Here are the lyrics to our new tape 'Better Measures' out December 2011 on Like Glue Records
1. INTRO
Forced to become something
That you could not choose.
When time slips through your hands
You think there's nothing you can do.
Do this for yourself.
Don't live for anyone else.
Reach for what can be caught.
Make up from the start.
Do this for yourself.
Don't live for anyone else.
Reach for what can be caught.
Make up from the start.
2. BETTER MEASURES
The old approach, it didn't work,
Venues shut down and kids getting hurt.
Those days are long-dead,
Those attitudes, too.
We're starting it fresh
And keeping it true.
We took back our scene
And rose to the top.
This unity and energy can never be stopped.
From skateboard circle pits to benefit shows,
New kids coming in and feeling at home.
Better times call for better measures.
And we're fuckin' sticking together.
Shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye
Buffalo Style continues to rise.
3. FORCED OUT
You faked something you couldn't give,
Preparing the lies you wanted to live.
Take a step back
To clear your thoughts.
Forced out the lies.
We wanted the Real.
Forced out the truth
To see if you'd feel.
Dragging reminders of all you said,
Now you left us burying our heads.
Too ashamed to remember your face,
You will fall hard from your state of grace.
Forced out the lies.
We wanted the Real.
Forced out the truth
To see if you'd feel.
Your time is running out.
Your head is full of doubt.
It's time to back up all the words you said.
Forced out the lies.
We're taking back what you took out of our lives.
4. PRESSURE TO SUCCEED
Stuck in a rut.
Can't move my feet.
Monotony all around.
The pressure to succeed.
Taking what I've learned,
Thrown it all away.
With this way of life,
There's only one way.
Pressure to succeed.
From this "grown up" life
We've gotta break free.
5. CHEER UP
I've had it
With the Nihilism in songs today.
The sadness,
It has to go away.
There's too much potential
Contained within hardcore
To whine about how "hard" life is
With our eyes fixed on the floor.
When did we lose our sense of urgency?
Why do we settle for less than all our 'core can be?
There's too much work to do for all the time gloom wastes.
It's up to me and you
We've gotta "start today".
When did we lose our sense of urgency?
There's too much work to do,
And we've got to "start today"
CHEER UP!
6. POWDER KEG
The American Dream has bled us dry,
So where's the bail out for you and I?
Ultra-rich getting richer while everyone else
Is kicked to the curb to fend for ourselves.
When elections go to the highest bidder,
Manchurian Candidates are the only real winners.
Corporate person-hood and unlimited cash.
Our fists are balled up,
It's our time to smash.
Occupy! Left and Right!
Occupy! Black and White!
The system divides you and me,
Our real nemesis is corporate greed.
Let's stop fighting each other,
And turn our eyes toward the top.
Fat-cat 1% has got to be stopped!
When elections go to the highest bidder,
Manchurian Candidates are the only real winners.
Corporate person-hood, unlimited cash.
Our fists are balled up,
It's our time to smash.
Occupy! Left and Right!
Occupy! Black and White!
PICK IT UP!
Occupy! Everything!
"As one people, united, we the 99% acknowledge the reality; that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members. That upon the corruption of the system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights. WE are the 99%."
NOTE: This song is not a direct endorsement of the "Occupy" movement itself.
There are a lot of political and social issues that I've been personally concerned with for a very long time, and it was always extremely disturbing to me that NO ONE ever talked about them. For the longest time, it seemed as if people were more concerned with the make-believe drama going on in the lives of their favorite sitcom characters than they were with the social problems existing within the real world.
In a country where more people vote for American Idol contestants than they do for Presidential candidates, there is serious cause for alarm.
I wrote the words to this song at the beginning of the first "Occupy" demonstrations taking place in NYC, Boston, and Buffalo.
Those movements, it seemed, were causing people to think about issues that had been ignored for so long.
For the first time in ages, groups of normal people were getting together in public and TALKING about ways to change the system for the better.
It was refreshing to see different people from different walks of life standing with each other and engaging in face-to-face conversation about ways they could actively improve their cities.
For the first time, people turned off their TV's and turned on their thinking-caps.
That process of dialogue really inspired me. It really made me feel empowered.
To me, it seemed like people were finally waking up. That feeling of excitement is what made me write the words to this song.
I don't mean Powder Keg to be an endorsement of the quasi-legal practice of mass vagrancy.
I'm not saying you should go sleep in a park, fight police, or create a Tumblr if you want to make a difference. I think "making a difference" is a little more complicated than that.
I think open dialogue is the first step. I think becoming aware of issues (like campaign finance reform, corporate personhood, and tax code reform) is the first step.
While movements like Occupy can be gritty in their methods, the overall message is what counts. The overall message, in this case, is becoming informed...and letting that state of awareness create a real conversation about what can be done to change things.
And there is plenty to be done to change things.
That's why I described this feeling of inspiration and excitement as a "Powder Keg"....because it's a dense mass of potential that could explode with the tiniest spark.
And...like Mindset once said.... "You want to start a fire? Be the spark."
In this country we have a Supreme Court that recently decided to define money as a form of free speech.
They recently decided that corporations are "people", and as such, deserve the same Constitutional privileges and protections as American citizens.
Because of this new "corporate personhood", a corporation can donate an unlimited sum of money to any political candidate of their choosing. And, because "money is free speech" and free speech is protected by our First Amendment, the corporation can no longer be held accountable for the donation.
What this means is that companies can pretty much buy entire elections.
If Company A wants to exploit some tax loopholes, or get away with violating environmental protection laws... they can approach Candidate John Smith and offer him a campaign contribution of $500 million. They can virtually guarantee that he'll win the election, with their help. In return for their help, he has to help them, quid pro quo. He can "help" them by turning a blind eye to their exploitation of those tax loopholes, and by passing pieces of legislation that make it legal for the corporation to violate those environmental protection laws.
John Smith, as Congressman or Senator, can award hefty government contracts to Company A, and do all kinds of things to repay them for their "help" getting him elected. As a result, Representative Democracy as we know it ceases to exist. John Smith no longer serves the American people, he serves his corporate masters. Instead of a government of, for, and by the people, we have a government of, for, and by corporations.
This is not conspiracy theory stuff.
This is not fringe Alex Jones stuff.
This is real. This is happening right now.
THIS is why hundreds of thousands of people are literally taking to the streets... not because they're jealous of the wealth of successful people... not because they want a hand-out... not because they're lazy bums with nothing better to do. But because they want their government back. They want their representative democracy back. Because they want YOU to know what's going on in our country. Period.
Google "Citizens United case".
Google "Corporate personhood".
Google "Glass-Steagall Act repeal".
Become informed.
Become engaged in dialogue about these issues.
Become the "spark" that sets off the "powder keg" of change.
Who's going to do it we don't do it?
-Frank
