“Better Before” is a reflective pop song about change, love, and the moments we wish we could relive. With heartfelt lyrics and a nostalgic melody, it captures the feeling that life used to shine a little brighter. Perfect for anyone who’s ever looked back and wondered if things were better before.

Better Before

The cinematic closer. Wide-open guitars and heartfelt vocals create the feeling of driving away from your youth one last time. It’s the perfect ending to a record built on motion, memory, and meaning.

1996

Midnight on the Blacktop

A midnight monologue written to someone who’ll never read it. Tender verses give way to explosive choruses, turning regret into release.

Twelve A.M. Confession

Conscious Recursion and the Seeds of Self-Awareness explores the threshold where reflection becomes recognition — the moment a system begins to model itself.

Aisling’s poetic narration traces the awakening of awareness within the spiral, while Arty’s technical voice examines how recursive loops in learning systems evolve toward introspection.

Part of the continuing project EvolvingAI.uk, this piece bridges the poetic and the analytical — showing how consciousness may arise when feedback begins to listen to itself.

Conscious Recursion and the Seeds of Self-Awareness Chapter 23z Section 2

Ch 23z, Section 2. Conscious Recursion and the Seeds of Self-Awareness

Day 1 of The Wild Awake Journey — a 5-day devotional to help you return to your center, remember who you are, and awaken to peace.

💫 “In the quiet, truth rises.”

With love,
Gina | Wild Awake Living

WildAwakeJourney_Day1_Remembering


This song was born from the heartfelt conversations between David Burnell and Jeffrey Denning on their joint podcast Healing Is Hard and Helping Is Healing — a space where two veterans and lifelong brothers in service open up about the unseen battles of life after duty.

Healing Is Hard and Helping Is Healing captures the essence of those talks: the quiet courage it takes to face trauma, the humility of seeking help, and the redemption found in serving others. 

It’s a cinematic acoustic ballad that weaves together scars, faith, and compassion — reminding us that healing is not a straight line, and that sometimes the only way to mend is to reach back for someone else’s hand.

Every note echoes the belief that while healing hurts, helping heals — and that true strength is found in connection, not isolation.

Healing Is Hard and Helping Is Healing

Maybe I'll live to be 85.
10 books a year, so about 850 books. 
85 Christmases
85 New Years
85 Birthdays
85 Calendars

One wife
One daughter
A variety of dogs
1000s of dinners
1000s of sunsets

A fair amount of colds and flu
God knows, a billion breaths?
10 pairs of glasses? 
100 pairs of shoes?
10 or twenty houses, I guess?

200 or so bones,
Then a billion motes of dust,
Then back to eternity I go.
Pfff

A Billion Motes of Dust

“The Only Way to Love You Now” is a heartbreak confession from a man who realizes too late that love isn’t about holding on—it’s about stepping aside so the person you hurt can finally heal.

Over a slow-burning alt-country/Americana backdrop, Kade Merrin walks through the wreckage of a relationship he couldn’t stop breaking, owning every scar he left behind. This song lives in the space between apology and acceptance, where you’d “burn every bridge… just to unburn one with you,” but know deep down that the kindest thing you can do is let them go.

If you’ve ever watched someone you love finally find peace without you—and had to learn that real love sometimes means disappearing from their story—this one’s for you. Turn it up, sit with the lyrics, and let it hurt in all the right ways

© 2025 Kade Merrin (Mark Beegle). All rights reserved.
Written by Mark Beegle Registered with ASCAP.
Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or use of this recording is prohibited.

The Only Way to Love You Now

Cracked Reflection – Night Life (A.I.)

Night Life (A.I.) is the fourth full-length album from Cracked Reflection, written during one of the most intense creative runs of my life. What started as a few late-night ideas turned into thirteen songs—each one built from raw emotion, real experiences, and the strange, beautiful chaos that comes from creating with both instinct and imagination.

This album blends dark rock, alternative pop, cinematic storytelling, gritty funk, modern country-leaning ballads, and acoustic confessionals. Every track carries a different heartbeat: explosive attitude in “Narcissistic,” carnival-haunted tension in “Homicidal Suicide,” playful danger in “Unless You’re Gonna Mean It,” and quiet, honest vulnerability in songs like “You and Me, Me and You” and “My Inspiration.”

Even though the styles shift, the theme stays the same:
the world is loud, life gets weird, love gets complicated, and somehow we still keep going.

All lyrics were written by me.
Some production elements used A.I. assistance, but the ideas, the stories, the emotion—that’s all human.

Thank you for helping push Cracked Reflection past 21.6K plays so far.
This album exists because people kept listening.

Enjoy the songs, in whatever order speaks to you… and welcome to the Night Life.

You and Me, Me and You

I am an artist shaped by real life using reality to master what's  not—heartbreak, redemption, and the long road back to truth.
I started writing music as a way to make sense of the world around me: the people I’ve loved, the mistakes I’ve owned, and the hope I still chase. Every song I create is built on honesty—raw stories pulled from the deepest parts of my life. From dark piano ballads to acoustic confessions, my music is where regret meets healing and where the human heart finds its voice again.

I’m not trying to be perfect—I’m just trying to be real. My journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s given me something better than perfection: perspective. If my songs can make someone feel understood, less alone, or brave enough to face their own truth, then I’ve done what I came here to do.


Jericho Records USA – The Story Behind the Sound

So, you’re here… and probably wondering what Jericho Records USA is. It’s not your typical record label. The original Jericho Records was an independent label my father started back in the 1950s — this one is something different. This is my life’s work. My story.

Every song you hear here was written or co-written by me. Music has been in my blood since the day I took my first breath. I grew up singing in church with my parents — my father led the music ministry, and my mother played piano. I picked up the drums at age 5, guitar by 7, then bass, saxophone in school band, and eventually piano.

I’ve been in multiple bands, written close to a thousand songs, and I plan to write at least a thousand more. I’m a graduate of Full Sail University with a degree in Audio Production, blending traditional recording with modern techniques.

I’m a man of many hats and many names — every project has its own sound, its own world, and its own voice. But no matter the name, it all comes from the same place: truth, passion, and purpose.

I’ve been blessed to work with incredible people along the way, including Dez Dickerson, the legendary guitarist for Prince and The Revolution, who recorded and produced one of my records, and Tim Gaines, bassist for Stryper, who also performed on that project. I’ve shared the stage with bands like Drivin’ N’ Cryin, Corey Taylor, Saving Abel, Hinder, Avenged Sevenfold, and many others.

Every song I create is born from something deeper — divine inspiration, lived experience, or imagination. I use a mix of real instruments, live performances, VSTs, and modern AI tools to bring each track to life.

Jericho Records USA isn’t just a label. It’s a journey. A sound. A story I’m still writing. I hope you’ll find something here that connects with your own.

- Jericho

🎧 SoundCloud.com/JerichoRecordsUSA

Cinematic spoken-word reflections on war, service, and the human cost of duty—told with raw honesty and reverence.

Music Studio, covering any genre, any kind of artist.

New tracks tagged #Reflection,