Super-exciting news here in Catberg. Eric Din’s latest single Am I Not Alien? is now available on Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, TIDAL and maybe some other places, gosh. The B-side is People I May Know.
Wait there’s more! The BandCamp version of this intergalactic release has a BONUS TRACK OMG YES!! Exclusively there you will find, as a C-side, if you will, the brand new, hot-off-the-desk Charles Stella DUB mix of People I May Know, called, of course, People I May Dub. So click the links above ^ for your favorite streaming puppies, or click the fancy widget below to hear it right now via BandCamp, WITH the extra track. Why? Does this make any sense? Of course not, Bethany, things making sense is so last millennium. We hope you enjoy.
The original lyrics to People I May Know, as scrawled, minutes before they were caterwauled
Professor Dub at the controls. I sent my tracks to Charles Stella, my UpTones brethren and go-to dubmaster for all tings dub. Because of course I did. He diced and sliced and niced them up into froth of dubalicious madness. People I May Know, dubstylee, mo’ficially on Berkeley Cat Records. Go deh 😽
Another “new” track from yours truly, this one a reboot of a song my UpTones brethren Paul Jackson wrote in the late 1980s. It was right after the original UpTones broke up and Paul and Ben and I started HOBO. We released it as a single and played it in our set for a while as we hoboed up and down the west coast playing concerts and nightclubs and the occasional campfire.
In 2017 I heard a new version with some different lyrics and asked Paul if he’d mind if I made a rewrite. Graciously Paul agreed and I tracked it at home with acoustic guitar and a “voice-box” lead guitar created with a Pignose amp and a funnel (for my fellow Frampton geeks!)
Now in the COVIDopalypse I wanted drums and bass to round it out so I called Dave Tweedie who put down some fabulous acoustic drum tracks, and then I played the bass. Mixed it up and here it be! I’m very happy with how it came out. Hope you also enjoy.
Oh, it’s been called, alternately, Laughing Man or The Laughing Man. I went with Laughing Man and Shannon’s artwork says The Laughing Man and that’s appropriate. “The Laughing Man, he can’t decide.” Full lyrics and credits below. Feel free to share any ol’ which way ya like. Thank you.
Laughing Man
There’s a pile of tacks where the floor meets the wall He put them there so my pictures would not fall The laughing man got a magic 8 ball The laughing man sees and knows all
He is the laughing man He is the laughing man And he’ll do what he can To see that we don’t understand
There’s a laughter where my hand pulls at my eye He put it there so that I wouldn’t cry
And still the laughing children Out on a summer’s day Save their pennies and marbles To hear the laughing man play
He is the laughing man He is the laughing man And he’ll do what he can To see that we don’t understand
It ain’t a joke but here’s a punch line He’s laughing at the knot I tied The laughing man, he can’t decide The laughing man, he never dies
And still the laughing children Even as skies turn gray Travel with minimal cargo To hear the laughing man play
Produced by Eric Din at Din’s house Eric Din: Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Talkyboxen Drums recorded by Dave Tweedie at Dave’s house Cover art by Shannon Wheeler at Shannon’s house Now you may listen to it at your house Like magic
A man is an island Unto a shining black mirage A man is in silence As he moves through the garage Can’t complain, he plays the game, He’s happy to be alive on this fine day
Though he don’t belong here, A castaway cast in some role, He never tried out for, It’s been so long since he’s been whole Can’t complain, the old refrain, He’s happy to be alive on one more day
I start to wonder, Am I not alien? When I see another, Am I not alien? Am I not alien?
Out on a mission, Ready to conquer planets, A man has gone AWOL, Cos he thought better of it he just met, Another stray, she’d like to stay, They’re happy to be alive on this fine day
And still I wonder, Am I not alien? When I see another, Am I not alien? Am I not alien?
One in a million, It’s only natural to find, Just when you don’t care, and you’re nowhere, Out of the blue someone arrives, To change your mind, and set you right, I’m ready to come alive on one more day
And still I wonder, Am I not alien? As I cross the border, Am I not alien? Am I not alien? Am I not alien? Hmmm
I posted an earlier mix of this just in time for the Xmas holidaze. Here it is completed and mastered for release to the Interwilds! I’ve been feeling this one anew during this social distancing time, and I hope it takes you to a nice place for a minute too. Island Life comes out in the streaming services on Caturday, May 23. Exclusively here and on BandCamp now.
ISLAND LIFE
I’ve been workin’ late on Friday night And I’m goin’ in on Caturday I’ve been thinkin’ bout the island light As another summer peels away
Hanging in this curtain Grey skies over urban Lately my mind’s been wanderin’
To where the horizon shoulda been Touch, but I can’t be certain, Where it all ends I start again,
Let’s blow it off I wanna get away I wanna hear some music I wanna hear ya say
All the world’s an island, life is free, Half a million friends, but I’m lonely, As the glaciers fall and raise the sea, Won’t you save some island life for me?
Why can’t we all just live in peace? Sometimes I break down in the morning and cry Scream out in the night Only to realize There’s nothing in the world we can’t do Anything we set our minds to Maybe someday I won’t always be alone
Hanging in this curtain Grey skies over urban Lately my mind’s been wanderin’
Right over the silver lining South, to the blue shining A postcard sent home to mom
All the world’s an island, life is free, Every day looks still more crazy, Greta sailed the wide and open sea, For to save some island life for she For we
——————–
Eric Din – Guitars, Bass, Vocals, Loop Drums Michael Urbano – Live Drums Paul Jackson – Synths and Percussion
Recorded at Din’s house and East Bay Recorders, by Michael Rosen and Mr. Din Paul Jackson recorded by Paul Jackson at Paul’s house Mixed by Matt Winegar Mastered by Eric Din somewhere out in the woods Cover art by Shannon Wheeler
The latest from Eric Din was recorded mere hours ago where he’s diligently isolated. We’re compiling a collection of Din’s more sensible comments. “Much Better” is the first entry in this exciting new log.
Much Better
Much Better
It’s much better It’s much better It’s much better Without butter
Go to your room Calisthenics Kook mal, Schtruppi
It’s much better It’s much better It’s much better Without butter
Guaranteed in at least thirty states
It’s much better It’s much better It’s much better Without butter
A gelatinous, seething tube From outer space They’ve come To put us in our place
Quack quack
Guitar, voice and production by Eric Din Artwork by Shannon Wheeler
Berkeley Cat Records is appalled to announce the release of Barf, the new single from Eric Din. We tried to stop him, but when Din sets his mind to something he does it, even if it’s Barf. We’re sending him to counseling, where he’ll get the help he needs, alongside Bill The Cat and Too Much Coffee Man. We wish him well and hope for a speedy recovery and yes, he’ll still have a home with Berkeley Cat Records when they let him out. We are contractually obligated to release this so here it is, as delivered, with Din’s liner notes below. NSFW. NSF anywhere. God help us.
-the Berkeley Cat Records Board Of Inquiry
Liner notes from Eric Din:
I barfed this up when certain pundits and politicians started squealing about “communism” in February of 2020 for the love of Barf. But it’s an all-purpose Barf you can use for all Barf occasions. Plop the link to Barf on threads where you want to Barf. Gift Barf to your loved ones and blowhard uncles. Shannon Wheeler just barfed up the cover art, featuring his iconic Too Much Coffee Man, pondering the nature of Barf. I recorded Barf on my iPhone using the standard Voice Memo app and barfed it up to BandCamp within a minute of barfing. There are no effects, there was no mix, no mastering. The Barf is pure and unadulterated, uncorrupted, organic Barf. Please barf responsibly.
