November 10th, 2017
CAROL'S SONG
Jel penned this one 26 years ago long before the internet and mobiles phones. On Christmas morning, in Britain, TV was full of folks from all over the world in strange places wishing those back home a 'Merry Christmas', along with presenters in stupid jumpers and endless 'Specials'. Christmas day is the oddest of them all - so many people are lonely and so many relationships break under the financial pressure of the ultimate consumerism. For many people it's just an ordinary day because it has to be - that's the only way to survive it for some. The homeless spend it still homeless and the troops are a long way from home facing danger. We are not against Christmas, but we do look forward to switching off and ignoring the world for a few days .... and especially the TV. So what was written in '91 hasn't really changed 26 years later...
Released 10 November 2017
LYRICS
Hey it's late I've been working hard
I can see you're tired too
Please don't try to talk about those things
I don't want to fight with you.
So while you sleep I'll watch the late night TV
Tonight the world will fall apart, for you and for me.
I light a cigarette and pour a drink
I can feel it going wrong
Please don't try to reach me now
I've been far away too long.
So while you sleep I'll watch the late night TV
Tonight the world will fall apart, for you and for me.
Between the rock stars with a temporary chart reprieve
And the token seasonal offerings they schedule Christmas Eve
Everyone is finding the time to stop and think
Of all the Yule Tide greetings free with every drink.
On channel 3, a sermon, rallies around the nation
On channel 2, a man in blue talks of low inflation
The troops say hello to mum and wave to girlfriends missed
And Harris found a crate or two to help the lads get pissed.
And friends from 40 years ago, are 20 second stars
Reunited with a lost one living life on mars
The newsman with a straight face, who tells us life is grim
Is dancing on the specials and advertising gin.
The saviours of the needy remind us of their cause
The refuges are freezing, it's Christmas in the wars
And there's a man with a cardboard house, it's built between the breaks
An ideal gift for mother, from the box a home he makes.
On channel 4, a classic, a favourite family show
The one that has the tears falling in the snow
I can't believe this is happening, I can't believe this is real
Tonight I held you for the last time, you'll never know how I feel.
Hey it's late I've been working hard
I can see you're tired too
If we never get to talk again
At least I'll never fight with you.
VIDEO
November 1st, 2017
MR BREEZY
"Storm clouds gathering in far away lands. Take the moments while we have them in our hands." The world is getting unsafer by the day. Little did we imagine, having lived through the heights of the Cold War and the end of nuclear proliferation, that it would come to this. For years no one mentioned nuclear weapons, they were a part of a frightening history. Now nations threaten to use them as children throw firecrackers. Maybe here in NZ we will miss the initial worst of it, but it's not all about us, there are millions who won't if it happens. Besides it will affect everyone on the planet, and so we remember the unpublished 'Protect and Survive' UK Government booklet from the 1980s. 32 pages to strike fear into anyone's heart. Those times were real, and they are again. This is our take on it - we used to say 'kiss your arse goodbye' if it ever happens, now we say go to the beach and enjoy the last few moments.
Released 1st November 2017
LYRICS
We've awakened from a dreary haze
A drunken slumber that's stretched for days and days and days
Both barrels burnt. no caffeine in sight
Yesterday is dusted, the sun is shining bright
No time for sleep, no missing treats
No holding horses
Count to three, kick back the sheets
Make mine over easy, Mr Breezy
Your grab the key, I'll find the Keates
Not forever, can feel it in my bones
I'll pick the flowers, you pick the skimming stones
Tame the tide for hours and talk of Rubenstein
Laugh until the tears fall, and be glad we are alive
No time for sleep, no missing treats
No holding horses
Count to three, kick back the sheets
Make mine over easy, Mr Breezy
Your grab the key, I'll find the Keates
September 19th, 2017
VANILLA
Album fillers - or interludes as they are known in fancy circles - we love them! Sometimes they are the highlights of an album - between tracks, or hidden a couple of minutes after the last song has finished. This is the first of many we intend to write - Vanilla - a bit over produced perhaps (it's really hard not to!) but short and sweet all the same. No one does vanilla in this exciting world, right?
Released 13 September 2017
LYRICS
Give me chocolate, raspberry sorbet - hey
Give me sprinkles, crunchy praline - hmm
But where I draw the line though
Where people queue and flock go
I just don't do vanilla
Waffle cone. the shape don't matter - no
On a stick, or laid on a platter - hmm
Dress it up any way you choose
I got the bruise to prove it
I just don't do vanilla
Lips go numb, brain freeze
Sticky fingers, wobbly knees
Change the menu please
I just don't do vanilla
September 16th, 2017
WHOLE
If you're going to do it, dive in with both feet. WHOLE leaves no toe undipped. Whether it be life, love or space ship landings, throw yourself into all you have to give. If you're lucky, you'll get back what you give and more. And if you don't, you'll just never know will you?
Released 16 September 2017
LYRICS
Wind up your window I've seen where the time goes
Dirty little secrets and the way that your mind blows
Read the fine print on the back of the tin
You don't scare me with that innocent grin
Go where we dare to venture
Be like peas in a pod you said
When we crash back down to earth
We'll fix it with glue you said
Take an inch, take a bite, take a piece of me
Swallow me alive and spit out the best of me
Take a breath, repeat after me you said
Stake a claim, sink a shaft, mine the source of me
Freefalling down, keep a hold of me
Tandem lovers who never hit the ground
Can't untaste you, why would you want me to?
Drag me under like the way you're supposed to do
Peel back the layers 'til there's only skin
Then tunnel deep under 'til you break your way in
Go where we dare to venture
Be like peas in a pod you said
When we crash back down to earth
We'll fix it with glue you said
Take an inch, take a bite, take a piece of me
Swallow me alive and spit out the best of me
Take a breath, repeat after me you said
Stake a claim, sink a shaft, mine the source of me
Freefalling down, keep a hold of me
Tandem lovers who never hit the ground
You take my weakness
I'll drain your strength
We'll give it all
Let's call it even
Come on let's let it go and fall
Take an inch, take a bite, take a piece of me
Swallow me alive and spit out the best of me
Take a breath, repeat after me you said
Stake a claim, sink a shaft, mine the source of me
Freefalling down, keep a hold of me
Tandem lovers who never hit the ground
VIDEO
July 13th, 2017
UNTIL THE SEAS RUNS DRY
Reworked to join the OLDER collection, this old favourite of ours 'Seas Run Dry' was originally in the set of our mid 90's band, Driving Morris. Written by the ultra-talented Tiipene Babbington, this version uses his original vocals from 22 years ago salvaged from an old 8-track tape. With him, our very own Jules on backing vocals, albeit 22 years younger.
Reworked to a point - at the end you can here a fade to the original! We hope you enjoy this timeless classic from the amazing Teeps!
Released 13 July 2017
LYRICS
Whenever I needed to
Though in not so many words
I would conjure up your memory
Within my pleading
For the presence of your mind
Your body and your soul
It was in vain
Could have been anybody's pain
If they loved you
Til the seas run dry
Whenever we needed to
We confided in our hearts
But they were never in control
Within my pleading
For the presence of your mind
Your body and your soul
It was all the same
Could have been anybody's shame
If they loved you
Til the seas run dry
It was all in vain
Could have been anybody's pain
If they loved you
Til the seas run dry
June 26th, 2017
AMBIVERT
Somewhere on the spectrum between an introvert and and extrovert lays the ambivert. This is where we, OLDER live. We are happy to engage madly in deep and meaningful conversation with anyone about anything. Just not small talk. One can't do that for more than a few minutes before it actually becomes painful. Seriously.
It's a perception though, isn't it. What may be portrayed as 'anti social' behaviour, a term overused and bandied around the office, may just be an ambivert withdrawing from the mundane boredom of the people around them -- plenty of interesting things to say and do, just not to them.
Released 26 June 2017
LYRICS
Put her in a box with a bow on top
Sunny disposition, doesn't say a lot
Keeps her head down, doesn't make a fuss
Works very hard, not one of us
But where her mind goes
Nobody asks, nobody knows
She's such a strange one
She's antisocial, she don't fit in
A twisted enigma with a Cheshire grin
Tittle tattle chat over morning tea
Gets a little bored with the company
Stifles a yawn, gets a blank stare
She'd give her right arm not to be there
But where her mind goes
Nobody asks, nobody knows
She's such a strange one
She's antisocial, she don't fit in
A twisted enigma with a Cheshire grin
Oh their mundane world is shaken to the core
She's riding in the cart, apples on the floor
She's antisocial, she don't fit in
A twisted enigma with a Cheshire grin
Come Monday morning just gone 9,
ASBO smile, quite benign
Best not try to empathise
Keep it stuum, divert your eyes
Leave the crazy well alone,
Count the hours 'til she goes home
But maybe she's watching you,
Watching her, watching you
But where her mind goes
Nobody asks, nobody knows
She's such a strange one
She's antisocial, she don't fit in
A twisted enigma with a Cheshire grin
VIDEO
June 15th, 2017
APATHY
Things are happening in monumental proportions around the globe and it seems many look out their window and observe. They twitch their curtains and, like the dumbed down reality of television broadcast to billions, while on their very doorstep they choose not to see it. You see "things happen to other people, in other neighbourhoods, in other countries".
Out of pure frustration APATHY highlights the mellow many, those that have become numb to their own emotions and who fail to have an opinion. Meanwhile a 'revolution' takes place.
It's a raw song - we don't believe in endless production.
Released 15 June 2017
LYRICS
There is no next time, maybe
No cheap cigar tricks baby
You lay like rigamortus
Has already set in
Where is your voice of change
Your call to rearrange
Your lack of roar is booming
Your end of life is looming
Your silence drowns the thunder
The storm will take you under
Resist the urge to cower
You have the key to power
Rise up and make those choices
Inhale your inner voices
Awake the sleeping dogs
Unleash the demagogues
Apathy breeds apathy, apathy
Your pulse is barely beating
A soul that's past retreating
No maybe, if and when
This is your carpe-deim
The air is charged with changes
The static rearranges
Your mind is past dialating
Too late for contemplating
The rage has split the street
Close curtains be descrete
Head down and blinkered eyes
Your choice, you're paralysed
Uprising, warnings posted
All indolence is noted
Your conscience, absolution
Now comes revolution
Apathy breeds apathy, apathy
C'est la vie is not for me
VIDEO
May 27th, 2017
THIS IS NOT A PUNK SONG
We imagine a scenario of OLDER playing at a local Workingman's Club or provincial pub on a Friday night, playing the same old monotonous drawl from 70's, 80's and 90's. Obviously, that would be a booking failure on both parts - them fooled by the name hoping for a nice cover's band, preferably Country & Western, to croon songs 'we all know and love'.
If you have been to one of 'those' nights over the decades, things haven't changed much. Cheap food, live entertainment, TAB and DB on tap, and aunty up for a dance....
Released 27 May 2017
LYRICS
Harold hold your horses
Audrey get a round
This song's for you
A 70's sound
Shimmy past the pokies
Finish up your pies
Aunty ditch the handbag
We got a nice surprise
This is not a punk song, sing along
You can dad dance, won't be long
This is not a punk song, just a nice guitar
Have yourselves a good time, see you at the bar
Got you by the curlies
Possums in the light
Uncle's had a moment
Feeling young tonight
Rest just move along
Nothing to see hear
Imagine we're a covers band
Playing for our beer
This is not a punk song, sing along
You can dad dance, won't be long
This is not a punk song, just a nice guitar
Have yourselves a good time, see you at the bar
Middle 8 can go oh-so slowly
Like old time favouries you know and love
This is not a punk song, sing along
You can dad dance, won't be long
This is not a punk song, just a nice guitar
Have yourselves a good time, see you at the bar
VIDEO
May 9th, 2017
1984
1984 is a George Orwell classic. Written in 1949 it writes about a superstate in a perpetual war, government surveillance and public manipulation. One of the many persecuted crimes is individualism and independent thinking -- aka 'thoughtcrime' and enforced by the Thought Police.
Fast-track to 2017, we have the internet and bless, Facebook. Once considered a channel for freedom of speech and sharing holiday snaps with loved-ones, has quickly revealed as a media not interested in the good of others, but interested solely in power. Personal opinion is managed and AI marks each post by 'relevance scores' and dishes up to only those likely to engage, if not banned for not conforming.
Friends are whomever you want the to be, but seldom friends. Lives are augmented, independent thinking is discouraged, news stories are forgeries and falsifications. Cat videos and memes reign supreme. To blend in, do not look up from your phone.
Released 9 May 2017
LYRICS
I'm the millions sharing silence on the bus
No human contact, no need for fuss
Send a request to be my friend, I know we've never met
The real world scares me, I'm not ready for it yet
Facebook friends I'm up tonight,
I'm on show, gimme a like
My esteem grows on a share, gimme a love
Show that you care
I'm the blank face that you never look at twice
An ice cold aura, a silence vice
Send a request to be my friend, I know we've never met
The real world scares me, I'm not ready for it yet
Facebook friends I'm up tonight,
I'm on show, gimme a like
My esteem grows on a share, gimme a love
Show that you care
Yeah I know I could switch off my phone
But I bore myself when I'm alone
Facebook friends I'm up tonight,
I'm on show, gimme a like
My esteem grows on a share, gimme a love
Gimme a love, gimme a love, gimme a love, gimme a love
Facebook friends I'm up tonight,
I'm on show, gimme a like
My esteem grows on a share, gimme a love
I'm the millions sharing silence on the bus
No human contact, no need for fuss
Send a request to be my friend, I know we've never met
The real world scares me, I'm not ready for it yet
Facebook friends I'm up tonight,
I'm on show, gimme a like
My esteem grows on a share, gimme a love
Show that you care
VIDEO
May 2nd, 2017
GOT THE GIRL
Love and dating, dating and social media, social media and status updates. Ahhh. You see where we are going. GOT THE GIRL is a lovely little ditty about someone we all know, who falls quickly in love and declares their love publicly with great vigor, regularly.
*Jason (name changed to protect the innocent) is one of those love demons. Wedding bells are in the air, he's got a spare key cut, and they are only on their second drink.
Released 2 May 2017
LYRICS
Their eyes first locked in a small cafe
latte lips, eggs benedict, over Hemingway
by the time she caught the waiter's eye
He was in love
She had her mind on a dinner date at seven
He got it sown up, he'd died and gone to heaven
Status update: punching above his weight
Oh Ah, top of the world
Oh Ah, he got the girl
Oh Ah, she don't feel the same
Oh Ah, what a crying shame
Friday night on the pull with the lads
practiced pout, wonderbra, she's a drunken dream
By the time they left the dance floor
He was in love
He flagged a taxi to take them to the West End
She got her sights set firmly on his best friend
Status update: snagged himself a bombshell
Oh Ah, top of the world
Oh Ah, he got the girl
Oh Ah, she don't feel the same
Oh Ah, what a crying shame
Only drives at two speeds, doesn't mind the nose bleeds
Looking for his mother in the eyes of every lover
Heart is in the right place, head is lost in outer space
Slow down sunshine you've got more time
Oh Ah, top of the world
Oh Ah, he got the girl
Oh Ah, she don't feel the same
Oh Ah, what a crying shame
VIDEO – GOT THE GIRL FROM ‘AT HOME WITH OLDER’