Home of the Brave

Tracks:

Smoke Rings
White Lily
Late Show
Talk Normal
Language Is A Virus
Radar
Sharkey's Night
Credit Racket

Tracks from the Video/Concert:

Zero and One

Smoke Rings

Standby. You're on the air. Buenos noches Senores y Senoras. Bienvenidos. La primera pregunta es: Que es mas macho, pineapple o knife? Well, let's see. My guess is that a pineapple is more macho than a knife. Si! Correcto! Pineapple es mas macho que knife. La segunda pregunta es: Que es mas macho, lightbulb o schoolbus? Uh, lightbulb? No! Lo siento, Schoolbus es mas macho que lightbulb. Gracias. And we'll be back in un momento. Well I had a dream and in it I went to a little town And all the girls in town were named Betty. And they were singing: Doo doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo. Ah desire! It's cold as ice And then it's hot as fire. Ah desire! First it's red And then it's blue. And everytime I see an iceberg It reminds me of you. Doo doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo. Que es mas macho iceberg or volcano? Get the blanket from the bedroom We can go walking once again. Down in the bayou Where our sweet love first began. I'm thinking back to when I was a child - Way back to when I was a tot. When I was an embryo - A tiny speck. Just a dot. When I was a Hershey bar - In my father's back pocket. Hey look! Over there! It's Frank Sinatra Sitting in a chair. And he's blowing Perfect smoke rings Up into the air. And he's singing: Smoke makes a staircase for you To descend. So rare. Ah desire! Ah desire! Ah desire! So random So rare And everytime I see those smoke rings I think you're there. Que es mas macho staircase o smoke rings? Get the blanket from the bedroom We can go walking once again. Down in the boondocks Where our sweet love first began. Ooo I'm gonna follow you. Out in the swamps and into town. Down under the boardwalk Track you down. Doo doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo doo doo.

White Lily

What Fassbinder film is it? The one-armed Man walks into a flower shop and says: What flower expresses Days go by And they just keep going by endlessly Pulling you Into the future. Days go by Endlessly Endlessly pulling you Into the future. And the florist says: White Lily.

Late Show

L-L-L L-L-Listen Listen T- L-L- Listen to my hearbeat.

Talk Normal

I don't know about your dreams But mine are sort of hackneyed. Same thing, night after night. Just...repetitive. And the color is really bad - And the themes are just infantile. And you always get what you want - And that's just not the way life is. First National Bank? I love it! New Hat? Forget it! Moby Dick? Never read it! I came home today And both our cars were gone. And there were all these new pink Flamingoes arranged in star patterns All over the lawn. Then I went into the kitchen And it looked like a tornado had hit. And then I realized I was in the wrong House. Last night I had that dream again. I dreamed I had to take a test In a Dairy Queen on another planet. And then I looked around And there was this woman. And she was making it all up. She was writing it all down. And she was laughing. She was laughing her head off. And I said: Hey! Give me that pen! I turned the corner in Soho today and someone Looked right at me and said: Oh No! Another Laurie Anderson clone! And I said: Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!

Language is a Virus

Paradise Is exactly like Where you are right now Only much much Better. I saw this guy on the train And he seemed to gave gotten stuck In one of those abstract trances. And he was going: "Ugh...Ugh...Ugh..." And Fred said: "I think he's in some kind of pain. I think it's a pain cry." And I said: "Pain cry? Then language is a virus." Language! It's a virus! Language! It's a virus! Well I was talking to a friend And I was saying: I wanted you. And I was looking for you. But I couldn't find you. I couldn't find you. And he said: Hey! Are you talking to me? Or are you just practicing For one of those performances of yours? Huh? Language! It's a virus! Language! It's a virus! He said: I had to write that letter to your mother. And I had to tell the judge that it was you. And I had to sell the car and go to Florida. Because that's just my way of saying (It's a charm.) That I love you. And I (It's a job.) Had to call you at the crack of dawn (Why?) And list the times that I've been wrong. Cause that's just my way of saying That I'm sorry. (It's a job.) Language! It's a virus! Language! It's a virus! Paradise Is exactly like Where you are right now Only much much (It's a shipwreck,) Better. (It's a job.) You know? I don't believe there's such a thing as TV. I mean - They just keep showing you The same pictures over and over. And when they talk they just make sounds That more or less synch up With their lips. That's what I think! Language! It's a virus! Language! It's a virus! Language! It's a virus! Well I dreamed there was an island That rose up from the sea. And everybody on the island Was somebody from TV. And there was a beautiful view But nobody could see. Cause everybody on the island Was saying: Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Because they all lived on an island That rose up from the sea. And everybody on the island Was somebody from TV. And there was a beautiful view But nobody could see. Cause everybody on the island Was saying: Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Why? Paradise is exactly like Where you are right now Only much much better.

Radar (instrumental)

Sharkey's Night

Sun's going down Like a big bald head Disappearing behind the boulevard. It's Sharkey's night. It's Sharkey's night tonight. And the manager says: Sharkey? He's not at his desk right now Could I take a message? Hey Kemosabe! Long time no see Hey Sport - You connect the dots! You pick up the pieces! Well I drove down to Big D.C. And I walked into Room 1003 And there they were The Big Boys. And they were talking Big B Little O Little M Silent B They were saying: Let's teach those robots how to play hardball. Let's teach those little fellas a little gratitude. Hey! What's that big noise from the sky? Sounds like thunder - Nope. Sounds like the Fourth of July - Nope...Wrong again. You know? It's just those angels walking They're clomping around again Wearing those big clumsy shoes We got for them. Well deep In the heart Of darkest America Home of the Brave Well HA HA HA You've already paid For this Listen to my heart Beat.

Credit Racket (instrumental)

Zero and One

Good evening. Now, now I'm no mathematician, but I'd like to talk about a just couple of numbers that have really been bothering me lately. And they are zero and one. Now first, let's take a look at zero. Now nobody wants to be a zero. To be a zero means to be a nothing, a nobody, a has-been, a clod.

On the other hand, almost everybody wants to be number one. To be a number one means to be a winner, top of the heap, the acme. And there seems to be a strange kind of national obsession with this particular number.

Now, in my opinion, the problem with these two numbers is that they are just too close. It leaves very little room in there for everybody else. Just not enough range. So first we need to get rid of the value judgements attached to these two numbers, and to realise that to be a zero is no better, no worse than to be number one.

Because, because what we are actually looking at here are the building blocks of the modern computer age. Everything that can be expessed in words or numbers in any language can be communicated using this simple, foolproof system. It's all here in a nutshell, the entire alpha-numerical system, the a to zee - the zero to infinity of digital intelligence. Now this first example is an expression in this code of the first two letters of the first word of the Gettysburg address. And the second example is the expression of the first two numbers of my home phone: the remaining digits are available in a limited edition of autographed floppy disks on sale at the souvenier stand in the lobby. This last example is an expression of a musical phrase -actually part of a chord from the first bar of a song called Sharkey's day; a song I wrote myself, and which you may be interested to learn was composed using this very system.

And can be counted like this. And 0 and 1. And 0 and 1...