You laughed out loud

At all the wrong times

In the movie

The local town-folk

Turned away

Staring through hair

We ran for the parking lot

I lost you In the halogen trails

You were replaceable

Most any night

But not that one

Not the night

That you laughed out loud

At all the wrong lines

In the play

Singing counterpoint

In your pretend language

From someone’s childhood

When every minute

Was special in some way

You traced lines

Around my heart

All your dreams – and mine

Just fucked up

Background brain noise

Shoot the messenger, avoid the message.

We’ve seen this tactic before but it will not work this time.

Institutions and individuals who obsess on the protesters in order to deflect attention away from the egregious behaviors of establishment malefactors only reveal themselves as purchased shills, greed driven ideologues and all other manner of deeply un-serious thinkers. By their own words and actions they render themselves beyond further consideration.

The Occupy movement is a ringing bell that opponents of progress and equality are unable to un-ring. It may move indoors during inclement weather – though I suspect not completely – but will return with exponentially increased vigor and passion.

Because it has to.

Support your local activists. They are active not just for themselves but also for you, your family and your descendants . Proponents of simple fairness, justice and opportunity for all will not be so easily deterred and defeated.

The feral capitalists and their revolving door, captured government facilitators have been warned and people from all walks of life, all strata of society have joined in that warning chorus.

The chorus will only grow in strength and numbers.

Diminish, it will not.

These are demos recorded on my computer for “You Won’t Find Us There” – a Rock Opera about the human costs of anarchism, socialism and capitalism existing together against a backdrop of events at the Toronto G20 demonstration.

With luck, I’ll begin recording the entire project at a better studio with a full band soon.

Lyrics:

(Track 1):

You Won’t Find Us There

You can follow a trail of broken glass
But you won’t find us there
You can capture the faces that pass
Then dissolve in the air
You can fall on your knees before the towers of mammon
You can whisper a ghost of a prayer
You can smash though the smoke and the mirrors
Still you won’t find us there

(Media Voices)

[You want for nothing, you want it all
Nothing to fear, nowhere to fall]

- It won’t make any difference
We’ll be running the walls down by then
It won’t make any difference
We’ll be running the walls down by then -

[These are your iconic dreams
You can't change the picture on the screen
You can't unsee the things you've seen]

(Media Voices)

Will you wait in the night for the ice to break
Or will you ride through the streets on a wave
Will you hide all alone in your basement
Just counting the coins that you’ve saved
Will you run with wolves
Will you fight from the rooftops
Or retreat to the mountains and caves
Well, whatever you do
Break the mirror in two
Or watch the Joker run away with game

(Track 2):

Fox Free

You never see them coming
They leave without a trace
There’s no use in running
From that mystified smile on your face

It’s a timeless story
What fool would take the bet?
The joker makes the rules here
And he lights your cigarette

So you break all the mirrors
Hanging in the hall
And you smash all the windows
Run from the sirens call
Lost in all those numbers
Down the endless gilded hall

(Seems so long)
Well it seems so long
(I’ve been in your arms)
I’ve been in your arms
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off

Well it always goes like that
Til the numbness fades away
Then we’re back to stealing fire
And bleeding through the day

And all those broken mirrors
They only multiply the pain
And all those shattered windows
Well they just let in the rain
Lost in all those numbers
On that endless gilded chain

There’s nothing left …

I’ve got nothing left here
I’m just a dog without a home
Sometimes I get to thinking
That I’m out here all alone

We always see through those games
As we breath the teargas rage
Lost in endless circles
Still pacing ’round the cage

(Seems so long)
Well it seems so long
(I’ve been in your arms)
I’ve been in your arms
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off

(Track 3):

No Turning Back

We both know
This won’t go down easy
And we both know
Some people are going to get hurt
But this is the big show
It’s going to get ugly

If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back
If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back

I think you’re like me
You can turn with the big wheels
And if you want to be free
You know what needs to be done
And I think you can see
We’re all out of options

If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back
If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back

My plans, my plans are all in place
We’re so close, so close to the end of the race
I’ll lift that shadow off your face
Now let’s go, go (go go go)

From this place in the sun
We can watch all the puppets dance
When what’s done is done
There’s nothing left to say
So look in my eyes
Let’s give it a chance now

If you’re caught up in the fight
You can’t see the light
If you stand back from the ledge
You can push ‘em all off the edge
If you let it go
There’ll be no turning back
If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back

 

Music & Lyrics by David Archer
Toronto, 2011

© David Archer All Rights Reserved

The Visitors mean you no harm and you sense this immediately.

Unafraid, you listen to The Visitor’s proposal:

If you accept their invitation, you will leave earth with The Visitors and return to their home in another dimension. Once there, you will live forever – completely immortal – you will experience existence with god-like powers for all eternity – you will see things seen by no human before and no human will ever have this chance again – all your earthly dreams and desires and more will be fulfilled beyond your wildest dreams.

There is only one condition. If you agree to immortality with The Visitors, you will never return to earth and you cannot inform family and friends of your decision.

From the point of view of your loved ones – you will have simply vanished, never to seen or heard of again.

You have only a few minutes to decide and no one can help you with the decision.

Do you stay on earth with your loved ones – or – do you accept the invitation for your own reasons – and vanish -  forevermore a mystery to your friends and family?

(Traditional -  by Dominic Behan  -  Arranged and performed by David Archer, Toronto ,2010)

or here

or download other file types including wave and ogg vorbis here:

Internet Archive

Download mp3  (right click)

 Crooked Jack

Come Irishmen both young and stern
With adventure in your soul
There’s better ways to spend your days
Than working down the hole

I was tall and true, all of six foot two
When they broke me across the back
By a name I am known, and it’s not my own
No they call me Crooked Jack

The ganger’s blue-eyed pet was I
Big Jack could do no wrong
And the reason simply was
I worked hours on and on

I’ve seen men grown old before their time
Their faces lined and grey
I never thought so soon would mine
Be lined the self same way

I cursed the day I went away
To work on the hydro dams
Of hopes and fears and blood and tears
Caught up in  a shuttering jam

They say an honest toil is good
For  spirit and for soul
But it’s for flesh and blood me boys
They want you down the hole

Billy Brag:

“Never Buy The Sun”

http://www.billybragg.co.uk/sun.php

Kevin Robins:

“Corporate Anorexia”

 http://youtu.be/Bdyk1IZGhfQ

“Con-Dem Love !”

 http://youtu.be/h-H5PJAq2yM

 Cop Problem:

“Hope Without Reason”

http://bit.ly/o44psc

 “Endless War” 

 http://bit.ly/pif10g

James Low:

“The Letter”

  http://youtu.be/nlv6deYZSiw

Ian Roberts:

 ”That’s What’s Wrong”

http://soundcloud.com/souldiers-of-love/ian-roberts-thats-whats-wrong

Delvin:

“ Community Outcast”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHq4fc2T8sw&ob=av2n

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L4iH89tjAM

Dub Gabriel feat. The Spaceape:

“ Is This Revolution?”

http://vimeo.com/28175357

Fold:

 EP: We Must Speak

http://fold.fm/

David Archer:

“You Won’t Find Us There”

http://bit.ly/q4wiH6

“What’s Done Is Done” (New Reality)

http://bit.ly/7puJOW

“Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go (Unauthorised Lyrics by Jawad Harb)

http://bit.ly/5p2bOA

Abbo:

“Friendly Faces”

http://soundcloud.com/abbomusic/friendly-faces

Embed:

“Sonic Weapons” (Collection)

http://www.reverbnation.com/c./rpk/260557?access_code=fde6dac0cb189700ca82&auto_play=true

You’ve come to the right place.

I put my own music on the Internet – sometimes before its fully finished – in hopes of receiving constructive criticisms, comments and yes, perhaps even some encouragement to continue.

Without getting into pathos, the response I generally get is…. silence. I never know if it’s the silence of appreciation, indifference, dislike or outright hostility.

But I usually think the worst. I am a sensitive artist after all. :)

So rather than further indulge in self pity or whine and complain about a situation that I don’t understand, it occurred to me that maybe the best way to change this scenario is to see if others are feeling this same way – and if so – offer to do something about it by trying to fill that need.

Maybe by helping others I can also help myself. I think I’ve heard rumors that it can work that way.

I’ve been listening to, studying and making music for 30 years here in Canada – I enjoy a wide range of music and I have had some experience in the art of the review.

If your not sure if I am qualified to review your project, I urge you to listen to some of my music on the “Music by David Archer” link above (also here) or read the two actual reviews done by me on a well known entertainment site that I have included here.

So what do I want in return? Any of several things. If you like you can pay cash for the review. If that is not possible I will accept a review of my own music, a comment or two and some link sharing promotion of my music through your own web portal, blog or wanderings.

You might even consider buying my new rock opera “You Won’t Find Us There” (a look at the human costs of anarchism, socialism and capitalism existing together against a backdrop of events at the Toronto G20 demonstrations) when it is released.

So there is my offer. If you would like to have me review and critique your music, leave a link in the comment section or e mail me at davearchermusicATyahoo.ca

Here are the two reviews/critiques referenced above. You will see that they are very much musician to musician communication designed to be understood on a composer/songwriter/arranger/producer level and not necessarily for public consumption.

However I can also write more public oriented, promotional type reviews if that is what you would like.

The first review/critique is a more organized approach with specific subject headings used as a template to ensure all major elements are accounted for. This is my preferred method.

The second critique is more free form, though what I am most likely to produce is something of a combination of both.

I wish I could include the songs themselves but I do not own the rights and in any case they are both long gone from the source where they were presented to me.

Thanks for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

David Archer

 Review #1

To begin with I would like to thank you for creating an interesting song in one of my favorite styles. I am no expert in this genre but I often find myself turning to the sound of 50′s Rock ‘n’ Roll when life becomes too much to handle. Some kind of dream about ‘more innocent times” or something.

As an over all impression, I enjoyed listening to “Little Clown” and I believe you did a good job laying it out. Nothing too complex structurally or lyrically – just a straight-forward run down a sort of Elvis/Holly/Orbison landscape with a few twists.

Structure/Arrangement

The parts all fit together well, both going in and coming out of each – but I had a little trouble deciding which, if any, was a specific chorus or verse. Thats not really a problem (or maybe it’s just my problem) as they are all good parts. Just sayin. Perhaps a little instrumental change up such as bringing the electric guitar in an out would help define that issue. More on that distorted guitar part later. I think building in (or editing in) at least one or two rhythm section stops for dramatic effect might be nice. You might lose a bit of momentum but you do get that back and the dramatic/emotive/surprise pay-off can be huge.

Instrumentation

The percussion track seems to have a nice rolling forward motion to it. Minor change-ups here, as well as the stops mentioned above could also help with part definition.

I went looking for the bass and there it was, gone. Actually, my current theory on bass parts in home or bedroom recording set-ups is that if you aren’t at war with a major mind numbing, frequency wallowing mud bath, then you’re doing okay. What I did hear was a low very low part, seemingly in conjuction with the vocal track – low electronic harmony? Maybe with room, mic or reverb overtones? I’m not sure but I know I found it quite distracting. The low voice on the Elvis sounding “little clown” part worked, but not that other sound.

The acoustic guitar was workable in its role and I think would have worked just as well or even better without having the other guitar so prominent.

At the end I could clearly hear the synth or keyboard part that prior to that I did not notice. It sounded pretty cool and I might have highlighted that a bit. My theory is if it’s going to there, it has to be heard. Otherwise, an almost sub-audible part can become a frequency eating white noise sort of sound. On the other hand, it’s not really a typical genre sound. (not that that matters – again, just sayin)

The distorted guitar did not work for me. I think I understand how and why you might make that decision, (plus, if you’re like me, it could be anything up to but not excluding catastrophic equipment failure) but I still don’t like it. Sometimes distortion can seem forgiving, but in the end I believe we are usually better off – in this sort of a situation – with a cleaner, more controllable distortion, perhaps a sparser and more staccato playing approach, (this also promotes working off, or bouncing off the other guitar) leaving a little space for the other instrumental and vocal events and for… well… space. The quality of distortion was more rock or metal than rock ‘n’ roll and besides being a none genre-typical sound is also that same kind of white noise distortion I already mentioned that quite simply eats its own frequencies and burns up all the available oxygen. Okay, that was a little over-dramatic but I think you will get my point.

One more note about non genre typical sounds. My own philosophy is that I will use any sound I damn well feel like, anywhere, anytime. Provided, that is, that I have a real reason for doing so. Sometimes the reason could even be that it does not normally go there. That also works for me. If I have missed the point and part of your approach is the contrast between say, a 50′s/60′s style vocal line, an 80′s synth and a heavy distorted guitar, then I would still say most of my comments still apply.

Vocals

I like the vocal line and I like the sound of your voice. As already stated, I don’t like the low harmony or whatever. As one who fights each and everyday to overcome a serious delay and reverb addiction, I should probably hypocritically accuse you of using to much vocal effect, but considering the song and vocal style, you are probably within bounds on the reverb and that slap echo or whatever it is. (How about that! There are also benefits to being genre specific) OK, seriously, I would back it off a bit. My rule of thumb is I try to cut it back about half what originally decided was good and that usually gets me into the ball-park.

Lyrics

Simple, straight-forward lyrics about the little clown. Works for me. The only suggestion I would make on this is that the catch line and title phrase is way over-used. Devoting a section to lines without the title phrase would also help with part definition referenced above. If not in a bridge part yet unwritten, (and as is often the case, from an alternate point of view than the verse and chorus) then maybe in one of the “Little Clown, you’ve got a ways to go…” parts.

Dynamics

Even given the style and the precedents such as the relentless, even tempered forward motion in Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue”, I would still suggest the song could benefit from some sort of dynamic change. Whether percussive (stops, crashes, pushes) or guitar based ( the guitars start up and never stop – so perhaps drop one or both out in a second verse maybe) or having one of the guitars moving into a short simple lead – something to put some detail to the sonic landscape is worth considering.

Production

Home recording, as I will assume this is, carries with it its own set of boundaries, restrictions and limitations. We all try to push those limits as far as we can. I think part of the trick is to push while finding and working within the limitations of skill and equipment.

From where I stand, you may want to consider less use of ground covering instrumentation like the distorted guitar, find more space and instrumental interplay and not so much of, if you will forgive the term, the audio trickery like the low vocal track. You might also want to consider taking the somewhat more organic route – that is- in place of heavy distortion and keyboard sounds using the acoustic guitar capo-ed to a different position to get a contrasting sound and, I don’t know, maybe an accordion or something.
That at least gets us away from thin transistor sounding distortion or thin crappy digital sounds and effects that plagues us all.

In closing I would again like to thank you for creating “Little Clown” and allowing a fellow musician to make a few comments. I hope you find something of benefit in this review.

I got into writing this more than I had anticipated and I do believe the song is the reason for that.

As I said in the opening, you did a good job laying this out.

Take care.

David Archer

Review #2

Greetings!

I would like to start by thanking you for creating an interesting and yes, challenging piece of music.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to and analyzing your song. My impressions on first listen included the word “quirky”. Of course “quirky” is a bit of a double edged sword, depending on the writers’ intentions. I got that sense right off the bat from the keyboard sounds, which are actually quite pretty and ornamental – more on that later – and that was only intensified with the introduction of the vocal line. Strangely enough, the “megaphone” vocal effect, often the last refuge of the vocally uncertain (believe me, I know that feeling) overlays the track quite effectively and is odd enough that I was quite intrigued and drawn further into the song.

I like the heavily effected chorus or refrain with a bit of an instrumentation breakdown that offers some sonic relief from the repetitive structure. The delay and other treatment creates a bit of a “vocal round” like feeling. To my ears it comes off with a rather creepy feeling, (think Radiohead) which is good if you like that sort of thing. (as I do)

The guitar part is good in a supportive role and the bass line – while it does the job – grows a little boring as time passes, though considering it is in a central but supportive role, this is probably not a major issue. (steady and solid likely being the wiser choice)

There is a lot of motion in the keyboard line and my guess is you made this decision as a counter to the aforementioned repetitive structure. If that’s the case, it does the job and as I said above it is quite pretty and ornamental. And busy. That could be the source of my problem with it – there is a whole lot of action that adds up to not much and I found it distracting. Perhaps allowing it to move in and out of the mix in places (similar to what happens in the refrain) would reduce the distraction, add impact and focus to the vocal line and lyric and highlight the value of the line when it does appear. As an example I would leave it as is in the introduction but remove it entirely or bring it in partway in verse one.

I guess I’ve always been a bit wary of of those shiny, bouncy keyboard sounds that are both dull and bright at the same time (?) – whether performed, programmed or looped – it seems to evoke for me either a lounge music feel or that weird sense that is found in Bowie circa “Scary Monsters”.

Well, ” Quiet Man” is certainly not lounge music, so I guess that leaves me with weird.

OK. I’ve used the words “odd”, “quirky”, “creepy” and “weird” and I hope you understand that I use these words as one songwriter to another in a descriptive way for furthering communications and not as an absolute judgement. (sometimes I spend a great deal of time attempting to create the very sounds that those words describe.)

And that brings me to the vocals and lyric content.

For starters, the use of the “megaphone” vocal sound immediately and effectively removes the listener (and the performer) from a place of intimacy regarding the subject matter. This sound evokes machinery, manipulation, disaffection and all manner of other feelings that gives one a sense of detachment and removal. I am not at all sure that is the right sound for a “Father – Son” relationship song.

If I had the lyrics in front of me as I listened, I may have had a clearer sense of meaning. I am almost, but not entirely certain that this is not tongue in cheek or passive /aggressive but was designed as a fitting tribute to a man admired.

Nonetheless, when you take difficult to discern and possibly ambiguous lyric, idiosyncratic singing, quirky instrumentation and add to it a robotic vocal treatment, you will inevitably end up at the intersection of Weird Street and Odd Boulevard and I’m not sure there is any way around this particular phenomenom aside from a straight, honest, clean vocal sound.

If, on the other hand, the lyric possessed a heavy dose of irony and this song was about, say, Donald Rumsfeld, I might well be calling it brilliant.

In closing I would like to thank you again for this song. It is very much an original. I look forward to hearing future works from you and I hope you find something of value in this review.

David Archer
29/05/08
http://loontheory.wordpress.com/

How ironic that The Clash should be on the cover of the NME in the week that London was burning, that their faces should be staring out from the shelves as newsagents were ransacked and robbed by looters intent on anarchy in the UK. Touching too, that the picture should be from very early in their career – Joe with curly blond hair – for The Clash were formed in the wake of a London riot: the disturbances that broke out at the end of the Notting Hill Carnival of 1976.

At the time, the press reported it as the mindless violence of black youth intent on causing trouble; now we look back and recognise that it was the stirrings of what became our multicultural society – the moment when the first generation of black Britons declared that these streets belonged to them too.

The Notting Hill Riots of 35 years ago created a genuine ‘What The Fuck?’ moment – the first in Britain since the violent clashes between mods and rockers in the early 60s. While west London burned, the rest of society recoiled in terror at the anger they saw manifested on the streets of England. In the aftermath, severe jail sentences were handed down and police patrols stepped up in areas where there was a large immigrant population. Sound familiar?

Fast-forward 35 years to the present day. Much has changed, yet we find ourselves in the same quandary. The August riots of 2011 are another WTF? moment, when society recoils in horror and says ‘I don’t understand you’.

But making political pop should not be a matter of setting Karl Marx to music. I’ve heard that stuff and it never sounds right. Pop becomes political when it stops being self-pitying and self-aggrandising and starts to speak truth to power.

Of course it doesn’t have to be a band – technology has put the means of production into the hands of anyone with a computer and some beats. The riots last week were a spark – what is needed now is an alternative commentary. Some of you who are reading this need to produce songs with spirit that tell us something we don’t know about what the fuck happened last week, how we got to such a place and where you think we should be going from here.

Below is my comment at Billy’s Blog:

Very timely, very necessary, very much appreciated. Some of us can and do focus entirely on aspects of our art relating to politics, human rights etc, some of us touch on it occasionally, but all of us must be aware of the vital importance of these intensely substantive issues.

And let us not overlook the fact that it is very possible to write satisfactorily of – for example – love and romance – and still place it all within the larger context of social consciousness.

The only rule on this subject is that there are no rules that must always be followed.

Billy Bragg, thank you for this.

Sing out, speak out, write on.

David Archer

Toronto, Canada

Printable posters courtesy Stuart  Thursby, cargocollective.com

These are demos recorded on my computer for “You Won’t Find Us There” – a Rock Opera about the human costs of anarchism, socialism and capitalism existing together against a backdrop of events at the Toronto G20 demonstration.

With luck, I’ll begin recording the entire project at a better studio with a full band soon.

Lyrics:

(Track 1):

You Won’t Find Us There

You can follow a trail of broken glass
But you won’t find us there
You can capture the faces that pass
Then dissolve in the air
You can fall on your knees before the towers of mammon
You can whisper a ghost of a prayer
You can smash though the smoke and the mirrors
Still you won’t find us there

(Media Voices)

[You want for nothing, you want it all
Nothing to fear, nowhere to fall]

- It won’t make any difference
We’ll be running the walls down by then
It won’t make any difference
We’ll be running the walls down by then -

[These are your iconic dreams
You can't change the picture on the screen
You can't unsee the things you've seen]

(Media Voices)

Will you wait in the night for the ice to break
Or will you ride through the streets on a wave
Will you hide all alone in your basement
Just counting the coins that you’ve saved
Will you run with wolves
Will you fight from the rooftops
Or retreat to the mountains and caves
Well, whatever you do
Break the mirror in two
Or watch the Joker run away with game

(Track 2):

Fox Free

You never see them coming
They leave without a trace
There’s no use in running
From that mystified smile on your face

It’s a timeless story
What fool would take the bet?
The joker makes the rules here
And he lights your cigarette

So you break all the mirrors
Hanging in the hall
And you smash all the windows
Run from the sirens call
Lost in all those numbers
Down the endless gilded hall

(Seems so long)
Well it seems so long
(I’ve been in your arms)
I’ve been in your arms
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off

Well it always goes like that
Til the numbness fades away
Then we’re back to stealing fire
And bleeding through the day

And all those broken mirrors
They only multiply the pain
And all those shattered windows
Well they just let in the rain
Lost in all those numbers
On that endless gilded chain

There’s nothing left …

I’ve got nothing left here
I’m just a dog without a home
Sometimes I get to thinking
That I’m out here all alone

We always see through those games
As we breath the teargas rage
Lost in endless circles
Still pacing ’round the cage

(Seems so long)
Well it seems so long
(I’ve been in your arms)
I’ve been in your arms
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off
(Did I drift off?)
Til I drift off

(Track 3):

No Turning Back

We both know
This won’t go down easy
And we both know
Some people are going to get hurt
But this is the big show
It’s going to get ugly

If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back
If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back

I think you’re like me
You can turn with the big wheels
And if you want to be free
You know what needs to be done
And I think you can see
We’re all out of options

If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back
If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back

My plans, my plans are all in place
We’re so close, so close to the end of the race
I’ll lift that shadow off your face
Now let’s go, go (go go go)

From this place in the sun
We can watch all the puppets dance
When what’s done is done
There’s nothing left to say
So look in my eyes
Let’s give it a chance now

If you’re caught up in the fight
You can’t see the light
If you stand back from the ledge
You can push ‘em all off the edge
If you let it go
There’ll be no turning back
If we let it go
There’ll be no turning back

Music & Lyrics by David Archer
Toronto, 2011

© David Archer All Rights Reserved

I call it a Rock Opera for lack of a better term – and oh yeah, because I have become totally re-inspired by listening to the work of my main man Pete Townshend.

YWFUT is a musical and lyrical study of various fictional characters – demonstrators, police, government officials, bystanders, political ideologues, local residents/business owners, Black Bloc anarchists and anarcho pacifists who get caught up and intertwined by events at the Toronto G20 Summit that rocked my hometown in the summer of 2010.

I’ve never been more excited about music and I hope you’ll check back in from time to time to hear the project as it develops.

Thanks for dropping by :)

David Archer

A video made of drawings,  engravings,  paintings and pictures from of the Industrial Revolution.

(Traditional -  by Dominic Behan  -  Arranged and performed by David Archer, Toronto ,2010)

or here

or download other file types including wave and ogg vorbis here:

Internet Archive

Download mp3  (right click)

 Crooked Jack

Come Irishmen both young and stern
With adventure in your soul
There’s better ways to spend your days
Than working down the hole

I was tall and true, all of six foot two
When they broke me across the back
By a name I am known, and it’s not my own
No they call me Crooked Jack

The ganger’s blue-eyed pet was I
Big Jack could do no wrong
And the reason simply was
I worked hours on and on

I’ve seen men grown old before their time
Their faces lined and grey
I never thought so soon would mine
Be lined the self same way

I cursed the day I went away
To work on the hydro dams
Of hopes and fears and blood and tears
Caught up in  a shuttering jam

They say an honest toil is good
For  spirit and for soul
But it’s for flesh and blood me boys
They want you down the hole

But Still… Somehow…

Part 3 of “The Tides of Europa”

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Audio and visual interpretation of a civic demonstration in Toronto, Canada.

Any Way You Want To
A very slow love song

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“Any Way You Want To” was originally included on my first complete solo effort “Underground Sun”.

It’s a very slow love song and was one of the first recordings I made playing all instruments. (except drums)

Possibly because there is no debate regarding civilian casualties.

Apparently the modern view of accidental wartime killing is not just settled wisdom – it is so incredibly, deeply, perfectly settled that it must not be disturbed by further consideration despite changes or advances in war technology and our own awareness, growth and understanding.

Until this issue is honestly reassessed all related discussion is difficult – if not impossible – owing to the conditions of a moral vacuum created as a result of our wilful blindness.

The Visitors mean you no harm and you sense this immediately.

Unafraid, you listen to The Visitor’s proposal:

If you accept their invitation, you will leave earth with The Visitors and return to their home in another dimension. Once there, you will live forever – completely immortal – you will experience existence with god-like powers for all eternity – you will see things seen by no human before and no human will ever have this chance again – all your earthly dreams and desires and more will be fulfilled beyond your wildest dreams.

There is only one condition. If you agree to immortality with The Visitors, you will never return to earth and you cannot inform family and friends of your decision.

From the point of view of your loved ones – you will have simply vanished, never to seen or heard of again.

You have only a few minutes to decide and no one can help you with the decision.

Do you stay on earth with your loved ones – or – do you accept the invitation for your own reasons – and vanish -  forevermore a mystery to your friends and family?

Overly: I would like to introduce David Archer @arcsong to everyone!

Archer: Hi folks, hope you’re all well.

Overly: You can find a bio about David on my website http://www.SRrocks.com  in Featured Artists.

I play 2 of David’s songs, “What Is Done Is Done” and “Midnight Silver Bullet” on my radio station.

Overly: How are you tonight David?

Archer: I’m doing just great tonight Bernie.

Overly: David, how long have you been writing songs?

Archer: Well, I’ve been writing music since I first picked up a guitar – and as a serious writer for about 25 yrs now.

Overly: With so many influences on your style. Who and/or how were you influenced at different stages of your career?

Archer: It’s been an amazing journey through so much awesome music over the years. For me, it began with the Stones and The Who…ctd.

Archer: …but it was the spirituality in Pete Townshend’s work that lead me to wider explorations. Plus Cohen, Dylan, Floyd …ctd

Archer: ….all the usual suspects for my generation. Today I’m a huge Dave Mathews fan – he’s a very insightful, literate and spiritual writer.

Overly: Matthews is good.

Archer: And the drummer… Carter Beauford….. a symphony of drums with a groove a mile wide…awesome

Overly: What direction are you heading?

Archer: I’m heading in many directions-anywhere my curiosity leads me. Lately I’ve been exploring how spirituality/realism are joined together…ctd

Archer: …and recent historical events have ignited my interest in political music. I’ll use any sound, any style I can grasp – but lately…ctd

Archer: ..my singing/lyric writing have a bigger role. I’ve also fallen in love with my acoustic gtr again – right now it’s the spine of my music.

Overly: What are you working on right now?

Archer: I’m working on a song called “Every Sacrifice” looking at accidental civilian casualties from both sides of the weapon…ctd

Archer: A Man Of No Illusion” demo – http://bit.ly/3S2gxv - is a journey through treacherous paths of illusion to a place of spiritual realism.

Overly: David, I think everyone will want to check that out

Archer: I hope so – it’s heavy but quite beautiful also- in its own way…: )

Overly: David, What is your favorite song?

Archer: So many favorites – the list is endless – but I have no doubt that “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is the greatest rock song ever written.

Overly: Does living in Toronto give you a lot of idea’s for your songs?

Archer: Oh yeah. T.O. is an awesome city – I find it beautiful and deeply mysterious. “Midnight Silver Bullet” is set at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel.

Overly: I would like to thank everyone who is following the Interview with David.

Overly: Thank you David!

Archer: My pleasure! This has been a blast. And if I may, I’d like to thank Bernie and all the Rockon365 listeners. You all rock with class!

…then I think that changes the “Fight them there so not to fight them here” meme. We extend our rights to reach our targets…. ctd

If the threat is not existential, then we go way beyond our moral sphere by accidently killing in pursuit of our own defense. ctd

  So is the threat of Afghanistan so serious/existential as to clearly justify killing of innocents in pursuit of our security? ctd 

 I believe the argument of an existential threat out of Afghanistan is not clear and has never been justified by our leaders. ctd  

Not to say there’s no threat from Afghanistan/But that even in light of the 9-11 attacks civilian rights must be equal priority.

•Entity realism, a philosophical position within scientific realism

•Epistemological realism, a subcategory of objectivism

•Hyper-realism or Hyperreality, the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy

•Mathematical realism, a branch of philosophy of mathematics

•Moderate realism, a position holding that there is no realm where universals exist

•Modal realism, a philosophy propounded by David Lewis, that possible worlds are as real as the actual world

•Moral realism, the view in philosophy that there are objective moral values

•Mystical realism, a philosophy concerning the nature of the divine, advanced by Nikolai Berdyaev

•Naive realism, a common sense theory of perception

•New realism (philosophy), a school of early 20th-century epistemology rejecting epistemological dualism

•Organic realism or the Philosophy of Organism, the metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead, now known as process philosophy

•Philosophical realism, the belief that reality exists independently of observers

•Platonic realism, a philosophy articulated by Plato, positing the existence of universals

•Pseudorealism, a genre of art initiated by Indian artist Devajyoti Ray where reality is appraoched via abstraction

•Pseudorealism, a term coined by American Film critics, used to describe films in which digital unreal images are created and amalgamated with regular scenes thereby creating an ilusion that is difficult to distinguish from reality
.
•Quasi-realism, an expressivist meta-ethical theory which asserts that though our moral claims are projectivist we understand them in realist terms

•Representative realism, the view that we cannot perceive the external world directly

•Scientific realism, the view that the world described by science is the real world

•Transcendental realism, a concept implying that individuals have a perfect understanding of the limitations of their own minds

•Truth-value link realism, a metaphysical concept explaining how to understand parts of the world that are apparently cognitively inaccessible

Like music, poetry, painting etc.  a news report can have various angles, shadows, shades and emotional story arcs. That’s how too many journalists play spin games in their coverage.

Many people approach their craft with a sense of artistry. When journalists do it, the risks can far outweigh the returns.

Joy Of Life

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Your Spirit Will Never Die

There’s always something more…

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Your Spirit Will Never Die

I saw silver trails in the sky
While I was busy killing time
A falling coin, a weathered sign
All the clues you left behind

Have you ever felt like this before?
Then you finally realize
There’s always something more
Your spirit will never die

You can watch her sleep tonight
Or you can watch the stars
Watch her dream, watch her breathe
Pray to God her soul to keep

You’ve never felt like this before
Then you’ve finally realized
There’s always something more
Your spirit will never die

Your spirit will never die

Your spirit will never die…

“Whatever Happens” by *The Blue Assassin*

The rest of us just better hope and pray that the revolution will be televised…..

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Whatever Happens

These words are written, not carved into stone
Five billion people are living alone
You got no space and you got no time
You got no motivation to search for a rhyme
Signals and wires and articulate liars
Talking heads and day glow fires
The lunatic who lost the thread
The sound of victory and the colour red
A plea for mercy that will not be heard
You’re really last if you’re second or third
There’s no reason to stand in line
When living right is just doing time
You’re a day late and a dollar short
And anyway, your money’s no good here, sport
Because for all that you’ve done and all that you’ve tried
You’re just gonna be another page five suicide

All news is bad news but all news is good
So stay in the pocket and do as you should
Don’t be late, and don’t act smart
And never let anyone see what’s inside your heart
‘Cause this is all that you’re gonna get
The American Dream is a sucker’s bet
There may be gold in the Hollywood hills
But stardust never paid a poor mans bills
So I’ll be the runner and you play defense
Yeah, sure she’s a stunner but it hardly makes sense
Unless money is magic and God loves the rich
And a hair-pull trigger goes off with a twitch
Lifestyle is criminal to cold legal eyes
And the rest of us just better hope and pray
That the revolution will be televised…..

I have a musical alter ego – kind of like Slim Shady – a vessel for my anger and my dark side – *The Blue Assassin* Stay tuned..

*The Blue Assassin* has only one desire: To make Slim Shady cry real tears…..

Tonight – the World Premiere of *The Blue Assassin* “Whatever Happens” coming soon to a Twitter board near you!

“Whatever Happens” is the first recording by *The Blue Assassin* to be unveiled – the others are just… too…. weird…… so far…

Yes, you might call “Whatever Happens” by *The Blue Assassin* rap. Evidence, if not conclusive proof that some people just shouldn”t rap.

But if you think *The Blue Assassin* cares what you think about his rapping — think again. I said THINK AGAIN!

Do not be concerned for Giles Goat Boy… but rather keep your hand on your wallet and your eye on the invisible assassin

*The Blue Assassin* plays all instruments on “Whatever Happens” except drums and percussion.

“Whatever Happens” was recorded before the … incident. As some of you know – it was never the same after that….

The RCMP will no longer take our calls.

“Get this toxic shit outta here or I’m calling my lawyer” was a commonly heard response to the Assassins representatives.

63 record labels refused to have anything to do with *The Blue Assassin* – Govt. censors banned all songs except “Whatever Happens”

*The Blue Assassin* drinks Absinthe, smokes black hash and cranks Insane Clown Posse at ear bleeding volume just to get to sleep.

Okay, the wav file is being extracted fron the containment vault and is on its way to the studio – be thankful for HazMat training….

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Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go is set in Gaza – I take a neutral political position on Israel/Palastine and honour all civilian victims of war.

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go

A Gaza Bombing Sound Collage

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go – (4:01)
Music by David Archer. (Unauthorized) text by Jawad Harb

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On January 14/ 09  I read an article entitled The Bombs Came Today – There Is Nowhere to Go  written by Jawad Harb who lives with his family in Rafah, Gaza and was there during the bombing.  As any parent -  any feeling person – would be, I was horrified at this harshest of realities and stunned by the powerful writing of a parent in an anguish of fear and concern over their children’s safety.

I had to react to what was happening but I was not certain how to go about it. Not wanting to let that stop me, I began to work with the vague idea of a sound collage involving my usual sounds plus some found sound effects from around the web.

Once I had a few loops and sound ideas going, it occurred to me that the actual words of  Jawad Harb  himself would express what I was searching for far better than I ever could. After realizing that my first choice of having Harb read them himself over the phone was not likely to happen – I tried reading and chanting the words myself.  Bad idea. My voice had no place in this sound.  A few days earlier, I had stumbled on a browser based news reader that actually reads HTML text aloud with a Microsoft Sam style computer voice.  I thought I had my solution but the voice sounded all wrong. I surfed around the net for a while and tried several other text readers of various types until I finally pieced together a workable version using a female Asian/Indian sounding voice and managed to record it.

It’s weird but sometimes, given the power of the words as written, the computer voice actually seems to carry human feeling and on at least one occasion it sounds as if the speakers voice is breaking with emotion.

Most of the other sound effects came from The Freesound Project, except the explosions, which are actually from a recording of the bombing of Baghdad.

Although the Gaza bombings and the experience of Jawad Harb and his family are the source and catalyst for this project, I hope it can serve as a memorial to all innocent war victims anywhere, anytime and a reminder to the aggressors that the real victims of war are always, always children.

Here is the original text. 

GAZA (January 13, 2009, 6:15 p.m) – The leaflets came yesterday, telling us our neighbourhood would be attacked. The whole population of the area is terrified. We have nowhere to go. My neighbour checked at the UNRWA shelter but it was full. Overflowing. There is nowhere to go. We waited to be bombed. My children have seen the dead bodies of children on television. They cry, they are crying now, they are terrified. When will this end? There was screaming. It is dark and cold but most of us are still outside. My family is outside next to the house. We are terrified to go inside.

The bombs came today. It was terrifying. We have nowhere to run. There was an air strike every five minutes. Thick black smoke 100m-150m away from us. People were scared, ran outside of their houses and gathered together in the street. 300-350 people in the street. The street was the safest place. If our house is bombed, we’ll get trapped and die like the people we saw on television.

It is quiet for 20 minutes now but we don’t know if it will start again. What if it is just a short break? We can’t take the risk. My children are shivering. It is getting so cold. Some neighbours went back inside, but they are staying on the first floor, next to the door so they can run outside. We don’t know what will come next. This is the closest it has come to our house. The neighbourhood next to ours was bombed. What do we do? We don’t know. We have nowhere to go. Nowhere to go.

Update:

Bombs Falling/Nowhere To Go became international in nature in a rapid and ineveitable way as it was being assembled and could not exist at all were it not for that fact.

The words – and to be honest, the entire emotional content -  are from Gaza.

 But I truly believe that same emotional content could be from anywhere. 

The voice – though computer generated with an Indo/Asian accent –  is meant to be anyone and indeed becomes the voice of a Universal Motherhood as well as fear, love and acceptance, anger and courage. That fear, love, acceptance, anger and courage all belong to Jawad Harb, his family and neighbours and all those who have lived and died these same ways.

 The first sound – the bass drum –  is the impossible violence of what can be –  but will not be altered from it’s white hot, black heart of despair and anger and hatred and destruction.

The guitar is the onlooker, alternately relentless and hesitant, charging forward and pulling back,  but determined, for once, to stand witness to the truth.

 The child’s cry is from a train station in North America and by its very sound represents something we all know in our hearts.

The air raid sirens are from Israel and are the voices of warning coming from all those who have experienced the history of terrible violence and oppression.

 There is an unknown Turkish man reading poetry way back in the mix toward the end. He represents the voices of people that no longer have names and will never be heard.

Then the awful, terrible sound of explosions – lifted from a YouTube  copy of CNN’s live coverage of the bombing of Baghdad - like  murderous, demonic laughter ripping darkness into your soul, stealing fire from heath and heart and blazing hatred and anger, hatred and anger, hatred and anger across the sky and the flesh and the bones of innocent children. Deafening, hideous, sickening thunder and lightning  torn from humanity’s darkest recesses, dripping bloody, putrid venom and poison onto everything that means anything to anyone.

The bottom end of the piano is the rock of the earth, the heat of technology and science, mankind through our collective history, evolution and religion, and the hope and hopelessness of time moving on. The high end of the piano represents the tears of the witnesses, the sorrow, the sadness, the pain of knowing, the guilt and remorse and the anger at helplessness in the face of such an storm, such an onslaught.

And it’s when I go back and listen, when it’s late and I’m alone and my ability to resist is at it’s lowest, and the acceptance and the understanding of why the wolf must tear at the throat of the deer stares back at me from the mirror,  I ask myself  ”how can such things as this come to be?” And I fear that as I say those words out loud, someone else will say to me “How dare you presume to create such a thing, you who know nothing of this.”

We’ll see.

Thanks for swinging by. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail if you are so moved. I can be reached at:

 davearchermusic AT yahoo.ca

Thanks and take care.

I have little confidence in their ability to do this.

If this were only about speeches, they might well win my vote. But this is 2009 and we unwashed are no longer so easy to fool with platitudes and ponies. With awareness that the Power Corp. type backroom lobbying and cronyism that has dominated Liberal Party history is bubbling up to the surface, there appears – as some have said all along – to be only cosmetic differences between the two traditional powerhouses of Canadian politics.

The mining industry’s recent wholesale purchase of key players in the Chretien government - including the former Prime Minister himself – has served only to add to the cynical distrust with which the public now customarily views the antics of our so called representatives.

I was initially drawn to Ignatieff because of his intellect (I like the idea of smart leaders) and I do not doubt the integrity of his personal quest. But there are stories out there suggesting he was lured or convinced to enter Canadian politics at the behest of the same backroom operators who rely so heavily on their anonymity and the child-like trust and lack of curiosity evidenced repeatedly by the Canadian electorate.

I like Ignatieff. I am proud that one with such accomplisments is a a fellow Canadian and I am open to anyone with new ideas for governing this land.

But I want those ideas to come from Ignatieff’s experience as a teacher, traveller and human rights scholar and not from the Power Corp boys.

Maybe you trust the shady backroom players. Maybe – through ignorance – I once gave them my trust. No more.

Drag it all into the light.

The party that can demonstrate it is truly beholden to the citizens of Canada and not to special interest groups -  corporate or otherwise -  will get my vote.

Irreplaceable

Surrounded

By all possible realities

We wait, breathlessly

For one, or another

And which one

Matters not

As this life

Or that death

This moment

Or that

Bleed on

Each one

Meaningless

Yet each one

The center

Through which all else

Must pass

And therefore

Irreplaceable

Up until recently – at least for the food stores referenced in this CBCNews article by Alison Crawford - you could buy a jar of store brand pickles made in Indonesia but you could not buy locally farmed meat. I have nothing against Indonesian pickles or the people who produce them but something sure seems off kilter when corporate policy dictates that a food store cannot sell from local production.

Some stores have broken off from Soebys, the parent company, and have formed the independent Hometown Growers Co-Op to free them from these restrictions.

Canadians are increasingly subscribing to the “buy local” and “100 mile diet” philosophies due to concerns over imported food, Kropf adds. “The pressure was always mounting — the more recalls, the more bad press from China or wherever the product was coming from. I know that in our case, our private label pickles are made in Indonesia. I couldn’t believe that.” As a franchisee for a large grocery chain, Kropf says, corporate policies stipulating that he only buy federally inspected meat prevented him from stocking local products. Most federally inspected meat in Canada comes from large corporations such as Maple Leaf, Cargill and Tyson.

“Most of our beef was Alberta beef. Chicken and pork could be U.S., so to me, that was a concern that, you know, we’ve got all these farmers in our back yard,” Kropf says.

 Mmmm.  “all these farmers in our back yard,” Kropf says. So what is it about the owners and decision makers of the parent company (however high that goes) that they would arrange such a situation? Only some unholy mix of government policy and business manipulation all wrapped up in Free Trade and delivered with a Corporate Globalism singsong mantra could possibly lead to such a bizarre scenario.

Could this be an example of Forced Trade? 

Whatever the accumulated reasons, I see the creation of the Hometown Grocers Co-Op as a shot across the bow of Big Food and the Neo -Liberal government mind set that buys into the Corporate agenda of Free Trade/Globalism without realizing – or realizing all too well – that Corporate Globalism and Peoples Globalism are often two very different and opposing forces. 

I hope that the people living in those areas will support the Hometown Grocers Co-Op .