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Nada Surf at the Albert

from Confusing Times by Tyler Shipley

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lyrics

Do you people like my singing voice or nah?
Cos I’ve been smoking cigars and I think it’s having an effect
I mean it might also just be that I’m getting older
or maybe I carry too much tension in my neck and my shoulders

But I remember covering Always Love by Nada Surf at the Albert
with the original Consumer Goods: Ian, Alison, Ken, and Chris Hiebert
Chris and I had a falling out a few years later
it was about Jian Ghomeshi and I wasn’t wrong but I still wish I could do it over

Cos I was harsh and unforgiving and he was smug and defensive it was a bad combination
but I don't think he’s a bad guy and I was partly responsible for the escalation
and if the same thing happened today I’d take a long puff on a Cuban cigar
and say 'fair enough man this stuff is complex and there’s no simple answer'

Which is true and not true but you gotta pick your battles and that one wasn’t worth it
so if these words ever somehow find you, hey, I’m sorry for being a dick Chris Hiebert
Anyway Nada Surf at the Royal Albert Arms in the early 2000s
I could hit every note, even the I in 'I’ve been held back by something'

And the other day that song came on in the car I thought fuck
I fucking love this song and I cranked it up
and I started wailing but when but I got to the chorus my throat totally faltered
I sounded like when people in movies sing who can’t sing and I was bewildered

So is it the cigars? I really don’t know
I also teach nine classes a year in big rooms with no microphone
and I don’t get to sing with a band very often so maybe I’m just out of practice
it’s not the same when you’re at home and the audience is a couple of fat cats

I don’t think I’m gonna quit cigars, though I might scale back a bit
they’re just such an important ritual, I go out front and I just sit
and I think and I write and I smoke and I reflect and maybe gradually destroy my vocal chords
you know what, I can just sing in a lower range right? Yeah of course

Cos life is about simple pleasures and the simpler the better
like that fight with Chris Hiebert I was so full of piss and vinegar
but ultimately I should have taken a deep breath and said 'Tyler this ain’t it
you had some nice times with the dude, who gives a shit?'

It’s not that nothing matters, man it does and Ghomeshi was an asshole
but Chris Hiebert probably knows that and just needed to get there on his own
and me chewing him out didn’t help in fact it probably made it worse
when you’re young and you’ve got opinions man you can be the fucking worst

Or at least I could, and I’m sure I still can, yeah I see a few people nodding their heads
yeah I know, that's why I smoke this cigars and sit on my porch and reflect
on which battles to pick and which ones to let go
and how to say ‘man you might want to reconsider this, but hey, it’s up to you ya know’

Anyway ok this has been me checking in about cigars and arguments and my singing
not every song I write can be about some poor sweet animal dying
sometimes the stakes can be a bit lower, you know?
alright I’m heading inside it’s starting to get cold

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from Confusing Times, released February 3, 2024

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Tyler Shipley Toronto, Ontario

Tyler Shipley was the founding member of the Consumer Goods (theconsumergoods.bandcamp.com) and now performs as a solo artist.

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