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Rating:
December 1999:
"Latest news. Unknown thieves broke into the Wizard of Oz's house last night and took away the soundtrack. The investigators are in the dark."
It's night. Silence reigns in the hideout while the box is about to be activated.
The cables have been connected, the old soundtrack now has a new "brain" to run on.
Modern.
Technological.
The master of ceremonies proclaims: "One, two, three, four ..."
He lays his ear and listens.
First, unexpectedly, like a waterfall thrown out of bed (it reminds me of the Marmore Falls, when the dam opens and the shepherd Velino dives onto the nymph Nera), a family of timpani arrives to open the dance.
Second comes the harp, or rather two, arm in arm, one slightly behind the other.
Awakened in their new digital dream, they cyclically respond to the call of an invisible conductor, with all their dusty strings.
Third, the strings arrive, drowsy, struggling to follow, always a step behind, a sad-happy refrain now sung by the band leader:
Theirs (we're arriving..) is (.. here we are ...) to (..we're here..) win (..ready ...)
If (..wait for us..) it (...we're here...) kills (...we're arriving..) them (..a moment ...)
They're (..resting..) just (..we're ...) hu (..here..) mans (..stop ...)
With wives (..for mercy ..) and (..don't run ...) chil (..so ..) dren (..much)
Fourth, but at dawn the next day, a soft piano arpeggio emerges from beneath the surface of a lake resting on a cushion of strings.
Every now and then, dolphins rise in a choral dance, to the rhythmic/sparkling sound of another family of timpani, reflecting the first rays of sun.
The master of ceremonies sleeps. The band leader sings an anthem to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and a piece of his creation.
A second later, preceded by the collapse of something indefinable, comes the national anthem of the world of Oz, with a string ensemble, bells in their hair, drum thrills, and melodies chasing each other in echo.
The master of ceremonies dreams. The band leader sings another piece of his creation.
Fifth, after a year, from the depths of the universe, a reverberated bass seems to arrive, like a beating heart.
Sixth, after two minutes, film music.
Seventh, the day before, the imperious sound of a gong opens a choral rhythm that incites the invasion of the realm of possibilities.
The master of ceremonies has woken up. The band leader sings another piece of his creation.
Eighth, after seventy years, a funeral march, preceded by a prayer without words, just sounds of lips opening, closing:
PPPrrrrrappappa prrrrappappappappa ppprrrrrappappa prrrrappappappappa...
The master of ceremonies is about to disconnect the box.
The band leader sings the last piece of his creation:
Love in our life is just too valuable
Oh, to feel for even a second without it
But life without death is just impossible
Oh, to realize something is ending within us
Feeling yourself disintegrate
It's night again. Now the band sleeps serenely on the rooftops, someone snores a melodious lullaby to the stars.
And the happy stars begin to dream again from the world of Oz.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 A Spoonful Weighs a Ton (03:32)
And though they were sad they rescued everyone
They lifted up the sun
A spoonful weighs a ton
Giving more than they had
The process had begun
A million came from one
The limits now were none
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun
Forcing it off with their hands
The trap door came undone
Above our heads it swung
The privilege had been won
Being drunk on their plan, they lifted up the sun
Yelling as hard as they can
The doubters all were stunned
Heard louder than a gun
The sound they made was love
03 The Spark That Bled (05:54)
I accidentally touched my head
and noticed that it had been bleeding
for how long i did not know.
What was this, I thought, that struck me?
What kind of weapons have they got?
the softest bullet ever shot...
I stood up and I said yeah!!
I stood up and i said yeah
I stood up and i said Hey, Yeah!
From this moment on
blaring like a trumpet
comin from above us
and somewhere below
the confidence of knowing
decsending to relieve us
of the struggle to believe its so
I stood up and i said yeah
I spoke up and i said Hey
I stood up and i said hey yeah
And it seemed to cause a chain reaction
It had momentum it was gaining traction
it was all the rage it was all the fashion
the outreached hands had resigned themselves to
holding on to something that they never had
and thats too bad
'cause in reality there was no reaction
i accidentally touched my head
and saw that it was bleeding
for how long i did not know.
04 The Spiderbite Song (04:01)
When you got that spiderbite on your hand
I thought we would have to break up the band
To lose your arm would surely upset your brain
The poison then could reach your heart from a vein
I was glad that it didn't destroy you
How sad that would be
Cos if it destroyed you
It would destroy me
When you had that accident in your car
That whole thing just really seemed too bizarre
Dodging holes and telephone poles through the dash
A million to one that you could survive such a crash
I was glad that it didn't destroy you
How sad that would be
Cos if it destroyed you
It would destroy me
When you fell in love it was so sweet
So devoted, completely swept off your feet
Love is the greatest thing our heart can know
But the hole that it leaves in its absence can make you feel so low
I was glad that it didn't destroy you
How sad that would be
Cos if it destroyed you
It would destroy me
06 What Is the Light? (04:04)
what is the light
that you have
shining all around you?
Is it chemically derived?
Cause if it's natural,
something glowing from inside
shining all around you
it's potential has arrived
Love is the place
that you're drawn to.
Looking into space
it surrounds you.
Love is that face
that you're drawn to
What is the light
that you have
shining all around you?
is it chemically derived?
08 Waitin' for a Superman (04:17)
Asked you a question
I didn't need you to reply
Is it gettin' heavy?
But they'll realize
Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be
Is it overwhelming
To use a crane to crush a fly?
It's a good time for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky
'Cause it's gettin' heavy
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be
Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
Best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift
Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy as can be.
Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
Best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift
09 Suddenly Everything Has Changed (03:54)
Putting all the vegetables away,
That you bought at the grocery store today,
And it goes fast,
You think of the past,
Suddenly everything has changed,
Driving home the sky accelerates,
And the clouds all form a geometric shape,
And it goes fast,
You think of the past,
Suddenly everything has changed,
Putting all the clothes you washed away,
As you're folding up the shirts you hesitate,
Then it goes fast,
Think of the past,
Suddenly everything has changed
10 The Gash (04:02)
Is that gash in your leg
Really why you have stopped?
‘Cause I’ve noticed all the others
Though they’re gashed, they’re still going
‘Cause I feel like the real reason
That you’re quitting, that you’re admitting
That you’ve lost all the will to battle on
Will the fight for our sanity
Be the fight of our lives?
Now that we’ve lost all the reasons
That we thought that we had
Still the battle that we’re in
Rages on till the end
With explosions, wounds are open
Sights and smells, eyes and noses
But the thought that went unspoken
Was understanding that you’re broken
Still the last volunteer battles on
Battles on
Battles on
11 Feeling Yourself Disintegrate (05:17)
Love in our life is just too valuable
Oh, to feel for even a second without it
But life without death is just impossible
Oh, to realize something is ending within us
Feeling yourself disintegrate
13 Race for the Prize (04:18)
Two scientists were racing
For the good of all mankind
Both of them side by side
So Determined
Locked in heated battle
For the cure that is their prize
But it's so dangerous
But they're determined
Theirs is to win
If it kills them
They're just humans
With wives and children
Upwards to the vanguard
Where the pressure is too high
Under the microscope
Hope against hope
Forging for the future
But to sacrifice their lives
Both of them side by side
So determined
Theirs is to win
If it kills them
They're just humans
With wives and children
Theirs is to win
It will kill them
They're just humans
With wives and children
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By condor
"Feeling Yourself Disintegrate... broke my heart, cut my breath, kidnapped my brain."
"Listening to it is like watching landscapes lit up, full of life and color from a moving train."
