Kill the Messenger, Keep the Message, by BEFORE BRAILLE

Kill the Messenger, Keep the Message

by BEFORE BRAILLE

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12 songs. Before Braille's intended full-length follow up to The Rumor. Impressive artwork package with slip cover and silver pantone overlay, designed by Jason Byron Nelson.

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1.	Thread the Line 03:31	lyrics	buy track
THREAD THE LINE Bow down to the limelight A footrest while they lean Swim laps around the bends Choose your own disease Mistakes come with grains of salt Nice to taste when not at fault It covers up and then dissolves. Wait! Can't settle down! Just feeling half as well as I fell out of sight Just in time to avoid land mines when limbs are loose If I'd lost my mind and my shine I'd be in line to follow you Until I thread the line Hush up, suck it up, let them take us Deep enough till we choke on intestines Spread legs & plagiarize Fed up, filled the gut with a sickness It’s cold enough so I’ll freeze up my symptoms They melt off with grains of salt So ante up, you bet your life on luck Wait! Can’t settle down! Just feeling half as well as I felt You know they say your haste makes waste Am I bound to pass you or be bound by you? Out of sight just in time Avoid headlines, and they will you I know who’s skin I’m under, a needle will fondle you And cut off your circulation. When I thread the line When I thread the line Define hook line and sinker when you come to Your condition is doubtful I thread the line between words and the things you do It’s the last time you wink to your friends.
2.	Subject Predicate 02:53	lyrics	buy track
SUBJECT PREDICATE Driving by your unlit house again See some bodies when I’m peeking in A little movement mixed with hesitance He’s got his hands on you Lean back in shadows so I can’t be seen Nervous shakes are fear and hate in me Against my nature, but very capably violent in defeat Take over, I’m falling fast Nose diving crash (Maybe for the best) Disorder, smeared aftermath Goodbye. Subtract. Getting closer, so I start to shake Feeling like the final choice is made Brought some chalk so I can mark their place Or white out their face The lights are out, so now I’m going in I’ll read a eulogy I wrote for them You know I’m only yelling to get through to you It’s over, I warned you I’d be stopping by (So you’d comply) He’s cowered and she’s begging to buy some more time You know they’ll say you weren’t at fault when you’re found (Or something more profound) You know where they need to look for you now…the ground! I’ll save your pieces, at least the pieces I recover (It’s not right tonight, it’s light) I can finally take a life to lead another (I’ll find - the sign - in time) You make me out like a man in the middle Man who is mental is a man with a mind You make me out like a man in the middle A man who is mental is a man with a mind You make me out like a man in the middle And man, I hate the middle! The moral: some choices cannot be stricken or erased from record If you want it that way, you should have tried to escape I would have given space for you to live.
3.	The Gathering 04:02	lyrics	buy track
THE GATHERING Shovel, come bury me Bind my hands & hold my feet Nobody’s coming, no one will dig me out Put the fear of blood in every pulse & ounce (I can’t believe I just said that) My resolve, keep me free I’ll try my luck, or let luck try me They think that they are winning by going in headfirst A head start for the hearse Nobody’s coming, keep swinging ropes unwound (Where dangling feet are found) If they can build you up, then they can tear you down (Like some wrecking ball, man. Set her down!) A medal for each heart you bereave (Nice try!) Absolved, rest assured the pardon you seek is nothing when something is brittle And soon crumbling (held tight!) Hands on a heart flat lining Why solve what’s proved in a battle We’ll have your head on a mantel The fittest depends on survival The rich get out quick when they’re liable A point of significance rests on a group of whims Give me a hand for a handle I’ll give it back when I’m stable Write it on your arm with ink that doesn’t bleed Hope it doesn’t wash off before it serves its need Gotta add some sand to stall the hourglass Confetti as serrated blades and loose skin for a map Be brave while your wound stings, clean first to scab Nothing's ever smooth, so it’s worth another stab Cutting in then held out by arthroscopy clamps Pros and cons tallied equally.
4.	Secret No.8 03:46	lyrics	buy track
SECRET NO.8 Persistent and flaunting, I’m fully aware The calling is haunting, but always fair Now heading upstairs, don’t blow your cover, heading upstairs alone Be careful, the bullet didn’t miss by much at all Specific and bashful, or nonchalant with despair More flippant than agile A secret we’ll share The finger was pointed at you The gun became the guest The finger gripped your life The gun did the rest You’re torn between affliction and the cure You’re torn between the price and the relevance You’d sworn that you’d be proper, but it all depends Before the storm you have to head to shore (We had a lot in common, neither ‘one’ would stop ‘one’) Before the storm you’ll be forewarned (you will conform) or learn why storms are formed Should’ve felt the body in another way Should’ve been familiar with the same mistake What’s your forte Sorry, but it’s gone in vain Couldn’t feel my body in that mental state A lot less to do but I have much more to say (Had to feel her breathing to prove I was awake) (Should’ve guessed I’d cave in under heavy weight) Blood stained caution tape Sudden, but it couldn’t wait A mark of passion is risky when missed Don’t judge the accuracy by the hits Speak in secret or in foreign tongues Most chances taken are not worth their rush Marks of passion, Been cursed to have them.
5.	Ventolin 04:22	lyrics	buy track
VENTOLIN Slip or fade or step away from the crowd Had enough of grind & trials for now Wanna fight pound for pound The sound of the angels pierce the sky You’ll never hear it if you don’t listen now Trumpet the warning of selfish life Well I can hear you so you don’t have to shout I’m dragging my feet cause I want to fly (I’d be more sensible if only not so miserable) It’s not gonna matter cause I’m afraid of heights (And I’d be pardoned if I were indispensable) The only moments I’ve ever felt were mine Are the ones that I would give up before I’d try Let’s finalize the sentimental ties Then sterilize the things you’ve memorized (How do you expect to breathe it all in if you can’t find your Proventil or Ventolin) (It’s gonna get you in the end, so will it get you runnin’?) You fake it, I know it, you didn’t have to show it You hate it, I’ve noticed, surprised how well you hold it I hate it, they know it, I’m not afraid to show it I’d make it, then blow it, I’ve tried to tell you I’m gonna waste some time (Oh, I’m stuck on principle) To find out if it is really mine (Otherwise invincible) If you uncover your face you’ll find (Blow my wish on fireflies) I’m holding back to show I’m really trying Good try, bad time It’s not about who’s allowed or who’s declined The wall is in place to find out who wants inside (How do you expect to bear the load if you only try to carry it on your own) (Do you feel weak or incapable to have to ask for help) You didn’t realize that you have to speak up Did you expect to get another shot? It’s not a given, are you giving enough to keep them all honest? It just feels good, but that doesn’t make it right Understanding in the middle of the night Just because the truth is clear, doesn’t mean it will apply What’s convenient will be sure to rule out any advice I’m back before you knew I was coming The tension could be cut with a knife You’d flinch if you weren’t protected by others Alas, I’m forced to carry my promise Grasp the rod with my other hand Risk it all for the promise And hope it all works out It’s the same old story you try to tell us It doesn’t matter the ending fails us The same old story of better times I doubt they were, but you fantasize The same old story, it’s the same old story It just feels good, but it can’t be what you want anyway.
6.	Wolves In Wolves Clothing 04:17	lyrics	buy track
WOLVES IN WOLVES CLOTHING Will you forgive me? I couldn’t detect their phony laughs I’m a sucker for progress, So I can be fooled by lying acts and changing facts I’m asking the questions for the answers that you lack I’ve said all my harsh words now, but I won’t take them back We carry the keys but still the locks remain intact And we can’t go this alone, but still we go on… Our own separate paths Come to an impasse You’ll have to find one that will trust you when you’re leading it Why ride a dead horse when you find more pleasure beating it (I’m not surprised) You suck the funds from her account instead of feeding it You’d be more careful if you weren’t the one who’s bleeding it We’re not for sale; you’ll have to look for someone else Poor communication is how you explain your simple minds Always speak for the moment, but remember nothing you imply Can you be this insulting and are you just simply compromised? To bite off your hands can be worth more than anything that you justly provide (The weight on my mind will clear up in time as long as I comply) You talk with the sly lisp of the serpent on Eve’s back We’re sifting through pieces that your puzzle proudly lacks (How does it come to that?) I’m blaming myself for steps I should have taken back (How does it come to that?) We need more than a loan We need to be left alone Why can’t I relax? Frame my broken back How does it come to the brink of what we’re heading for? If you’d look up from your desk you’d see there’s something more (You can’t represent what isn’t meant) How does it come to the point of you declaring war? We did our part and we’ve given you even more (It’s not an accident if you mean it) The sound of confession is slight hesitation when questioned between the lines Pretension is haunting when knowing what it defines Your cowardice savvy is mostly comedy until it is realized That it’s you who is misrepresenting all of our lives Oh we hate the puzzle, gotta play anyway Oh we hate the picture, gotta look anyway Oh we hate the game, we gotta play anyway Or we gotta find a new way Please cut off my hands So I can’t sign more contracts And we despise our new home When wolves are feeding don’t look away We keep on calling, but why won’t anyone come? Everyone is a wolf of their own Grow fangs or cry alone Why create for them take? You’ve got a lot of things in common with fish that feed at the bottom You shred your words like a blender, you say too many to remember It’s hard to find someone to help us without being paid (Oh, we try anyway) What we make they will waste We realize we consummate or complicate something to show for your ego Swift undertow Swim with the flow Our relationships nothing like it was defined when we signed, when we signed Please let us go.
7.	Bad Habits Make New Friends (Blood Son) (free) 06:11	lyrics	download
BAD HABITS MAKE NEW FRIENDS (BLOOD SON) Shot glass, throw your head back Novice, never should have asked Let’s get started now Shot glass, going down the hatch After this, never get it back Eyeglass, gather all the facts Loath who you will depend on No one’s got your money, never made the money, always waste the money, so you think it’s funny, never had the money, lean on everybody, always waste the money, lean on everybody Let’s get started, no time to waste Sharp glass, free pass, over the edge, you’ve been on the ledge Motor skills, bottled to death, lead me now to death Today, bad habits make new friends We’ll toast, and drink to an ending No one’s got your money, never made the money, always waste their money, so you think it’s funny, always waste the money, lean on everybody No one’s got your money, never made the money, always waste their money, lean on everybody, so you think it’s funny, lean on everybody Let’s get started, no time to waste You’ve gotta give me some space I know what I’m doing I’m in control of the situation Nothing will quench a thirst If discipline hasn’t first After invited in, the spell never fully rescinds The bottle becomes the urn Swallow down those you burn You know, you’re defined by things you try when you’re desperate What a reversal of the way we once knew I’ll count on fingers all the chances we blew I’m on my toes and got more counting to do (Now! I’ll navigate! Best! To walk away!) We’ll have to start all over We’re not wiser, we’re older Let’s get physical Let’s get married first, or let’s just call it off Let’s get physical There’s no need to rush, can’t get what you want Let’s get physical, nobody has to know, or let’s just call it off (I’m still trying, I’m not letting go) Exposed, vengeful, though you show it politely Thin shell, impressionable, follow blindly Puncture, line up the holes, feed the wires through gently Clip ends, tie closed, now you’ve got me sewn Sewn my soul to your soul Let’s get physical, let’s get married first, if that’s what you want (Now here it is, you wanted it) Let’s get physical, not maniacal, that’s not practical Too late to save yourself, look out for someone else (Now here it is, you wanted it, breathing down my neck) No one now Let’s get physical, why do you always persist No one now That’s just pitiful, you know it is No one I need alone Got a lot of things to do And not a lot that you can choose Blood son You’ve got a lot of things to prove I’m only asking one from you Blood son Bleed the cipher now Blood son.
8.	(The Annex)ation of Islam 03:52	lyrics	buy track
THE ANNEX(ATION OF ISLAM) Channeling a frequency you can’t explain if you tried You’ve witnessed, but can’t describe We stand divided Collecting all the noise we make, a fraction goes into sound worth having around And we hide behind it Wanna spit, say or write the words that fit When the sentence gets caught then they sentence it to the wandering mind (Newsstand provided) We stand divided This problem’s bigger everyday With candles and vigils you feel like you chase it away Light them, touché To pass down the line that has formed for a chance to be seen on the news of the day Oh no, you dare call it occupation, and leave us to fight on both sides of the line Ergo, forestall the operation and blame our efforts for the loss of life We stand divided You roam the wrong side of the religious seas You cater to the people you will never please The bolder get martyred Before they get smarter You say that you can read me like the back of your Koran Your arrogance is greater than I can contend The fight (the fight) will end (we’ll win) tonight (tonight) If we stand united This problem’s bigger everyday With candles and vigils you feel like you chase it away Well, light up, touché And pass the pain When the right words escape you just find something easy to say It’s a slight demeaning and bit romantic (Hey, it gets violent) It’s a fight for meaning in a state of panic (We’re all just fading away) One eye on your culture, one more on its status (We fight the feeling we’re in a war) Unitedly divided With the countless divisions it’s hard just to keep them all straight Withhold information no one is informed anyway With the countless divisions and moral disorder We put out one fire to light up another With the countless divisions When it all just gets in the way We all just sit down And the time is ours, Oh we waste We all just sit around When the end is seconds away We’ll all just sit down We all just sit down It’s pitiful.
9.	Help Is On the Way 05:34	lyrics	buy track
HELP IS ON THE WAY Don’t stop there Step back and pull the alarm You will notice the anger When it grabs your arm If my life was worth the taking I might have tried Still, I’ve left too many markings For me too hide Someone’s always coming after me The feel of danger before it’s seen If you’re different, just tell me now before we’re alone Torn up dresses and some skinned up knees My life lessons don’t compare to these Lie down, Bite down. I watch the bandage soak the blood within I’ll heal, but never quite enough to blend in Remind me of a time we’re not made to suffer, made to grieve Or tie me up and pretend it’s love, I’ll recover, just don’t leave I’ve left there feeling more ashamed than this But I won’t let him put his hands on me again, she said Drug across the asphalt to try to break her vow Hair is braided chain links with a foot against her brow I’m to blame, but it’s her fault, I’m sure he planned it out Help is on the way again, help is on the way now Her arms are bare and cold, and the recover long She’ll warrant resuscitating when she’d rather be gone She’s gone hysterical in the wake of harm She’ll rock backward and forward after the music is gone.
10.	Debutante Stomp 04:41	lyrics	buy track
DEBUTANTE STOMP Got a sudden new urge to sneeze or maybe just to laugh Try to satisfy a cleansing I need before I act Already filled with anger, need something to counteract I’ll be here to perform all week, if I’m the joke you’re getting at Shaking hands with the scum, a brazen jambalaya Rubbing shoulders in guise, and build enchanting alibis Greasy lipped debonair Try to cheat your way by Opportunity flypaper When you’re stuck you’ll know why I know I said it, I know I said it I can’t believe it, I know I said it, I did I know I said it, I know I said it I can’t believe it, I can’t believe I said it Who’s got the qualification I need time to gather mine Who’s got the qualification, let’s use them to get things right You’ll be sorry and so will I Who drives the public opinion, maybe they can shed some light We found another place we can’t define Who’s got the qualification you mean well and so do I Who drives the qualification, let’s stack yours against all mine I don’t understand, when it will apply Who drives the public opinion, let’s choose them to smother tonight Gotta get another way Gotta, gotta get it another way Gotta get another way Gotta, gotta get, get another way Gotta get it, and then get away I’ve been stunted from growth I need by searching without grace Haste is waste and it comes in clean, but leaves in dirty ways ahhh Haunted by blind ambition, so I’ll never see its prize Can’t be open to something pure if look through hazy eyes I gave up chase for the crown because I knew it came with a price Forgot the people who got me here, ole, debutant stomp, debutant taunt stomp Greasy lipped debonair, beware Try to claim a new style, it’s wild, debutante stomp, debutante taunt stomp Caught me coming of age In the time of my life Piling up my regrets To flush them down with advice Caught up in the charade Tilt your chin to the light Sticky fingers run through your hair Falling down by your side This is another message, this is another song This is the same old message, within another song This is the same old message, within the same old song We’ll give you another chorus, why not just sing along This is a complication, demanding sacrifice We’ll have some conversation, with hope to satisfy This is another message, this is another song We hope you’ll keep the message We’ve got another message coming, no data found I’ve found the more I try to listen, this is a complicated sound.
11.	Secret No.9 04:14	lyrics	buy track
Hey girl Would you stop calling Or at least sobbing. Hey girl I wish I had stopped it It still hasn't stopped yet. For a girl I'll never forget it Forever embedded.
12.	Start Dictation/End Transmission 06:17	lyrics	buy track
START DICTATION/END TRANSMISSION Start dictation, I’ll leave something behind Poised bloodletting struck a nerve from the ink Dried up tissue like the cracked riverbed dammed from sea No one can save me from myself Or cut off the flow as I bleed I’ve found all the scars that I’ve looked for To help you feel sorry for me I can’t wait for this day to end Flick the lights and end transmission Batteries melting alms and flint A chemical-caused dissolution A question of choice or disease The dissenters will gather and clamor To inspire excuses for greed I can’t wait for this day to end Flick the lights and end transmission After Braille I will leave something to find And when I die Choir will sing Hallelujah No one is safe from disaster And no one is safe from the pain Without knowing them both is enamored false sense of security I’ll do what you do Try to make it through By fooling myself I’m victim to all they do No one’s saving you while they’re chaining your feet Just don’t complain, no point anyway Without all those chains you’d still drag your feet The same old songs the DJ plays I know all the words before they finish each phrase But they’ll trick you with gauze over wounds that they tame And hide for you art so competition is null & plain It’s the same old songs, with the same old names And it’s nobody’s fault, or so (cronyism) claims But the same old songs that the DJs play Will offer me nothing like the songs they played yesterday The same old songs that the DJs play I’ve decided I will not fit the format they’ve made for me.

about

ALLY032

Kill the Messenger, Keep the Message was written and recorded in 2003-2004. It did not see its official release date until 2009 after Dave Jensen returned from Asia to complete the vocal tracks and Flying Blanket Recording was made available.

credits

released December 1, 2008

KILL THE MESSENGER, KEEP THE MESSAGE

1. Thread the Line
2. Subject, Predicate
3. The Gathering
4. Secret No.8
5. Ventolin
6. Wolves In Wolves Clothing
7. Bad Habits Make New Friends (Blood Son)
8. The Annex…
9. Help Is On the Way
10. Debutant Stomp
11. Secret No.9
12. Start Dictation/End Transmission

Kill the Messenger Keep the Message delivered by David Paul Jensen and Sunset Alliance Records, but not without the following hands:
RDP., aka Giant Steps Patel- guitar, bass
BJS., aka Bido Koplovich- bass on Thread
HLR.- guitar on Thread, Annex
DKR.- percussion
Jared Woosley- vocals on Wolves
Paul M. Jensen- vocals on Start/End
Mr. Jason Fantastical Corman- guitar on Ventolin, Annex, vocals on Ventolin
Marcus Howard- additional engineering
DPJ- all lyrics and vocals, and all other guitars

Recorded sporadically, unconventionally, and unjustly in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 @ Flying Blanket Recording by Bob Hoag

Artwork and design by Jason Byron Nelson
Album art originally conceived in 2003, inspired by original design “Flowers In the Attic” by JBN (gutterpark.com), additional concept/layout by DPJ
Photography: Kevin Scanlon, Annelise Hopkins Jensen, DPJ

All songs © Sunset Alliance, (p) Art For Starters SESAC, 2002-2008
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