We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Life in the Underground

by Chemystry Set

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Immediate download of 13-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. Plus original 12-page booklet!
    Purchasable with gift card

     

1.
Thwart 03:46
Go seven generations fore to ask what they have seen Be sure the things you say and do are what you want to mean Construct, revise and protest what you're told up on the screen To change the glory of conquest to what it should have bean Don't you worry, I will get you to where I'm going Thwart me but I won't turn back from where I'm blowing On the seas of change The flow will help us to rearrange It's not a crutch to get me where, I'll get there on my own more a passage to a place where I have often grown Want to illuminate with possibles where few have brightly shone Provide a future for the youth who swim in the unknown We're standing on the world, so please forgive us if we slide it's not for those who are never wrong and swimming with the tide the echo of our folly is now blowing through the night so thwart me if you will but I am running with the light
2.
Small 06:08
I walk the walk I talk the talk I'm not the kind who wanders with a suitcase of my choice the weapons that you've given me have proven to be toys I'm on a mission to protect the current pace for those of you who disagree I'll shoot you in the face And so, by god, I swear I'm not to blame I'm in the dark and I was born in heavy rain And still I scream and push with all my might but in the end I wasn't meant to see the light I'm small but I'm acting tall, you may see me tremble but I never fall We're all on a little round ball, it's the same situation here for one and all
3.
To Be Kings 05:51
Kings of our own fields. Kings of our own table We want to find a place that is stable Stop right there, we must digress: Every people in their progress Have a chance to go onward, but they choose to regress Kwikala Balopwe Don't let these words coolya Don't let memories foolya Don't let history schoolya, to be kings, kwikala balopwe They came to the village when we were kings Dethroned, now just a cog in the wheel of their workings They left us in the shadows when they tried to light the room But who needs light or darkness? We had the sun and the moon White skin, but a black heart, they worked off our tails and ran We can't catch up to them: The chase around the Baobab began. He came into the cities, proclaimed us kings He spoke of pride, three ZZZs, and promised many things Soon the lies began to mount, dissolving spirals of negation Dignity for emerging nation, just a figment of imagination (He's got) black skin, but a white mask and the same black heart as the colonists He made us all into thieves to keep himself the klepto-collosus Burn the fields, clear off the table, changing season, new crop will enable The storms are over, the sky is blue, no more will be done to us, it's time to let us do They came into the prison, hear the sound of our chains breaking But will they just be left to rust or forged for some new under-handed-taking? We didn't need to be captives, but do we still need a king? We drum out in a new direction, hear shouts and rhythm begin to ring No face, all heart, this dance will be more challenging But if our time has come.......we will sing
4.
Soiled 03:30
Standing in the doorway to the path around my dream, emerging rays of light reminding of the things I've seen upon my late arrival and much to my surprise, I got soiled, I got soiled, I got soiled Sighting flying objects and ancient memories, a dwindling fear of matter and abandoned cavities I step into the tunnel and I dig myself a coil,I got soiled, I got soiled, I got soiled Seven steps to heaven, that's what I had in mind, but when the gates did open the public eye turned blind with all my strange behavior and even in disguise, I got soiled, I got soiled, I got soiled So I turn in my confession about the world below, the officer suspiciously inspects my bag in tow through loam and clay he murmured till he finally recoiled, You got soiled, you got soiled, you got soiled The stage is now set for groundbreaking sweat, it may take a while to shovel the pile and while we all breathe the earth underneath, we get soiled, we get soiled, we get soiled
5.
The way we breed, the way we feed The way of our slow strangle So that we don't see the way we bleed The way we root when the point is moot The way we slowly suffocate like we have no clue, it isn't me, it isn't you The way we preach, the way we teach The way of our slow strangle I do beseach, all we do is leech The way things are meant for your slow strangle Get your head right out of the noose and start to disentangle And when you're way high in the sky but see your body dangle Then it's prime time to approach yet another angle So you say: "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" when they make you scream And we will: "Play, play, play, play!" just to let off steam in the ravine
6.
Twirl 05:32
What's unconditional doesn't have to be pure Don't always have to want me to be that sure Been lookin' for that kind (of love), but didn't need to look I can see all of the strength (come through) the weakness i mistook There's already so much twisted in our words So redefine and join me in a twirl What happens when one's destiny overcomes one's deed? No longer claimed a monger, find you're a breed Though you were built for famine, been made to feed Will it hold you hostage, or will you be freed? There's already too many twisting on the vine So down you climb to join me in a twirl We live by edifice of what we think we see Just one constant strand (of energy) declared reality Though taught we should believe, don't cede control The truth is found within, not the story we've been told There's lyin' and there's too much twisted in the world So leave all that and join me in a twirl
7.
Tuber Song 05:59
Autumn leaves and castles in the sand, I've tried so hard to make it last And when winter came and washed away the land, letting go of what had passed then I knew what to ask All the questions and all the memories, they will be with me till the end but time is spinning and there are no guarantees, so sit together with your friends let it flow with the band Walk on bye, walk on bye, walk on bye Grab a root and throw it in the pot, get your history in a stew and when the soup's too thick inspiring no more thought, then you know just what to do move on to something new Our name's the tuber, welcome to the SET, get your good advice We chew the goober and while doing that we're always asking twice so come with us, break the ice
8.
Ducttape 06:11
Got some ducttape for your shoe A stick of Wrigley's for you to chew Got some air to fill the wings of a dove Got some peace in the house of love Got an album of smooth Jazz tunes that takes you higher than big balloons Got an anchor you can throw in the sea The ease to yank it when you want to be free On the way to the song of the surface of the earth stepped a pilgrim who had long since forgotten her own turf she was walking in the search of a promentory land over rocks and under bridges and through many miles of sand If you see her let her take you by the hand She will tell you all the tales that she gathered on her walk about the time she saw the yeti and about his crazy talk then she will move a little closer and enchant you with a smile before embarking on a float down the valley of the nile If you see her let her take you by the hand If you wanna be a part to help a pilgrim on a cruise give her love with no condition and a solid pair of shoes and if you're sad cause she told you that the time has come to leave just remember what you give is in the end what you receive If you see her let her take you by the hand
9.
I found a scrap of paper on the trail up to the cup I was hiking at the end of a binge, the conflict between need and want made me troubled much Three written phrases seemed sent to me, a clue, addressing my temperamental hue "Stop tryin' to be blacker, cuz you really are just blue!" and They're not the same (a black er a shade a blue) The next made me think of the woman who just left me, it was time for her to go, I know, but it still feels gloomy, like sunshine at the heart of a clearcut She gone, but she left me some demons, so the comment hit its mark-- "You can crawl out of the shadows or stay cryin' in the dark!" She's not to blame (neither are black nor blue) Be careful where you get your cues, make sure the work you do follows your own tune Don't mimic any others, though you might think they've got more soul than you Be a Live one, not the Dead, don't just repeat all that I've said, a singular voice is rare "The pain I have we do not share, so please do not compare!" There's naught to gain ('cept a blacker blue)
10.
11.
The Rim 05:50
Looking for tomorrow and you're sitting on an arrow to the sun Climbing up the ladder but your feet are in the water, rabbit run With every step you're breathing harder and you think you're getting smarter by the pound And the air is getting hotter though your feet now sloth in water, hear the sound Such a long way you have come, but your climb has just begun Come with us to our world on the top of the rim Where the sea is so high rise away from us and we can swim Now you set out to get higher, to be seen and to inspire someone's dream As you're slowly getting up there your shoulder's under water, change of scene See the canyon down below and feel the ocean grow on the rim When you're standing on the verge, but you find yourself submerged, start to swim Such a long way you have come, but your climb has just begun
12.
Flying 04:54
Endless miles I'm running Myriads of change I saw the last wall coming before I jumped the range What I saw was the wide open sky covered by a veil of pink so huge that I was afraid to fly holding on to the missing link Flying, flying high in the sky, we fly so high Flying, flying high in the sky, watching the world go by I turned around just one last time in fear of losing ground but then the rope that I had climbed gave way to lights and sound I thought of all the troubles I witnessed in the search of holes and fizzy bubbles while dwelling in the earth There still remains a trace of doubt the comfort sure was nice but finally I'm breaking out though slippery as ice through all the motions I was shown from high to lowest tide I learned that many seeds are sown by stepping to the side
13.
Life in the Underground with the carrots and the beets Life in the Underground, down a hundred eighty feet Life in the Underground, see the world from down below Life in the Underground, I can hear the grass grow Life in the Underground from a million miles away Life in the Underground cause I only wanna play Life in the Underground where secret plans are made Life in the Underground cause it's cooler in the shade Stand on your head, pull your toes and spin around You can go in all directions when you've come from underground Lie on your back, close your eyes and see the sky it appears in many colors though they're sometimes passing by Life in the Underground I can hear 'em talk a storm Life in the Underground as a supersonic worm Life in the Underground where the echo of my love Life in the Underground can resonate above Life in the Underground and we're slowly digging up Life in the Underground from the dawning land of mud Life in the Underground with the carrots and the beets Life in the Underground down a hundred thirty feet

about

A groundbreaking debut by the eclectic rock ensemble. 13 tracks weave their way through deep realms of consciousness, telling stories of rebellion, conspiracy, roots and hope. Guest appearances by bassoonist Paul Hanson (Windham Hill), percussionist Avidan Rose (Mobius Operandi, Myron Dove) and Soji Odukogbe (Kotoja, West African Highlife Band). Binaural audio clips from the hands and ears of multimedia guru Tony Idarola. Original ball point pen cover by Matt Ritchie.

credits

released November 18, 1998

Sven Eberlein - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Mark Sand - Drums
Joel Oppenheimer - Bass
Baba Ndjhoni - Electric Mandolin, Acoustic Mandolin, Vocals
Dave Jacobsen - Keyboard
Greg Carney - Guitar

license

tags

about

Chemystry Set San Francisco, California

Musicianship tight as an atom, music wild and roaming as the imagination of the unknown. It’s like everything and nothing I’ve ever heard, a screaming reminder that rock is rebellion and must be reinvented each time it’s played, or else it’s just pop.

contact / help

Contact Chemystry Set

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Chemystry Set, you may also like: