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Counterfeit Arcade

by Shayfer James

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wingeddangernoodle
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wingeddangernoodle There is no joy greater than dancing around the kitchen with my fiancee, singing Villainous Thing and laughing. Favorite track: Villainous Thing.
Joey Loops
Joey Loops thumbnail
Joey Loops I was doing dishes and asked my smart speaker to play Fear and Delight by the Correspondents. It instead gave me Villainous Thing.

I had never heard Villainous Thing before. Or anything from Shayfer James before. I liked Villainous Thing so much that I used my dripping wet dish hands to go look up the lyrics so I could sing along while doing karate punches in the air. Favorite track: Villainous Thing.
gavlizard
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gavlizard Fit for an evildoer, this album contains very moody and typically villainous songs, but also a few legitimately touching ones. Definitely an album to write sinister plans to. Favorite track: Diggin' Up Hatchets.
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1.
The last man standing in our sinister charade beneath the crumbling arches of our counterfeit arcade He nobly knelt before us He sang our savior's chorus We left him spinning bloody plates Upon his broken blade   (chorus) That's just the weight of the world We do what we must to get by That's just the weight of the world The weak and the weary will never survive That's just the weight of the world We do what we must to stay alive That's just the weight of the world We'll all be the weak and the weary some time   One woman whistling a wounded lullaby And preaching pain to every unsuspecting passerby We knew her well before this She promised portraits of us We cut her throat While she waiting for the paint to dry   (chorus)   And in the distance we’ll here melancholy moans The long forgotten have a habit of collecting loans   (chorus)
2.
Just a moment dear I hear someone at the door And the beating of a heart that I hid beneath the floor They've come for me love Save yourself I am far beyond repair They will bury me alive but I'm not inclined to care I am too far gone now So dry your eyes and count to ten they'll have me on the pyre by then forget the man I used to be you'll move a long more easily A moment dear I hear someone in the hall and the plundering of promises we hung up on the wall They've come for us love Save yourself I am bitter to the bone And I'm growing rather fond  of the wandering alone I am too far gone now So dry your eyes and count to ten they'll have me on the pyre by then forget the man I used to be you'll move a long more easily Now I must finish what I started I'll write a symphony for the departed I have no time for second chances so I survive on bourbon, blood, and backward glances The scene begins Your cries become the wind A desperate plea best left unheard Then my contrived goodbye A poet's pantomime A drunken jester's final words Just a moment dear I hear someone at the door And the beating of a heart that I hid beneath  They've come for me love Now I must finish what I started I'll write a symphony for the departed I have no time for second chances so I survive on bourbon, blood, and backward glances Dry your eyes and count to ten They’ll have me on the pyre by then
3.
There's a mean storm comin' Strong enough to cut you down There's a war been wagin' Better get the children underground I know we're far beyond the point of no return Let's say we light a fire and be the first to burn Do you recall the day when we went wrong? Time is flyin', ease you're weary mind we'll be alone Where the skies are grey, where we belong Time is flyin', ease you're weary mind we'll be alone Where we belong There's a freight train comin' Barrelin' around the bend There's a red light flashin Ladies and gentlemen this is the end I do believe that we've a lesson left to learn So take your seats your salutations and your turn Do you recall the day when we went wrong? Time is flyin', ease you're weary mind we'll be alone Where the skies are grey, where we belong Time is flyin', ease you're weary mind we'll be alone Where we belong And on the way to our salvation we'll be making plans  to overthrow the king and pick apart the promised lands Do you recall the day when we went wrong? Time is flyin', ease you're weary mind we'll be alone Where the skies are grey, where we belong Time is flyin', ease you're weary mind we'll be alone Where we belong
4.
Oh mighty warrior Oh fervent counselor Of palest eye you were and cautious care Upon this Autumn more your laughter lingers on where ever you have gone I'll see ya there Oooh, the mountains bow before ya Oooh, the clouds are open wide Oooh, your lady waitin' for ya Oooh, and we my friend will meet again Oh gentle guardian Oh perfect paladin Cheeks of of a cheshire grin and wisdom warm Upon this Autumn more your laughter lingers on where ever you have gone We'll se ya there Oooh, the mountains bow before ya Oooh, the clouds are open wide Oooh, your lady waitin for ya Oooh, and we my friend will meet again Oooh, the mountains bow before ya Oooh, the clouds are open wide Oooh, your lady waitin for ya Oooh, and we my friend will meet again Sometime
5.
Welcome. Won't you come inside? Oh i fear the passing year did not deserve you By some devious design  Suddenly you're very near as I prefer you Soaked and shivered from the rain you have always been a delicate disaster Fine in fire and of frame me and you are overdue for fiendish laughter (Chorus) Oh dear, let me see those smokey eyes You're a villainous thing and we can't have you living a lie Oh dear, let's remove those pretty clothes You're a villainous thing and I don't think anyone knows Waste no worry for the world Let it be a tragedy of love and glory while they wait by gates of pearl we'll be building palaces in purgatory (Chorus) You’ll find no ever after here It’s clear that isn’t what you came for I’ll be your puckish puppeteer On this delightful little detour (Chorus)
6.
Battle Cry 03:07
I stumbled out into the cold Below a thoughtless moon I saw the phantoms of my friends but they were gone too soon then from the trees my enemies began to shout and shriek Until a silence overwhelmed them And I began to speak   Hear my battle cry hear that mighty sound They've come before and many more will try to strike me down Hear my battle cry hear that mighty roar and if you make it out alive The devil will be waiting by your door   I met a stranger on my way to here from god knows where he won my lover in a dirty game of solitaire He stole my crown and placed it crookedly upon his head He turned around, I took him down, and this is what I said   Hear my battle cry hear that mighty sound They've come before and many more will try to strike me down Hear my battle cry hear that mighty roar and if you make it out alive The devil will be waiting by your door   You'll sacrifice the truth to justify your sins but I don't need an excuse to let the darkness in You'll sacrifice the truth to justify your sins but I don't need an excuse to let the darkness in   Hear my battle cry hear that mighty sound They've come before and many more will try to strike me down Hear my battle cry hear that mighty roar and if you make it out alive The devil will be waiting by your door
7.
Peace 03:10
I'd rather live alone than live a lie
I will never deserve peace
There’s trouble in my bones, a frigid tide
I will never deserve peace I spoke to the ghost on my way to asleep 
But the boards in the floor called my footsteps a thief
Oh the road to his cliff was clay red and stone grey
And the air tasted ashes, the air tasted ashes I'd rather live alone than live a lie
I will never deserve peace
There’s trouble in my bones, a frigid tide
I will never deserve peace
I will never deserve peace
I will never deserve peace
8.
We’re Diggin Up Hatchets today and sharpening the blades in case, a stitch of hope remains in this hell that we’ve raised Hey! We’re witnessing the waking of the dead we’ll ripping all the wires from our heads we’re pumping all the poison from our veins and scrubbing out these wicked stains We’re burying mercy and grace in unmarked shallow graves Today, the piper must be be paid for the tune that he played Let us pause and be thankful for this evening and the fact that we are breathing maybe living has a meaning after all there’s a plan for us lunatics and liars we have faulty gears and wires they can’t save us but they’ll do the best they can
9.
Lover lover weep for me no more I’ve been right here under the willow Mother, mother I think I found my soul while I was hiding under the willow I’ve been the portrait of despair despite this hat and badge I wear I’ve been a captive and a coward But Thunder, Thunder shook me to the core while I was hiding under the willow Father, father punish me no more I met a wise man under the willow Lover, Lover look for me no more I’ve been right here under the willow I’ve been a bastard and a fool rewritten nearly every rule but I believe I’m worth redemption cause thunder, thunder shook me to the core while I was sleeping under the willow.
10.
Godspeed 03:34
Funny how it’s easier to see the forest for the trees, when winter steals the leaves There’s many ways to hide a heart that bleeds but I prefer the ease of rolling up my sleeves You’ve got some nerve to be coming around with that smile on your face and your feet on the ground I used to be someone that you could believe but it’s been a while, been a while You’ve got some nerve to be coming around with that card up your sleeve and those thorns in your crown I used to be someone you could believe Been a while, been a whole Good luck godspeed, I know I’ll see you again. Funny how the night is not as long, when you depend upon the dark before the dawn There’s many ways to right a thing that’s wrong You smile, you move along but I prefer a song You’ve got some nerve to be coming around with that smile on your face and your feet on the ground I used to be someone that you could believe but it’s been a while, been a while You’ve got some nerve to be coming around with that card up your sleeve and those thorns in your crown I used to be someone you could believe Been a while, been a whole Good luck godspeed, I know I’ll see you again. Let me not make mazes with words let me be perfectly clear let me not make mazes with words get yourself, get the hell, get yourself out of here Good luck godspeed, I know I’ll see you again. I’ll always call you a friend indeed.
11.
Produced by Shayfer James and Mike Ferretti

about

"New & Noteworthy Alternative" - iTunes Store

“John Vanderslice meets Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros” -Pra - Never Learned To Swim

"...poetic compositions, which ride turbulent waves of melodious verses, backed by a storm of intricate instrumentals (“Battle Cry,” “Diggin’ Up Hatchets”), with a pair minimalistic testimonial type-tracks mixed in amongst the bunch (“Peace,” “Have A Seat Misery”). However, the cream of this crop rose to the top in “Weight Of The World,” the leading number to one of SIMGE’s favorite albums of the year" - Speak Into My Good Eye

"the songs are a welcome dark wave that takes the listener in unexpected directions and unexpected realms of emotion" - whatstrending.tv (InDMusic)

"dark and funky piano arrangement lets you know that this wired situation is one that James thinks is quite dire" - MTVHive

"everything you could possibly want in an album" - Don't Forget the Earplugs

On his new album Counterfeit Arcade, Shayfer James warns, “There's a mean storm comin’.” There most certainly is. Mr. James' second album swaggers with danceable dark anthems, harrowing ballads, and experiments in chaos. The piano-driven follow-up to last year's The Owl & The Elephant (lauded by WNYC and IndieFeed), Counterfeit Arcade lures listeners onto a tightrope spun from guts and gin, strung above a pit of contagious melodies and grandiose arrangements. This album will fit drunkenly on your playlist with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Tim Burton soundtracks, The Avett Brothers, and Man Man.

The lead track “Weight Of The World” is a seething summary of neofeudalism, while the aggressively sensual “Villainous Thing” recounts a raucous affair at a Parisian brothel. Shayfer’s eulogy for his grandfather and mentor “L.V.S.” stops the heart with a majestic a cappella movement, and “Peace” is a frightening aural illustration of James' frequent nightmares.

Recorded with his live band featuring Dusty Bones (drums), Jeremy Gillespie (bass), Dante Edmont (organ), and various special guest performers, Counterfeit Arcade captures an element of spontaneity and emotional fire that was previously only available in live settings. Mr. James’ umistakable vocal performances shift erratically from soothing beauty to
guttural fury. With a voice made of gravel, silk, and venom, no one sounds like Shayfer James.

credits

released November 29, 2011

All Stories Written and Arranged by Shayfer James 2011. Strike Line Media. All Rights Reserved
www.shayferjames.com
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Shayfer James New York, New York

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