The Scene - Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ) - Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ)

The Scene is TAAQ’s 6th Studio album, 2nd concept album after Jupiter Cafe (2002), and 1st album with new bass player Leslie Charles.

A wry, tongue-in-cheek commentary on the Indian indie ‘scene’ and the various characters that populate it, The Scene comprises ten tracks. With titles like The Sponsors Backed Out, Like Me, MEDs (Medicated Electronic Dance), My Funny Turpentine, Going to Abroad and Dig the Chicks, this album covers new ground in subject matter and sonic landscape. Keyboards, horns, accordions and even an electric Sitar show up on the recording – all played live by front man Bruce Lee Mani in some mysterious way!

Lyrics, liner notes, and videos can all be viewed on the special album website – www.thescene.in

Play

Songs

01 - Like Me

I’ve got a page, got a profile and my 5000 friends
Come up from the depths so fast that I’ve got the bends
Fifteen minutes ago I was nobody’s fool
Don’t you think that selfie makes me look real cool, real cool
I’ve got my band together, we’ve got all the moves
We know the algorithms even if we got no grooves
I just shared I just boosted I tagged and I twitched
So please won’t you why won’t you why won’t you

Like Me! Is it so much to ask?
Like Me! In between your multi-task
Like Me! See that opposable thumb?
Like Me! It’s blue and its true so spare me a crumb
I’ll check back every minute
I know I’m going to win it
So why won’t you, won’t you like me?

I’m getting a round-eyed stare with all those hi-def pixels
The fog is clearing away; after all it’s about, it’s about what sells
No sacred cows to eat, no codes to defy
Just don’t ever take away my free wi-fi
I’m saving my fingers from all those messy inversions
I’d rather get them dirty with photo-filter, photo-filter decisions
I shared, I just boosted I tagged and I twitched
So please won’t you, why won’t you why won’t you

Like Me! Is it so much to ask?
Like Me! In between your multi-task
Like Me! See that opposable thumb?
Like Me! It’s blue and its true so spare me a crumb
I’ll check back every minute
I know I’m going to win it
So why won’t you, won’t you like me?

Somebody pinched my screen!
I’m afraid I’ll soon be catatonic
Got the jitters got the bugs
From under my feet, you pull the rugs
Oh the stillness is cacophonic
And how will you how will you like

Like Me! Is it so much to ask?
Like Me! In between your multi-task
Like Me! See that opposable thumb?
Like Me! It’s blue and its true so spare me a crumb
I’ll check back every minute
I know I’m going to win it
So why won’t you, won’t you like me?

Like Me!
Like Me!
Like Me!
Like Me!
02 - I'm Endorsed, Are You?

Why hello there, I see you’re in a band
Stop don’t speak let me tell you what’s the score
I like the sound of my voice more
Haven’t seen you around much – you must be from out of town
Don’t tell me what you play, what’s your groove
what’s your vibe or your growing tribe
What’s your gear? What free stuff are you getting?
Who’s the big daddy that’s got you peddling?
Nobody? Woah, now that’s a real scare
Almost like dropping my new $5000 snare
It’s a signature-series piece, I keep it just like new
I’ve got to, got to, got to

’Cause I, I’m endorsed, are you?
Yes I, I’m endorsed, are you?
Yo, I, I’m endorsed, are you?

I’ve got no big idea but I’ve got a lot to say
My band’s on hiatus right now, we’ve taken a bow
The pressure was too much, you know, it was getting really crazy, so
All that chilling with six-pack of beer
Can be really hard, let me make that clear
Now we sit around bitching, what rocks and what sucks
Got those brand-new speaker cabs in our pick-up trucks
You got a free guitar? Oh that’s really cool
Let me show you my collection, it’ll make you drool
I get them all ‘road-worn’ they’re so much better that way
’Cause I, I’m endorsed, I don’t have to play
Yes I, I’m endorsed, I don’t have to play

I, I’m endorsed, are you?
I’m endorsed, are you?
I’m endorsed, are you?
I’m endorsed, are you?
I’m endorsed, are you?
03 - MEDs

Pardon me, but you look like you’re on vacation
No other excuse for not taking your medication
These bingo pills will put the stars back in your eyes
All those pulsing bongo drums are fully synthesized
Look sharp! There’s an artist in the spotlight
Don’t miss those funky pants in the UV bright
Takes hours to perfect that groovy facial hair
Write music? What? There is no time to spare!
Killing that play-button solo
He takes his vinyl on mono
Nothing grooves as sick as a MacBook Pro

It’s all in the shades, it’s in the software, bro
Why you practice so much, stuck in the lane so slow?
Can’t you see you’re doing it all wrong
Breaking a sweat on that forgotten song
Just take these MEDs now, or drink up quick
You make me sick with all that talk of music

We’re all in Ibiza now, gosh it’s so full of talent
We’re playing gigs every night – hey, isn’t that your department?
The bees come a-buzzin’, oh look at that honey
Your groupie girls sure never had that much money
You sure are one hell of a peculiar bird
Mr. Parker? Who? Nope, I’ve never heard
Could he keep this up, this one-man gig?
I should sample him – I could make him big

I can’t wait to be number one
Stepping dub is so much fun
Don’t mess with me, I’m a loaded gun

It’s all in the shades, it’s in the software, bro
Why you practice so much, stuck in the lane so slow?
Can’t you see you’re doing it all wrong
Breaking a sweat on that forgotten song
Just take these MEDs now, or drink up quick
You make me sick with all that talk of music

You make me sick, I make music
You make me sick, I make music
You make me sick, I make music
You make me sick, I make music
You make me, you make me, you make me, you make me
Sick!
04 - GodRocker

Tremble in my presence or fall on your knees
Don’t bother to grovel, that’s a common disease
I’m a godfather of the scene, making it all happen
Making it all, making it all happen

I’ve got vision, mission, values and pedigree
I’m at the top of the rock n’ roll heap
Just book them bands and they’ll play for free
Wonder years among the sheep

Praise the lord
Praise the lord
And hope someday
I’ll take you to a broad

The times go by and the tides are waiting
In the capital of cool, the city of dreaming
This country will rock on Independence Day
Just who the fuck are you to say
Just who are you to say

I’ve got vision, mission, values and pedigree
I’m at the top of the rock n’ roll heap
Just book them bands, they’ll play for free
Wonder years among the sheep

Praise the lord
Praise the lord
And hope someday
I’ll take you to a broad

GodRocker, he’s a rocker
GodRocker, he’s a rocker
GodRocker, he’s a rocker
GodRocker, he’s a rocker

I’m such a GodRocker
I’m such a GodRocker
05 - Flok Rock

In your face in your time
Three-chord hooks should
Be a crime, be a crime

Kitschy wishy-washy boy
Play that song,
So much joy, happy joy

Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey

Get some Raga in the verse
And some Reggae in the groove
Can you feel me now, feel me now

We’re trending on the twitter
And we’re ready to move
Let me show you how, show you how

Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey

Tried the leather tried the hipster
Tried the riffs on the Stratocaster
But no cool vasool for all this paisa
So bring the flok rock, these sheep are brown
Get ’em high get ’em loud, they’ll be suckers for a clown

We don’t need no education
All we need is crowd control,
We’re on a roll
Keep your dark sarcasm
In your music schools
We’re happy fools, wealthy fools

Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey

We’re the art of the state
And the heroes of the scene
Got our little stoolies and paper pulis
No secret sauce
It’s all a rustic brew
But you got to fly down our crew

Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
Flok Rock Flok Rock Hey
06 - Dig The Chicks

Not so many years ago
If a rock show in India you dared to go
Surrounded you were by the darker sex
Little brown brothers craning their necks
For a glimpse, a flash, a tell-tale sight
Of a girl, a female in white
A pure heart, conservatively clad
For all you know, she’s here with her dad
Oh well.

But the scene, oh the scene, oh the scene, oh now
Is a whole different, different cow
The birds they are here they are gathering
And they’re wearing, yes they wear
All kinds of feathers and even their leathers
And all kinds of feathers oh yes
It’s a dream come true
How can you be, can you be blue
Can you be
Go on out, go on out, go on out
And dig the chicks

They only seem to get better
Fragile and smiling, don’t you see her
Don’t you be no ape when you pitch your woo
She can tell her Dylan from her Fighters Foo
Don’t you be no ape when you pitch your woo
She can tell her Dylan from her Fighters Foo
Don’t be a fool

’Cause the scene, oh the scene, oh the scene, oh now
Is a whole different, different cow
The birds they are here they are gathering
And they’re wearing, yes they wear
All kinds of feathers and even their leathers
And all kinds of feathers oh yes
It’s a dream come true
How can you be, can you be blue
Can you be

Go on out, go on out, go on out
And dig the chicks
Go on out, go on out, go on out
And dig the chicks
07 - Going To Abroad

When we were young
She was always so far away
So frightfully expensive
Only the filthy rich and the lucky
Winner of some fixed-up lottery
Could visit and return
Exotic as the rings of Saturn
We’d gather round like pliant moons
Waiting for a tale or a boon
A trinket, a throwaway toy
Something special…

Going to a broad, for special favour
Going to a broad, can’t get it at home
Going to a broad, your pocket is poorer
But she’s got the streets and the skyscrapers
Baby Guinness and those fried po-taters
Oh how we crave her love…

Now we play rock n’ roll
And she’s still the pin-up star
A model with the right assets
Only the filthy rich and the lucky
Winner of some fixed-up lottery
Can go and play and bask for a while
In her indulgent smile
And if she deigns a pat on the back
Oh we are lost, alas and alack
What can we do
We’ve got to get

Going to a broad, for special favour
Going to a broad, can’t get it at home
Going to a broad, your pocket is poorer
But she’s got the streets and the skyscrapers
Baby Guinness and those fried po-taters
Oh how we crave her love…

Crave her love, crave her love
Crave her love, crave her love
Crave her love, crave her love
Crave her love, crave her love

Got to, yes I’ve got to, go to abroad
Got to, yes I’ve got to, go to abroad
Got to, yes I’ve got to, go to abroad
Got to, yes I’ve got to, go to abroad
08 - My Funny Turpentine

I roamed, oh I roamed low and low
Getting high was the prize, I wanted it so
Scoring zero, my dealer’s gone solo
Oh no no no no no

Can’t do the needle don’t buy me no wine
Don’t have the stomach for something so fine
I’ll watch it dry from my corner in time
All I need yes I need my funny turpentine

The walls the walls, the walls are gone
The seas the seas the water is torn
The sky the sky is a web of deceit
My eye my eye you cannot defeat
I see it all I see it all I see it all

Can’t do the needle don’t buy me no wine
Don’t have the stomach for something so fine
I’ll watch it dry from my corner in time
All I need yes I need my funny turpentine

No herbs and no needles, no powder, no wine
Don’t have the stomach for something so fine
I’ll watch it dry from my corner in time

All I need yes I need my funny turpentine
All I need yes I need, my funny turpentine
09 - The Scene

The big ticket Rock Stars
They come and they go
With folk fusion gimmicks,
Comedy, electronics
Our story’s been the same
Since nineteen ninety-six
Selling Sushi in an Idli Shop for you
With Rock and Blues and Jazz and rolls on the menu

Selling Sushi is the Scene
Hope you know what I mean
Selling Sushi is the Scene
That’s how we wrapped up this dream

I see you’re a producer of passion
I see you’re the chairman of cool
But if you’re the director of my music
I’d rather have the president’s rule
I’d like to be just like Lennon
You know, sometimes I play the fool

You can turn an event into history
Your sponsors on auto-renew
The drones they’re dripping kingfisher
While you fuck with the bands at your venue

Selling Sushi is the Scene
Hope you know what I mean
Selling Sushi is the Scene
That’s how we wrapped up this dream

It’s getting cold here in this spotlight
While you rattle your cutlery
Don’t let me play a hole in your conversation
All I know is that this joke’s on me
Don’t need you to understand any more
And you can have all my tunes for free

Now you’re thinking this song is so bittersweet
You wear that smile so well
Shake my hand when I’m done, tell me it’s been a treat
I promise not to kiss and tell

Selling Sushi is the Scene
Hope you know what I mean
Selling Sushi is the Scene
That’s how we wrapped up this dream
10 - The Sponsors Backed Out

It’s all here, it’s ready, it’s good to go
I’ve got the bands waiting, they’re burning slow
Fools in the garden, climbing trees
Tossing around some Frisbees
And when I decide I want everything
Yes when I decide I want everything
I’m gonna say, say

Don’t you know don’t you know?
The sponsors have backed out
It’s your ass in the sling, hey ho
So come in the service door
Don’t get in the ring with me boy
I’ll bounce you a cheque or two
You can wait in the wings with your toys
The sponsors don’t give a shit about you

I’m the king of the deal son, don’t try to get in
These wheels of progress need my kind of greasin’
You’re a prop in my game show, my metaphors don’t mix
You can play all them changes, but I know the tricks
And when I decide I want everything
Yes when I decide I want everything
I’m gonna say, say

Don’t you know don’t you know?
The sponsors have backed out
It’s your ass in the sling, hey ho
So come in the service door
Don’t get in the ring with me boy
I’ll bounce you a cheque or two
You can wait in the wings with your toys
The sponsors don’t give a shit about you