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Comrades

by SZ

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1.
Kylie: Better the devil you know, better the devil you know. SZ: Don’t think of their bodies crashing into mine The western horizon is now a neon sign Pick me up from the floor painted red a long time ago You’re better alone than with the devil you know Better alone than any devil Half a dozen in my hand, six in yours We used to trade bad sleep for a good time, before the war Accept the diagnosis, wake up from the hypnosis You’re better alone than with the devil you know Better alone than any devil I shut down the operation, but I don’t have a plan I’m no fugitive in this city, I’m a free man I have my pens and papers, I run on fog and vapor You’re better alone than with the devil you know Better alone than any devil I can find trouble I can make a scene Rattle the cage, cages are obscene You’re better alone than with the devil you know Better alone than any devil
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4.
Nick's Song 02:50
Tonight I sit in silence, tonight the sky is still The city hums and breathes, the darkness so ideal I spot smoke where they tell the wrong jokes It’s been a long day, an array of long notes Tires and sirens, some of us are very sick Stars and diamonds hidden under every sink Tell me when you wanna leave, everyone is ready Terrified to question tests all of us are dreading Never mind the weather now, history repeating When you’re here all by yourself who are you defeating? Final night of summer and I still smell blood Drizzled on the flowers and we know how come Everybody’s sorry and the reasons rarely match Watch him agitate the cat, trying to make that scratch Nobody weeps and the silence feels strange A paper on a desk makes the violence okay Clutching their bags, nervous people make a line There’s nowhere left to run and they’re running out of time Counting the sheep at a rally in the south There’s nowhere left to hide and their time is running out After supper the tea kettle whistles A drawer full of spoons and a deed for a missile The world we wanted too expensive to be clean If you see the gates of heaven it was us they asked to leave Final night of summer and I still smell blood Drizzled on the flowers and we know how come Everybody’s sorry and the reasons rarely match Watch him agitate the cat, trying to make that scratch
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6.

about

I meant to release "Bella Ciao / Bad Guy," "Labor," "Já bych si rád najal dům," and "Solidarity Forever" on May 1, 2021, but then I forgot. Getting vaccinated became a priority. I remembered these recordings on the 48th anniversary of my birth and the 1st anniversary of The Match Factory Girl. Better late than never, here are three lo-fi, home-made covers along with three even more lo-fi originals (Cyborg Goddess help me, some of these were recorded via the built-in computer microphone, reaching the new lo).

credits

released March 13, 2022

I wrote "Better Alone" alone, and I wrote "Nick's Song" (that's a working title) with my spousal comrade Bob Rok. "Labor" is my adaptation of the eponymous 1930 poem by Bud McKillups. All vocalizing and guitar pawing by yours truly, except when you hear Kylie Minogue or Studs Terkel samples (you can’t miss them).

Cover art by Ivica Žabić. Posing with me some time in the late 1970s are Mira Žabić and Stanislav Žabić.

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SZ Chicago, Illinois

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