A strange outcome, I asked Suno for dark singer songwriter, however it sounds to me more like "metal". My own fault I guess. I asked for lots of distortion and a bass drone. But the thing is it is almost all that I had asked for. Rain, thunder and wind effects are added in audacity.

I wrote the poem, "The Wind", when Hurricane Katrina caused so much trouble for New Orleans, thinking about climate change, etc. Here are the words to that poem.

Poem - the wind

The Wind sighed, 
And the world turned. 
The Wind whispered, "Why?" 
But no one heard.

 The Wind wondered, "When?"
 But no answer came. 
The Wind cried, "Cease!" 
But few took heed. 

The Wind shrieked, "Stop!" 
But the suffering had started. 
The Wind warned us all, 
But who had noticed. 
And the world turned. 

The Wind howled, "How?" 
But was it now too late? 
The Wind became man's enemy, 
And they asked, each one, 
"Why didn't we listen?" "

Why didn't we care?" 
"Why didn't we do enough?" 
"We could have helped" 
And the world turned.

 The Wind tore through The remaining years. 
"why didn't we listen?" 
And the world turned, 
In upon itself.

The Wind

Watch the 📹Video: https://youtu.be/PhE7afina30👈
Lyrics interpretation, here: https://beatingedge.blogspot.com/2025/08/vacant-stares-interpretation-of-lyrics.html
Here we are with our last track of the month.
Lately, Carl @thebeautifuldark has been working on some important projects to raise awareness about the indiscriminate use of AI in the world of art. This track came from deep conversations between us, exploring themes of identity, authenticity, and the growing trend of music that’s “AI-made” but never truly felt or played.

Vacant Stares is a cryptic, cult-like vision of a digital future, where prompters replace creators, and artistic expression is reduced to hollow commands.
Blank stares. Selfish prayers. Fake songs for simulated feelings.
This track is a warning. A question. A reversed ritual.
It asks you: who are you, when you no longer use your own voice?

The song is divided into two parts:

Beating Edge's part:
It’s gothic, cinematic, full of ritualistic and unsettling imagery. The atmosphere evokes abandoned temples, secret cults, carved symbols… with that sense of existential disorientation like “they’re initiating me into something but I don’t know what.”
It feels like a lucid nightmare or a hallucination induced by an intelligence simulating spirituality.
Carl’s part:
More brutal, direct, anti-establishment. Almost a rap/spoken-word poem loaded with accusations towards those who use AI in a sterile, heartless way. “Selfish prayers / Fake / Unfair” hit like punches in the gut in just four words. It’s the awakening from hypnosis.

Let’s reflect! And use AI as a tool to amplify art, not to replace it!
Love you all!🫶

Lyrics:

(Tom)

Veil of whispers, carved in stone
Guiding hands, but I'm alone
Golden masks and hollow eyes
Chanting words that crystallize

Candles flicker, shadows climb
Marble echoes bend through time
Steps resound in hollow halls
Silent lips behind the walls

And they move like ghosts through the fevered air
With their silver robes and their vacant stares
Do I kneel, do I run, do I play along?
Or is this the place where I belong?

Smoke is rising, threads unwind
Painted symbols twist my mind
Fingers trace the silent vow
No way back, it's over now

And they move like ghosts through the fevered air
With their silver robes and their vacant stares
Do I kneel, do I run, do I play along?
Or is this the place where I belong?

A voice like thunder in my head
Tells me secrets left unsaid
A crimson door, a silver knife
A choice to stay or trade my life

Lights go dim, the world dissolves
A hollow chant, a fate evolves
In the mirror, I can't see
Is that me, or what's left of me?

(Carl - The Beautiful Dark)

Vacant stares
Selfish prayers
Fake
Unfair

Unnatural wear
Expressionless
Ghost digital smile
Simulated pain
You making fake dog pile

Guesses pluggs in
Self matrix is made
Showing young kids
Their artist mind grave

Not on our watch
Sing your own feeling
Talk your reflections
Save children's true meanings

Feeding them new
They'll amplify this
They'll stay plugged out
All now's reminisce

Prompters, have that reckoning
With fake thoughts you feeding

Respect the souls of past inspire
Their spirit will help you transcend the mire

Vacant Stares

Official Music Video

Take me Away


I must be livin' a dream
'Cause I would have left by now if it were real
But it's not
It's not
It's not
It's so hard to see through
With all of these things that I never do
But I still apologize for

Oh
You got me on my knees again
(Again, again, again, again)
Said you wanna be with me till the end
(Till the end, till the end, till the end)
But you never give me any time
Time
Time
Time

Apologizing for shit that I didn't do
Stayed because I thought it was love
But you know it isn't true
You should know that I'm not fine
You're killing me inside
I'm dying to be alive
(To be alive)

And I thought that you would be mine
But it was just toxic
You know I can't stop it
It's not
It's not
It's not
And I thought that you would be mine
But it was just toxic
You know I can't stop it
It's not
It's not
It's not

And I know
I know
I know
It was never love
It was never love
You and I
It was never love
It was never love
But I stayed for the feeling
It's like I'm dying to be alive

Why do you think I don't try?
And why do you think I don't care?
Why do you always get mad at me
When I tell you it isn't fair?
You get so insecure when I'm happy
Or you think that I'm lyin'
And I feel like I'm walkin' on eggshells
And I have to keep tryin'

You don't like me for me
You just like to fight
I'm sorry for whatever it is I did
That I didn't do

Why do you think that I stayed?
Why do you think that I tried?
You don't understand how it feels
To be dying to be alive
Dying to be alive

And stayed 'cause I thought it's love
And the feeling's gone
But I don't care anymore
No
I don't care anymore
No
I don't care anymore
No
I don't care anymore
'Cause I know that you know
That I am dyin' to be alive
And I know that you know
That I am dyin' to be alive
And I know that you know
That I am dyin' to be alive
Dyin'

Dying To Be Alive

Clouds of the Night

Last Door

Dignity First.wav

Cards are flying in the smoky air
Shadows dancing but nobody cares
The table's hot
The stakes are cold
The stories whispered are as good as gold
[Prechorus] Eyes like daggers
Hearts on fire
Who’s the liar
Who’s the buyer
[Chorus] Aces high
Let 'em fly
All or nothing
Do or die
Aces high
Feel the rush
The room goes silent
Then the crush

Aces high .mp3

i know you want me
and i want you too
so bad

i want you on me
and i know you
know that

i see it in your eyes
you know i
fantasise

i dream of you

all of my dreams
all of my dreams
all of my dreams
are all about you
and me
in love

you and me
in love

want you want you
need you need you
tortured by lust
and desire
to feel my skin on you
and for you
to feel your skin on me

for my kisses to cover you

i see it in your eyes
you know i
fantasise

i dream of you

all of my dreams
all of my dreams
all of my dreams
are all about you
and me
in love

you and me
in love

all of my dreams
all of my dreams
all of my dreams
are all about you
and me
in love

you and me
in love

you & me (rasta remix)

WASTELAND by Nova J

[VERSE 1]
I’m not quite here, I’m not quite there
I can’t stop scrolling in my underwear
I’m not talking, you’re not talking, just an empty stare
Searching for another body somewhere close to here

[PRE-CHORUS]
If I’m being honest, I knew there was no connection
But I was high, supplies ran dry, and I don’t need perfection

[CHORUS]
Is that a quake? Or do I have the shakes?
I keep taking, you keep taking, how much more can we take?
I am empty in my space, too afraid to see my face

[HOOK]
In this Wasteland, I am
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh

[VERSE 2]
The sun has risen, the sheets are red
Your body like a dead fish, lifeless on the bed
My arms resemble spider webs, this pounding in my head
I really need to sleep, but I prefer to tweak instead

[PRE-CHORUS]
But now I’ve got a problem, the fact is you’re still near
I tell a lie and say goodbye and get you out of here

[BRIDGE]
I hope that you don’t hate me, I hope you’ll understand
It’s not my row, I blame the snow, I’m not that kind of man

[CHORUS]
Is that a quake? Or do I have the shakes?
I keep taking, you keep taking, how much more can we take?
I am empty in my space, too afraid to see my face

[HOOK]
In this Wasteland, I am
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh 

[VOCAL BREAK]
Ah-ah, ah-ah
Ah-ah, ah-ah

[VERSE 3]
Oh, I swear things will be better this way
There’s a needle hiding somewhere in this burning pile of hay
I did not find it last week or last night and not today
But I know if I keep hunting, I will find true love someday

[VERSE 4]
I refuse to settle, I refuse to compromise
I refuse to tell the truth, and now I’m lost in all the lies
My leather tongue no longer tastes my mother’s rhubarb pie
I’m hiding from the sun, and drinking blood like a vampire

[FINAL CHORUS]
Is that a quake? Or do I have the shakes?
I keep taking, you keep taking, how much more can we take?
I am empty in my space, too afraid to see my face

[OUTRO]
In this Wasteland, I am
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh
Frozen, ahhh
Frozen, ahhh
Frozen, ahhh
Frozen, ahhh
Frozen, ahhh 
Frozen, ahhh

WASTELAND

A haunting acoustic ballad born from coffee-stained memories and whispered truths. The vocals interweave like shadows dancing on ceiling cracks, finding beauty in broken fragments of love. Cathedral builders with clay hands reaching for forever, discovering grace in the yearning. Sometimes the most powerful stories live in what we leave unsaid.

Coffee rings on yesterday's letter  
Ink still bleeding through the page  
Words we carved in whispered weather  
Now they're ghosts inside this cage  

Your shadow's dancing on the ceiling  
While I'm tracing all the cracks  
In the silence, I'm still feeling  
Every bridge we can't walk back  

And I'm reading between the lines  
Of everything we left unsaid  
All the truth that we disguised  
Is living in my head  

So I'll hold onto the fragments  
Of the light we used to make  
Even broken, there's still magic  
In the chances that we take  
And maybe we're just learning  
How to breathe inside the storm  
Finding beauty in the burning  
Of the love that keeps us warm  

Midnight conversations echo  
Through these hollow, empty rooms  
Every memory's a window  
To the garden where we bloomed  

But the seasons keep on turning  
And the colors start to fade  
Still I feel that old fire burning  
In the mess that we have made  

And I'm reading between the lines  
Of the person I became  
When you held me through the nights  
And whispered out my name  

So I'll hold onto the fragments  
Of the light we used to make  
Even broken, there's still magic  
In the chances that we take  
And maybe we're just learning  
How to breathe inside the storm  
Finding beauty in the burning  
Of the love that keeps us warm  

We were cathedral builders  
With our hands made out of clay  
Reaching for forever  
But forever slipped away  

Now I'm standing in the ruins  
Of the dreams we thought we'd share  
But I swear I still can feel you  
In the music in the air  

So I'll hold onto the fragments  
Let them cut me as they shine  
There's a story in the damage  
Of your heart bleeding through mine  
And maybe we're just learning  
That some love is meant to scar  
Finding grace inside the yearning  
For the light of what we are  

Coffee rings on yesterday's letter  
Ink still bleeding through the page  
But the words are getting better  
As I'm turning every page

Between the Lines

Xak Stahl: Alchemist of Sound, Architect of Emotion

Xak Stahl is a genre-blurring music artist, sonic storyteller, and relentless experimenter. Every track he creates is a new world—a kaleidoscope of indie folk, alt-pop, electronica, and global flavors—infused with raw emotion and boundless curiosity. Xak’s music isn’t just heard; it’s felt.

From Shadow to Spotlight

For Xak, music is metamorphosis. His journey began in the shadows, transmuting heartbreak and struggle into songs that glow with hope. Early anthems like “Neon Dreams” and “Rising Through the Darkness” invite listeners to find their own light. His newest project, Major Arcana, channels the mysteries of the Tarot—each song an archetype, each lyric a step along the path from the Fool’s first leap to the wisdom of The World.

More Than Music: A Multisensory Universe

But Xak isn’t confined to sound. As a visual artist and writer, he crafts immersive stories that spill across genres and languages—sometimes haunting, sometimes playful, always honest. Whether he’s conjuring lush soundscapes, weaving bilingual lyrics, or creating striking visuals, Xak’s art dares you to feel deeper and dream wilder.

An Invitation to Transformation

Join Xak Stahl on a sonic odyssey that blurs borders—between genres, between artforms, between you and the music. Each release is an invitation to explore, to heal, to become. For Xak, every song is a spell, every album a universe. The only question is: are you ready to step inside?

Between the Lines

XAK STAHL

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