Cicada Exoskeletons is an album 3+ years in the making, reflecting on both positive and negative aspects of what we know as life. The album celebrates and exposes Tim's position within this life from point A to Z, and everywhere in between. Comprised of 15 brand new songs, Cicada Exoskeletons includes some of Tim's long-time influences: The Grouch (Living Legends), Sole (Anticon), Kristoff Krane (Fake Four / Crushkill), Murcii Miller, and Bodi (Elephant Memories) as well as production from Qreepz, Mack Formway (Art Vandelay), Captain Midnite (The Let Go).

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Cicada Exoskeletons

Full album in both digital and limited edition vinyl available via: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

'Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles': Transparent narratives of sleepless nights, hungry bellies, uncomfortable social situations, and bad habits while remaining thankful for others and trying to find one's place in this world encapsulate the creativity in this joint hip-hop album by Visceral Candy & Tim Stiles.

Written by Seth Swift & Tim Stiles 
Guitar, Bass, and Backing Vocals by Ian Hernandez 
Produced by Jay Battle & Seth Swift 
Recorded, Mixed, & Mastered by Jay Battle @ The Battlefield 
Seattle, WA 
Art by Richard Lim

Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles

We proliferate demons when disregarding others
Cold feet won't freeze if we hide them under the covers
Solitary works up until we discover
That loneliness leads to holding to one another
 
The abrasiveness of concrete is a perfect metaphor
Once we stumble, knees scrape and its time to fight a better war
Callused heels start stuttering to the beat like
That moment when moths flicker, shadowing street lights

Hands quiver, thinking of demands we can't deliver
Man-to-man we stamp a plan to plant a seed
It all goes hand-in-hand with labor pains we can't alleve
Fanning the grief until an avalanche has us on our hands n knees
 
Can't we just be? The answer seems so deep
Necromancers dance in dreams for a whole week like old sheep
Caught in tradition without a pot to piss in
Civilization lost, waiting for a decision

From birth we are driven
To run first, crawl second
Never resting, It's all nerves

Expectations are indeed
The reason we fall first
Before we even recognize we're breathing 
 
Russian roulette with our wants, red rover with our needs
Games we play to pave the way to later daydreams
Trying to stake a claim, we hate the way the day-to-day seems
Afraid to escape the trade, the paycheck is what makes ends meet
 
Craving a mainstay, feeling fulfilled
No matter who's killed within the process, we still ruin in order to build
Chain-link barriers prevent theft while the faint of heart
Pray for a heaven-sent sense of less stress
 
What is this mess we tend to set ourselves in?
Worrying too much about her and forgetting to help him
Melting each relationship with this selfish state of bliss
Braincells make a fist to box us in
 
Its the underlying fault of man, caught in a position
Retaining an upper hand that's lost in tradition
We are in division without at pot to piss in
A civilization sitting in waiting for a decision
 
From birth we are driven
To run first, crawl second
Never resting, It's all nerves

Expectations are indeed
The reason we fall first
Before we even recognize we're breathing 

Don't run out of breath yet if you're feeling like I do
Take baby steps. Your next life may not lie to you
Figuring out the missing link's like digging for a ring lost in a kitchen sink
When the whole time it's right behind you

Hardship's insignificant once the piano plays the dissonance
None of it mattered anyway when you slid back onto your index
Mingle around the water cooler pretend like you give a shit
About your colleagues and their cannon fodder they call common courtesy
 
This is not the life you ordered
This system does not work for you, you work for it
And throw fits further than the worthlessness of credit card purchases
A concern so pertinent, you need a perfect way to word it?

Well, this description is a perpetual intermission
Intellectuals won't even listen to your pessimistic disposition
We are in division without at pot to piss in
A civilization sitting in waiting for a decision

Baby Steps

[TS]
This site wants to know my location
Sure, I'll allow but subsequently send me notifications? Nope, I throw in the towel
My own accord's been out-waged by the proud
Robot overlords coding open doors like Blaise Pascal

When convenience is tantamount
We become lenient letting data rain from the clouds
As soon a privacy gets sold at a premium
It feels as if we're being disemboweled

Look, I'll accept your cookies with a satiated sentiment
But my data's sensitive, invading it takes precedent
Over any internet mandate or intent for its betterment
I don't care if it's to aggregate or eradicate pestilence

Encapsulating eating habits with my average weight
To feed me targeted ads through packets grazed
Is an undeniable breach of my rights
Sure, I clicked accept but a white flag wasn't raised

They say it's for my own protection,
It's so deceptive when they pry so hard
Data being driven in so many directions
A backseat passenger drives my car

No perspective on what they're collecting
Unclear objective, where'd the driver park?
That's how riots start
I wish they'd keep their hands to themselves, off my private parts...

[TG]
Dat-data and information that if taken
Down and recorded is important
Yeah, I get it I don't really fear it
Cause love will prevail and we can afford it

An assortment of details
So you can get to know me well without knowing me
Well, I heard it in a seashell that Sally sold
Before the Silicon Valley mode

We had the northern Cali cold in seasons
A story of two worlds we believed in
I never sell my soul for the wrong reason
No one could take that from me if I'm breathing

Nature is sacred, that's what I put my faith in
No effort wasted, unplugging from the matrix
But the web we weave is a sticky one
Will your trigger finger squeeze when you get the gun?

The car, the house, the promotion
Is success worth the death of the ocean?
No, I say "success" in quotes and I'm hoping
To provoke thought and get your heart open

[TS]
Most of the time we ignore keep on clicking
Accept this, allow that just to load a page we're visiting
Ads litter screens and block what we're reading
One index misstep leads to malware imprisoning

That's when they sell us apps supposed to rid it clean
Then all of a sudden that cleaner itself begins soliciting
CPU cycles dwindle as the virus starts to chisel away
Until the data loss is crippling

Nothing could outweigh the cost you're will to spend to stop it
Kick and scream all you want, the robots are gonna profit
So many security layers smother us while we're all asleep
Data miners will keep laundering the middle-ware cloth of kings

Private Parts (feat. The Grouch)

These problems weigh way more than a ton
You can tell by the hunch in my shoulders
Plus the swell in my gut
How do I solve them, or at least absolve one?
I swallow a pill and keep the doors shut

I express this to listeners, to my parents, psychiatrist and coworkers
But I get treated like I'm no further from
A lone goat herder without a cane, stripped of his tongue

This mundane ho-hum struggles to retain relationships 
With a positive outcome
Attempts to do so are rarely gratified
Complacency tends to leave the unsung unsatisfied

The weight of the world is getting heavier
Dishes are piling up, let alone the weather sucks
I ain't smiling as much as ordinarily
This Introverted side is escalating at a rate that's sorta scaring me

The hair on my head is falling
Approaching 42, getting closer 50 dismays me
Yet I'll still crawl out of bed today
With a mouthful to say before my heart starts to palpitate 

I try to do the right thing but you never know what the night'll bring
It starts with engines idling, exhaust fumes, then a tire screech
Gears grind... desires vs. needs
As an ominous automaton babbles on from the driver's seat

It takes one to know one when neither know which road they're on
I'm the hominid and he's the opposite of kind to me
With pessimistic put downs rock bottomless
I curl up like a nautilus to pretend to look like I'm asleep

See, tonight I'm feeling kind of weak
In this time of need, his words sting worse than a hive of bees
Permanent ink within  his quotes cannot be washed away with soap
Should've been slept on for an entire week

I've got 99 problems... if I could just kick one
A less wicked state would this way come
A single solution to bring a new day's sun
And a path to resolve the other 98 of 'em

99 problems, if I could just kick one!
A less wicked state would this way come
A single solution to bring a new day's sun
And a path to resolve the other 98 of 'em

These problems weigh way more than a ton
You can tell by the hunch in my shoulders
Plus the swell in my gut
I'm carrying a lot of weight here
But who isn't getting older soon to lie belly up?

These problems are most definitely first world
You can tell by the way I keep talking about the first girl
I kissed... like this, muah!
Still feeling it appropriate to continue this blog!

I let the past prevail, inviting this fog
With the saltiest of thoughts
Can you offer any sentiment?
Drawing conclusions in an office like Tom
As Milton's dissolutions burn Initech to sediment

I still cold call, like an old dog all Hooch to Turner
An abusive cig burner...
Being spoon-fed concoctions promising to make me think further
But nopes... A quantum conundrum, rocking the boat
Someone toss me a rope, this spoonful weighs a ton

Swell In My Gut

From a deep sleep, grinding teeth REM
Eyes are opened by the sound of rotor blades closing in
What a way to awaken, I'm bothered at best
Realizing my bed's become a helicopter's nest

Uneasy breathing, dreams gone disrupted
Stuck in a machine, climbing peaks to nothingness
Where are we headed? North, south, east or west?
I can't even read the needle of the compass on my wrist

Plumes of smoke rushing in, crushing my chest
Oxygen growing thin, nervous system distressed
Make my way to the cockpit to notify the pilot
All I find's an empty seat. There's no one flying this!?

An abandoned backpack is sitting there instead
With a ripcord labeled, PULL ME WHEN YOU SEE 'IT'
The word 'IT' is written in RED. I don't get it
All I see is foggy, blue skies, and mist ahead

Escape from the trouble, no dismay from rebuttal
When you stay in your bubble... It's a one man show
Form the clay with your knuckle to create one to love you
To lay with and cuddle... It's a one man show

When solely facing the struggle there's no way to be befuddled
Just stay in your bubble... It's a one man show
From the sea to the sand, the streets to the jungle
Wherever you land... It's a one man show

A metal deathtrap's no place for the fledged
As the hell of this copter begins its tailspin of dread
Panic sets in. I grasp the back of my neck
Sirens start to scream. I wish I was back in bed!

Off rips its manifold... I flip switches
In one last ditch attempt to understand its controls
I can't.... Glance out the window
What do I witness? A resemblance of land? Alrighty then...

On goes the backpack with no hand to hold
Blow a kiss to my gone mistress and out the door I go
Jumping ship into the abyss
Wondering where, when, and if 'Isle-land' below

Escape from the trouble, no dismay from rebuttal
When you stay in your bubble... It's a one man show
Form the clay with your knuckle to create one to love you
To lay with and cuddle... It's a one man show

When solely facing the struggle there's no way to be befuddled
Just stay in your bubble... It's a one man show
From the sea to the sand, the streets to the jungle
Wherever you land... It's a one man show

Gracefully gliding through white noise of wild wind
Increasing divides between cries & childish grins
Cheek bones tighten. Pin needles strike lips
Stretched skin forms a smile as I descend

In and out of consciousness at break-neck speed
A feeling of flight so ominous soon takes its lead
At the break of a breaking dawn, pulling the rip cord out its seams
Leaves shapes of a shaky hominid, breaking waves on a beach

This nightmare set the stage, mic-tested my nerves
Only one ticket sold, sound check was the worst
But it made me take a second to check surroundings and learn
Seclusion only lasts for so long until the bubble bursts

Escape from the trouble, no dismay from rebuttal
When you stay in your bubble... It's a one man show
Form the clay with your knuckle to create one to love you
To lay with and cuddle... It's a one man show

When solely facing the struggle there's no way to be befuddled
Just stay in your bubble... It's a one man show
From the sea to the sand, the streets to the jungle
Wherever you land... It's a one man show

One Man Show

She's an internet princess, cynical and senseless
Maniacally posting golden idols on Pinterest
Her interests pop! culture balloons
I watch her consume popular trends instead of minding my business

Usually I'd grimace behind closed doors
Disable her news feed and quit perusing her pictures
But tonight I'm bored of the normal eye-sores
With a face like hers I'm enacting forgiveness

I've got a case of "the Saturdays"
Funny how my patterns change from indifferent to listless
Expectations tend to gravitate from acceptable to sexual
Within a matter of seconds

A quality I live with, not something to live for
Getting all sprung like the Young and the Restless
I see a beauty that blissful, defying logistics
Suitably sinful once applying her lipstick

I tend to forget regretful, past experiences
And make decisions in haste, far too fast and furious
Tonight I'm lonely, combing the interwebs
So once at my wit's end I send her a friend request

When I first wrote this verse, I was 22
And grew up a little since then, who woulda knew

The twists and turns and bridges burned
And wishes that now sit in urns
We live and learn, I guess, but what I'm running from and running to

Are two different things - and you are the latter
Not something to climb on, like you're all that matters

Cause you are and you do
But I lost track of who
I was when we started, say a prayer for the departed

But don't mourn
We're all walking through this storm
Alone in the end, but we can keep each other warm

In the meantime and freeze time like tears in their tracks
And let go of squeezing on to fears in our past

I've taken you for granted, hope you know I didn't plan it
Grew a rose up through the granite, but the sewn seeds I planted

And the damage I've done to you and your path
Justifies why you said Kiss. My. Ass

Can't sleep, too distressed from social media overdose
Need get some rest but instead eating a Toblerone in bed
Chocolate covered sheets, I'm a mess
Damn this Y-chromosome and it's birds and bees overtones

How does she hold her own while I'm so obsessed?
We haven't even met, yet I invest so much time home alone
Deleting what I write, she's not even my type
I should be counting sheep instead of caressing this mobile phone

I've only known happiness when I leave the past to roam
All on its own and kept my eyes off of the greener grasses grown
No magic path or stepping stones atone for hearts I've torn to bits
Shorn the wolf, sheep clothing fits, resorted to recording this

Perhaps the moral of the story is: If its not glorious
Ensure your pride in morals outweighs acting discouraged, since
You never know, after a dime a dozen clicks
It'll redirect... "This profile doesn't exist"

Lonely Girl (feat. Bodi)

Plip plop, go a matter of drops
Paying close attention to H2O's reflection on
The window, the canvas
The rain, the paint, with the windowsill, their guard

Water makes its way based on the artist, the wind's say
And the amount of drips involved
From the inside we watch
Their confusing execution and cavernous crawl

After a few slick turns and quick stops
Rivers are portrayed like a tangled rope of slip knots
Some beads proliferate
While others dissipate and soon dissolve

Moving in closer, we begin to contemplate
Did nature just create patterns for us to solve
Our breath condensates upon the windowpane
So we spell our name with a greasy palm

From the start of the raining, we're a part of this painting
Equally artists involved
Mesmerized by the causeways
Reflections of webbed feet soon become the cost paid

Within throws of the fog
Green skin starts to glow, fingertips grow enlarged
Soon each breath we take finds a timely escape
And formulates the shape of frogs, anyway

Hip hop, goes the amphibian's walk
Minding his own, traversing the pond
Searching for a mate at a stepping-stones pace
Hopping lily pad to pod

Tick tock, go the hands of the clock
As a past unsolved remains in his thoughts
Hickory, dickory, dock
Oh, how quickly we evolve with such wizardry involved

Hip hop, goes the amphibian's walk
Residing alone, submerged in his pond
Happy in his place, keeping his own pace
Not bouncing from pad to pod

Tick tock, go the hands of the clock
Might be time to move on but he thinks not
Hickory, dickory, dock
Oh, how stubborn we evolve with such misery involved

He goes a hip, hip, hop
He goes a hip, hip, hop
Time goes a tick, tick, tock
It goes a tick, tick, tock

He goes a hip, hip, hop
He goes a hip, hip, hop

Time goes a tick, tick, tock as he hip, hip, hops
Time goes a tick, tick, tock
Until the clock's ticks stop

Froggy Window

Please don't belittle me if you can't remember my name
I've probably forgotten yours, so we're both to blame
And that's fine, forgetfulness increases with age
But so should respect for one another, don't be dismayed

It's ok, just admit it to my face you forgot
Don't back-pedal by guessing what it is not
I won't be livid, we're all just fish in a pond
But if you can't reel in my name, it definitely isn't "boss"

Look, some people put the "pro" in pronouns
And "boss" is the opposite of making the merry-go-around
Meetings impersonal are a virtual step down
Treating your peers like they elected to be let down

With a flex of the chest, dick semi-erect
It's those with little to no intellect and a tattooed neck
Greetings so indirect that they're demeaning at best
It's this downright disrespect which I cannot accept

I don't know if it's tradition or you're establishing position
But "boss" connotations make me feel like trash in the kitchen
Perhaps its a way to for you to mock or manipulate
But approaching others in this way is just a bad decision

This ironic hyperbole is surrounded by uncertainty
And when that's how you refer as me, it curtains on courtesy
I'm a person, not some object in your periphery
It's about time you changed up your delivery

Who's the Boss? Not me, when that's what you call me
Who's the Boss? You are, when that's what you call me
Who's the Boss? Both of us any given moment, neither are in charge
Who's the Boss? Well that's me, but only if you spell it B-A-W-S-E

It's not like being called "boss" is innately debilitating
It simply comes across as vaguely humiliating
You may consider it a sign of respect
But when the intonation's off, I wonder what you're insinuating

Weighing pro's and cons of circumstance's extenuating
Simulating you're in charge simply isn't stimulating
Don't even get me started on "chief", discriminating
It's mistakes like these I wish you'd discontinue making

Other nomenclatures wont make you seem like a hater
Say "What's up, player!" and we'll totally meet up later
Try "What's happening, my dawg!" and I'll react with applause
But if you tack on "boss", its time to meet your maker

Who's the Boss? Not me, when that's what you call me
Who's the Boss? You are, when that's what you call me
Who's the Boss? Both of us any given moment, neither are in charge
Who's the Boss? Well that's me, but only if you spell it B-A-W-S-E

At first I was elated thinking you'd make it in this round
You'd greet me by my first name, then we'd pop some Chrystal
But the way that you played it has me clenching my fist now
Coming off so abrasive I hate it, I'm so pissed now

This monster you created is creating a list now
Of dirt bags so jaded who'll never get a fist pound
You missed out, I wish you'd get the (bleep) out of this town
For now, I'm walking away from this clown

Who's the Boss? Not me, when that's what you call me
Who's the Boss? You are, when that's what you call me
Who's the Boss? Both of us any given moment, neither are in charge
Who's the Boss? Well that's me, but only if you spell it B-A-W-S-E

Who's The Boss?

FREE DOWNLOAD: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/track/plastic-sleep

From the album, 'Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles
Available Now: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

LYRICS
[Tim Stiles]
Temporary tattoo artist,
Groundhog’s Day nay-sayer
Non-returners of calls
Until about a day later

Off-kilter, off-set, 
Caught in the fog freighter
Running off-course
With a cargo of prayers

Same alarm, different day,
Same fall down the stairs
Same position, arms spread
Same cause for the craters

Same condition
Without the existence
Of a blonde head
Anxiety-stricken thoughts
Supposedly left for dead

Woken up again
By the same complex
Better to get to calling
That provider of small meds

When the feelings aren't right
He’s the go-to best
At patching the hull
And beefing up defense

The goal to obtain
A straight and narrow keel vector
Needing a quick fix
Not some water wheeled lecture

Staying afloat
Placing trust in a mentor
Prescribing pseudo-feelings
Of real pleasure

The "Monoamine Oxidates"
Lift current states
Curbing bad moods
For good measure

Knowing when’s too much to take
From stomach aches,
Loss of weight,
And increases in blood pressure

"Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors”
Reinvigorate making great listeners

Not knowing how much to take
Is exactly how money’s made
By pharmaceutical company investors

[Seth Swift x Ian Hernandez x Tim Stiles]
It goes, one, two, 
Thirty milligrams of Celexa…

Four, five,
Sixty more of Effexor…

Counting plastic sheep...
’Til nighty-night from Trazadone

How could we get a full night’s sleep,
Without having those?

[Tim Stiles]
Melatonin gives the worst
Nightmares
Claustrophobic, loss of focus
Blind stares

Naturopathic paths 
Have negative sides too
At the break of dawn
Comes the night terrors

Sleep is never really sleep
REM-wise
Despite Ambien and Remeron
Taken every time

Waking’s a chore
For a slow, sedated mind
Facing the floor
With capillary blazing eyes

The scariest experience
Wide awake 'n' furious
Sweat drenched, un-slept
Brain caked with delirium 

Upset from unrest
Unless attempts are made
To book an hour with
A so-called, "therapist"

This inner-changed proves,
A new and improved catalog
Once behooved
To drop two blue Adderall

Side effects clash like
New shoes
Competitive moods glued
To a friendly game of racquetball

Wow, this is all
So great and gravy
For the immediate moment
Despair is unfurled

More elated than lazy lately
Going straight from
Feeling something awful
To top of the world

Forget about insides degrading
Laser beam speed's
What we demand
And it’s damn quicker

Patching neurotransmitters,
Than reinstating solid states,
Regulating transistors...

[Seth Swift x Ian Hernandez x Tim Stiles]
It goes, one, two,  
Thirty milligrams of Celexa…  

Four, five, Sixty more of Effexor…
Counting plastic sheep... 

’Til nighty-night from Trazadone
How could we get a full night’s sleep, 
Without having those?

CREDITS
Tim Stiles: Rap vocals
Seth Swift: Vocals, Production
Ian Hernandez: Backing vocals, guitar, bass
Jay Battle: Synth drums and keys
Mixed & Mastered by Jay Battle @ Battlefield Studios
Seattle, WA

Plastic Sleep

Free Download

From the album, 'Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles'
Available Now: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

LYRICS
[Seth Swift]
They always say, “Seth, why don’t you just try a bit?”
“Just try a bit, just try a bit!”
“Now, Seth. Why don’t you just try a bit!?”
Shut up...

[Jay Battle]
If you take me out to dinner
I want burgers, no beginners
Want my meat pink in the center
If there’s mayonnaise I’ll be bitter

Cause vomit is a symptom
And I really wish they’d listen
But I will not be a victim
Of that mayonnaise in my system,
Gross!

With my luck I’ll get the most
Look like I just seen a ghost
Take a bite, I might just fight
The maitre d’ and end his life

Stab him with a butter knife
Send a message to his wife
All this could’ve been avoided
Now he’s got to pay the price

Really started as a kid, I hated it
Felt like jumpin’ off a cliff, who made this shit?
Tried to understand the Miracle Whip
Some of my friends would use it for dip

Not me, that’s nasty
Don’t even ask me if I want it on the side
Don’t even really want it on my mind
Let alone have it on food, am I right?

I got that quality pipe
Hella ho’s, follows, and likes
I plan on snatching the mic
If you don’t live up to the hype

People be thinking it’s nice
But that shit’s killing my vibe
Pitching and throwing them strikes
Hate Mayo more than Bud Light

[Seth Swift]
Maaaayoooo! Keep away from me
I don’t want to see it in my vicinity
Wait... You agree?

Well, I get irate even if all that I see
Is an advertisement on my computer screen
It’s rare in life to meet someone similar to me
Where it’s failed to meet one
That gets my proclivities

I have gone ballistic on my own family
Viscerally reacted, sometimes explosively
Once upon a time ago, I divorced a pretty girl
Who tried to feed me aioli,
And say it was the “same thing”

[Seth Swift x Ian Hernandez x Tim Stiles]
Practically Simpatico...
Practically Simpat.. (ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh)
Practically Simpatico...
(How does she not know the difference... between condiments?)

Practically Simpatico...
Practically Simpat.. (hey!)
Practically Simpatico...
(I know the difference!)

Practically Simpatico...
Practically Simpat.. (hey!)
Practically Simpatico...
(That bi*ch... seriously)
(Eeew... I got some on me..)

It means something, nobody got to tell you
It means something, nobody’ll tell you why
(x2)

[Tim Stiles]
What an uncomfortable meeting
With greetings of clammy handshakes
Angst hits the ceiling fan
Which it seems its blades can’t break

This buffet looks lovely
But the conversation is crummy so
My girlfriend stays in the lobby
She can never handle these planned dates

Playing Plants vs. Zombies
While I venture into this man cave
Engaging with the party peeps
Who can’t stand straight...

Up... goes the chatter
While I garnish this platter
Consisting of beer-battered meats
And the sweetest of plantains

The kid inside me, guides me
Back to Peter Pan days
Letting peanut butter smothered Ritz
Complete this campaign

In a room filled with belligerent
Mouthfuls, I’m not hearing it
I’m just running interference
In an omnivorous landscape

It’s practically illogical...
Over treats so hot...
Tactfully methodical...
Not enough to grease my thoughts

I've had about a stomach's full...
Empty talk leaves a knot
I’m unable to put stock
Into these over-washed,
Canned brains...

Find my spot at the table,
Flop my plate down like a pancake
But my butter knife won't make the cut
In discussions tough as a flank steak

The stories they’ve chosen
Are so frightfully broken
Why can’t a silence that’s golden
Become somewhat of mandate?

No matter what I spit, unique
Is returned with a blank gaze
The crunch of chips to teeth
Echo over every damn plate

Condiments with no common sense
Cover stutters like Band-Aids
Our only common ground's the mustard
In a feast that's free of Mayonnaise

(CHORUS)

Simpatico feat. Jay Battle

Download

From the album, 'Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles'
Available Now: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

LYRICS
[Tim Stiles]
My two best friends
Are like toffee and cinnamon...

Sweet on their own
Yet together, expensive...

One gets me off my feet
The other's so offensive...

My two best friends
Are like toffee and cinnamon
Creating the sweetest lie that I’m living in

My two best friends
Have me coughing continuous
As I sip in... breathe out...

(Coffee and Cigarettes)

I sing this softly,
Cause it’s hard to speak consonants
This smoke-filled breeze is costly

Getting across my two cents
Is often off-beat
Once the monster speaks
I’m at least 30 packs deep

Doing the math
Clearly adds up steep
And once matched with caffeine
I can’t just sleep

Increasing serotonin
Band-aiding every jones
Instead of being bold
I figure that’s just me

A case of reaping what
Hasn’t been sowed
Approaching a steep cliff
Affixed to a weak stronghold

Even when your feet are fixed
Once fixated
That nicotine itch
Breaks a stitch
Mixed with hatred

Hence this displacement
Hence complacent
Attitudes grabbing you
In slow-motion like the Matrix

Dodging bullets carrying cancer
Hoping they're not lodged in your gullet
Ending your life and last words

I tend to overstep boundaries
Smashing lovely
With every piece of my soul

Keep seeking that Old Gold
While rolling my own
Knowing the end of each smoke
Will only lead into the trash heap

I won’t pass up
'Til I pass out
I’m a lifer without a filter
'Til the last butt is tapped out

I’m both on the fence
And off the wagon again
Watching ashes fall from
This puff magic dragon, my pen

Coffee and Cigarettes, 
Coffee and Cigarettes,
[cough, cough]

My two best friends!
Coffee and Cigarettes,
Coffee and Cigarettes
Sip in, breathe out!
x2

They’re my “besties," my gems
My deepest-seeded weaknesses
Stress-reliever, freak-bitches
On which I depend

Keeping ‘em secret,
Washing ‘em down
Until the mug is empty
Except for stains and coffee grounds

Hiding the smell
Like nobody but I can tell
I’ve been cheating my immune system
While lying to myself

Chalking it up as a habit
Denying this is an affliction
Willpower soft as a rabbit
Yet hard-headed and addicted

No kidding..
Warning signs flash by
We won’t listen
We’ll let the cash fly

Snowball into the growth of a cyst and
Treat it like we’re just "victims of the system"
Puffing legalized crack pipes

Flic-a-Bic spokesmen
Choking on Nicorette
Overindulging in the effects
Of Chantix and Wellbutrin

This manic depressive,
Candid confession
Should stand as a message
To anyone this stupid

Call us Mad Men, suit and tied
Taking advice for granted
Ignoring those landmines
With objection

Any excuse’ll outweigh tries
To tell us it smells putrid
Leaving cries muted
Like pantomimes 

I put my cash up
'Til I’m cached out
A griper without a filter
'Til I’m so amped
That I pass out

I’m both on the fence
And off the wagon again
Watching ashes fall
From this utter tragic expense

[Seth Swift]
I smoked my first cigarette
When I was around about five... or six
My reaction to my first buzz
Was so indicative
Of a pattern of captivity I'd have to deal with

I didn't figure out until about
Around a decade and a half later
That the restorative, combo effect
Of a cup of coffee and a cigarette
Is my number one, top favorite flavor

[Tim Stiles x Seth Swift]
Coffee and Cigarettes, 
Coffee and Cigarettes
[cough, cough]

My two best friends!
Coffee and Cigarettes,
Coffee and Cigarettes
Sip in, breathe out!
x2

The sweetest lie I'm living in...
Coffee and Cigarettes

Coffee & Cigarettes

In loving memory of Christina Lorraine Connell
November 14th, 1983 - April 12th, 2016
Written for Christina circa 2012
All proceeds from this song go directly to Christina's family

Video: https://vimeo.com/187595812

Written by Tim Stiles
Produced by Nick Goodwin
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Kevin Bressler @ Whiney Cat Audio | Seattle, WA
Artwork by Richard Lim
Video by Tim Stiles

Lyrics:
I’d be lying telling you
I didn’t like her
She won with that grin
The moment I laid eyes on her

Beside myself
Just sitting beside...
Her mannerisms 
Right in line with my quirks

As we discussed our
Love for salt and
Fumbled newsprints
Anxiety sprung ‘n’
I felt uncertain

Does she like me? Even slightly?
Why me? I’m not even in the right league

Watching her interest peak
Through open-laced, draped curtains 
I didn’t walk the walk
I just talked like a complacent person

Fidgeting every once in a while
But that crack of her smile
Made any concern worthless

Affection grew so quickly
It felt like an injection
Worry depleted,
Leaving a connection

We’d figured out
The thickest clouds
Of doubts and misconception
Wouldn’t disallow two lost souls
To call an exception...

She Is...
So willing to fight
For the opportunities
We both intend to grasp

She Is...
Cumbersome at times
But so am I
When down-strides
Lead us off-track

She Is..
That anomaly
Who comforts me
Even when I’m being a stupid-ass

She Is...
The Love of my Life
It’s only a matter of time
‘Till she becomes my other half..

So apprehensive when I met her
Platinum blonde and tattooed
Is not my normal endeavor

Usually I reach
For a quieter kind of women
Yet to me she’s a breath of fresh air
I find exquisite...

Common wills
Allowed fate to take its turn
Embracing patience
Is straight making this work

Won each other over
Despite some dumb stumblings
Now, at dry humored breakfasts
Smiles replace smirks

Giving thanks to her
Best friend Jaime
Without her fairy dust
We would’ve never sustained

She...
Connected us,
Helping us accept the trust
We now have for one another...

We’re still caressing the crust
Yet the checklist is done
First impressions exceeded
We are reflected as one

What comes next’ll be
Expressed in a tongue
Only we know how to speak
‘Cause we are invested,
In Love

She Is…
The most creative, yet
Uncredited story writer
You have never read

She Is...
Innately competitive
Presented any challenge ‘n’
She’ll come out ahead

She Is...
Respectfully talented
In the way she speaks her mind
With such wit and intelligence

She Is...
Uncommonly genuine
In spite of any personal pain
She’s dwelling in

She Is…
One who sides with her family
Selflessly, whenever
They need her hand

She Is...
The utmost comforting
Encompassing a beauty
Unsurpassed

She Is...
The brightest of company
Accompanied by
The most addictive laugh

She Is..
The love of my life
It’s only a matter of time
‘Till she becomes
My other half..

Every love story starts
With glory in subordination
For at least four scores
For two hearts

More often than not
Roads’ve been blocked
Be we just take a pause...
Until the steers can cross

Hell, we overcame the obstacle
Of never finding one another
Like one of pair of lost socks

Damper determination?
It shall not at all
The hamper caught the fall
Our dedication won’t drop the ball

All in all we feed this beast
We call our love and
We'll never leave this feast
It’s all succumbed

To a beautiful union
Viewed unsuitable to some
Others with opinions
Can continue chewing their gums
Fuck ‘em!

She fills that void
In my heart-place-missed
Lighting dark days
With her spark-laced kiss

Kill the noise!
This is just our start, cadence
Let the harps play
Until the stars cave in!

We’ll never part ways
We're too far staged and
For now we face hardships
With hearts racing!

One hurdle lingers,
One question left to ask’ll
Match circles on our fingers
Under an archway, since

She Is...
She Is...
She.. Is...

She Is

From the album 'Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles'
Preorder: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

LYRICS
[Seth Swift]
I... Am hungry
I... Am hungry

[Tim Stiles]
So starved...
Energy depleted, seeing stars
So far...
I’ve downed two pots of coffee and a pack of Marbs
No carbs...
Nothing to eat and I’m crashing hard
Like old cars...
Tank’s drained, batteries can't hold a charge

Feeling apathy
Without a cracker
As a mechanism
To feed the fumes of
A converter catalytic

An empty belly
Doesn’t match the physics
Of a man with a rat’s metabolism
Throat’s so charred...

Stomach so jarred
My mood’s becoming livid
With one look at my watch
I might go ballistic

If soon I don’t eat
I probably won’t sleep
I need at least something
To counteract impending cataclysm

Attacking the kitchen
Scouring the back of the fridge and
Pacing back and forth
With a lack of precision

Realizing rations
Resemble that of a prison
Alcatraz for sure
Slamming the fridge door so hard...

[Seth Swift]
I... Am hungry
I... Need to eat

[Seth Swift x Ian Hernandez]
I... Need to stuff my fucking face!
I... Need to stuff my fucking face!
I... Need to stuff my fucking face!
I... Need to stuff my fucking face!

[Seth Swift x Tim Stiles]
I missed my breakfast...
Not a single Pop-Tart
I had to skip my lunch...
Not even a Lunchable
I forgot about dinner...
Although it's heated up
I still made it to happy hour...

[Tim Stiles]
It seems...
Stores are all closed, no one’s taking delivery
Past three….
In the morning, what am I going to eat?
So weak...
Blood sugar low, facing defeat
Slowly...
Slip on a pair of sneaks and head up the street

On the hunt for at least
A Big Mac, Fillet O’ Fish and
The biggest size side of fries
With secret sauce to dip in

My sole target's
Golden arches
Glowing in the distance

Imma win this competition
No holds barred...
A face hole so dark
Is now lit, and uplifted
Filled to the brim
With any grits I can fit in

Consumed so fast at
A ravenous rhythm
Tray covered in trash
Not a single shit given..

Feeling free from fasting as
This Happy Meal's my witness
Grubbing left and right
Like no one’s business

Realizing this act
Resembles that of a pigeon
Not a single scrap left
Not even a smidgeon

[Seth Swift x Ian Hernandez]
I... Stuff my fucking face!
I... Stuff my fucking face!
I... Stuff my fucking face!
I... Stuff my fucking face!

[Seth Swift]
I have eaten so much
This might affect future generations
I have eaten so much
This might affect... future generations

[Seth Swift x Ian Hernandez x Tim Stiles]
I... Stuffed my fucking face!
...A single Pop-Tart
I... Stuffed my fucking face!
...Even a Lunchable
I... Stuffed my fucking face!
...All heated up
I... Stuffed my fucking face!
...And got drunk

Stuff My Face Off

Album pre-order available: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

'Clown Shoes' is a fictional story of a vagabond lost in a world that never treated him fairly. After years of struggling with homelessness and addiction, he finally discovers a family that fits him--as a clown in a traveling circus. He learns to love life again by joining those who've faced a similar predicament. His feeling of being misunderstood dissipates as he learns that, by dawning such a disguise, he actually becomes the truest to himself that he's ever been. While he accepts his failures, he ends up finding happiness in the joy he brings to others—Witnessing those who end up looking up to both him and themselves while staring down at his Clown Shoes = true happiness.” –Tim Stiles

lyrics
[Tim Stiles] 
He used blue paint 
To extend eyebrows, 
Tracing lines of happiness 
White paint from cheeks to chin 
Laid a basic canvas 

Red paint amplified his lower lip 
To the edge of dimples 
Making frowns a chore 
And smiling a new anthem 

With this perfect landing strip 
To land a kiss 
He thought, "Who could deny a funny guy 
Put together so animate?" 

A lack of magic tricks 
Brought a lure instead: 
A yellow hat atop his head 
With a red wig affixed 

Inner questions 
Became easier to answer with 
A mirror and a makeup kit 
Under the flame of a candlewick 

A vandalized face 
Faking candidness 
Resulted in daily donations 
Taken hand over fist 

Running a scheme as 
An evangelist 
Made it plain to see 
He’d recovered a trampled bliss 

A beacon of red foam, 
Graced his thick nose, 
Removing that heart under his sleeve, 
And replacing it with a trick rose 

Ballooned pants 
With purple, striped cross-stitches, 
And Yellow lines down the center, 
Tossed away old britches 

Changing kicks for a bigger, 
Redder size, depicted 
A man no longer a victim 
Of liquid inhibition 

The kids loved it so much 
As he juggled just to fit in 
His presence even trumped 
Ice cream truck monthly visits 

The previous image 
He adored was evicted 
By a cotton candy pink slip... 
What a tasty trinket... 

[Seth Swift] 
He did it for the kids... 
At least those that could laugh at him... 

[Tim Stiles] 
The way the carousel spun 
With its organ, squealing grind 
Resembled the cup he placed 
In his circled space defined 

Slow-pacing rotations, 
Ups and downs caught the eyes 
Of local patrons... 
Going places, no denying 

An abnormal person 
Never walks as the crow flies 
Trace the chalk outlined 
By discarded bow ties 

Helpless is a feeling 
That reverts to closed blinds 
But selfish is not the way 
To raise a flag shown white 

A race against time 
Results in missteps 
Caught by clotheslines 
Of mistakes draped with skeletons 

This escape may be 
More creative than relevant, 
Call him crazy but don’t 
Fault him for facing the hell of it 

He’s doing the safety dance 
Under a tent graced with elephants 
A family man among 
A freakish fellowship 

Fearlessly facing the elements 
As a son of women with bearded faces 
Who embrace elegance 

Helping nerds' stake 
On the shapes of bell curves 
Fall to the wayside 
And guide ‘em a path to excellence 

Self-assured 
Is a day that shall return 
And that wake up call 
Won’t be pushed to voicemail messages 

Although a victim of bad luck, 
He found proof 
That giving up isn’t option, 
And giving back expounds couth 

Animal shaped balloons 
Astound youths 
Helping them look up to themselves 
While staring down at his Clown Shoes
credits
from Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles, releases November 22, 2016 
Written by Tim Stiles & Seth Swift 
Vocals by Tim Stiles, Seth Swift & Ian Hernandez 
Guitar & Bass by Ian Hernandez 
Original Guitar Composition by Chuck McCammon 
Produced by Jay Battle 
Recorded, Mixed, & Mastered by Jay Battle @ The Battlefield 
Seattle, WA

Clown Shoes

Please check out my other music and subscribe! All links can be found via https://linktr.ee/timstilesmusic

'Let It Be' Official Lyric Video: https://youtu.be/tHf4Z3rJr5w
'Let It Be' marks Trinity Richter's second time ever in a recording studio and our first collaboration. I'm blown away by how well she sings at such a young age and look forward to working with her on future projects. Ground-up production you'll hear is all thanks to the amazing, Jay Battle (Qreepz). Enjoy and please share!

Let It Be

For my pinball playing, Mr. Bear walking, Jag of a friend, LMC.
Free download: https://timstiles.bandcamp.com/track/lmc
Lyrics:
LMC…
The KID…
SIS….

Straight-framed glasses
On a tall drink of water
Taking grad classes,
Hard knocks alma mater

Murdered-out lipstick
Might paint this misfit
Otherwise don't expect
To see any makeup on her

All you trash talkers
Are simply cannon fodder
For this middle finger raising,
30-something multi-baller

Conscious of her family
But not a momma's daughter
This blonde from Colorada's
A spitting image of her father

Not at all prim and proper
Tall as a tree
Rocking striped tube socks
And ripped off sleeves

Jags oughta check themselves
Crossing paths on the street
Unless they want to get kinged
By checkered vans on her feet

See, you'd better recognize
Before you’re left dead inside
Standing there, petrified
As she screams, TESTIFY

When that mesh cap's
Brim's raised like a fin,
Read the warning sign,
Mr. Bear's off his leash

HOOK:
Once you meet the L-to the-A
You’ll rethink who the hell U-R
See, the E means you’re N’d
This pinball queen’s
Not one to compete against

Put your quarters up and play
I guarantee, you’ll need a full jar
Once ball three sees its end
It’s time to bend the knee,
McNeil at each event

You'd think that someone
Getting sidelined by loss so tragic
Would just give up,
And figure life no longer mattered

But leave it up to Lauren
To rise from the ashes
From two--both of who if still alive
Would be so ecstatic
 
With how she
Sowed those seeds in Nevada
Staying clean and sober
Grieving for them in tandem
 
Her strength amazes me
When turmoil wouldn't cease
She remained determined
To turn soil under cactus

Her passion
Helped the closed-captioned speak
Giving "fresh starts"
To those who only knew, "woe-is-me"
 
Took the reins
And drove that van
Leading a treatment program 
In a no man's land
 
With all the previous tilts
And the quarters that spilled,
Flipped tails to heads
To make their road back grand

Confidence she instilled
To a populous in need of help
Complements how she excels
At any hold-pass planned 

A Vale-born beast
With a stance that might make you nervous
But with Mr. Bear on his leash
It’s all hamsters and maple syrup…

[HOOK]

A stance that might make you nervous..
It’s all hamsters and maple syrup

 [V3]
This veteran of the BAG
Long tenured, bar tender
Will always be remembered
By that Caliente center

Not the only mark she's made
Knock on the cabinet replays
Are often heard these days
From this tournament contender

Hell's Bells CLANG
At each IFPA event, but
Not even outlanes
Can drain courage
From her ventures

Each ball lost
Means a probable extra
With an extended auto-save
Hurry-ups won't test her

Addam's Family shrugs
As her highest score prevents ya
From telling a Fish Tale 
About 1-UP'ing her in Denver

Space Jam, slamming scores
That'll straight up dismantle yours
Skills that sing Soprano chords
After an Attack from Mars

This one bad mama jama 
Kicks dust off JAMMA boards
Until your loose change
Becomes an exchange
You can't afford

Instead of setting up bars
Serving trash, sickly stiff
She now "sets the bar"
Without a mask on Batman 66

A Vale-born beast
With a stance that might make you nervous
But with Mr. Bear on his leash
It’s all hamsters and maple syrup…

[HOOK]

Written by Tim Stiles
Prod. by Jay Battle (Qreepz)

Before we appeared, its evolution crafted
Extraordinary creatures We couldn't even imagine
Phylums fantastic, appetites gigantic
Bird-like lizards with a surprising advantage

Survival of the fittest brought an age of massives
Cretaceous synapsis through days Jurassic
And in those days giant tree limbs snapped with
A slow moving stream made of sap which…

Encased proboscis suckers, blood residing thoracic
As amber preserved Dee-oxy-ribo-nucleic acid (DNA)
Which stayed safe for millennia like current day plastics
Until we arrived to extract it…

With lasik-like precision, visions of reliving the past,
Advents in cryogenics, the first egg hatched
It took the world by surprise
How could time's passage all of a sudden become elastic?

[Ellie Sattler: Where do you get 100 million year old dinosaur blood?]
[John Hammond: It's all part of the miracle of cloning.]
[Mr. DNA: Bingo! Dino DNA!]

They say rage is primal
But we're just tiny mammals
When it comes to the wars we wage

Beliefs are motifs
Until their waves become tidal
Drowning all in glorious ways

DNA spun a vital
Double-helix recital
Millenniums before we reigned

History is suicidal
If man remains its rival
We'll all go extinct
Like the dinosaur age

[Dr. Grant: We're out of a job | Ian Malcolm: Don't you mean extinct?]

Evangelicals say earth was created in 7 days
But their literature has no pictorial proof
Saying God created dinosaurs but considered them corrupted
So he killed off that phantasmagorical OOPS!

I guess the Garden of Eden had no regard for the heathens
It wouldn't dare let in such gargantuan, great groups
Adam must've thwarted behemoths from reaching the gate
While Jesus guarded Eve from that garden snake's tooth

Disregard for discoveries made in the midwest plains
Turns the real dino story dissolute
Some are so ridiculously in the dark
They think brachiosaurs fit on the ark

That doesn't float in the primordial soup

Evolution's not a theory, creationism's an illusion
The 'Good Book's editorial pursuit
Bible thumpers keep trumping along with such assumptions
Which couldn't carry the weight of a T-Rex foot

[Ian Malcolm: You didn't earn the knowledge for yourself so... you don't take any Responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as Fast as you could. And before you even knew what you had you patented it, and Packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunch box. And now you're selling it! You want to Sell it!]

(Chorus x1)

[Dr. Grant: Dinosaurs and man... Two species separated by 65 million years of evolution Have just been thrown back into the mix together.]

Look I know its a lot of time to digest
No way we could know the entirety of what life did exist
All we can do is turn stones and describe what's left
Study footprints and bones, surmising the rest

I just think claims of supersized humans
Are kind of a stretch… [Ray Arnold: PLEASE!]

Assuming dinos lived beside man in (the book of) Genesis
Is the wildest guess… [Ellie Sattler: They have no idea what century they're in]

It was one thing for Cope to put an Elasmosaurus skull
On its tail instead of its neck…
But quite another to claim they were human giants
A union of God's sons and the daughters of men

Pencils up class, it's time to reflect
Imagination's beneficial and we're trying our best
But bone wars keep breaking ties that bind and protect
Our own existence which consists of the tiniest speck

So, when you think of the past show a little respect
Five mass extinctions, at the brink of the next
What have we learned?
Life on earth's been kind of a mess

I say lets keep gathering facts for what little time we have left...
[Ian Malcolm: I'm simply saying uh..]
Abolish history's abominable text and
Quit pretending we're an indomitable Rex
[Ian Malcolm: ...finds a way...]

Jurassick Dark

https://linktr.ee/timstilesmusic
Independent hip-hop artist from Seattle, WA currently residing in Santa Cruz, CA.
Historically known as the main vocalist/rapper for satirical hip-hop band, Passion Party

Tim Stiles

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