"In Blank" lyrics

Hey everyone. Some people have asked if I could make Title Tracks lyrics available online, so here they are for "In Blank":

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SHAKING HANDS

Time is the sound of a torn page
Everything goes away
You may have a handle on your quiet rage
But everything goes away

Oh, I don’t know about you
But I think maybe that the human race is through
And, ooh, it’s terribly true
Everything goes away

Shaking hands are never fun
No, you’re not the only one
Shaking hands are never fun
Guide this ship into the sun

Point your compass back to silver town
Everything goes away
Find all your brothers in faint renown
Everything goes away

And I need you to know that you can’t take me seriously
If it’s gone, it’s all right that it’s gone

I know when you speak where I was, where I am, where I’m going to be
If I sink or snap you’ll make a new map

Dash out your visions in a runic scrawl
The kid ain’t got much to say
Reach over the wires at the top of the wall
And maybe you can run away

TURN YOUR FACE

Gimme normalcy
The kind I used to have such a long time ago
Pretty vacancy
Take me to the places that I already go

So, did you turn your face into
Wounds that don’t define you
No one’s chasing you
When they walk behind you

I kinda mind the treatment that I find at the end of it all
Little kicks turn to permanent fix in your patent leather pall

No, you’re disturbing the scenery
Oh, my power isn’t really plenary, no
Go, be a good little denizen
Take out your teeth so you can taste your medicine
It’s going, going back

What will happen if I stop and turn away?
I think I already know
Lock up your downers
‘Cause your panicked encounters are starting to show

So, there’s no hope for the citizens
Darts in your back when every heart attacks if you are listening
Are you listening?

No, is this life only glistening?
Heat kinks in the tracks led to lives where we lack simple necessities

Gimme normalcy
The kind I used to have such a long time ago

CLENCH YOUR FIST (A LITTLE CLOSER TO ME)

You’re the kind of rhythm that I need to run
You’re the kind of lie that made the lights go out
All that I did can never be undone
But I don’t understand the loss you talk about

And one by one your lives are undone
I know you recall the time
We both looked ahead and I really should have said

Clench your fist a little closer
Clench your fist a little closer to me
Clench your fist a little closer
Do your worst and I’ll stay

The side of your tongue is a crowded space
Anxious words are waiting there to be spit out
Blank spots on the map are the only place
People like the story that you’re spinning out

And one by one your lives are undone
I know you recall the time
The sparks in your head made me think you finally said

Clench your fist a little closer
Clench your fist a little closer to me
Clench your fist a little closer
Do your worst and I’ll stay

‘Cause I don’t want to go
Don’t want to know
Didn’t you know
That I do what I say?

I won’t stay away next time you come around
I want to hear the lies that made the lights go out
Votive dreams are all I have to slake my thirst
For the kind of fire that I will never doubt

‘Cause I don’t want to go
Don’t want to go
Didn’t you know what you’ll do if I stay?

LIGHT SLEEPERS

I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to make a scene
You’ve got to break away. You’ve got to break away from me

There’s only so much time that you should wait for me
You’ve got to break away. You’ve got to break away from me

Take all your broken strings
I make mine for free
We’ve done this childish thing for too long, I see

It’s not that I don’t want to know about the things
You’re going to take away; you’re going to take away from me

But I believe that staying here’s a waste of time
You’ve got to break away. You’ve got to break away from me

You’ve got so many things
You don’t need me
Mine is the kind of knife
That won’t cut you free

I wonder why you want to sleep so light at night
Did you know I never forget to say you’re right?

Somebody said that you’re a fool to stand by me
You ought to break away. You ought to break away from me
I wonder if they know you like they think they do
Go on and break away. Go on and break away from me

Stitch up your sewing kits
I don’t think you see
What’s left in front of you
You can buy for free

I CAN’T HIDE (Cyril Jordan/Chris Wilson)

FORGET THE GHOST

The individual was found beneath the clover
He stared with eight-ball eyes and skin as white as Dover
Nobody could recall the title that he carried
But they still wondered just how soon he might be buried

Forget the ghost in me
We’ve reached some kind of understanding
You’ll see the ghost in me
Has no respect for where you’re standing

The consequences of his style were comprehensive
His silence read as unamused instead of pensive

Forget the ghost in me
We’ve reached some kind of understanding
You’ll see the ghost in me
Has no respect for where you’re standing

And in the dusky mist that tells you he is there
You’ll hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs

No strangers were allowed besides the apparition
Its body couldn’t be convinced to change positions
He whispered threats into your ear while you were sleeping
The snapping shades illuminate where he’s been creeping

Forget the ghost in me
We’ve reached some kind of understanding
You’ll see the ghost in me
Has no respect for where you’re standing

Don’t try to call your friend ‘cause static will invade
Just look him in the eye and watch him start to fade

The room was warmer than you ever could remember
You cracked the window to be bitten by December

Forget the ghost in me
We’ve reached some kind of understanding
You’ll see the ghost in me
Has no respect for where you’re standing

ALL TRICKS

Tell me how to color where’s there’s no contagion
Or where I should be looking for the next invasion
Your involuted phrasing only fans frustration
Can you hear it now?

Push your empty hands deeper in your pockets
Brush your metal fingers up against the sockets
You had nowhere to kneel when your knees were knocking
Do you need it now?

You’re so close to crying right now
Your field of view isn’t equal to
All of these things for you

Oh, the tide’s gone out
You know it’s true
No one talks about all of these things for you
What did you do?

Play the type of tricks that bring you numbers
Stab them with your picks in the penumbras
If you want ‘em to feel a little bit dumber
You’re succeeding now

Noisome beggars at the gates of science
Zero times zero times beta minus
Through the yawning void behind your frontal sinus
Are you falling now?

It’s all tricks
Waiting there professionally
It’s all tricks
Sharing the regression with me
It’s all tricks
Ruin to recovery
It’s all tricks
Catch them while they’re hovering

Layer the foundation to obscure the potholes
Stare right through the mirror you keep in your foxhole
Hold your paper tight while you apply the charcoal and you’ll see it now

Covering your maw with the blood of ancients
Your teeth are like a saw we found in the basement
You’re never ever gonna learn to see your patience and I believe it now

CAIN AND THE TWIGS

You received your final phone call
At the murder of a brick wall
Take your hands and wash the steps
Grind your teeth and light the depths

To find innocent pleasures
You took inaccurate measures
All of the windings you weathered
Led to the end of a tether

Does it sting when eyes go red
Any more than unmade beds
Steady tears untied a knot
Guess you were born with all you’ve got

To find innocent pleasures
You took inaccurate measures
All of the windings you weathered
Led to the end of a tether

What makes you run, empty one?
You’ve just started what I already won

She speaks in shibboleths
With every vapor in every breath
Like snakes are sibilant
Keep wandering, sister of Seth

Lunar landscapes make a home
For all of those condemned to roam

NO AIR

There is no order in the universe, if anyone was wondering
Attach yourself to anything
You might have spent an evil hour in the kind of storm that’s thundering

So nobody told you there’s
No air in your inheritance
No tell in your intelligence
No strange in your estrangement
There’s no sight inside of you

I really tried to correspond with you when you were in your litter box
So, what did I say?
Make sure to indicate which one should hold the key to your brittle locks
Before they wash away ‘cause there’s

No air in your inheritance
No tell in your intelligence
No strange in your estrangement
There’s no sight inside of you

Somebody’s balance is listing
Fragile conditions existing
Measure the jokes that you’re missing
Defraud the faces you’re kissing

Transform the narrative you’re carrying and you won’t have to call collect
Which no one does anyway
Pick up a shovel and start looking for the origin of your intellect

Still nobody tells you there’s
No air in your inheritance
No tell in your intelligence
No strange in your estrangement
There’s no sight inside of you

IT’S WRONG

You can keep doing what you want to do
There’s no one there to stop you
You can keep doing what you want to do
There’s no one there to tell you

Oh, it’s wrong
You know it’s wrong
Oh it’s wrong
Too stay to long
Oh, it’s wrong
You know it’s wrong
All the lights in the gutters will call for their mothers someday

It’s time you did what you had to do
You’ve waited for a time or two
The flames will get too far ahead of you
If you don’t scale the standards

Oh, it’s wrong
You know it’s wrong
Oh it’s wrong
You stayed too long
Oh, it’s wrong
You know it’s wrong
All the lights in the gutters will call for their mothers someday

You know it’s all for nothing
I hope it’s not for nothing

You can keep doing what you want to do
There’s no one there to stop you
You can keep doing what you’ve got to do
There’s no one there to tell you

WINNERS CRY

Yes, I will forget your name
If you persist in making all our differences the same
Nobody wants to hear your greatest hit
We must admit

Take apart a bad excuse
And hit them in the wits with all the kinds of sticks you use
Your body shudders at the latest hits
You suffered so for it, so

Keep going
Going to where winners cry

You sure stayed out in the cold
But all you’ve really proven is you are what you haven’t sold
No drums, no bugles to announce your war
So, what’s it for?

Hold onto what you’ve perceived
The farther that you go away, the further I’m relieved
Don’t swing away to find a face to hit
Your tears are split between it

Keep going
Going to where winners cry

Singing cinders in the aftermath
Tell the time to stop the telegraph
Under heaven with nothing to hold
Cast a glance towards all the tents you’ll fold

Unrelated sequences
Have led you down the path to start the day of wrath you choose
We’ll drop the low-budget distances
So start again

No more trips to the abyss
But I’ll always remember before you were an ember, too
What number can you call to tell the truth?
Defend your youth from yourself and

Keep going
Going to where winners cry

Title Tracks on Tumblr

I have a Tumblr page now where I post about music, movies and other stuff that used to clutter up the Title Tracks blogspot (which is now just band news/tour dates, etc.). You can see it over at titletracksdc.tumblr.com.

Epitonic Playlist

Epitonic.com has recently relaunched after many years on hiatus and I think they're doing a cool thing. Basically, their site collects the free mp3s that record labels release to promote a new album, which is sort of the new standard practice. The website is pretty easy to search and, the more I dug, the more good new bands I found on there. So, it was a way to hear some bands that I'd heard about but hadn't heard yet (Jeff The Brotherhood, your song is pretty good). Anyway, Epitonic asked me to do a playlist of some of the stuff on their site that I liked and here's a link to it.

UPDATED SUMMER SHOWS

June 25 - Baltimore, MD. - Ottobar - w/Sloan, Hot Kid and Gary B & The Notions - 8pm - $15 - ALL AGES (TT plays first at 9pm)

July 11 - Washington, D.C. - Fort Reno - w/America Hearts and Cat Jack - FREE - 7pm (TT plays 3rd at 8:15)

July 22 - Philadelphia, PA. - Kung Fu Necktie - w/Everyone Everywhere - 8pm - $8/$10 - 21+ (TT plays 3rd)

July 23 - New York, NY. - Cake Shop - w/Follower - 8pm - $8/$10 - 21+ (TT plays 2nd)

SUMMER SHOWS

Hey everyone. Title Tracks will be playing some more shows this summer in the eastern half of the U.S. It should be noted that our Baltimore show on the 17th has been postponed but we'll be playing Baltimore just a week later. Details for that show will be announced shortly. Anyway, we'll keep announcing shows as we confirm them but here are a few to get you started:

June 18 - Durham, NC. - The Casbah - 8pm - $8/$10 - 18+
June 19 - Richmond, VA. - Strange Matter - w/Antlers and White Laces - 8pm - $8 - 18+
June 25 - Baltimore, MD. - Ottobar - w/Sloan, Hot Kid and Gary B & The Notions - 8pm - $15 - ALL AGES (TT plays first at 9pm)
July 11 - Washington, D.C. - Fort Reno - w/America Hearts and Cat Jack - FREE - 7pm
July 22 - Philadelphia, PA. - Kung Fu Necktie - 8pm - $8/$10 - 21+
July 23 - New York, NY. - Cake Shop

"Turn Your Face" video premiere on AP.com

Alternative Press is exclusively premiering the video for "Turn Your Face" right now. You can see it here: http://www.altpress.com/aptv/video/exclusive_title_tracks_turn_your_face_feat._john_davis_of_q_and_not_u/.

"In Blank" AVAILABLE NOW

The new Title Tracks album is out now, at last. If you want to hear it before you buy it, you can stream it in its entirety here:

http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/5

U.S. Tour Dates

Hey everyone. We have some U.S. shows coming up. We play our record release show in D.C. on April 20th at Black Cat (and we'll be joined by Foul Swoops). A week or so later, we'll be heading out for two weeks of shows, mostly in the midwest. If you want to help us fill in shows in the gaps, let us know. Thanks:

May 6 - Madison, WI. - The Terrace - w/Ted Leo (Solo) and Davey Von Bohlen - 8:30pm - FREE - ALL AGES
May 7 - Monticello, IL. - Any Frequency (In-Store Show) - 5pm - FREE
May 8 - St. Louis, MO. - Vintage Vinyl (In-Store Show) - 4pm - FREE
May 8 - St. Louis, MO. - Off Broadway - w/Ted Leo (Solo) and Blind Eyes - 8pm - $10/$12 - 18+
May 9 - Chicago, IL. - Empty Bottle - w/Malaikat dan Singa and The Field Auxiliary - 8:30pm - FREE - 21+
May 10 - Pontiac, MI. - The Pike Room - w/Here We Go Magic and Aroara - 8pm - $10/$12 - ALL AGES
May 11 - Cincinnati, OH. - MOTR Pub - 9pm - 21+
May 12 - Pittsburgh, PA. - Brillobox - w/Legs Like Tree Trunks and Robin Vote - 9pm - $8 - 21+
June 18 - Durham, NC. - The Casbah - 8pm - $8/$10 - 18+
June 19 - Richmond, VA. - Strange Matter - 8pm - $8 - 18+

Free Download of "Turn Your Face"

Download the new song, "Turn Your Face," for free, thanks to the folks at RCRDLBL. Check it out right here.

Turn Your Face

"Turn Your Face" from the forthcoming Title Tracks album "In Blank":

Turn Your Face by Title Tracks

All Tricks

"All Tricks" from the forthcoming Title Tracks album "In Blank":

All Tricks by Title Tracks

PRE-ORDERS FOR "IN BLANK" NOW ACCEPTED

"In Blank" is now available for pre-ordering on CD or LP by going to the Ernest Jenning Record Co. website.

IN BLANK CD/LP OUT APRIL 19TH!

Hey everyone. Like it says above, the new Title Tracks album, "In Blank," will be available on April 19th. It will be released by The Ernest Jenning Record Co. (the vinyl is a co-release with Windian Records). We'll be playing the record release show on April 20th at the Black Cat (with more U.S. tour dates to follow right after). We'll have details on how to pre-order the album very soon. Thanks. - JD

"It Was Easy" is Album Of The Year on Power Pop Overdose

I'm a little late on this but one of my favorite power pop blogs named "It Was Easy" their pick for top album of 2010. Go here to check it out:

http://powerpopoverdose.blogspot.com/2010/12/ppo-top-ten-power-pop-albums-of-2010.html

European Tour Dates : March/April 2011

Hey everyone. Title Tracks will be touring parts of Europe in late March and early April. If you're interested in helping with a show or want us to come by your radio station, etc., drop a line. Thanks.

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March 24 - Dresden, Germany - Beatpol - w/An Pierle and White Velvet
March 25 - Leipzig, Germany - Zorro w/Steve Adamyk Band and Sonic Avenues
March 26 - Verona, Italy - Interzona
March 27 - Pescara, Italy - Mono Spazio Bar
March 28 - Bari, Italy - Taverna Vecchia del Maltese
March 29 - OFF
March 30 - Villadossola, Italy - Titty Twister
March 31 - Gießen, Germany - AK44 - w/Caves
April 1 - Bremen, Germany - Friesenstrasse
April 2 - Braunschweig, Germany - Nexus - w/Les Aspirateurs and Kafer K
April 3 - Berlin, Germany - Privatclub - w/Les Aspirateurs
April 4 - Hamburg, Germany - Byte FM - Live acoustic set at 3:15pm
April 4 - Kiel, Germany - Subrosa (EARLY ACOUSTIC SHOW AT 6PM)
April 4 - Hamburg, Germany - Gruener Jaeger - w/Gnill
April 5 - Aalborg, Denmark - 1000fryd
April 6 - OFF
April 7 - Münster, Germany - Gleiss 22 - w/Trip Fontaine
April 8 - Luzern, Switzerland - Treibhaus - w/The Bucket
April 9 - Winterthur, Switzerland - Kraftfeld - w/Haddocks
April 10 - München, Germany - Orangehouse/Feierwerk - w/An Horse and Periscope
April 11 - Prague, CZ. - 007
April 12 - Nürnberg, Germany - K4 - w/Trip Fontaine and Sex Jams
April 13 - Würzberg, Germany - Cafe Cairo

NEW ALBUM etc.

Hey everyone. Just letting you know that I should be able to post some more info on the upcoming album soon (release date and artwork, in particular) but here's some to get started. The album is called "In Blank" and it has 11 songs:

1. Shaking Hands
2. Turn Your Face
3. Clench Your Fist (A Little Closer To Me)
4. Light Sleepers
5. I Can't Hide (Flamin' Groovies cover)
6. Forget The Ghost
7. All Tricks
8. Cain And The Twigs
9. No Air
10. It's Wrong
11. Winners Cry

The album will be released by The Ernest Jenning Record Co. (who released the first Title Tracks record, "It Was Easy"). We're hoping for a release date of sometime later in March or April. The album was recorded at The Bastille in Arlington, VA and was produced, engineered and mixed (in mono) by Nick Anderson. I play guitar and sing, Michael Cotterman plays bass and Andrew Black plays drums. More info to come, including tour dates in the U.S. and Europe for this spring.