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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a jewel case with artwork and photos in vivid black and white with cryptic notes and mock-questionnaire containing key lyrics. Cover artwork by Céline Keller.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Slowly I Turned via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

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

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
Missing Link 04:52
I sit alone tonight, paralyzed Grinding mental gears and eyes like saucers Clutter expands on every surface Do you think I’ll even pretend it matters? Night after night I keep the lights on The stereo and TV blaring I can’t stand to live in darkness And silence is so overbearing I kiss your picture I scream your name Each day it hits me All over again Just like nothing You’re here and gone I wasn’t planning To be alone So I act out to keep from losing it completely Staring at the yellow scraps of police tape on our bedroom door I know that soon I must take action Before my friends start running out of compassion I kiss your picture I scream your name Each day it hits me Over and over again As if you were nothing You’re here and gone I wasn’t planning To be alone I remember every detail Every second burns a hole inside of me You were so cold I could not warm you You had this crazy peaceful sleepy look on your face Then I could hear my voice crying out for help Was it for you or was it really for myself? Felt like hours before the cops came tromping in Took one look at you and then they tossed me out of the bedroom I paced and sat and paced for hours Until Juliette calmed me down and held my hand Finally the suit in charge bothered to drop by Transparently dripping contempt as he mumbled the requisite banal questions Honey, it’s all over now The sickening circus is all gone and so are you I’m left to rummage through the pieces of our lives And sing your beauty to a world that couldn’t care less I kiss your picture I scream your name Each day it hits me Over and over and over and over again Like you never happened You’re here and gone I wasn’t planning To be alone, no no no I kiss your picture I scream your name Each day it hits me Over and over again Just like nothing You’re here and gone I wasn’t planning To be alone. ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
2.
Room 205 03:32
I am troubled And my mind is full of fear I’m in trouble My predicament is clear I’d give anything right here and now To have you whisper in my ear. My world is shrinking And the walls are closing in My world is shrinking And the walls are closing in Sometimes I wake up wishing That I could tear off all my skin My soul is twisted My mind is slipping from my hands Aaaaaah, twisted Slipping from my hands My heart denies me publicly And says, “I never met this man” Sometimes I think that I won’t be in this world much longer Sometimes this makes me fearful, Sometimes this makes me stronger But how strong am I? ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
3.
Con the world till your charm runs out You never had much but you sure can charm yourself Your friends know you all too well They put up with you because they know you mean well Stop flogging yourself, it’s disgusting! You’ve painted yourself in the corner again What do you want from life anyway? Better think hard before you answer that question The best things in life are temporary Follow your bliss until you trample it to pieces Someday you’ll find out everything you want to know And I pity you when that day comes So obsessed with the impressions you make You want to know what everyone thinks of you Either they’re not paying that much attention Or else they’ve noticed how much you look at yourself You’d better shut up till you learn some new words You’re doomed to recycle everything you’ve heard Other people’s eyes make for better mirrors Take a look; it explains a lot. Are you really sure you want to know What people say about you When you’re not around? ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
4.
5.
You started dying slowly When you took a ride on that machine You shot off like a spark Aimed straight into the dark Weaving down the highway All overcast with dreams It’s a cycle that goes nowhere Burning youth into exhaust Such a raging rebel sinner You almost were a winner But now you’ve lost the path, can’t read the signs And don’t know that you’re lost Friends wait along the roadside Faces blur in the flash Tunnel vision turns to blue One last exit left for you And on the south side of the highway A soft shoulder when you crash. © 2000 J Neo Marvin and Maati Stojanovich, BMI
6.
Dog Days 06:35
Sometimes I see too much These are the times I want to opt out of the game I see no hope And all my anger can’t begin to make a change My optimism has been stretched beyond repair And when the payback comes I’m not so certain I want to be there. I barely sleep at night I barely function in the day Running out of time My precious youth’s been pissed away Flung like a pinball Through the twists and turns of circumstance My deep, commanding voice rings out Like a fart in a hurricane And I’m not much fun to sleep with Because every morning I wake up screaming. If I could put words to this paralysis I might find my escape The cupboard’s bare, supplies are gone I contemplate my fate. So here’s the picture: You walk into a building And you’re ushered into a room Where you sit across a table From some little snotrag ten years younger than you And all you want to do is grab his throat and say: “What do you want from me? I’ve worked this type of half-wit job before What kind of clever trick Are you waiting for me to perform? Look straight through me with your enigmatically smug face So what is it then? Am I too dressed up? Am I too dressed down? How many more times in this life Do I have to sit in a room like this Judged by the petty likes of you? I’d like a figure right now, I’d like a figure right now I’d like to know what got me In this position anyhow!” Well…OK, OK, I know: I did not want a normal life I wanted “freedom”, vaguely defined I knew what I did not want That much was crystal clear I never thought enough about What I actually wanted! And when your gallows humor starts wearing thin That’s when they say your heartaches really begin Try whistling past the graveyard But your lips don’t make a sound And every morning headline sends you spinning farther down. Suddenly I feel this clarity As if a weight was lifted off my shoulders For no good reason at all. And I feel confident, even joyous But nothing’s actually changed. Why is life like this? I can’t answer that one, sweetie. ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
7.
8.
Shout fire while the theatre is burning down We used to lock away people like you Now you can let off a little steam But stay inside your designated corner Because the truth is too extreme. Shout fire while they’re lining up for blocks To get inside the smoking door They’ve got a show you wouldn’t believe A house of cards rising to the sky And everybody wants to add one more. Shout fire while the beams and shingles fall The TV monitors say calm down Business is thriving and there is no danger A crisis comes and a crisis goes But normal life goes on and on. Shout fire while we’re crawling through the ash Come on and take a final bow Now that it’s too late to make a difference We want to make you an official hero ‘Cause you were so ahead of your time A testimony to your vision ‘Cause you were so ahead of your time Yeah you were so ahead of your time They’re gonna name a street after you Give you a new oxygen mask too ‘Cause you were so ahead of your time. ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
9.
Interference 02:51
Wake up at 2 AM to the sound of screaming, tears and crashing She’s cowering up against the wall while he stands over her Bellowing, his fists come down, he wants his keys, he wants his way She’s ten years younger, half his size, two month old kid, nowhere to go Hey vato, I don’t care how they do things in your country I’m not standing here ignoring things under my own roof Two cops climb up the stairs, he’s standing there with his feathers out She’s locked herself up in the baño, sobbing like a child They slap the cuffs on him, she begs and pleads, she wants no trouble They shake their heads and leave as one, she gives him what he asked for Out the door they go at 2:15, la familia nuclear My stomach’s tight and I can’t sleep I don’t know if I did the right thing or not. Am I still an anarchist when I’m dialing 911? ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
10.
Vagabond 02:55
The key she wears around her neck Unlocks a door in another town Where everything she owns is stored And she has to have it out before the first rolls around Border guard says “passport please” She flashes that beguiling grin of hers and says: “I thought that this was Europe And you could go anywhere you pleased” And he buys it. Vagabond passed this way Looking for a place to stay No fixed address, no future plans Not much more than the bag in her hands Slumped in a chair, grasping a beer Opens her eyes and scans the room She’s not too impressed with anything at all Except those things that she loves with a passion There’s always a squat or an empty car A train station bench for a couple of hours The kindness of strangers on the music scene It’s lots of fun when you’re seventeen. Vagabond passed this way Looking for a place to stay No fixed address, no future plans Not much more than the bag in her hands Don’t you ever take her kiss for granted One day you might wake up and find She’s sailing off to the Island Of Girls Yeah, she’s gonna leave your sorry ass behind. Vagabond crossed our path Ask her a question, she’ll just laugh Where she’s heading next, I don’t know Counts her change and then away she goes. ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
11.
I have drained every reservoir I have tapped out every well I have left myself with nothing But some sordid tales to tell. The Good Ship Lollipop is sinking I do believe we’re upside down My foot’s caught in a chandelier Do you think that we’ll be found? Keep on climbing to the bottom Pedal to the floor, speeding in reverse I’m running up a tab on the universe. There must be some way out of this Grit your teeth and run, hang on to your hope You may find yourself swinging from a rope. It’s not true that I sold my soul But yes, I’ve pawned it more than once. Did I really burn that bridge back there? Guess I’m going to have to jump. Lying like a magic carpet Convoluted pleas, plotting on my knees I’ve got debts to pay I can’t explain away. I keep climbing to the bottom Pedal to the floor, speeding in reverse Running up a tab on the universe. ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
12.
Once there was so much love between us We conspired, confided and plotted Against the world instead of each other I felt so at home and so exhilarated Just to be with you. Once the sound you made was the thing that I most loved Was the only thing I could trust You don’t miss your water till your cup is filled with dust I’d look around and barely believe Such crazy beautiful characters Were here to play with me. There are things I’d rather not remember And things I never will forget. A current passed between us That conflicted with our high-flown moral codes Oh, emotions are so messy; they never do what they’re told (What were you thinking?) I was thinking this is too good to be true I gave you so much ammunition When I opened up to you. Oh, I wanted everything for you Power and glory all for you Your rightful place in the sun Wanted to kill your demons one by one Please forgive my big swelled head And all the stupid things I ever said And how I let it all come to such a cheap, ignoble end Oh I suppose we’ll spend more time on our neglected lives We’ll kiss the ones we love and sheepishly apologize For our dead end dreams, then pack our stuff away Until some distant day we can’t imagine now Is this where we get off? Can any goodbye be good enough? ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
13.
I cut my loved ones a whole lot of slack I know what it’s like to fall off the tracks After a few of the things that I’ve done I can’t get high enough to look down on anyone Forgiveness tends to come easy to me Do you think I’m a sap? Do you think that I’m weak When I say nothing human disgusts me except stupidity? Your legend looms every place that I go But the stories, they don’t match the you that I know Friends are astonished, they don’t have a clue Can’t comprehend why I’m hanging with you I see the venom well up in their eyes You must have worked hard to get so despised I’d stop a bullet for you but the whole thing disturbs me. I’ve fallen into a river of shit Consoled by believing I’m baptized by it The sweet perfume lingers on those who’ve been there It’s our badge of honor which we proudly wear Those without history cast the first stone Show us your scars or pack up and go home Open the closet door, check out the bones You can’t have them: they’re mine. I tried to die and I miserably failed Begged to be punished, got kicked out of jail So I picked up a shovel and started to dig Down in the pen with the rest of the pigs Now there’s a tunnel, it doesn’t go far And no one here’s exactly sure where we are Waving our arms at the trains flashing by We never sold out ‘cause no one would buy! And this is the song that the bad ones all sing As they tear themselves inside out looking for wings So if you’re sick and tired, you’re welcome to join in the chorus. It goes: LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE What you’re saying LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE I am changing LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU NO MORE I can’t hear you! And this is the song that the bad ones all sing We tear ourselves inside out looking for wings So if you’re sick and tired of it all Come on down! You’re welcome. ©2001 J Neo Marvin (BMI)
14.
Ashes 04:14

about

J Neo Marvin resurfaced in 2001 with his first set of new songs since the breakup of his old band X-tal and the sudden death of his longtime companion Maati Stojanovich. Aided by a small group of family and friends, including Rico Bell of the Mekons, Carrie Bradley of Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, and Alan Korn of the Cat Heads, SLOWLY I TURNED is an intense yet melodic set of chamber-punk missives, filled with grief, desperation, dark humor, and hope.

credits

released October 12, 2017

J Neo Marvin – Vocals, guitars, keyboards, avocado, big evil drum, plastic woodblock, cowbell, tape collages, and banjo on “Vagabond”
Alan Korn – Bass, pedal steel guitar and mandolin
Tim Ennis – Conga, dumbek, tar, tambourine, claves, finger cymbals, and shekere
George Galvas – Bass on “Dog Days” and “Dark Ages”, lead guitar and la-las on “Dark Ages”
Bob Bassham – Drums on “Dog Days” and “Dark Ages”
Carrie Bradley – Violin
Rico Bell – Accordion
Sidney Merritt – Clarinet and maniacal laughter
Wally Sound – Righteous kick drum pattern on “Is This Where We Get Off”
Meri St. Mary – Guest vocal on “Piece Of Work”
Lisa McElroy – “What were you THINKING?”

Cover artwork by Céline Keller.

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J Neo Marvin & the Content Providers San Francisco, California

The Content Providers came into being when former X-tal singer/guitarist J Neo Marvin found himself overflowing with new songs that needed to be heard. A massive cast of friends and acquaintances flew in and out of a loose revolving-door lineup and the songs were pulled from rough experience and sharp observation, as each Content Provider added something unique and unpredictable to the whole stew. ... more

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