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About No Shortage of Good Ideas

The title No Shortage of Good Ideas is taken from a book by C.S. Lewis called A Year With C.S. Lewis, a daily reader that features quotes and blurbs from many of his Christian-focused works. I thought it would be a fun, snarky title for a followup to The Art of Tactful Procrastinationand in my mind I had wanted to do it as a real, full album of completely new tracks - the other side of the Tactful Procrastination experience.

But, when it became clear that I wasn't going to be doing the planned 6th and 7th singles, I decided this might be the perfect opportunity to do something of a hybrid album featuring enhanced b-side mixes, intended b-sides that didn't get released, and some other songs from my past that never got the time of day that I feel they truly deserved. As a result, No Shortage of Good Ideas has taken on a bit of a different meaning.

But it still keeps that snarky attitude. Sort of "tongue in cheek", if you will!

Release Date: May 19, 2023

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No Shortage of Good Ideas Lyrics

Tongue In Cheek

Faking your fall until midnight
Making it up when it all goes wrong
Well nothing that's spoken is said right
And nothing that's broken is ever gone

Stumbling selfish and sober
Waking the dawn with your ecstacy
Well anything goes when it's over
But anything less is a tragedy

For a moment I lose my mind
And all those moments get left behind

You go your own way
It's a shame to see

Well I don't want you to give up on anything
But I have to tell you
You wanted me

Smashing your skyline of mourning
Scratching the blue til it all falls down
Dragging your feet without warning
Digging the earth til you touch the ground

For a moment I'm going blind
And all resemblance is left behind

You go your own way
It's shame to see

Well I don't want you to give up on anything
But regardless you should know
You had to have me

Well I don't want you to give up on anything
But I have to tell you
You wanted
You broke it
You bought it
You wanted
You wanted me

We all have our mountains to climb

Vampire

Looking for the good fight
You were hardened by the desert light
Screaming for tomorrow darlin
You were greeted by the casualties
Of home

It was nothing
It meant nothing to me
Cos waiting
Is just a stone's throw away

If you breathe
If you breathe
You'll be leaving me behind

Feeding for your conscience
You were cheated by your confidence
Grieving for forever darlin
Liberated by the casualties
Of home

It was nothing
It meant nothing to me
Cos waiting
Just won't let us get away

If you breathe
If you breathe
Then you'll be seeing my life away

A sentimental Vampire
A closet case slave
A picture perfect profile
Knows me by name

Looking for the good fight
You were greeted by the vacancies of home

A sentimental Vampire
A closet case slave
Bound within the ruins of
What we had made

A sentimental Vampire
A closet case slave
A picture perfect profile
Knows me by name

Needless To Say

I didn't see you come
I didn't hear you call
I didn't have the evidence
Worth contemplating
I didn't see you fall

Maybe it's okay to say
The things you're saying
Maybe it's alright tonight
The things you're dreaming
Maybe there are words conveyed
When thoughts prevail
But now we'll never know

I didn't see you come
I didn't hear you crawl
I didn't have the confidence
Worth misdirecting
I didn't see you crawl

Maybe it's okay to say
The things you're saying
Maybe it's alright tonight
The things you're dreaming
Maybe there are words conveyed
When thoughts prevail
But now we'll never know

Maybe it's okay to say
The things you're saying
Maybe it's alright tonight
The things you're dreaming
Maybe to our own dismay
Our thoughts prevail
But now we'll never know

I didn't see you come
I didn't hear you call

Past Tense Catastrophe

Way back
To the sand again
Breaking
This symphony
We can believe it again
We can believe in you
Just take my hand

Hold on to this love
Hold on
Cos I'm not giving up

Waiting on a cloud alone
Fated to fall into the lights below
We can believe anything
Pretend
You had no clue where this was going

Hold on to this hope
Hold on
You don't want to let me go
Oh love
What cannot be undone?
Oh love
It's all under the sun

Hold on to this hurt
Hold on
I'm knee deep in the dirt
Love is
Believing
Believe it
We can
Yeah

Riot

Thoughts break into your heart
Again tonight
What you got’s tearing you apart
It ends tonight
Scriptures ain’t got much to say
When the pictures of you get traded away
But you're caught sounding the alarm
It ends tonight

And in your heart
It ends tonight
Your open heart
Do or die

Heart's burning all you have
To their delight
But it’s hard turning all those shadows
Into light
Blisters slithering up your sleeve
Whispers of all you've yet to conceive
Heart's yearning for those shackles
To ignite

No disregard
No wrong or right
In your heart
It ends tonight

You cannot hide what's inside you riots
Uh huh
You scream like a dream divided
Uh huh

When the night shakes loose
And the sky breaks through
It's alright

Nobody knows your name
But it's alright

There's no forever
What you see is what you get
But you haven't done it yet

There is no never
(There is no never)
The bond that's broken isn't set
If you haven't spoken yet

There's no surrender
As if you're going somewhere
But oh, on your way down
You will see

Thoughts shaping the abyss
It ends tonight
Like a knot aching in your fist
It ends tonight

No morning star
No compromise
In your heart
It ends tonight

In your mind you're inclined to riot
Uh huh
You scream like a dream divided
Uh huh

When the night shakes loose
And the sky breaks through
It's alright

Nobody knows your name
But it's alright

Boys And Girls

Maybe
You broke your bones
There's nothing I can do
Just to get you in a room
Alone

Maybe
It's for the best
You didn't have to try
But you have me asking why
You left

Maybe
You'll be amused
Another alibi
But this time I didn't light
The fuse

Maybe there's too much passion
Maybe there's too much pain
The day we fall out of fashion
Is the day that I stay the same
In your heart
In your world
Boys and Girls

Maybe
I'm overdressed
But when you're staring at the sun
You don't know when you've become
The pest

Maybe
There's too much lost
When there's never any doubt
You can hardly ever count
The cost

Maybe there's too much passion
Maybe there's too much blame
Maybe you're born for ashes
Maybe I can say the same
In your heart
In your world
Boys and Girls

The wolves they cry
For you and I
I don't ask why

The wolves they cry
For you and I
I don't ask why
And I don't mind

Maybe there's too much passion
Maybe there's too much pain
The day we fall out of fashion
Is the day that I stay the same
In your heart
In your world
Boys and Girls

Someday Soon

You don’t want some love
You don’t want some name
And everything stays the same
But even roses bloom in time

You won’t be held down
And you will not be tamed
Like a prisoner in a cage
Just say the word I’ll come inside

Because you’re mine
Mine
Everyone is waiting, beautiful
And like the ocean tide awaits the full moon
Maybe this will happen
Someday soon

You don’t play by chance
And you don’t want routine
You demand all that's in between
Til your heart is satisfied

You won’t come undone
And you won’t be denied
Well everyone wants inside
They couldn’t have you if they tried

Because you’re mine
Mine
Everyone is waiting, beautiful
So open up the doors and own the room
Maybe this will happen
Someday soon

Someday soon
In the middle of the universe
You can tell me what it’s all worth

Because you’re mine
Mine
Everyone is waiting, beautiful
All you’ve ever wanted will come true
But all I want is you

Emerald

We're wasting time
For a sign
That we can see too clearly
There goes another day
And my mind

Who's to blame for this crime?
Will we find
A key to this conspiracy
As the words slip away
With my mind

But anyway
You couldn't be so innocent
You can breathe
But I can't see
Your eyes as emerald
Buried in my soul

Two fools who sing
Queen and King
Who for no rhyme or reason
Who to capture a heart
Without strings

Who's to blame for this sling
For everything
Well who's got time to listen
But will the world fall apart
Without strings?

But anyway
You couldn't be so relevant
You can breathe
But I can't see
Your eyes as emerald
Buried in my soul

Please give me all you have
This forgiving wind
Won't let me in
Please tell me all you know
Like this
Brick road
My soul

If Anybody Asks You (Remove Your Shadow Mix)

Nobody move
Nobody hurt
Remove your shadow
Before it burns

Ooooooo these days
You’re occupied by the sound
Ooooooo these days
As long as no one's around

So say what you will or won’t
Speak only when spoken to
Don’t change when the wind blows
Easier to say than do
If anybody asks you

You’re losing ground
To modern things
They push your buttons
And pull your strings

Oooooo shake down
That ugly attitude
Oooooo shake down
Til there’s nothing left of you

So say what you will or won’t
Speak only when spoken to
Don’t change when the wind blows
Easier to say than do
If anybody asks you

Is that all you are?
Is that all you want?

Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah

One and only

So say what you will or won’t
Speak only when spoken to
Don’t change when the wind blows
Easier to say than do
If anybody asks you

Nothing To Fear

There's nobody here
And the names are forgotten
The silence is clear
And the shambles are rotten

All the lines you thought you'd toed
Come to find they're on this road
Oh what you leave out
When you won't think out loud

There's nobody here
Not a shadow is walking
There's nothing to fear
When the angels are talking

Every lie that scars the ground
Comes from someone else's mouth
When you have no doubts
That’s when the knives come out

There's nobody here
And the sky is done falling
The stillness is near
And it moves without stalling

Through the wake of whispered breeze
Just to kiss the tombstone trees
When you figure out
What you can't stop now

There's nobody here
And the wounds will not heal
There's nary a tear
When the fallen don't feel

You can run until you crawl
But you can't rise if you can't fall
Until you figure out
What you can live without

There's nobody here
And the echoes are knocking
But there's nothing to fear
When the angels are talking

All those lines you thought you'd toed
Come to linger on this road
Oh what you leave out
When you don't think out loud

Rainfall

So...
You ran into somebody
In the weeds
In the rainfall

Low...
Underneath the muddy gates
In dreams
That stain

Slow…
Water flows like honey
When you breathe
Shameful

Blow…
The whispers that keep coming late
In the breeze
That blames

No
Nobody wins like this
When you’re holding yourself down
Like you don’t belong here

Know
Everyone feels like this
Lost inside the sound
Just what you need to hear
When the night falls
With the rain

Alone…
Creeping into nothingness
With the leaves
That change

So...
You ran into somebody
In the weeds
In the rainfall

No
Nobody wins like this
When you’re holding yourself down
Like you don’t belong here

Know
Everyone bleeds like this
Smaller than the crowd
Larger than your fears
When the night falls
With the rain

Long Day (Night Is Alive Mix)

It’s been a long day
And night
I never thought I’d see you cry
Even the strong say
You might
When you’re making up goodbyes
And you’re shaking through your eyes

Well I’m only here for a while
Til I’m passing by in this moon
Even then you can see me smile
I’ll watch over you
Then you know
I’m still loving you so

It’s been a long day
And night
I never thought you’d fall in stride
Even the hard way
Is blind
When you're making up your mind
And you’re shaking through your lies

Well I’m only here for a moment
Til I’m passing by in this breeze
Even then you can hear me sighing
Simple harmonies
Then you know
I’m still loving you so

If anyone ask you
The night is alive
Making your way to
Dance in the lights

It's been a long day
And night
I never thought we’d fall outside
Even the wrong way
Is right
There’s little room for what’s inside
When you’re making up for time
Making up for time
Dance into the light
Night has come alive

Get No Shortage of Good Ideas

The Companion To 2021's The Art of Tactful Procrastination!

RELEASED May 19, 2023

  • Full-Color CD Jacket
  • Full-Color Printed CD Label

Tracklisting

  1. Tongue In Cheek
  2. Vampire
  3. Needless To Say
  4. Past Tense Catastrophe
  5. Riot
  6. Boys And Girls
  7. Someday Soon
  8. Emerald
  9. If Anybody Asks You (Remove Your Shadow Mix)
  10. Nothing To Fear
  11. Rainfall
  12. Squeaky
  13. Long Day (Night Is Alive Mix)
  14. The Cleansing Of The Soul

No Shortage Trivia And Other Stories

No Shortage of Good Ideas is a subtitle taken from the February 15th reading of A Year With C.S. Lewis, a collection of quotes and blurbs from some of C.S. Lewis's most popular Christian-inspired books. I had intended to use this as the title to The Art of Tactful Procrastination's follow-up. I just didn't necessarily expect that follow-up to be more of a compilation album. Or, as I like to call it, a "new(ish)" album.

"Tongue In Cheek" was recorded in 2004-2005 in Canton and Potsdam, NY, shortly after the breakup of Starways Congress. I believe this is one of the first things I put together once I completed and released Lemonymous in 2005. Like "Vampire" (below), it was one of the songs I lost publishing rights to during my tenure as a signed artist (2007-2008). It never got professionally mixed, and I didn't officially have the rights to it back until 2014. By that time I was already demoing Tactful Procrastination and had moved past the heavy music period that largely defined Middle Aegis. The only thing re-recorded for professional mixing was the non-solo guitars, which were done in 2022.

"Vampire" was one of the first co-writes I did with Ben Baker, whom I attended high school with, and who also played lead guitar in Starways Congress (2003-2004). It never appeared as a song in that band's repertoire and thus was never performed nor recorded with them. This was originally recorded around the same time as "Tongue In Cheek", and while I never did a professional mix of it back then, I almost released it as a single in 2006. Instead, I moved to Nashville and the track fell into the same black hole that "Tongue" did.

"Needless To Say" and "Past Tense Catastrophe" were both co-writes with Ben Baker during our time with Starways Congress. Both were mainstays in our set lists, and these two recordings, done in 2003-2004, were intended as demos to present to the band. As the riffs were all Ben, he performs on these. I did the lyrics and the arrangements. These particular mixes needed a couple touch-ups in terms of some extra guitars and sounds, but very little else was done before they went to professional mixing.

"Riot" was the b-side to "The Art of Tactful Procrastination" single. Intended as an homage to Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and a lot of that break beat stuff from the late 90s. Like most of the already-released b-sides in this collection, it has a slightly new mix for this release.

"Boys And Girls" is probably in the top ten of all the songs I've ever done. It's very much "the sound" I have always pictured in my head for myself - or it's at least closer to it than most of my other attempts. The chorus melody came to me one day in the shower and I had the song within days after that. I specifically channeled one of my favorite bands and influences, Garbage, and even referenced some of their Version 2.0 (1998) tracks in mixing. I don't know what it's about, but as a b-side to "Wait of The World" (and an outgrowth from the "boys and girls" line in that song) I think it fits nicely with it.

"Someday Soon", the b-side to "Still No Closer To Tomorrow", was written for my wife and given to her as a gift on her birthday in 2017. That version did not have drums. I tried to marry two ideas (see what I did there?) - that she is fiercely strong and independent, and that at the same time I somehow get to be with her. It's loose, but I think it works.

"Emerald", the b-side to "If Anybody Asks You", was originally recorded for 2003's Scarlet Dawn. I genuinely cannot recall why it didn't make it on the album, apart from perhaps not being enthused about some of the performance on it (which I've gotten over since then - nothing on this recording was re-done). I otherwise think from both a sonic and lyrical perspective it would've fit on that album quite nicely.

"If Anybody Asks You (Remove Your Shadow Mix)" was another track on that single release. I chose to add it here because I like it better than the version on The Art of Tactful Procrastination. Stylistically I don't think it would have fit on there, but were I to do this song live I think this would be the version I would do. I feel like it gets to the paranoid quality of the song much better.

"Nothing To Fear" is the b-side to "Addie". This is another melody that came in the shower with lyrics that seemed to just flow right out of me. It's meant to be dark and sinister... giving off a sense of being surrounded by despair in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. But the idea is if you can hear the angels, they must be close by, so there's that sense of hope and comfort despite the environment. Even with these dark undertones I feel it sits next to "Addie" well because while that song is about a father singing a lullaby to his daughter, "Nothing To Fear" is an exaggerated and overdramatic representation of the daughter hearing her father sing her a lullaby - she's surrounded by darkness and fear and the unknown, but his voice breaks through and calms her. This song really makes more sense in that context.

"Rainfall" was intended to be the b-side to "Some Kind of Never", however, that single didn't happen. That's probably a good thing as this song was really, really difficult to mix. I don't know why. It follows a similar thread as "Nothing To Fear" in that it feels like darkness but there's hope and comfort within.

"Squeaky" is a little instrumental that would have been intended for a "Streetlights Look Like Diamonds" single which, like "Some Kind of Never", didn't happen. In fact, this was recorded at the same time as "Streetlights" and musically shares a lot of similarities. The title of the track was really intended as just a placeholder to refer to it until I had a real title. Apparently this was the real title after all!

"Long Day (Night Is Alive Mix)" features the piano part that this song was originally built around. This is closer to what the song might have been on The Art of Tactful Procrastination, had I not decided to add drums and take the song into different sonic territory than I had intended. Even so, I couldn't just leave it as piano and vocal only - some of the elements from the album mix are here too.

"The Cleansing of The Soul" is the very first ever digital recording I ever did. This was done on a program called Cubase for a music lab during my sophomore year of college in 1999. The assignment was to take a real world sound and apply music against it to see what we could come up with. I had decided to use a DAT recorder to get the sounds of a washing machine in my dorm, which I then brought into Cubase and (with some additional effects here and there) set it alongside a piece of music I was working on at the time. I wish I still had the original recording without the washing machine, but I suspect it would feel empty and wouldn't work quite as well. There are some very obvious Brian Eno things going on in here, and it's still something I regard quite highly as an early Ender Bowen experiment. Shout out to Michael Farley on this one!

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