MAKE GOOD ART
We’re in a transitional world right now.
The rules, the assumptions, the ‘now-we’re-supposed-to’s of how you get your work seen…
They’re breaking down.
The old rules are crumbling
And nobody knows what the new rules are.
So make up your own rules.
You have no idea what you are doing.
This is great.
People who know what they’re doing know the rules,
And they know what is possible and what is impossible.
You do not.
And you should not.
If you don’t know it’s impossible
It’s easier to do,
‘Cos nobody’s done it before, they haven’t made up rules to stop anyone doing that particular thing again
And where would be the fun in making something you knew was going to work.
Sometimes life is hard,
And when things get tough,
This is what you should do.
Make good art.
All we are is art. Art is all we are.
All we are is art. Art is all we are.
All we are is art.
If you have an idea of what you were put here to do,
Just go and do that.
Make good art.
Make art.
You have the ability to make art.
The one thing that you have, that nobody else has, is YOU.
Your voice,
Your mind,
Your story,
Your vision.
Gender offender, race with the racists
Brain in the blender, Stockholmed by stasis
Welfare agenda ruin relations
No other option but making creation
Make good art
Now go and make interesting mistakes.
Make amazing mistakes.
Make glorious and fantastic mistakes.
Break rules.
Leave the world more interesting for your being here.
Make good art.
Make good art.
KING OF EVERYTHING
Panoramic panic
Witch-hunting fault
Outraged of demographic
Search for sores to salt
Down in Middle England
Where the rain dilutes
Shout at bad guys feeding children
While the villains wear the suits
Hey ho, never let it go
Ho hey, never run away
He’s hiding in his screen
And coiled up like a spring
The genius unseen
He’s the king of everything
No it’s not illegal
And it ain’t a rule
Your free speech is not lethal
But I’m free to call you a fool
Hey ho, never let it go
Ho hey stream of conscious cabaret
He’s hiding in his screen
And coiled up like a spring
The genius unseen
He’s the king of everything
He’s hiding in his screen
And coiled up like a spring
A never-was has-been
A million tiny violins
Sing for the king of everything
The argument machine
The super pseudonym
The king of everything
The banter MVP
The charisma amputee
Oh no, the king of everything
DIVIDE AND RULE
Hey, stand in the rain, feeling the strain, sensing the shame
Hey, coming undone, under a thumb, don’t look at The Sun
Hey, folk who are old, believe all you’re told, lies you are sold
Hey, value the truth, think of the youth, and speak up in the booth
A stain upon unsceptred isle
Independence or in denial
It’s winter in our discontent
And turkeys all vote for Christmas again
Hey, I’ve got a dream, we form a team, equality
Hey, think that we should? A common good? The Norwegians would
A stain upon unsceptred isle
Independence or in denial
It’s winter in our discontent
And turkeys all vote for Christmas again
Divide and rule
Cast opinion and keep it cast
Nail your colour on to your mast
Never apologise, never explain
Showboat the anger but hide the pain
These are the rules of being insane
A stain upon unsceptred isle
Independence or in denial
It’s winter in our discontent
And turkeys all vote for Christmas again
A stain upon unsceptred isle
Independence or in denial
It’s winter in our discontent
And turkeys voting for Christmas again
Divide and rule
ORDINARY
I stand askew, a lateral view
Affect oblique, perhaps unique
Anonymous and acclaimed
And obvious and arcane
I’m serious but know it’s a game
I wanna be ordinary
An everyday nonentity
With nothing in my head and nothing on my mind
Yes, yes
I wanna be ordinary
I wanna be a nobody
With nothing in my head
Falling into line
Yes, yes
(I don’t get it, I gotta get out)
I had a mission, but no-one listened
(I don’t get it, I never get owt)
And while ignored, I struck A chords
Uncivilised and urbane
I’m imprisoned and free-range
Mysterious contradicts mundane
I wanna be ordinary
An everyday nonentity
With nothing in my head and nothing on my mind
Yes, yes
I wanna be ordinary
A well-adjusted worker bee
With nothing in my head
Rolling down the blind
I wanna be ordinary
An everyday nonentity
With nothing in my head and nothing on my mind
Okay
‘Cos when you be ordinary
You turn a ‘you’ into a ‘we’
And only see ahead while taken from behind
We’re dead behind the eyes
Yes, yes
THE RIDE
You can slice it and dice it, prise it into beautiful
Cut it up and carve it, chisel into wonderful
Slash and shred it, sever and split, dissect the pieces
Override it, divide it, deny it and remove the creases
Communicate and celebrate the ride
Collaborate so you create your ride
You can push or prod it, coerce it or obtain by force
You can plan it, demand it, you gotta let it find its course
Composition of emission of words don’t just arrive
Acquisition of collection of pearls means you might have to dive
Communicate and celebrate the ride
Collaborate so you create your ride
You can hide it, deny it, decry it into a tiny box
Or you can feel it, unseal it, reveal it into building blocks
Choose restraint or embrace release, it’s your decision
Love it, hate it, think it beauty or beast, just share your vision
Communicate and celebrate the ride
Collaborate so you create your ride
Communicate and celebrate the ride
Collaborate so you curate your ride
BOUNCER’S DREAM
(Instrumental)
HAPPY
Oh! I wish I could be happy, just like everybody else
To be content with my existence, a-hanging smiles upon the shelf
Not compare myself to others, avoiding poisoned parallels
Oh, I wish I could be happy, just like everybody else
Oh! I wish that I was normal, just like those inside my screen
Where the rain is always absent and the grass is evergreen
But with kaleidoscopes of colour over miseries unseen
Yeah, I wish that I was normal, just like every nobody
No-one said it would be easy
No-one said it would be fair
Oh! It’s good to be here
It’s good to be anywhere
At the top you think you’ve cracked it, loving everything you see
Other times it feels a battle, just remembering to breathe
Not every day can be a great one, but if you manage to get up
Celebrate! Be grateful! That’s the way we measure hope
No-one said it would be easy
No-one said it would be fair
Oh! It’s good to be here
It’s good to be anywhere
Hey hey, don’t hurt yourself today
Hey hey, my my
Hey hey, I’m a million miles away
Hey hey, my oh my
So, now I’m glad that I’m not average, just rotating in routine
Capture the wonders but still relish familiar mundanity
It’s up to you to dig out brilliance, it’s up to you to glean your glee
And that’s the best that we can hope for… reckon I’m happy being me
A MODERN ADVENTURE
A modern adventure
For children and grown-ups alike
The peak of potential
We’re better off on the outside
Hi hi, let’s take a drive and get out of this hole
Hey ho, let’s hit the road and take back our control
We needed a leader
But the dickheads would like to decide
So we vanquished our valour
And we exorcised most of our rights
Democracy divebombs
And inspires and instant divide
I feel like I live in a sitcom
From approximately 1979
Hi hi, let’s take a drive and try to catch some sky
Hey ho, let’s hit the road, where to? Who knows and
Wave bye bye, wave bye bye
Let fortune be our guide
Wave bye bye, wave bye bye
With no-one by our side
Majority authority
Minority inferiority
Alright Jack, he’s on the attack
With a belly full of bitter and his ‘Bigots Do It Better’ cap
Flag shaggers with affluent backers
Blunted on the amber while they’re sharpening their daggers
Hi hi, let’s take a drive and get out of this place
Hey ho, let’s hit the road, forget the human race
Hi hi, let’s take our time and find the reasons why we go against the flow
Oh dry your eyes and
Wave bye bye, wave bye bye
Let fortune be our guide
Wave bye bye, wave bye bye
A social suicide
Woo!
NEVER GOING TO CHANGE
I put on my shoes and cover my bruise
The sentiment see-through as glass
I gave you my hand for your teeth to brand
By the light of the silvery gas
I loosen my chin so you can reach in
And metastasise all of my airways
Your cruelty spreads from my feet to my head
Corrupted but captivated
I sing to remember then drink to forget
Always the same
We dance in the embers and think of regret
And hide the shame
Appraise and blame
And we’re never ever going to change
I go with the flow but somehow you know
The secrets I hide on my bookshelf
I change all the locks and I bury the box
The mystery we keep to ourselves
I sing to remember then drink to forget
Always the same
We dance in the embers and mither regret
And hide the shame
Appraise and blame
No we’re never ever going to change
My shackles are snapped, I might just be back
I’m one in a million, a brilliant civilian
The counter attack of the amnesiac
Repetitive stories can get pretty boring
I drink to the memories then kiss them away
Back here again
I feel so much joy, so I feel too much pain
It’s hard to explain, and it’s tough to sustain
But we’re never ever ever ever never ever going to change
I’M NOT OKAY
Heartache hiding in plain sight
Sometimes dark outdoes the light
No need to spell it out, no need to run and hide
It’s okay just to say I’m not okay
If you’re reeling off the rails
And pandemonium prevails
Don’t need no reason, there’s no burden to explain
It’s okay just to say I’m not okay
We can sit and talk all night
Or let silence overwrite
Grab a bottle and then get yourself round mine
It’s okay just to say I’m not okay
When the colour’s monochrome
And your life feels on a loan
If your walls come down, well my home is your home
Cos sometimes I feel like you too
We can sit and talk all night
Or let silence overwrite
I can make the tea and I can make the time
It’s okay just to say I’m not okay
So if your conscious needs a clean
Maybe a dose of dopamine
Loosen ligatures and wrap yourself in me
It’s okay when you say I’m not okay
We can sit and talk all night
Or let silence overwrite
You can make a joint and I can make it right
Any day any time
I’m not a judge, there isn’t a crime
It’s okay just to say I’m not okay
Yeah, it’s okay just to say I’m not okay
UNTANGLING THE BLUE
The magnitude of solitude can never be a number
A twist might turn into torture
A drip becomes a waterfall as alcohol’s uncovered
And paint your face with the measure
But it’s only ever you
Be patient with a history of well-studied repression
Don’t be defined by a moment
And don’t deny the heartbeat of an obsolete expression
Black and white but unbroken
But it’s only ever you
Untangling the blue
Shelter from dynamics as the conflicts turn to trauma
Complicity in the simplest
And sympathise with subtleties when company seeks drama
Simplicity in the cortex
But it’s only ever you
Able to untangle the blue
FALLING DOWN
Take me, I’m tainted, I’ve told you before
An open book, but a closer look shows pages creased and torn
Morals and quarrels that contradict and crack
The soapbox ain’t a building block to dish out your payback
Stroke me, I’m broken, but able to ignore
I don’t rely or deify some merciless mentor
Lacking or cracking? Your puzzle missed a piece?
We vandalise or evangelise and find the sweet release
While some might pray and others weep
There’s those who chant while others sleep
But I’m falling
I’m falling
Whatever gets you through the night
I’m a little mixed-up but it’s justified cos I am
I’m falling, I’m falling
I’m falling down
Teaching and preaching and claiming as a fact
They seem the same in all but name, they just wear different hats
Grooming, cocooning to scare us into straight
But why’s the height of righteousness to never liberate?
While some might pray and others weep
There’s those who chant while others sleep
But I’m falling
Whatever gets you through the night
I’m a little mixed-up but it’s justified cos I am
I’m falling
I’m falling down
I’m falling
I’m falling
Now one side fights ‘bout who’s more right
So alternative arguments amplify
So now I’m falling down
I’m falling down
ALBUM CREDITS:
All songs written by Chris Catalyst.
All guitars, bass guitars, keyboards and percussion by Chris Catalyst.
Voiceover on ‘Make Good Art’ by Neil Gaiman. Thanks, Neil.
Trumpets by James Hamilton.
Gospel Choir by Mad Gallica.
Drums on ‘Happy’ by Hayden Scott.
Drums on everything else by Jason Bowld.
Recorded between FFG (Gloucestershire) The Old Cider Press (Worcestershire) and Chris’s House Studio (Yorkshire… obviously).
Produced and engineered by Dave Draper and Chris Catalyst. Mastered by Dave Draper.
Artwork by Rich Jones for Turning Rebellion. Fancy writing by Esme Sharples at mutha-ship.co.uk.
Website wonderment by Damian Tichborne.
THANKS TO:
All the above, for going beyond. Kat Barker. My brilliant family and beautiful friends. Ugly Kid Joe band and crew. Sisters band and crew. Ginger band and crew. The Scottish band and crew. Eureka Machines band and Matt. Hagstrom Guitars Of Sweden. Christian and Burkhard at Kemper. Fender Guitars. Rob Smith (not that one). Peanut for the loan of the fancy keyboard (again). Tim Smith, for everything. And, of course, Rose.
Last, but certainly not least, huge thanks and gratitude to all the Quaran-Tour-ers who kept me alive and afloat in 2020. You know who you are, and I do too. Thank you. X