
Right as rain

ISRC:
ushm82233608

Rain

Musician. Can't really sing but I do it anyway.

Chris Pellnat

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks