"Sleep Late"

I rarely sleep late; I’m an early riser. But a late bloomer.

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Sound Magazine

Sleep Late

© 1995 Brian Hutzell

I’ve been standing too tall

Looking down on people I should look up to

I’ve been staying inside

Looking out at people I should make love to

This happens to me much too much

There’s no excuse for it

Gonna make a change or two or three

Been wearing my clothing clenched and crunched

I’m gonna loosen it

Give my body room to breathe

If you sleep late, you’ll miss the morning sun

And though you try to compensate, the damage has been done

If you go to bed too early, you’ll miss the stars at night

Though you press your point quite firmly, that doesn’t make it right

If you sleep late, you’re only getting half the story

Wake up!  Wake up!

I can’t wait any longer

I’ve been acting too small

My gestures second-rate and shallow

I’ve been speaking softly

And I can’t be heard in the back row

This self-restraint has got me trapped

It can only hurt me

Cause there's no progress from where I stand

Plot my escape route on the map

The wheels are turning

Putting action to my plan

If you sleep late, you’ll miss the morning sun

And though you try to compensate, the damage has been done

If you go to bed too early, you’ll miss the stars at night

Though you press your point quite firmly, that doesn’t make it right

If you sleep late, you’re only getting half the story

Wake up!  Wake up!

I can’t wait any longer

Don’t you hear the alarm?  Don’t you hear the reveille?

Can’t you tell it’s time to get up, get up

Get up, get up and grab the key?

“Nidgluck Voo”

Brian Hutzell

from Make a Thwinting Sound

"Rest The Frantic"

“Rest The Frantic”on YouTube (from Making a Mess)

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Up TO Date

Rest The Frantic

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

The star of the movie is seen by the crowd

So he's the one for whom they scream

The one for whom the ladies preen

And about whom young girls dream

He worked hard to get there

Like the musician practicing in his cheap studio

Hoping someday he'll go to the top

Until then, he'll never stop

Running endless dexterity drills on his axe

Rest the frantic

If everyone rested, then who'd do the work?

Who'd rise above; who could we love?

Who would we worship?

What human deities would guide us--be there beside us?

Where would we get our art?

Only an artist makes art

And only by hours of work

Hours of work when he should be sleeping

How does he live with the hours he's keeping?

Rest the frantic (who else needs it?)

Francis Gavotte: he's got a lot

But what he's got will be lost when he rests

Rest the frantic, sometimes tragic life of the entertainer

He's doing it all for you

So you can rest

“Thnarble Blinst”

Brian Hutzell

from Make a Thwinting Sound

"Revere's Trip"

These lyrics grew directly out of a piece of paper Wally, Dave and I scribbled notes on during a night which may have involved psychedelic substances. It all made sense at the time.

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Album

Revere's Trip

© 1984 Brian Hutzell

Tripping

It's hard to write when the paper is breathing

Everything is moving

Weird outlines and transgressions

I feel as if I wasn't in control

I'm doing it in the light

I snort a black on the radio wrist sentence

Breathing in a red frame

The paper doesn't want me to write on it

The nicest airplanes breathe sprinkles and sunshine

Endlooped orb

Somehow I smile, trying to forget

Reverence!

I will write but it won't be understood

There are too many eyes in it

I am loving every second

Still my teeth are moving

And my legs slime on the wall

And wild things happen

I smile at everything

Everything I write is a dark line in the ocean

My body is a yellow shape

You like limesight

I can't see what I write

Reverence!

“Gluurm”

Brian Hutzell

from Make a Thwinting Sound

"Starting the Record"

These were to be the bookend songs for a concept album which would feature an assortment of weird faux-angry music. Other songs on the album would include “EdibleHamsters,” “This is the Album,” as well as some of the We the People songs like “Three Days of Hell.”

Starting the Record, Part One

© 1986 Brian Hutzell

"Here we go"

           

            "Go, record, go!"

"Come on..."

            "Come on!

            You can do it!"

"Let's go!"

            "Go!"

"Alright, now!"

                                    "One two, on the spotlight

                                    Let's get this song right..."

Starting the Record Over

© 1986 Brian Hutzell

"This has been the album. You were warned, but you listened anyway. You listened with your friends and neighbors. You experienced major problems in a nation shunned by some. You survived Revolution 21 and three days of hell eating edible hamsters. Your thoughts may have bothered you. Let them die."

We're starting over
Starting again
Starting the record over

Yes, it's back; it's back again
You can't escape this strange phenomenon
You turn your back for just a second
Back around you've learned your lesson
Why keep asking silly questions?
Yes, it's back; it's back again.
Before another moment passes, run and fetch your opera glasses
Bring the family, come to see and hear the lecture on the record
Telling you what you're about to hear
This is the album
This is the record
Isn't it clever how we've managed to persuade the doubting public
That our purpose is to amplify the global situation when in fact
The only politics we've spoken were of such peculiar nature
They could be pointed out by any college student majoring in poli-sci
No matter what his grade-point is,
How often he attends the extra-credit classes or if he's been paying close attention
To the lyrics as they ramble on and on about the lack of proper training in the art of alchemy
Turning nothing into something
How to emphasize a point:
Repetition!
This is the leading way to stress important matters.
Repetition!
This is the best way to remember what should not be forgotten
With that in mind,
we're starting the record over
Maybe someday the world will better understand what we've attempted here.
Maybe not, but I guess it doesn't matter.

We're starting over
Starting again
Starting the record over

This record's over
This record's over
This is the end
This is the end
One, two, three, four, stop!
Let it die with the needle lifted on the arm
That's a joke, son.

“Zabberty Snaft”

Brian Hutzell

from Make a Thwinting Sound

"Stop Being Silly"

This is what I imagine people frequently want to tell me.

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Shopping Bag

Stop Being Silly

© 1996 Brian Hutzell

I respect your attitude

You don’t want to grow old before your time

But sometimes I feel I’m living with Peter Pan

And sometimes I can’t take it

No, I just can’t take it

I just can’t take it anymore

Stop being silly

Quit acting weird

Enough of this nonsense

I've had it up to here

No more being foolish

Make sense for a change

Grow up

And act your age

I can take the games and toys

And I don’t really mind your noisy friends

But I can't appreciate the songs you sing

That isn’t music

Doesn’t sound like music

It doesn’t sound like music to my ears

Stop being silly

Quit acting weird

Enough of this nonsense

I've had it up to here

No more being foolish

Make sense for a change

Grow up

And act your age

Some of the things I say amaze me

I sound exactly like my dad

I wonder if I’m going crazy

I thought I was more open than I am

One of these days it’s gonna happen

I’m gonna wake-up old and gray

And someone younger and wiser

Will turn to me and say:

Stop being silly

Quit acting weird

Enough of this nonsense

I've had it up to here

No more being foolish

Make sense for a change

Grow up

And act your age

“Dessilapto”

Brian Hutzell

from Make a Thwinting Sound

"Stop Jerkin’ My Gherkin"

I’ve spent almost all of the past three days doing schoolwork, and tonight I have a bad attitude about the whole process. In Jerry Spinelli’s brilliant book Wringer, the main character, a young boy, reaches the breaking point and yells, “No! No to all of it!” (I may be paraphrasing.) I feel like that. If you haven’t read Wringer, you should. It’ll be in the Juvenile Fiction section at your library, but don’t let that dissuade you. There are plenty of great books in that section that will challenge you more than much of the crap in the Adult Fiction section. You could do worse than to start with any of the Newbery Medal books.

Stop Jerkin’ My Gherkin

© 2011 Brian Hutzell

Tell me I’m nuts

Life is full of fools

Too many big buts

Too many stupid rules

Everything I plan

Shot down on sight

No wonder I can’t sleep at night

Stop jerkin’ my gherkin

When you should be workin’

Stop jerkin’ my gherkin

When I should be workin’

I hope you got fat

I hope your husband’s bald

I hope your kid’s a brat

I hope your engine stalled

I wish you lots of luck – all of it bad

And, since you asked,

No, I’m not mad!

Stop jerkin’ my gherkin

When you should be workin’

Stop jerkin’ my gherkin

When I should be workin’

Why do I suck at everything I do?

Why does nothing go the way I want it to?

I tell the world, “This is what I want.”

The world replies, “So what?”

When I explain my idea

They say, “Yeah, but...”

I knock again

But the door is shut

Stop jerkin’ my gherkin

When you should be workin’

Stop jerkin’ my gherkin

When I should be workin’

"Fnebular Wimbus"

Brian Hutzell

from Make a Thwinting Sound

"Stop Stealing My Imagination"

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Shopping Bag

Stop Stealing My Imagination

© 1995 Brian Hutzell

Stop stealing my imagination

Leave me some room; don’t show me everything too soon

Stop stealing my imagination. I can think for myself

Stop stealing my imagination

Give me some credit; I don’t need that much help to get it

Stop stealing my imagination. I can think for myself

Do you think I’m stupid? Do you?

Incapable of figuring anything out

Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you?

Not knowing what anything’s about

Unless you spell each word for me, point out every clue

Do the work for me--treat me like a fool

Stop stealing my imagination

Leave me some room; don’t show me everything too soon

Stop stealing my imagination. I can think for myself

Stop stealing my imagination

Give me some credit; I don’t need that much help to get it

Stop stealing my imagination. I can think for myself

Do you think it’s so difficult? Do you?

To put your point across

Do you think it’s impossible? Do you?

To make sure your message isn’t lost

The repetition assaulting me is driving me insane

Your attitude’s insulting me. Who gave you the only brain?

The movies, the papers, the news

Are equally guilty of lowering the curve

And the most disturbing thought

Is that maybe we’re getting what we deserve

We need an understanding for the good of all concerned

If we start demanding more, then everyone can learn

Stop stealing my imagination

Leave me some room; don’t show me everything too soon

Stop stealing my imagination. I can think for myself

Stop stealing my imagination

Give me some credit; I don’t need that much help to get it

Stop stealing my imagination. I can think for myself

“Bluehouse Limes”

Brian Hutzell

from Art Music

"Storm"

I wanted to write a one-chord song for Plastic Mikey, and this is the result.

“Storm” rough demo on MelodyFusion

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Notebook

Storm

© 1995 Brian Hutzell

The sun did not shine

It was too wet to play

Outside the storm raged away

Inside my humor turned gray

Crash-landing my new model plane

In the turbulence brought on by rain

This is not a good game

Weather, weather the storm

Weather, weather the storm

This is the calm before the storm

Pressed underneath its heaving scorn

On the surface it looks comfortable and warm

But the blanket of security’s been torn

Didn’t hear the thunder

Didn't see the lightening

Didn’t feel the electronic web around us tightening

But I caught the anger

In the aimless violence

Read the writing on the wall in the sullen silence

Weather, weather the storm

Weather, weather the storm

This is the calm before the storm

The room where history is born

Cut through and through with flashing sword

Leaving the lessons unexplored

Didn’t hear the bullets

That fell like raindrops

Didn't feel the hail that hit my head like hurricane shots

Weather, weather the storm

Weather, weather the storm

This is the calm before the storm

The stage is set for us to perform

We'd better act before it pours

“Honey, Mars is melting!”

Brian Hutzell

from MMXIII Variations, Part 1: Square Feet

"Story of the 60s"

One of the managers was the classic Baby Boomer. He was 32 when Wally and I used to go hang out at his house, listening to recordings and talking about music. To us, Rob was something of an elder statesman. My, how perspectives change!

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Crossword Puzzle

Story of the 60s

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

He listened to Beatles all the time when he was my age

Now he’s not sure what he wants to do

He works at simple jobs in kitchens and deliveries

Doesn’t have a lot he has to do

But time keeps calling to him

Saying, “Where have you been?

I don’t wait for no one but you’ve waited for me

To give you a life, but that’s not mine to give.”

Better get on the ball

Better get on the ball

Better get on the ball

Better get on the ball

He sits and reads and goes to movies, enjoys music

All his friends are half his age

Admits the present isn’t perfect

Talks about the future and the past as if they were the same

But time keeps passing him by

Asking him, “Why are you such a fool?

You play by my rules or don’t play at all.

You’ve got one life to live.”

Better get off the bench

Better get off the bench

Better get off the bench

Better get in the game

He wants to belong to today

But he never forgets yesterday, that’s okay

It makes him fascinating to his younger friends

They like to listen to his stories

His stories of the 60s

He buys the fashion magazines, tries to be trendy

But the look evades him every time

And though he’s out of step

He’s so much younger than his classmates from the class of '65.

The Baby Boomers now mature, white collar workers

Married rebels now successful

Their lives are ordered, but the past has been forgotten

And their future’s unexciting

"Streets of Vienna"

In January 1990, Carmen and I went to Europe. We visited London, Edinburgh, Vienna, Berlin, and Munich. I kept a journal throughout the trip. Once back in Medford, I took that journal, mixed in a bunch of other odds and ends, and came up with Europe, an extended musical journal hodge-podge. Can you spot the blatant Beach Boys plagiarism?

Streets of Vienna

© 1990 Brian Hutzell

Walking through the streets of Vienna
Wherever my feet want to go
Nibbling on peas and bananas
Greeting everybody I know
When I see a peculiar fella
Playing a guitar on the street
Singing some old song about Stella
Tapping tambourines with his feet

Take good care of your feet, Pete
Better watch out what you eat
Gotta take care of yourself
Cause nobody else will

Help is on the way
You'll feel so good you'll jump up and shout

And the message is: I have nothing else to say
That is, nothing that cannot wait another day
Yet I feel like I should be writing something
Just to keep my fingers pumping
Pushing pen on paper, making lines
Isn't that fine?

I love you and you love me
And isn't that fine?
This nearly was mine
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine

Wine!

"Striving After Wind"

This is one of the few songs I’ve written in the past ten years which has actually been performed live. It is form the collection Rented Idea, written in Chicago, which contains some songs I’m quite happy with. This one is bases on Ecclesiastes. I toyed with the idea of turning all the songs from Rented Ideas into a song cycle based on Ecclesiastes. That hasn't happened yet, but it still might...

Current listening: The Partridge Family, Bulletin Board

Striving After Wind

© 2011 Brian Hutzell

I deny everything except this song

I deny everything except this song

I deny it

I don’t buy it

I think it's wrong

I didn’t do it

I didn’t see it

I wasn't there

I don’t care

I don’t believe it

I don't get it

I didn't know

I won’t go

It's all folly

Vanity

Striving after wind

It's all nothing

Insanity

Striving after wind

What matters? To what purpose?

We're so small

Do we count at all?

Why bother? What’s the point?

It's all folly

Vanity

Striving after wind

It's all nothing

Insanity

Striving after wind

"December Blues 1"

Brian Hutzell

"Stuff"

Some songs are best described as “lightweight.” I like that his piece of fluff is filled to the brim with dark murky words reeking of horror and foreboding. I hope no one takes it seriously. One of my favorite bands is The Moody Blues. Critics liked to blast them for their overly serious and pretentious lyrics. The band’s response was brilliant: “I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band!”

Stuff

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

Serious stuff

Death and war

Rich and poor

Dangerous stuff

Blood and gore

Killing more

Stuff we have to think about

Even if it stinks

Stuff we just can't laugh about

Or else we'll sink

Terrible stuff

Poverty, enemies

Hideous stuff

Hostility, humanity, poetry

Stuff we have to worry about

Even if it sucks

Stuff we just can't fiddle about

Or else we're sunk!

Odious stuff

Guns and bombs

Nasty moms

Poisonous stuff

Murky swamps

High school proms

Manicured lawns

"Rinse Clean"

Brian Hutzell

"Sunshine Song"

I’m barefoot so often, that people expect to see me unshod. If I am caught wearing shoes, I am liable to be asked what’s wrong. I never intended for bare feet to become part of my official costume, but I don’t mind. Since Chicago in the 1990s, I’ve been known more for my bare feet than probably anything else. So I managed to work that into this song, which is another example of lyrics written with the “cut-up” technique. Reading over some of these lyrics makes me a little wistful. So many songs that never got beyond the paper I wrote them on. All that music just dying to be heard. I wish I could set it free for all the world to hear.

Sunshine Song

© 2011 Brian Hutzell

Are you sure this is my room?

It's hard to get excited

About a guest I never invited

Do ya like my feet?

You know they smell real sweet

I think they look neat

Hope ya like my feet

Bless my sole!

Sunshine song

Sing along

I breathe unnoticed in obscure hiding places

My footprints vanish the moment my feet leave the ground

I float through the past

Til the present drags me into the future

From now on that's where I'll be found

And I miss my friends

From an earlier time

If you fix yourself a cake,

I'd prefer pie

I wouldn't worry about your honor with a face like that

In a world full of noise, how can I relax?

I see you yesterday

I see you tomorrow

I see you even when you're far far away

I see you all the time

But not today

“Yellow Islands”

Brian Hutzell

I do not hesitate to use bits and pieces of my earlier art in my later art. This one incorporates “Contrazz.”

"Take Me Anywhere"

I can remember exactly where and when I wrote some songs. This one takes me back to the Harvard Square T stop in 1985, after having just watched “Desperately Seeking Susan” at the Harvard Square Theater. To this day, that movie represents a part of my life that I enjoyed and I miss. When I dream about living in New York, I’m actually dreaming about living in New York in 1984 at age 19. I forget that 1984 was over thirty years ago, and so was age 19. The New York and Boston of that era are gone. The music industry I longed to join has changed past recognition. Sometimes now I don’t know where I’m going.

Take Me Anywhere

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

Desperately seeking adventure

Seeking someone to take me there

Desperately seeking excitement

Take me anywhere

Take me on a ride

Take me to the lights

I'm not gonna hide by myself tonight

I'm tired of playing house

I'm tired of nine-to-five

I'm ready to get out

Add something to my life

Desperately seeking adventure

Seeking someone to take me there

Desperately seeking excitement

Take me anywhere

Take me on a ride

Take me to the lights

I'm not gonna hide by myself tonight

My life has been too sane

But now I'm going wild

It's time to make a change

I'm changing my lifestyle

Giving up the car and the caviar

Looking to the stars, letting down my guard

Trading regular for bizarre

So take me anywhere

Take me far away

Don't tell me; I don't care

Surprise me today

Desperately seeking adventure

Seeking someone to take me there

Desperately seeking excitement

Take me anywhere

Take me on a ride

Take me to the lights

I'm not gonna hide by myself tonight

Desperately seeking adventure

Seeking someone to take me there

Desperately seeking excitement

Take me anywhere