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Long Story Short (Remastered)

by The Phosphenes

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  • Streaming + Download

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

    Bonus material includes the rear cover artwork, unused band and individual shots from the photo session for the rear cover, and a single page version of the album booklet.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $6 AUD  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 5 The Phosphenes releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of South of the Border, Long Story Short (Remastered), Finally, a friendly shore, No Through Road / America, and Halflight. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $24.50 AUD or more (30% OFF)

     

1.
All my friends say I’m the nicest guy around All my lovers have told me I’m an arsehole All my friends say it’s not me, it’s just them They try to get 200 bucks before they pass Go But it doesn’t make it easier to smile & it doesn’t make it easier to walk another mile ’Cos life’s a journey but I missed the tram Love is a tetragram love is the traffic jam My psychiatrist tells me I’m OK I just need to stop sitting on fences And my friends say I will find requited love If I can stop chasing ambulances But it doesn’t make it easier to smile & it doesn’t make it easier to walk another mile ’Cos life’s a journey but I missed the bus Love is a blunderbuss love is too dangerous But it’s OK, it’s OK, I sadly say It’s OK, it’s OK ’Cos if my life stopped going wrong I would never write a song again I live for the rain But it doesn’t make it easier to smile & it doesn’t make it easier to walk another mile ’Cos life’s a journey but I missed my train Love is ultramontane love is the dull refrain love is a fucking pain Yeah life’s a journey but I missed the tram
2.
You say that you love me But I don’t know what you mean (I just don’t know) You say you’re thinking of me But your thoughts are unseen (They just don’t show) I get under your skin, I know, is it a virtue or a sin? I just don’t know, you just don’t know You smile when you see me But I don’t know what’s beneath (I just don’t know) Your face is beaming But are you clenching your teeth? (It just don’t show) You’re feeling alright, I know, but is it our last night? I just don’t know, you just don’t know I am the great unknown, that much you have shown You are the great don’t know, that much I know But I don’t know what to do You say you want me and I know you do (I want you too) I wonder what you’ll do with me But I haven’t a clue (It’s up to you) I really make you smile, I know, but is it all worthwhile? I just don’t know, you just don’t know
3.
She knows what she wants, She thinks she knows how to get it She knows what she wants, but she doesn’t know She brang a bottle of wine, I thought we’d have a real nice time She kissed me long and deep, She made me miss the movie She knows what she wants… She took off her clothes, I didn’t have to suppose She took off my pants, I didn’t stand a chance She knows what she wants… You know she said to me that I had to choose, hey You know I said I only met you on Tuesday I couldn’t promise her anything She drove off in her SAAB She left the bottle of wine, I had a real nice time I wrote this cool song, For once I did nothing wrong She knows what she wants…
4.
Hey 03:38
Hey, do you know me? We met for 30 seconds a long time ago (A thousand years ago, maybe more) You thought I was like the others Only wanted you for your body parts (One particular body part) You thought I was just a fool I was just a tool, but not a monkey wrench (Not THAT kind of tool) But I wanted to kiss your ear in the morning & I wanted to hold your hand in the city as we walked I wanted to look at you and miss the movie And I wanted to do the shopping for our family Hey, do you know me? We met at the bus stop on the weekend (Do you have the time?) You asked if I knew when the bus comes Then you thought about your boyfriend (What kind of guy is he?) Sometimes he might buy you a present Then he thinks about the football (Do you know who won?) But he would never kiss your ear in the morning & he would never hold your hand in the city as you walk He’ll never look at you and miss the footy And he only does the shopping somewhat reluctantly Hey, do you know me? We’ll meet for a minute in the future A hundred years from now, maybe more I’ll ask “do you have these in my size?” You’ll tell me as you ignore me You might look me in the eye I thought that I might die (Can you die of love?) Now I’ll never kiss your ear in the morning And I’ll never hold your hand in the country as we walk I’ll never look at you and miss that movie And we’ll never do the shopping for our family
5.
The Window 03:34
I’ve seen beautiful eyes a thousand times before As for sweet voices singing sad, sad songs I just don’t hear them anymore But I heard yours, a window to your soul Don’t they say that about eyes A window to your soul I’ve been loved, I’ve been despised I’ve been the sunshine, I’ve been the rain I’ve been the answer to a desperate prayer I’ve been a worst nightmare Could I be yours? you can take your choice And I could step right through That window to your soul I want to stroke your hair and see myself reflected in your eyes Hear myself in song, you’re in mine I’ve seen beautiful eyes, but none like these before As for sweet voices singing sad, sad songs I want to hold you, I won’t let you fall I stand before that window to your soul Let me step right through That window to your soul
6.
The Hippy 03:40
She used to be a hippy Now she’s got a laptop and a mobile phone She used to live in hovels Now she’s got a mortgage on a period home She once was a masseur Now she’s a marketing guru for a company She used to be a vego Now she cooks dead animals for her family I thought that she’d sold out until I realised She’s got the hippy inside She used to ride a pushie Now she drives a late-model Holden Calais She used to wield a sketchbook Now it’s a digital camera and a PDA But she gets no plastic bags when she goes out to buy She’s got the hippy inside She smiles with her heart, she cries with her soul She always plays a part In making the world such a better place I wish that I were half as good But I don’t think I ever could She’s as beautiful as a really nice piece Of reconditioned secondhand hardwood I see a lot of hippies, with tie-dyed shirts And dreadlocks, and Indian cotton pants They’re smoking marijuana, and hanging out at CERES Doing a funny hippy dance But she is something else, and I can tell you why She’s got the hippy inside

about

The Phosphenes made a number of recordings in the early years of the 21st Century – first as Separation Street, then as Chapter 11 – with a constantly shifting lineup. None were ever quite finished. By 2004 the lineup had consolidated in Dean Lombard (guitar, vocals), Jason Cutler (bass, vocals), Damaris Baker (guitar, vocals), John Watson (drums), and Joe Saitta (sax); and they enlisted the services of Allan Neuendorf to record these six songs at Baker St Studios over four winter days in 2005.

These songs were staples of the band's live set, and exemplify the diversity of genres – indie rock, ballads, groove rock, post-punk, classic rock, guitar pop – encompassed by their repertoire.

Band members Jason and Dean designed the album packaging using drummer John's photographs for the cover and studio shots by Dean's brother Gavin for the interior. The band home-printed and hand-assembled 40 or 50 CDs and they were sold at gigs and online, with some distributed to local radio stations. By 2018, they were all gone.
Ignoring the advice of mastering engineers the world over, the band remastered it themselves in 2019, re-releasing it to an unsuspecting public in 2020.

The album is now available on streaming and download services for the first time ever. A limited number of hand-assembled CDs will be issued in due course.

credits

released January 26, 2020

Dean Lombard: vocal, guitar, harmonica.
Jason Cutler: bass, backups, vocal on ‘Hey’.
Damaris Baker: guitar, backups.
Joe Saitta: saxophone.
John Watson: drums, percussion.

Engineered, mixed & mastered by Allan Neuendorf.
Produced by Jason Cutler, Dean Lombard, John Watson & Allan Neuendorf.
Remastered by Jason Cutler in 2019.

Cover photograph by John Watson (watjonphotography.com).
Colour montage photographs by Gavin Lombard.
Design by Dean Lombard & Jason Cutler.

Many thanks to former members of Separation Street: Victoria Bramall, Isabelle Kenny & Grant Watkins.
Also to Brendan Mason @ Real Guitars, Glen Iris; Mendo @ The Jam Hut, Preston; Northcote Primary School; all our families, friends, and musical collaborators past, present, and future. And thanks Allan.

These songs were written and this album was made on the stolen land of the Kulin Nation, where we and our people live and work without their consent. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional custodians of the land and their Elders, past and present; and look forward to a true and just reconciliation between our peoples.

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The Phosphenes Melbourne, Australia

The Phosphenes create imperfect three-minute pop songs from a standard dysfunctional rock line-up (with added harmonica for your convenience) that - replete with catchy hooks and upbeat rhythms, armed with poignant and quirky humour, and dripping in vocal harmonies - stick in your head and get you out of your chair. ... more

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