Breech born
feet first
into this life of paperwork
where they misspell my name
constantly
I'd fight and grieve and bite
the hand that feeds
that tried to steal from me
all the same
Mother, father said
not to
take it all so
personally
If I own my mistakes
I expect them to do the same
So I apologize
but I'm certain that
I'm not sorry
If you don't like it, leave
the way you came
and I'll do the same
I'll go feet first
like the way I came
and I will kick and scream
until I'm free
No clown's calligraphy
No humorous headstone
No laffy epitaph
In the scrawl of a child
Oh, when I go
Please do not forward it on
Oh, when I fall
Don't post it on your wall
Play "God Only Knows" when I go
And "Raining in Darling"
Save space, and save my face
Don't bury me lain down
Fire me, by cannon,
Face-first through the ground
Headstone at my feet
Reads in Salut:
"Inspiring Dude,
Knew How to Execute"
Oh, when I go
Hand-make the hinges
Hand-carve the marble
Get me into the ground
Oh, when I fall
about
Brothers and Sisters,
As is probably obvious, I’ve been thinking about mortality a lot lately. But it’s not all bad thoughts. A wise dude once said “I’m a little preoccupied with the idea that through death, life is nourished”. I think there’s a lot of truth to that, and it’s often reflected in my work. Today’s single, “Breech Born” (Demo) b/w “Bereavement Notice in Comic Sans” (Live) are a pair of songs about birth and death. I’m fortunate enough to be the other half of Small Awesome with brother Jim MacGregor. We’ve been playing music as a duo for over half a decade. Been playing together in other bands for longer than that. There’s comfort in that brotherhood, and confidence too. Thanks, MacGregor. Today has been long, and so I’m going to keep this short.
“Breech Born” was the result of a school assignment to write an autobiographical piece of music for my Sound class with Jeff Abell at Columbia. Jim MacGregor is actually not on this recording, as it’s just a demo. However, today’s artwork is the score and the accompanying instructional pieces for the song that I sent to him. His response, as per usual, was pitch perfect:
“If I understand this correctly, you have to zippity-do-dah a song to gain favor with your educational overlords, and wish this “piece” to be considered canonically Small Awesome?”
Naturally. Enjoy!
“Bereavement Notice in Comic Sans” is a live version from Schuba’s that is essentially my last will and testament set to music. We played it really well that night. Brothers Jim Birch, the Miller Bros and Carlin Reed all caught audio and video that night, and brother Birch mixed it all together at Caffeinated Recordings. Of lyrical note, as the song goes, I’d like to be fired from a cannon. It turns out Jimmy always wanted that, too. We discussed it a few times over the years, and it always brought us to laughter.
OK!
Tomorrow is fuggin’ friday, and it’s going to be rowdy, and we’re going to raise some money. See you then.
Sincerely,
Faiz Razi
February 5th, 2015
credits
released February 5, 2015
Breech Born-
Guitar, vocals, recording: Faiz
Bereavement Notice in Comic Sans-
Bass: Jim MacGregor
Guitar, Vocals: Faiz
Live mix: Joey King
Live recording: Jim Birch, the Miller Bros., and Carlin Reed
Mixed by Jim Birch and Matt Engstrom at Caffeinated Recordings
