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The Rise & Fall of the Ottoman Empire

by The Slack Republic

supported by
Beth Stinson
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Beth Stinson one of the best albums of the aughts Favorite track: Formalities.
William Ball
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William Ball Even unfinnished this stands as one of my favorite albums. It has energy and substance, style and skill. I hunger for more but am happy to get this much.
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1.
The Rise 01:44
Gonna reign on everything like a sun that won't fall. Anyone who disagrees I'll put their skull on my wall. Cause I want it all! Spew fire and brimstone, burning down his home, beating our drums with their bones. It never did take long picking out my throne, covered in gems and precious stones. Cause I want it all! I want it all! Anything I want might as well be mine. And we'll never fall! We'll never fall! Kick behind like it's still 1299.
2.
Well I've got this passport photo of a handsome young man and some dead rose petals in a little tin can. And I was dying to meet him. I was already there! In my head! In my head! Oh it's just not fair. Cause these are memories I should forget. And the things that are killing me just haven't yet. And I'll save my sympathies and my regrets And I'll take them all with me, to my death. It's all just one big smudge cause your touch has blurred all the lines. And I can't wait for your love cause you're just gonna waste my time. And I'm not the type to sit around and say "we'll wait and see..." cause I'll drive myself completely mad with all these memories. These memories I should forget! These memories I should forget! These memories I should forget! These memories! Well I've got this sweater in my bureaux. It belongs to a man, who I think I'm in love with but he'd rather be my friend. And I'm just dying to see him. Like I'm already there! In my head! In my head! Oh it's just not fair. Cause these are memories I should forget. And the things that are killing me just haven't yet. And I'll save my sympathies and my regrets And I'll take them all with me, to my death. It's all just one big smudge cause your touch has blurred all the lines. And I can't wait for your love cause you're just gonna waste my time. And I'm not the type to sit around and say "we'll wait and see..." cause I'll drive myself completely mad with all this shit.
3.
Thanks to all these very big ideas I've become what I most often feared. Disconnected, devoid, completely paranoid; misdirecting affection - total case of Freud. I've learned to compromise, do wrongs for rights, to swallow the pill to take a life, to throw the fight, settle the score, to lose the battle to win the war. My eyes are dry but inside I cry and in my mind I'm on the floor. I'll try to love before die for I live a lie I can't live no more. Don't want to talk about it, think about, hoping I don't dream about it. I could write about it but you wouldn't want to read about it. The closest prognosis is neurosis so I'm hopeless but I'm taking several doses to avoid any psychosis and... Thanks to all these very big ideas I've become what I most often feared. Disconnected, devoid, completely paranoid; misdirecting affection - total case of Freud. It's tough to sacrifice, to do or die, to take that chance and roll the dice, to hold your cards against all odds, to give up your faith to keep your god. If he died for sin then I'll lie again cause I can depend on my medicine to knock me out when I get down so when I get up I can do it again. Don't want to talk about it, think about, hoping I don't dream about it. I could write about it but you wouldn't want to read about it. The proper prescription for a fictional affliction - mix your uppers with your downers 'til you balance your addiction and... Thanks to all these very big ideas I've become what I most often feared. Disconnected, devoid, completely paranoid; misdirecting affection - total case of Freud.
4.
March Forth 01:34
5.
Formalities 03:26
Gotta sit up straight, must annunciate. You're killing me with your formalities! In my best collared shirt, doing dirty work. You're killing me with your formalities! Say my opinion counts with your hand on my mouth. You're killing me with your formalities! In everything I do all my efforts are wasted on you. Here we are foxtrotting round the issues again and the garbage can filled up with tissues and sin is about to spill over and onto my skin. help me wash it away my friend Here we are opening bottles of Bartles & Jaymes gonna celebrate all of the things that we hate with my merry old gang till the end of the day please don't let me be late my friend. Gotta sit up straight, must annunciate. You're killing me with your formalities! In my best collared shirt, doing dirty work. You're killing me with your formalities! Say my opinion counts with your hand on my mouth. You're killing me with your formalities! Said, everything I do all my efforts are wasted on you. You are killing. You are killing, with me with your formalities. Your formalities! You are killing. You are killing, with me with your formalities. Your formalities! Dying! Dying! I'm dying, dying! Dying! Dying! I'm dying, dying! Dying! Dying! Dying! Dying! Dying! Dying! Dying! I'm dead.
6.
Nightmare 01:02
Everything is so confusing. I awaken with a head contusion. And there's scrapes my arms, cuts and bruises. And the shakes from all the blood I'm loosing. There's a knife in my back needs removing and a gash in head that needs suturing and I can't lie still, think I'm loosing it and that's when he tells me that I almost died. That I almost died. That I almost died. That I almost died. Clinically dead for a whole minute. Reach for my head, there's a hole in it. And the lights above are just so intense and I can't lie still as they rush me in...
7.
8.
Terrorist 1 (free) 03:27
Oh I am your last dictator, your king, your czar. I am your god. Please believe in me cause if you sin, the terrorist win. My smoking gun. I'm terrorist #1. "Fool me once shame on, shame on you. Fool me... you can't fool me again." Do what I want to, have my way. I've got family and friends; in high places like offices and penthouses where I pretend to be much important than I am. My fairytale begins! There's no one you can complain to, or who will save you from my smoking gun. I'm terrorist #1! cause I am your last dictator, your king, your czar. I am your god. Please believe in me cause if you sin, the terrorist win. My smoking gun. I'm terrorist #1. Daddy, daddy! Help me! Save me! I need to be president. Mother, will you make sure little brother helps me win the bid? I know a guy at Haliburton, says that we can all get rich. I hear this bastard found a map to some Iraqi oil fields. We'll pick a fight with Osama, go in to bomb but we'll hang Hussein cause they're all the same. When I am your last dictator, your king, your czar. I am your god. Please believe in me cause if you sin, the terrorist win. My smoking gun. I'm terrorist #1. [ HIDDEN CONTENT: "Great Brains!" ] Don't care what you make say. I've got an attitude! Don't care what you may do. Pretty fed up with this dude. And I'm banned in DC with a million other places to go! Gonna drive a stolen Uhaul all the way up to Toronto! Gonna get up with the carps, and we're all gonna rip the show! Then we'll come back to the states and we're all gonna do it some mo!
9.
The Fall 01:40
Beneath the sun that never sets, we learn to fight to the death and if my sword should ever fail we'll meet you all in Jahanam. If you want it, come and get, gotta take it how I got it. If you'd ever been to Niss, they'd have told you all about it. Raise your cup, raise your fist, raise your blade, I insist. Isn't anyway around it, play with snakes you'll get bit say... There is something seeping through me. Getting cold and too dark to see. Never reach 19 and 23. What a way to spend halloween.

about

Recorded in the early winter of 2006, these 9 songs are part of the final and incomplete works of The Slack Republic. The best possible effort was made to compile these songs into the closest representation of the album they were written for.

Additionally to help tell it's story, lyrics for each songs as well as parts of the full narrative have been provided.
Enjoy!

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Inspired by the legend of the Ottoman Empire, believed to have ruled the Eastern Mediterranean from 1299 - 1922, The Rise & Fall of the Ottoman Empire was conceived and written to reflect of the current state of the times (circa 2005).

Juxtaposing references to one of the largest and longest lasting empires in documented history with references to modern day socio-political issues such as health care, politics and war, The Slack Republic attempted to draw the parallels that would reveal that we too, are an empire.

Then taking things just a step further they zoom in their sights, exploring the issues of labor, romance and death on an interpersonal level, further uncovering that no man is an empire... not a successful empire anyhow.

And so the story goes... from 1299 - 1922 and onto early 2007, when this band, like every other great empire known to man, fell.

[ FOOTNOTE: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire ]

credits

released November 24, 2009

Co-produced, Written & Recorded By Pierre Moore and M.J. Zilla

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The Slack Republic Brooklyn, New York

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