Release Date: 1993
Duration: 53:12
Label: Forward
Catalog Number: R2 71266
Some day you may discover a need to reinvent yourself. It may be a desire to become a different person, somone better or more interesting than you're used to being. It may be out of necessity, such as entering a federal witness protection program.
I made my first recording 25 years ago, using the tools and techniques and philosophical approaches developed and shared by my contemporaries. Today, most of those contemporaries have reinvented themselves into non-musicians and the philosophies have, substantially, been abandoned. New tools and techniques - some of which I may have accidentally pioneered - attack the foundations of traditional songmaking, forcing the reassessment of the purpose of making music and the experience of listening to it. I suppose one's political philosophy is a reflection of one's attitude toward upheaval. Having taken the paradoxically conservative approach recently of reaffirming traditional song and performance craft in my recordings, I am characteristically more liberal in my attitude about this upheaval. I say, bring it on.
The "I" in TR-I is for "interactive." It means that the way that I write and record and hear music is substantially different than it was as late as 1991. More relevant is the way it changes the listener's experience. What if your CD player would accept ideas from you about how the music should be played? What if it let you examine the music from different angles, experience it in unusual trajectories, reinvent it on the fly?
This is my opportunity, my necessity to reinvent myself. This is your opportunity to talk back to the music.
TR-I (formerly Todd Rundgren)
Worldwide epiphany Worldwide epiphany, epiphany
Let me tell you 'bout the new world order Not the kind to make you run for the border It's a new religion wrapped in a revolution With a proven solution for your mental pollution Don't let no one tell you that god ain't got a sense of humor Someone said he's pissed off, but that was just a rumor I know he's laughin' when the preacher starts to scream about How trippin' is evil, and sex is unclean
Down in the lowlands to the top of the hill Don't know what's comin', but we know that it will Blind in Benares, deaf and dumb in LA Hiding in Africa, but nobody gets away Worldwide epiphany Worldwide epiphany, epiphany Give it up one more time for the king of soul Let the good times roll, bring it on, bring it on Dusk 'til dawn, the landlady's gone Send the bill to the government, pack it in cement
Don't quit your day job Corporate-crybaby A bit wiser and a whole lot older, feelin' bolder Suckin' up to the last stockholder with a Golden parachute slung over your shoulder Jacked-up-B-boy Another fool got stuck in the whirlpool Lookin' for a fast break, not enough cake to go 'round Another brother goes down, and he's out of the gene pool Media-pimp Day after day, night after night if the money is right The campaign goes on to make right seem wrong With computer animation and a hip-hop song Land of opportunity, this is the Stop Don't quit your day job Cowboy-politician Suckin' up to the aristocracy Not even sure if you like democracy Tryin' to establish an american royalty, a personal dynasty Priests-of-the-airwaves Let the buyer beware, it's a jungle out there So buy my advice and don't think twice Then me and your money will go someplace sunny Celebrity-stud-monkey Kiss and tell, got a book to sell 'Cause you don't excel or do anything well Since you slipped past thirty, better keep the sex dirty Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money
I'll be your fantasy, but I won't be your property Love you eternally, but I'll never be your property Love from me's not guaranteed Just because you think I'm property I can love you totally and still not be your property Every girl and boy wants to grow up to be loved someday And you can't wait to give your heart away But it's like worship in their eyes walking down the aisle When you slip on that ring, they start to treat you like a thing, yeah I call it slavery when you call someone your property Don't waste your vanity, I will never be your property Something wonderful happens when people fall in love Your happiness is all they're thinking of But it's like "anything you say" 'til the wedding day When they get it in ink, they start to tell you what to think, yeah Darkest day in history when someone invented property Cause of our misery is the constant lust for property Since god began it, we've been dividing up the planet When you see something you want it You've got to put your name tag on it And we go on carving, meanwhile half the world is starving It's a crime .. hands off what is mine! Take all you can 'til you slam on the parking brake And you need space to make your own mistakes But it's like "I won't hold you back" 'til the bags are packed Then they're struttin' about like they own you inside out I call it slavery (you can't make me a slave), when you call someone your property Don't waste your vanity (don't be so vain), I will never be your property Darkest day in history (why did you have to do a thing like that) when someone invented property Cause of our misery (misery, misery) is the constant lust for property
Founding fathers and mothers left us a mandate We've got to separate the church and the state So get your head straight before it's too late And you drop it in the plate, you must appreciate Jesus and money make a man speak in tongues Scream out his lungs, roll in the dung And when the song is sung, he moves up another rung And the deaf and the dumb are the ones who get stung Here comes the sex police, they're at your bedroom door Movin' in next door, searchin' from floor to floor You know what they're lookin' for Someone's always keepin' score every time you dip the oar Love isn't fun no more Fascist christ, come to the rescue Gimme that old time religion, here it comes Let's get fundamental about this strange philosophy In which god and man are enemies In which there is no serenity unless you happen to believe Precisely what they want you to believe, and no diversity Come join the army and learn the noises That drown out the others' voices and please the devil Who rejoices when mankind has no choices And power exploits us, and peace avoids us Guess who to the rescue on a holy mission To uphold the tradition of the Spanish Inquisition And preempt your decision by forcing your confession Now let that be a lesson Who do you think you're messin' with? Somebody took our god away
I need something, I need some sweet thing I need something to help me get on, help me get on by Love thing Sometimes I feel like I've been trapped in a container Pushed through a strainer, but I ain't no complainer Think I'm going crazy, there, now I'm insaner What could be plainer, it's a no-brainer The truth is always wherever you find it Throw back the curtain, see what's behind it Look hard at life and the ties that bind it Day after day we must be reminded Everything I had is gone, it's so dark it must be dawn Where's that reason to go, reason to go on and on Give what you ain't got to give, lord have mercy on me Drinkin' up blood and sweat and tears, I ain't afraid to ask Give it to me love thing, well being Why do I always look down when I want to look up Why do I shake somebody down when I'm feelin' shook up Why do I wander around when I want to hook up Why am I puttin' it down when I wanna pick up One of these days I'm gonna make my decision And act upon it while I still got volition But I've got so many ideas in collision, It makes it hard to be a man with a mission I need something, I need some sweet thing I need something to help me get on, help me get on by I need something to clear my head I need something to warm my bed I need something, some sweet thing Everything I had is gone, it's so dark it must be dawn Where's that reason to go, reason to go on and on Tell me lies, I know the truth but tell me lies Just like a breath of fresh air blowin' through my lonely spirit Love thing, well being Love thing
Walkin' along the sea and thinkin' Deep in a reverie I'm sinkin' Blind to the world, to myself I'm talkin' Schemin' and dreamin' and sleepwalkin' Dreamin' of colors, dreamin' of sounds Dreamin' of things that can't be wrote down Slippin' away so no one will miss me Waitin' for angels to kiss me and bliss me Time stood still And nobody knew but me and you
My new fashion is the ultimate reaction Proactivity, proactivity yeah No more waiting for what fate may be creating Proactivity, proactivity yeah Keepin' an eye on that karma goin' by Proactivity, proactivity yeah Ever ready and my gaze is rock steady Proactivity for me, proactivity yeah Wake up and face the animal in you The frightened lizard that wants to win you That wants the madness to continue Screwed into every sinew Go on pretending you don't know the ending All the things that you weren't intending But your broadcast continued sending Now you're just hoping to blend in I can't digs it, no one else is gonna fix it Proactivity for me, proactivity yeah Air keeps stinkin' while we sit here thinkin' No activity, proactivity yeah Keep on fakin', it's a fake world you're makin' Proactivity, proactivity yeah Crash test dummies never saw it comin' Inactivity, proactivity yeah Look who's talkin', the last believer I'm the one who was happy with neither The last to come and the first to leave it I tossed my faith in the river My mistake, my philosophy busted I watched my future become encrusted I had a dream, but I refused to trust it Now I've finally sussed it
Let me tell you 'bout the new world order Not the kind to make you run for the border It's a new religion wrapped in a revolution With a proven solution for your mental pollution Cars and gold bars and chains and diamond rings These are the symbols, we want the real things Peace in the soul and a natural insight Things that please the mind and make the body feel right Don't let no one tell you that god ain't got a sense of humor Someone said he's pissed off, but that was just a rumor I know he's laughin' when the preacher starts to scream about How trippin' is evil, and sex is unclean Nature wants your life to go on long and on strong To have children and show them where you went wrong So if your life style leads you into hell or into prison Wake up and listen, this is what you're missing Free will, we can't seem to get our fill We are beggers, we are choosers drunk on a lack of power I believe in understanding, I've got to know where we're landing I'm takin' my survey now, hands up if you're with me Do you want different choices? Can't hear the quiet voices Got to dim all the lights, turn down the volume Put on a little more forgiveness, who's gonna be my witness? If we must endure this trial, someone is bound to touch us Do you want more sex, more comforting A little more foreplay and afterglow, let my people go Everybody wants peace on the earth, children sheltering Calling every man, every woman We're gonna take control of our own bodies Peace breaks out in the battle of the sexes We start to learn what the other one expects is We stay away from what the other one rejects is And have respect for individual perspectives We're gonna break out of this cycle of dependency And liberate each other from a hopeless life of drudgery And face up to the truth as we dispel all of this secrecy And simplify the situation when we learn to speak plainly We're gonna take control of the machinery Bad little actors that chew up the scenery Job number one is gonna be findin' a way That we can rave all night and meditate all day Mankind's strugglin' hard to see the light To hear the voice of the spirit in the night To lay down his heavy burden and pick up his soul power And build a heaven on earth hour by hour by hour Child protection, more careful mate selection Everyone wants to be wanted by a natural father and mother Lookin' for a sense of wonder, don't let your faith go under This is a beautiful world, if we could only give up fighting The answer is surrender, every race, every gender Beat our swords into plowshares on the anvil of a pure heart We gotta have honest answers and the courage to take our chances Opportunity's knockin' loud, give me your attention
Worldwide epiphany Worldwide epiphany, epiphany Babies and bachelors, fishes, cabbages, and queens Can't hear it comin', but we know what it means Boats upon the ocean, every plane in the air Never know just how or when, but we always know where Give it up one more time for the king of soul Let the good times roll, bring it on, bring it on Dusk 'til dawn, the landlady's gone Send the bill to the government, pack it in cement Take it from the ground up, this is the last roundup You can't win, and you can't break even You can't be leavin' the game anyway You've got to stay 'cause we came to play It's a new gene, a new wavelength, or maybe it's a virus Put the fire in us and inspire us To trust and lust for the good life And all that is required of us Turn to the headline news as if we had a right to choose To have no views as the rocket's red glare pollutes the air, And we swear that it can't happen here And we'll never be there Killer bees finally make it to Tokyo Juliet never made it with Romeo But check out the video later Terminator III's gonna preview the next fifty years or so We got the right to know, which means We got the right to misunderstand And slant the plan to help our hand and man They call it a culture, but it sucks you in like quicksand Give it up one more time for the king of soul Let the good times roll, bring it on, bring it on Dusk 'til dawn, the landlady's gone Send the bill to the government, pack it in cement
What's the meaning of all that I've seen All those images up on the screen Which is the channel that's goin' to show me Answers to questions I don't even know This is the light I stand in the glare of I'm here and I'm there, but I'm always aware of Singin' a song in the back of my mind Something mysterious, something divine
Why do I always look down when I want to look up Why do I shake somebody down when I'm feelin' shook up Why do I wander around when I want to hook up Why am I puttin' it down when I wanna pick up I need something to clear my head I need something to warm my bed I need something, some sweet thing Tell me lies, I know the truth but tell me lies Just like a breath of fresh air blowin' through my lonely spirit Love thing, well being Love thing Give what you ain't got to give, lord have mercy on me Drinkin' up blood and sweat and tears, I ain't afraid to ask Give it to me love thing, well being
Time stood still How many hours, I hear you breathing? How many days, I smell your skin? How many years, I watch the ceiling? How many times, the fog comes rollin' in? Time stood still Time stood still and nobody knew This is the light I stand in the glare of I'm here and I'm there, but I'm always aware of Singin' a song in the back of my mind Something mysterious, something divine Time stood still and nobody knew but me and you
Suck my breast, I'm the word made flesh Ain't no rest for the word made flesh My lips are moving but I hear no sound It's that same old noise, it's in sensurround Tune yourself up and count yourself down Word made flesh, word made flesh Lord help me rise to this occasion Word made, word made flesh I've been toiling so hard in the vineyard Pay your debts to the word made flesh East meets west in the word made flesh I see you talking, but I still can't hear Like a box of glass blocking off my ears Turn off the charm and prey on your fears Brainless pests for the word made flesh Wall Street desks curse the word made flesh
Numb is the word when I get like this Still out of touch, still couldn't feel a kiss, a kiss Bells going off, but I can't say why Trapped in the house with the walls and the roof on fire On fire Flames rise higher Fever broke Fever broke as you watched over me Land of opportunity, this is the Kiss Don't quit your day job
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