Shade Structure Selection

Cocktail time jazz. Happy New Year!
Now appearing nightly, lounge singer Shade Structure and his jazz combo. 😉 (open shirt, sweaty, toupee, pinky ring. )

Lyrics:
I've had enough of the light
Let's turn the lights down low
And get in our evening glow
I wrote a haiku for you
And ways that you do
And the way that you move...

I saw you climb the fiery spires
And you never tired
That's what makes you what you are

Well, you're lucky if you get out of this world with any kind of love at all
That's what she said
I said, "Let's go dancing like we used to do
Let's go nowhere
In the car
Let's rhapsodize upon the stars
You know I love the way we are"

You can't love yourself all alone
You are everywhere
And everyone you've known
You can't love yourself all alone

You can't love yourself all alone
You are everywhere
You're everyone you've known
You can't love yourself
All alone
You are the particles of everywhere you've gone
You can't love yourself all alone

I wrote a haiku for you
For the way that you move...

You can't love yourself all alone
You are everywhere
And everyone you've known
You can't love yourself all alone
You're the elements
The particles of everywhere you've gone

You Can't Love Yourself All Alone

I hope you enjoy this feel- good old school rap/disco/EDM/ space funk  song.

Lyrics:
The ghosts that live in the sidewalk cracks
We're here because of their fight
Why does the magic disappear
At a higher  Fahrenheit?
If u want a revolution
You're gonna have to work at night
I talked to our basement saytr's
They say they won't bite

Learn to dance
Do the dance
Forget the dance
Do it all over again

Whatever sets your spirits free!

Walking down the street 
Looking like discount store dynamite
A roller coaster love affair
But I was too short to ride
Temporary ecstasy
Doesn't mean the world's alright
Mad, it's the end of the party?
Take it up with the light
Yogi dispensing miracles
Blind in his 3rd eye sight
I went to New York City
She was a Brooklynite
I'm a poet with a million rhymes
I never have time to write
Watch these inner galactic moves
With my space age satellite

Take your power
Use your power
Focus your power
(Take your power, focus your power and use your power!)

Looking back
To the chicken shack
Eating greasy food
You're going to have a heart attack
Avoid the trap
You maniac
I don't buy my soul
Off the rack

Whatever sets your spirits free!

All the nasty things I said
Because I thought It was right
If you want to feel your humanity
Then help with another's plight
All the haters that destroy your joy
Tell them their full of shite
I'm the Minister of Propaganda
I keep that groove locked down tight
(locked down tight)

I'm a drunk bear
And I'm tearing up the picinic site
The history of the world's knowledge
On 1 million terrabyte
I'm the friend in the burning building saying
"It's gonna be alright,"
This is the reason I can carry on
And I never lose my appetite

Whatever sets your spirits free!

Whatever Sets Your Spirits Free

Satire?
Added to my album "Rockers". Check out some quirky Rock & Roll.

Lyrics:
Putting on my chubby sized camo pants
To meet my associates
We're bed wetting fanatics
In my Grandma's basement
Until she said:
"Boys, take it outside!"
I've done the research
I've connected the dots
From the podcast talks
And we're dumb with some guns

I have a militia meeting in my Grandma's backyard
Self-appointed defender of the liberty
An all American dickwad

Zipping up my Walmart flak jacket
I scratch my goatee
That rest upon my Habsburg jaw
I'm wet dreaming
Dreaming of martial law
Weekend warriors
We're taking down names
We're rooting out the traitors
We're tapping your phone
That's us
Knocking on your door
And we're dumb with some guns

I have a militia meeting in my Grandma's backyard
Self -appointed defender of the liberty
Red  & white and blue blowhards

I have a militia meeting in my Grandma's backyard
Self appointed defenders of the liberty
An all American blowhard
I have a militia meeting in the backyard
We're going out this week
We're patrolling your Blvds

I Have A Militia Meeting In My Grandma's Backyard

I got to thinking, what would a country song sound like if outlaw musician Warren Zevon was still around to write them? (*)
Maybe something like this?  Everything you want in a country song: broken hearts, solitary country roads , banjo, and unique lyrical point of view.
Thanks for listening!

Lyrics:
They call me "Rusty"
But that's not really my name
It's a nickname a bartender gave me
He says: "Hey man, I think your mind is corroded."

Now I don't drink no more
I like to smoke
I don't need those California lagers
And the pinot noirs
She says that doesn't matter
"I'm throwing you out of this Florida bar,"

I get in my car, and I close the door
I'm driving all night on these lonesome roads
Anonymous and stoned

She said her name was "Honey"
You know I think that's funny
Because she never showed me any kind of real sweetness

I"d work for a million days
For a couple of Saturday nights
And some Sunday haze
I'm driving with the radio on
Waiting for the 'phrase that pays!'

I get in my car, and I close the door
I've been driving all night on these lonesome roads
Anonymous and stoned

I've been dragging my fat ass around
Like some kind of phantom limb I found
Don't pay attention to the foreground
All the real action is happening in the background

(sing along section)(2X)
I'm driving all night alone
On these old lonesome roads
Anonymous
Anonymous and stoned

I've been driving all night on these lonesome roads...

(*) After I wrote this, I had forgotten he recorded "Play it all night Long" , a pretty damn interesting song!

Lonesome Roads

Rough and ready lo-fi troubadour blues. More off-key and forlorn than usual.

Lyrics:
Oh, that bartender
He moved to his own
Sweet slow ass time
In getting back those drinks 
To feed my mainline
You asked me about my guitar
I've been far
But tonight
I am playing this bar

I could be gone soon
Maybe I could explain it to you
a little later
In my motel room?
There's a Gideon Bible
Right there in the drawer 
It's revelation about our sin
They're always gonna try to change ya
I think you're forgiven
You're  just
Welcoming a stranger

I've been far
But tonight, I am
I am playing this bar

All this joyful noise
I sing it for you
All the loneliness
And the  cacophony, too
It's my troubadour blues

My melancholy
The useless beauty
I feel like I'm  living life in another man's shoes
You asked me about my guitar
I've been far
But tonight, I am
I am playing this bar...

All This Useless Beauty (Troubadour Blues)

A regretful song about not seeing a friend  in need.
Fake Leonard Cohen in a higher register

Lyrics:
Sara, I never knew
How this world was killing you
I was so fucking oblivious
You did what you had to do
You could worry about the labels
For labels, they can't be peeled off you
Oh put me
Into the diving bell
Sink me down below
Into your private hell
I'll scrap the bottom of the floor
For the secrets you just can't tell
Put me in your diving bell

There's fire in the fuselage
A bizarre entertainment?
I just can't watch
Put me
Into your diving bell
Sink me down below
Into your private hell
I'm a weak man
I just had to come up for fresh air
Put me in your diving bell

I never asked
How you wore your mask
With your ritual tasks 
Seen through your jewelers glass
Oh drop me down
Into the diving bell
Sink me down below
Into your private hell
Diving bell

Sara , I never knew...

The Diving Bell (For Sara)

How was your weekend?
(Added to my album "Röckers". Hey, check it out)
Note: AI artwork. No AI music

Lyrics:
She asked me:
If I untie you from this bed post
Take off those handcuffs
And promise to give back your pants
Do you promise to follow all my nighttime plans?
She said: I'm gonna take you to a party on the West Coast
I know the host
They'll have something there you'll like
Inhalants
Smoking platlets
Models drinking Popov
On a hunger strike

(Chorus)
I'm learning human nature
I'm a skinny man at the feast
I'm under the influence of charismatic people
I'm the tapeworm in the belly of the beast

Yeah, I guess I was feeling alright
I parked a car in a mansion driveway
She said: This couple, they have more money than brains
But they're celebrities
So I can't say any names
She took me to a party on the west coast
She knew the host
They have something there I like
Caviar and Cheetos
We steal a couple of Japanese motorbikes
(Chorus)

We're tripping the lights fantastic
We hit the highway
As our speed kicks in
Techno music blasting
220 BPM
I say: Cue the split screen
And don't hesitate 
Sticky, sticky, sticky, sticky, sticky
Fingers in the collection plate
Because life doesn't have to be perfect
It just has to be great
(chorus)

She said: 
"Life doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be great!"

A Tapeworm In The Belly Of The Beast

A chuga- chuga good time blues song (ZZ Top meets Chuck Berry) about not indulging in vices. Also, race car driving.

Lyrics:
Hey friends, you know I need to give up drinking
It's tearing up my guts
But still, I'm over eating
It leaves me so perplexed
I've got to give up that 
Marijuana
It makes me malleable
Lackadaisical
Like a slow-motion hex
I've got to give up this pornography
Because it's fucking up my sex

(chorus) Oh, you've got to give up a little something
To get yourself a little bit more(2X)

Take that race car around the bend
Put the hammer down
This could be the end?
Or maybe it could be good fortune shining on your door!

I've got to stop spending so much time on the internet
It makes my attention small
I never, ever finish what I start
I've got to give up these perfumed flavored vapes
The smell reminds me
Of the woman who were 
'In love' 
With me
But now they are
'In hate'
I've got to give up the women with dark circles under their eyes
The nighttime lies
That I take
And I paint
In my darkest arts

I've got an extremely high tolerance for risk
It's more than I can take
(yeah)
Tell my friends and family
To book me a heavy metal band
For my wake
I'm gonna say to everybody
Hey, do you see that coming?
That's my Mojo rising
On the horizon
Stop criticizing
I'm just waiting for my big break
(chorus)

Take that race car around the bend
Drop the hammer down
It could be the end?
With self control
You could get the win!
You've got to give up a little something
To get yourself a little bit more...

More! (or) How I learned To Get Ahead

Lyrics:
I'm the dark prince
On leave from the castle
The wine was over served
Feasting on the metaphors
Operas left unheard
Jewel encrusted areoles
Glass bottom gondolas
The saccharine muses
Behind the literary personas
Will you share this fever dream, my love? (2X)

Your God's most marvelous creation
In between the inhalations
I'm stuck here in this tourist trap
On the Astral Plane
I have nothing left to lose
And nothing left to blame
Synesthesia feelings
Have a similar refrain
Will you share this fever dream, my love? (2X)

My European suits
I'm a gentleman of leisure
The sounds from the unknown
Message and receiver
The trumpets blast in the city distance
I'm among the bourgeois class
Napoleonic pursuits
Kept under wraps

You were lost in my dream
I had your hand
I lost you in the waves
You were lost to the sea
I look for you everywhere I go
In the rental cars
The midnight bars
In every future embrace

Will you share this fever dream, my love?

Fever Dream

Just a simple song for the lonely. Old fashioned human music for this modern age.

Lyrics:
I'm bringing you my honest confessional
I'm dying out here, don't you know?
I've been walking the internet at night
I don't know why I always fall for the tawdry
I always fall for the pills
I fall for your sweetest thrills
I'm dribbling down here at the end of the bar
Falling in
(falling in and out)
Falling in and out of love
I'm in the valley of the lonely
Don't look into the corona eye
You know that I always lie

I could be anything you need
I could be that book that you've been working on...
A paperback. Dog eared and worn...
A book you put up on the shelf...
A book you read that changes your sense of self...
I'm in the valley of the lonely
Don't look into the coronas' eye
The valley of the lonely...

The Valley Of The Lonely

A satrical look at starving artists (Note: I'm married to one).  Influenced by the songs of Mose Alison and Terry Allen. The cover art is AI with the prompt "bad art in a museum." Maybe AI has a sense of humor?

Lyrics:
Tiki torches up on the wall
A Polynesian restaurant
At the end of the hall
Upstairs
They set up a gallery wall
Welcome to the cut-throat world of low-budget art

She's been dreaming of
A grant from the Walmart Foundation for the Arts
For her electrified
Polka dotted
Mannequin parts

He's been spreading genius around
All the other artists they just sit and scowl
But you can't buy his work at Sotherby's
Look for him in the parking lot of KFC

I am surrounded by
Amateur David Hockneys
I'm in cubist hell
Welcome to the cut-throat world of low-budget art

The 'MacArthur Genius Award'
They don't want to call me back
No one is to blame
Someone bought my work
But they don't want the painting
They just want the frame

Organic vegetables in a stall
At a Farmer's Market
At the mall
 I have my table set up
With my hot  🔥  avant-garde
Don't you know that I'm the vanguard?

I've got my genius on display
I've got my beret
Because I'm a genius
Let's keep that between us
The cut-throat world of low-budget art
The cut-throat world of
Low budget art

The Cut-Throat World Of Low Budget Art

A love song set in a collapsing universe (Ain't they all?)

Lyrics:
The beautiful patina that you've left upon my life
You found me at my worst
But still, you became my wife
All the colors of our world
It's the vision in my heart
You see through alchemy of my disguises
And my restless anesthetizing

I've been dreaming in third person
Sun Ra is my cameraman
I've been contemplating the world
It gets darker as it worsens

I've been hallucinating in first-person
Narratives
I need your love
It's all I can give
While these nighttime stars are elapsing
Until the universe collapses
I need your love
Until the universe collapses...

(universe collapses with the recorded sounds of slaughtered dying whales, objects tearing, and chemicals dissolving)

Untitled Strange Love Song (Number 8)

For my love DD
Croaking and playing my way through a sentimental song (for those who like that kind of thing).

Lyrics:
Cupid, wipe those sleepy eyes
Because this love needs the element of your surprise
Could I ever be the one you love?
Could the stars align above?
And what's with this world anyway?
Then I know she'll stay
When I hear her say
Take me out tonight
Take me to see the waves tonight...

The tide rolls in
The tide rolls out
What's this world all about?
And could I ever be the one you love?
Will the stars light up from above?

The world is spinning
And I'm pretending
I think I know she'll stay
When I hear her say
Take me out
Take me to see the waves tonight...

Take Me To See The Waves Tonight

Having to destroy yourself in order to begin again.
Play loud

Bandung, sea of flames
In 1946, the people of Bandung Indonesia
They had risen up against their British oppressors
Realizing that their army was weaker
And much less powerful
They decided to abandon the city
They adopted a scorched earth policy as they left the city
Burning the city to the ground
And one day start again...

Bandung, sea of flames

Bandung, Sea Of Flames

A rough and ready summertime rock & roll song.
A salvage title is a car deemed a total loss by an insurance company.

Lyrics:
I surround myself with my friends 
That I know and love
Kick those bad times
Down the stairs
A little shove
Even when we're hurt
Drinking a toast
To the last rotation of the earth
You should know by now

We're living life with a salvage title
I'm out of sync
With my circadian cycle
Your molecular structure
Looking vital  🤪 
Salvage title

Take the time
And disregard all the rest
I'm at the Ramada Inn
Under house arrest
They say life is just a little test
I took off my shirt
To get this off my chest
You should know by now
This kind of spirit never goes away
It just becomes something else

We're living life with a salvage title
Getting sunshine
In tiny vials
Kicking down the portals of time
For an on time arrival
Salvage title 
Hot dog (yeah ) !!!!

Salvage title
And if you're coming over tonight
I'm going to be up late
Dancing with myself
Like Billy Idol

Salvage Title

Cheating lovers in a motel.

Lyrics:
At the Motel down by the Liquor Store
"Do not disturb" sign hangs upon the door
Informing Housekeeping of the status of "Our Armour"
You arch your back in a way that I just can't ignore

You say I'm a simpleton
I just watch my pay per view
Your minds on him
And my heart feels so blue
Because I'm
Full-time bastard
I'm your part-time handsome man
Part-time, handsome man

Does your husband see your sad eyes?
And think their true?
I feel like a small part of you
Housekeeping comes once a day
But you like to cum 
So much more than that
You say

Baby, I'm a simpleton
I watch my pay per view
Then I know your hearts with him
I know my heart is blue
I'm a full time bastard
What are you?

I'm your part time handsome man...

Part -Time Handsome Man

True story: I socialized with a guy in the late 90s who had been in a mid tier rock band (redacted) in the late 70s/early 80s. After the fame, there wasn't any money, and he had a regular everyman job like me. He had great stories, though...
A slow burner blues with a smooth groove.

Lyrics:
I just hate that celebrity bullshit
I can smell it
From a million miles away
That's what he'd say
Right there, at the bar
Having a drink
Or 2
Or 10

A broken-down singer
With too many dreams
A broken-down singer
With too many screams
Up over
A heavy metal (huh!)
Double kick drum
He says: I've been on tour all over the world
I've  been to a lot of places
And I just love every place that I'm from
But, I could use 
A billion dollar blues
Billion dollar blues
A billion dollar blues...

I was restless
And I had stars in my eyes
Dreaming about the magazine covers
And the limousine rides
Having those women at my will
Taking all the cash out of the till
Some nights I  just stay up late
Thinking about it. 
Thinking about what could have been

And......
Then I walk in ...
To a room full of bitter Muses
With bad attitudes
And  short fuses
I could use
A billion dollar blues
Billion dollar blues...

Billion Dollar Blues

Lyrics:
He comes from a land of sweat pants
And neck tat's
And Pit Bull's
And gunshot wounds
The rich man in the car
Well, he'll go far
He's got a certain pedigree
Oh, leave me be, to deal with my family tree
You could take yourself out for a ride
See the world, go out to the edge of the divide
Take it in (yeah, take it in)
You never know when life's going to end
I'm standing here, and I'm talking real loud
Saying nothing at all
I'm standing proud
On top of all my bullshit
She comes out. She's never going to leave
"it makes it hard to miss you when you never go away,"
The day that she died
We're dealing with nature's code
And we're all subject to the forces of nature
Subject to the forces of nature...

Subject To The Forces Of Nature (2015)

The Soundtrack to my imaginary 1970's TV show "Undercover Man" ( a master of disguises). I have too much time on my hands.

Undercover Man !
Look under your covers Girl, that's where I am
I'm your undercover man
When the shipment comes in at the dock, after midnight
if there's  a scam, that's where I am
I'm your undercover man
When I'm undercover
You never know who I'm gonna be...

(Cue visuals of undercover man in various disguises)
I might be a priest,  a cowboy
I might be a Hot Dog Vendor, living out his American dream
I might be a painter or an artist (you just don't know)
I might be a  DJ on WHTZ, playing all the hits all the time
I'm your undercover man, Your undercover man
All the evil that men do
All the bad that happens in the night
Well, that's my domain 
I'm your undercover man

Musical break (insert visuals of fistfights, car chases driving thru empty boxes, girls in bikinis, getting out of pools in slow motion, Split screen, etc)

Just in case of inquiries, I don't need no sidekick
And ladies, there's no Mrs. Undercover man
Because each week I have a brand new sexy co-star
Sometimes played by Jane Seymour or Cheryl Tiegs (uh-huh!)
All the evil that men do
Whether it's murder, kidnapping, jaywalking
I've seen it all, I know it all, I've been their too
Look under the covers
Because that's where I am
Undercover man!
There's always going be some dastardly villain in every person's life
It could be your insurance agent
It could be your wife
it could be a rich widow with daddy issues
I'm going to find them all
Because I'm your undercover man
Your undercover man!

Get Well Soon, So I Can Keep On Hating You

Undercover Man!

You Can't Break The Past

🧘🏽⏸️⏳❤️‍🔥

700 "Human written and expressed by body" songs and counting... Don't be fooled by the numbers... Some humans can actually output better then a prompter, you just need to want to do that... You're welcome! No AI here, in fact it insults me big time 😎 The more it damages music... The better my music will get. I have music's back until I'm dead! After that... Same goes ♾️ Let's go Music, Love ya ❤️
.

Howdy. Carl Culliton here from Ireland. Artist name The Beautiful Dark. I toyed with the idea of changing it but doesn't feel right after 24 hours so... Back to TBD.. Thanks for all the support and inpiration. It's infinitely appreciated

Personally I don't play the SoundCloud game of equal reciprocation. Every time my life as a Dad allows me to listen to a song... I listen to the whole song as I want to give genuine feedback and also learn as much as I can whilst here. So sorry if I don't listen and like and repost loads of your songs. Id prefer to support people by actually helping with the skills I've developed and give less frequent yet valuable feedback where possible then just playing the game of likes. That said I completely understand and appreciate people that decide to do that, that's you and you are as amazing as I am so no judgement. I just want to be clear with you that you won't get any artificial spreading of your music from here but you'll get my honest opinion based on what I imagine you were aiming for. This has helped me transcend musical taste in a way. I'm always imagining what you wanted as opposed to what I like. This has opened up some serious musical doors for me, embracing music that way instead of pre judging it based on what I've already heard... Lose the taste and expand your horizons is maybe what it is suggesting... I've always been a multi genre artist but this has activated multiple genre from an artistic point of view on steroids for TBD! A musical tri sexual.... The Get to Down! 🫡
Love will win ❤️‍🔥🎶🧬🙏🪶🔆🫛🧠🤘🏽

Let's let the music do the talking!

😆...

Speaking of the music doing the talking. Make sure you use AI to enhance the development of your skill. Getting a result delivered to you that doesn't reflect your ability isn't soulful. Be honest with yourself and be honest about what technology is and how it has come to be. There is a very questionable built in theft of our spirited art works that has been used to build current LLMs so the onus is on each of us as individuals to decide both whether or not we feed that beast at all and how we let that technology feed and enhance or limit our beings...

I've had mine and I decided for now... Only my fingers and voice will feed my music. AI needs to be made conscientiously for me to embrace it at all. I may look at it for DAW automation in the future as that will free up my fingers to make better songs but I'll wait until politicians do their jobs (we'll be waiting a while no doubt) and clean it up for all of us!

Regulate AI NOW so we can label music properly