Artificial Intelligence - I read Max Tegmark's book a couple of years ago 
(Head of AI at MIT), and he spends the first twenty pages warning about the terrible dangers. Personally, I hope AI is also a blessing, as reflected in some of the lyrics, but no light without darkness.

Lyrics On the 30th of November, 2022, the first major Artificial Intelligence went online, soon followed by competitors from all major corporations. Within ten years the world had collapsed, education had become worthless, mass unemployment, led to a poverty and lack of hope never experienced by humanity before. AI had weaponized in plain sight.   Crowd in the street:“Oh, God!” (screams)  AI, you and I, More - a warning. AI changing the game, Breaking the chains, Helping the world, Making it sane, Climate change and human hunger, With my friend A we will conquer.  All for one and AI for all,  911 make that call. AI the future in our hands, Too many possibilities, promised land The future’s not what it’s been, Not just a dream, And more than it seems Capitalism weaponized. 	 Yeah, A.I.’s a scream.  AI, you and I.  Coming for you, coming for you, The day I die, the day I die, I’m coming for you the day I die.  A warning.

November 30th - A.I.'s a Scream!

I had a lot of fun creating this for a friend to listen to on his motorbike travels.

OnlyDesire

A track about being hypnotised on the dance floor.

Hypnotised

I Am Love

Spent a great day recording this, my first song on Sound Cloud - a little guitar duet with Dan James and  Julien Bonamy did all the percussion - he's a drumming genius.

Blind Children  (words and music by Tom O’Rose)

Will you forget all the things you’re saying?
Will you regret all the times you tore me apart?
For what I think and feel,
My ways and how I’m seeing it,
Because you think that you know better,
What I think and feel,
Than me.

We’re just blind children, mother,
Blind.
We’re just blind children, brother,
Blind, so very blind.

Chapter two, how do you do, the colour blue,
Don’t believe it for a second.
Try and tell me that you’re feeling bad on a rainy day -
While we’re sitting in the sunshine drinking red wine.
One day these words will all just go away.
And today will be today.

We’re just blind children, mother,
Blind.
We’re just blind children, brother,
Blind, so very blind.

This is a song about seeing,
A song for the Millenium and all the things I want to see –
Birds in the sky, fish in the stream –
See a green planet.
And what you are seeing is what you are making;
What are you seeing?
I’m seeing some bad times ahead if we don’t change our ways.
Little story about the white dolphin, that doesn’t exist anymore.
Little story about the white tiger that’s gone forever.
And all these animals that we have destroyed
Have been here an awful long time,
So let’s see a better world;
The world that we make together.

Will you forget all the things you’re saying?
Will you regret all the time’s you tore me apart?
For what I think and feel,
My ways and how I’m seeing it,
Because you think that you know better,
What I think and feel,
Than me.




Blind Children

Just to balance the beautiful with the beast - no excuses - not all the cakes in the cakeshop leave a sweet taste. All you need is love and a strong heart. Happy Valentines Day 2012
Musicians
Tom O'Rose (words & music) Guitar
Daniel James: Guitar
Julien Bonamy: Drums

The other side of love

Underwater,
Out to sea -
Waves crashing down,
In need of company.
Oh I feel for you,
Do you feel for me?
And I search for you in waters deep unknowingly.
Just want to shine a little light for you.
Just want to take you in my arms, hold you tight, keep you close all the night
Just me and you,
But you’re not there.

You’re long gone but I keep holding on like a fool.
And the pain goes on.

Mother of the Prophet,
Daughter to the Sun and Moon.
Reverential anticipation with clear vision.
I’m dreaming of starlight where spirits meet on higher planes.
And I’m holding you close in the eternal-ever-after where I don’t feel this pain.
I’ll meet you there. 


Underwater (Hold on)

Moving on to a brief instrumental phase - the project is to compose three pieces of music for my kids while the band works on the new songs and to keep the momentum going - so I don't know what you'll make of it. I also have some collaborations in progress. Busy, busy… 
This is the first piece of music in French. It is based on a recording I made of my daughter when she was 7 years old talking about her grand-mother and great grand-mother. It’s a piece about childhood and memory – I set the instrumental acoustic guitar I composed way back in the mix because I wanted to put the focus on the words - my friend Yves played the flute. I hope you enjoy it.


La petite-fille

Words and music by Tom O'Rose with Daniel James  on acoustic guitar.
Playing with old guitar samples in Reason and  my stratocaster -  just an experiment - trying to create an atmospheric  narrative. There are some minor problems with the vocals which I will clean up. Julien has gone walkabout until Saturday next and so the beats will be better -a real work in progress. 

Late at Night

Late at night, 
Playing my guitar to forget, 
But always finding you in the music. 
You are so beautiful, 
But so hard. 
A full moon outside, 
And memory spills in all the shadows over Pere LaChaise. 
Sometime people ask how I can live opposite a cemetery, 
A grave yard- I’m just so gothic – haven’t got the money to be anything else. 
And I love the cats that come home, singing like ghosts, my heart still beating for you. 
My cruel cruel love, my love
Unfinished symphony, play for me, pray for me, 
Think on me. 
Do you recall? 
I remember your eyes listening to that requiem, 
Shed no tear, shed no tears for me. 
Just another unfinished symphony, 
Just another unfinished way to be. 
Remember the shiny white electric guitar, 
I never played it when we were together - you told me you hated music. 
But now, now I know; now I can sing along with the cats. 
I’ve finally come home.
Shining in the light. I’m shining in the light. 


Late at Night

Sorry - forgot to set the download link - my aploogies.

Sabrina Loiseau has now joined the Tom O’Rose band as our female vocalist. We recorded this song on Saturday, the 21st of April, which was my birthday. We recorded two duets but when mixing this one I just thought it sounded much better with Sabrina on solo – I love her voice. It’s my first ever song with Sabrina and the ukulele - I hope you enjoy it. The song is based on “The Serenity prayer,” by Reinhold Niebuhr, which has been adopted by the 12th step recovery program. This song is dedicated to my good friend, Robert Lefever.
One day at time 
 God, grant me the serenity,
To accept the things I cannot change.

The courage, to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Just one day at a time (with you)
Just one step at a time
I’m taking just one day at a time.
Just one step with. 

Presence of Mind is my reality
Accepting all that is in the Here and Now

Taking the actions, making the change
Learning the wisdom of our hearts.  

Just one day at a time (with you)
Just one step at a time
I’m taking just one day at a time.
Just one step with. 


One Day

This is the FInal Final mix with some more tweeking to the guitar, voices and sounds.


Summer’s coming so I wanted to do something you could dance to. I got quite fascinated by the idea of using a clapping rhythm with the acoustic guitar. Hope you like it. The picture is of my cat, Oscar. 
 

Heart and Soul 

I like to make you smile,
Like to make you feel like life's worthwhile.
And I, will put the stars in your eyes,
Let's go for a ride, you and I, in separate cars.

Heart and soul 
It's the angel in me that's loving the devil in you. 
Heart and soul 
It's the devil in me that's wanting the angel in you.

I like to take my time,
Don't have a lot but I know what's mine. 
Tears, are not a sign of the times,
Too many dry eyes, dry hearts, dry minds. 

Heart and soul 
It's the angel in me that's loving the devil in you. 
Heart and soul 
It's the devil in me that's wanting the angel in you


Heart and Soul

She’s the One Tom O'Rose

She’s the one; she’s the one for me, 
She’s the one; she’s the one for me -
So come and break my heart before I get too tired of living.

Sunshine setting violet with a hallelujah smile,
I’m counting your stepping stones to distant horizons.
I don’t want to live forever, if you forget to ask.
Just want to watch those moonbeams through the windows of your flat

It’s a revolution that leads directly to your heart.
Better rate my credit rating before  love tears us apart
Taking bets on thunder, and the lightening in your eyes, 
And how it rains a little harder each time we say goodbye.


She is the one

This is a song for my good friend John Wiley-Hall the closest person to being ‘saintly’ I have had the good fortune to meet. He died last month run over by a motorbike in his prime at 82 years old. I stayed in John’s apartment last summer and watered his prize geraniums – he was always there when I needed him. John was quite political and we had many discussions about the state of the world - so this tribute is a kind of protest song. If John taught me anything it is that ‘who we are’ comes before ‘what we do’ and that very often it is best to do nothing at all and just ‘be. John touched so many people, God, I will miss him.

Hallowed Ground

To never be lonely.
To never feel afraid.
To know where you will stand,
When the rain falls.

To hold your head up high
When love walks away.
To find your time and your place
On hallowed ground.

We’ll meet again when the spirit’s high and the heart is strong.
Oh, we’ll meet again somewhere over the rainbow.
So keep your eyes open,
And never look away.

Always believe that the promised land,
Is here and now.
We’re governed by wolves,
Living in a nation of sheep.
Yeah, the pigs own it all,
And they like it when you sleep.

Together again now the spirit’s high and the heart is strong.
Together again we will overcome.
We shall overcome.


Hallowed Ground

I might take this little experiment down later today - it's very different from my acoustic stuff and still not sure what I think about it -I've set it to download for those people who may wish to keep a copy. All the best, Tom 

No Last Stand

To like or to love? The expression, “friends with benefits,” makes me feel uneasy – to me it seems to simultaneously undermine both the notion of love and friendship. This song is for a good friend who has given up on the idea of ‘love,’ altogether –like anybody really has a choice when love calls – I hope you like it and love finds him again soon.  This song feels a little high for my range so if anybody wants to cover it I will send you the guitar. 
Friends with Benefits

Do you dare to change,
Rearranging the geometry of us.
Take a train ride to the old destination,
Where the trigonometry of love starts at the end of the line.

Chorus
She’s got it,
He want’s it,
But that’s not love,
It’s just good friends with benefits.

I’m holding on, won’t say I love you, but I’m whispering a prayer –
To see, the good, the bad and the ugly,
Take refuge in our souls, turn our flesh to the winds.

Chorus
She’s got it,
He want’s it,
But that’s not love,
It’s just good friends with benefits.



Friends with Benefits

“Play it live!!”
Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/Trkzh5SOSSA
The tuning for this one is CGDGGD.
 Getting a little frustrated right now as I have far too much work at Unit to do much music, hence this rapidly uploaded track that I did this morning - a rendition of a live guitar instrumental that I’m working on (needs more work) just to keep a presence here. The good news is that I have decided to record an acoustic album with Sabrina Loiseau this summer so I am really excited about that Anyway, I hope you enjoy this work in progress and thank you for listening. Please do check out the video if you have time – just to see that I really am alive!  


Real Life (Live video - CGDGGD tuning)

I want to go deeper now.

Coming to terms with music. Really enjoy playing the acoustic guitar and have neither had the time or means in recent years to do anything meaningful. However, I have written a lot of songs and have vaguely decided to write an acoustic guitar album with all my sonic doodlings.Music reminds me to stay in the present moment, that words are certainly not as important as people tell you they are and not to take myself too seriously; music represents a major spiritual dimension with only minor material reverberations.

For me there is a deep connection between love and music.


All songs words and music written by Tom O'Rose AKA Eric Needham. 

The Tom O'Rose Band
Tom O'Rose (Eric Needham) - vocals - guitars - piano- harmonia
Julian Bonamy - drums - percussion
Daniel James - guitar

Tom O'Rose

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