A Knee In The Back, by Möbius Strip

A Knee In The Back

by Möbius Strip

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1.	My Museum 03:50	lyrics
You'd cut your head off To save your brain from cancer Your very means Defeat their ends You say you're weak I think you're stronger than you know You're strong enough To break this heart of stone See you at shows, I smile, tenderness suddenly outlawed You face the band, I slip out, stumble home to my museum Things are just as you left them: apples rotting in the kitchen A box of condoms sits upon my shelf collecting dust Sleep on the floor, cat litter sticking to my face, unshaven The bed's a fucking tundra since you took my sun away Just put your trust in me I'll help you see this through Just put your trust in me There's nothing you and I can't do One thing my father taught me You can't steal second base Unless you're willing To take your foot off first It makes no sense to steal What you already own Like it or not my duckling You'll never be alone See you at shows, I smile, tenderness suddenly outlawed You face the band, I slip out, stumble home to my museum Things are just as you left them: apples rotting in the kitchen A box of condoms sits upon my shelf collecting dust Sleep on the floor, cat litter sticking to my face, unshaven The doorknob jiggles, I wake up, and you walk in
2.	Bedrock 02:36	lyrics
Build a structure with no function Lead a mission without vision In need of repair, a bridge to nowhere Dig for the-- The cables tightened, our load will lighten The gears start turning; the torch is burning With steel and timber, we'll cross that river Dig for the bedrock Dig for bedrock Dig, dig, dig
3.	Objects In Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear 03:39	lyrics
Unseen forces conspire Cacophony consumes the choir The conductor can no longer hear If a conductor ever was here Two paths converge as though by design Oblique trajectories swiftly align A phone call unanswered, departure as scheduled The slightest delay, he'd still be here today Objects in mirror may be closer Than they appear--oh no! Myth becomes clearer 'neath the red light No blueprint here--it's chaos Asphalt soaks up dreams unfulfilled No testament, no will Illusions of order evaporate Faced with a friend you can't defibrillate Religion and science can't relate The randomness with which we operate Objects in mirror may be closer Than they appear--oh no! Objects in mirror may be closer Objects in mirror may be
4.	Catholic School 04:25	lyrics
I remember the open coffin The pain two years of pills couldn't soften Back to school the next day with a dozen reporters No mountain of medicine will make the days any shorter I stayed for as long as I could The sisters told me gd did it for the good Senseless bloodshed blasted doubt through every crack My faith was shattered; sweep the pieces in a stack ‘Cause I'm never coming back No, I'm never coming back Burned on your TV screen is Kevin Bacon Though it's been a decade, the earth's still shakin' Can you feel those tremors? Each night, I go for a stroll Pray the ground will open up and swallow me whole I stayed for as long as I could Sisters told me gd did it for the good Senseless bloodshed blasted doubt through every crack My faith was shattered; sweep the pieces in a stack ‘Cause I'm never coming back But-- I stayed for as long as I could Sisters told me g*d did it for the good Senseless bloodshed blasted doubt through every crack My faith was shattered; sweep the pieces in a stack ‘Cause I'm never coming back No, I'm never coming back And they'd never take me back No, I'm never coming back Catholic school will fuck you up As I drank blood from the cup All my friends were getting high One by one I watched them die To tell the truth I don't know why I never gave it a try
5.	Wake-Up Call 03:49	lyrics
While you lie Waiting for dreamless sleep, counting sheep Stare at the Ceiling and know somewhere I'm doing the same Leadership vacancy This flock is headed for slaughter Go back to sleep For four more years The campaign's over Go back to sleep Butter up, butter down Eat up false dichotomies Patriot or terrorist Depends who wins the war Don't be shocked When your voting bloc gets shipped to Iraq Go back to sleep For four more years The campaign's over Go back to sleep Go back to sleep Forever The charade's over Go back to sleep Here's my war plan: Choose a fall man Lives to barter Make a martyr This is your Wake-up call Seize the day If you snooze Please don't wait Four more years
6.	Rewrite 02:10	lyrics
If I could travel through time I'd take you to see All you read about in history Where you sat behind me And if I could travel through time I'd buy you some earplugs and take you To see the Big Bang But it's just as likely I'd show up alone With a fire extinguisher And end it all, before it begins ‘Cause I Can't bear the thought Of you Leaving me If I could travel through time I'd visit your ancestors And fill their pockets with gold That way I'd provide More than I could In just one lifetime But it's just as likely I'd track down my own And murder them Preventing my birth ‘Cause I Would prefer to never have been conceived Than to see the pain in your eyes when I have to leave If I could travel through time I'd rewrite this song
7.	Pez Dispenser Head 03:35	lyrics
I don't even know your name I'd reckon you've forgotten mine From the outside of the envelope I stamped with my last cent I'm not writing to complain about the price of gas Or the carporations derailing public transportation You harangue hypnotically While they buy and bury green technology I'm not writing to complain about the plastification of our culture The living Kens and Barbies The Starbucks, the McDonald's, or the Arby's The landfills that won't decompose [Or] the fact that the emperor's Wearing standard issue army clothes Pez Dispenser Head Before you open your mouth With your perfectly molded hair Before you unhinge your jaw, force-feed me endless sugar pills I've got something to say Pez Dispenser Head I'm not writing to complain about how you sold our airwaves We've lost control of the information That pounds this transfixed TV nation You've all but sold off the very air To be filled with shit that I can't breathe but you don't care No, you don't care, Pez Dispenser Head So now you must be wondering why Why I've written you at all It's the anthrax on the envelope that's making you feel sick You've had a good run There's time for one last phone call To sell ad space on your coffin
8.	Stand By 04:01	lyrics
1, 2, 3, 4 I can't stand by They say the world is watching But I've got my doubts For every peaceful protest a knee in the back My whole lifetime Eclipsed in a single heartbeat Time was never on our side Stand by Someone else is working on it Go home--the streets are empty Go home and watch it on TV 1, 2, 3, 4 I can't stand by Well, I might be going too far But at least I'm going somewhere I cannot live on tomorrow's bread Well, I might be going too far But at least I'm going somewhere If you're a cog on a wheel then I'm a wrench
9.	Testaverde 03:47	lyrics
Intercepted again Bring on the defense Testaverde You got a bad rap Intercepted again You're bouncing passes Off the hands of stone men Intercepted again Put up the billboards You got a bad rap The fans can be so cruel You got a bad rap Testaverde You got a bad rap What more could you expect From a colorblind quarterback?
10.	Sea Shepherd 02:55	lyrics
1, 2, 3, 4 Pointing that harpoon at me And blowing fish all over the sea For all you animals marine We are the Royal Navy Eff your wine and cheese Enjoy your PCBs Taste that mercury And find you lost at sea Your vessel is our target No more whales to market No more dolphins slaughtered The ocean has a shepherd Pointing that harpoon at me And blowing fish all over D.C. For all you animals marine We are the Royal Navy Pointing that harpoon at me Now we watch you all on TV And now we're making history As whaling loses viability
11.	The Tree That Owns Itself 04:02	lyrics
My people are leaving Replaced by these buildings The Tree That Owns Itself Ambassador to humankind The Tree That Owns Itself My kingdom, uprooted Dust settles, I'm alone Mother says man and tree are siblings Begs man, "Don't forget the trees, son" Years pass, and the world is concrete Mother won't forget the treason Survivor, enshrined The Tree That Owns Itself Belongs to no one else Arboreal emancipation Underwhelming reparations
12.	Washington, DeCeit 02:29	lyrics
Welcome to Washington, DC Capital of the land of the free Can't you see the irony? In the hometown of democracy You can't even vote You're gonna hate it here, my dear We've got taxation, no representation You're gonna hate it here, my dear While the roof is caving in, the architects are cashing in When the next wave occupies the city Will we fight, torches aflame? Or will we heavy with self-pity Resignedly proclaim “You're gonna love it here, I fear This is your playground Feel free to throw your weight around” Welcome to Washington, DeCeit We've set a precedent: they don't have to meet Any minimum requirement for honesty, integrity All throughout the government there's no accountability Instead we get entitlement [while] they plunder the economy Would you still like to vote?

about

Recorded December 2009 at Treehouse Studio with Devin Ocampo
Mastered by Devin Ocampo

credits

released July 29, 2010

All songs by Möbius Strip

Andrew Etter: drums, voices
Mark Kennedy: strings, voices
Pitt Stains: strings, voices, artwork

Insert photo by William Rivas-Rivas

Left Out Records LO1