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A Rhythm in the Cages LP SPR07

by The Taxpayers

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  • A Rhythm in the Cages LP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    SPR007 is the first vinyl pressing of one of my favorite punk albums ever from one of the most exciting bands in the galaxy. AWESOME.

    Originally released digitally and on CD in 2009 by Quote Unquote and Useless State, this album is a fearless intersection of the personal and political. Complete with fierce shoutalongs, stripped-down ballads, and some well-placed saxophone soloing, "Rhythm" is the bridge between 2007's gleefully haphazard "Exhilarating News" and 2010's hard-hitting "To Risk So Much For One Damn Meal". For me, this record redefines the possibilities of "folk punk", turning a handful of other nearby genres inside out in the process. The constant collision of blues, folk, country, swing, and punk rock gives the songs a volatile unpredictability that matches everything the Taxpayers are about as a band: simultaneously thoughtful and explosive, at once defiant and compassionate. Quote Unquote likens the album to "a party on fire[. . .]Everyone's about to die, but at least we're all laughin' about it." That sounds about right. Goofpunx 4ever.

    This pressing is limited to 500 LPs on 150-gram vinyl, 300 on black and 200 on translucent gold.

    GOLD PRESSING SOLD OUT.

    Includes unlimited streaming of A Rhythm in the Cages LP SPR07 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
In Dubrovnik, in a building, on an antique floor. With the cutting edge of glass against the skin at the throat. From the basement to the attic, running back and forth. In the middle of a room through the ice and the storm. We took the dope that we had, packed up as much as we could, threw a rock through the solitary window in the room. Took the clothes on our bodies down to the open bag of trash, laying to rest every goddamn good thing we had ever had. From the door, to the stairway, to the street, through a gathering storm; Never getting warm. In Dubrovnik, at a pawn shop, an exchange for more. In the mail at the building an arraignment for court. From the shelter to the elements, running back and forth. From the shelter to the elements, right back to the store. We took the cash that we had, packed up as much as we could, took the trash with the clothes to the backpacks and the goods. Stuck a plug in the basin, possessions intact, started the faucet, the sink overflowing the edge. From the door, to the stairway, to the street, through a gathering storm; Never getting warm.
2.
White Walls 01:46
White walls! Bad setting! Black paint! Big holes! This company is totally fucking bankrupt. The lights stick in the folds. The rats that live in the basement have multiplied and spread by the score. This business is failing in lateral folds; productivity must rise! More units must be sold! You get an elemental wasteland for the price of living in the heartland. White walls! Bad Setting! Black paint! Big holes! This is a difficult way to live.
3.
Epilogue: A sound off from simple people with simple theories. Fucking up, but articulate, with a feeble grasp of arithmetic. Fueled by false determination, and the final breath of a declining nation. Where do you think that the remedy is? And why do you think it even exists? This building is falling down. Paradox: A nodding off from imploding circles with no direction. Take a look in the fucking mirror, and ask yourself who the enemy is. Last call at the gas pump. Last call at the water pump. Who do you think are your fucking friends? Who do you think are your fucking friends?
4.
Dig Too Deep 01:14
Dig too deep, get hot, hot hell, get devils inside your body. Climb too high, get wet, wet wings, get heaven inside your throat. And when the city starts to shatter. When the military comes. When the soldiers from their bases do arrive: we're going to feel the earth shake. Do you have any more money? Do you have any more food? Do you even have a roof over your head? Looks as though the end is coming soon.
5.
I have been making presentations for a final escalation, I have been praying to the god of giving up. She says, “Lock the door behind you now, before the criminals/cops break in your house”. Oh, I have looked so hard for a place where I could die. But the winners up there of high-end living won't allow the broken insane to arise. So fuck this city. Fuck this job. They break you down before you even reach the top. In a god-fearing land, there ain't no lodging for the mad; you can't get high enough to breathe before you drown. I'm gonna go back to that factory, where they make moving parts that will take you very far away. In the flash of a pack of matches, I will be gone.
6.
Needle's Eye 03:45
I want your sincerity, you know. I want a song that will dig into my bones. I want a place to live where I can raise my kids, settle down with you and call it a home. I want a town as big as New York, where the masses and the buildings are born. I want an anonymous place where nobody knows my name; if that were possible, I wouldn't need much anymore. I want a bar where I can drink until my face turns numb. Gimme a bottle of wine so I can kill some time; I don't gotta prove anything to anyone. When I get back to the house, a binding webbing forms. Dream of hell-bound barking dogs, and then walk back out the door. If I get this far when I grow old, I won't want for any fortune of gold. I want the markings, instead, of a life well-lead, and the force of a body turning cold. A lover's eye does define a life that is good and true. Many a times I've been chilled to the spine because I wanted you.
7.
This is a militaristic kitchen, this is a pluralistic sideshow. Get off the hesitation, get off the fucking sidewalk, I love you. No borders, no boundaries, no authorities, no leaders, I love you. This is a militaristic kitchen, this is a pluralistic sideshow. This is a militaristic kitchen, this is a terrifying freakshow. Get off the hesitation, get off the fucking sidewalk, I love you. No preachers, no greed, no misconceptions, no losers, I love you. This is a militaristic kitchen, this is the most compelling freakshow. This is a militaristic kitchen, this is just the beginning now. Get off the hesitation, get off the fucking sidewalk, I love you. Watch your back! Watch history! Watch everything and act! This is a militaristic kitchen, this is only the beginning.
8.
When you commit unforgivable crimes, there is a house in which to hide. At this house, there are guns inside. If you begin to starve, I will feed you well. If you cannot read, I will gladly help. If you need some sleep, you can rest a spell. But there's no swimming in the old canal, in those polluted waters where the best of men drown; there's no swimming in the Cuyahoga Canal. If you build a boat, you can sail up north. You may find freedom past the Canadian border. But your presence here is unwelcome, in the name of law and order.
9.
Setting: Bellingham. Action: Stealing apples from the man. Characters: Dianne and three young dudes in a travelin' band! Went to their land; sabotage was the plan for 30 proof hooch in Pi Pagoda's van! Setting: City Hall. Action: Getting handcuffed by the cops. Plot Devices: Bike locks and tons of people tossing molotovs and rocks. Went to their land; sabotage was the plan. Financed by the state, laughing while running away.
10.
Bike Cops 01:49
You got caught up in U-locks, played chicken with bike cops, danced badly with employees at hotel picket lines. Stole copies from Kinko's, spray painted the windows, and slept on the floor for a year. Then they got you on charges of assaulting an officer, interfering with a “protector of the peace”, disorderly conduct, harassment, and trespassing; we panicked, and now you're locked in a jail cell alone. But don't ever get lonely. You've got friends in most places.
11.
Montana 03:17
Does it even matter?
12.
Where have you run? Are the walls still on your mind? Where could you possibly go, expecting to find something? Do you realize you are bound to hit the floor? Do you realize that the walls you make and the places you stay will get beaten by the wind and erode? The ones in danger who are down on their luck get picked up at the crossroads in a pickup truck. The driver, concealed, speaks real slow, He says, “There is trouble at the end of this road...”

about

A Rhythm in the Cages was originally released by Useless State on CD in 2009. This is the first-ever vinyl pressing! This album rolls punk, folk, hardcore, blues, and country into one awesome goofpunx tour de force. Highly recommended to literally everyone.

This is SPR007, a pressing of 300 LPs on black vinyl and 200 on transparent gold!

Download the album for free here: quoteunquoterecords.com/qur031.htm

credits

released December 1, 2012

All songs written by the Taxpayers. In their words:

A number of our friends helped with other instruments on this record. Joe Kashishian played guitar and sang on “This Building is Falling Down” and “There is Trouble”. Alex Bekuhrs played saxophone on “Dig too Deep”. Adrienne Hatkin of Autopilot is for Lovers played piano on “No Lodging for the Mad” and sang on “There is Trouble”. The following singers and shouters sang on “Bike Cops” and “Montana”: Jay Awesome, Jawn McPhillips, Crimetrain, Ceightie MacTatters, Big Al, Sam John, Nina, Danielle Steal, Zach Archer, and Shelby Dorneden. Guitar Zack Fischman played the piano intro to “Dig too Deep” and the harmonica on “Montana”.

This album was recorded and mixed by our friend Michael Love of Raised by Television in 2008.

The beautiful front cover album art was created by Alicia Moreland with great care.

All the songs, music, lyrics, and artwork associated with The Taxpayers are copyrighted under the Creative Commons license. This means you can feel free to do what you want with it (cover it, reproduce the artwork for fliers, etc), as long as it's non-commercially (we're looking at you Navy advertisements and Gap commercials).

Thanks to everyone. For everything. For reals.

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