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We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Pack of Lies

by pseudonym

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1.
i'm fine 01:37
i'm fine with the insults i'm fine with the cheap replies if your aim was a low blow you hit the bull right in the eyes and presently i will be just carrying on without lengthy goodbyes i'm ok with the slander ok if you put me down if your goal was surrender well now it is all over town and presently eventually i will be carrying on without you writing stupid songs about you and never daring to doubt you'll hold your ground i'm fine with the insults and i'm ok if you put me down
2.
i look around as the world comes apart all the bad people get head starts i look around at their artificial hearts and make attempts at modern art i look around and i see it's alright despite the darkness at midnight i get around by the artificial light and make attempts to get it right but i never will approach the highs you get and i'm never gonna feel the pain but at least you know that all the little things come back to you someday but at least you know that everything comes back again i look around by the glow of a streetlight and fix you squarely in my sights (chorus)
3.
dumb one 04:29
i confused you when i said things like presumptuous you didn't understand me at all we went places you never heard of we looked at things you couldn't figure out but since you've gone away who is the dumb one now and since you've gone away from me you confused me every time you said don't blow me off i never understood that at all and now that you've gone away who is the dumb one now and since you've gone away from me who is the dumb one who isn't so bright and who is the smart one now who is the dumb one who's the dumb one and who is the smart one now i ask you in all honesty what are you doing here and please don't give me your good answers i find they only ever mess things up but now that you've gone away who is the dumb one now and since you've gone away from me who is the dumb one...
4.
bury the broken dreams on the fractured boulevard count 96 tears in my eyes your keen understanding reveals a basic disregard be careful with whom you hitch a ride then sympathize that's when it goes haywire choose none of the above don't care about love i don't care about love how did you obtain those eyes how'd you come across the nose where did you get that eagle ear how did you prevail on me to so easily disclose be careful in whom you first confide then disappear cuz that's when it goes haywire take none of the above don't care about love i don't care about love and you know by the time you recall you forgot it all it gets too cold to feel in the fall it's just a free for all cuz that's when it goes haywire that's where there's nothing there no irons in the fire got none of the above don't care about love i don't care about love don't care about love i don't care about love
5.
hello sunshine it's been a while i see you've not lost that familiar smile it happened at the time my belief i could still suspend and it's a victimless crime if I wanted to believe to the end hello sport now what's your game the more things change the more you stay the same got the tried and true lines tailor made to charm an old friend maybe there was a time my belief i could still suspend it was a victimless crime when I wanted to believe to the end what do you want what do you want what do you want anyway it so happened at one time my belief i could still suspend and it's a victimless crime when I wanted to believe hello sunshine what's your game the more things change the more you stay the same
6.
only life 03:19
This would be one way to show them all this seems like the way to go out some try to control the conversation get political but it's just a story it's only life out of all the gin joints in the world why'd she have to go and blow up mine some have to control the situation get political but it's just a story it's only life this could be the biggest breakthrough that our therapy group has ever seen some have to control the situation get political but it's just a story it's only life it's just a story it's only life
7.
don't leave me this way don't leave me this way cuz how can i get through the day if you leave me this way don't tell me goodbye don't tell me goodbye my loneliness will intensify if you tell me goodbye you can never leave you can never leave cuz if you try you'll see that you can never leave you can never leave you can never leave
8.
why oh why i guess we played it by ear time goes by i guess we weren't quite clear we had a deal i guess it wasn't real no oh no i guess it's over so i hear how things ought to go i guess we never got clear we had a deal i guess it wasn't real we had a deal i guess it wasn't real i guess it wasn't real
9.
she has a common expression and she is actual size she has an ominous foreshadow and a finger for every toe She is a steam radiator she is a lucky strike and she's an apple a day by day running rings around the AMA and she's upside down and she's off and on anyhow and she's all here and now again she's always got an answer she is a loss for words and she's an agent for the BHA and so she's not allowed to say she is a passive aggressor she is a pack of lies and she's a pyrotechnic display running rings around the FAA and she's upside down...
10.
lorraine 03:06
between the postman and you and me between the holy ghost and the deep blue sea between forgetting the words to say and not knowing when to pray we gave everything away to lorraine to lorraine between the gun and the insane mind between the almost sighted and the fully blind there was no price they could ever pay to make what they done ok they took everything away from lorraine from lorraine they came to us on planes they came to us in chains they came with only the full intention to explain between the gun and the insane mind the nearsighted and the blind there's nothing that's left behind from lorraine from lorraine between the gun and the insane mind the nearsighted and the blind there's nothing left to remind us of lorraine
11.
tragedy 02:59
time never had begun for me til there was a reason until i met you those lines normally don't come to me and that is a reason not an excuse though everything i've ever done for you was more for me it isn't such a tragedy time messed with my destiny and there was no reason and i hardly knew and time would've took the best of me and that is the reason that i love you though everything i've ever done for you was done for me it isn't such a tragedy and everything i've ever done for you was more for me but it isn't such a tragedy it isn't such a tragedy
12.
they say in some weird way we were made for each other but we seen the lie machine go round and round and round and round again that's all we got now that's what we got so far he reads the words he sees in the hallway of the lavatory as he's waiting while on screen the lie machine goes round and round and round and round again that's all we got now that's what we got so far and we wanna hear what the authorities are planning to do but that's all we got now for you and if you had half a mind you never could be so unkind we've taken it for the last time and if you hang us out to dry cross our heart and hope to die you'll never work you'll never work in this town again and that's what we got so far and we wanna hear what the authorities are planning to do but that's all we got right now for you and round and round the accusations flew but that's all we got now for you
13.
mess up a handstand in the dark reach out in time an adolescent remark I'd like to know someone so innocent and true I'd like to know someone so transparent as you I figured as much but didn't say been saving up since that last rainy day I'd like to know someone authentic through and through I'd like to know someone like you ten to one after all was said and done we had just begun but we knew it was a long shot wager ten to three is when we all could disagree with the powers that be though we knew it was a long shot You can count my meaningless demands on the fingers of your empty hands ten to one we had only begun mess up a handstand in the dark reach out in time an adolescent remark I'd like to know someone so innocent and true I'd like to know someone as beautiful as you I'd like to know someone like you someone like you someone like you
14.
foreign talk 02:53
i remember that time in september we got stuck in the oakland rock slide face on the TV and our fingers in a PBJ i get when you tell me that living life is more than just making carbon dioxide laying on a lazy boy the entire crazy day inside i wait for any updates inside i wait for any news all of the accidents and arguments and the distant views now five months later i'd love just to hate her but that would only feed the pretense feet on the fender not strong enough to send her away outside i wait for any updates outside i wait for any news all of the accidents and arguments and the far away views it shouldn't come as a shock i can't decipher the foreign talk i'd just like to know i'd just like to know accepted reluctantly all the secrets you got on me i'd just like to know i'd just like to know I'd just like you know to be sure i beg your pardon well i never and there goes the neighborhood outside i wait...
15.
search party 02:41
how did you say you got it and how did you go about it cuz i don't r.s.v.p. and no one sends a search party after me i can't go like you so as far as i know it's fantasy and how do you get invited and how do you get requited i used to count all the times until i had a stockpile too high to climb nothing's learned where I'm concerned indifference turned its face toward mine and there's no r.s.v.p. and no one sends a search party after me i don't know who stole the show was not me though i guarantee i can't go like you so as far as i know it's fantasy and nothing's learned where I'm concerned indifference turned its face toward me

about

Pack of Lies is also available on CD -- here: ow.ly/iaFi30gXQcQ

REVIEWS
-------------

Here's what they said about our last album, Revolving Door:

"A truly great album ... that you like a lot on the first spin, and that you come to love with each subsequent spin ... magical ... amazing ... magnificent ... stunning."
- Indie Rock Cafe

" One of the biggest surprises of 2015 ... genius ... unforgettable ... it doesn’t have to grow on you."
- Hooks & Harmony

" It’s pretty great stuff, these songs, full of great melodies and playing and vocals. The whole shooting match, in fact."
- Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio


ALBUM NOTES
---------------------

Hi. Waylan here. To start with, hello power pop fans! Yeah we know you're out there. You may proceed directly to songs 1, 2, 4, 10, 12, and 14. We think the power pop hit here is definitely 14 (Foreign Talk). Or maybe it's 10 (Lorraine). Anyway I'm using "hit" in the loosest, most euphemistic sense of course.

Secondly, you're probably wondering why I (Waylan) am writing the album notes. I'm sure that's what you're thinking. Well the answer is, we took a vote. Paul and Cliff were not eligible because they'd already written previous album notes. Term limits. So it was between me, Gil, and the Doctor. And I'm pleased to report that I won in a landslide with 60% of the vote (3 votes)! Whoever else voted for me (Paul and Cliff I assume) probably felt sorry for me. I had sort of a rough year.

Things started going downhill last March when my girlfriend broke up with me. I didn't see it coming. Sure, yes, in hindsight the signs were there, but I must have been in denial because after 6 years together I thought we were pretty locked in. She said it wasn't me, it was us – we weren't meant to be together THIS way. Gee, good to know. Anyway I was pretty down for a while after that. I started questioning everything. I thought there's got to be more to life than this ridiculous revolving door of relationships, more to life than playing stupid insipid trivial pop songs in an obscure rock band. (Nothing against Paul's insipid pop songs, I mean they're perfectly OK, but that's how I was feeling at the time.)

I wanted to do something meaningful, to make a difference, to leave my mark on the world. Well, right around that time I happened to read about this group in the Netherlands that was planning a one-way mission to colonize Mars, and I realized THAT'S what I was going to do! I figured I'd be the perfect "astronaut pioneer". I'm creative, adaptable, good with my hands, and I didn't really have many ties keeping me here on planet Earth.

I got so excited about the idea that I started selling my "earthly" possessions on Craigslist, including my music stuff – guitars, amp, pedals – plus some furniture and clothes. You're probably thinking this might not have been the smartest of first moves. Looking back, I'm sure it was my way of symbolically breaking away from the monotony of my mediocre life. But at that point I was just thinking "I won't be needing this stuff on Mars."

I soon found out, however, that the Mars program wasn't taking any new applicants. Supposedly they already had too many. I got kind of desperate – I really believed they would take me if I had a chance to prove myself. So I used the money I made from selling my stuff to buy a plane ticket to the Netherlands.

I flew into Amsterdam, rented a car, and drove to the address of the Mars program which is in a suburb about 45 minutes from the airport. Turns out, it's just some guy's house. I rang the bell. No answer. As I was standing around out front wondering what I was supposed to do next, a neighbor walked over and asked me (in English) if I was looking for the Mars project guy. He asked if I was a reporter, and I went along with it. I said yes, I was doing an article for the San Francisco Mars Monthly. He was impressed. He told me the Mars guy wasn't home but he gave me directions to the actual Mars program office. I thanked him, took his picture, wrote his name down and told him I'd try to get him into my article.

When I got to the office address, I thought now this is more like it. The building was modern with big shiny glass, and inside there was a nice lobby and a reception desk, and a couple of young, bored looking security guys in tan uniforms. I walked up to them and said "hi! I'm Hans Reinsdorf with the San Francisco Mars Monthly. I'm here to do an article on the Mars mission. They're expecting me." I noticed that A) it was fun pretending to be a reporter, and B) I was just assuming at this point that everyone spoke English. Well, both of these guys did. They had me sign the guest book and told me which floor to go to. I took out my phone to take their picture (for the article) but they said "no photos". Of course. I'm sure NASA doesn't let you take pictures at their office either.

Stepping off the elevator I would have expected to see a sign for the Mars program. Or a receptionist. Or any people. But the only sign of life was a cleaning lady pushing a trash barrel around. I asked her where the Mars group was. She didn't speak much English but she knew the word Mars, and she pointed me to an open area with rows of work tables. So I sat down at one of the tables and waited.

I guess I was pretty tired from my trip because the next thing I knew I was waking up, my drooling face flat on the table. The office lights were off now and it was dark outside. Needless to say, there were no Mars employees anywhere in sight. I stumbled over to the elevators and pushed the button but nothing happened, so I followed the exit signs and opened the door to a stairway. A loud alarm went off. Great. I made my way down to the lobby where the alarm was even louder, and lights were flashing. I tried pushing open the front door but it was locked. Great. And outside, what should I see but a Netherlands cop car pulling up, lights flashing. Wonderful.

Two cops got out, unlocked the door, led me out by the arm, and pushed me toward the police car. I tried to explain I was just a reporter doing a story on the Mars mission. I offered to take their picture, but the cops weren't interested. They searched my backpack and spoke a bunch of Dutch and put me in the back of the car.

Netherlands prisons are pretty nice actually. At least the one they took me to. It had a library, and classrooms, and the prison cells had carpeting and were painted cheerful colors. It was nicer than my college dorm. They sat me in a room with a guy who did speak English, and he explained that there had been a wave of thefts at the office complex recently and they assumed I was robbing the place. But they hadn't found anything stolen on my person. That was good, he explained.

"What were you doing there, Mr. Solo?" Oh right, they knew who I was. I said I had just arrived from the USA to join the Mars mission and that I had fallen asleep in the office. I said the Mars mission people could vouch for me. He asked for a name. I made something up. "Bjorn is the guy's name who I was working with".

"We'll check with them in the morning" he said. I was to be detained overnight. This was OK with me since I hadn't had a chance to find a hostel or a motel yet, plus with any luck the cops would now be arranging my first meeting with someone from the Mars team!

And the next morning this boss guy from the Mars project did show up. They brought him to my cell and introduced him, I think his name was Lars. He didn't seem to be in a very good mood. "Who the hell are you?" he asked. I sort of stammered out my name, and said I was from San Francisco, and that I was here to join the Mars program. I started talking as fast as I could – I wanted to get everything in – I told him how great I would be at this astronaut business, how my girlfriend had left me and how that had made me see my true mission in life and how there was nothing tying me back to Earth and... and Lars cut me off. Lars started yelling at me. "Who do you think you are!? You don't just run away and join a space program to escape your problems with women!" And other things to that effect. I was starting to realize I would not be getting to Mars anytime soon.

Well, long story short, Lars agreed not to press charges, the police released me after a short lecture on trespassing, I went straight to the airport and got on the earliest flight back to San Francisco.

Luckily, something in the back of my mind had prevented me from quitting my job or quitting the band. I had only been away for three days, so I made some excuses for whatever I had missed and just slipped back into my previous life, which didn't seem quite so mediocre anymore. Sure, I had to borrow a guitar from Paul for a while because I had stupidly sold mine, but I was definitely coming around to thinking that maybe making music wasn't quite so pointless. And shortly after I got back, the band started recording this album. And here it is.

Um, which reminds me, I was supposed to say some stuff about the album. Well, we like it, and hope you do too!

-Waylan Solo
December 2016

credits

released January 1, 2017

Pseudonym is:

Paul Desjarlais - vocals
Cliff Notes - bass
Waylan Solo - guitar
Gil Gullible - keyboards
Dr. Rhythm - drums

(c) 2017 Trivial Pop Songs
All words and music by Paul Desjarlais. All songs performed by Pseudonym and produced by Paul Desjarlais. Recorded in an igloo (sorry about the echo), mixed in a frying pan, and mastered on medium heat.

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pseudonym San Francisco, California

Pseudonym is a band consisting of me, Paul Desjarlais, and other real or imaginary people. Back in Boston a long time ago I used to play bass for The Uncalled Four, and then for Haberland. After that I released a cassette album called Pabz, and later a CD called Pig Tail World. Now I live in San Francisco and I record songs when I get a chance and sometimes post albums online. ... more

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