1. |
73 Capri
02:52
|
|||
|
Sometimes you luck out with things you afford
But nothing's conventional when you are poor
The case of my first car, a Mercury Capri
It was stock red from 1973
My mom found it for five hundred
from some old man who hardly drove it
It had one little tear on the driver's seat
but the rest of the car was perfect to me
It had a radio and an 8 track deck
I would go to thrift stores and have my pick
of nothing that was popular then
Things like Stevie Wonder and Parliament
I found some Santana, Led Zepplin
And some Sly Stone at the back of the bin
I would drive around town for no reason
but to imagine myself in the seventies again
Although this car didn't attract no girls
when I drove it to school I was still on top of the world
I would always park it the furthest away
to prevent any scratches or dents in the day
Then one morning one of my peers
was coming up quickly in my rear view mirror
In his blue Beamer crashed my Capri
that beautiful red car that was precious to me
|
||||
2. |
Sketch of a Man
02:58
|
|||
|
I was born the 24th of May and of course
I came into this life without blame
and now I'm forty seven, looking for a heaven
Where I won't always have to clear my name
The fact I'm Mexican or a musician
people make assumptions about me
I am tired of being told, I'm getting much too old
to do the the thing that I love and need.
Give me music, give me love
Give me strength to rise above
All the obstacles I know will come my way
you know life after all, is a case of rise and fall
if I fall again I hope I don't break
|
||||
3. |
Film I've Never Seen
02:59
|
|||
|
As I look back now, I think of you and I
kissing underneath the football field lights.
The San Fernando Valley in 1985
You were my first love and I was your first time
Born in Ensenada, crossed the border as a kid
I promised her I'd never talk about it
You told me of Mexico, the desert and the sea
The beauty of my people and the blood inside of me
I never learned Spanish, even though you would try
You would say, "comprende" I'd nod and I lie
Born in Ensenada, crossed the border as a kid
I promised her I'd never talk about it
I started playing football with the white boys and getting high
I never got a chance to say goodbye
Ooh, Ooh
It was the middle of the school year when they took you away
something about illegals being swept up in a raid
I never saw you again, your memory is a dream
a fading summer mist, a film I never seen.
|
||||
4. |
Ruthensmear
03:18
|
|||
|
Chuck found out from a friend
that Pat Smear is looking for a band
to promote his new record coming out on SST.
He told me I should tag along and try out on the bass
I'm pretty sure no one else tried out but me.
And that's the way we became Ruthensmear.
We played some good shows around LA
and took it on the road,
where I'm not sure the understood
where we were trying to go.
They wanted the Germs we gave them Queen
or something in between.
Some were amazed but most got pissed so we had to end the show.
And that's the way it was in Ruthensmear.
It's probably why we lasted only 2 years.
A brand new generation didn't care that hardcore died in 85.
Too young to see the Germs then here's a chance to see Pat live.
They wanted to do damage, they needed something with energy
when we started playing "Sahara Hotel" it drove the young punks crazy.
God forbid Pat move on. The Germs were in his past.
Plus the scene was getting violent. How much longer could that last?
Here was Ruthensmear
Here was Ruthensmear
We were Ruthensmear
Here was Ruthensmear
We played the Teaser with Celebrity Skin,
The Happy House and Al's then.
We played the Scream with Wire
and the Fall at John Anson Ford
But our final show at Zombie Zoo
I somehow knew we were through,
when Pat took off his guitar to hit a kid who heckled us.
And that's the way it ended for Ruthensmear
That's the way it ended for Ruthensmear.
|
||||
5. |
Kim Pilkington
05:20
|
|||
|
I remember that first night, in North Hollywood at the Palomino
The Love Dolls were playing with Revolution 409
And Dave was showing movies on a sheet
I remember you playing a white SG.
You were looking like a rock star to me.
I never would of guessed we would end up one night
I never would of guessed you'd be the one.
The next time that I saw you, you were playing another show
In some abandoned warehouse near south central
I went with a friend, who wanted to see Jennifer I wanted to see Abby
She was great on the bass, and so was Janet on the drums
and Jennifer was singing at the top of her lungs
After the show my friend and Jennifer split
they suggested that I go with you and help with your amp.
We headed west on the 10.
We really didn't say much because we just met.
plus I was only eighteen and pretty green
and you were a rocker with a decade on me.
We pulled up to your apartment, somewhere near Venice Beach
I can tell that we were close to there because the fog made it hard to see
and after we got your equipment inside, then we tried to figure out where I would sleep
You put me on the couch and turned off the lights
I focused on a Hendrix poster as we talked through the night
and after a while you invited me into your room
and I thank you Kim Pilkington for letting me in.
I awkwardly told you, I loved you.
At the moment I probably meant it but then I knew
when you looked at me in disbelief I realized we were the same
neither of us heard those words and it felt kind of strange.
We lasted several weeks before my buddies got concerned
When we saw you as "Alexandria" with a needle in your arm
I broke it off and you got pissed and didn't understand why
I never got a chance to explain myself before you died.
and now I think about that random time that I saw you
at the hollywood billiards and I tried to wave at you
I guess it was my only chance to show my gratitude
and I thank you Kim Pilkington for letting me in
I thank you Kim Pilkington for letting me in.
|
||||
6. |
Used-Ta Believe
03:50
|
|||
|
The neighborhood is real quiet
supposed to be 90 degrees
the say to expect Santa Anas
when we were wishing for breeze
Vin Scully's on the radio
talking about Fernando
La Plebe is feeling real good
About where the Dodgers could go.
I use-ta believe
everything would stay the same
I could I conceive
anything would ever change
My dad is grilling carne asada
us kids are drinking kool-aid
He said to grab him a chela
so he don't burn the steak
I use-ta believe
everything would stay the same
I could I conceive
anything would ever change
Danny's under his ranfla
His brother Victor's under the hood
La jefita just brought them horchata
Carucha is looking real good
I use-ta believe
everything would stay the same
I could I conceive
anything would ever change
|
||||
7. |
The Havenhurst
04:30
|
|||
|
I wake up to the answering machine another prank by Jeff and Steve
Why else would Pam De Barres be calling our phone
I wake up it's10 after eight It's probably way too late
To catch a ride to chatsworth to my job at Pacific Coast
I try to come up with an excuse
It really ain't much use because anything I say Mike won't believe me.
Tate's got to get to school, Victor's got rehearsal
I wonder what the guys from "I Love You" are doing today?
I lay my head back down, I can hear Victor's shuffling around
to try and find some CDs he can sell at Renee's
and then I hear a cupboard slam, someone ate Vinnie's Golden Grahams. Four guys in a studio there's not much to eat.
At the Hayvenhurst, At the Hayvenhurst
The Hayvenhurst was the first place on our own
Away from home
Roaches run when you hit the lights. water falls down rusty pipes
today it's at a standstill because the building has gone dry
one time I left the spigot on, forgot and they turned the water back on
It flooded our apartment and Rick Wilder's in 105
He came out like he was dead, I knew it was him because someone said,
they once gave him a ride to Alvarado to get his fix
from the Havenhurst, from the Havenhurst
The Hayvenhurst was the first place on our own
Away from home
The building may be run down,but the roof top view was the best around
We'd climb up there and watch the smog turn the sky from brown to gold
The colors coming from the west as the big ole sun would go to rest
A Los Angeles sunset is something to behold.
There's no place I would rather be , on our own young and free
working on our music and the friendships we would keep.
At the Hayvenhurst, At the Hayvenhurst
The Hayvenhurst was the first place on our own
Away from home
|
||||
8. |
Sins Of The Father
02:41
|
|||
|
I'm Mexican American born and raised right here
Just when things just might progress it gets swallowed up by fears
people pointing fingers and trying to scapegoat me
but you can't turn back the hands of time or twist reality.
History has warned of what is to come
The Sins of the Father keep falling on the son
On the streets I see violence, loneliness and despair
The circle keeps on going around and no one seems to care
They pit us against each other, the poor against the poor
don't matter if you are brown or white you're picking crumbs off the floor.
We got to change our way of thinking start making things right
too many of us brother are being taken in the night
History has warned of what is to come
The Sins of the Father keep falling on the son
The border states of this country are as much ours as their yours
Our fathers picked your harvests and died in your wars
and now your here judging me for the color of my skin
While were both getting played right here just like violins
We got to change our way of thinking start making things right
too many of us brother are being taken in the night
History has warned of what is to come
The Sins of the Father keep falling on the son
|
||||
9. |
The Cage
03:53
|
|||
|
You tried to ruin my life even though we had fun
you succeeded with many and some now are gone
so many years now I defended the game
justifying my every move and not feeling no shame
priding myself on not missing a beat
not admitting the next day I was feeling defeat
was I unconscious or was I right there
was it fun or destrutive? Just not being aware
Four decades later, I think of the day
I longed for my father who'd gone away
Upon a visit I noticed the cage
That he's remained in and there he has aged
I wonder if I am there as well?
and can I escape it? It's tough to tell
reality sets in, addiction is cruel
when it rears it's ugly head you feel like a fool
I never will forget that ice cold night
When I was stuck in traffic behind hundreds of lights
Trying to find my girl who lost her way
from years of drowning in her own pain.
The snow makes everything look exact
A deadly combo when her mind went black
trying to not let worry turn into rage
In my van at a stand still I was suddenly caged.
|
||||
10. |
Simi Valley
05:30
|
|||
|
On a trip to Grant's pass in a bar sitting next to me
was a guy from my hometown Simi Valley.
We talked about cool places. We talked about the schools we went.
He told me all about his days of glory.
And I wondered if I had any
Simi Valley in the seventies was a beautiful place to be.
Orchards of avocados and orange trees.
We were free to ride horses around or motorcycles tearing up the ground
of the property of J Paul Getty.
It would all change in the eighties.
Nothing trickled down like Reagan said for my family.
And things got to my old man
He left us all broke and my mom with no job and us to feed.
I don't know how we survived we stuck together and got our stride
Survived with the basic needs
Junior High I made it through but High School was extra cruel
politics with basketball got to me.
I knew I'd never leave the bench the coaches son and all his friends
played private leagues together since they were ten.
So I quit the game and grew my hair long instead.
I fell into the counter culture eating punk and metal like a vulture
in my bands "Decaying Flesh" and "Mutant Army".
We freed our minds, we freed out thoughts that suburban norms seem to rot in a town of conservatives we were policed.
Even jocks and straight edge skinheads felt the need to corner us thinking we were smoking weed.
I graduated and moved away from "Anywhere USA" which Simi Valley became so I left.
There were strip malls with department stores, track homes with a golf course. The kind of town people move to feel safe.
But from whom and what are they trying to feel safe?
When I lived there I didn't feel that way
And then one day Rodney King was beaten down by four police
and the whole thing was caught on tape.
They moved the trial to Simi Valley where a biased jury had to tally all the reasons these four could go free.
And they rioted in the streets of LA
and the infamy of Simi Valley remains
|
||||
If you like Freddy Trujillo, you may also like:
Cycles of Existential Rhyme
by Chicano Batman
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jan 14, 2014
go to album
Slights Still Unspoken (Selected Recordings 1978-1979)
by Voigt/465
A compilation of rollicking cuts from this Australian post-punk band that plays like a hybrid of the Velvets and the Stooges.
go to album
Co Own & Operate Your Local Supermarket NOW!! (Single)
by Old table
New York's best indie rock band returns with an instantly-singable song about collective ownership and empowerment.
go to album
Move To The Trees
by Winter McQuinn
Winter McQuinn mixes soft rock and psychedelic folk for a sound reminiscent of classic pop purveyors like Cut Worms and the Lemon Twigs.
go to album
Colourless Green Ideas
by Misty Lanes
Psych-rock from Sydney with hints of ’60s pop in its fluttering melodies and twinkling instrumentation.
go to album
Rundgren-esque rock with big hooks and a hint of the baroque, recommended for fans of Jon Brion and post-Kill Rock Stars Elliott Smith.
go to album
Juxtaposing poetic balladry with roaring feedback and warped piano lines, the Vermonter's music is as stunning as it is unsettling.
go to album
