Westy has written a 15-song musical entitled The Unusual Classical Synthesizer. It's the tale of an Irish goatherd who becomes a glam rock superstar thanks to the sinister powers of a mystical analog keyboard. The Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the work of the Decemberists in general and the Crane Wife LP in particular, and the musical episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were helpful inspirations. This is the only song from that piece that The Bell Riots play so far. Figuring out how to play this song with others went a long way towards convincing us that being in a lo-fi prog-rock band would be entertaining.
lyrics
When I walk out it starts to rain
And I've forgot my hat again
I walk six blocks, I miss the bus
The synthesizer on my back weighs a metric ton
I round the corner to the store
There's a vacant sign and an empty floor
I ask a man across the street
He says I'm crazy and I know what, what he means
And the voices raise again
Say I'm a failure of a man
I stand up, I sit down
I roll over, I drown
But when we get out of detention
We'll rise and we'll stand at attention
And we'll all walk in an orderly procession
To agree that we were right all along
This is my moment of greatest despair
But still the melody is there
And very quietly at first a tiny voice speaks up and begins to say...
My boy you can rock with just one synthesizer
Get yourself a smoke machine and a sturdy-built drum riser
Get a distressed leather jacket and some product for your hair
You're already young & stupid so right off you're two-thirds there
There's a big, wide world and some profit to be made
Taking away the allowances teenagers' parents paid
Everyone feels guilty and they hate the lives they have
It doesn't take a genius to make money off of that
Your country's hot right now, and you've got a look that plays
The right record producer can erase your each mistake
And the voices lift again
Say I was born a rock legend
I stand up! I don't look back
I no longer feel the weight on my back
So when we get out of detention
We'll rise and stand at attention
And we'll each walk in in an orderly procession
To agree that we were right all along
To agree that we were right all along