Here are some more previews of old songs that will part of a grandiose digital-only album release on INS Rec Co, hopefully coming by mid-September. These jams are from 2002, off of a cassette I called America Forges On. Here:
Last March of the Tired Robots
I don't have much to say about the first three songs.
"Last March of the Tired Robots" was the first of the songs in the long running "Tired Robot" series. Although I didn't watch the show at the time, I thought of Bender from Futurama while creating it.
"Not Very" and "The Certified Serpent" are about my being fired as a minimum wage employee from Radio Shack. When first applying for the job, I didn't know I would be required to aggressively sell shit to poor people to earn commission. I more or less refused to do it, and I got fired after 10 crummy months on the job. I made $5.15 an hour, and would often open and close the store all by myself. The job was degrading and emotionally draining, and these songs reflect it. On the second half of "Serpent," I'm reading a belittling note that I stole from my manager, addressed to her from the district supervisor. It still makes me cringe to hear it. It was disgusting to me that people could place so much importance on a bunch of nonsense. It's probably the most disturbing song I've ever done, because I was honestly as upset as I sound. What I'm repeating over the reading of the note is: "Devil's work it has promise for me/If I decide to hang there from the tree."
"Slater Town" is a song which references Albert Clifford Slater, from the popular TV series Saved By the Bell.