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Little By Little

by Harvey Danger

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samhainian
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samhainian A brilliant little album with intricate instrumentation and playful, poetic lyrics. Favorite track: Moral Centralia.
Rich Bovee
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Rich Bovee There's no way I can put into words what this album has done for me through the years. Existing alongside you guys and seeing you live was such a cool time. Impossible to pick a favorite track. I can't even find a *least* favorite track. Thanks for every note of it ♥
David Helm
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David Helm It's near impossible to pick my favorite track from this album, and honestly I find myself listening to all three of their albums front-to-back regularly. Their talent goes so far beyond the one "big hit." Favorite track: Diminishing Returns.
seboar
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seboar The fact that this band is remembered only for Flagpole Sitta is a crime in my opinion. Merrymakers is good and King James Version is an all time great record. I find Little by Little a little front-loaded. However, no song nails the feeling of searching for connections, both real and imagined, in the music you listen to more than Little Round Mirrors. Favorite track: Little Round Mirrors.
Custom Made In 1968
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Custom Made In 1968 completely uncategorizable, which is what makes it simply wonderful. quirky pop songs that occasionally rock out. Favorite track: Cream and Bastards Rise.
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1.
Wine, women, and song: I tried them all it did not take me long to figure I'd unlocked the door to happiness I figured wrong (with a capital R) All the baggage I brought wouldn't fit in a mid-size car That's why I'm walking on eggshells down the via dolorosa (hasn't got me any closer so far) Shacked up with a poet -- no, it wasn't my department Now I study the poetry of the studio apartment Changing the cat box, baking the bread... I shoulda been paying the bills instead of paying homage to an image drawn from somebody else's head Song, women, and wine: You can't fool all the people all the time But if you're trying, if you're looking, if you're lucky You can always fool a few and feel fine is the line between shame and dread: One grips the lungs, one brains the head But either one can crush you Anyone can crush you Once I dated an actor, she was working on a play; by opening night we had nothing left to say to each other It hit the wall, it was not resilient She said that she was hungrier than I was brilliant and who the hell was I to disagree? Didn't you used to be someone who meant something to me? Somebody who meant something to me? Someone who meant something to me? Wine, women, and song: I tried them all it did not take me long To figure I'd unlocked the door to happiness I figured wrong.
2.
You're doing everything your people said to. I'd hate to be the one to break it to you. It's only sad 'cause it's true; They misled you when they bred you. Somebody said some things they had no right to Somehow they stuck, then you were known as someone who could simply not follow through if he had to (but you have to, don't you?) You don't have to be a genius, but it helps to (helps to) Fools and charlatans, they may get wise But only cream and bastards rise -- and you can see it in their eyes You followed good advices to the letter You know your friend? He's doing so much better than you are ever likely to do He'll eclipse you but he will not miss you You don't have to be a genius but it helps to (helps to) All the also-rans are real nice guys But only cream and bastards rise: People who could buy and sell you Sharing a joke that they will never tell you You think you're dialed in Someone has to win, and you know what that means... It means someone's gotta lose It's probably you, oh whoa ho ho ho, It's probably you, oh whoa ho ho ho. It's not a race, it's not a competition And if it were you'd be in no position to Get them to listen to you if you had to Not even if your life depended on it You don't have to be a genius, but it helps to, (it helps to) Some are aliens, the rest are spies But only cream and bastards rise -- and you can see it in their eyes
3.
"You are weak, I am strong, And I've done nothing but lead you on," she said. Drove around all night The stop lights were interminable, but I get along all right As long as I don't have to interact with anyone else On a meaningful level I'll be fine 'Cause I don't want to marry my convictions Not right now Not right now Not right now When wicked thoughts come inter alia You wind up in Centralia, morally, Looking for a decent cup of coffee, Trying to meet halfway It seems like I'm stealing your words, But really I'm just giving them back to you. Once again, it's all about me, and pride is not a factor, no Once again, it's all about me "You are weak, I am strong, And I've done nothing but lead you on and on," she said. Feeling well... into my cups already (just until my hands are steady) The spins are setting in I swear I'll never never feel like myself again I'd like to go back 10 years And show you a picture of yourself now; But I'm afraid that it might kill you then. You used to be such a loyal friend. Once again, it's all about me, and pride is not a factor, no Once again, it's all about me: Third person in the inner monologue again It's all about me.
4.
All alone, on the floor, next to your twin bed box spring and mattress The door is ajar. From afar, you can hear bands practicing And when they dream, they all dream of somebody like you -- Somebody who takes what they make Twice as seriously as they could ever hope to And when you dream, you dream of a day When you find something you can love Half as much as you love all your little round mirrors. See yourself reflected in one: There's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill Bring them home, watch them go -- All you know is you hope they'll hurry back And you cry, then you lie your frail body down Like a penny on a railroad track And even if they stay in touch, the past stays in the past But every time you crash a little bit harder than the last And every time you crash, don't you Want to find something you can love Half as much as you love all your little round mirrors? See yourself reflected in one: There's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill A shooting star is a little piece of cosmic debris desperately wanting to fall to earth. It doesn't get too far; it's not a real star. It's hardly even worth footnotes in your memoir. Shoulder to shoulder, up on our tiptoes, chewing our fingers, craning our necks just to see. Quite the collection. Divide by section. It's just a surrogate connection leaving you: All alone, on the floor, next to your twin bed box spring and mattress The door's still ajar. There you are and there you're going to stay until You can find someone who will love you as much as you love all your little round mirrors. Murdering your time in cold blood: There's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill
5.
Ariella, 7:30, I don't want to get up yet Listen to the morning music, cursing the alarm you set As you know, I've never been a praying man I don't need a God to make me feel all right But if you wonder why I never wrote you a song It's because happiness writes white. I try to put it into words, but the words just sound like mistakes I try to find a set of chords, but you know how long that takes me I don't trust my fingers, I don't trust my tongue The work is too important and we're no longer young, after all. When I consider what you put up with I'm amazed you still have skin When I consider what you mean to me, It's everything. It's e-ve-ry-thing. Ariella, 11:30, I don't want to go to sleep Turn the TV off already, Curse the hours we have to keep As you know, I've never been a confident man I've been in the tall grass all my life Until you came along; now there's one less thing wrong Even though happiness writes white.
6.
War Buddies 04:23
Let's be war buddies Waist deep in big muddies, side by side I'd be the atheist in your foxhole any time Let's be friendly fire Body counts mounting on a bed of barbed wire, coldly stacked As soon as the morning light has broken, then we attack If nobody tries too hard to kill you, I got your back Across the desert, back to brave the burning sand Back to question every effort, back to challenge your command If you've got guns, well now's the time for sticking Resistance is already forming: The second shot won't be a warning Let's be collateral damage Looking down your nose like it's the best you can manage Just to stand indignity after indignation The threat of a hostile occupation The better to form a sovereign nation Here's the plan: Let every man who disagrees be roughly brought down to his knees, Be starved to death, made to freeze, and sentenced to the gulag, If you've got guns, well now's the time for sticking Resistance is already forming: The second shot won't be a warning When the tanks roll into Warsaw, will I find you at the front, Singing into a tape recorder, shouldering the brunt of the attack? Has it come to that?
7.
Dog in the manger, always a danger You got me so, so wrong So what? So long. Don't be a stranger. It had barely started out before it started heading south In the neverending story of the love that dare not shut its mouth I get the picture (picture!) I think I get it (think, no!) I think I know (no, no!) I wish I didn't (still!) I think I get it. Behind the curtain, We got to flirting It was a gateway drug (I know, I know) It's disconcerting, even now When I'm still driving by your house When it's late at night and the lights are out And I saw somebody sneaking in your side door (What are friends for, anyway?) I'm just wondering who you think You are fooling with such a tired myth That says some people are better off alone Than with a steppin' stone I get the picture (picture!) I think I get it (think, ha!) I think I know (no, no!) I wish I didn't (still!) I think I get it. Why do you insist on being such a girl about it? You said you hoped we could still be friends... I doubt it. No one owes a debt. Index finger, second fret: another song A torch to warm the winter of our disconnect Now I'm still trying to decide Between thwarted lust and wounded pride When I see your absence everywhere I look And even when I close my eyes I get the picture (picture!) I think I get it (think, no!) I think I know (no, no!) I wish I didn't Wish I could be cold (c-c-cold!) Like certain people up in the mixture, (no, no!) I get the picture (still!) I think I get it.
8.
Cool James 03:26
an I have this? Perfect conversations. (perfect conversations) Or coast on silence, lowered expectations out the door You spend half your life talking, trying to get a pause in edgewise Swallow poison tongues, oppose your thumbs, believe in nothing Can I have a nature change? (one more time.) Can I have a nature change? (cause the bastard changes.) Can I have this? See how so much time has wasted Take a clenched fist, and see how quiet calm replaced it Say you'll never trust again (I'll never trust again) Who has time? you've given up on ever finding the one you've been waiting for, but -- Can I have a nature change? (one more time.) Can I have a nature change? (cause the bastard changes) I've got no more time to spend on arguers, devil's advocates, Or nasty bits, or fits of desperation. Lawrence of Arabia, Sir Alec said to Peter: "What I owe you is beyond evaluation." Extend to me your hand, I'll nibble on your fingers Bend to me your sweet ear, I'll gnaw it from its hinges Can I have a nature change? (one more time.) That's why ladies love cool James (cause the bastard changes.)
9.
Meet me up on 99, beneath the Marco Polo sign I'll be the one with a box of wine and a hundred dollar car We could talk about the lives we've led And count the reasons we're not dead Or maybe we could talk instead about the ways in which we are Always nothing or too much to say Only so many sides of the record to play And the song that got stuck in my head said You die by what you live by. You will die by what you live by. You will die by what you live by every time... Like carnivores to carnal pleasures, So were we to desperate measures: Melting into stagnant puddles, beat down by the sun. I went to school; I didn't stay Spoke right up when I had nothing good to say (and I said it to anyone who would listen) Lay me down in the bed that I made Starved for sleep by the shrill serenade Singing over and over: You die by what you live by; You will die by what you live by; You will die by what you live by, every time You die by what you live by; You will die by what you live by; You will die by what you live by, every time
10.
The king of the swinging moods is back in town and everybody's tiptoeing around him, surround him as he pounds a silver hammer, drops revolutionary grammar concerning the burning of city hall and urban sprawl and decay (bidding so long) Farewell to the days of having it both ways Hell is other people, some people never learn When optimism fails and my cooler head prevails I will meet you at the point of diminishing returns Down in the abstract, looking for a concrete artifact: something to hold on to, not one more thing to believe in Stuck in a fall-back, and fighting off a heart attack and you're so tangible, Like a nitroglycerin tablet under my tongue Farewell to the days of having it both ways The boom's a bust out, but thanks for your concern When pessimism fails and my cooler head prevails I will meet you at the point of diminishing returns Progress shall be defined by your position on the bridge as it burns When populism, activism, urbanism fail, my cooler head -- my cooler head will prevail When there are no more gods left to anoint no more noses to bend out of joint I'm gonna meet you at the point of diminishing returns (bidding so long...) Farewell to the days of having it both ways Hell is other people, some people never learn (bidding so long...) Farewell to the days of having it both ways (so long...) When optimism fails and my cooler head prevails I will meet you at the point of diminishing returns
11.
I Missed It 04:29
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Cold Snap 04:29
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credits

released July 25, 2006

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Harvey Danger Seattle, Washington

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