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The half​-​life of a gleam

by starfish64

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    Album download comes with cover artwork and 12-page digital booklet
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  • Compact disc [CD-R]
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Please note this is a "home-made" Picture CD-R with 4-page Artwork in a slimcase.

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1.
Half-life 01:59
Half-life Sullen looks and tired eyes On the train back home January’s most despicable face Suburban shades of decline New year’s resolutions Demolished and shattered All the best intentions With the half-life of a gleam Faded gravities from bygone years of battle Where armoured concrete buildings outlast all protest Dreary suburbs dull grey skies Sleepless from dusk ‘til dawn Haunted shadows hurry through the twilight Begging for a relief With a half-life of a gleam
2.
Defender 05:27
Red and black and bronze War paint on your face The barrel of your gun, Change comes from within. You’ve got `em in your sights, They’re still to blind to see. Hit them, where it hurts. So you’ve blown a fuse at last Watch out for the signs Defender The writing’s on the wall. Keep watching for the sign Defender The writing’s on the wall It is all written down in word The wider context of it all Only few would really understand. But history will tell. Fellow soldiers of good faith Somewhere else and underground They are all prepared to give their lives So you’ve blown a fuse at last Watch out for the signs… He was such a lovely boy Mommy said: „as good as gold“ Father Miller’s most committed child A true servant of the lord A true servant of the lord Watch out for the signs…
3.
instrumental
4.
Midnight refuge There’s only one place left to go. They all come down to the midnight refuge. Those who've missed the last train home, They all come down to the midnight refuge. Have a drink or some. This is not the place for great expectations Though you might have a few. You’ve got to face the facts You will leave us as a stranger. Come and be our guest. At the midnight refuge... Those who nobody is waiting for They finally find themselves at the midnight refuge Those who get no sleep at all. They all come down to the midnight refuge. They try to find someone To heal all them the scars The first cut surely was the deepest Now that the dye is cast. They all join the queue In a crowd of perfect strangers At the midnight refuge... They all come down to the midnight refuge Together alone at the midnight refuge
5.
Yet another soul-strip afternoon One of these days down in the blue. My innermost appears to be no goldmine We keep on mining anyway Yet another push onto foreign terretories We‘ve barely been this far before Always be prepared to face the unforeseen You may not like all what you see On this soul-strip afternoon Soul-strip afternoon There may not be an answer to all that seems to matter Guess it‘s better being that way Will there ever be a point of no return? Somewhere far beyond all this „ever since“ That‘s where we will define the opposite of fear. This will be my day of days On this soul-strip afternoon Soul-strip afternoon Will there be an answer to what really matters Guess it‘s better going that way I‘ve come to terms to live with my obsessions but that is only half the way to go We‘re digging deep, mining for perception on yet another soul-strip afternoon...
6.
The sniper and the beauty Queen Beauty queen dyes her curly hair She paints a smile upon her face Whereas deep inside, deep inside White powder devil deep inside They trade her pretty curves and skin at some extraordinary price She’s been sold down the river the very day she’d blossomed out Inside she’s never been as beautiful as many think she is It seems the hardest part of all is the all ugliness she bears The catwalk is a lonely place The limelight and the lens turn the inside out, leave her defenceless in the nude There is no place to hide The public claims its share And there she goes. The splendour takes its toll I guess she knows The sniper’s well aware of his mighty fateful skills. He’s got her in the crosshairs for quite some time. He’s the one to shoot her in that special pose The shadow of a wizard behind this flash of light He’s got his bags already packed He’s used to travel light. She doesn’t mean a thing. It’s him and only him. She’s just another face on a printout of his fame. There she goes. The public claims its share I guess she knows Some other time, Some place somewhere else a subtle flower blossoms out There in the prime of life most beautiful virginity The sniper's on his way the only one road towards decay She will meet him some day soon Smell the acid rotten stench There will be no hiding place It takes just one flash of light The show must go on The public claims its share
7.
Brainwashed 04:57
Brainwashed She pulls the curtains tight and lights a candle. As she tries to take a look inside herself, she just stares into a void. If eternal means forever, why is life a fading light Love is transient. Days are numbered, and belief is just a long lost fight There’s something wicked in the golden rules of faith, a cancer growth of question and of doubt. She’s coming of age She’s a woman. She’s a sinner. She’ll be saved somehow, someday. True believers, all her teachers They once told, and so they say. She’s brainwashed, straight and hollow. So that everything is clean. Her days show up in black and white. There is nothing in-between. These days she feels like there is nothing left to hide. It seems the walls have ears There are intruders inside of her scull The creator and her saviour left her colour-blind and torn. And all the prayers, as the days go down, leave the room without any sound. She’s brainwashed, straight and hollow. So that everything is clean. Her days show up in black and white. There is nothing in-between.
8.
21 days 04:01
21 days I haven’t seen your face in 21 days. Did you come to terms? Did you sort it out? I traced your footsteps every 21 days. Down by the beach You must have been here. You’d need a time to think. That’s what you said. So how do you feel now. After 21 days, 21 sunny days. 21 days 21 sunny days. Did you come to terms? Did you sort it out? In 21 days 21 sunny days. I haven’t slept one night in 21 days I just lay awake And was counting sheep I was doing fine every 21 days That’s what I said Little white lies Haven’t wrote one line Not a single chord On my red guitar And now as you ring at the door After 21 hot summer days All the willow trees are still swaying in a breeze Now guess what, I won’t let you in No I guess I won’t let you you in. Because I’ve come to terms And I’ve made up my mind I’lll keep on staying on my own. ...after 21 days
9.
Motel Wednesday Cloudy afternoon; suburban skies Dirty windowpanes; Motel Wednesday Just a Hideaway by the roadside Anonymity; That's Motel Wednesday These are wee small hours in a run-down fleabag roadhouse Two lost souls collide in no man’s land There are no future prospects, nor brighter days ahead At least they’re only in here for this need to feel alive That's the bottom line The bitter truth This is motel wednesday No way to palliate to deny the fact that this is only motel wednesday That's how she breaks the promise, she’d thought she’d never break. The precious kind of promise, that he never really gave. Her marriage’s long since made true north It’s as cold as it can be He way beyond to live a life, what life was meant to be. Evening shadows have on the run Traffic jam - the nasty smell of diesel in the air A dripping tap, footsteps on the floor Raindrops on the windows Lousy faded art-prints witness sad all this decay
10.
Polished old coins Tired eyes and wavering hands A quiet room packed with yesterdays People say that he’s never been quite much a man of company He used to live only for one passion And followed his own trade Never that much for the sales But for hunting high and low He’s been a collector A man of expertise Half the world in a treasury A collection of coins Polished old coins Whether copper or gold Some debased Some precious and rare Polished old coins Whether copper or gold All covered with scars The scratches from all time Some faded photographs The face of a boy Uniforms Some other time Another life Still thundering at night The rumbling of the war The boy did not come home A survivor in his stead Scarred for life and torn inside Like polished old coins…

about

Album download comes with cover artwork and 12-page digital booklet

credits

released December 7, 2012

The half-life of a gleam [Nocturnal observations by starfish64]
was recorded and mixed at the cafeteria
Between 2011 and 2012

D. Hoffmann: vocals; guitars; keyboards; programing
H. Kropp: Drums

With [In order of appearance]:
J. Thiede: Acoustic guitars (5; 8)
S. Triebel: Electric guitars (7)
J. Hoffmann: Electric guitar (8)
T. Kassühlke: Bass (8)


Microphones were kindly
provided by M. Ziemann

Words and music D. Hoffmann
Puzzled by starfish64

Coverdesign by henni.de
Photos by D. Hoffmann & S. Triebel
Starfish64 logo by S. Triebel

Family and friends, players, fans and supporters
Thank you all

www.starfish64.com

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about

starfish64 Germany

starfish64 was established in 2006 by German singer-songwriter Dieter Hoffmann. Originally intended to be a vehicle for his solo-work, starfish64 began recording and publishing in the singer-songwriter genre at first. Over the years, however, sound and compositions shifted more and more towards progressive and new art rock. Current Line-up:
D. H.
Henrik Kropp
Dominik Suhl
Martin Pownall
... more

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