the let downs / deaf heaven

"singing is a trick to get people to listen to music for longer than they would ordinarily." —david byrne

my friend rob (aka lien) and i have started a "side project" together called the let downs.

he's a synth-nerd who makes cool loopy instrumental music.

i do the same shit i always do, except i don't play any instruments in this band.

rob does all the music. i write words down, then sing them, then send him my vocal files. rob does all the production, and, although i can't help but offer my brilliant suggestions, he has the final cut privilege.

the band: the let downs
the song: deaf heaven
the link: http://weeklybeats.com/#/lien/music/deaf-heaven. easy play/download buttons for you to push.

deaf heaven (rob trahan & chris cannon)

do it now, but don’t blame me
i’m just the knife in your hands
you can cry but heaven is deaf
and won’t hear your demands
do it now, but don’t blame me
all this bad shit happened in 8000 b.c.
when we cracked the secrets of the trees
under a heaven
that deafened

do it now, but i resign
from playing new kinds of pretend
thank you all for buying this line
now won’t you please just buy it again?
do it now, but don’t be a fool
i was not getting along long before it was cool
when we laughed our way through sunday school
under a heaven
that deafened

do it now, this life is a trap
you can sit and you can stay
or you can jump right off of the map
by cutting parts of yourself away
do it now, help me understand
why i saw another picture of another fat man
who died with rosary in hand
under a heaven
that deafened

the lost years

where the hell did you go?

what were you doing?

every day the same old ruins

every morning the same old cost

every night the same battles lost

mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids...

zzzzzzzz

apparently i have not posted here in over a year.

fuck!

this will change in 2012. things are happening. i cannot promise that this is a good thing. but the things, they are a happening.

the love is always here.

goodbye 2011, you piece of shit.

i'm always thinkin' about the luv,
c

"night falls" video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EXlTtwjrZE

i meant to put this link up 3 weeks ago, but i've been lazy.

good friend of mine JULIAN WEST said "you should make some videos, dude." and i was all like "great, as long as i don't have to do anything."

lazy, see?

and he was all like "ok, i'll make one then."

and he did. and it's pretty cool. and it's on the YOUTUBE!

see link above.

"happy birthday, bill"

coming soon... a cool new video for "night falls."

in the meantime, listen to this. because bill is still the shizz. 30 years gone.

is this a john hughes movie?

this morning i was riding my bike to school, uh, i mean work, and i was listening to the new devo album on my walkman, uh, i mean iPhone... and i kind of forgot what year it was...

underwhelming at best

vine street mentioned in this onion article!

iZombie

chris roberson has his own wikipedia page. do you? that's what i thought.

he makes a living by the typings of his own fingers. not as a blogspotter, but as an actual writer of books and comics. if you go to your local chain bookstore you'll most likely find one of his books right there under the SCI-FI sign. i've known this guy since forever. we're both products of (and reactions to) the duncanville independent school district. in junior high we used to create our own comix together. they sucked. but once i stopped trying to help him he got a lot better and now he does this shizz for real, yo.

a couple of weeks ago he was kind enough to post some nice words about vine street. check it out, and drink in the rest of his large and colorful site while yer there....

finished and free

"vine street", the new cannon solo album, is finished and free (as in beer) and available for download in 2 formats:

download mp3 (79 mb): http://67.20.84.186/vinestreet/cannon-2010-vine%20street-MP3.zip

download flac (206 mb): http://67.20.84.186/vinestreet/cannon-2010-vine%20street-FLAC.zip

a digital "cd booklet" is included with both versions: see the pics. read the text. feel the .pdf goodness on your screen.

you should get the mp3 version if you rely on apple products (for some odd reason) to manage and listen to your music files, or if you have a slow internet connection, or if you aren’t sure what a flac file is…

your computer probably already has a built-in application to unzip these files... if not, try winzip or winrar.

a few more words while you’re waiting for your download to finish: these tracks are more or less unmastered, which to the average listener means the album will be a bit quieter than most new music. the highly-technical explanation for this is that the dynamic range hasn’t been all squished out of these songs like piss out of a frog. a simple work-around: turn the volume up.

it's 2010, and using plastic discs to distribute "art" (i.e., ones and zeros) is ridiculous. but if you want these tunes on a cd, feel free to burn one yourself (with no space between the songs.)

feedback is appreciated, either in the comments section below, or in an email to pukkarecords at gmail dot com.

thanks for listening!

-- cannon 06.08.10

twee-crunk dad-rock

one = first!
two = remember fish?
three = raising 3
four = diminishing returns
five = anywhere but home
six = night falls
seven = it could've been a crime
eight = where's september?
nine = if you thought today was bad
ten = the last dead man

coming 6/8/10. watch this space.

vine street thesis statement

addiction creates the end of the world. addiction is escape from the end of the world. addiction is not the end of the world.

civilization is a cancer-ridden near-corpse lighting a smokestack through a hole in its neck.

also: phat beats will make you shake dat azz!

unfree from fear...

...you went loose until you got copped
you did what you loved the most
until one day you just stopped
you couldn’t put control on me
‘cause by then you controlled nothing
a driverless car on the coldest day of summer

december boy’s got it bad
december boy’s got it bad
december boy’s got it bad
and where’s september?

six eight ten

vine street

coming soon.