For those who prefer physical media, this is the official Tears of Men Redbook CD release. Comes in a standard jewel case, with digital printing and glass-master replicated CD. Ships via USPS media mail in a padded envelope.
Includes unlimited streaming of Tears of Men
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
Purchasable with gift card
$15USD
USB Flash Drive + Digital Album
This is an extremely limited edition USB key edition of Tears of Men. Each hand wood-burned, wearable 2gb drive is made from reclaimed pine and rope lanyard, and each drive is unique. On it, you'll find the original HD studio masters in their native 24/96 sample rate, the highest possible quality VBR MP3 transcodes of the master CD, lyrics, the original artwork and charts, and a short note from me with some thoughts about the album and how to best take advantage of the high definition FLAC files on the drive.
Includes unlimited streaming of Tears of Men
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 2 days
edition of 500
Purchasable with gift card
$20USD
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
This is an extremely limited edition 2 LP set of Tears of Men in 180 gram audiophile Vinyl, replete with custom artwork. There are 250 in Black and 250 in Blue Colorlight (please specify which you'd prefer in your order). The black sounds slightly better, however, I may at some point repress in Black if there is demand, whereas the 250 in blue are the only ones that will ever exist. Of course, you'll also get a free digital copy of the album along with your purchase, but frankly, the Vinyl sounds infinitely better than the digital could ever dream to.
Includes unlimited streaming of Tears of Men
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 2 days
edition of 500
Purchasable with gift card
$30USD
about
I tend to be of Faulkner's philosophy that "every man has a different idea of what's beautiful, and it's best to take the gesture, the shadow of the branch, and let the mind create the tree," and so I usually don't offer commentary on my own work. I often find the artist's commentary to be coercive, and I believe that once a piece is published, it needs stand on its own. Too often, I feel, the intentioned fallacy overpowers the personal narrative we ought have with all meaningful human creation.
The Lowlands of Osaka is a rare exception for me. This is, far and away, the most ambitious piece I've ever attempted to create. Alone it likely accounts for about half the work that went into Tears of Men. My understanding from my closest friend is that its emotional tone and timbre does not match that of Osaka's and for that I do apologize. I will be the first to admit that I imposed my own romantic notion of the Kinai lowlands onto this work, and in turn used it as a foil for my own emotional journey. I have long been a student of Japan, and Japan's culture, and it is through that lens that I saw the end of my childhood. This piece is likely more a reflection of that experience than anything else. That aside, I am incredibly pleased with how it ultimately came together, and it's easily my favorite piece on the album. My brother's 1:30 minute accordion solo is of especial note. I had originally intended that section to be for Tsugaru Shamisen, but when I first heard Maria Scheider's work featuring an accordion lead as part of a larger orchestration, I immediately felt that the poignancy of the instrument would suit the section perfectly. That Ben managed, after only a few months with the instrument, to so perfectly capture the Wabi Sabi I intended for that section, is indicative of his young genius. I am truly graced to have been born into the same bloodline.
lyrics
Night is falling on the plains of Kinai
Stars our suns in this courtesan space
Sakura’s singing with the voice of Asia
Japanese winds and Japanese grace
Sun sets slowly on a distant skyline
Acetylene fire shows its natural place
Sakura’s ballad is a peaceful pleasure
You’d almost believe her by the look on her face
But I close my eyes and the bridges disappear
Spring's blossoms fade and fly away
And the skies are strangely clear
A lifetime’s violent dreams I can finally let free
To die in the lowlands of Osaka
Cold Korean winter in my veins
These glassy eyes and powdery skies
That propagate their azure skeins
Cold Korean emptiness and pain
Cold Korean lover by my side
Revels in her continence
And shudders at the warmth she hides
Cold Korean ignorance and pride
Falters as our final memory dies
But don’t abandon what you realize
Or pray too solemnly
These scars that mar my face prove that I can fight
Tomorrow’s enemy
Levies her advantage as she strikes
The day is hers but
Godly irony leaves me here alive
To die another time
And I close my eyes as the battlefield appears
The bitter day sinks into me and my blood runs through my tears
Between the screech of the tires
And the sparks on the wires
I’m dead in memory of Sakura
Barely the morning and I open the window
Ashen horizon that emblazons my face
Tomorrow will promise to be carefree and generous
If I am alive at the end of today
The honor is mine to be riding out broken pastimes
The hour awaits but I’m still running things through my mind
We stand at our trials and we live as our fate compels us
The sun will ascend and my existence will lack design
Unravel and unwind
Autumn leaves
Transfixed in oranges and reds
Belie these trees
And signify a dying breed
This autumn breeze
Is cold enough to leave you with
The certainty
That all you’ll ever beg or borrow
Is some other brand of sorrow
Honor is your only pleasant dream
Elaine, what do you have to tell me?
Is the rain still falling in South London?
Goodbye…
I won’t be made to say it one more time!
I reckon that you’ll understand tomorrow
Don’t ask; you know that I won’t answer
I have no more assets left to sell
It’s easy Lena, just forget you knew me
And employ a higher class of clientèle
The dying days of summer
I offer to my brother
Although I haven’t much to say I’ve done
But God remains to guide me
And three still stand beside me
Their loyalty is all that I have won
And now we stand before the plains of Kinai
Four lost souls in an alien dream
Sakura tells me that the stars are lonely
And so she’ll sing if she can offer them peace
So I close my eyes and abandon my lament
This cloudless night is all too bright
So I’ll see it to its end
The dark is quieter now that I understand how
To live in the lowlands of Osaka
credits
from Tears of Men,
released February 7, 2012
feat. Ben Rosenblum on accordion, Megan Okura on erhu, Marco Lienhard on shakuhachi, Oz Noy on mandolin and Wolf Pack on backing vocals.
I am a composer, a writer, a singer and an engineer.
I create jazz and rock and a child of
both.
I create music with my brother as Wire Spoke Wheels.
I create Dave's Cables
I create complex and intricate things.
I try to create beautiful things.
I create because Art sanctifies humanity.
I create for an American meritocracy.
I create for a time when art may live again....more
