1. |
Shard I
02:23
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So sorry you had to wait.
Got held up. Hi-pri MNP pulse call.
Anyway...
So, Gemma. And Steve. We left off where they both know. Know things have been going downhill, on a mudslide, for a while.
Around them. And between them.
So...
They’re planning to make time. Serious time. Soon. Straighten it all out, you know? Face to face.
Not easy to find a slot. Steve’s business going ba-boom-boom. And Gemma, hopscotching it from studio to kiln, care home to craft fair. Not quite the early retirement her NHS pension got slaughtered for.
And yet... They’ll make it happen. No more messy surprises at least, now that Bertie’s gone. Where there’s a will, and all that.
Happiness. It’s all about balance, right? Not expectations - they’re evil. Nor contentment, because that's just cruel. But happiness? That ought to be doable.
And both of them are smart enough to know that.
Surely.
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2. |
I
03:29
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[unsung] What have you done?
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3. |
Shard II
02:36
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Resigned premonition. Not to call it glum. The mood at Presso Now, I mean. The coffee bar where Steve sits tight, nursing his phone and a double espresso, waiting for an update from Gemma.
She didn’t return home last night from another parental care home visit. They’re frail, on edge, confused. Just like Gemma’s nerves.
She’d be in touch soon, she texted. Kiss, kiss.
The humble TV tries its best to restore reality. Crime down, house prices up, by double digits in the Caribbean regions. And phenomenal service sector growth.
But there’s always someone, isn’t there?
“I’m not buying this Life Lite crap anymore,” Beano bursts out. “MNP approved or not.”
Henrietta beside him lowers her Phalaris sandwich, nodding sympathetically. “What’s MNP, anyway?”
“The one and only Ministry for Narrative Preservation. We all voted for it, apparently.”
Well, Beano’s American, and so graciously forgiven. As for Henrietta – she ought to spend less time underwater, maybe. Even the Overseas visitors here, like Manny and Butzi from Germany, would surely know the answer. If anyone asked them. Not that many do.
Least of all Steve. He’s too busy waiting.
And it’s not just his drink that’s going cold.
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4. |
Us
04:17
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I'm just here for when you need me
And I'll be dust when you don't
Dumbfound, enchant and feed me
Always fresh but never owned
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5. |
Shard III
01:44
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“You always walk with a purpose. I mostly try to follow my feet.”
That’s how her letter opens. Trapped moisture, frozen visible at last.
“Each time I trip you catch me. Smartly. Or barely. Tenderly. Sometimes angrily. Like a tiring reflex, maybe, or a leash, tightening...”
Steve’s world shakes, and her words with it. Both hands clasp the single sheet to read on.
“Does it get much worse?” Spikey cautiously asks from across the table. “I’m feeling a bit dizzy here.” The folded map he’s holding gives a sharp crunch as if to prove it.
Steve merely nods, gulps down some lifeless air.
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand. But I think I need time to learn how to fall. Freely.”
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6. |
愛 荒 野
06:20
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Feuchter Wind, verklärte Sorgen
Heute Nebel, schöner morgen
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7. |
Shard IV
01:28
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“What does ‘ir-re-trie-va-bly’ mean?” A light-brown flash as Felix looks up sheepishly.
Steve stops studying the document on the kitchen table and rubs his nose. “It means forever.”
“I see.”
Steve knows Felix doesn’t. Nor does he. But that no longer matters.
The keen sound of whistling comes as a welcome distraction. Anton and Bill, culture-surfing for the upcoming trip.
“Hey - I know that tune!” Steve tells them.
Anton nods rhythmically. “Na klar. Neunundneunzig Luftballons.”
“Die Rap Version,” Bill adds, then shrugs.
Steve gives in to a smile. “Any crime’s better than this one. I can’t wait...”
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8. |
HACO
05:52
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Give us drugs to keep us trying
Stop our minds identifying
Egg or chicken, strike or stricken
Shame won’t stop a lie from flying
Smooth seduction is the mother of abduction
Likes anoint the arbiter of nerd-proof satisfaction
A million friends can bend any trend
Until runaway transaction turns into ruthless suction
Let’s do it right, let’s maximise
Smile, don’t ask, to win the prize
Words are free, just don’t say no
To hot air, cold objects – HACO
Kaiser, König, queen or pope
Guillotine beats telescope
Diversify und Spaß dabei
But don’t hijack hope, sonst kommt die Polizei
Let's go tweak the truth to suit your sweet face
Let's try make the world a much dumber place
There are no hobgoblins, no hobbling and wobbling
Only those on the right side, and those in disgrace
We can almost smell the future
App-gezockt, but always kosher
Groomed and sated, on fleek but exsanguinated
Replicated, der ferngelenkte Wärmetauscher
Jetzt mach das richtig, uns ist das wichtig
Mit grinsen wird doch nur die Norm beschwichtigt
Ein Man, ein Wort – dein Griff ins Klo
Hot air, cold objects – HACO
Watch their destiny darken –
Kannst du abhaken
Ruck-zuck durchstarten
We’re sorry you’re departing
But Fahrenheit says Schluß mit Warten
In his panopticon of house-trained foxes
It’s clear HACO works, the tired doc says
And trapped inside our drafty boxes
Who are we to disagree
Plummet, tackle, crisis, trending
Go treat yourself while we’ll do the bending
Upgrades lactate, floodgates vibrate
Revealed: the truth may need some mending
High time to foil the prying eye
Transcend, transmute, transmogrify
Some worlds have bigger fish to fry
But ethics or Essig, ich nehm’ das jetzt ganz lässig
Let’s do it right, let’s maximise
An honest question will suffice
Trust reaps riches words can sow
But if it’s TGTBT it must be HACO
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9. |
Shard V
02:18
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A loud clack, and another cupboard sighs open for inspection.
This ought to be cathartic – Steve’s chance to purify before investing in a fabulous ‘me’ makeover. But instead his resolve seems pierced by as much anger as foreboding.
Huxley dives in and nimbly explores the lower reaches.
“ ‘Pioneer Box,’ “ he reads back. “Is that for out?”
Steve can only gape in silence as Huxley starts rummaging through it. “Look at all this junk! An old kettle, a toaster, plastic cups, paper plates, tools, plugs—”
Falstaff gives a feeble cough. “Easy now! From what I’ve seen, this junk could help turn uncertainty into a new home. Once...”
Falstaff looks back to find Steve hurriedly leaving the room.
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10. |
Clear
04:43
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No grain
Returned
Each name
Unlearned
Don’t tell
Don’t ask
Respell
The past
Sealed forever
Now or never
Never better
Hidden intentions
Weep you fools
Nobody mentions
Our crown jewels
Cloaked emotions
Pay the bill
Beneath an ocean
No tears will spill
And all that was dear
Can disappear
Press “new” to clear
Look at all this junk
Easy now, easy now
Look at all this junk
Kettle, toaster, plastic cups
Look at all this junk
Easy now, easy now, easy now
Fly by night
Dance all day
Who’s right
Can’t say
Short cue
Long grass
Sand through
The hourglass
And all that was near
Can’t interfere
Press “new” to clear
No fuss no fear
Press “new” to clear
Look at all this junk
Cups and paper plates
Let's flush it out for good
I'm sure it's not too late
Look at all this junk
Easy now, easy now
Easy now
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11. |
Shard VI
01:40
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“Dependability,” Bruno suggests.
“Or perhaps order?” comes Heiko’s offer.
Bendix thrusts his head into shot. “Transparency!”
Clearly no shortage of opinions on the gist of Steve’s photo, snapped only minutes earlier outside his German hotel. The coffee table’s tubular stainless steel frame, so neatly cut, welded, chamfered and brush-finished, had struck him as the visual epitome of this “otherness” he was experiencing.
“You’re all right.” Steve smiles gratefully at his assembled friends back home. “To me it also says, ‘no excuses.’ And no gloss paint spritzed over rotting wood. You know?”
On screen, Punter nods cautiously. “Yeah. Nothing quite pricks taboos like plain quality.”
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12. |
Unplug
05:31
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I could be your garden gnome
And you could be my elf
I would keep your fairy lantern
On my potting shelf
You could be my reading light
While I unlock your spine
Let all your knowledge fill me up
Complete my grand design
Line by line
We could widen our horizon
Shaker-baker, difference maker
Take a mind trip, join a tribe
Use your credit, pay back later
They could teach us satisfaction
Where to linger, how to flow
Help interpret each attraction
Get the most from any show
Here I go
Changing my latitude
To find the right attitude
Re-build my core strength
And find a lost wavelength
To see through this pastiche
And unplug this invisible leash
They could be your prison guards
Or your most trusted friend
Their blade in hand is atom-sharp
And painless till the end
We could fly a few hopes further
Cling to the wings you stole
Until empowerment recoups
And claims another soul
At fate pole
You could be anywhere tonight
While I reset my spine
Out here no prying eyes can sneer
At dreams of me and mine
I could be a hypocrite
A house without a home
Regimoclast edgelord, the giveaway floorboard
An elf but not a gnome
...
Changing my latitude
To find the right attitude
Re-build my core strength
And find a lost wavelength
To see through this pastiche
And unplug this invisible leash
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13. |
Shard VII
01:35
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“Public quarantine: it’s free, automatic, irrefutable. All I need is a little individuality and a healthy disregard for hive minds. How absolutely awesome is that!”
That’s Steve, off on another sarcastic rant. However rebalanced he claims to feel after the trip, his often self-indulgent outbursts say otherwise.
“Deffo.” Tatty looks too chill to disagree with anyone. “No social platform means you jive a beat short in the old friendship fandango.”
“And look as boring as recycled muck,“ Morag adds with a snort.
A low growl from Bartok. “Not to mention: highly suspicious!”
Steve gives a feckless sigh. “Yes, relationships are all about numbers these days. Loyalty is irrelevant.”
Wasn’t it always?
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14. |
Bushidō
04:48
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I watch you, and you watch me
Life is a movie that we’ll never see
But down in the credits
They might have read it’s
Just a kriegspiel
And clearly unreal
Quarantined by heritage
Sliding gliding by the trip switch
Lost in quicksand
Found in no-man’s land
Touch-and-go
Bushidō
Let’s count them all out
And count them back in
From noble to nomad
From lead to stand-in
Obsequious armies
And some pinless grenades
Let’s trade treasure for measure
Until one of us fades
Quarantined by heritage
Sliding gliding by the trip switch
Lost in quicksand
Found in no-man’s land
Touch-and-go
How to renounce quality - in 7 easy steps:
Step 1 - dignity: lose it
Step 2 - independence: don't be selfish
Step 3 - responsibility: abuse it
Step 4 - morality: tell them jack shit
Step 5 - choice: go with the flow
Step 6 - value: aim low and watch it grow
Step 7 - reason: let go when we say so
Lost in quicksand
Found in no-man’s land
Touch-and-go
Bushidō
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15. |
Shard VIII
01:32
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“Hey, it’s like the Caucus Race run on treadmills.” Boston’s arms swing open wide. “A whole big forest full of them.”
Rosie skips, flushed with excitement. “Right! And each one fitted with a generator that powers its neighbour.”
Doing the washing-up, Steve chuckles at the unhinged imagery. “The laws of physics would need suspending. But I’m sure there’s an app for that too.”
“Too right,” says Plato. “It’s called Respect and comes with a steady smile.”
“And free sponsored upgrades,” Hector pipes up. “Day and night.”
More laughter.
How insensitive.
But all the more revealing to report on.
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16. |
Life Lite
05:58
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Wellbeing, dignity and limitless respect
Ambitions forged afresh each day by mass effect
Which fundraiser, storm chaser, and whose apology
It’s their invasion, our persuasion
The price for peace – a travesty
Trusts, committees, NGOs and kickass acronyms
Steering groups and town hall meetings help to hide all sins
Say it often, sing it loud
Cross your heart and shift the blame into a cloud
Once it smiles it won’t get caught
With each embrace more faith is bought
And from its shadows, day and night
The creeping vines of Life Lite
Brand creators fan hot air into unravelling sails
Blow-up monsters roar to tip the balance of our scales
Mighty jungle, mighty beast
Comeuppance lurks for those who blend the least
Once it smiles it won’t get caught
With each embrace more faith is bought
And from its shadows, day and night
The creeping vines of Life Lite
Your promise not to judge us and never to offend
Is paid for by immunity when bigger vows get bent
Phantom pain and quantum shame help feed the illusion
Winging it puts guilt in charge of unified confusion
Flying blind now, you and me
Their price for peace turned out to be our tragedy
Once it smiles it won’t get caught
With each embrace more faith is bought
And from its shadows, day and night
The creeping vines of Life Lite
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17. |
Shard IX
02:40
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“Trying to forget is like beating yourself to sleep.”
“It’s quite unnatural, yes,” Milky agrees with Steve, probably to cheer him up.
Bryson removes his hat and stares at it. “And dangerous,” he says. “It’s easy to end up flooding way more than just the snake pit.”
Steve keeps circling the living room, inmate-style. A pathetic overreaction to this morning’s letter. Which had merely formalised the inevitable by granting his request.
“By way of effect, not cause,” he corrects me bitterly. “If you can’t see that then you’d better be gone.”
“Oy vey!” goes Buster, startled awake. “Who on earth was that?”
“No one. Don’t worry. Just another gandabot.”
“Strange creatures,” Vossler says. “I’ve heard that they hate mirrors. Is that true?”
A solemn nod from Steve. “Yes. Most good liars do.”
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18. |
Estranged
05:15
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[unsung] Home?
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19. |
Reflection
06:31
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Your new mantra for our better world:
1. You deserve so much more
2. Try everything
3. Be whatever you want to be
Lost wisdoms of recent antiquity:
1. Less is better
2. True freedom only grows within
3. Question everything
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Blue Flux Perth, UK
Free-flowing alternative indie music untroubled by walls or vertigo.
Originally formed
in Wales by Tom Berlin, Blue Flux’s roots now extend from Caledonia to the nearby Continent, with 10 equally diverse albums released to date.
... more
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