"Believe It"
 
it could happen to you,
a defect from the
wasted outskirts of los angeles
with a crumpled-up pass for the RTD
and no authority or trajectory
on the brink of insanity
you'd better believe it
because it's written all over your face
just a neighborhood reject,
out of step and out of place
you'd better believe it
would you ever have thought
persistence could prevail
against the almost
unbearable weight of the system?
with nothing better to do,
and no one else who you can look up to
you'd better believe it
because it's written all over your face
a political defect,
out of step and out of place
you'd better believe it
and the future is bright
when ideas run astray
so turn out the light,
a punk can't have a say
sometimes desire is all that's there
who said life was fair?

"I Love My Computer"
 
I love my computer
you make me feel alright
every waking hour
and every lonely night
I love my computer
for all you give to me
predictable errors and no identity
and it's never been quite so easy
I've never been quite so happy
all I need to do is click on you
and we'll be joined
in the most soul-less way
and we'll never
ever ruin each other's day
cuz when I'm through I just click
and you just go away
I love my computer
you're always in the mood
I get turned on
when I turn on you
I love my computer
you never ask for more
you can be a princess
or you can be my whore
and it's never been quite so easy
I've never been quite so happy
the world outside is so big
but it's safe in my domain
because to you
I'm just a number
and a clever screen name
all I need to do is click on you
and we'll be together for eternity
and no one is ever gonna take my love
from me because I've got security,
her password and a key

"The Hopeless Housewife"
 
oh me oh my
get out of your 1950's fantasy,
your face shines with misery
transparently
spew out that sobering
half-assed victim rhetoric
make 'em all squirm
while they chew on it
it's a secret handshake
and a passing wink of the eye
as the witches bridge club weekly
meets to pen the tail on the sly
but they never ask
"why oh why don't we raise our voices to the sky?"
instead you're mute
and fawn just waiting to die
like some kind of hopeless housewife
but you can change while you're alive
and let 'em all know
at least you tried to kill the demons inside
oh me oh my
damn your transcendental paralysis,
we can work together
and make sense of this
don't be so sure
you can chuck it all away
you've got to proceed
no matter how bad you want to stay
it's a natural cause
and a comfort zone
there in your head
and the world turns away
as you tap the snooze button in bed
but nobody can hear a word you said
your history was never read
instead you're mute
and fawn just waiting to die
like some kind of hopeless housewife
but you can change while you're alive
and let 'em all know
at least you tried to kill the demons inside

"There Will Be A Way"
 
shut your eyes,
see the future's distant shore
march ahead
more enlightened than before
and there's sure to be bumps
and distractions
but I know we'll get through
there will be me, there will be you
there will be a way
unresolved repercussions from your life
fortified with the vitriol of strife
and you can be gridlocked by predictions,
but you're wise grab the prize
then revise, realize
there will be a way
hey... ho
and I don't know where we are going
but we're here on this ride
and we'll stand side by side
all along the way
follow me to the future's distant shore
vagary needn't haunt us anymore
and now it's time to set the agenda,
learn the past, make it last
share the wealth, hold your fire,
conserve life, make it right
kill the hate, negotiate
there will be a way
there will be a way
there will be a way

"Let It Burn"
 
let your mind wander,
look beyond the shadows
focus on the skyline,
read the silhouettes
your deepest desires
are a picture of tomorrow
all your darkest fears
are just a vestige of regret
and it's wo-oh oh oh
it seems like such a long way to go
as obstacles get bigger,
prevailing winds blow stronger
and the fire continues to grow
don't let shallow water limit your perception
heed the new horizon,
muster to it fast
the moments of your yesterdays
are in the wake behind you
you can't assess the future
if you're living in the past
keep it stoked!
if you are committed
to a life of understanding
then there's no agenda
for vengeance in your life
sharpen all your senses,
face the opposition
you can overcome
with fortitude and mental might
the fire continues to grow,
in your soul
so be bold, let it grow
don't let it die
let it burn!

"Don't Sell Me Short"
 
we don't need any more mountains
because the trail builders
failed to give us passage there
so we can't reach the sky
we don't need any more failure
there is human tragedy
that's written everywhere
and we are all too young to die
like a mystery that's here to stay
some people never go away
cuz they've got something to say
don't sell me short!
you've been wrong too long
don't brush me off
just because I don't belong
like it or not I'm all you've got,
dispose when I'm shot
just don't sell me short,
I might not be who you thought
we don't need any more fables
because the writers have passed
and left us lessonless
and we must find our own way
we don't need any more privilege
there is vivid desperation
that is powerless
that no surplus can repay
like the fix of rapture in a trance
oh, fates are sealed by circumstance
so you've got to take a chance
don't sell me short!
you've been wrong too long
don't brush me off
just because I don't belong
pass me on by, ignore my cry,
forget me when I die
just don't sell me short,
not while I'm still alive
everybody's talking about heaven on earth,
I'm still trying to figure out
just what I'm worth
I'm full of emotion
and stuff you can't contain
and you just want to
flush me down the drain
but you can't make me go away

"The Fast Life"
 
The silent stray inertia
No burden on my back
No determinance, no ballast
No chance of looking back
It doesn't matter what's ahead
It's time I'll hit it hard
No fixing my position
No sign of retard

It's the fast life
There's nothing I can do
The fast life
Suck it in and follow through
The fast life
Just learning as I go
You might call it careless
but this fast life
is all I've ever known

Like a wispy feather
Defying gravity
Or a rolling cobble
in the middle of the stream
Propelled by a ghost force
that never shows his face
Increase the ante
of this perpetual pace

It's the fast life
There's nothing I can do
The fast life
Suck it in and follow through
The fast life
Just learning as I go
You might call it careless
but this fast life
is all I've ever known

Ever since the day
I came out of the womb
my head was always bouncing
off the walls in the room
Always scratching gravel
covering new ground
No matter how hard they tried
they couldn't pin me down

It's just the fast life
There's nothing I can do
The fast life
Suck it in and follow through
The fast life
Just learning as I go
You might call it careless
but this fast life
is all I've ever known
Yeah it's all I've ever known

"Queen Of The 21st Century"
 
From the time she could crawl
She was all draped in macramé
She was preen and redeemed
In a church that tried to show the way
She was taught to never ask for more
They had no idea of what she had in store

She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a ghost of what her parents thought a little girl should be
Analog heart, analog nerves, analog brain
But a fixture of the digital domain
Woh...

From the time she could read
She could see that there was urgency
No debate, just a spate of ignorance in a splintering community
She could never meet their expectations
Then she came to symbolize the nation

She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a shell of what her parents thought a little girl should be
Steeped in spite, coddled in fear, drenched in novelty
Oh but masterful of sensual technology
Oh...

She's the queen

She's the queen
No rules in her empire
She's the queen
Just libido and desire
She's a lean, mean fighting machine
The stuff for modern media lore
And she always knows the score

She's the queen of the 21st century
Just a ghost of what her parents thought a little girl should be
Fallen star, brack and brew (black and blue?), broken hearts, wasted youth
Rusted cars, twisted roots, mental scars, the ugly truth
Oh...

She's the queen of the 21st century [2x]
And she's a modern day romantic, a walking controversy
She's the queen of the 21st century [3x]
She's the queen

The Process Of Belief (2002)



1.   Supersonic
2.   Prove It
3.   Can't Stop It
4.   Broken
5.   Destined For Nothing
6.   Materialist
7.   Kyoto Now!
8.   Sorrow
9.   Epiphany
10.   Evangeline
11.   The Defense
12.   The Lie
13.   You Don't Belong
14.   Bored And Extremely Dangerous
15.   Shattered Faith / Japanese Bonus Track

"Supersonic"
 
Well, am I making haste, or could it be haste is making me?
What's time but a thing to kill or keep or buy or lose or live in?
I gotta go faster, keep up the pace,
Just to stay in the human race.

I could go supersonic; the problem's chronic.
Tell me, does life exist beyond it?
When I need to sate, I just accelerate
Into oblivion.

Into oblivion.

Now, here I go again; everything is alien.
How does it feel to be outstripped by the pace of cultural change?
My deeds are senseless and rendered meaningless
When measured in the vein.

I could go supersonic; the problem's chronic.
Tell me, does life exist beyond it?
When I need to sate, I just accelerate
Into oblivion.

I won't lie (pace setters, go-getters);
It's exciting (rat racers, forgetters)
When I try (researchers, berserkers)
To decide things (strategies to help the workers).

I just want to live (new time-saving devices)
Decently (quick vices, note crisis),
Meaningfully (brevity, dependency).
I'm in misery (digital efficiency).

I could go supersonic; the problem's chronic.
Tell me, does life exist beyond it?
When I need to sate, I just accelerate
Into oblivion.

Into oblivion.