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Pop Quiz

by The Ocean Floor

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1.
What Kind? 03:15
What kind of universe is this that you've created?
2.
What's the dream, that I keep forgetting? Assuming it's so tremendous, then where in the hell, in my mind, is it sitting? If it kept me asleep too long, then what's the tune of this most confounding song? Do you think this sounds wrong? And why all these cold sweats that soak through the bedding? What's the cause of this miraculous dream that I can't help but forgetting?
3.
Where is the tiny wand that changes halls of mirrors into glass houses, that look like mirrors?
4.
Was I caught sleeping in class today? Did that woman see me staring at her chest?
5.
What's On? 03:24
What's on the other side of the other side of the other side? When I find out I'll have to ask, "What's underneath the other side of the other side of this?" What's underneath the other side? Behind the waves, beneath the tides, after the end, behind the cracks, around the bend, around the back, behind the eyes, beneath the smile, after the freeze, before the child, inside the tomb, in envelopes, in the next room, in microscopes, inches above the maidens tower, what's seconds past the witching hour?
6.
How many fingers am I holding up?
7.
Am I? 02:32
Am I in love with you? And if I am then is this love true? And if it's true then do I love you unconditionally? And if I do, then do you love me?
8.
Will You? 01:30
Will you wait for me or will I wait for you? Or, are we waiting for somebody new? Do you like to try on all your girlfriends shoes? Oh, up above the cuckoo's nest, was there one or two who flew?
9.
Shouldn't I? 03:45
If your mouth is closed, then how is it singing to me? If your eyes are shut, then how are they blinking for me? If your cheeks have gone cold, then how do they feel hot to me? I know what I'm told, but shouldn't I believe what i see?
10.
And if there's a place where it all ends, then why do they tell me it's where it begins? Who needs a cheerleader? Why am I a cheerleader? If fate is a cave without an end, why put rocks in your mouth just to fashion a grin? If caves are a fate you'd rather skip, would put up your heart for the service of lip?
11.
How Come? 04:09
How come arms? How come legs? How come chickens inside eggs? How come muscles always stretching out but bones prefer to break? How come life? How come dreams? How come nothing in between? How come things appearing so close to the way that they should seem? How come sports? How come arts? How come races ever start? How come people thinking actresses are born to play the part? How come princes? How come toads? How come endless winding roads? How come deep breaths causing hearts to keep their cool and not explode? How come hats? How come gloves? How come push can come to shove? How come those who are to shy to ask can't know the warmth of love? How come fault lines? How come shores? How come people slamming doors? How come anyone's still justifying things they've said before? How come truth? How come lies? How come things we still deny? How come lovers can't explain themselves but they always seem to try? how come fate? how come chance? how come endless schools of dance? How come memories i used to hate grow towards the sun like plants? How come friday? How come june? How come rings around the moon? How come nobody can keep their cool and they fall in love to soon? How come starts? How come ends? How come lovers look like friends? How come journeys come with hardships never guessed when they begin? How come wind? How come rain? How come years and years of pain? How come everything we wished we'd said but never knew the name?

about

“Pop Quiz”, the fourth full-length album by The Ocean Floor, attempts to alter the relationship between the artist and listener by not assuming the person with the microphone has all the answers. There are seventy-five questions asked over the course of 11 heavily orchestrated songs meant less to conjure up specific ideas than to remain open to the apparent lack of any real knowledge we may feel we own. Musically, the album connects disparate elements from 20th century music history in a substantially more cohesive way than previous releases. Tiptoeing between scenes of intimate folk-song sing-alongs, gritty disco clubs, a futurist synthesizer funeral, and American weddings of the 1950’s, the songs paint a landscape of the apparent universe, implying the holes within. Jazz flute, ukelin, string bass, clarinets, violins and analog synths all lend a hand to create a dynamic and unique listening experience. “Pop Quiz” manages to leave the listener with a joyous wonder for the incomprehensibility of what we call the universe without the need for a metanarrative storyteller. It suggests we find contentedness within the uncertainties of life, rather than continuing the unending search for a definitive answer.

credits

released July 13, 2010

Musicians: Lane Barrington, Shannon Rose Steele, Sean Moore, Alexi Erenkov, Richard Laws, Russel Harrison, Sean Barry, Andrew Miller
Paintings: Johanna Wright

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The Ocean Floor Portland, Oregon

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