the singing painters : set one

The Singing Painters had concert in croxhapox at March Saturday 22nd. The concert had two sets containing most of the songs that TSP performed from 1998 to 2008.
After the split in 2010, when Michaël Borremans left the original trio, Merlyn (d) and Laura van (vocals, organ, electric piano) had some free jazz focused concerts, hardly containing any lyrics at all, apart from of an extremely violent version of George performed early 2013. More recently however The Singing Painters once again perform from The Songbook. Free jazz rhythm and sound experiments are added but always in such way that it needs to add a convenient spasm to the lyric.
Some of the major songs, such as Each Day Pasolini Died and Embryo Dictaphone, later on Gerhard as well, were built on the guitar of Michaël. The twisted rhythm of Embryo Dictaphone though, for most of it built on a reckless counterpoint of the rhythm section, is even without Michaël's guitar still what it used to be.
This entry takes the lyrics of the first set of the March Saturday 22nd concert at croxhapox.

Merlyn Paridaen: drum, percussion, vocals.
Laura van: lyrics, vocals, electric organ.
Video: Jelle Clarisse.
Editing work: Cristina Amelia Candea.

OCEAN (2000)

the darkness came from the ocean
a lang narrow path along the south edge of a sunlit rock
houses
people walking along the narrow path
latin music from a radio recorder
tiny little voices
as a fingerprint on a stroke of daylight

people swarm around her eyeballs huge and distant
but likewise so close
she could have been each of them
voices hurry through the narrow gap
through a narrow gap voices hurry

not one by one : a melodic swarm a gelatinous melody
swarming gossip in between footstep filled with shadow
shoulder next to shoulder
brain next to brain
someone tapping her forehead on the table
next to somone tapping forehead on the table

and my darkness above that sudden movement
huge and heavy as a reddish rock
blood made a triangular move
one eye opened and a tear came out
quite suddenly
just as noiseless as a trigger

EACH DAY PASOLINI DIED (1998)

heard courtney love on mtv she said she said
something about identity crisis
i don't care i don't care identity who cares

chorus
each day pasolini died wrote one more poem
one more poem one more poem about who cares
each day pasolini wrote one more poem died
one more poem one more poem about who cares

who the fuck killed pasolini no one knows
no one knows anything yeah shoot sparrows
and listen the sound it makes

chorus
i guess some care the blood
i guess some care that poetry
i guess some care any sound it make
prime time boulevard
i guess some care the goddamn shit

chorus

EMBRYO DICTAPHONE (1999)

the countryside has its secrets secrets
the countryside has its secrets secrets
landscape has secrets
like women have like women have
(and poetry)
(and luggage) and luggage and luggage and luggage
like nostrils have and i do
and i do
like wrens have and cupboards
and cupboards
and cupboards
and cupboards

cupboards have secrets secrets
handkerchief seems to smile
wallets disappear

the blind man incalculates silence

the countryside has its secrets secrets
landscape has secrets
landscape has secrets like women have
like women have
(and poetry)
(and luggage) and luggage and luggage and luggage

PIG VALLEY (2002)

pig valley is a small county
but we got a lot of pigs
naturally some human variaties too
the chicks are brooding and a dog barks how you do how you do
fine
really who cares a goddamn fuck this is prime time valley
the pigs are familiar with valley lifestyle
eating other pigs and prime time roasted chick
pig valley is a small county
we have a way of living prime time share pussy badge
no gods around
trees only and pigs and farms and me
naturally some human varieties too

the government has been brooding on treating people with music and movie stars
the government has been brooding on treating people with art
the government has been brooding on treating people with culture
cheap residence in some nearby brushwood
animal well-fare takes care of the more delicate stuff
we need stories don't we
that's the way it always had to be

FIVE MORE MINUTES (1998)
dedicated to thomas broadbent

a bottle of wine moving across the table
and two or even three fingers next to it
the house is slightly reddish
and you look like a shadow
and the bottle is empty smile smile

get along in a whirlwind of songs
you are so precious and airplane crashes
and third world war next to no one's door
and you slightly reddish a shadow
far-off naked horsemen buried

specks of sunlight on the wall
soms artist moves aroud and got alive
fruits with brown specks night opens wide
tits like fruits next to each other
genitals glued to bones in a shade of hurries

kiss on my forehead say goodbye tom is waiting
to drive you in his golden car waves
and in a yellow tree your only shadow left
a bird-beak licking vertigo of hours
and moonlight on our graves

five minutes yeah that much about trouble
actors move in and shakespeare fabulous
that famous sentence five more minutes
a bottle of wine moving across the table
and two or even three fingers next to it

song is over

and bottle's empty smile
smile smile

IMPORTANT ARTISTS /2/ (2007)

1. An artist needs to be humble, his work is never that important.
2. The system is not the image. The image is free.
3. Everyhting looks like art, it's the goddamn end of art.
4. Maybe an artist shouldn't be an artist. What's the point?
5. Without a complete arsehole even wouldn't have an arse.
6. The image is free. The system is not the image.

BAD DRIVIN' (1998)

2000 generations in fron of the evening news
and after news 2000 more

if you don't wanna die you got to be dead

mary please don't yell bart shut up
upstairs sweethearts brush your teeth and go to bed

if you don't wanna die you got to be dead

french english dutch incest the same
don't bother sweetheart spell me your name

if you don't wanna die you got to be dead

religion one killing more
brother jesus hanging naked in front of the door

if you don't wanna die you got to be dead

2000 generations in a living-room
on the point of discovering 2000 more

and the good news: on the point to conquer america
and the bad news: conquered yet

if you don't wanna die you got to be dead

don't yell please mary bart shut up
upstairs sweethearts upstairs go to bed

if you don't wanna die you got to be dead

BRAIN DUST (1998)

likin' your woodenware... david? ... jack? jack?
likin' your woodenware... david? ... jack? jack?
how are you liking your woodenware, david
jack? how are you liking david's woodenware, jack
jack, david? ... jack?
and my woodenware, david? ... david? ... jack?
how do you feel about it, david? ... david?
jack? ... david? ... jack? ... jack! ... jack???
tremendous! it's it's it's tremendous! tremendous!
it's it's it's it's it's woodenware, david ... david? ... david? jack?
how you like david's woodenware, jack ... jack?
and what about you, mavis?
how do you feel about david's woodenware, mavis ...mavis?
and my woodenware, mavis... how you feel about my woodenware?
mavis?
... mavis???
it's it's it's it's tremendous! it's it's tremendous! tremendous!
likin' your woodenware, david? ... jack? ... jack??? ... mavis?
likin' your woodenware, jack? ... mavis? david? david? mavis?
... jack?

SAD SONG (2003)

i burnt the table / i burnt the girl (x4)
no one there / there's (there's / there's) no one / no one / anywhere
i burnt waiting
burnt the table / burnt the girl (x2)
went for a walk / did some talk
i burn a table / i burn the girl (x2)
(there's) there's / no one / no one / anywhere
some of the work has been sold
some of the talk has been told
i burnt the table / i burnt the girl (x2)
burnt time / burnt gold / burnt her wedding / burnt getting old
there's that girl / there's a man
there's some habit / the table / a girl
there's a lot i know / there's a lot i don't
there's a lot i want / there's a lot i can't
i burnt the table / i burnt the girl
i burnt the work / i burnt the woods
i burnt a lot of single goods
burnt a finger / burnt her wings / burnt a brain
said never again (x2)
burn that shadow never again (x2)