Seems Alien to Me, by Conductors

Seems Alien to Me

by Conductors

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Full Digital Discography

12

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Christmas Suicides (Single), Bogged Down EP, Cold Comfort (Single), Seems Alien to Me, Give It A Rest, Familiar Failure, God Knows What, So Long, Calm EP, and 4 more. , and , .

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1.	Mind 07:56	info	buy track
2.	Surprise, Surprise 03:42	lyrics	buy track
No you can’t see me when I’m right behind you. So now do you feel fear? Before you were unaware. Fear makes you think of what’s unnatural. You see it all around you. Now every drawer conceals some alien objects. You can feel them plotting. You cannot prepare. Your eyes open wide. Hey aren’t you surprised by the look in my eye? Hey aren’t you surprised by my natural smile? Hey aren’t you surprised by my lack of guile? Hey aren’t you surprised? You think, “Goodness me! Goodness can be so alien to me!” I can’t convince you that I’m good with any symbols or with words. But when you feel it so immediately, I can’t convince you that you’re wrong. We all know how we feel about survival. We’re more apt to recognize some danger far away than comfort nearby. We all love a good surprise but get terrified by our natural thoughts. Our machines are the most unnatural. Our machines are naturally good? Our machines do everything we say. Our machines need no convincing. Our machines get in our way. Our machines don’t feel fear. Our machines don’t have any feelings! Our machines don’t feel anything. It’s quite a surprise!
3.	Foolin 02:33	lyrics	buy track
I heard you found a new man, and he’s understanding and loves to be understood. Everything’s going great, and you don’t even hate me until you remember all that I could…do. You don’t think about me until late at night, and then you tremble in your bed. You said I was full of myself. Well what else would I be full of? Not you since you left me, now that you’re not full of me like you used to be. You think you’re foolin me? Think you’ve had your fill of me? You think you foolin me? You’re not foolin me. I heard you’re on your own now, and it’s so exciting. You don’t have time for any other man. Everything’s going great, and you don’t even hate me while I think about you all the time I can. You don’t think about me while you’re profiting pondering if you’re staying on brand. You said I was full of myself well what else would I be full of? Not wealth or health or happiness, now that you’ve left me out of love. It’s fun to fool me. It’s fun to fool me. I’m stuck on fooling myself. Looks like you made a fool of me.
4.	Secret Income 03:07	lyrics	buy track
Don’t ask me what I’m gonna be just ask me what you mean— “How will I, how will I monetize? How will I, how will I make it market size?” Income becomes secret. Income becomes insane. Still you get an idea; you get an idea; you get the idea; you get the idea. Anyway you already know what I must do for a living: get some people to give me money. You want the details; it’s natural. You ask for details. I won’t tell you. What is so natural and so alien, unnaturally natural besides money? “Oh yeah if I know it all where is my cash?” You ask me. I won’t tell you. If it is true, it’s exploitable, so nothing’s true without money. Don’t ask me what it takes to stay alive. I won’t tell you. So you never tire, I really must enquire, you never tire of making money? You speak financial. It’s natural. You want my strategy. I won’t tell you. What is so natural and so alien, unnaturally natural besides money? Don’t ask me just what I am. When you can’t understand, I won’t tell you. I need to know, are humans natural? Are animals financial? I need to know! Do you make money for your survival? Can your money leave me alone?
5.	Banking 05:00	lyrics	buy track
You walk into a bar, you gotta make some demands. There’s money to be made just give us a hand. O you poor, poor people with your poor, poor needs We can provide for you. No we won’t call it greed. We want to get whatever we want to get. We're gonna get whatever we want to get. We want to get whatever we want to get. We're gonna get whatever we want to get. We want to be your long lost lover boy! Tell us what you saw in us the very first time! Tell use how you’ve missed us. Tell us what you’ll give us. We’ve got money. Give us what we want! You walk into a store, you gotta make some demands. There’s money to be made just give us a hand. We’re here for your benefit. How do we best benefit? How do we benefit best? We’ve got to give you a little test. We want to go wherever we want to go. Take us now wherever we want to go. We want to see whatever we want to see. Show us the sights, whatever we want to see. We want our iconography all over your cities! Canonize us! Canonize me! Put our images on buildings. We know it’s not free. We’ve got money, give us what we want. We walk into a house, we gotta make some demands. There’s money to be made just give us a hand. O you poor, poor people we’ll be your confidant. We can provide for you just give us what we want. We understand there may be some things we can’t buy. We’ve got the money, so give us all of your money. We’ll make it multiply! We’ll make it multiply! We’ll make it multiply! We’ll make it multiply! We wanna be your favorite band. We wanna to be your favorite bank. Just listen to us. Just give it to us Give us your money… Give us your money! You walk into a bank, you’ve gotta make some demands. There’s money to be made, just give us a hand. You wanna see all that money can do. Just give it to us, we'll see you through.
6.	Lover Lover Lover 03:36	info	buy track
7.	Stiff Neck 05:02	lyrics	buy track
I woke up, woke up like every other day. I woke up, woke up in the natural way. Last night I burned my mouth. It was all my fault. Last night the mist from the glass could not bring me relief. I woke up, woke up. I had become a wreck. I woke up, woke up with a solid, stiff, painful neck. Last night I laid right down to sleep. Last night was too late to bring me relief. My fault, my fault it is all my fault. Naturally you always have the chance to ruin your night. Naturally you can take it slowly and ruin your life. I see a long hair growing out of my shoulder. I think I’m turning into an old ogre. My teeth are growing too big for my mouth. They feel like they’ll all fall out. Any pain is my fault. It must be my fault, what else brings this result? I woke up, woke up like every other day. I woke up, woke up in the unnatural way. Last night I forgot what’s natural and what’s not. Last night my left and right were confusing to me. I woke up, couldn’t tell which hand was familiar to me. I woke up couldn’t look right the left is all I could see. Last night I could see it doesn’t develop deliberately. Last night confusion was my only relief. I woke up, woke up with a brand new stiff neck. I woke up, woke up My body is and is not me. Naturally you have some control that’s something you’ve always known. Naturally it comes and it goes mysteriously. My body is not what I want it to be. My body makes me guilty, don’t you see. When your whole life is a series of rewards and punishments, it makes it all make some sense in the cruelest sense. Now I see success is not a natural result. Now I see failure is not a natural result. My fault, my fault, it’s all my fault. My fault, my fault, it must be all my fault.
8.	Cover Uncover 07:44	lyrics	buy track
Cover and Uncover You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover still you are concealed. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover nothing is revealed. In all your nudity you are painfully concealed. Expose yourself just once. Do it for the cheers. Expose yourself again. Do it for the tears. Expose yourself just once emotionally, physically, mentally, digitally for all of us to see. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover but still it stays concealed. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover. We demand reveals. If you wish to entertain us, expose yourself just once. Do it for the cheers. Expose yourself again. Do it for the tears. Expose yourself just once You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover but remain concealed. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover. You owe us reveals. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover. Don’t you know the deal? You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover. Convince us that it’s real. Is there nothing to reveal? We can sympathize. But if there’s really nothing to reveal, we can ostracize. What do you owe us for our money, if we gave you money for your artistry for your entertainment for our entertainment. Our relationship has stipulations, contractual obligations, monetary considerations. You cover and uncover, still it stays concealed. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover. We demand reveals. You cover and uncover and uncover. You cover and uncover. Tell us all you feel. There is a secret. There was a secret for a few years for a few years There is a secret not secret anymore. The secret is sex. No secret at all. It’s all over but still covered. Sex is more Sex is less. Sex is private, public knowledge. Sex is entertainment more or less, more and less. You say we took your valuable time You say we took your valuable face. Who can say what's a waste? You’ll say what you feel not what you think. You take a drink. You say what you think not what you feel. You must conceal. We need to see the heart. That’s what sells. There is an essence that’s withheld. Show us what’s natural, hidden a little. To be an artist you must reveal tastefully, deceitfully. We’re not paying you only to reveal or to conceal.
9.	Human Traits 04:47	lyrics	buy track
You’ve got all the human traits don’t you? I cannot tell You’ve got all the human traits don’t you? I can’t name them well You’ve got an eye an ear, a nose, opposable thumbs. You’ve got cash, credit, debt, empty pockets. You’ve got all the human traits don’t you? I cannot tell And I’ve got all the human traits don’t I? O won’t you tell? I’ve got the issue I make of being being in itself I've got thought, words, worries, all these questions. How can you do this if you’re humane? Harmful, churlish, and spiteful you’re only human. The animals living on my face warn me about your briefcase. Your business necessarily exploits other humans to make your money Is it more human to be harmful or to be good? Is it humane to be human or more human to destroy? The fear of evil leads to evil actions fear holds an evil heart If humans are unnatural then what are you? Is anything more alien than us humans? We hold the thought and its opposite comfortably. Some questions don’t have an answer There is not only one nature. Predictable behavior makes us animals too. Can we find some more continuity between you and me? You love money more than anything. You must be human. No human is more human than any other person.
10.	Yellow Jacket Crawl 05:52	lyrics	buy track
Sometimes it gets so hard. Sometimes it gets so hard to do anything, to do anything at all. You have a feeling it can be explained. You have a feeling you can’t explain. It's buzzing in your ear. It’s buzzing on your tongue. You’re stuck standing still. You’re stock still stuck, and you feel you gotta move, gotta move, but got no luck. I got a yellow jacket crawling on me. I got a yellow jacket up and down me. Got a yellow jacket on my arm. Can’t tell if it means me harm. Out in the open air, out in the sticky heat, this bug clings to me. This bug won’t let me be. It’s acting naturally. I guess it’s acting naturally. So alien to me, what it sees I can’t see. Is there any continuity? Is there any continuity between it and me? Between you and me? The sting might not be so bad. I know it can’t be so bad. Only a little burn, not as bad as your word. I got a yellow jacket crawling on me. I got a yellow jacket up and down me. Got a yellow jacket on my arm. It won’t keep me warm. I’m stuck in a cold sweat. In the heat in a cold sweat. What does this bug want from me? Don’t know and can’t forget. What’s there to understand? What’s there to understand? If the wasp thinks of me, it thinks I’m a piece of land. It’s natural to be this way. Only natural to be this way. Can I naturally choose something unnatural to do? I got a yellow jacket crawling on me. I got a yellow jacket up and down me. Got a yellow jacket on my arm, while you’re somewhere safe and warm. I can feel the sting. I can always feel the sting. I can see the swelling. It’s all in my mind. I’m lonely, not in pain, lonesome, not in pain. Can’t tell what a wasp can feel. Can’t tell you how I feel. I got a yellow jacket crawling on me. I got a yellow jacket, nothing to do. This chill feels familiar; it reminds me of you. I got a yellow jacket crawling on me. I got a yellow jacket up and down me. Like nothing at all it takes flight; tired of me it takes flight. I’m left all alone. I’m left all alone. No yellow jacket threatening, but I’ve got no queen bee.
11.	Some Strategy 05:02	lyrics	buy track
O it’s a push It’s a push It’s a push and pull It’s a push It’s a push It’s a push and pull O it’s a push It’s a push It’s a push and pull It’s a push It’s a push It’s a push and pull It’s a give It’s a give It’s a give and take It’s a give It’s a give It’s a give and take O it’s a grab It’s a grab It’s a grab and go It’s a grab It’s a grab It’s a grab and drop It’s a love It’s a love It’s a love and hate Its a love It’s a love It’s a love and hate O it’s a give It’s a give It’s a give and take It’s a give It’s a give It’s a give and takeIt’s a come It’s a come It’s a come and go It’s a come It’s a come It’s a come and go It’s a push It’s a push It’s a push and pull It’s a push It’s a push It’s a push and pull You gotta have one strong stomach, You gotta have one weak mouth. You can get whatever you like; you gotta know how to do it right And if you don’t get what you want, you know, you know you did it wrong. You gotta jump through just one hoop you gotta jump through just two hoops you gotta jump through just three hoops you gotta jump through just four hoops Every click of the clock could be more money in your pocket You only have to go left and right You only have to go up and down You only have to tell them one thing You only have to think of the other You only have to do what they want without ever being told. All you need are some cheap tricks All you gotta do is to pretend All you gotta do is something you hate for a few years, buy some friends You always must look out for yourself, while they think you look out for them Remember the hardest workers get the lowest pay It’s really simple it’s just so simple it’s really simple Just square a circle
12.	No Default 04:36	lyrics	buy track
O you’ve got to see there’s no default in the natural world. There are actions and chances; nothing happens automatically. I can’t say what is natural now. People designate nature as everything they're not. People designate themselves as alien that way. Then they see things defaulting and cycling reflectively. You've got to see there’s no default gender or race, no default species or place anywhere in the natural world. You can take what you’re given. You can reject the state of things. But you can’t refuse to choose. It won’t come naturally. O can’t you see there’s no universal human default? There are choices and voices; nothing happens automatically. I want to change my way of thinking again and again. Everything that has happened could have happened a different way. Somehow we get these predominant paradigms. I'm still deciding whether descriptions infect what they describe. O can’t you see there’s no default knowledge or health, ideology or sanity. To reduce, doesn’t make it truth.We’re all led into some way of life then we've got to decide if it's right. There’s no obvious purpose for us. We've got to choose what to believe.
13.	If You Want Me to Stay 07:01	info	buy track

about

Music videos here!

Stiff Neck:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzs7PRisH4

Foolin:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQcZCuNl6wE

Lover Lover Lover (Live):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohqSF5YvGzc

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Have you been doing unnatural things? Or do you act naturally?

When it’s an act, you have to think about what is natural anyway. The longer you look at the concept the more it unravels, but that happens with everything. Problems and exceptions arise in the distinctions between natural and unnatural. The edges dissolve as you examine them closer and closer. And then you have to consider what’s human. So, the real trouble starts.

To be looked at, nature is defined as what you’re not. But why must you be so unnatural, when you feel natural, if natural really is a feeling at all. Is your unnatural humanity something that can be held onto at all? You can’t say whether you share something with every other person. You can't say if there is such a category. Then comes the fear that some people have nothing in common with each other, and then that some people have nothing in common with any other people, and you’re one of them.

But the truth is nothing is fixed in place for you. Nature isn’t either. And you’re just as natural as leaves on a tree moving in the breeze. You choose what’s in your nature unlike the leaves. If nature’s too constraining, go ahead and choose to be unnatural, whatever that is.

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These songs formed very collaboratively, nearly competitively, with one of us starting with a melody or rhythm and the others jumping in trying to keep up, complement, and compete. This writing began in late 2015 and throughout 2016. Originally we were trying to find things to dance to and with, but things soon got stranger. The large majority of the tracks were recorded to tape and spinning hard drives in the fall of 2016, but overdubs and a couple of songs continued to be recorded throughout 2017, 2018, and 2019. It's been a long, slow process for these alien, alienated, hopefully un-alienating tunes. Thank you for making it all this way with us!

credits

released October 31, 2019

Conductors are Julian Senn-Raemont, Willy Stastny, & William Psilos.

Each song has the specific credits, but generally Julian plays drums, Willy plays bass, and William plays guitar &/or synth and sings.
Also, Chloe Cucinotta sings on a few songs.

The cover photos are from a project created by Chloe Cucinotta, and the front cover photograph was taken by Jack Meriwether. Zac Cucinotta took the back photograph.

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about

Conductors Chicago, Illinois

"Mona tried to tell me
To stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
An’ I said, 'Oh, I didn’t know that
But then again, there’s only one I’ve met
An’ he just smoked my eyelids
An’ punched my cigarette' " ... more

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