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The Color Bars EP

by The Color Bars

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1.
Give me Robert Johnson Got a real bad feelin' I'm about to vomit This trust-fund dick's got something on me He's got a real expensive sound And a wig that makes him taller then me And with his band he's singing the sad song Of how he lost his latest girlfriend I'm tired of the same old game of deadpan irony Give me Robert Johnson and a smile you will see No, I don't want to sing with my tongue in my cheek Don't spin me around or make me dizzy He's got a real sarcastic sound And a shirt that make his muscles look Bigger then they are he's tellin' the sound guy To raise the volume on his vocals I'm tired of the same old game of deadpan irony Give me Robert Johnson or if not than Leadbelly I'm tired of the same old game of deadpan irony Give me Robert Johnson or if not than Jellyroll
2.
Cockroach on Trenton There's a stain on the carpet it looks just like New Jersey There's a cockroach on Trenton who's been stuck on his back For longer than he remembers all he knows is the ceiling And a vague recollection of his home that he left Beneath the ancient couch where I'll lay my aching body for a while And travel to a world where I'm a knight in armor And I battle beasts in far-off regions in search of my princess Just like a goldfish it's 1-2-3 forget All I ever wanted to hear Was what you wanted me to do about the problem at a hand But you shut me out until I lose the will To proceed with it 'till the problem's fixed I saw Napoleon in my father and then and then I saw my father in Napoleon I saw my father in my ugly self and then and then I saw my ugly self in my father There's a cockroach on Trenton who looks just like Napoleon To outer space I will float just like I told you that I could Up to that same old world where I'm an alien And the people there will all be scared of me and my ten fingers Just like a goldfish it's 1-2-3 forget All I ever wanted to hear Was what you wanted me to do about the problem at a hand But you shut me out until I lose the will To receive your grace so I'll leave this place I want to cry I want the blues I want the worst news
3.
Inside a Cave You in your fruit dress me in my slacks Wait right here I'll be right back 'Cause winter is too long and so is the night And you and I will be alright Alone inside a cave tonight We'll wait until the sun arrives Painting the walls with gloomy blue figures That clutch skulls with crooked fingers Climbing a tower on Mohican ground Then we'll come down and sit around Alone inside a cave tonight We'll wait until the sun arrives Come inside and bring your book of pictures Don't forget your complicated matrix Hearth is home, there's nothing wrong Drunk and stoned where we belong Beside a dancing flame After the fall-out toothless and told Your dress is torn the truth is old You've got my eyelash, and I've got your hair We're all jokes and laughs when we're Alone inside a cave tonight We'll wait until the sun arrives Don't turn off the stereo don't turn off the stereo music keeps our bodies warm
4.
Shoebox Diorama Living in a shoebox diorama With a narcoleptic dog and a blue spy camera The TV only plays Japanimation You know that stuff is all too much pornography I'm a Lazy Man who never pays his taxes I spend my mornings curled up in a book of matches (Who's that there?) Who's that where? (That there lady) She's my baby she's a harem queen When she's my Blanche Dubois she brings me to her sappy southern scene But she's only make-believe and So I never really leave this cursed shoe-box diorama Reading from a collection of half-written novels Where nothing ever ends or finds resolve Everyone I know is a fucking liar As long as I believe my own bullshit I'm happy I'm a stubborn ox who never pulls his own weight And to the walls of my box I will pontificate (Who's that with ya?) She's my sister (No she's not) She's my hot mama son-of-a Jew When she's my Daisy Miller I let her turn my screw But she's only make-believe and So I never really leave this cursed shoe-box diorama
5.
The Lull 05:10
The Lull I was a road bound for Texas Until I took a bite of her petite fors A greenish hue around a streetlight Skews the fact that she's painted red I fell into the ether I got lost in the Lull I read her honeysuckle gospel with my nose And every scent was like a bandage of words So we'd stay in and trade electrons By playing scrabble with our mouths And when the door was finally open She up and vanished like a trilobite I fell down in her roses I got up in the dark She left this skinny protozoan to evolve Into an unemployed mortician with a gut These days I lie here on my broken mat These days I lie here on my broken mat

about

The Color Bars EP was the first Color Bars recording ever released. Over the years, this self-titled EP went out of print while the original tapes sat on the shelf, where they would have collected dust for eternity if not for a small but dedicated group of long-time followers whose persistent requests to re-release it have finally spurned us into action. A decade later, we're happy to announce the original EP, completely remastered and available here in its entirety as a free download. We think the songs hold up surprisingly well, especially in light of how new we were to the process, and taking into account the relatively primitive recording techniques employed. Hope you all enjoy! -G

Recorded in: Dave Spelber's parents' house, Rockville Center, NY.
Next to: Dave's Dad's abandoned model train set.
Because of: A shared affinity for the Beatles, Elliott Smith, and aged dessert liqueurs.

credits

released May 9, 2004

Produced by The Color Bars
Dedicated to David Fisch

Gerald Slevin - Vocals, Piano, Bass, Guitar.
Dave Spelber - Drums, Percussion, Vocals.
John English - Guitar, Vocals.

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The Color Bars Brooklyn, New York

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