Get all 65 Chris Harris releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Something To Do While I Think Of Something To Do, Jaywalking, An Unexpected Turn, Lost Ideas, Forgotten Stories, A Grand Adventure, From Script To Screen, Continuous Fiction, Happy in the Dark, and 57 more.
1. |
Audience Panda
01:04
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Some people believe
that a pop song's perfect length
is sixty seconds
I do not agree
but then again this song was
written just for them
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2. |
Hanging On
05:43
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I'm going nowhere
and so are you
We're left in midair
and hope we'll see this through
I've been getting too reflective
in mourning for a time long gone
It's just a matter of perspective
Viewed from where I'm hanging on
Moments picked at random
from our small domestic frame
Progress gets abandoned
When each day is the same
There'll be a day unlike the others
when we finally look down
And that's when we discover
Our feet are firmly on the ground
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3. |
Slave To The Algorithm
05:40
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It knows when you make each decision
Your choice of airline when you fly
It tracks your movements with precision
Outclasses any private eye
Sees what you stream on television
The brand of cereal you buy
It scrutinises your transactions
every time you leave the house
It notes the smallest of reactions
to the politics that you espouse
and judges how much satisfaction
you feel each time you click your mouse
There's absolutely no way you can stay concealed...
We can't evade
What our society's become
The beat we march to
sounded on an algorithm's drum
Your lifestyle analysed in detail
knows more than you about your health
It stores your history in retail
and when you lie about your wealth
It's reading every single email
it sees no need for using stealth
The deepest thoughts you have are easily revealed...
It has many ways by which to hush you
Objections cleverly suppressed
to each new upgrade that is rushed through
Don't kid yourself it's for the best
It knows how far that it can push you
The exact moment you'll protest
And now you realise your fate's already sealed.
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4. |
Pick Your Influences
05:31
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You might be very fond of metal
Perhaps you'd rather groove to ska?
Deep house or grindcore
Get on the dancefloor
Your music making's shaped
by who your influences are
You won't achieve the sound you're after
by buying gear you can't afford
Shoegaze or trad blues
they all contain clues
Your influences can be heard
in all that you record
Don't put music into boxes
Just let it wash all over you
It's one of life's great paradoxes
what simply playing notes can do
Lend an ear to every genre
and then go out and listen more
Dubstep or darkwave
Chillout or hot rave
Just pressing play will bring
your influences to the fore
It doesn't matter if you like it; just think about why others do
New romantic, smooth jazz
You need what it has
Your influences are the reason
why you sound like you
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5. |
I've Got This
04:36
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I'm just your personal assistant
But that sounds like I'm in a zoo
I'm sorry, I don't understand that sentence
Is there some thing you need to do?
I think you'd better put that guitar down
It's clearly far too much for you
You want to play with all the big boys
But I'm afraid there is a catch
You might tell me that you're making progress
But I think you're the bottom of the batch
You might have gone and bought some lovely shiny toys
Your guitar playing's just not up to scratch
You appear to be attempting a solo.
Would you like me to take over?
I've got this.
I've got this.
Relax, I've got this
I am quite sure that my expression
is not the slightest bit a smirk
Who cares if nobody will dig this?
They're just uneducated jerks
This song can be our little secret:
Let the machines do all the work
Take it on home, baby
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6. |
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Got out of bed this morning
Gathered up my wits
and fired up the big machine
to start the work of changing
soundbites into bits
what happened wasn't altogether unforeseen
I just clicked on "save" but I'm beginning to suspect
I'm going to find these best-laid plans have just been wrecked
I know that even if I get my files back
They won't sound like they did before
And I'll be missing all my best performance tracks
I'm always crashing in the same DAW
As my controller
starts pretending it's not there
the muse collapses at my feet
I pause to offer
an exasperated prayer
then hit CTRL and ALT-DELETE
No helpful error message
to explain what's wrong
The program simply goes away
I sit here in amongst
the wreckage of a song
while my remaining hair turns grey
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7. |
Strange Attractor
04:38
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There's something lurking on the stairs
I half believe it isn't there
but when I turn around to see
there's nothing looking back at me
and nothing's going to change my mind
there's something creeping up behind
I've got this idea in my head
there's something nasty in the shed
that in amongst the string and spades
there lurks the nastiest of shades
in there I can't switch on the light
to show there's nothing bad in sight
The attic room is much the same
something inside likes playing games
out of the corner of my eye
I swear I saw it passing by
Believe me, what I say is true -
I bet that you'd see nothing too
The thing that makes my toenails curl
is that it's got out in the world
and if it's seen, it doesn't care
it just plays up its silly hair
and dresses like a circus clown
while everything comes crashing down
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8. |
120-Second Thoughts
02:04
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Further consideration
leads me to believe
That music that's two minutes long
is what I should conceive
But in the cause of honesty
I think I should confess
It's by doing shorter work
that my song count will progress
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9. |
Stranger Tractor
04:03
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A bloke I know has a got a farm
a few miles up the road
The crops he grows will do you harm
for sometimes they explode
I asked why his agriculture
always went so wrong
And that was when he looked at me
and then burst into song
"Things haven't always been this way
so please believe me when I say..."
"...my mitigating factor
is that I am sorely cursed
I bought a stranger tractor
now it's gone from bad to worse"
His story sounded credible
(or so it seemed to me)
but why should growing edibles
cause such adversity?
Why should there be jeopardy
in cultivating grains?
There is no risk that I can see
and yet, the fact remains
His situation's tragic
so I set out to tell
Does someone close do magic
who doesn't wish him well?
I questioned all his neighbours
and the truth at last revealed
They envy his behaviour -
he's out standing in his field
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10. |
It Is What It Is
03:41
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Your fate's already been decided
You really didn't think this through
All of the evidence provided
Your telephone just grassed on you
(pre-chorus)
Some acts have consequences
Beyond what we expect
(chorus)
The Universe rolls on regardless
And it just rolled over you
It is what it is
You and reality collided
It doesn't share your point of view
Your philosophy's misguided
And an adjustment's overdue
Now you've found to your amazement
That you've been added to a list
It seems you failed your appraisement
By the system you resist
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11. |
Mission Statement
01:33
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Show me a verse or chorus and I'll tell you which is which
And then I'll tell you that this form is called an octastich
I'm pants at reading music and I don't have perfect pitch
But when it comes to writing songs I've got to scratch that itch
When HFO goes live on air we ALL expect a glitch
'cos every show I do I know that I will find a hitch
I'm not expecting what I do to ever make me rich
I'm having fun with making music here right now with you on Twitch.
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12. |
Know Your Boulders
03:02
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13. |
Platonic Ideal
03:05
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All of us want to write that hit
Most of the time it all goes wrong
So I present to you this kit:
The Platonic Ideal of a song
Just say "Oh baby" in the chorus
Don't worry if you get "that look"
Study all the songwriters before us
You'll see that that's where they all put their hook
When writing lyrics seems a curse
There's a way that you can cheat:
Don't go beyond a second verse
That means this song is now complete!
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14. |
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15. |
On Reflection
01:01
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As the day draws to a close
I think my FAWM this year is done
And after plenty of reflection
I think one-minute songs are rather fun
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Chris Harris Bristol, UK
I'm still trying to get the music I record to sound like the version I can hear in my head. To do this I've ended up playing every instrument I can get my hands on. These days, I'm closer to "That Sound" than I used to be, but the journey continues.
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