From: dfong@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc
Subject: Re: MC 900 Foot Jesus: The City Sleeps
Date: 12 Nov 92 21:08:04 +1300
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

In article <1992Nov11.201917.13352@mprgate.mpr.ca>, jakubec@mprgate.mpr.ca (Trent J Jakubec) writes:
> 
> I heard this track from their latest album a while back while in San 
> Francisco.  How does the album compare to this track?

I suggest you to get the latest album 'Welcome to My Dream'.
The dark humour in 'The City Sleeps' is also pretty prevalent on the other
vocal tracks on the album.
It clocks in around 45 minutes, has 9 tracks. Half of them are instrumentals
or have very little talking in it. Some of them are a bit wierd but they
grow on you, e.g. "Dali's Handgun", in which he just says "Perfect Gun" 
for what seems like ages.
The lyrical tracks are worth getting the album for :
Killer Inside Me, Adventures In Failure, Hearing Voices In Other People's
Minds, and of course The City Sleeps.
(I think there are others...can't quite think of them right now).

After repeated listens it gets a bit boring, like all rap music ?-)
But I still have to chuckle when I listen to 'Adventures in Failure' !

> I am familiar with the "Truth (is out of style)" track from the first(?)
> album, and did not like it.  This is why I am a little scared in picking
> up the album, figuring it might be quite different from the City Sleeps
> track.

"Truth..." isn't very good in my opinion either.

The CD single for 'Killer Inside Me' isn't very good either.
With a mix by (I think) Meat Beat Manifesto and the extended of 'Truth...'
But it also has 'City Sleeps'.  The album version and an instrumental
clarinet version...go figure !


Morgan

-------------------------------------------------------

It just happens I have some lyrics on-line, enjoy !



Killer Inside Me
----------------

You've probably seen me hanging around
I'm a very familiar face in this town.
A day doesn't go by that I don't meet
a lot of my friends walking down the street.
I'm never too busy to stop by the way
and I've always got something pleasant to say,
Maybe some perceptive thoughts about the weather
or the latest news from Wall Street, whatever.
I could stand around all day making small talk
gushing platitudes, blocking the sidewalk
tying people up for hours with ease,
my one big talent is shooting the breeze.
When they start to squirm, I really get going
but only my happy-face smile is showing.
WHy can't they see what I'm trying to hide,
I'm bustin' a gut, laughing on the inside.
It's in their smile when they say hello
I can see they think I'm a little bit slow.
But after a while with me, they look dazed
their eyes are covered with a donut glaze.
I really start to cook when I see that look
I hit 'em with every clich in the book.
Their knees wobble and they start to weave
It's like they're begging for permission to leave.
They think they're having a brush with stupidity
I don't laugh, even though it's killing me.
Watching them wilt like day old flowers,
Ticking off the minutes as they turn into hours.
They're wondering how much more they can take
I give 'em a friendly smile and a handshake.
We say goodbye so very politely
Now say hello to the killer inside me.

Everybody has their doubts about my sanity
But nothing happens 'cause they all feel sorry for me
I've got the whole town under my thumb
and all I've gotta do is keep acting dumb.
"Oh that boy Lou" they say "what a guy"
"A little on the slow side but wouldn't hurt a fly"
"and such a gentleman!" "Oh yes I know,"
"he sure can talk your ear off though!"
I tip my hat and pretend I don't hear
grinning like a half-wit from ear to ear
I can think of a thousand ways to say hello
so I start through 'em all, and go real slow.
They listen hard, and act like they care
How can they be so completely unaware
of the truth the answer is always denied me
so I introduce them to the killer inside me.


Hearing Voices in Other People's Minds
--------------------------------------

I know you. I know all about you. You see things that other people don't see 
and it makes you nervous. If your hands would stop shaking, you'd wipe the
cold sweat from your brow. It's hard for you to think but you don't need very
much because the voices in your head usually tell you what to do. You consider
yourself to be invisible and it's true in a way, because everybody can see
right through you. Other people can even read your thoughts, although they'll
never let you know it for sure. But when you leave the room, everybody 
discusses you and then have a good laugh. You used to have some friends, but 
they don't come around much anymore; probably because it's hard for them to
keep a straight face in your presence. When you go out you need to be very
careful. Things always seem to happen too fast. If someone accidently brushes
against you, you jerk away in a panic that you foolishly hope no one will
notice. When you go into a place of business and see a security camera, you
try to beam pleasant, innocuous thoughts at it. you make a feeble attempt to
be nonchalant until you are out of its range. If you see a book or magazine,
it usually has a picture of yourself on the cover, one taken by such a camera.
These pictures are skilfully retouched to look like someone else in order to
mock you. You never read books or magazines because they all contain secret
messages hidden in multiple layers of meaning that make you do things you 
can't remember later. Nights are rough. you stay in your apartment with the
shades drawn and all the lights off, watching television. You keep the sound
turned off and try to be very quiet because you want everyone to think that
you're asleep. And all night long, a disembodied voice in the back of your head
sings over and over : "Somewhere there's a place for us..."