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All Dressed In Rags

by Mark Lenover

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Rebecca Raptor
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Rebecca Raptor Really good vocal harmonies. Lenover's abilities continue to evolve as he explores new styles and ideas. Favorite track: An Old Man and His Dog (Reprise).
Jared Lenover
Jared Lenover thumbnail
counternihilist
counternihilist thumbnail
popaflump
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Brandon Nohner
Brandon Nohner thumbnail
roboklops
roboklops thumbnail
Bus Chaser
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gasperrajsek
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William Leetch
William Leetch thumbnail
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1.
All Dressed In Rags 01:29
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Every morning, every day a blank page waits for me to spoil its potential and once I’ve vandalized it I’ll shut my eyes and pretend that it’s clever and worth the hours it took to write with all my might All dressed in rags I will go, and confess it’s so meaningless and justly forgotten I can, and I will spout doggerel cursing the muses who hide away like cowards in the bare margins all dressed in rags
2.
Frozen In Place 04:23
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Tell me a story I already know Feed me your left-over gristle and bone Angst is a hammer, I am a nail I am a serpent devouring its tail My greatest ambition is to stay the same I live in the cross-hairs but well out of range Routine is sacred and growth is profane I’ll make a great difference by staying the same (Caught in) Will you decide to serve your sentence in bed? (your headlights) Or will you escape into darkness instead? (frozen) The world is shrinking so it looks like you’ve grown (in place) Death is a process and it’s all that you know (Maudlin) Have you considered the ravages of time? (such sad eyes) Are you its victim or its partner in crime? (so hopeless) Is it the way we measure cause and effect? Is it a reflection or does it reflect? I cling to my boredom, I’m governed by fear I won’t go the distance, ‘cause I belong here I might grow older, but I’ll never change Timid and dormant and comfortably strange Draw me a circle and call it a map Call me a puzzle and fill in the gaps I am a landmark, I’m fixed in place I’ll meet you tomorrow where I stand today (Caught in) Are you retreating or rooted to the spot? (your headlights) Do you define yourself by what you are not? (frozen) Will you tell us when you’ve suffered enough? (in place) Is there anything you’re not frightened of? (Maudlin) Are you prepared to embrace what you’ve become? (such sad eyes) A living shadow, petrified of the sun (so hopeless) You only exist where the sun never shines So used to darkness you can’t see that you’re blind Baby, I want to stay where I belong Yeah baby, I’m rooted to the spot
3.
The Vital Question 03:46
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It’s hard to see things as they are when life is filtered through an avatar And nothing ever counts unless it’s captured for the world to see in our collective memory To see and to be seen, must be our first priority A cloud of sex and silly jokes everything anyone has ever known mixed in with every lie thoughtless conjecture and profane remarks, ugly kitsch disguised as art gossip dressed as news to suit the predominant view I’ll ask the vital question: Can we survive in the dark? Out where no one can reach us deaf, invisible and speechless Our new religion’s in the air Yes, it can reach us almost anywhere Our satellites in space are bouncing promotions and potent threats throughout the inter-wilderness teaching us to hide behind our electronic eyes To tell the democratic truth we haven’t really got much left to lose if everyone agrees that up is down then there can be no doubt There’s nothing left to blog about Submit and repent even if it doesn’t make sense I’ll ask the vital question: Can we survive in the dark? Out where no one can reach us deaf, invisible and speechless
4.
An Old Man and His Dog 02:56
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An old man and his dog linger in the corner of the tavern as a fog descends upon the mourners of a recently departed legend blinding red-rimmed eyes Yeah, they’ll call the culprits out They will take their revenge somehow But the old man had known their hero for what he was a feckless, pretending albatross The old man looks upon the mourners with a fixed expression The weather spurns them on a gloomy, serpentine procession coiling round the city centre strangling its prey Yeah, they dress the old days up but their costumes are not enough to make him forget the terrible old regime or its lackluster champion’s puerile dream
5.
Head Over Heels 03:43
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He let her into his heart He let her under his skin He never kept her and he never asked her where she had been He loved her right from the start She never loved him at all She’d always let him down but still he’d always come when she called Heaven help him, it’s so sad He lost whatever pride he had pursuing her this way and that though she was hardly worth the trouble She will tease him along and he focus all his energy on her He’ll never learn He was at her beck and call He tried to keep her well pleased His kind of devotion can be terribly hard on the knees She idly picked him apart then casually cast him aside right where he started even though she’d taken him for a ride Heaven help us, make him see there’s more to life than suffering There’s hope for him beyond the sting of her off-hand rejection We will take him in hand and we will show him there is good in with the bad there’s comfort in that Someday he will shed a final tear for a love that never had a chance What was once opaque will be made clear and someday he will understand that she was never worth his misery and that he will learn to love again once he wipes her from his memory then the restoration can begin He’s always falling down falling down head over heels We will take him in hand and we will show him life’s worth living in the end His heart will mend
6.
The First 03:17
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He stank of sweat and rotten leaves that night The lice were coursing through his hair He reached out and he touched my sleeve that night just to make sure that I was really there We didn’t know what he was going through and we really didn’t care The fireworks produced a heavenly display The children clapped and laughed The man had vanished, was forgotten anyway the second we turned our backs A fatal storm approached the fairground (You’d’ have run too) lightning struck and thunder clapped The radio told us to run the children home We all forgot him who had nowhere else to go We’ll never know what Christ was going through (You’d have run too) when He was left to die alone
7.
Falling Down 01:54
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He is the baker and we are the bread We are the body and He is the head We are the clothing and He is the form We are the raindrops and He is the storm Hallelujah We are the apple and He is the core We are the shipwrecked and He is the shore He is the sculptor and we are the clay We are the lost, yes and He is the way Hallelujah I’m always falling down but He picks me up, dusts me off and sets me back onto solid ground He patiently waits for me to turn away from the gods I’ve made of ego, ambition and an empty electric cacophony He waits for his prodigal son to find his way back home
8.
Help Yourself 03:20
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Yes I’ve been here before, a hundred times What do you take me for? I’m not blind I’ll get through this I can do this Heal or die Yes I’ll bleed for my defects I’m unwell I can’t help my self so keep well clear I know know know know know I’ve been brought low low low low No, I don’t need your help or your time Go pity someone else I’ll be fine I’ll get through this I can do this Heal or die Yes, I’ll bleed for my weakness I’m unwell (I can help myself) I can’t help (I can’t help myself) myself I know I’ve been brought low
9.
An Old Man and His Dog (Reprise) 03:10
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An old man and his dog linger in the corner of the tavern as a fog descends upon the mourners of a recently departed legend blinding red-rimmed eyes Yeah, they’ll call the culprits out They will take their revenge somehow But the old man had known their hero for what he was a feckless, pretending albatross The old man looks upon the mourners with a fixed expression The weather spurns them on a gloomy, serpentine procession coiling round the city centre strangling its prey Yeah, they dress the old days up but their costumes are not enough to make him forget the terrible old regime or its lackluster champion’s puerile dream

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released October 22, 2018

All songs written, performed and recorded by Mark Lenover, except "An Old Man and His Dog (Reprise)" instruments performed and recorded by Patrick Lenover.

Mastered by David Disher

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Mark Lenover

Through a distinctive fusion of folk, rock, theatre and electronica, Mark Lenover critically examines pop culture’s ubiquitous influence, its moral philosophy and the potentially devastating effects of drug abuse and mental illness. His recent work frequently challenges an increasingly pervasive culture of celebrity, self-indulgence, distraction and desire. ... more

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Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
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