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Place Holders EP

by Random Variables

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1.
Arrivals 02:56
Hello, Panic, nice to see you again, it’s certainly been a while, where have you been? Keeping it real with a premise as thin as a stickman. Welcome back, Panic, you’ve sorely been missed, along with the chaos of bombs and clenched fists, You’ve got the matchbook, so let me just break out my fan. Though no one will say it, we’re all glad to see, an out from our relevant obscurity. So gentlemen, ladies, in coats and evening gowns, raise up a glass while it’s all coming down. Hey there, Panic, old friend of mine, back once again and still toeing the line, tearing down slow-burning pillars of aggressive complacency. What’s up, Panic, haven’t you heard? You’re no longer needed, or so we’re assured, by the shameless and blameless so desperate to fill out the vacancy. But man, let me tell ya’, the spectacle’s grand, of crashing and burning built up as a brand, If it wasn’t for down, we’d have nowhere to go, So we’ll yell, “Fire!” in a crowded world… …then on with the show.
2.
Distract 04:09
Everywhere I turn I get a sensory barrage, But nothing sticks, it always turns into a fucking mirage. I try to stay the course and follow the desired plan, But right on cue comes something new to break my attention span. They’re callin’ “Hey, you, standing there, what do ya see?” All around, the million people cornering me. “Whatcha gonna do about it?” I don’t know, I want to look away, but it’s a hell of a show… And all it does is Distract, distract, I don’t know how to react, react, I just can’t tell the fiction from fact, in fact, I’m killing time until the impact, so get back. At night I try to get supposed comfort in my bed, But man, I’ve got no switch to flip or plug to pull to stop the racing in my head. The sea of thoughts is deep, but nothing seems to quench my thirst, And all the while everyone is telling me to ready myself for the worst. They’re shoutin’ “Hey, you, lying there, what do ya hear?” The clamor of a million people ringing in my ear. “Whatcha gonna do about it?” I can’t say, I want it all to stop, but I can’t help but push play… It’s only good to Distract, distract, I just can’t figure how to react, react, The million people breathing down my back, will in fact, Just bring me closer to the impact, so get back. The million people gonna get their kicks By trying to tell you how to get your fix, They’ll be relentless ’til the job is done, When you and they become a million and one. They’re screamin’ “Hey, you, dying there, what do ya feel?” It’s hard to say because I don’t know what is real. “Whatcha gonna do about it?” Take my time, And stop the million people before they commit their crime. I won’t let them Distract, distract, This is how I’ll react, react, The million people will feel the impact, and in fact, The crowded world will have to step back, so get back!
3.
Bottoms up, it’s on the house, the spirit’s made from lies! Intoxicating fumes numb the wits and paralyze! The glass appears half empty if you are an optimist! Instead, we drink to remind ourselves that ignorance is bliss. Looking in, you shout, “me too!” And before you know it, the hooks are in you Put a gun up to my head and the best you’ll get is “maybe” But what did you expect? I ain’t your fuckin’ baby. Everybody’s inchin’ for a piece of my resolve, and if I go, they say they’ll show me how to get involved. But not a single thing but me could ever force my hand, I’ll come alive outside the hive, and then you’ll understand. Looking in, you shout, “me too!” And before you know it, the hooks are in you Put a gun up to my head and the best you’ll get is “maybe” But what did you expect? I ain’t your fuckin’ baby. We’re in it now… Plans work just as well as running straight into a wall, We can’t look up or else we’ll miss the ambush and we’ll fall. We’re breaking through the bedrock with a hammer made of glass, but soon enough we’ll reach the frenzied state of critical mass. Looking in, you shout, “me too!” And before you know it, the hooks are in you Put a gun up to my head and the best you’ll get is “maybe” But what did you expect? I ain’t your fuckin’ baby.
4.
Departures 05:09
The empty stillness in this turbulence, the burning memories of tapered rituals, the forest fires. Visions of seasoned victories, and exploding words that die in mere regret, but it’s the start. I feel an energy that’s pulling us apart, Is it the cosmic supernova in your heart? We pronounced immaculate feats, but shivered like dying planets, and sewer rats. Painting walls with empty smiles, Washing sins in the sparkling nectar, of our inner gods. Warnings were always footnotes, and with our grandest plans eating the ink, it was no work of art! I feel an energy that’s pulling us apart, Is it the cosmic supernova in your heart? There was no end in sight. A sense of wrong that was always right. Combustible forces in the night, that set our consciousness alight. Across the dunes, the sands of time, departures rapturous and sublime. Devoid of reason and of rhyme. Eternal bliss, the perfect crime. The flames burn brightly in our minds, and smoldering embers left behind, bear the phoenix for which we’ve pined! Resurrect the dead, restore the blind. …and all that’s left ’til we reach our goals Is the departure of our souls… …and an energy that’s pulling us apart, Is it the cosmic supernova in your heart?

about

The title ‘Place Holders’ serves dual meanings.

First, these songs represent a small sample of what we hope to eventually provide both thematically and musically, and until we get there, they’ll serve to hold our places.

Second, it represents our general views on the pursuits in which we all engage on the paths to our goals. Be they mundane, infuriating, rapturous or oppressive, these pursuits ultimately hold our places in life for better or worse. They help define not only the paths we take in life, but also us, as both individuals and parts of collectives.

credits

released November 16, 2011

Thanks to Ian Neill for engineering and producing this album, and thereby being the fourth member of the band during the recording process!

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Random Variables Cambridge, Massachusetts

They may be children of the digital age, but Random Variables attempt to reconcile a vintage sound with modern sensibilities, both musically and lyrically. The band (Jeremy Denham, Suvesh Pratapa, and Jeff Moffett) is determined to write ambitious and poignant material about the increasing ways in which we connect and disconnect with each other, and how that chaos affects our generation. ... more

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