This Is It - Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ) - Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ)

Go to the ant, the Book says. But our bibliophile Gutenberg wasted no ink on the cockroach. Or maybe he did. Isn’t there something in there about the meek inheriting the earth? Meek or not, our good offices inform us that Periplaneta americana and Blatta orientalis shared a bite with the dinosaurs and can be very hard to exterminate even if you talk Dubya into nuking the world. No matter where you go, no matter how far you run, the cockroach is just one evolutionary leap away from taking your place. The magnificent roach is a metaphor for determined longevity, the stubborn grit to be there in the future. A lot like us. On that note, This Is It tells the story of the last band of the future looking back at the present. Many of these songs have been cooking slowly for the last 12 years. Every now and then we looked them up for a stir, seasoning and garnish. Finally, they took shape as our fourth studio album.

This Is It is the most cutting-edge rock album to be produced and released by any band from India. Recorded at Mahati Studios, Chennai by Didier Weiss, mixed by multiple Grammy-winning engineer/producer Jeff Peters from Los Angeles and mastered at the legendary Joe Gastwirt Mastering, California (which has also mastered music by Carlos Santana, Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead, UB40, Jimi Hendrix, etc.).

Play

Songs

01 - This Is It

Go on squeeze the last drop
Out from this little spot of limelight
‘Cause tomorrow the hipsters of hop
Will be the concubines of cool
And for all you know
This may not be that special show
So watch yourself in huddle time
And don’t forget to keep in touch

* This is it
Our time
Has come
And gone
It’s the way
Of the dinosaur
And who knows maybe someday
We’ll find Plan B
In a hit movie

We’ve got three R’s in the band
But somehow we only Read and wRite
We got lost in number land
It’s not a pretty sight
So turn up that old valve drive
Step into the light
Look into those front row eyes
Make your little goodbyes

* This is it
Our time
Has come
And gone
It’s the way
Of the dinosaur
And who knows maybe someday
We’ll find Plan B
In a hit movie

*
02 - How Can I Get Your Groove

You’re an angel in the morning
And you like your eggs
Sunny side up
Like you like everything
Your touch is gold, lady
And Midas couldn’t hold a candle
To your butterfly
And it’s crazy, crazy, crazy

How I got a ticket on this ride
It’s like a one-way return, warm inside
Tell me the secret alchemy of the move
How can I get your groove

Tell me when you see the sunset
Do you think he goes
To an afterglow
Somehow I don’t know
You spread it around so very well
Your sacred sunshine
I watch the luminous trail
And yet I feel special, special, special

How I got a ticket on this ride
It’s like a one-way return, warm inside
Tell me the secret alchemy of the move
How can I get your groove

It’s always on
it’s always on
Like everything is spinning round

How I got a ticket on this ride
It’s like a one-way return, warm inside
Tell me the secret alchemy of the move
How, how can I get your groove
03 - Holy Jose

Holy Jose got it all worked out
He’s the man with the plan
He’s on a bullet train to heaven
It’s made in Japan
Watch his eyes for a sneak preview
Don’t have to wait
Don’t you go kill his kangaroo
It’s a leap of faith

He’ll have you climb the walls on Sunday
It’s a holiday
He’ll have you eating out of his hand
That’s the way, that’s the game that’s the way
He plays

Holy Jose got ice and spice
And a snazzy goatee
He’s getting hot, he’s dripping cool
But nothing comes for free
He’s on TV, he’s got style
Got vim got verve
Got a smile like a crocodile
Watch for that curve

He’ll have you climb the walls on Sunday
It’s a holiday
He’ll have you eating out of his hand
That’s the way, that’s the game that’s the way
He plays
04 - Take Me To Your Dealer

Jimmy didn’t hear a thing
Poor puppy dog earthling
The Big Dipper went out for a while
As The Dealer came in
He’d just been on a round trip
From Thetis’ moons to Sunset Strips
Sold all his magic stardust
And wiped the evidence from his fingertips

His eyes glittered like sapphires
His buttons were made of steel
He was heading out to Empire’s
For a midnight meal

* He’s messed with so many minds
Peddled imagination and fine wines
He knew every highway in space
And an alley or two
Knew the law, some lawyers too

There was a deal to make tonight
He had to hide from the satellite
Can’t keep the customers waiting
To see the light
Put on some cruise music
Maybe catch the late night flick
When this deal goes down
There’ll be another dream in town

The soaps are now religion
The news is out of sight
The ghosts of all our passions
Ran from the kryptonite

*

They waited one night at perigee
The mind police of democracy
They were quick, but he was quicker
It was a mockery

He slipped into a parallel universe
Where freedom was the only curse
He threw back his head and laughed…

For he was captain fascination and he didn’t worry about no retribution…

*
05 - Between The Lines

You were born on a pleasant night
Your tiny cries a melody
While this world’s lonely satellite
Threw away his smiles for circularity

Was it all written down right then
In bold, black, flowing lines
All your lives, all your loves
All the forces you would entwine…

* Don’t believe in the book of destiny
But how the hell did you find me
Don’t believe in the book of destiny
But how the hell did you find me
Am I another scrawl upon the pages
Don’t let, don’t let the ink run dry

Far away you were so far away
Seven seas, seven ships, latitudes
And here you are, you found your way
To my little habitude

Where is the rhyme where is the reason
For my lips to speak so many smiles
This song writes itself as I watch
It’s not another one for the files

* Don’t believe in the book of destiny
But how the hell did you find me
Don’t believe in the book of destiny
But how the hell did you find me
Am I another scrawl upon the pages
Don’t let, don’t let the ink run dry

Was it all written down right then
In bold, black, flowing lines
All your lives, all your loves
All the forces you would entwine…

*
06 - Fly

Fly
You Float
The ground is but a memory
Memory is a bit of the past
And the past never did exist

Fly
Lighter than air
Heavier than experience
Gravity
Can you wear my weight on your skin
Today

Fill your breath with magic and call me in the morning
You can call me, call the doctor, call me
Did you wake up on the ceiling, do you think you’re dreaming
Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down

Are you worried are you tense
Can you understand, can you understand
That suddenly levitation has no defense
Just don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down

Fly
You’ve got to fly

Don’t lose the meaning
Just don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down

Are you worried about the morning after
What kind of medication can you take for this condition

Fly
You’ve got to fly
07 - Hot Day

The sky looked like butter mother made
You looked like a tall cool glass of lemonade
It’s a hot day

You’re hot and bothered, just like me
And the sweat on your soft white shoulder says politely
It’s a hot day

Understated
Up-to-dated
Woman please
Sip your Earl Grey
On the plane to Bombay
But don’t give me that whirl…

* You’re wearing much too much my darling
Wrapped up in that thing you’re doing
Would you let me down this way
Am I all alone in this emotion
Am I to believe no man is an island
When you’re all around me
On this hot, hot day…

Can you take the time to look at the mercury
Quiksilver climbing so steadily
It’s a hot day

You’re hot and bothered, just like me
And the sweat on your soft white shoulder says politely
It’s a hot day

Understated
Up-to-dated
Woman please
Sip your Earl Grey
On the plane to Bombay
But don’t give me that whirl…

*
08 - Without You

I’m all curled up like the letter ‘Q’
I can’t say a single word without U
It’s raining and the water’s getting in
Wouldn’t happen if I had you under my skin

The clock on the wall has hands that never meet
Why do you walk on the other side of the street

How can you look right through me
I’ll be more than just a window
If you’ll just open the door…

* Am I a pawn in your game
Can’t you see without you I am lame
Remove all the pieces, let me remain
The fat little bowman’s taking aim
But that to you, it’s all the same…

I’m a book on the shelf won’t you take me down
Under the covers I’m quite a clown
Like a record player stuck in a groove
You’re gonna have to make me move

Most of the time, people don’t look at me
When I’m with you I’m a performing flea…

How can you look right through me
I’ll be more than just a window
If you’ll just open the door…

* Am I a pawn in your game
Can’t you see without you I am lame
Remove all the pieces, let me remain
The fat little bowman’s taking aim
But that to you, it’s all the same…

Everybody has a story
About a love gone wrong
Should I believe it all
Forget the happy ending.
09 - Then And Now

There’s an emptiness in between
The distance of your tiny dream
That space between now and then
An instance out of control

You and me entirely
Why do we lose ourselves
Lose our way
Tell me why does the sky
Have to be so high…

History, a merry-go-round
Carousel spinning turning
Where are you what have you become
Brighter stars still shine the light
On the ceiling of the darkest night
Shine a light on the distance of the dream and what’s real

As I was looking up at the stars
Saw someone I forgot
Don’t know where but somewhere there
The seed was planted found its trail

You and me entirely
Why do we lose ourselves
Lose our way
Tell me why does the sky
Have to be so high

History, a merry-go-round
Carousel spinning turning
Where are you what have you become
Brighter stars still shine the light
On the ceiling of the darkest night
Shine a light on the distance of the dream and what’s real
10 - Words and Pictures

Whispers in my head
Like autumn leaves
Something you said
Silently weaves
Words in a story
Nobody wrote
Can anyone hear me
Do I have to shout

The lines on your face
Miles and miles
Pack up your suitcase
We sail in a while
Moon on the water
So high
Give me a daughter
To tell me why

Words and pictures, simple shackles
Do we have to hold on so tight
Feel it, taste it, love it, leave it
In the end, it’s all into white

So many ways, I couldn’t tell you
It’s all in your mind, tell me what you find

The baby is crying
Walk lightly around
When you are flying
Don’t wish for the ground
You’re always with me
Then you walk out the door
Can anyone hear me
Do I have to shout

Words and pictures, simple shackles
Do we have to hold on so tight
Feel it, taste it, love it, leave it
In the end, it’s all into white