Story Behind The Song

The rancor and invective of the 2008 presidential campaign was the inspiration for "Discord." As the war of words raged I was dismayed but not surprised to see many people repeating their respective party's rhetoric and talking points while lacking a clear understanding of the issues and doing little if any checking on the validity of candidate's statements and positions. American politics has always been a bloodsport, which is fine, but with the information age upon us it takes very little effort to determine fact from fiction, ideology aside. Thinking about this in the larger context and one sees we're pummeled with messages and slogans everyday from all forms of media to buy products, adopt beliefs, and conform our behaviors. There's nothing wrong with advertising to get message out, but the unquestioning manner it's often accepted by people is a concern. "Discord" hits that head-on. The music stems from my interest in jazz and a conscious desire to come up with a jazz-oriented song. Like "Taboos" the longer repeated riffs in the verses allow more room for words and provided a great backdrop to the solo at the end.

Song Description

Reason and intellect are our best weapons in defeating the propaganda assault of the information age.

Lyrics

Cacophony from the stage
Financial wisdom oh so sage
Buy my book and watch your fortune grow
Many chase the banknote dream
And as fulfilling as it seems
They'll have to leave it all behind them when they go

Cacophony from the television
Slim that waist to avoid derision
The magic fountain's only one small pill away
Inject and stretch until it's tightened
But age is a burden that's never lightened
It's desperation our vanity betrays

Hey, look, another talking head telling me what to do
Check the facts, reasoned judgment, let's think the matter through
Peace, prosperity, and progress are not just things you find
Lest we plumb that precious resource of the rational human mind

Cacophony from the state house steps
Parsing words, careful phrasing, pre-expose preps
Just the right chord for the nightly news sound bite
Political compromise is a must
But what of respect and the public trust
When party fealty and self-promotion are your only guiding lights

Cacophony from beneath the steeple
"Anything goes" or "chosen people"
So thin the line that separates right from wrong
Interpretations breed divisions
Impact the faithful's moral decisions
Battling gods and cultures write a cataclysmic song

CHORUS

Bombarded twenty-four hours a day
Pulling us left and right with what they say
Shouting in hopes that we will heed
Convincing us we've an unfilled need
Playing your pride and playing your fear
Or maybe that the end is drawing near
After all is said and done
Seems there's always more that's said than done

CHORUS