Purchase the CD or digital version from the band's online store!: https://www.spgiraffestore.com/collections/music-albums/products/steam-powered-giraffe-the-vice-quadrant-cd

The band Steam Powered Giraffe's space opera album!

Join the robots on a cosmic adventure as they journey into space with this two hour long 2-disc space opera featuring new age, rock, pop, and folk genres, all on 28 tracks!

Check out the Vice Quadrant Companion Timeline!
A timeline made by the band that helps tell the story of The Vice Quadrant along with the album!: http://steampoweredgiraffe.com/index.php/vqtimeline/

The Vice Quadrant

Hold Me

Purchase a digital or CD copy to hear the 10 acoustic versions of the studio tracks! Exclusive to purchases of the album!: https://www.spgiraffestore.com/collections/music-albums/products/1896

Sample the acoustic tracks here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip1Jn4Jycpc&ab_channel=SteamPoweredGiraffe

Steam Powered Giraffe's 6th studio album, 1896!

A two disc album featuring a full studio album on one disc and acoustic versions of the studio tracks on the other disc!

Take a harmony-filled musical journey with the robots Zer0, The Spine, & Rabbit in this album featuring brand new songs from the band!

1896

Intertwined

Tales To Be Told Gunpowder Tim vs. The Moon Kaiser - The Mechanisms

Shipwreck

I'll Be Waiting

Troublemaker

Built to Burn

Must We

Song 16 of 18 of The Mechanism's High Noon Over Camelot album

Support The Mechanisms on their Bandcamp at https://themechanisms.bandcamp.com/

16 Peacemaker - The Mechanisms

The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom The William Altig Choir

A choral meditation on the Buddhist Heart Sutra, the oldest and most beloved teaching on emptiness and liberation.

For 1,600 years, the mantra "Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā" has been chanted in temples across Asia—a song of going beyond, of crossing to the other shore where suffering cannot reach. Now The William Altig Choir brings this ancient wisdom to life through the soulful harmonies of gospel and blues tradition.

Gone, gone, gone beyond. Gone all the way beyond. Awakening. Hail!

From the book "The Heart Sutra Reborn: An American Blues Interpretation" by William Altig.

(Slow, steady beat—like a heart finding its true rhythm)

Verse 1:
Avalokiteśvara sitting all alone, Deep in wisdom on that glory throne. Looked at the world with a spiritual eye, Saw the truth of things beneath the sky.  He looked at the body, looked at the mind, Searching for a self he could not find. Five big heaps where a man used to be, Saw them all empty, saw them all free.

Chorus (Call and Response):
Yeah, the body is empty, like a passing cloud, Feelings just a whisper, though they scream so loud. Thoughts are like the wind, blowing through the trees, When you see they're empty, Lord, you fall to your knees.  Suffering is gone, pain don't stand a chance, When you join that rhythm of the freedom dance. Avalokiteśvara saw it clear as day, Emptiness washes all the tears away.

(Up-tempo now, driving rhythm—like a train gathering speed)

Verse 2:
Oh Śāriputra, hear what I say, Form and emptiness are the same way. Ain't no difference between the two—What you see is empty, and empty is you.  No eyes to see, no ears to hear, No nose to smell, no doubt to clear. No tongue to taste the bitter or sweet, No solid ground beneath your feet.

Chorus (Building power):
Tear it all down, let the walls fall flat, Tell me Śāriputra, what you think about that? No wisdom to find, no prize to be won—The work is over, the journey is done.  No suffering here, no cause to be found, No end to the pain, no path on the ground. When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose—That's the secret, brother, of the Emptiness Blues.

Bridge (Slower, building to the release):

So the Bodhisattva walks with a stride so bold, Breaking the chains that the mind can't hold. No fear in the heart, no cloud in the sky, Waving all your illusions goodbye.

(Call and Response, soulful and loud—congregation rising)

Verse 3:
So here is the magic, here is the spell, To break you out of your personal hell. The wisdom that shines like the morning sun, Showing you the battle's already won.  Listen to the words that the Buddhas say, To wash your troubles and your cares away. It ain't no secret, brother, it ain't no lie—It's the wings you need if you want to fly.

The Mantra (Chant it slow, let it build):

Gate Gate—Gone, gone away! Paragate—Gone to a brighter day! Parasamgate—Gone all together! Bodhi Svaha — Awake forever!

(Repeat—with growing power)

Gate Gate—Leave it all behind! Paragate—Clear your worried mind! Parasamgate—Cross to the other shore! Bodhi Svaha—Don't you cry no more!

Final Verse (Slow, settling into peace):

Gone, gone, gone beyond, To the place where we all belong. Awakening is here, the dream is through— The Emptiness Blues is the song for you.

The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom

If you’ve ever felt stuck on the sofa while the relationship ship quietly sailed off, this one might hit close to home. We’d really love to hear your thoughts - does this song reflect something you’ve lived through, or are you hearing it differently? Drop a comment and let us know. 🎶💬

This song lives in that uneasy space between closeness and distance - when love is still there, but communication starts locking its doors. It’s about emotional unreadability, mixed signals, and the quiet anxiety of not knowing where you stand with someone you care about. With tender honesty and a touch of wry humour, the lyrics trace the questions a lover is often too afraid to ask out loud: Are we drifting? Am I still wanted? Do you feel what I’m feeling?

Tell me. Tell me please. 
Are you locking the doors to
certain rooms inside your brain.
Are you locking the doors to
certain rooms inside your brain.
Are you trying to become
.....impossible to read again.
Are you trying to become
.....impossible to read again.

When it comes to you,
how am I supposed to know?
.....What should your lover do?
When does a simple cuddle
.....solve this complicated muddle
and advance us to the bedroom?
Am I there in your diary as
'possible all the way' Friday?
Are there no more entries planned?
Am I banned to the sofa again?
When will you feel my pain?
Oh! When will you feel my pain?

*

I fear for our relationship ship.
It's left harbour on the sly.
It's gone off on a cruise to nowhere. 
And I have no idea why.
I think the least you can do
.....is to inform your crew
of the love-boat's destination.
......I think I deserve
some kind of kind explanation.

*

Tell me. Tell me please. 
Are you locking the doors to
certain rooms inside your brain.
Are you locking the doors to
certain rooms inside your brain.
Are you trying to become
.....impossible to read again.
Are you trying to become
.....impossible to read again.

When it comes to you,
how am I supposed to know?
.....What should your lover do?
When does a simple cuddle
.....solve this complicated muddle
and advance us to the bedroom?
Am I there in your diary as
'possible all the way' Friday?
Are there no more entries planned?
Am I banned to the sofa again?
When will you feel my pain?
Oh! When will you feel my pain?

*

I fear for our relationship ship.
It's left harbour on the sly.
It's gone off on a cruise to nowhere. 
And I have no idea why.
I think the least you can do
.....is to inform your crew
of the love-boat's destination.
I think I deserve
some kind of a kind explanation.

*

Am I there in your diary-
'possible all the way' Friday?
Are there no more entries planned?
Am I banned to the sofa again?
When will you feel my pain?
Oh! When will you feel my pain?

When will you feel my pain?
Oh! When will you feel my pain?

FEEL MY PAIN

That Feeling

Shayfer James has built a creative world entirely his own—where poetic lyricism collides with cinematic arrangements, where darkness waltzes with whimsy, where rebellion and vulnerability share the same breath. His work explores the dual forces of isolation and belonging, of longing and defiance, all delivered with theatrical flair and unmistakable swagger that both welcomes and unsettles.

Must We

Shayfer James

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