Cardboard
"Cardboard is a collection of tracks and ditties that wears with it a cloak of sarcasm, corniness, and absent-mindedness. This is an album that does not exactly concern itself with the notion of not projecting too much or too little onto the listener at one given moment. Rather, the act of its existence is in and of itself a triumph, largely considering the frustrating process of the album and the slacker-esque demeanor the vocalist, A.J., gives off with every stroke of her guitar. It feels like an album that would not have been published in the variables that it was, but yet, here it is.
Chalkboard is self-aware of the low fidelity, the hokey comedy of a very plentiful selection of tracks, and the rather haphazard production techniques that seem to flourish upon the album like moss on concrete. These factors all work in tandem with the amateurish songwriting of someone who has just freshly moved into their new home to make an experience that feels strangely homey as if the album is a family member with who you have a semi-close bond, even when dealing with their sometimes irony-poisoned demeanor. With that said, the more earnest moments are of particular interest, especially considering the self-referential closing track, which concerns itself with artistic lull and the anxieties that come with it.
Cardboard is unfiltered, showing off the emotive state of a disgruntled teenager through song alone." - Melissa Thyme Monroe
Static Sound
"This was edited from an 11 minute improv recording of me saying the sentence over and over into a mic and messing with my delay pedal."
- Do you hear that? It's like, a bit of a weird... static sound
- Do you hear that? It's like, it's like, a bit of a weird...
- It's like, a bit of a weird... static sound
Moving Blues
"This is the first song I wrote with this album in mind. It's dumb but I kinda like it. Got a fun vocal riff."
- Well...
- Well I got the moving blues and I know just what to do
- Well I got the moving blues and I know just what to do
- Well I got the moving blues and I know just what to do
- I put on my moving shoes then I get on that moving mood, that moving mood, that moving mood
- Well my baby she left me in Tennessee
- Well my baby she left me in Tennessee
- Well I know why'd she had to go, and at me her shoe she throws
- It's cause I hurt her soul, oh yeah
- (Come on now!)
- Well he's got the moving blues and he knows just what to do
- Well he's got the moving blues and he knows just what to do
- Well he's got the moving blues and he knows just what to do
- Puts on my moving shoes and he gets on that moving mood, that moving mood, that moving mood
- (This is the guitar solo)
- Well I got the moving blues and I know just what to do
- Well I got the moving blues and I know just what to do
- Well I got the moving blues and I know just what to do
- I put on my moving shoes then I get on that moving mood, that moving mood, that moving mood, that movie
- That moving mood, that moving mood, that movin'
- Them moving blues, the moving mood, the movin'
- That moving mood, woo woo!
- That moving mood, woo woo!
It's Your Birthday
"This song is based on a dream a friend of mine had about having a teenage daughter. At one point he called me over a voice chat and I had written a song for them and one of the lines was "you're so f---ing big". This gave me a bout of inspiration and I recorded this. I uploaded it to my SoundCloud at first but I since remixed it and added some overdubs."
- It's your birthday
- And you know what they say
- It's your birthday
- Further into your teenage years
- What else to say?
- You have grown a lot
- And you're so (f---ing) big
- Probably think this song's lame
- It's your birthday
- I don't know what to say
- It's your birthday
- This part's called the refrain
- (I think? I think it's called the refrain? I don't know)
- This song's pretty dumb
- Because a riff it's just
- How do we switch it up?
- We call it a key change
- Now I'm playing chords
- To celebrate
- Such a dreamy date
- (Hey! Did you know that one of the houses you can buy to renovate on House Flipper is the house from Breaking Bad? That's so f---ing epic, am I right?)
Story Store
"Ironically, I don't remember the story behind this one."
- > Yoo-hoo~!
- * Yes?
- > Is this the story store?
- * Yes this is the story store where we sell stories to people. People like you, people like me, people like... everybody
- > Well, I'd like to purchase a story, please
- * Of course! What kind of story would you like?
- > Umm... a story where...
- > Uh....
- > Uhmm..
- > Uhm...
- > Uh....
- > Uuh...
- > Uhh...
- > Uh....
- > Uhh...
- > Uh....
- > Uh-
- * Well, might I recommend something?
- > Of course!
Big and Small
"This song just started with me messing around with pitch shifting my vocals. It then became a weird allegory criticizing religion. The buried lyrics are inspired by The Beatles. Ringo, Paul, George, and John in that order. I got other people to write those. I wanted this to be the lead single then I realized I'm uncommercial so there's no point to having one."
- I'm a small man walkin' in Elephant shoes
- Too big for me and I got nothin to lose
- My pride's in the gutter what do I do
- Guess I'll walk another mile in Elephant shoes
- I'M A BIG ONE AND THIS IS MY BIG SONG
- I'M IN A LITTLE LITTLE WORLD WHERE I CAN'T BE WRONG AND I
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- AND A YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- i'm a little one and this is my little song (If your heart is big then come with me)
- i'm in a big great world where i can't go wrong and i (If you time is small then you could)
- yeah (Yeah!) (Tell me all, and we would see)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- and a yeah (Yeah!) (All that we can ever be)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- AND A DING DING DANG AND A BING BANG BONG
- AND A FI-FO-FUM AND A STOMPY STOMP STOMP AND A
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- AND A YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- a tiki-tiki-too and a doobie doobie doo (bigger than the mountains)
- and a i know you and a oh god that's my house!!! (smaller than a drop of water)
- he-hey! big guy! what's the big idea?? (Yeah!) (knowledge is the fountain)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!) (make your river broader)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- WELL LITTLE ONE (Yeah!)
- THIS IS MY LITTLE LITTLE WORLD AND I CAN'T BE WRONG
- SO I'M STOMPING ON YOUR HOUSE AND I SING MY BIG SONG AND I
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- AND A YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- but that is my house and you are in fact wrong
- you can't stomp on people's houses now please be gone and a
- yeah (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- and a yeah (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- WELL THE PEOPLE DISAGREE AND I AM IN FACT RIGHT
- AND I'M GONNA STOMP ON ALL THE HOUSES TONIGHT AND A
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- AND YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- YEAH (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- why would you even do that, oh big one?
- is this a test from god before he sends his son? and a
- yeah (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- and a yeah, yeah (Yeah!)
- yeah (Yeah!)
- yeah (Yeah!)
- yeah (Yeah!)
- WELL LITTLE ONE LISTEN TO MY BIG SONG (Well, it's been a long time since winter fell
- FE-FI-FO-FUM AND I'M KING KING KONG AND A (When the man dropped by and cast his spell
- YEAH (Yeah!) (and the people would run and hide their heads)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- AND A YEAH (Yeah!) (But it didn't matter to him, they'd wind up dead)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- i don't understand your great big purpose
- and why you're stomping all about you want me to worship? and a
- yeah (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- and a yeah (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- WELL LITTLE ONE YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND
- DON'T ASK QUESTIONS THIS IS WHO I AM AND I'M
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
- (Yeah!)
Sha Naê
"I wanted to write a folk song in Portuguese. In a pinch because my phone was dead and we were outside I used my mom's phone to record it and send it to me over WhatsApp. I didn't know how badly it would get compressed."
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah naê
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah ê nah nah
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah naê
- Sha nah nah nah
- (Um, dois, três, quatro!)
- Fui até a ilha do Marajó
- Olhei pras casa inacabada sem teto
- Mau tinha chão também, mau tinha um quarto
- Então mandei reformar
- Mas eles não quiseram me escutar
- Falam que tavam bem, que tinham seu jeito
- Mas eu não acho que isso é jeito de morar
- Então fui pra casa
- Mas quando eu cheguei na minha casa
- As paredes estavam inacabadas
- Não tinha chão, nem teto, nem tinha quarto
- Tiraram tudo
- Eu fui até aquele lugar reclamar
- Porque vocês roubaram minha casa?
- "É porque a gente tinha que acabar
- O nosso lar"
- (O nosso lar!)
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah naê
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah ê nah nah
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah naê
- Sha nah nah nah
- (Mais uma vez!)
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah naê
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah ê nah nah
- Sha nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah naê
- Sha nah nah nah
Burger Time
"This is roughly based on a true story. I ordered burgers from UberEats and instead of our soda we got another pair of burgers because the driver mixed up the bags. For some reason that got me wondering about the people who those burgers belonged to and I wrote this. My friends seem to really like this one."
- Burger time, it's burger time
- I ordered some burgers from UberEats.com
- Burger time, it's burger time
- Come on kiddies sing with me, 1, 2, 3
- Burger time, it's burger time
- Burger time, it's burger time
- Burger time, it's burger time!
- Burger time, yay!
- Hang on a second, these aren't my burgers
- Hang on a second, this isn't my order
- It's soda! Just soda! It's all soda!
- Soda! Just soda! It's all soda!
- Where are my burgers? Where are my burgers?
- I wonder where my burgers went (went, went, went, went)
- Wait a second, what if someone else got them?
- Wait a second, someone else got my order! Someone else got my burgers!
- Burger time, it's burger time (W-Well, I should probably do something about that! I, I got like, two, three kids here to feed. I don't want them to starve to death at least not yet.)
- Burger time, it's burger time
- Burger time, it's burger time!
- Burger time, yay!
- I'm going to call the restaurant, right now!
- Brrring, brrring
- Brrring, brrring
- (Hello?)
- Hi! Yes, where are my burgers?
- (What do you mean where are your burgers?)
- I mean where are my burgers?
- (But you ordered your burgers)
- Yes I ordered my burgers, but someone else got my order, someone else got my burgers
- (Well, it was clearly a mistake on our end, we apologize.)
- Good, c-cause, I got like, two, three kids to feed here, two and a half.
- (I understand, don't worry. We'll in send in new ones shortly.)
- T-thank you very much!
- Y-Y'know, I've been waiting for these burgers for quite a while now, l-lemme call the guy...
- Hey, m-my burgers are still coming right
- (Yeah, totally)
- You're not... joshing me here, are you?
- cracking up (N-No, not at all! No..)
- (Hey guys that shmuck still thing they're getting burgers)
- Wait what? Hang on a second!
Punheteiro
"This track is a rough pastiche of Rogério Skylab. His blend of traditional Brazilian music with alt rock setting the stage for some of the most absurdly nasty lyrics I've ever heard is something I really like. My mom doesn't like this one."
These lyrics are heavily censored because I don't want to get into too much trouble. They're in another language so you can't understand them anyways, but I want to be safe :>
- Esta vida tá cheia de tristeza
- Esta vida tá cheio do mal
- Mas tem uma certa coisa
- A mais triste, que eu já vi
- É uma coisa tão envergonhosa
- Me dá medo de até falar
- O problema da nossa história
- É punheteiro pro h-----zão
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, mão
- Vai punheteiro, meu irmão
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Ô punheteiro, ô punheteiro meu irmão
- Cê já, já bateu uma pra namorada 2D hoje meu irmão, ein?
- Ô irmão, irmão, cê já, já, já... já... já... já, já... já g----? Já g---- hoje meu irmão, ein?
- Cê já, por acaso, cê já sentiu o toque de uma muié meu irmão?
- Ah mas você não precisa, né? Já que você tem seu, seu, seus h-----zinho aí, né? Ah
- Deus abençoe aqueles artistas, aqueles artistas tão talentosos, usando seu talento pra desenhar deliciosas coxas, né punheteiro?
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- O punheteiro, ele só acorda
- E já vai pro computador
- Ele passa seus dias na --- -------
- E vai dormir no seu porão
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai, vai, vai, vai vai vai vai vai vai vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai, vai, vai, vai, vai, vai
- Vai punheteiro, mão
- Vai punheteiro, meu irmão
- Meu irmão, meu irmão, meu irmão, meu irmão, meu irmão, meu irmão
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai punheteiro, vai
- Vai, vai, vai, vai, vai
- Ô punheteiro, punheteiro meu irmão, meu irmão
- Cara, cê, cê já saiu do porão hoje? Já saiu do porão hoje meu irmão?
- Cara, tá, tá um fedor aí cara
- Tem que sair, se vai morrer aí de fedor
- Sei lá, ta-talvez cê até evoluiu para aguentar esse fed-
- Nem sei que b---- é esse que cheio é esse. Parece que inventou um cheiro novo punheteiro, p----!
- Parece uma mistura de m---, g---, sei lá mais o que...
- A, a mãe tem que vim limpar, né? Tem que limpar tudo isso, cara
- Tá, tá f--- isso, punheteiro! Não, não sei o que mais fazer com cê
- Cê, cê já viu a luz do dia? Ein? Eu nem sei se você já viu a luz do dia, sabe?!
- Mas, mas se você já viu já esqueceu, né?
- Quer dizer- ah, que fedor é esse?
- Pera, que isso? Pera... que...
- Cê tem figurinha de My Little Pon-
- Ah!! Mano! Que doença é essa, que degeneração?!
- Não! Não!! AHHHHHH!!!
The Autistic Guy and the Tiger
"I had the idea for this one when walking from school in the latter half of last year, I think. Or maybe it was in early 2020? I don't remember. It's so short because I didn't know how to continue it. I recorded it outside with my brother in a similar fashion to Sha Naê (this one came first though)"
- The autistic guy and the tiger
- Went down to a spider
- Then they sent their mother back home
Scooby We Still Love You
"This song is roughly inspired on a weird dream I had when I was 3 or so that I still remember. I detuned my guitar because I almost wanted a type of Shaggs-y vibe with this one."
- (Two, three, four)
- (Drums)
- Scooby the scaredy dog
- Finds a ghost in a log
- Then... he goes to his friends
- His friends they laugh and they tell him
- Ghosts aren't real you stupid mutt
- Now go and fetch me that log
- He finds a snail in the log
- And the snail slowly crawls up to him
- And the dog he screams and punches the air
- And the snail grows up to be 40 feet long
- With big arms and big legs and
- He walks up to the dog and he says:
- "Santa, will be here very soon.
- Don't cry cause he's coming for you."
- Then Scooby he screams
- Scooby he screams
- Scooby he screams
- This house is under renovation
- This house is under renovation
- This house is under renovation
- This house is under renovation
- He wakes up, then he cries
- Then he looks side to side
- His friends are all beside him
- And they say... (and they say)
- "Oh Scooby... we still love you!"
What Are The Words You Want to Say
"The barbershop melody is one of the earliest if not the earliest thing I came up with that ended up on this album. Late 2019, early 2020 I think. Another thing I didn't know how to finish, so instead I just made it weird and f---ed up."
- Cause there's so much to do today! (Stop! Stop it! Shut up! Shut up!)
- What are the words you want to say? (Get out, get out of my head)
- Why don't you come along and play? (Stop, stop that!)
- With your oh so great family (Cut it out, please, you're not real, you're not real, you're not, you're not real)
- Cause there's so much to do today! (You are in, you are in my head, and-)
- Words you want to say? (It will go away, it will go away, it will go away, go away)
- Come along and play? (Go away, go away, please, stop)
- So great family
- Much to do today!
- What are the words you want to say?
- Why don't you come along and play?
- With your oh so great family
- Cause there's so much to do today!
- What are the words you want to say?
- Why don't you come along and play?
- With your oh so great family
- Cause there's so much to do today!
- What are the words you want to say?
- Why don't you come along-
- (Let's try something else- else- else-)
- (This portable cassette player still works right? Looks like it should.)
- (Or not!)
- (How are you supposed to take this stuff around if it breaks so easily?)
- (They expect you to clip it onto your pants?!)
- (Ah, if you bump the wall or if it falls off it just crumbles to pieces!)
- (Great quality, where is this made?)
- (Ah, somewhere, don't know, Taiwan, something, whatever, it's all the same, it's cheap junk.)
- (Did look cool though.)
Don't Know What to Sing
I never wrote a proper opening verse for this one. I recorded this song twice. The original take was at home on my keyboard with the organ sound. This one I recorded at the music room at my school with this out of tune piano they have that I absolutely love. Everyone else hates it though. Molly was the third person I tried recording this with because I'm a phony and the other two people I tried messed up recording their end and as such the genuine reaction was lost. The irony is in the fact that this song is about me being a phony.
- I'll write forty different songs about all that you hate
- I'll write forty more songs about the exact same things
- But they'll be in different keys, take a D to an E
- Then you take the F and bring it to a G
- And you'll hate every single note
- You'll hate every single tone
- You will hate the words I wrote
- You'll hate they leave my throat
- And I'll make up in my head
- Things that you said
- And they'll talk about my work
- Say I peaked with the first
- So I don't know what I sing, that will please everyone
- But I try to anyway to find a melody
- It'll have just four notes, you'll hear just three chords
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll feel stuck, questioning
- For anxieties afoot of disinterest of the look
- I will feel the snake's bite
- I will feel the crow's spite
- I will feel the rose's thorns
- The ruins I'll become
- And even though it stings
- I'll embrace and laugh it off
- I say they don't "get it"
- But I just want attention
- And the sounds in my head,
- Will float off if I can't
- And they'll escape my grasp
- Never to be again
- I will ramble on and on
- Through the most lousy songs
- To work through teenage angst
- Although I don't like hate
- And I don't know what to sing, that will please everyone
- But I try to anyway to find a melody
- It'll have just four notes, you'll hear just three chords
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
- And I'll simply repeat the exact same words
Credits
All tracks written, arranged, and performed by A.J. Vega
Track 5 has additional writing by Joseph C.F., Feromount, Lukas, and Danté
Track 6 has additional guitar by Gikky Heth and additional vocals by A.J.'s Mom and Gikky Heth
Track 7 has additional vocals by Gikky Heth
Track 8 has additional guitar by Mass Apricott
Track 9 has additional guitar and vocals by Gikky Heth
Track 12 contains a conversation with Molly (aka beachsideproperty)
Mixing by Cosmic Denny (2, 3, 4), Gale (6, 7, 8, 10, 12), and Owen Duncan (1, 4, 5, 9, 11)
Mastered by A.J. Vega
Cover by Gale
Liner notes and additional artwork by Melissa Thyme Monroe
Special thanks to Owen, Cosmic, Fred, Trevor, Nova, Abigail, Jay, Danté, Reign, Melissa, André, Beau, Clatern, Newt, Madi, and Eileen
Dedicated to my brother, Gikky
All tracks written, arranged, and performed by A.J. Vega
Track 5 has additional writing by Joseph C.F., Feromount, Lukas, and Danté
Track 6 has additional guitar by Gikky Heth and additional vocals by A.J.'s Mom and Gikky Heth
Track 7 has additional vocals by Gikky Heth
Track 8 has additional guitar by Mass Apricott
Track 9 has additional guitar and vocals by Gikky Heth
Track 12 contains a conversation with Molly (aka beachsideproperty)
Mixing by Cosmic Denny (2, 3, 4), Gale (6, 7, 8, 10, 12), and Owen Duncan (1, 4, 5, 9, 11)
Mastered by A.J. Vega
Cover by Gale
Liner notes and additional artwork by Melissa Thyme Monroe
Special thanks to Owen, Cosmic, Fred, Trevor, Nova, Abigail, Jay, Danté, Reign, Melissa, André, Beau, Clatern, Newt, Madi, and Eileen
Dedicated to my brother, Gikky