We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Water Hammer

by Brahms' Third Racket

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12.34 USD  or more

     

1.
No one here but you and me As far as anyone can see Our footsteps echo gracefully In an empty travel agency Bad dog bark for no good reason Plant the seeds in picking season Pledge allegiance with more treason Fallow the land and start again Irrational man Irrational man Irrational man Irrational to the end And to the end we go Irrational in the head The evidence will show No one here to make you happy Or turn off your relentless yapping Population always napping Turn your cheek for more bitch slapping Gone today, here tomorrow Sticking out like Kilimanjaro Empty head make words ring hollow Ego way too big to swallow Irrational man Irrational man Irrational man Irrational to the end And to the end we go Irrational in the head The evidence will show Bury your head beneath the sand Irrational to the end And to the end we go Irrational in the head The evidence will show Irrational man Irrational man Irrational man Irrational man
2.
Hiding in the sun Won’t you let the blindness come Your shadow is undone I believe the light has won In this arid land Nothing grows in the sand We could use a helping hand Just a sliver of a strand Rain coming down hard Tears of a star Fall from the sky I’ve got clouds in my eyes Falling to my knees In the shade of Camphor trees Just a quiver of a breeze Make it pour, if you please Nothing in this stream Dry as bone, vapor steam I can hear the desert scream Got a cloudburst of a dream Rain coming down hard Tears of a star Fall from the sky I’ve got clouds in my eyes
3.
Zanja Madre 03:41
This is a wasteland No water at all Empty skies above us Below, nowhere to fall Oh zanja madre Oh zanja madre We will build our homes here From the dust and stone Grow flowers in the desert And roses out of bone Oh zanja madre Oh zanja madre
4.
California desert sand Nothing rises in this barren land It doesn’t rain here The empty sky We need assistance Do or die Bureau! Bureau! Blossom from the dust! Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water From the river Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water now Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water From the river Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water now Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water From the river Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water now Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water From the river Who wants the water Law of the river Who gets the water now
5.
Sometimes I walk alone late at night Down the quiet palm tree lined streets The ghosts of settlements past Whisper in the shadows “Where is the liquid gold you promised?” “We are dying of thirst, dying of thirst, dying…”
6.
Wasters 05:12
There is not enough for everyone But you want to have your cake and eat it too Waster Racing to the wasteland Drinking every drop Wasting all you can Waster Bracing for the impact Bracing for the kickback Wasting all you have There are far too many people in this world But you don’t care – it’s not your problem to solve You’re a Waster Racing to the wasteland Drinking every drop Wasting all you can You’re a Waster Bracing for the impact Bracing for the kickback Wasting all you have Only wanted to grow your garden Didn’t bother to beg our pardon Pay today for tomorrow’s bargain Point of view will congeal then harden
7.
Flash Flood 04:28
Summer comes The days grow long Orchards start to wither Falcons fly to far off lairs King snake starts to slither Spirit of the river You’re finally awake Put your finger on the trigger Open up the flood gates Winter dies The nights grow warm Horizon starts to shimmer Breath runs dry in the dirty wind Flash flood swallows the swimmer Spirit of the river You’re finally awake Put your finger on the trigger Open up the flood gates Open up the flood gates OPEN UP THE FLOOD GATES!
8.
Water Hammer 02:39
A pressure surge is building in the water main It’s gonna blow and leave a giant crater in the street People are gonna die and property will be destroyed PR disaster front page news Water hammer We need to replace the aging infrastructure Potholes ruining axles and sidewalks buckle But no one wants to pay anymore in taxes So corrosion will burn a hole in the public coffers Water hammer Water hammer What will it take before we open our eyes? How far can we go before the pipe explodes? Water hammer Water hammer How many bridges have to collapse in an earthquake? How many carcinogens can our bodies take? Water hammer Water hammer
9.
Who’s been making that god awful noise? I do believe it’s them Bakersfield boys Who decides if you don’t get a choice My best guess - the Bakersfield boys Bakersfield boys have got a plan To protect their farms from the government man To keep their fields in friendly hands And long haired hippies away from their lands Who's the bunch that Obama annoys? I do believe it's them Bakersfield boys Who ignores what logic destroys? Once again, them Bakersfield boys Richie and Mikey don’t have a clue Scotty and Bobby don’t know what to do Teddy and Uki, big dumb Frankie Nebby’s so old, he’s gettin' kinda cranky They stuck their straws in the muddy depths And ran the engines with no regrets Flooded crops with drowning dreams Under the cover of misty moonbeams Bakersfield boys taking up the front row At a Buck Owens country pickin’ show Nothing fallen’ from the sky So they’re gonna hit the pumps until the wells run dry Who plays with their guns like toys? I do believe it's them Bakersfield Boys Who behind that ear splittin' noise? Once again, them Bakersfield boys Bakersfield boys Them Bakersfield boys Bakersfield boys
10.
The Prince lived up high The Lord down below Like a puppet on a string To let the people know Who's really in control And calling all the shots But the Lord refused to play And it tied the Prince in knots We should build a fence To keep the two apart Irrationality Turned into an art The Prince and the Lord Will never get along Immortalized In this song
11.
I know of a man A vicious wolf in suit and tie Mistaken for a lamb Who makes the weakest cub of the pride Nothing you can say Will pull him out into the light He hides within the dark Drinking blood and taking flight Hey Bill is due, but no one wants to pay He makes a mess, but no one wants to say The game is rigged, but no one wants to play He talks behind your back Whispers nonsense in your ears That rises in the steam And plays upon your darkest fears Nothing you can do To turn the tide or quell the storm Approaching from within The demon takes another form Hey Bill is due, but no one wants to pay He makes a cross, but no one wants to pray He’s putting all his malice on displace Hey Bill is due, but no one wants to pay He pulls a sword to hold the world at bay Looking for a victim to betray
12.
13.
ROB: All you really want is information I could help you make a little calculation Only takes three thousand acre feet Once it gets delivered it will taste so sweet YOU: Everybody knows you’ve got a reputation For greasing your way with lubrication You don’t care what comes out of your mouth Hot air rises but the needle goes south US: Rob will rob you blind From the bottom line He sees dollar signs Rob will rob you blind ROB: All you really need is deviation I could help you change your sorry situation But everybody tells me that I’m blowing smoke Laughing in my face as if I told a joke YOU: You still act like I’m on your side Like I would never notice being taken for a ride You are like a snake movin' through the grass No one gonna care when I whup your asp US: Rob will rob you blind From the bottom line He sees dollar signs Rob will rob you blind OP-ED: He was appointed to a vacant seat Which he took for a trampoline To win elections for a higher place it's gonna blow up in his face US: Rob will rob you blind From the bottom line Until the end of time Rob will rob you blind
14.
Will Serve 02:35
We will serve you if you like We can build a longer pipe We will take it from below From the melting mountain snow We will serve what you need We will make the basin bleed We will give you what we can Water far beneath the sand
15.
Shadows like them Can show you the way through the dark Shadows like them Can give you a shiver deep in your heart If you don't believe what you see Skeptical heads could disagree Missing the forest for the trees Shadows like them, lost on the breeze Shadows like them Were once as alive as you and me Shadows like them Used to be shining, young, and free If you don't believe what you hear You could be paralyzed with fear The future is always drawing near Shadows like them will disappear If you don't believe what you see Logic and reason guarantee Both of us will always be Shadows like them, missing at sea Shadows like them Shadows like them Shadows like them Shadows like them Always hidden from the sun Shadows like them End of days has just begun
16.
Down, down, down (They go) down, down, down Down in the valley They grow alfalfa To feed the mutants Roaming in the fields They are gigantic Like tanks with sweaters They scare the vultures And squint at the sun They’re drilling deeper than they ever have before To find the water that will fill their hands with gold Down, down, down (They go) down, down, down Electric fences Cannot contain them They can escape Any time they like Glow in the dark Throughout the winter To find intruders Eat them for dinner They’re drilling deeper through the layers of the clay To find the water that will chase the dust away Down, down, down (They go) down, down, down DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!
17.
What can you take when there's nothing to take from? Stare at the walls of your home What can you crush when the target is rubble Broken and cracked to the bone? Thunder and lightning are not quite as frightening As losing your seat on the throne Ah Not a cloud in the bluest of skies Not a tear in the bluest of eyes Just a trace of our final goodbye The best that a dollar can buy El Niño, we gave it a try Not a cloud Not a cloud Not a cloud Not a cloud Ah Not a cloud in the bluest of skies Not a tear in the bluest of eyes Just a trace of our final goodbye The best that a dollar can buy El Niño, we gave it a try

about

This album is about water in California.

At first glance, you might conclude that this particular topic is not quite the sexiest subject matter for an album of modern music. And, perhaps you would be right. But, nonetheless, the story of water in California reflects much of what is great and horrible about human nature: ambition, avarice, desperation, deception, passion, power, service, servitude, etc. In our view, these are all fine subjects worthy of closer inspection under the musical magnifying glass.

Water is to California what morphine is to a junkie. Without water, one dies; with water, any dream is possible. The so-called California Water Wars have shaped cities, transformed deserts, fed the hungry, made millionaires, and left others coughing and homeless in the dust. The political and pecuniary dominance offered by legal control over water rights has magnetically seduced robber barons, land grabbers, eager beaver dam builders, pickpocket politicos, and their progeny for over a century. Yet, the irresistible force of water unleashed through rainfall, flooding, and mudflows can crush our feeble homes and infrastructure like an elephant dancing on matchsticks.

We imagine an otherworldly convocation of the ghosts of those who have altered the flow of water in the Southwest. We imagine the spirits of the architects of the mother ditch (Zanja Madre) which conveyed water to the early settlement of Los Angeles. We imagine the power seekers who sought to divert water from its natural place for their own not-so-natural purposes. We imagine people like William Mulholland, Frederick Eaton, Harrison Gray Otis, and Henry E. Huntington. What would they say, looking down upon us from the shadows of the afterlife, about the current state of affairs here in the mortal world? Has anything really changed? Have we learned anything at all? What form of madness hath their toils and labors wrought?

Water Hammer represents our humble stab at answering those questions.

These songs are based on real people and actual events, though we occasionally embellish under the guise of artistic license.

To your health ...

credits

released February 1, 2016

Wishnefsky - composition, recording, production, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, synths, keyboards, samples, programming, lead and backing vocals

R. Matthew Carroll - production, backing vocals, bass guitar (live), and visuals/videos (live and elsewhere)

David Rodgers - drums, percussion, and samples (live)

Michael James - mixing, production, and electric guitar on 3

Mary Ann Pelino - backing vocals on 3, 4, 11,13, 14, 16, and 17

Ruby Wellen - graphics and design assistance

Sophie Wellen and Mary Ann Pelino - photographs of band

Recorded in 2015/2016 at Swamp Pig Studios and the Bat Cave.

Thanks to Pat Nahin; Michael James; Mary Ann Pelino; Ruby Wellen; Sophie Wellen; Alan Rosenbach; Todd Feinman; David Michaelson; and the many characters, living and dead, whose efforts have shaped the story of water in California for better or for worse.

Who is the Irrational Man?

Depends on who you ask.

©2016 by Wishnefsky
LOST DOG Records

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Brahms' Third Racket California

Brahms' Third Racket is a unique alt rock band from Southern California.

contact / help

Contact Brahms' Third Racket

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Brahms' Third Racket, you may also like: