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The New South

by al Riggs

subscriber exclusive
1.
Through the columns made of mannequins I return home again, fresh as daisies Beaming broadly I opened one eye and suddenly they Act like it's just been a day, good to be Home with the family This is the New, the New South They tell me Arms in arms and in harms path Feel my apropos wrath in telling off Pat Raskolnikov Strapped to a passenger seat Cold enough to chill meat, oh the AC is off This is the New, the New South They tell me This isn't home, this is suicide.
2.
When the heroes come back From their lock-in overseas I read the pages you scattered In the trees Full of songs, sweet and sincere From orange juice to ginger beer I read your words in your voice And I get it When the rain postpones the show And all the fans run back home I hang my coat and plug in And I know I'm not alone Could be sever, could be twenty-eight No matter how many, they're all great I read your words in your voice and I get it When the fires get too large For the team to fight off I start to laugh and cheer I start to cry and cough They can never convict me Because they'll never find me I read your words in your voice and I get it.
3.
Vandalized slide in the empty old park Hide out in plastic tunnels after dark Listening for lisps and pressing 'record' What good is a Casio when you're bored? Drive in theatre driven away This is my extracurricular Cops downtown ten miles away This is my extracurricular John promised cash on arrival Notepads and noise-proofed for our survival On point on time on my lap Forcing to settle for a long winter's nap Hyacinth Higherground and Richard Reluctant Hogtie and slander hard work as repugnant Jesse brains them both and we shut down production.
4.
Milo Amor 04:10
Milo, they sent you home today Suit and cuffs and everything They drained your blood and flushed it away Got a recording of when you started to sing Celebrities get the nicest funerals A shame we'll have to pull some strings for yours Shouldn't have been filming films overseas Shouldn't be singing to civilians on tours They found you hung, lemon wedges at your feet I found you young, soft shoeing on the streets Milo amor Milo au revoir.
5.
Cavalier 04:08
You need planes if you want inspiration You need trains if you hate transportation I want the lowlands I want the jazzhands I crave attention And I just want to drive alone With the windows down, blasting Califone But I can't have that anymore You need Edison Museums for rainy days You need snow for sleds from cafeteria trays I want the Haw I want the full extent of the law I crave my old ways And I just want to drive alone With the windows down, blasting Califone But I can't have that anymore.
6.
Country Air 03:59
When I was younger I put the backseat down Half asleep and halfway out of town I time the sunrise, Danny bleeds my ear I'll write nothing for a year No breakfast, no energy High readings of spite Vacation, skiing, childhood memories done right I coughed from the country air and buried myself in the snow Waited for the police to let anybody know Hung myself with a bungee cord to make it snap hard Autopsy, photoshop, Christmas card This is my nostalgia, these are positive changes This is my nostalgia I was silver, I was gold, I was lit up like Salem Street Had an hour and a shower and a man to meet Took my knife and a twenty for protection and take-out We can blast UMO while they watch us make out Wouldn't it be nice if we could live together? Wouldn't it be loose without the tether? I was happier I could still be.
7.
I keep missing you when you sleep.
8.
Battering rams ram through the door I don't live here anymore Pour my cider down the sink So there's not a drop for them to drink It's my last night home and I don't trust them The way the blood orange sinks into my hair Holes in the waist of my underwear Bigamy, bigamy built this ballroom I tore it down, gave me Mr. Tall and Gloomy It's my last night home and I want some peace.
9.
I draw ghosts because they're easy Small goals I can accomplish today Pipes pump out more than they bring All that fake laughing for nothing Do you remember New Years on Walker Do you remember the duct taped guitars I do Night strangles my time to death Amber cider robs my last breath I remember coughing, you said I was singing All that fake laughing for nothing Do you remember stress attacks in public Do you remember screaming at the public I do Even though you save me today I have to be the one to shovel the way My broken leg, your shy wing All that fake laughing for nothing Do you remember feeling at home Do you remember feeling alone I don't.

about

The Eighth Album- Part two of "The Long Run and The New South"

An album about maturity through sifting through an immature past, "The Long Run and The New South" is the longest and most professional (???) sounding album in AL Riggs' discography so far. Featuring songs about misremembered childhoods, dead actors from the sixties, being reprimanded by your heroes, and birds probably.

"For those overwhelmed or put off by Riggs' enormous output, fear not. Despite his endless string of releases, the songs of The Long Run and The New South are solid and well worth the listen. Expect the downcast lyrical musings of Silver Jews and the quiet, nowhere town desperation of Jason Molina. Musically, Riggs fleshes out his acoustic guitar with just the right amount of electric embellishments and understated rhythms, giving his songs a drifting, haunting feel.
Winter's not over yet. Let Al Riggs provide the soundtrack for your inevitable late season, cold weather spiral of depression!"- Cyrus Atkins from Fabricoh Magazine (fabricohmusic.com)

"Both albums (The Long Run and The New South) are primarily faded out acoustic guitars, minimal percussion and precise use of other instruments and sound bites. Al’s voice is rarely dressed up, presented without frills or artifice. The songwriting is both sharply honest and wonderfully familiar, and is probably Al’s best work yet..This is music that breathes, like bellows stirring coals to life, and I feel privileged to have seen Al’s talent grow in craft and power, from one album to the next."- Mani from All Your Forgotten Songs (junkverse.tumblr.com)

"With 'The Long Run', AL Riggs gives us his most melodic and emotional collection of songs yet, a powerful turning point for a songwriter whose journeys make the most compelling of music utterly riveting".- Zach Corsa of Lost Trail

credits

released March 1, 2014

Recorded between December 2013- February 2014 in a house in Greensboro, NC

Album art by Michael Scates

Special Thanks:
Michael, Mom, Dad, Sara, Zach, Glenn, Denny, Amanda, Hasbrouck, Jeremy, Rufus, Peyton, Mani, E.K., Erin, Andrew, Sam, Other Sam, Christian, the staff of Local 506, the staff of Nice Price Books, the staff of TYP Haus

Bands to thank:
Mutual Benefit, Elise Testone, Lost Trail, Velma and The Happy Campers, Hiss Golden Messenger, Phil Cook, Morning Brigade

And you. Thank you.

For Michael.

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al Riggs Durham, North Carolina

Sad Songs For, About, And Written By Birds

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