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Aims

by Vienna Teng

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1.
Level Up 03:53
so come out. you have been waiting long enough. you’re done with all the talk talk talk with nothing on the table. it’s time to come on out. there will be no sign from above. you’ll only hear the knock knock knock of your own heart as signal. if you are afraid, come out. if you are awake, come out. come out and level up. begin again. dynamite the dam on the flow. your body feels the tock tock tock of time as it hammers. lord we are all cinders from a fire burning long ago, but here it is the knock knock knock of your own heart that matters. if you are afraid, come forth. if you are alone, come forth now. everybody here has loved and lost, so level up and love again. call it any name you need. call it your 2.0, your rebirth, whatever – so long as you can feel it all, so long as all your doors are flung wide. call it your day no. 1 in the rest of forever. if you are afraid, give more. if you are alive, give more now. everybody here has seams and scars. so what. level up. let your faith die. bring your wonder. yes, you are only one. no, it is not enough but if you lift your eyes, I am your brother. and this is all we need. and this is where we start. this is the day we greet. this is the day, no other.
2.
In the 99 03:38
am I am I am I the one to praise? collide with faces veiled in paper reading line by line the pain there but for the grace of code and capital we’d cry out side by side so why oh why why am I the one to praise? calculate the Ponzi pension to avoid unintended consequences of a choice now am I so confident I am the one earning every pretty sum and deserving every toy? am I selling broken bonds or innovation? someone’s yelling get a job out of a Lincoln but the human microphone will find a voice and a change is gonna come, said the signal to the – remind me in my western chamber what this plan’s designed to save here I haven’t come to say I’m sorry but I swear I’m on your side oh I oh I I am not the one who preys betting on the best semesters you can buy digging out of debt, sequestered, unemployed underwater empty nesters in a slum television for the bums, helicopter for the boys marketplace of multi-culti competition building out the fossil fracking operation careful of a bird blacker than a swan ‘cause a change is gonna come, said the signal to the noise were you never in the 99? you are ever in the 99 we are ever in the 99 we are ever in the 99 am I the one to praise? collide with faces veiled in paper reading line by line the pain there I haven’t come to say I’m sorry but I swear I’m on your side we are ever in the 99
3.
landsailor landsailor, sail on time rain or shine, I know you can cloudraker cloudraker, share your finds all your wonders at my demand lightbringer tamer of night blossom of hours unleashed make me a lawbender all equalized saved from the chill and heat your power flows through me transformed here’s where I was born landsailor deepwinter strawberry endless summer, ever spring a vast preserve aisle after aisle in reach every commoner made a king earthbreaker noble and prized feed me beyond my means hello worldmaker never denied build all my wildest dreams but there’s a storm outside your door and I’m a child no more headless and faceless tireless and seamless behind these walls this is my progress when you don’t notice my lines at all I split the world open delve ever deeper in my alchemic arts I crack the ciphers to free up your mind, your life, your heart oh landsailor (I’m your landsailor) in the bed that we’ve made may every nail be shown great lifebringer the price that we pay time that you made it known I want to be your bride in full (oh be my bride in full) shield my eyes no more (shield your eyes no more) oh I am altered now for good shield these eyes no more
4.
lay your head where they hold hide the demarcations of your soul and play your silent scream role harmonize your own worth to what you’re shown normalized and nowhere close to home claim the truth that gets lost in the miles of memory and open folds so change these rules and let’s cross all the sacred boundaries we’ve overgrown build a brave new foundry close to home here’s unbroken bone it’s a psalm from the book of lies language you don’t recognize as part of your own leave that alone leave that alone this is the taste you were forever chasing there is no way to contain it when it comes to set you off accept the shame on some shaky basis admit that you were mistaken about it after all but oh the ache, the fantasy forsaken the alien and adjacent you would give anything to take off this is the claim that you’ll keep on making this is the point of the breaking here it comes to set you off we won’t be sold any song from your book of lies language we don’t recognize as part of our own leave us alone leave us alone pay them all to sign on diagnose some fault line most will know and raise your life a new dawn tyrant of your cells now overthrown never have you felt so close to home
5.
somebody hears you. you know that. you know that. somebody hears you. you know that inside. someone is learning the colors of all your moods, to (say just the right thing and) show that you’re understood. here you’re known. leave your life open. you don’t have. you don’t have. leave your life open. you don’t have to hide. someone is gathering every crumb you drop, these (mindless decisions and) moments you long forgot. keep them all. let our formulas find your soul. we’ll divine your artesian source (in your mind), marshal feed and force (our machines will) to design you a perfect love— or (better still) a perfect lust. o how glorious, glorious: a brand new need is born. now we possess you. you’ll own that. you’ll own that. now we possess you. you’ll own that in time. now we will build you an endlessly upward world, (reach in your pocket) embrace you for all you’re worth. is that wrong? isn’t this what you want? amen.
6.
Oh Mama No 02:12
all day, one long tethered motion: sweep, stir, sow. this is her kingdom, an inheritance that you can’t deny. oh mama no, oh mama no. oh mama no I will. come down, child, from your gates and connections. sleep, slur, slow. this is where you come from, the anchor that you can’t leave behind. oh mama no, oh mama no. oh mama no I will. so mama learns your tribal lingo, tolerates the time between calls, catalogues the years and makes a note of all your endless goings-on. when her sentences start to repeat, and her voice in the night is reaching – oh mama please don’t leave me. and then one day, in the boxes upon boxes: grieve, give, go. maybe you can learn how – if you never feel the dark, never see the light. oh mama no, oh mama no. oh mama no I will. oh mama no, oh mama no. oh mama no I will. oh mama know, oh mama know – mama you know I will.
7.
call out what we’ve become the news has turned to numb locked in nearsight on the latest device let the yet-to-be pick up the tab say we can’t escape though there’s plenty of space barring holding on to what we used to have in your head, where we’re headed you gotta let it on by, let me go and get it in your head, where we’re headed you gotta let it all die, let me go we lay it out on the map debate it all in caps lock our eyes on distant horizons where we will shift to some informed accord in another town settle up, settle down we insist on the option or we’re out the door so get it in your head... gone, it’s gone gave in again, now let me go gone, it’s gone gave in again, now let me go or maybe this is a test maybe this is a course correction oh I said it, no no don’t let it get out of control in your head, where we’re headed you gotta let it on by, let me go and get it in your head, where we’re headed you gotta let it all die, let me go this hope, it begins to know we could return again, don’t let me go I get it in my heart, I know we could restart we can begin again, don’t let me go gone, it’s gone return again, don’t let me go gone, it’s gone begin again, don’t let me go
8.
ride on glide down hide out my flyweight love, flyweight love took a train to the stubborn coast off-season towns half-shuttered said hello to the rising breeze made a note of the setting sun we fell asleep in our three-day clothes one tilted head on the other felt a hand like the hand of god heard a voice like a seed of song ride on... took a crowd down the avenue to send a senator home right going viral on the handheld screen I’m the diode, you’re the kerosene we’re separate circles in a crowded hall debating this debating that and then another and then the scent of you alighting on my shoulder hey there, oh hi, hey there, oh hi, oh my out loud, go on and sing it out loud go on and sing it out loud we wanna be a flyweight love, flyweight love and now the years surprise us how all our times apart have become our vows took a flight far across the globe found a calling sweet as a lover through the wilderness you find in me you are in love with all the world and in the evening I arise when the sun creeps on your covers here I am here you are breathing a hello my flyweight love, flyweight love took a train to another coast took our time and the time has flown oh you never have belonged to me or should I say not to me alone
9.
watch the shadow lines fade away brother you will return let your lion heart cleave the waves brother you will return in the breaking light leave the battlefield, leave her hand brother you will return for we are a woven thread, find the strand brother you will return in the breaking light so listen to the darkness, listen to the patterns listen to the breathing sea listen to the colors, carry them inside you they will bring you back to me in the breaking light feel the ground beneath sweep and sway brother we will return feel the hollow dream slip away brother we will return in the breaking light so listen to the darkness, listen to the patterns listen to the breathing sea listen to the colors, carry them inside you they will bring you back to me listen to the sirens, listen to the heartbeat listen to the turning tide listen to the murmurs, carry them inside you ‘til we’re on the other side in the breaking light in the breaking light
10.
detect my sudden existence on your sonar you feel the echo electrify the resistance in your broken heart and burn it up, oh we’re gonna photosynthesize and drink up the sunrise so do they ever shut up because you said so or do you overthink ’em all somebody ought to corrupt you on the dance floor and take you home show you all your daemons and desires and dark sides all of your colonies and continental divides let me uncover the silver in your dark hair the weight of your bones I want to witness the beauty of your repair the shape you’ve grown for you are made of nebulas and novas and night sky you’re made of memories you bury or live by so if you’re out there in the cold I’ll cover you in moonlight if you’re a stranger to your soul I’ll bring you to your birthright I want the storm inside you awoken now I want your warm bright eyes to never look away don’t you ever look away some nights we open up the flood and some nights we are lost and some nights we’re choking on the words but some we light on fire if you’re out there in the cold... I want your warm bright eyes to come back to me and hold on to me you know I won’t lie I will never look away
11.
goodnight, New York New York goodnight, goodnight I’ll see you all on the other side after I am a different man with different eyes goodnight, you canyons of steel and light twist and turn where your alleyways hide swaying trains sheltering dreams and little white lies goodnight, goodnight may you be always heartbreaking take a little more than you give yeah but when you give, oh my goodnight, goodnight I walk away to remember who I am somewhere in the woodland somewhere in streams little life shuffles into the day folded wings into flattening veins and fluttering eyes somewhere my lifeline still hums and sings in the mess of all I have thrown away hungry now, I am gathering seeds to throw wide goodnight, goodnight may you be always breathtaking cold winter, sink your teeth in me June sun, beat me blind goodnight, goodnight I’m on my way to remembering who I am and in your way you remain you will claim all this space in my way I’ll remain even as it takes my place in your life, at your side you were right I’ll say goodnight but it’s never goodbye goodnight, goodnight goodnight, goodnight goodnight, goodnight may you always start breaking my heart again good morning, lover give me your hand today begins and it’s all that we have

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released September 24, 2013

Produced by Cason Cooley and Vienna Teng

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Vienna Teng Washington, D.C.

I’d like the experience of my music to be like a good dinner party, comfort food with a few experiments thrown in, where conversation stretches ’til 2 in the morning and books get pulled off the shelf to take home. Whatever gets you to that place, that’s what I’m going for. ... more

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