Ll

Produced, Engineered & Mixed by LL.  
Mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen.

A Stepladder to the Stars

I've got a stepladder to the stars
I've got a toolkit in the woodshed
It makes me laugh when people say

I make my own beats
I choose the words that come out of my mouth
I get funky on the keys and make the schedule
And tie my shoes too

I've got a stepladder to the stars
I've got a toolkit in the woodshed
I might show you where I keep it

I use reason, I use logic, all the tools I use are pro tools
I produce my own productions, mix my own emotions,
I engineer all my engagements, I am the master of my own mastering
I am the author of my own experience

I'm not mad though
I take all of my bravado
And put it into my vibrato

I've got a stepladder to the stars 
I've got a toolkit in the woodshed 
I might show you where I keep it 
Might even let you borrow it
But you got to bring it back

Music & Lyrics by Louis Landry

LL: Vocals, Drum Kit and Machines, Synth Bass, Harp, Gongs, Tibetan prayer bowls, Kettledrum, Clavinet, Mellotron, Vocoder, Critter & Guitarri Pocket Piano, Electric Guitar (Jackson V)

Harp, kettledrum and percussion sampled from the collection of Eric S
(c) 2018 LL Music 

 

IS MY MIND A MISTAKE MY BRAIN MADE? 

Yes no maybe I don’t know x2 

BRIDGE 
Is it still a mistake if i do it on purpose / Is it still a mistake if i repeat it again 
And again ?

VERSE 1 
Is it still a mistake if i do it on purpose? / Is it still a mistake if i repeat it again ?
My mind feels cracked and broken / I don’t know if i can trust my brain 
In the middle of the night when I’m listening to my mind 

BRIDGE 2 
Is it still a mistake if i do it on purpose? / Is it still a mistake if i repeat it again ?
My mind feels cracked and broken /I don’t know if i can trust my brain 
Maybe if I’m lucky nobody will notice 
And I’ll make it through the end of one more day 

PRECHORUS 1 
Feelings 
(My mind is not a mistake / my mind is definitely not a mistake 
My might might not be a mistake / My mind could be a mistake ) 
What am i thinking ?
(My mind sometimes feels like a mistake / it’s a mistake ) 
Nina Simone said it better (It’s a mistake) 

CHORUS 1 
But i can never tell / when I’m listening to mind 
I’m not doing well with each mistake I find (When I’m listening to my mind) 
Maybe that’s not right but I’m not sure I can tell (And the dendrites sing) 
In the middle of the night when I’m listening to my mind 
(When I’m listening to my mind) 
In the middle of the night 
when I’m listening to my mind 

VERSE 2 
But the dendrites sing and the synapses dance and the cortex says 
So tell my why I don’t like Mondays -Janis Ian said it better 
What am i thinking? - Frank Black said it better 
Where are my manners? - Trey Anastasio said it better 
Where are my synapses? -  Kim Deal said it better 
Are they in my brain? - Kelley Deal said it better 

PRECHORUS 2 
Are they in my body? (My mind is not a mistake) 
Why does the mind feel pain?  (my mind is definitely not a mistake) 
Why does the heart beat?   (My might might not be a mistake) 
Why do the lungs breathe?   (My mind could be a mistake) 
Why does the nightmare creep in through the sweet dreams? 
Feelings of love 

CHORUS 2 
But i can never tell / when I’m listening to mind (When I’m listening to my mind) 
But i can never tell / when I’m listening to mind (When I’m listening to my mind) 
I’m not doing well with each mistake I find (And the dendrites sing) 
Maybe that’s not right but I’m not sure I can tell  (When I’m listening to my mind) 
In the middle of the night when I’m listening to my mind (And the dendrites sing) 
In the middle of the night 
when I’m listening to my mind 

OUTRO 
Harvey Danger said it better 
(If my mind makes a mistake does that mean that I have a bad brain?) 
Rosetta Tharp said it better 
(Does my bad brain cause my pain / Is my mind a mistake a brain?) 
Ola Belle Reed said it better 
(If my mind makes a mistake does that mean that I have a bad brain?) 
Kurt Cobain said it better 
(Does my bad brain cause my pain / Is my mind a mistake a brain made?) 
I myself said it better ten years ago 
(Yes no maybe I don’t know) 
In another song 
(Yes no maybe I don’t know) 
Stars they come and I know they go 
(Yes no maybe I don’t know) 
(Yes no maybe I don’t know)

LL: Programming, Fender Rhodes, Drum Set, Electric Guitar & Bass, Synths (Yamaha DX21, Mellotron), Glockenspiel

Eric Mrozkowski: 2nd Drum St (Prechorus 1)

Shea D Broussard: Vocals (Intro & Dendrites)

Emily Levinstone: Vocals (Chorus & Operatic)

Dan Ruccia: Viola

 

JUST ANOTHER TRANSCENDENTAL COUNTRY WALTZ  

You can call it dark and light You can call it death and life
You can call it dominant leading to resolution 
They all mean the same thing
In every story you’ve ever been told Somebody falls in love
Somebody dies, and somebody gives up 
Somebody starts a new life 
So let’s sing along for every man and every woman 
And all the gender non-binaries 
Every coin has two sides
But it also has an edge 

And you can do some cool stuff out of the edge 
But if you slip you’re surrounded by emptiness 
Sometimes it seems the only way to make a life on the edge 
Is to be clawing your way to the other side 
You’ve got to find someone to take hold of your hand 
And help you find your balance when you land 
But not me, I’m going out into the darkness 
And float around for a week or two 
Someday we’ll get to the end of the slow part 
And dance another transcendental country waltz 

Every coin has two sides
But it also has an edge 
And you can do some cool stuff out of the edge 
But if you slip you’re surrounded by emptiness 
Someday we’ll get to the end of the slow part 
And dance another transcendental country waltz 

Luis Rodriguez: Lead Guitar

Eric Mrozkowski: Drums 

Kurtis Keber: Bass

LL: Vocal, Programming, Log Drum, Congas, Farfisa, Clavinet, Synths, Rhythm Guitar

 

A WALK ON THE ICE 

When the echoes of the summer finally die away 
There’s nothing left to do and nothing more to say 
A tree had fallen in the middle of the night 
In a lake which had slowly frozen into ice 

Three young friends walking in the morning light 
They crept out slowly, hoping not to die 
They all agreed that they should turn back, but instead 
they took another step to hear the ice crack  

Everyone knows that time will pass 
Snow will melt and ice will crack 
But they had not learned that lesson yet so they held their 
breath and took another step 

Tip-toe or you might fall in 
But don’t turn around cause you never know 
when we’ll do this again 
Crazy things happen when you’re young, but who ever 
knew that risking your life could be so much fun? 

 Everyone knows that time will pass 
Snow will melt and ice will crack 
But we had not learned that lesson yet so we held our 
breath and took another step 

It was a step to the stars with both feet on the ground 
It was a step that we took cause we couldn’t turn around 
From a future we couldn’t ignore 
A step that almost killed us but still we wanted more 
From tomorrow that we had to take today 
it was a step on a path where there was no other way 

Phil Rodriguez: Trumpet

Emily Levinstone: Vocals

Dan Ruccia: Viola 

LL: Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Drums, Electric Guitar & Bass, Mellotron, Piano, Organ, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel

 

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY 

You tell me happiness is a choice I can make 
You tell me misery is a cycle I can break 
Try as I might to fight this fate 
It’s all around me and I can’t escape 

I don’t need love from anyone 
If I work hard enough I’ll be someone 
I don’t need any help from you 
I’m going to find my own truth 
And the only friend I have left is the enemy of my enemy 

You tell me happiness is a choice I can make 
You tell me misery is a cycle I can break 
If you work with me to win this fight 
We’ll see who’s wrong, who’s left and who’s right 

And the only friend I have left
And the only friend I have left
And the only friend is the enemy of my enemy 

Josh Robins: Guitar and guitarmony

LL: Vocal, Drum Set, Rhythm & Bass Guitars, Synths (Moog, Yamaha DX21)

 

CARRIED AWAY 

(Music and Lyrics by Shaun Dickerson)    

To tell you just how I feel;  Describe the situation I’m in: 
Oh, that would be the dream 
But the words don’t seem to come 
It’s not funny anymore, and the feeling’s begun 

So I’ll just pack my stuff and go away, 
but there’s so much I want to say 

Now I don’t know what to do You got me seeing things in blue 
My mind is stuck on you 
With my head against the wall   Waiting for you to call 
And carry me away 

Put my thoughts down on this page 
To let you know that I’m here — Oh, to get out of this cage 
To be free to do as I please to 
Spend a little time with you And let it be OK 

But I just packed my stuff and left 
What could’ve been is only a guess 

And I don’t know what to do You got me seeing things in blue 
My mind is stuck on you
With my head against the wall waiting for you to call 
And carry me away

Carry me, carry me away
Carry me, would you carry me away? 
Tell me, did you think of me today?

Jessica Flemming: Vocal

Kim Deschamps: Pedal Steel

Dan Ruccia: Viola

Emily Levinstone & Shea D. Broussard: Vocals 

LL: Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Rhodes, B3, Leslie'd Piano

(c)(p)2019 Louis Landry Music. Original Music and lyrics (c)2003 by Shaun Dickerson.

 

FLASHBULB 

Lyrics by FM Turner and LL

Maybe we’re from the same place 
A light from a system above 
A cold leftover memory 
of trans dimensional love 
Maybe the memory is a chord 
that links to the tune of the past 
and the present is a lightbulb 
that dims as soon as it’s flashed 

Maybe we knew who we were 
Maybe we’ll meet there again 
Maybe we’ll stay in one place 
or maybe we’ll blow in the wind 

Maybe we once knelt in the temple 
and offered our prayers to the stars 
and wondered if we knew each other 
before biological scars 

Maybe we once sang melodies 
and spoke in the fires warm glow 
and danced in the ceremony 
where a primitive river flowed 

Maybe we knew who we were 
Maybe we’ll meet there again 
Maybe we’ll stay in one place 
or maybe we’ll blow in the wind 
Maybe we’ll laugh in our sleep 
and time and science will bend 
maybe we are all in a dream 
and i’ve known you before my friend

Alexandra Valladares: Vocal

William Dawson: Vibraphone

Luis Rodriguez: Guitar

LL: Drum Set, Bass Guitar, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Electric Guitar, Banjo, Vocal

(c)(p) 2019 Louis Landry Music.  Original lyrics (c) 2002 F.M. Turner

 

TSUNAMI OF B.S. 

LL: Programming, Guitars (Yamaha,  Jackson, Landry), Drum Set, Critter & Guitarri Pocket Piano

Luis Rodriguez: 2nd Guitar Solo (Fender Mustang)

All songs (c) (p) 2019 Louis Landry Music except as indicated. All rights reserved.