Incandescent Ruins
Lyrics
Here inside the final diorama
Charting weather patterns for kicks
There are several fairly weighty problems
I'm pretty sure the simulation won't fix
Never any better at bottom
Than the signals I'm set up to receive
Choking on the blood of the androids
Wiping off my mouth on my sleeve
Shining on the inside, maybe
Shining on the inside, maybe
Somewhere in the monument garden
Suggestions of a tunnel to freedom
Everywhere the crack of the rifle
Never any guns when you need them
I got to* test my chin on the concrete
It's the only way to be sure
Only the desperate ever make it to the exit
Only the brave and the pure
Shining on the inside, maybe
Shining on the inside, maybe
Shining like a deep sea creature
Only temporarily bearing the pressure
Sniffing at the walls of the maze
All the ancient rumors were true
You only see the jump cuts and the close-ups
You never get the aerial view
Content to maybe serve as an example
Set up a sign or two on the trail
There's a lot of things that can happen
All for the want of a nail
Shining on the inside, maybe
Shining on the inside, maybe
Banter
- Audience: Devil House was really good!
Wurster: [cool drum fill]
JD: I went back to the hell site today. Somebody said hurry up and write another book. That thing took me five years! This is a song to prepare you for the future that awaits us all. (2023-07-13 The Vanguard)
- Peter says to me one day two years ago, you have to write songs with more relatable content. [laughing] Out of nowhere he calls me from Rochester New York [Peter laughs] dead winter, says, John, we need relatable content. So I told Peter, I just wrote a song about being servile and respectful in the presence of our robot overlords. He says, that's what I'm talking about!(2023-10-02 Belly Up Tavern)
- JD: One of my favorite things - I've been standing on stages with drums for a long time. So I can't really hear things from the middle of the room that well. So I thought the young man back there said "Do it hog style!!" [laughter] Yes sir I will! That was already in my plans, but I appreciate the encouragement! Gentlemen! Peter! You gonna do it hog style?
Peter: Been doing it hog style all night.
JD: Yeah! That's right! That's the only way I really know how to do it, Matt, is to get up here and do it hog style. [Matt oinks]. This song is like a cautionary tale. It's a cautionary tale about what happens to society at large when you don't do it hog style. (2023-10-03 The Belasco)
- This is, a year ago I was joking, y'know, this is a song about the, the takeover of the robots. Now, it's still about that but it's less funny than it was a year ago. (2023-10-05 August Hall)
- I don’t really get into prophecies, but this is a prophecy. (2023-10-10 The Knitting Factory - wiki unverified)
- Seated rooms are hauntingly quiet in between songs. And the thing is, like, it's kind of awesome, except you're not used to it, so you think, maybe they're just mad, they're stewing with anger. I don't think every performer thinks of it that way. But I do. [plays a cool chord] Somebody was using the distortion pedal. Fellas, can I play my song? (2023-10-27 Cactus Theater)
Live Performances
Footnotes
- * Variant: "have to" instead of "got to" (2023-10-03, 2023-10-27)