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Icarus Iterations

by Letters From Traffic

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1.
Dirty 05:04
DIRTY (Give Them Me) Your names are precious give them me, give them me Your eyes they shine Give them me Your fruits are bursting with the promise of nectar dribbles down my chin, hangs just a moment before it stains my shirt . . . See I want to get dirty, dirty I want to make a mess I want to leave a permanent mark staying out after dark I won’t settle for less Gonna put em on notice, notice the folks drawing all the lines gonna color outside in scribbles nice and wide you can take it as a sign of the times All of your dark secrets, give them me All your heavy habits, give them me All of your downward spirals, let it be Don’t fight no more, it’s alright ‘cause every day needs a night... All of your dark secrets, give them me All your heavy habits, give them me All of your downward spirals, let it be Don’t fight no more, it’s alright ‘cause every day needs a night... They got you holed up, cold-cocked, shell-shocked, locked down, wound up tight Just trying to put it to the question before we put it to the flame I think it’s worth another look if you’re living by the book thinking I’m the one to blame So you got a box of old bones in your closet on your shelf You know, the things you try to hide, they rot you inside don’t blame me, you do it to yourself All of your dark secrets, give them me All your heavy habits, give them me All of your downward spirals, let it be Don’t fight no more, it’s alright ‘cause every day needs a night... Oo, give them me.
2.
Nova 04:50
NOVA (51/49) Sitting, waiting for the sun to go nova so I don't have to get a full time job 'Cause what cat wouldn't rather watch his world go to hell than spend his life working like a dog? It's clear by now I'll pay for all my patience sketching my mysteries, etching these lines into my face Don't suppose you'll believe me when I claim it’s evolution, lord the next great leap of the human race? Ahead of the pack Lead engine on the railroad track You can keep your design I didn't start the revolution but I'm making it mine When 51 say 49 are crazy 'cause they can't agree on the proper price of freedom we must trade for our security then it's fences versus fields, crashes versus yields and who can blame those shameless sharks for their backroom deals? But when the sun burns up, and then explodes and we'll greet the goat at the final crossroads he'll snatch up every sin we've known, cruel, cold, and overblown But,oh, this cat will take his back this cat will take his back this cat will take his back ‘cause I don't believe in no Spring Heeled Jack, no I'm ahead of the pack Lead engine on the railroad track You can keep your design 'cause I'm using mine this time If I had the faith I'd find a way to cast my demons out today move my mind beyond the crowd raise my voice and cry out loud and clear "This cat's done waiting here This cat's done, this cat's done…" I'm ahead of the pack Lead engine on the railroad track You can keep your design 'cause I'm using mine this time… They won't get the best of me No, not this time Not this time This time.
3.
HELICOPTER EYES If I asked her for the method to her madness she would smile and then fade away I guess she thinks she must sacrifice her happiness to play her politician games She whispers wrath while we make our love but I never let it get me down ‘Cause the truth comes out in the morning hours when I call her by her secret name Still she feels paranoid that I might take her by surprise So she runs the risk of having helicopter eyes There she falls again There she falls . . . What I’d like the most walking along the windswept coast is to take her by her little hand To show her all the wonders of the ground beneath her feet but her eyes are skyward Feeling this way it’s not revolutionary but seeing her standing there could just change everything about me Still she feels paranoid that I might take her by surprise So she runs the risk of having helicopter eyes There she falls again There she falls down to the ground This time I’ll be there to catch her She runs away into the blue night Stakes a claim in the moonlight Shakes the shadows creeping up behind her She disappears Now no one can find her Still she feels paranoid that I might take her by surprise So she runs the risk of having helicopter eyes There she falls again There she falls down to the ground This time I’ll be there . . . . . . to catch her
4.
The Shag 04:53
THE SHAG (Love You Right) I never asked for these sandstone memories No use today fine detail worn away Still I am carrying probably bury me in it Dead weight straightjacket pyrites packed in the pockets All I'm asking for a little reciprocity Down here on the floor with no soul to satisfy me Eternally waiting my turn stone cold prone on the shag Don’t mean to bemoan my fate probably just something I ate Clock keeps creeping on Seed, blood, dust, then gone Washed away in the water Time is a mob, won’t give you no quarter It's just us crucifying ourselves Shelf life, half-life, divided in twelves Each slice ain't coming back Damn this train and its one-way track All I'm asking for a little reciprocity Down here on the floor with no soul to satisfy me Eternally waiting my turn stone cold prone on the shag Don’t mean to bemoan my fate just curious if you could relate The endless iterations complicate it so This passion play, these stations of the - cross my heart you’ll never know which of us wasn't shaken down Sporadically breakin' down Faking the cool when our pride was straight taken down You see, it's not so easy to love you right I have to put up a fight To love you right I have to put up a fight To love you right I have to put up a fight You see it’s not so easy to love you right Have to put up a fight
5.
City Ways 04:18
CITY WAYS (The Sad Crowd) Considering all the time I wandered ‘round this town of cards, you’d think I’d not quite feel so alien. But here I am all thick-skin grey, slick dark eyes just staring away. Nothing to drink, nothing to say, but I slither in my leather through the sad crowd anyway. Try my best to remember their names. Just play along with their old guard games. Meet Joe and Laurie and Angie and Ben. Repeat the same boring story again and again and again and a… You know the one where I find myself - lost in the urban maze - Tossed to the rocks in my black flack-jacket and my big city ways. Home coming - Ain’t I the fortunate one. Rome’s humming with the promise of the prodigal son. Still I’m just a jack trying to make my money stack; Pack my guitar in a gunnysack, ‘til I’m on my way, I ain’t coming back. I could wax poetic about what gets me high - Gazing up at tiled reflections of sky. I could try to define what it means to me - This evolution through population density. But behind the façade of an alien thing burns the ember of a future king. I keep it under cap - my secret thunderclap - and I’m wondering why the hell I put up with this, up with this shit. . . Home coming - Ain’t I the fortunate one. Rome’s humming with the promise of the prodigal son. Still I’m just a jack trying to make my money stack; Pack my guitar in a gunnysack, ‘til I’m on my way, I ain’t coming back.
6.
Minotaur 04:33
MINOTAUR (Icarus Iterations) Turn my face to the terrible sun These wings of mine they work just fine I can fly so high without even tryin' Sure hot today, but that’s the price that I pay Light so damn bright, kinda feels like I’m melting away Oh, these days almost forget about the minotaur and the maze Escapes my attention my own invention Did I ever mention to see that minotaur and me we're merely halves of a whole? Can't shake him, no He follows wherever I go Saw it in the news tonight Another son fell out of the sky Said it was a moving sight poor kid must've forgot how to fly Well, fools will prosper 'til they get too complicated then Fate's to blame Poor kid, can't remember his name You and I almost forget about the minotaur and the maze It's crazy to think that we might take it tonight, shake it tonight, make it tonight See, that minotaur and me we’re splitting the best of soul Can't shake him, no He follows wherever I go How safe can anywhere be when the Minotaur's in me? How safe can anywhere be when the Minotaur's in me?
7.
Whispers 05:08
WHISPERS She was never really with me She was just a dream keeping me awake Paid for by the pressing need to feel some fantasy in my documentary And, oh, it’s over now And such a long way to go Could we ever really get there? I don’t know ‘Cause I have whispers in my way though I try to leave ‘em all behind I have whispers in my way though I try to leave ‘em all behind I have whispers in my way though I try to leave ‘em all . . . And I’m no soldier in these plain clothes No one knows what I’m fighting Sitting silent like the master but I’m just trying to find some peace of mind I don’t know what to do with all these wishes that didn’t come true But it’s over now and such a long way to go Could we ever really get there? I don’t know ‘Cause I have whispers in my way though I try to leave ‘em all behind I have whispers in my way trying hard to find some peace of mind I have whispers in my way though I try to leave ‘em all . . . And I’m no soldier in these plain clothes No one knows What I’m fighting ‘Cause I have whispers in my way though I try to leave ‘em all behind
8.
A HOLDING LIGHT It’s easy in the world today to let it all fade away to the dark with stars in our eyes heavy clouds in the skies and the shadows fall hard on your heart Sometimes it feels like I’m taking on water tremble and totter I’m tipping toward the black drinking the cold sinking so low I might be never coming back As the day burns away the blue turns to grey Hyperion surrenders to the night . . . everybody knows just before it goes there’s a holding light . . . Sure, just take a look around you know the nightwolves are bound to pull some weak ones down but if it’s you they’re coming for this time damn them and their line you got to keep the fight with all of your might just reach out your hand and remember that light and hold on, hold on, hold. . . As the day burns away the blue turns to grey Hyperion surrenders to the night , , , everybody knows just before it goes there’s a holding light . . . to help you to get through alright
9.
Ever Closer 03:35
EVER CLOSER Moonlight sculpt your skin smooth and precious like porcelain Ringlets falling down like rain draw me in to share a soft refrain Creeping like pilgrims through ecstasies Seeking communion on our knees Ever closer when we make the scene Redefine reasons for ghost in these bones the blood between Dim the lights lock the door Ever closer when we make the scene Salt water hits my face paints my skin until her sainted ink is finally sinking in But my mouth can't say no prayer Bated of breath when we're almost there Creeping like pilgrims through ecstasies Seeking communion on our knees Starry-eyed, sanctified and shaking like leaves Washing our sins away in primal seas Ever closer when we make the scene Redefine reasons for rest of my life what came before Redefine everything this animal brain this selfish gene Dim the lights lock the door Ever closer when we make the scene
10.
No Devil 05:09
NO DEVIL Were you there when the money came tumbling down like the tower of Babel? Did you wade into battle with your fist in the air? When your neighborhood crumbled did you even care? Or were you waiting on holy hands to bear you to the sky - nothing left but to turn your back when the fire burns so goddam high? If you're running out the clock with a conscience pure as snow What if there's a tomorrow? I don’t need no devil to tell me what I should be tempted by. Don’t need no heaven or hell to sell me a season of penance for asking why. My, my, my… Were you there after the TVs all went grey - like they had nothing to say? Did you wake up then or are you sleeping still? Are you filtering all you feel through a pill? Are you hunting witches, raping riches Digging ditches to bury your head? Is that your claw that clutches, takes what it touches? Or is that just the cruel world such as it is? Or were you waiting on holy hands to bear you to the sky - nothing left but to turn your back when the fire burns so goddam high? If you're running out the clock with a conscience pure as snow What if there's a tomorrow? I don’t need no devil to tell me what I should be tempted by. Don’t need no heaven or hell to sell me a season of penance for asking why. Sure we dream of the end sometimes - hoary echo of a trumpet keening somewhere in the distance. To know, to lay this burden down at last To wake up To wake up To wake up To wake up To wake up I should To wake up be a To wake up good little boy To wake up go back to sleep
11.
Lazarus 03:27
LAZARUS Well, the cave was dark and smelled of must. The only sight in the latern light was motes of dust. Then a deep deep sigh on a slab of cold stone... old friend with leaded lids and lying prone. I said, “Lazarus, time to clear your head. You been staying still like you’re already dead. Just rise to your feet - let me show you the way. The one trick to the game I play: you gotta live it like you got one more day.” So we exit through the gift shop, head back to the hotel. On the front steps stand record reps begging for a slice of the soul we sell. Well, in this and most realities where cool cats cut grooves like these, you gotta put up if you want to get down. Looks like the word’s getting out we ain’t fooling around. I said, “Lazarus, time to clear your head. You been laying low as though you’re already dead. Just rise to your feet - let me show you the way. The one trick to the game I play: you gotta live it like you got one more... one more... one more day." Lazarus, time to clear your head. You been laying low as though you’re already dead. Rise to your feet - let me show you the way. The one trick to the game I play: you gotta live it like you got one more... one more... one more day.
12.
MY CATS TAIL My cat’s tail is curved like a question mark Though he doesn’t understand what that means to a cat like me He just sits on the windowsill staring at the blue, blue sky He’s probably thinking about Eastern philosophy Lord, it seemed so easy to believe in anything, oh, when I was young A flash of light could make the demon go away, magic was a fact, and I hoped that I might fly someday But now I challenge anyone to stand upon their faith and make the case for me beyond a doubt, iron all my theories out Well, straighten up these questing curves Calm the sea with certainty and offer me enlightenment And I would believe I would give up these pragmatic tendencies Oh and I would play to that Absolute everyday My cat sighs in the middle of the night lying in a shaft of window light I guess I envy him sometimes ‘cause he just seems so content in dreams But he can’t even go outside He’s a prisoner –never has to make up his own mind Well, well. I guess that’s one cozy way to make in this crazy world, but what’s the price of his advice, when... If I could believe I would give up these pragmatic tendencies Oh and I would play to that Absolute everyday My cat’s tail is curved like a question mark though he doesn’t understand what that means to a cat like me He just sits on the windowsill staring at the blue, blue sky He’s probably thinking about chasing the birds flying by

about

LETTERS FROM TRAFFIC | ICARUS ITERATIONS

...wings & horns. flying & falling. failing & trying again.
Herein are chronicled escape attempts, mad dashes for dreams,
tumbles into the sea, and awakenings washed up on shore.
An offer of grace to ourselves in these half-drowned moments
is the surest path to fresh wisdom & possibility.

To be ICARUS is to fly wild, blind from stars in our eyes,
dismissing experience and a healthy grasp of tools,
misunderstanding the nature of our destination
and the radical opportunity of the journey.

Through our ITERATIONS, we learn to pierce the veil.
each attempt at egress carries another whisper
of freedom, another border wiped from the map
we’ve used to find our way, another primal
shedding of skin stretched tight & dry,
and the birth of a new self, ever closer
to transcending our private myths
of being lost, alone & incomplete.

For love, support, patience & endlessly
quieting the doubts in our heads
LETTERS FROM TRAFFIC offers special
thanks to NICOLE, JUNIPER & OLIVE,
TANIA & LIAM, TIMBER, NOELLE, CHRISTINA,
KATHLEEN, JESS, RYAN, PAULINE, AARON,
KEVIN, CRISTINA, JON-PAUL, CONRAD,
LORI, LINDA & MARK, TBASA, CASPER, DAN
and all our FANS, FRIENDS and FAMILY
who have SHOWN UP for us big time. Seriously.

credits

released December 6, 2013

SCOTT created the songs, story and design. DENNIS composed MINOTAUR. LETTERS FROM TRAFFIC made the music. Share your
Probably Slightly Less Boring Than Working with us at inspirado@lettersfromtraffic.com.

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Letters From Traffic Seattle, Washington

Letters From Traffic is a Seven-Piece Seattle Rock and Soul Phenomenon featuring soul-sweetened vocals, fresh horns, hot guitars, kickass grooves, and life-shaking lyrics. Original songs layer trumpet, trombone, saxophone, vocal-harmony, lead & rhythm guitars, bass and drums. Contagiously moveable, inspiringly anthemic, or just dirty and fun, Letters From Traffic is always quality, always true. ... more

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