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Grand Bargain!

by Poster Children

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    11 Song Compact Disc with 4 Page Insert

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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    11 Song Cassette

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    11 song LP on Standard Weight Black Vinyl. Includes full color insert.

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1.
America held hostage day one A lot of folks woke up without power this morning It’s every man for himself And every woman at 70% of the going rate In the land of the free market And the home of the wage slave It's not the robots you need to worry about It's the corporate human I am a paid enemy of the state Guilty in an attempt to educate To teach is to leech to sell divine The business of America is business This is a company town A 21st Century Pullman 16 tons or 64bits it's all the same Kleptocracy Rule by thieves To use the mechanism of government To enrich oneself At the expense of the greater good The 6 billion dollar man will be our savior Greed is God Starve the Beast Deregulate Let’s see if that puts food on your plate
2.
Hippie Hills 03:25
Second grade, late for class Parking lot, ambulance Principal, crowd of kids Broken arms, broken skin That’s the day that Simon fell off the swingset He’s OK, cause he fell on top of Judy Double dare on the hill Are you a Jack or a Jill Building speed, hit the ramp Catch some air before the crash Hippy Hills can only be reached on two wheels That’s where I destroyed a brand new Stingray Breaking glass underneath the overpass Trading cards, iron ons and GT skateboards The best years of our lives Back in better times A perfect summer world Perfect boys and girls The way things never were Your memories all are blurred Locked up in a room From August until June Feeling lost in the park Sun is down, getting dark We’re your friends, where’re your friends? All alone, ditched again Hippy Hills was buried by a subdivision All the kids are inside plugged into their systems My hometown is a well-maintained corporate theme park Yesterday, only looks good from a distance I’m going home The best years of our lives / the way things never were
3.
Lucky Ones 03:13
Trying to find the past in the mask in front of me The hair and eyes don't match but there's a trace left underneath I always thought you were the lucky one You always got the best of me The halo made of gold above your head has turned to lead I missed out on the crash but I still see it in your face I always thought you were the lucky one But now I see that it was me Time has passed, we’ve evened out There’s nothing left to shout about And now I see we’re both the lucky ones We lost it all but still survived Trying to find a path through the past in front of me
4.
I see a burning cross held aloft by a man of God And it shakes my faith in the whole human race I see a looming cloud shining bright like a dying star Am I alone in this? Or do you see it too? Is it too late For us to change Well I’m afraid Our world’s insane I hear my neighbor speak in the voice of conspiracy Should I stay and fight or just let it be? We’re living at the mercy of a doomsday cargo cult We are desperately in need of a responsible adult It’s getting strange We’re out of place The rules have changed This world’s insane We are standing upright in a world turned upside down We have got to stick together We have got to hold our ground Their perspective was infected by a virus going round There's nothing wrong with me There's nothing wrong with you But they’re deranged They have no shame We cannot wait For them to change They can’t be saved This world's insane
5.
He comes to work or church or school He gets a pass cause he looks like you Then he takes everyone away Leaves us here to pick up the change Find a quiet place For the ones you love There’s no escape From the devil with the gun He visits you in your darkest hour Selling suicide disguised as power Tells you freedom has a price You have no choice, you have to buy A man is at the door And there’s nowhere left to run You can’t ignore The devil with the gun He comes to town bearing thoughts and prayers Sends our children over there They take out all our enemies And leaves a hole in the family This is how they become The devils with the guns How we become The devils with the guns We have become The devils with the guns We all become The devils with the guns
6.
I'm not a loser But I never win You call me a slacker But I never had a chance My failure is fueling your success I gave you my body The best years of my life I saved all my pennies But I can’t buy back the time I lost my youth, my heart/soul, my mind But you still treat me like a child You can be replaced You can be retired It's better than nothing What we give you to survive We gave you cakes and candy A circus every night And now you want health and welfare? This affects/impacts the bottom line Whoever said that life was fair? You should be grateful for a share People are starving everywhere We can be divided We can be contained But it's all temporary There’s a price you’re gonna pay They hold the power We have the numbers in this war Better than nothing doesn’t cut it anymore
7.
We’re gonna start a brand new country Better than the one we've got We'll throw out all the politicians And rebuild from the bottom up Everybody will be welcome Everyone will have a choice We will all work together United with a single voice We’ll show these tyrants that We can take of ourselves We’ll be the model We’ll sow the seeds-- we’ll show the world Why are there so many questions? This is harder than I thought It’s right here in the constitution Why can’t we all get along? The system is broken It’s too complex to understand We need a leader To bring us together again I don't like what he's saying That woman doesn't speak for me I don’t agree with your positions This doesn’t feel like my country Who are these strangers? Who let all these heretics in? Where are the heroes? And where are the true citizens? I think it’s time this experiment Came to an end We’re gonna start a brand new country Built on promises and faith We’re gonna fill it up with people Who think and talk and look the same
8.
Better Place 02:11
All of my friends think you are great They think I’ve made a big mistake I don’t know who they think they are I don’t know who they think I am I’m in a much better place Unfriended I’ve gone face to face I see who is real, who’s a fake I’m in a much better place Always in touch I need my space After 10 years I need a break I’ve lost all sense, I’ve lost all taste My time with you has been a waste And I love to be alone And I need some one on one But I can’t be in this crowd Don’t wait up I won’t belong I’m in a much better place Unfriended I’ve gone face to face I’m in a much better place I see who is real, who’s a fake
9.
A lily white empire built on the backs of stronger men Mythologies that hide the broken lives and stolen land This is your first offense Trading bodies for cash Three fifths of a man This is your first offense Mothers daughters sisters lovers betrayed by their own sons Used for labor and reward in the battles you have won It’s your second offense These are the facts You had your chance It’s your second offense You stripped the soul out of the earth and fouled the bed we share You filled the sky with cyanide and left us sucking air For your crimes you will be fined with the only life you care These are the lessons of Turner, Mother Jones and Robespierre It's your final offense Final offense Off with their heads It's your final offense
10.
Big Surprise 02:36
Losing faith as I stare Into this poison heart we share We feel the beat everywhere But we pretend that we don’t care We all ignore the warning signs We try to hide from the big surprise We forgive the unforgivable As if we’re not responsible Our history’s a pattern of Endless circles and broken lines And when the darkness comes alive We all act like it's a big surprise Raze a building, write a song Waste your breath until it's gone Fight the future for as long As you have the strength to carry on And even though we know it's time It always comes as a big surprise
11.
Safe Tonight 03:41
Sifting through a century or more Memories are spread across the floor Cutting through the layers of sentiment Digging deeper than we've ever been The residue A broken shell Abandoned well Saving multiples, collecting dust Pulling out the roots and farming rust Living out of sight and out of mind Boxing up what's left’s a losing fight An empty chair A living room An open wound We are in the back seat Sleeping soundly through the night Buried under blankets Dreaming through the snow and ice And our mother’s singing softly In a voice from another life You’re safe tonight Safe tonight Now we’re in the front seat Coloring within the lines Flying through the darkness Til we catch the morning light And we know what is coming but for now this place is quiet We’re safe tonight

credits

released May 18, 2018

Rick Valentin - Vocals, Guitar
Rose Marshack - Bass, Vocals
Jim Valentin - Guitar, Keys
Matt Friscia - Drums

Engineered and Mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, Chicago, Illinois / July 30-31, 2016 / July 29-30, 2017 / August 25-26, 2017

Mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service

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Poster Children Champaign, Illinois

Poster Children was formed in 1987 by Rick Valentin (guitar, vocals) and Rose Marshack (bass, vocals). Jim Valentin joined on guitar in 1991 and Matt Friscia (drummer #7) joined in 2001. Known for a strong DIY ethic and relentless touring, the band has released ten albums, eleven videos, and a DVD and were pioneers in the use of the web, blogs, podcasts and enhanced CDs for promoting their music. ... more

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