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She's A Girl (deluxe edition)

by Tim Smolens' I.S.S.

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  • Streaming + Download

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

    52 tracks in all! This release includes the 40 bonus tracks of the virtual sessions boxset (The S.A.G. Sessions), PDF liner notes for the album and the boxset with rare insights into the songs, lyrics and chord progressions.
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      $15 USD  or more

     

1.
She's A Girl 08:44
She doesn’t have to worry she’s a girl Well I’ve been around with a lot of girls but I can’t understand what makes their world turn round Well I’m no saint father figured it out, mama never had a clue what it was about ‘cause she’s a girl she’s a girl, ooh she’s a girl, oh yes she is, so watch out boy she won’t make you happy ‘cause she’s a girl and that’s not what she’s for, she’s crazy for you for just five minutes more I used to think that life was sweet, but twice a little girl knocked me off my seat and I never got up again, girlfriend, my love for you will never end, ‘cause now it’s all we had What was isn’t anymore since she showed me to the door Now every morning I wake up right at eight, and go to the store looking for a date with a girl but when I called her she was already watching a movie, Breakfast Club at Tiffany’s and drinks later on ooh with a “friend” Is it a girlfriend a boyfriend? I just don’t know about this one How I wonder what happens up in her head Does she wanna see a movie or wanna get fed? Or do both? Or walk along the beach forever? I’m crazy for thinking, I had a chance with you. Girl, Girl.... How I long to hold her but I don’t know what to say. There’s sushi-barbeque party Saturday, Whoa, yeah sweet Try to forget, I used to buy her flowers and walk her around this little town for hours Hoping that she would notice the things that I did Now that she’s older she doesn’t have to worry No, she takes her time, because she knows I’m in a hurry Still waiting for that someone that’ll sweep me off my feet Girl, Girl I put my hand into some soft bush, thinking the sweetest flower to find was a girl But the thorn it stuck me to the bone and oh I left that flower alone what a girl She’s a girl, ooh Love is handsome and love is fine, gay as a jewel when it’s first new but love grows old and waxes cold and fades away like summer dew Just like me from you I left my mother with my father’s hand, my brother will too once he’s a man ‘cause she’s a girl My brother got involved he got carried away, now he’s married and she’s here to stay, she’s a girl, She’s a girl, ooh I wonder what she thought as I did it with her Did she think about my brother, ‘cause he was first? Now my sister won’t talk to her best friend anymore how sad, we’re sorry about girls What was isn’t anymore, since she showed me to the door come down a level, sit tight you devil, on your disco high whoa, memories, now it’s all I have, what was isn’t anymore since she showed me to the door A disaster out at Black Rock City, I got worked harder than anyone’s ever seen, ooh she’s a girl Late that night at that same city, neither one of them could get any sleep, he was alone and she was in the center camp all ready to bone with another man Then seven lonely people got carried away, locked in a room and they started to play with each other There were four little boys but only three of those girls But just down the hall in the other room asleep unaware, a sight unseen he lay unengaged as she finally flowered close enough to be his roommate She felt like she was free
2.
I’ve got an ace in the hole and I’m savin’ rock n’ roll but I can’t forget the one that got away Cruisin’ round town in a mini-van with snow-studded wheels I won’t go out in style gotta keep it real I’ve got a stack of cash drawn to rock it with the Rolling Stones, no So if you wanna come along tonight get ready to go girl There’s a fire on the roof but were goin’ at it under the sheets We’re digging up a hole, Saving rock n roll with this band Headstones She can’t make her mind up Your love it always seemed too good It’s better if that we forget about it The memories steal the moment still The death of rock n’ roll is like the One that got away Slipped through your fingers and now your mind’s stuck on replay No one’s ever gonna top the beats of Led to the Z, no We might as well just take it back up to the M O Z So sad and uninspired, You’re living in it after the peak We’re bringing back the soul Saving rock n’ roll with this band It’s just a song but were bringin’ the blazing heat I’ll tell you boy I’ve got an ace in the hole and I’m saving rock n’ roll Headstones She can’t make her mind up Her lovin’ always felt too good It’s better if I just forget about it, the memories fill the moment still Unfeigned love steals over me when I’m fixed on you The pain of separation doesn’t seem to wane with days gone by And he wanted to be rockin’ to the finish line Everybody’s having a good time tonight Flyin’ high, so high, George Bush is a bad ass, bad ass man His daddy is the bad ass leader of a bad ass klan And mama Bush doesn’t even give it up And mama Bush doesn’t even give it up Just tell it like it is, He wanted to stay rockin’ to the finish line You can’t forget about the pain if you don’t know the game Your being hunted in the wild and you don’t understand I’ve got an ace in hole and I’m saving rock n’ roll You’re playing golf but you’re drivin’ passed the green All you’ve got to do is go with the flow in the got a name game of rock n’ roll Remember you would always turn on the tube and you’d see him He’s the one that you all know We all loved him so, now he’s gone In this song we’re bringin’ the blazing heat All you’ve got to do is go with the flow in the got a name game of rock n’ roll The death of rock n’ roll is like the One that got away Slipped through your fingers and now your just runnin’ astray No one’s ever gonna top the beats of Led to the Z, no We might as well just take it back up to the M O Z .... We might as well just go back to making A...R...T... I’ve got an ace in the hole and I’m saving rock Just go with the flow in the gotta name game I’ve got an ace in the hole and Mama Bush doesn’t even give it up You can’t forget about the pain if you don’t know the game I’ve got an ace in the hole and I’m saving rock n’ roll You’re being hunted in the wild and you don’t understand You’ve got to go with the flow in the got a name game of rock n’ roll You can’t forget about the pain if you don’t know the game I’ve got an ace in the hole and mama Bush doesn’t even give it up You’re being hunted in the wild and you don’t understand You’ve got to go with the flow and mama Bush doesn’t even give it up I’ve got an Ace in the hole and I’m saving rock n’ roll Just go with the flow in the got a name game of rock n’ roll I’ve got an ace in the hole but mama mama Bush doesn’t give it up, she doesn’t give it up
3.
4.
So happy I feel so good And my name is Mud And I’ve got your ex-girlfriend over at my house (I’m telling you) I brought you something more than a mattress to store I brought you a story She needed help washing her back when she showered I couldn’t help wanting to make love and I’m sure you know she’s fine She’s keeps going, but I’m waiting ‘cause I wanted to ask you if it’s alright if I held her hand and what was going on? While you were making yourself ill with thoughts of a woman who couldn’t love you and you were ready to give yourself up to a luscious lady But now she’s telling me I gotta get even Well I’m gonna try my best Listen to what I’ve got to say but the timeline’s gonna stay out of the story ‘cause you wouldn’t even understand it I’ve been taken her all over the world and I’m just getting home Might as well just get married ‘Cause you know the pressure’s on My little sister just tied the knot with some Australian Don Juan Digging like a mole oh, Lord, oh People seem to stare when we walk down the street now My baby is on my arm for real now And she’s all over my pillow talking chances and chasing children Keep it coming and I’ll have her coming over to my house for more We shake it to the soul In the name of Rock n’ Roll I’ll be taking her all over the world when you’re just getting home
5.
Bat's Hand 06:34
Now who knew there’d be such a big problem having happiness come to you? Who knew that sex would destroy us? And when you saw that my fur was on fire Why didn’t you avert your eyes? Ooh I’m a rhino watching you as you discover You call me horny and you giggle And you steal my photograph while I eat grass From your warped perspective I take shelter behind the tall grass And summer comes late this year and so what your doing you’re messing with my head Snapping photographs I’m no dumb giraffe, I’m nothing special And if you were the last white tiger on the face of this earth I’d be the last abstinent female white tiger You can live your life lonely like a lonely old tiger on the mountain top Come down, Calm down Come down from the mountain hard as a tumbling boulder Fall where you may I’m gonna offer you National Geographic centerfolds They can try but they won’t bring me down Kibbles n’ bits and your big mamas tits and penthouse downtown Paint up your body drink a hot toddy come and see us sometime soon Well we love the way you look at us but don’t look back Don’t fuckin’ feed the animals, how about that ?? Look how thin I got since they don’t feed me squat Nobody’s watching if you’ve got food Whoah look at me I’m playin’ in the water Ducks and penguins have a real good time And when you saw that my fur was on fire And my loins were burning with animal lust For the fruit of us The cheap desire to fill up the nursery The badger lays his hands on the porcupine I’m hungry Starving sexually My dog got ran over My mama just died What can you say? One went for a little bit longer ride Now and then I’m reminded of each of them by fleas Birds fucking bees Stranger things have happened Down on my knees Scooping up a bats hand with a napkin While I’m napping Or was it just a dream of mine ? Unicorns resist existence Their persistence is ridiculous Just like this And who knew the problems with sleeping out on the street? And all the animals going in and out of heat And the full moon comes around and my dog starts to howl And meets a neighbor dog and the bitch gets fucked til’ who knows when? I can’t sleep out here again ‘fore my mama said I’m a make man of you She didn’t know what I already knew Swinging crazy Impossible baby What you know about a crocodile monkey ? ‘fore my mama said I’m a make man of you She didn’t know what I already knew Swinging crazy Impossible baby What you know about a crocodile monkey? My mom said I’d suffer the fate of the damned if I didn’t keep my hands to myself but touching came so natural the animals just hated me
6.
Goodbye Kiss 03:02
I told myself this is not something to hold on to Don’t get ahead in your head I couldn’t even control my own self again I’m falling in a lonely hole Where only bones are gathered And mole hairs all been scattered ‘Cause they’ve been eatin’ on the suckers that fall to their death Just one more time Tell me you’ve got something to do You ain’t got enough in your heart for one more trip to the moon, my girl Just tell me that you’ll give me that goodbye kiss Right in the way of another dream I bet she can’t sleep without a boy to kill right next to her little pillow So go home I’ll forget it all Don’t think I’m gonna be your fool Deceptions of another promised love Just walk away run from everything again You never had nothin’ So go home I’ll forget it all Don’t think I’m gonna be your fool Deceptions of another promised love Just walk away run from everything again You never had nothin’
7.
A misunderstanding Soulmate revision of someone watching this world alone Years go by and faces fade from your day Ask her if she isn’t fit to wear? With crystal vision Stand by your man Everything is beautiful Armloads of tragedy A second beginning The same old story of little boys come and then they go babe Just stand by your man Stand by your man Southern California’s newest crowded highway Street sweeping lonely streets of me Stay together I don’t think so, Than be with me she’d rather be alone If she could only stand by her man And the resulting smile searching You’ll find him I swear Just stand by your man Bored blindly watching The same old story of little boys coming and then going, Stand by your man Try to make him happy just once babe Stand by your man Little boys come and then they go girl Just stand by your man Will you ever stand by your man?
8.
9.
Bound and Broken This building’s on fire Bursting at the seam Dreaming of creaming Hog tied and left outside I was deep fried I was freeze dried Left high and dry Clutching the consolation prize Perfect
10.
One Summer’s Dream Now but a moment There was enough in her eyes and flowers in her hair Quite lovely was she And he walked through a forest She could swear she’d laid eyes on before A girl who felt like she was free I walked as she talked She with a non-believer Of mysteries not so quickly forgotten And later she saw As I slipped off my robe and followed a naked man into the water A family style meal girl you were free Half beautiful love that she couldn’t wear Waiting for someone who just isn’t (there) There she was A bridge to a new love So fragrantly sweet that she is the only One summer’s dream Bread from the batter Cellar I’m sold on grapes not forgotten Become wine And dusk into evening Come morning’s first knight I’ll be drunk again No kiss goodnight girl you were free Now that she’s older she doesn’t have to worry she’s a girl
11.
Why was it so hard to find before I saw her? Lucky to find a pillow when she sleeps her head So long as it’s there when she wakes up tomorrow The summer sun in her hair sparkling new I’ve waited so long to hear her whisper songs into my ear As it goes away Another day So lovely to know She is mine Why was it so hard to find before I saw her there on the couch? She does not want to even hear me out My it was so hard to find before I saw her There by the door Searching for the answers I don’t know but it’s good Away this summer’s day so lovely to know She is mine Clean, fair, and clear Insisting that I brace her hand long-term Fleeting stones Yet radiant and free Wondering truly you and me Tethered and wanting And making them in twos But spaced out and separate by threes Bustling Just like a weary dream Accounted for Another ring She is mine Why was it so hard to find before I saw her there by the door? Searching for the answers evermore No other rings Away another day So lucky to know she is mine
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about

The 15 years later sophomore release from Tim Smolens' time-warping boy band, I.S.S., is partially an unapologetic homage to the Beach Boys lost 1967 masterpiece, "Smile," namely the principles of music composition and production discovered and implemented by Brian Wilson in the mid 1960’s.

"She’s a Girl" is a veritable journey through the cool sensibilities of 50’s barbershop quartet, contrapuntal doo-wop vocal harmonies, expansive song arrangements amply laced with half-diminished chords, lush 60’s orchestral pop productions in the vein of the Phil Spector/Brian Wilson famed "Wall of Sound," quadrupled bass (run through vintage tape echo), and echo chamber drenched percussion (castanets, tambourine, sleigh bells, hand clap, timpani, glockenspiel, etc.).

Not just a "Smile" homage, what I.S.S. album would be complete without some other-worldly improvised poetry and melodies by George Smith, who’s deep musicality and scathing, off-beat perspectives find a rare venue for their own sort of redemption? Not merely a savant of lyric/melodic improvisation, George is also a fantastic tunesmith in his own right, contributing two of his own depressingly sophisticated, bittersweet, transcendent tunes to the song cycle.

Special guest appearances by Timba Harris (Estradasphere, Probosci, etc.) on violin/viola, Bär McKinnon (Mr. Bungle, Umlaut) on tenor saxophone, Luke Kirley on tuba/trombone, and Rory Reagan on drums.

Message from Tim:

"She’s a Girl" is a record I began writing in 2003 on the heels of the heartbroken, self-pity-fest of I.S.S.’s debut, "Forget about the Girl." In the subsequent years I have scarce found the time to begin this daunting recording, although I knew it was among the strongest material I'd penned. After unexpectedly facing imminent fatherhood in 2007, I was unable to maintain any hope of providing for my new family in the pathetic remnants on the outskirts of “the music industry” that I already resided. More than 12 years later, 2 kids, a transition to a more stable profession that allots more days off than days at work, and a relocation to gorgeous Colorado with a room in the basement for my small studio, I have finally returned to S.A.G. Somehow, the decade plus of musical inactivity has imbued these songs with a refreshing new life. The background vocal arrangements are more varied and colorful, the music production sounds more authentically 60’s, and the result is a more cohesive pop listening experience than I've been able to muster previously. It would seem the musical transcendence of "Smile" (and Brian’s 40 year struggle to manifest) affected me too, though I suppose getting off easy with only 10 years in the desert. - Tim Smolens

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released January 1, 2018

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Tim Smolens Denver, Colorado

Tim Smolens is a composer, producer, bassist and pivotal contributor of Estradasphere, Don Salsa, ISS and currently heads up international sci-fi prog rock band High Castle Teleorkestra. He is known for elaborate, multi-layered productions and a keen insight into chord progression "theory." ... more

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