Inside Outsider

by Joe Mardin

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1.
Look Up! 03:32
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Shock me, shock me, I need the noise I go numb without my toy Can’t take boredom, I’ll attest I live my life amused to death In a haze, in a trance In the maze behind the glass Liking you liking me Make our own reality CHORUS Look up! Head in the Cloud but life's a swirl around you Look up! Pandora's Box has come under our thumbs Look up! Eye of the storm but blind to all that might astound you What surrounds you Maybe lost and found you Yeah Look up! Gotta raft, gotta piece of cyber-turf Keeps me from drowning in the surf Satisfaction, distraction, all the same Swipe left, swipe right, don’t take no names So much text, I’m reeling Smiley face is healing Just to I know what I'm feeling Need a mirror on the ceiling CHORUS Traces of us wherever we roam Pinch, drag, click to find your way home Who’s afraid of IRL? Virginia Woolf in heaven or hell CHORUS Look up! Head in the Cloud but life's a swirl around you Look up! Pandora's Box has come under our thumbs Look up! You might be surprised to see that something that astounds you What surrounds you Maybe lost and found you CHORUS Look up! Head in the Cloud but life's a swirl around you Look up! Pandora's Box has come under our thumbs Look up! Eye of the storm but blind to all that might astound you What surrounds you Maybe lost and found you Yeah Look up!
2.
What's Done Is Done 03:45
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You might have said something better left unsaid Regret swirls round and round in your head Drowning and frowning in your crown of thorns A captive of regret in a prison of remorse Can’t let your life become a lament Better to say, “Je ne regrette rien” To set the past on fire is to be reborn Coulda woulda shoulda, no time to mourn The hands of time are never kind There’s no way to press rewind CHORUS What’s done is done It can’t be undone No looking back What’s done is done Once the song is sung It can’t be unsung No looking back What’s done is done Better to be sorry for something that you did Than for something that you kept hid The dream you never followed, all you didn’t do Nothing worse than indecision haunting you The hands of time are never kind There’s no way to press rewind CHORUS BRIDGE Can we ask ourselves what we can’t see? Is there escape from fate or only destiny? Can we control life’s dominoes? Maybe to be free is to let them fall CHORUS
3.
House On Stilts 03:50
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We're like a house on stilts, perched high on a hill Rocks stacked and balanced, resisting a spill Limbs and emotions, entwined in a stance Shuddering muscles, defying collapse We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts Perched high on a hill We're like a house on stilts Rocks stacked and balanced Resisting a spill We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts In this match of stares are we stale mates? Will Gravity's pull finally seal our fate? Are these stones a temple? Will they topple soon? Then a shrine or a cairn Marking love's tomb We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts Perched high on a hill We're like a house on stilts High on a wire No net below We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts Still water glistens Like a sheet of glass But underneath the stillness The swirling morass Pitiless elements The wind and the rain But nothing is forever Not even love and not pain All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Helpless to put us back together again Let’s unfreeze the ballet Re-animate the dance Stop holding our breath It’s our only chance We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts perched high on a hill We're like a house on stilts Rocks stacked and balanced, resisting a spill We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts High on a wire No net below We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts We're like a house on stilts
4.
I Don't Need To Be Happy 02:52
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I don’t need to be happy There’s so much more that I could be Lose the fear of loneliness And dare to be free I don’t want to be happy I’m here to reach beyond my grasp You gotta try, you gotta fail, you gotta fail better The obstacle is the path CHORUS I don’t want to be happy I don’t need to be happy I’m happy not to be happy BRIDGE A friend of mine says The getting is easy if you know what you want Be careful what you wish for Is really really what you want Not some kind of self-taunt I don’t need to be happy A Wilde man said to you: There’s one thing worse than not getting what you want And that’s, when you do What does it mean to be happy? Gotta want to be what you are We’re all in the gutter but there’s no better place For looking at the stars CHORUS (double) BRIDGE CHORUS I don’t want to be happy I don’t need to be happy Is anybody happy? I’m happy not to be happy So much pressure to be happy I don’t need to be happy Is everybody happy?
5.
She Is Her Game 04:32
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Everyone says to stay away Everyone knows not to play Her mad eyes, should they fix on you In her thrall, you won't have a clue Not a clue Everyone's seen, she is no romance You're gonna wanna sit out this dance But she's light of foot, got you out on the floor Falling free, through her trap door Two journeys colliding on one boat In her tunnel of love you’re about to float CHORUS She is her game Add to her fame She can't be claimed She is her game Sunshine in vain She is her game She can't be blamed She is her game She’ll share her beauty, she’ll confess her sins Bracelets and garlands you’ll lay by her skin She can’t remember what she can’t forget Abject love sleeps in her bed And soon will come the end of this Little Death These journeys colliding on one boat In her heart of darkness can you stay afloat? CHORUS Death-pale faces of princes and kings In dreams warn you of the song she sings On the cold hill’s side you awake But everyone knew it’s not your heart she wanted to take She sets the terms in her search for grace She is for no one but you paid your dues Gone forever but forever your wild muse A belle dame sans merci but no fatal femme Your best enemy or your worst friend Reliving trauma or reliving loss Everyone knows she never gets too close CHORUS (double)
6.
Democracy In Burlesque 03:18
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Disparity, calamity, organized insanity Some watch it like a show Kafka-esque, no arrest, democracy in burlesque Many just don’t bother to show Legalized corruption, obstruction, dysfunction Imperative consumption and all this damn construction The miserable, invisible, should not be permissible We only reap what we sow CHORUS More and more things just make no sense Everyday I understand less and less Sometimes the best I can do is just take a guess Be my guest Democracy in burlesque Journalist, moralist, fabulist, a corporatist Everything is Breaking News Captivate, speculate, saturate, don’t deviate Don’t kill the golden goose Wallow in distraction, divided into factions Nah nah nah nah nah, heedless satisfaction Spectacle, hysterical, everyone susceptible Don’t buy the golden ruse CHORUS Monkey see, monkey do Mr. Berry said too much ado But we are all involved No privacy, society, guarantied anxiety Is this how we think we evolve? Freedom’s wane, confusion’s reign, try in vain to keep sane Unemployed, null and void, opioid, life destroyed Are these problems meant to be solved? CHORUS Everyday I understand less and less More and more things just make no sense Sometimes the best I can do is just take a guess Be my guest Democracy in burlesque! More and more things just make no sense Everyday I understand less and less Sometimes the best I can do is just take a guess Be my guest Such a mess, I confess Oligarch, patriarch, Bonaparte a world apart They’re feeding at the trough Economy, lobotomy, larceny, inequality Too, too, too, too much has never been never enough Occupy didn’t lie, deplorables gone awry Audacious pomp, drain the swamp, heed the man from Vermont Climate change, living wage, need a sage to turn the page Will there be time enough?
7.
Living The Life 03:52
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I won't scratch your back so you won't have to scratch mine If we're asking for nothing nobody has to be kind Commandments and morals have taught us what to do But living for others is paying devil's dues Spooks of the mind have turned us into fools We need to find the truces in the war of all against all CHORUS Living the Life Just the way that we want to live Living the Life Obligation free Living the Life Won't expect for you to do or give anything, anything, not me Some say to do unto others as you'd have done unto you But the Golden Rule has taken on meaning anew The myth that we think of as society But individuals are its reality Punishment comes to all for all good deeds Can anybody know what anybody else needs? CHORUS Living the Life We were taught we deserve to live Living the Life Obligation free Living the Life Won't expect for you to do or give anything, anything for me Hear the siren call you can’t you resist Joining the ranks of the Union of Egoists Your excuse to do only what you want to do Don’t give a damn about me and I won’t worry about you CHORUS Living the Life Only one that I've got to live Living the Life Obligation free Living the Life No one asks for you to do or give anything, anything, no no no Living the life The life! Living the life The life! Living the life The life! Living the life Obligation free The Life! Living the life
8.
Face Is A Mask 03:58 video
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When I saw her It was the end of October A tall order Theda Bara was never bolder Angel or demon Pilgrim or heathen Searching for meaning Her words were revealing: We’re born into this world Naked and the same The rules have all been made And you’ve been given a name Left to chase yourself Out of your hardened shell A living ghost behind your human veil CHORUS Your face is a mask, is a mask, is a mask It’s our best disguise Everyone hiding, hiding in plain sight It’s how we advance, how we advance But the truth beams from our eyes Everyone hiding, hiding in plain sight Sleepwalking through the day The waking dream at night Measure the price you pay To lead the double life Learning to stay afloat In the sea of doubt Liberation comes from the inside out CHORUS BRIDGE Everyone hiding, hiding, hiding Everyone hiding, hiding, hiding Everyone hiding, hiding in plain sight Is anyone who they seem to be? Is everyone who they want to be? CHORUS BRIDGE Everyone hiding, hiding in plain sight
9.
Break Into Your Heart 03:34
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I’m not a bandit I’m not a thief But I’m not above using a little deceit To steal your sadness To rob you of grief Gonna soothe your madness You’re gonna wanna love this thief CHORUS: When I break into your heart Gonna break into your heart Maybe I’m a gambler Les jeux sont fait Embrace the thrill and let the chips fall where they may I’ve got the combination Gonna crack the safe Gonna breach your fortress Make my way through the maze CHORUS BRIDGE: Chamber to chamber Beauty in the beat Crimson tide’s pumping I’m a prowler in the heat Will I find your rhythm? Or will I be laid to waste? My pulse is racing Gotta latch on to your pace No time for hesitation It’s time to sink or swim No room for deviation or to act on a whim Yes, I’m on a mission Can’t give in to fear I’ve got an amethyst to keep my head clear CHORUS BRIDGE 2: Chamber to chamber Beauty in the beat Crimson tide’s pumping Am I a prowler in the heat? Transfixed by your soul and its shape Even if I wanted there’s no way to escape CHORUS Gonna break into your heart When I break into your heart Break into your heart When I break into your heart I’m not a bandit I’m not a thief I’m not a bandit I’m not a thief
10.
Why Would You Do It? 02:47
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Why would you do it What made you do it Why would you do it I can’t know Why would you do it What could bring you to it Why would you do it Should I know Don’t know what I’m saying ‘Cause I, don’t know what to say Wouldn’t make a difference, anyway Why would you do it What makes you do it Why would you do it I can’t know Don’t know what I’m saying ‘Cause I, don’t know what to say Doesn’t make a difference, anyway You saw through so much But you couldn’t see your way through Your special touch touched everyone But it all got to you Was it a moment When all was black or white No one to take your hand And help you with the fight Don’t know what I’m saying Is there anything to say What would I know, anyway Maybe it’s just the next stop The last part unknown But there can be no comfort In your spirit having flown And even though you’re gone I still long to hear your voice Robbed of your clarity Why would you make this choice Why would you do it What could bring anyone to it I guess I should hope I’ll never know
11.
Salvation's Victim 03:54
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Salvation's victim Salvation's slave Nothing comes easy Especially not being saved How deep is your conviction? How deep is your need? Is it friend or foe in the mirror? You've gotta look to see CHORUS Nothing anyone can tell you That you don't already know Don't let anybody sell you Something you already own Repeat the dictum But don't repeat after me Advice is nostalgia Is it ever free? Capere daemonium Seize the day Only you can you know your demons And get out of your own way CHORUS BRIDGE You might catch your face on the still of a pond Get mesmerized, don’t fall in love Don't trick yourself, don't f*** yourself, no In case my point is missed We don't need more narcissists, no Know thy self don’t lie to yourself CHORUS (double) Salvation's victim Salvation's victim Salvation's victim Salvation's slave Nothing comes easy Especially not being saved Line up your demons Get your ducks in a row Only 12 steps needed How many more to go? Salvation's victim Salvation's victim Salvation's victim Salvation's victim Repeat the dictum Salvation's victim Salvation's victim

about

Journeyman producer, arranger, mixer, composer and musician, Joe Mardin steps in front of the mic for his debut as a singer/songwriter and guitarist on garage pop, blues influenced, “Inside Outsider.”
The album is comprised of songs about romance, “House On Stilts” to politics, “Democracy In Burlesque” to the Pandora’s Box of smartphones in “Look Up!”

credits

released April 5, 2024

1. Look Up!
Joe Mardin: Vocals, guitars, drums, bass

2. What’s Done Is Done
Joe Mardin: Lead and background vocals, dobro, drums
Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle and Jesse Wagner: Background vocals

3. House On Stilts
Joe Mardin: Vocals, slide guitar, dobro, drums
Elliott Sharp: Clarinet
Sara Schoenbeck: Bassoon
Rachel Golub: Violin
Garo Yellen: Cello
Strings and winds arranged and conducted by Joe Mardin

4. I Don’t Need To Be Happy
Joe Mardin: Vocal, slide guitar, drums, handclaps
Wade Schuman: Harmonica

5. She Is Her Game
Joe Mardin: Vocals, guitars, cigar box guitar, drums, bass
Lisa Fischer: Chorus harmony vocal

6. Democracy In Burlesque
Joe Mardin: Vocals, dobro, guitar solo, feedback guitar, drums, beatbox

7. Living The Life
Joe Mardin: Vocals, guitars, drums, bass, kazoos, organ
Elliott Sharp: Clarinet and bass clarinet solo
Judith Insell: Viola
Garo Yellen: Cello
Lifer’s chorus: Marco Joachim, Alex Forbes, Kate Penrose, Julie Mardin, David Mindich, Chuck Zwicky and Kevin Gordon
Strings arranged by Joe Mardin

8. Face Is A Mask
Joe Mardin: Vocals, guitar, bass drum, tambourine

9. Break Into Your Heart
Joe Mardin: Vocals, guitars, dobro, drums, shaker, body drums
Elliott Sharp: Guitar

10. Why Would You Do It?
Joe Mardin: Vocals, cigar box guitar, floor tom, hihat

11. Salvation’s Victim
Joe Mardin: Vocals, guitars, drums, bass, eBow bass, piano, organ
Elliott Sharp: Bass clarinet
Sara Schoenbeck: Bassoon
Rachel Golub: Violin
Judith Insell: Viola
Garo Yellen: Cello
Strings and winds arranged and conducted by Joe Mardin


Music and lyrics: Joe Mardin (NuNoise Publishing, BMI)

Produced, recorded & mixed by Joe Mardin at NuNoise Studio
Additional recording engineers: Michael O’Reilly and Chuck Zwicky
Mastered by Bill Skibbe at Third Man Mastering

Photography & design: Julie Mardin
Special thanks to Mike Nolan

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Joe Mardin New York, New York

As a producer/coproducer and/or arranger and/or songwriter, Joe’s credits include Chaka Khan, Jewel, George Benson, Raul Midón, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, Elliott Sharp’s Terraplane, Aretha Franklin, Paul Carrack, Corey Glover, Paul Rogers, Paquito D’Rivera, Carlos Santana, Vince Gill, Toots Thielmans, Whitney Houston, a-ha, Hubert Sumlin… ... more

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