Albums - (Batteries Not Invented) MKCD008 2010
 click here [81.5mb zip] to download the whole album in high quality 192Kbps MP3, complete with printable inlay in pdf format; or click on a song title to read lyrics for individual songs, & play them in lower quality 96Kbps MP3, which will open in a new window/tab.
Yes, after a false start of recording all these songs with electric instruments & sequencing, then deciding to go acoustic & having to start all over again; after recording drums & vocals in a room so damp one wall was sprouting mushrooms, not one of which was psychoactive; after spending months on mixing & remixing & mastering & remixing again; (& of course remastering again); & finally after getting so sick of the whole process that MK had to go & ride a bike for a year or so; finally it's done. Mirrorkill proudly presents our latest opus (Batteries Not Invented), now available to download in its entirety from this site, completely free.
The album is about addiction, denial & guilt (but, y'know, in a fun way), both personal & social, & about plotting a course through the (latest) end of the world. It combines Mirrorkill's characteristic lyrical onslaught, sense of humour, melodic sweep & rhythmic stomp with a new primitivism of form which seems appropriate to the times at hand.
We hope you enjoy it.
01 the absolute end of the world [2:54 2.0MB MP3]
it happened gradually, until it happened suddenly
the warnings were invisible & plainly there for all to see
borrowed from tomorrow just to feed our false economy
shitting in our own backyard the best part of a century
lost inside a human world, a virtual reality
placed our faith in systems so top-heavy with complexity
never seem to find the nerve to question their stability
a single point of failure & a double shot of entropy
trapped in our denials, all the insults we have hurled
& we're hanging on to what we have with fingers tightly curled
let me bid you welcome to the absolute end of the world
forget the live earth whores & those who profit from their causes
empty words might seem profound but there's no signal, only sound
in mother nature's fit of peak, the strong get trampled by the weak
& thus divested of our crown, we begin to power down
power down, we power down, this liquid sunshine underground
that gives us light & heat & sound, we power down, we power down
no panic button we can press, no hand of god to clean this mess
space brothers nowhere to be found, the time has come to power down
so farewell to the age of gigs, no sound effects, no lighting rigs
the microphones will cease to hum, the parts will far outweigh the sum
this sound's the opening of our eyes, stripped down to acclimatise
can't hide behind no wall of sound when we begin to power down
beware this world & all its flatteries
baby, just hang on to your batteries
& curse the day that we became
so captivated by this game
power down, we power down, this ship's about to run aground
with no escape routes to be found, the time has come to power down
a century of great success, but now is time to taste the rest
rehearse your disbelieving frown, we power down, we power down
This song contains a word which is, to say the least, problematic. For an acknowledgement & further discussion of this, click here
sitting on a station in a state of isolation
dry & disconnected & in need of inspiration
wishing I was minted, making do with munted
come on, let's go out & all get absolutely cunted
never been allergic to the compounds of lysergic
accidental inhalation of a substance that was surgic-
-all the same it's plain to see, now I'm really paying heed
by the radius of your pupils, you're bedruggled just like me
& it's one two three, line the whiskeys up for me
cure me with your cigarettes & lots of THC
give me all your pills & potions, one of everything I see
in the poison lies the magic as it ever more shall be
don't mind me, I'm just exploring what you spent your life ignoring
all the shadows & the shackles make us desperate & boring
escaping this consensus that protects us & prevents us
the arrogance of banning all the compounds heaven sent us
so drench me in denial, see me struggle to the shore
no matter if it's bad for me, I'll still be back for more
I know that there's a price to fill, I'll pay it when I get the bill
I'll continue with the medicine until it makes me ill
heads down, eyes open, our tension is unspoken
a pocket full of worthless tokens - we know our world is broken
too fucked to focus on the fumes we know will choke us, singing:
"I'm tired & I'm dizzy, I can keep it all together if I just look busy..."
& if I had the magic word, could tell you how to save your world
I would keep it to myself, we're sick beyond all measure
insulated from our shame, the crimes comitted in our name
but we feel it all the same - blood pressure
behind our leaders, corporations we allow to feed us
every now & then they'll bleed us, blind eyes to open secrets
so far we're falling, distressed & empty scrawling says:
"I'm tired & I'm dizzy, I can keep it all together if I just look busy..."
& if I had the magic word, could tell you how to save your world
I would keep it to myself & fuck this life of leisure
in the blinking of an eye, we'll be waving this goodbye
should be loving this, but all I feel is this - blood pressure
05 (no such thing as) politics no more [4:08 2.8MB MP3]
old men still run the world it seems, they're out the window with your dreams
'till election time when off they go with all their party lines in tow
when they come knocking at my door, I just stare, I swear I don't know
what the hell they bother for, there's no such thing as politics no more
everything you see is theirs & all the big boys get their shares
divide the world up as they please, the human race is on its knees
the companies will have their way no matter what the people say
democracy's a corporate whore, there's no such thing as politics no more
america, no common sense, just guns & cars & accidents
a people raised on fear & hate, a cartoon of informed debate
with a puppet for a president, the theft of their establishment
is met with a resounding snore, there's no such thing as politics no more
lazy summer sunshine, I'm buzzing in the heat
of a half-remembered childhood back when everything seemed sweet
playing in the remnants of a generation's dreams
& the echoes of guitars, it always seems like such a
rush towards the future, I never could have known
just how fleeting was eternity that wore away the-
stoned again & wondering how I got to here
but I think I'll put a record on & have another beer
you got your god on a string, & you can make him say anything, anything
justify your worst excesses, failures turned into successes
you got your god on a string, so addicted to the power it brings
when you become the only source of cosmic-mortal intercourse
ignorance may well be bliss but we would like some choice in this
you can say "in god we trust", but what if god is just as lost as us?
you got your god on a string, the hypocritical songs you sing
while being kept upon your knees by scores of dominatrices
you got your god on a string, & education is your thing
when science measures too exact you teach your fairytales as fact
you say he so loves the world he wants to bring about its end
but I don't want to die for your imaginary friend
08 doktor mirrorkill's aetheric clinic [4:26 3.0MB MP3]
well I've been scrying my eyes out trying to fathom out the depths of this disease
battling the demons who beset us all around in times like these
ever so seductive & pathetic in their eagerness to please
but they only seek control & you cannot climb this mountain on your knees
so lay off all your futile fumbles, all around you thunder rumbles
giant turns & trips & tumbles - that's the way the ego crumbles
& so I sought the oracle at delphi, "musician heal thyself" she said
"& the only revolution that's significant will happen in your head
so lay off all your dreams of glory, no one needs another hero"
she was playing on my deepest fear, "okay", I say, "divide by zero"
so break your chains & dull restrictions, free yourself of all addictions
challenge all their jurisdictions, don't believe in works of fiction
unaware, uncomprehending, in your head a world is ending
I can see you getting paler, more scared of success than failure
& when you stop & stare at all the peoples' lives you tear
the magnitude is too immense, the guilt is only self-defence
so watch me tie myself in knots, a bouquet of detect-me-nots
'cos not all ghosts are dead my friends
they just won't leave me alone
"I of the storm", she said, "& on towards the dawn", she said
"I of the storm", she said, "you'll die before you're born" she said, she said
I'm a sack of contradictions & nothing's what it seems
I'm an anarchist who's getting paid for fixing the machines
humans in our mad ascendance, history's most reviled defendants
on display to our descendants
10 rock & roll will always let you down [4:32 3.1MB MP3]
think you're rebellious, you think you'll go the distance
conservatives in leather jackets, studded with indifference
steel yourselves with irony but you fail to see the joke's on you
hang on to the sixties like some talisman of youth
music & rebellion, a version of the truth
& so you buy the box set dvd, a package so immersive
but nothing you pay money for can ever be subversive
the stones reduced to sad performing clowns
as dylan wears victoria's secret gown
elvis lies divested of his crown
yeah, rock & roll will always let you down
everbody's trying to fake that authenticity
just peacocks in a proud display of off-the-peg identity
romanticism written large, now everybody is in charge
& I keep on seeing all these banners get unfurled
seems like every generation thinks it's going to change the world
until they find themselves co-opted & with all their bridges burned
the lessons of post-modernism are still yet to be learned
the pantomime the pistols have become
as they search their arseholes looking for the sun
punk was born then just gave up & drowned
yeah, rock & roll will always let you down
'cos everybody's stealing everything
& I've ripped off this tune that I now sing
& so the lawyers trail their drool all over town
yeah rock & roll will always let you down
o little child of bedlam, what horrors lie in store
you're another late arrival in a world that's bent on war
though I cannot find a name for the sickness that I feel
if you look into my eyes you will see it's all too real
rome plays on while burning nero
all is lost - divide by zero
today's the day that you slip away, it will be the last I know
the grass is green but it can't be seen for the freshly fallen snow
the trees are crying out for you, they reach out for your hand
& the swans they bravely fly away all through this silent land
oh I remember when we said that we always would be true
& how I'd wait at the garden gate & stay to hear from you
we lost the promises we made & all the things we planned
& the petals fell round the wishing wells all through this silent land
the devil must be in me now to make me feel this way
& the knives that wait at the garden gate are the ones you left for me
in the final moments now, I reach out for your hand
but there's no one left to see me go, all through this silent land
be a fraud, be very a fraud, there's no time to be adored
the person that I was has failed, the ship of destiny has sailed
resignation's bittersweet, revelling in my defeat
back at square one you will see, I can find another me
picking up the pieces, the future's looking sunny
I stick it all together with dada mouth honey
hey!
what you want to hear I'll say! tell me 'bout your game & I'll play!
tell me what's impossible I promise you I'll find a way!
be a fraud, be very a fraud, be abandoned & ignored
little marginalia me, pose no threat to society
guess we all must play the game, give a face to fit the name
don't feel bad working for the man, fleece the bastard while you can
when you're breaking bread with the big bad money
you better spread it thick with dada mouth honey
hey!
what you want to hear I'll say! tell me 'bout your game & I'll play!
show me what's impossible I promise you I'll find a way!
but if I may!
'scuse me while I seize this day! 'cos your edifice has feet of clay!
no matter how you wish it were, nothing's ever here to stay!
be a fraud, be very a fraud, be the chairman of the board
selling shit on which you'd pass, stick your spreadsheets up your arse
the companies you represent, they're no longer relevant
what you perfected we'll reclaim, unto dust return again
no one thinks you're cool & no one thinks you're funny
why don't you just shut your dada mouth, honey?
we tell you how to save the world, we even have to tell you why
but you're too ego-testicle to ever even try
the time is now & never moreso, still you want to binge & peugeot
sitting in your metal box with brave & manly central locks
I'm sure that it's so very comfortable there in the lap of luxury
but where the hell do you get off in calling it necessity?
'cos I've looked into the matter & all I really need
is a half-a-dozen mars bars & my aluminium steed
goth on a bicycle, the icicle is dripping on the stone
& though I am outnumbered, still I know I'm not alone
all your rage & your agression, let the pent-up anger fly
'cos you're looking at the future as it's waving you goodbye
you know that nothing lasts forever, that the world is changing fast
but I fear your expectation's simply clinging to the past
you'll have to face it, your obsession isn't glamorous I fear
although you're under that impression 'cos they told you so on Top Gear
your penis size can be converted when your car's length is inserted
in a ratio inverted - unless I've got that wrong
but I'm a car-avoiding hero, so the sums divide by zero
by my calculations, that makes my dick infinitely long
o little child of bedlam, how still we see thee lie
as all the world around you is dissolved in fear tonight
everybody claims to know the truth but no one's really sure
& the world is always ending but it still comes back for more
the present tense has got us conned, this thing we cannot see beyond
& thus descends the final curtain, hopeful but by no means certain
o little child of bedlam, your senses can deceive
& you cannot even place your faith in the oxygen you breathe
but for all of our denials we'll abandon all our cars
& if there's no more electricity, at least you'll see the stars
how can this world be going wrong? it turned out this way all along
& thus descends the final curtain, hopeful but by no means certain
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