Greg Schlotthauer

14

This is a mellow song of depth with the rhythmic groove of Gregg Willliams' drums and percolating programming over relaxing acoustic guitar and piano, interspersed with strings and brass. It is a reflection of a Bigger Picture after 9/11, acknowledging repetition and circularity in life in the human experience, mixed with a response to offensive comments of Bill O'Reilly to foment fear. There is an outstanding musical turn in the bridge with interesting vocals which lead to the meditative "me and my t.v. in this uncertainty ..."

Plunged into deep thought post 9/11 in New York City, I dreamed of planetary rings in circular repetition and the fact we are all spinning around on spheric bodies, and in such time of distress were limited by forces such as gravity, time and space. In those days I found myself fixed on my television and was offended at Bill O'Reilly's commentary encouraging an Us. Vs. Them mentality, and combined the societal criticism with facing the reality of the boundaries of life as we know it.

Rings in spaces are all that we continue to be
hypnotized by the powers of gravity
especially when you're bad like me

All our troubles lie in the mysteries of life
and we hope to see the light
after time

We're all bound by motion, space and time
and these restrictions can only make us blind
we get sad, we get afraid
and we don't know much of anything

The world is spinning out of control, my friends

I don't wanna watch anymore t.v.
in these days of uncertainty
it's bringing me down, keeping me down
(just like gravity)
I wanna know why your guitar is seducing me
it's bringing me up and dragging me down
(just like gravity)

Me and my t.v. in this uncertainty
Me and my t.v. in this uncertainty
Me and my t.v. in this uncertainty

The world is spinning out of control, my friends
The world is spinning out of control
me and my t.v. spinning out of control

Rings in spaces are all that we continue to be
hypnotized by the powers of gravity

We're all bound by (all our troubles lie)
motion, space and time (in the mysteries of life)
and these restrictions can only make us blind (and we hope to see the light)

Me and my t.v. in this uncertainty
Me and my t.v. in this uncertainty
Me and my t.v. in this uncertainty
Me and my t.v.

19

This song was famed DJ Ian O'Malley's favorite from the album and the catchy, organic and rhythmic arrangement sound like Paul Simon. Off-beat high-ceilinged group hand claps give the song a classic feel, and the gospel choir singing "power ! truth ! joy ! love !" over the syncopated acoustic guitar and bouncing bass with XTC-infused power drums combine to make an ebullient pop-rock celebration.

Still waters run deep and they can SHOUT with a gospel choir accompaniment, too. I made an autobiographical comment about being so drawn to calm, profound, sexy folk and wanted to make an exultant expression full of life and soul and joy about what is quiet and beautiful.

Down through the canals of chance
sailed the pair who paved the way for the trance
and I'll be the Zeus to your Mnemosyne

John and Mary, music and love
we'll make four of our own muses from above
and share of family of love mythology

Because they gave us quiet power
quiet power
through the ever-changing times
a persistent flower
quiet power, quiet power
what brought me to you was your quiet power

Sing to me my wild ocean waves
take me in your tide to the place
where soft is the hum and stronger is the pull
seagulls shouting sounds hovering over
angels gliding down inspect the water
and as my feet mold with the sand
I'm falling in love

with quiet power, quiet power
in the silence seeds become velvet petunia towers
quiet power, quiet power
what brought you to me was my quiet power

truth, joy and love
truth, joy and love
truth, joy and love

quiet power, quiet power
keep your ears wide open in your darkest hour
quiet power, quiet power
what brought us together was our quiet power

truth, joy and love
truth, joy and love
let the world show us quiet power

2

This is a gorgeous, epic, intensely personal black-key ballad that starts with fluid, rolling piano and builds to a dramatic string arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" intensity with rock drums (played by Gregg Willliams who played drums on Sheryl Crow's masterful "Globe Sessions" album) and guitar. Unusually confessional lyrics match a vulnerable, beautiful lead vocal with an unconventional chordal turn in the choruses of this stirring, powerful song.

After a painful and dramatic relapse, it was cathartic to compose something extremely personal, honest and exposing that admitted there are in fact lonely moments in an otherwise happy and successful loner life.

When I'm alone
I don't think of the past
most of the time
but we are judged by the people we meet
and you're looking fine

After all these years, far away those tears
so where are you now
could you be my one and only
or will you come back as an answer to a prayer

When I'm alone
I don't think of the times
that I've been ridiculed and ostracized
I can be just who I'm gonna be
without you looking at, talking to,
troubling me
threatening my reality
are you just my recognition
or can I give something of value to you, too?

The trouble is we live in a world full of joy
and full of pain
and when I'm alone I have all the answers
I pay attention
I'm not beholden to you

When I'm alone
you won't see me turning away
afterall, I shouldn't even been looking at you anyway
I guess I didn't figure into your dream
it's just a minor inconvenience
and it's fine with me
I've got my individuality
nothing more than sacrificing one thing for another
it's just the way that it goes

The trouble is we live in a world full of beauty
and full of trash
and when I'm alone I can tell the difference
I've got time to dwell on myself
and the meaning of life

Maybe we lead lives of quiet desperation
but sometimes when I'm alone
all the noise levels are exceeded
and all my reason feels depleted
and there's no one around to treat it
when I'm alone

After all these years, far away those tears
so where are you now
should I need any one and only
or can I just keep on existing as I have been

I'll tell you what the trouble is
we live in a world full of joy and full of pain
and when I'm alone I have all the answers
I pay attention, I'm not beholden to you
or anyone
you or anyone

1

This 70's rock groove has a Sheryl Crow feel with Christian Cassan on drums and guitar while Greg plays a Fender Rhodes keyboard, singing a desperate play on words from John Lennon's writing in the Beatles' "Yer Blues" with "yes, I'm lonely, but I don't wanna die." This is a personal song of hope that from admitting the most basic struggle in life, addiction can be arrested.

I personified addiction and spoke directly to it in this song: "oh, why are you making me sing this song again..." and reduced the cycle of addiction and relapse to its most basic struggle, admitting I don't know how to live.

Oh, why are you making me sing this song again
Oh, why have I put myself through this again
I had get out of my head
but I sure wasn't trying to get into you
Hell, no
Hell no !

I don't know how to live ...

It never seems like I know what's good for me
but I know that what I really want can never be
so come on over to my place
I've got music, pictures, wine and I'll forget your name
I swear I'll forget your name

I don't know how to live
I don't know how to live
I don't know how to live
and that's all I really have to say, yeah
It's the only thing that makes any sense
and all that I can tell you honestly

I don't know how to live
I don't know how to live
I don't know how to live
and that's all I really have to say, yeah

to get to the heart of this bleeding heart
I'm sick of lying
pacifying all my demons
I think I'm ready to get stronger
and say it straight into the mirror's eyes:
"Yes, I'm lonely"
yeah, but I don't wanna die

Oh, but I don't know how to live
I don't know how to live
I don't know how to live
and that's all I really have to say

It's the only thing that makes any sense
the deepest I can get to find hope for me

Oh, is there hope for me
I know there is hope for me
There's got to be hope for me
Yes, I know there is hope for me

A creative, introspective pop-rock criticism of 12-step ideology that makes the very Serenity Prayer its chorus. A catchy melody and big drums with accordion and steel drum mix with affected rhythms and rock guitar in unexpected chord progressions. This is a highly musical and self-examining display, and I'm not aware of another rock song that speaks so directly to agnostic and atheist people who struggle with the pressure of group spirituality in AA. "But I've grown accustomed to this open mind... and I wouldn't want it to be easy."

I was very uncomfortable joining hands in prayer at the end of AA meetings so I quit doing it, and I wrote this song describing the struggle of someone who wants the support of other sober people but not the cultish elements of 12-step ideology. Out of respect for the principles I do agree with, I absolved myself by sticking the Serenity Prayer into a serious Honors Pop song that includes big drums, accordion, steel drums and interesting chord changes. The song was originally entitled "... But I Can't Pray In Public."

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things that I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference

Give me your permission to choose
how I can believe in you
Give me something to diffuse my concentration
It's so hard to talk to you
but I know that love is true
so is there something I can do to join the group

God, why did you bless me with blasphemy
for it wasn't to show me who's in control
if I could relax my state of mind
sit back and enjoy some silence

Then I suppose that I would really be praying
and I wouldn't be so concerned with our disguises
but I've grown accustomed to this open mind
I'm so reluctant to unwind
and establish my own answers
and I wouldn't want it to be easy

But fear is the thief of dreams
Fear is the thief of dreams
fear is the thief of dreams

4

This is a 70's Fleetwood Mac-ish groove with its natural big-room drums, pleasant piano and grooving bass. Acoustic guitar strums throughout along with a glockenspiel motif creating a childlike, joyful love call to the sun: "it's a perilous life without our battery sun" sweetly and oddly sings the chorus, and the cycle of choosing darkness or light is couched in an easy, toe-tapping groove.

One day, the sun returned and happiness was automatically enhanced. What would we do without the sun giving us physical and mental positive energy? I used the metaphor of the sun giving my soul the food it needed after the soul engaged in a darker period that was sadly much more rooted on the ground.

Sunshine, sunshine

Once again the flood returns
there is water up to my changing mind
I don't know what to do in situations like these

Once in a while gliding up in the clouds
only to find myself diving down and then
scraping up some food for my soul
and lifting off again

It's a perilous life without our battery sun
so let the sun shine

Clouds. opaque and then dissipate
making way for a cleaner vision
welcome home, my sun above
I've missed you

It's a perilous life without our battery sun
so let the sun shine

Life goes on after each hurricane
and these obstacles
they're just little puddles
(just puddles, sun sun sun sun oo oo sun)

It's a perilous life without our battery sun
so let the sun shine

Sunahine, sunshine

Let the sun shine

Sun

5

A soulful keyboard-based ballad that builds and ebbs and flows quietly, with beauty and loss. "I thought I loved someone beautiful, someone so strong and so free" is a heart-tugging criticism while trying to shift sadness into resentment. The repeated choruses of "some things in our minds have to change slowly over time" is universal. It's a beautiful and turmoiled statement of trying to move on.

In an effort to accept and move on from the loss of a long-term friend who for years wouldn't be in contact, I wrote this song which deceptively elevated the situation to a romantic loss and included veiled, resentful criticism.

There is nothing in this world that stands alone
what a complicated chemistry
Ooh, babe, the schemes we get ourselves into

Every time you'd walk into the room
my heart slid up to my throat
and it felt so good

But some things in our minds
have to change slowly over time
and I am falling out of love with you
once upon a time I needed you
and now I'm falling out of love with you

I thought I loved someone beautiful
someone so strong and so free
I felt the need to counter all your thoughts
but that was then
and now what matters is tomorrow

Life's afforded us countless chances
so many years of ups and downs
who would I be today?

Now it's time for dissolution
I know I'm mostly the one to blame
but I bet you loved me just the same
if you can't show the decency
to say goodbye peacefully
I hope you know I'm pulling for you
and that you're happy now

But some things in our minds
have to change slowly over time
and now I'm falling out of love with you
it took a while to believe it
but finally I am falling out of love with you

Some things in our minds
have to change slowly over time
but I am falling out of love with you

Goodbye
and good luck

I thought I loved someone beautiful

A thoughtful and biting strings-orchestrated pop ballad complemented by Allison Reeves' operatic vocals cries out "please, speak sweetly with me, please speak deeply with me." The gorgeous piano foundation and dynamic arrangement along with the sweet, lyrical lead vocal create a serious, cinematic piece.

A particularly catty bunch of fellows in a neighborhood bar repeatedly insulted and occasionally, in their perceptions, flirted with patrons and I always found them almost repugnant in their shallowness. I made a dramatic, angry, beautiful and holier-than-thou serious work trying to inject depth into the conversation I don't know if they are even capable of hearing.

I'm standing at the seawall by myself at night and I'm witnessing
the water crashes on its every word
knowing everything gets you nowhere
and there on top of the waves
the Statue of Liberty shines
and the tired and the poor they try to escape
through the crevices of a cold fortress that sleeps
in my harbor

Hello, I didn't catch your name, what do you do
to avoid what's going on in your heart
Hello, you got just the right face to be in the world
and make it a worse or better place

I don't want your small talk
we could be running out of time
I am through with small talk
'cuz behind it's only spite

I'm standing on the sidelines of the journey of life
and she's whispering:
"jump right back into the game
you're not even close to a failure
just try again"

And there, there, little sister
everything's gonna be alright
you are a corner of a beautiful puzzle
that speaks vivid colors
and you've got the power of imagination

Hello, you know your words have got the desired sting
and it's hard to believe you don't care
you know you're really hurting me
and I wish I knew how
to separate my love from your hate

Please speak sweetly with me
please speak deeply with me

i don't want your small talk
we could be running out of time
I am through with small talk
'cuz behind it's only spite

I don't want your small talk
we could be running out of time
I am through with small talk
'cuz behind it's only spite

1

Driving tribal rock rhythm with some odd time-shifts on Christian Cassan's drums lie beneath 60's surfer guitar licks and soaring, poignant violin of Meg Okura (who played on David Bowie albums). The urgent lyrics wonder if the protagonist has something so psychologically wrong that they can't see it and works towards the resolution that diagnoses of behavioral/mental illnesses can be taken with a great deal of salt, while the pressure to succeed is reduced if one can see there really is no such thing as running out of time.

I was heavily influenced by the pulsating, driving rhythm of Kate Bush's "Sat In Your Lap" and made a song with similar drum intensity accompanying a message of inner reflection, striving to convert the frustration in life into a sense of peaceful acceptance.

I want everything that's inside me to come out
so I can lay it on the table
and I can pick and choose from what's been given to me in genealogy

Is there something wrong
has it been there all along

Sometimes I wonder if I'm chipping away
at a problem that's not there
by the time I arrive at some revelation
I realize that I don't care

Is there something I can do with this collection of dreams
can I differentiate between a dagger and a wreath
tell me how to lay my mind down for a nap
I don't want to be a patron of a mental health that acts like a trap

This nervous feeling inside my stomach
I want it to be yanked out
so I can pop it like a big balloon
and I could never return to this insanity unnecessarily

Is there something wrong
they tell me something's very wrong
but I don't know if i believe them
I don't even know if they're standing there
from the time I was a child the suppositions of life haven't seemed fair
from the time I was a child the suppositions of death haven't seemed fair

I'm looking for another way to be
that won't eliminate extremes and bring me to my knees
if you want to be a rock star it's kinda hard to get there
sleeping on the job and accepting all the rules of this
mediocrity reality

It's taking me such a long time
to remember that we've got all the time in the world

It's taking me such a long time
to remember there's no such thing as running out of time

See what happens when you look inside
and everything comes out

3

Starting with Christian Cassan's clear, happy, black-key acoustic guitar strums, this song builds into a full-on 70's funk-pop arrangement complete with 3 drummers, clavinet, a sick funky poppin' bass, Gregg Williams' percussion and an over-syllabification of psychological exploration by the bouncy lead male vocal with remarkable dynamic range. The song builds to an exultant call of "create LOVE living in the world" as all the reflection and questions resolve into the priority of seeking some notion of love in life.

Exploring the psyche with a heavy dose of self-deprecation, gender fluidity and with the hopes of some conclusion, I made a funky, sonically exciting ditty with three drummers, clavinet and a sick funk poppin' bass that pronounces its denouement with the proudly celebratory "create LOVE living in the world..." because, perhaps, as long as we strive for some notion of love, either in our own lives of in contributions to the world, how we get there doesn't too much matter.

She walks a fine line between
ideology and something divine
she says "baby I need your love"
bounced around by the padded walls
of friends and family
and sometimes she forgets
to wake up from the fantasy

She's living in the world
she's looking for some peace of mind
hanging onto the next way to get high
but it's just a matter of time

Wasting time deciphering dreams
when she never even stops to think
where do those dreams come from
she keeps on trying to find salvation
and won't take any liberation
from her own limitation

she's living in the world
she's searching for some peace of mind
and trying to find the way to get high
and now it's just a matter of time

before all her worries turn into a flower
and every cell is made of love
but until that day you know
she's gonna revel in the path of the most resistance

love, love, love

and now the memories crack the picture
of what she once believed
had got to be true love
since someone told her to keep striving for consistency
she's "learning to change"
and refusing to have any fun

she's living in the world
she's searching for some peace of mind
and trying to find the way to stay high
at least she's trying to find

love, love, love, love
love, love, love, love

create love living in the world
create love living in the world
create love living in the world
create love living in the world

2

this is a 70's groove that sounds a bit like Fleetwood Mac with its natural big-room drums, pleasant piano and grooving bass. Acoustic guitar strums throughout along with a glockenspiel motif creating a childlike, joyful love call to the sun: "it's a perilous life without our battery sun" sweetly and oddly sings the chorus, and the cycle of choosing darkness or light is couched in an easy, toe-tapping groove. "Let the sun shine ...."

One day, the sun returned and happiness was automatically enhanced. What would we do without the sun giving us physical and mental positive energy? I used the metaphor of the sun giving my soul the food it needed after the soul engaged in a darker period that was sadly much more rooted on the ground.

1

Starting with Christian Cassan's clear, happy, black-key acoustic guitar strums, this song builds into a full-on 70's funk-pop arrangement complete with 3 drummers, clavinet, a sick funky poppin' bass, Gregg Williams' percussion and an over-syllabification of psychological exploration by the bouncy lead male vocal with remarkable dynamic range. The song builds to an exultant call of "create LOVE living in the world" as all the reflection and questions resolve into the priority of seeking some notion of love in life.

Exploring the psyche with a heavy dose of self-deprecation, gender fluidity and with the hopes of some conclusion, I made a funky, sonically exciting ditty with three drummers, clavinet and a sick funk poppin' bass that pronounces its denouement with the proudly celebratory "create LOVE living in the world..." because, perhaps, as long as we strive for some notion of love, either in our own lives of in contributions to the world, how we get there doesn't too much matter.

5

This is a gorgeous, epic, intensely personal black-key ballad that starts with fluid, rolling piano and builds to a dramatic string arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" intensity with rock drums (played by Gregg Willliams who played drums on Sheryl Crow's masterful "Globe Sessions" album) and guitar. Unusually confessional lyrics match a vulnerable, beautiful lead vocal with an unconventional chordal turn in the choruses of this stirring, powerful song.

After a painful and dramatic relapse, it was cathartic to compose something extremely personal, honest and exposing that admitted there are in fact lonely moments in an otherwise happy and successful loner life.

5

This song was famed DJ Ian O'Malley's favorite from the album and the catchy, organic and rhythmic arrangement sound like Paul Simon. Off-beat high-ceilinged group hand claps give the song a classic feel, and the gospel choir singing "power ! truth ! joy ! love !" over the syncopated acoustic guitar and bouncing bass with XTC-infused power drums combine to make an ebullient pop-rock celebration.

Still waters run deep and they can SHOUT with a gospel choir accompaniment, too. I made an autobiographical comment about being so drawn to calm, profound, sexy folk and wanted to make an exultant expression full of life and soul and joy about what is quiet and beautiful.

4

A creative, introspective pop-rock criticism of 12-step ideology that makes the very Serenity Prayer its chorus. A catchy melody and big drums with accordion and steel drum mix with affected rhythms and rock guitar in unexpected chord progressions. This is a highly musical and self-examining display, and I'm not aware of another rock song that speaks so directly to agnostic and atheist people who struggle with the pressure of group spirituality in AA. "But I've grown accustomed to this open mind... and I wouldn't want it to be easy."

I was very uncomfortable joining hands in prayer at the end of AA meetings so I quit doing it, and I wrote this song describing the struggle of someone who wants the support of other sober people but not the cultish elements of 12-step ideology. Out of respect for the principles I do agree with, I absolved myself by sticking the Serenity Prayer into a serious Honors Pop song that includes big drums, accordion, steel drums and interesting chord changes. The song was originally entitled "... But I Can't Pray In Public."

12

This is a mellow song of depth with the rhythmic groove of Gregg Willliams' drums and percolating programming over relaxing acoustic guitar and piano, interspersed with strings and brass. It is a reflection of a Bigger Picture after 9/11, acknowledging repetition and circularity in life in the human experience, mixed with a response to offensive comments of Bill O'Reilly to foment fear. There is an outstanding musical turn in the bridge with interesting vocals which lead to the meditative "me and my t.v. in this uncertainty ..."

Plunged into deep thought post 9/11 in New York City, I dreamed of planetary rings in circular repetition and the fact we are all spinning around on spheric bodies, and in such time of distress were limited by forces such as gravity, time and space. In those days I found myself fixed on my television and was offended at Bill O'Reilly's commentary encouraging an Us. Vs. Them mentality, and combined the societal criticism with facing the reality of the boundaries of life as we know it.