raintribe

Chariot (MP3, 7.6MB, 6:38)

If the bell tolls, I’ll know you’re dead
And I’ll run for my life like you said
And if I make it to the sea
Then you’ll be there to meet me
In a chariot of fire red
And if a storm comes, I’ll know I’m free
Destiny gave all it had to me
And it chased me to the sea
And thought for sure it beat me
But it didn’t as you can see

If I, if I, had wings I’d fly, to the sea
And you’ll be there to meet me
In a chariot of fire red

And with the moonrise it all comes clear
With just cold wind and a star by which to steer
And if I make o’er the sea with angels there to meet
And a host of mighty warriors

If I, if I, had wings I’d fly, to the sea
And you’ll be there to meet me
In a chariot of fire red

And I woke up in a chariot . . .

I can see the moonlight in a fatalistic dance
I can see tomorrow dying like a sad romance
I can see forever and it feels kind of right and I cry
Nevermore, nevermore

Kicking like a junky dealing with a day or two
The room is getting funky and it tells me what to do
I can see forever and it feels kind of right and I cry
Nevermore, nevermore

Slowly going crazy in a room without a door
A raven by my window crying
Nevermore, nevermore . . .

Words and music by Michael Koppelman, Steve Noonan, Steve Mayone, Kurt Koppelman and Andrew Deckard
Michael Koppelman: Acoustic & electric guitar, lead vocal
Kurt Koppelman: Bass
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion
Stephe Mayone: Lead guitar, background vocal

© 1995 Tribe of Angels

A Long Way To Go (MP3, 5.0MB, 02:43)

There’s a rope around my neck
And with just another step
I will finally look my maker in the eye

And it’s hard to say good-bye
So I smile when I cry
And my heart breaks
And takes it all in stride

And it’s one down, a long way to go

There’s a rope around my heart
And it tears me apart
And I can’t take
The hate it makes

Yeah it’s hard to say good-bye
Don’t say I didn’t try
I gotta go
The only way I know

And it’s one down, a long way to go

© 2008 Tribe of Angels

This is a new silly little song I wrote.

Eyes of the Sea (MP3, 4.9MB, 2:38)

Eyes of the Sea

I was just a little boy
Sailing a toy
Down by the sea
Only me

When she washed up on shore
Holding an oar
And she looked once at me
With eyes of the sea
And I started to cry in the tide
As the child mermaid died

Where did she go?
Down below
What did she say?
Come this way

Now I’m not a little boy
Sailing a toy
Now I live on the sea
My boat and me

And we came to a squall
The ocean a wall
And it swept me away
Under the waves
And I don’t recall
What happened at all
But I died

In the arms of a small mermaid child
Who smiled
At me
With the eyes of the sea

Yet another song called Free. I wrote this song in 1993 but I just recorded it today using Logic, which I acquired recently (and quite like!). This is basically unfinished at this point…

Free

So this is the lesson of history
Measured in the power of the military
I fight you and you fight me
And that’s the way that we are free

In every story our fathers tell
Is the lesson that they learned well
If I don’t kill him he’ll kill me
And that’s the way that we stay free
That’s the way that we are free

© 2008 Tribe of Angels. All rights reserved.

I’ve never bootlegged anything before and I am a little nervous about this. This is a tape I found from about 17 years ago when I worked for Prince. It is the original version of Kate Bush’s song Why Should I Love You prior to the “collaboration” between Prince and Kate on the song. It is much, much better than what ended up on the album.

Kate, I’m sorry. Email me if this is a problem. The world should hear this song.

Why Should I Love You, original version (MP3, 6:40 12.3MB)

UPDATE: I have removed the link to this song pending Kate Bush emailing me and telling me it is OK for me to keep it available.

Anyday Now

This is a song I wrote with Erin Hamilton singing it. She really sings the ass off of it and I think this recording is amazing. We recorded this at my house on January 1993.

I made a myspace page.

This is a song from 1993, the raintribe olden days.

Be

I don’t have to worry about
What you think of me
I just need to be what I can be
I don’t need to worry about
Finding world peace
Inner peace can make the world complete

And I don’t have to lie to you
I don’t have to hide the truth
And I don’t need to cheat or steal
To make me feel real

I don’t have to worry about
What tomorrow brings
Worrying has never changed a thing

And I don’t have to give a damn
I don’t have to draw a plan
For God and man to follow after me
I just have to be.

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman
© 1993 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

This is a dumb little song I wrote and recorded today on GarageBand.

Someone Else’s

You think I want to be right
I think you want to be wrong
I think you just want to fight
Like we’ve done for so long
You think I wanna be someone else’s man
You think I wanna be all alone again
You think I wanna be someone I don’t understand?
I don’t understand

You say you want me to stay
I feel like I should leave
I never could say
What it is you believe
Do you wanna be someone else’s girl
Do you wanna be someone else’s world
Do you wanna be someone else’s girl?
I don’t understand

You say you just want to live
I say I feel like I’ll die
You say you’ve nothing to give
And you’re starting to cry
Do I wanna be someone else’s man
Do I wanna be all alone again
Do I wanna be someone I don’t understand?
I don’t understand

© 2006 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)
All rights reserved.

Deeper

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Deeper

Let it out
Faster, faster
Let it out
Longer, stronger
Let it out
I need it, I want it, I got it for today

Let it out
Meaner, cleaner
Let it out
And be there, be there
Let it out
I need it, I want it, I got it for today

Let me in
Deeper, deeper
Let me in
Deeper, deeper
Let me in
Deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper

Words and music by Michael Koppelman

Michael Koppelman: Electric guitar, vocals
Kurt Koppelman: Bass
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion
Stephe Mayone: Lead guitar
Steve Noonan: Electric guitar

Recorded at Synergy Studios, Minneapolis MN

© 1995 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

This got cut form chantmoansingwhisperscream but I still like it.

Woman

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

© 2006 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Hi.

Just a note to let you know that I have uploaded the entire album now of chantmoansingwhisperscream. My next task is to upload ISO disk images of the audio CD’s so you can download them and burn them yourself. I sequence the songs tightly together, so when you download them individually they may sound a bit cut off at the beginning or end. The album experience is a bit different than the ’song here and song there’ experience.

I want to thank those who have donated money. My experiment of whether people will pay for free music is on-going. I am very pleased that my visits/hits have gone up by a factor of 10 or 20 since I started this updated site. Clearly more people have listened to my music than would have if I was just handing out CD’s to my friends! That is the goal.

I have a few more songs to upload on our older Ancient Spacemen CD and I also have some more unreleased stuff I want to upload, so please stay tuned and thank you for your support.

Michael

Like Snow

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Like Snow

Letting go
Let me go
Let me fall again
Like snow

Let me go
Letting go
Let me blow away
Like yesterday
Like yesterday
What did Lennon say
I believe in yesterday?
Well i’m afraid I don’t see it that way

And I know
Where to go
Only I know where
You won’t find me there

And when I go
Let me go
Let me fall again
Like snow

© 2006 Tribe of Angels

Dreaming

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Dreaming

Sleeping on a bed of roses
Flowers bloom beneath our noses
Love so high you dream awake
You’re dreaming
You’re scheming to be someone you are not

A kiss of breathless passion
A wish that anything can happen
Tonight I die and I die for you

Waking in a dream of water
In the arms of someone’s daughter
Love so high you dream awake
You’re dreaming
You’re scheming to be someone you are not

A kiss of deathless passion
A wish that anything can happen
Tonight I die and I die for you

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Love Like Death

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman and Sara Brami

Love Like Death

Dying from your poison
Like the other boys and
Feeling really stupid looking in your eyes
Listen to the gun shots
Every time we contact
Feel the blood just oozing right from where I smile

There’s no remorse
Your love’s like death
No remorse
‘Cause I can hold my breath
And your love’s like death

Bleeding from your dagger
Inhibitions stagger
Feelings really wicked lurking in your smile
Drowning in your downpour
Stranded on a far shore
Feel the breath escaping right from where I smile

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Judgment Day

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman, Steve Mayone and Kurtis Koppelman

Judgment Day

In and among the heartless
I wonder about the clueless
Put me among the curious
And the spiritual slaves

With the will of the world behind us
War as a form of kindness
Death marches on relentless
For capital gains

Morning gave her warning
And the wind blow black with rain
And heaven sings a love song
Filled with pain

The ocean magic potion
Of a witches evil brew
Will open up
And swallow you

You said Jesus Christ on judgment day
Will come and set you free
But judgment day is here and where is he
Winter old and bitter and the ice is dull and grey
Heaven’s house is empty on judgment day

Listen to the meaning
And forget the words
Of all the ancient prophesies
And philosophies
The teaching is a raft and you don’t need it
When you make it to the other shore
Not anymore

© 1995 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP) and Mayone Music (SESAC)

Sick

Words and music by Michael Koppelman

Sick

It is sick, that old trick
It’s a twisted, fucked up sin
Sick like a porno flick, that slowly draws you in
It is profane and perverse, like a sexy Satan verse
You’re lonely in a way that just makes you want to play
You are sick

It is sick, what you lick
It is horny to the hilt
Sick like that needle prick and drop of blood you spilt
It is dark, unholy lust that just makes you wanna bust
It’s dirty in a way, that just makes you play and play
You are sick

Michael Koppelman: Electric guitar, vocals
Kurt Koppelman: Bass
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion
Stephe Mayone: Electric guitar

Recorded at Tricord Studios, Minneapolis MN

© 1995 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Never Really Mine

Word and Music by Michael Koppelman

Never Really Mine

You say you want to die
But I can’t help but feel that’s a lie
As if this room wasn’t empty enough
You’re painted black and never coming back

And after all
You never really knew me
After all
You never could see through me
After all this time
You were never really
Never really mine

You say you’ve had enough
You’re dying in the middle
And you feel too little
For one so tough
And one of these days you’re gonna give it away.
I’ll paint it blue and wait ’til I die too

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Yum Da Da Dum

Music by Michael Koppelman, Steve Mayone and Kurtis Koppelman

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP) and Mayone Music (SESAC)

Dusty Silence

Words and Music by Steve Mayone & Michael Koppelman

Dusty Silence

Dusty silence what’s it to you
You’re a bitter companion
Rusty violence doesn’t get through
You’re a bitter companion

Nothing beckons like a lover
Passing of hysteria
Cold as winter dark as dying
All this pain could bury ya

Echos empty nothing changes
You’re a bitter companion
Something less than fear and danger
You’re a bitter companion

© 2005 Mayone Music (SESAC) and Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Anyday Now

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Michael Koppelman: Acoustic & electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
Kurt Koppelman: Bass
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion
Stephe Mayone: Lead guitar
Recorded at Synergy Studios, Minneapolis MN

Anyday Now

It’s a good time
To read my mind
And it’s the right day to go away
It’s the same thing as the day before
and it’s the right time to walk out that door

And I’m going away
Anyday now
Just you wait and see
I’m on my way
Anyday now

It’s a good day to lose your mind
If you can’t find it
You could always have mine
And it’s the first time it occurred to me
That now is the one time I have to be free

And I’m going away
Anyday now
Just you wait and see
I’m on my way
Anyday now

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Almost

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Almost

Half way open
Dimly lit
Almost real
Almost it
Almost love
Almost sex
Almost

Almost heaven
Almost earth
Almost dying
Almost birth
Almost over
Almost done
Almost

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Feeling Normal

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman and Steve Mayone

Feeling Normal

Open up your eyes and look around
All the little people running ’round
Precious little sunlight fading down
I don’t remember nothing

I remember those days feeling normal
Chasing all the pretty girls
I remember most days feeling normal
Now I don’t feel nothing
I don’t feel nothing

Close up all the windows laying low
Geometry is backwards time moves slow
A world full of things you don’t want to know
I don’t remember nothing

I remember those days feeling normal
Chasing all the pretty girls
I remember most days feeling normal
I don’t want to be
It’s obvious to see that you never loved me
I don’t want to be
It’s obvious to see that you never loved me

Open up your eyes and look around
All the little people running ’round
Precious little sunlight fading down
I don’t remember nothing

I remember those days feeling normal
Chasing all the pretty girls
I remember most days feeling normal
I don’t want to be
It’s obvious to see that you never loved me
I don’t want to be
It’s obvious to see that you never loved me
I won’t want to see
All the things you’ll be in your life without me
I don’t want to be
It’s obvious to see that you never loved me

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP) and Mayone Music (SESAC)

A Kind of Peace of Mind

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman & Steve Mayone

A Kind of Peace of Mind

She said it’s something you’ll find
A kind of peace of mind
Never think ahead and never look behind
She said you’ll make it someday
If you look the right way
And never listen to what other people say

Hard as I try is it getting any better
Is it something inside or just something in the weather
Heaven is hidden but it isn’t that far
If you figure out who you are

She said nothing that day
That was meant the right way
But I figured it out as she turned away
That it’s something I’ll find
A kind of peace of mind
Never think ahead and never look behind

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP) and Mayone Music (SESAC)

Pocketful of Promises

Words and Music by Stephen Mayone

Pocketful of Promises

Where do you go
With a pocketful of promises
Inside your coat
Underneath your hat

Do you where it out
Or keep it where the sun don’t shine
Keep your fingers clean
Keep yourself intact

There’s something more
Everyone is telling me
But all I know is what I see

When I dig deep into my pockets full of promises
All I feel are my hands and fists

Now I believe
That accidents don’t happen
Yeah I believe in the Mother Ship
And what I’ll be has already happened
Got a full tank of gas
Let’s let it rip

I wish I could
Turn off all the voices
Yeah I would
Call the whole thing off

But people think that I don’t know my choices
With a pocketful of promise

© 2005 Mayone Music (SESAC)

Fear

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Michael Koppelman: Acoustic and electric guitars, lead vocals
Kurt Koppelman: Bass, acoustic mandolin
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion
Stephe Mayone: Electric mandolin

Recorded at Synergy Studios, Minneapolis MN

Fear

When you say what you mean to me
Well it doesn’t mean a thing, cause I know that you’ve never been free
And you say that you need to know
Well it’s obvious you don’t by the way that you just say so
Then you say what you mean to me
And it doesn’t mean a thing, cause I know that you’ve never been free

Then you say you need a perfect life
And you want it on a platter overnight with your perfect wife
Then you plan what you’re gonna do
With the big bag of money that they give you just for being you
Then you say what you mean to me
and it doesn’t mean a thing, cause I know that you’ve never been free

© 2005 Tribe of Angels

Spirits Are Moving

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Spirits Are Moving

People live and people die
People seldom wonder why
People go and people stay
People throw their lives away
People live and people die

People die and people live
People sin and they forgive
People work and people play
People lie and they betray
People take and people give

And this is all you’ll ever have
What you get is what you grab
This is all you’ll ever be
What you get is what you see

People high and people low
People bright and people slow
People quick and people dead
Hiding underneath your bed
People come and people go

And this is all you’ll ever have
What you get is what you grab
This is all you’ll ever be
What you get is what you see

© 2005 Tribe of Angels

Where Blackbirds Fly

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Michael Koppelman: Acoustic and electric guitars, lead vocals
Kurt Koppelman: Bass, mandolin, background vocals
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion
Recorded at Synergy Studios, Minneapolis MN

Where Blackbirds Fly

Way up where the blackbirds fly
The Pharaohs live and they rule when they die
And no one stops to question why
Just get in line and pray and so do I

Way up high the blackbirds sing
All life is lost and the dead are king
And they drink their wine of black sunshine
And never hear all the pain of the place behind

Way down in this land of sin
The Earth feels real and I want to get in
To let my body lie and spirit fly
To that place in the sky where the blackbirds fly

© 2005 Tribe of Angels

Free Man

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Free Man

I’m a free man
Well that’s what they say
I got no job, I got no pay
A free man but I’m hungry
My master in a new kind of slavery

I’m a free man
But I got no soul
If you ask the rich men in control
A free man but I got no right
To live with my family with heat and light

If money is the measure of society
A poor man’s got no right to even be
If money is the measure of society
A poor man’s got no right to even be

A free man is a warrior

I’m just one man
But my neighbor is too
And the neighbor of my neighbor
Is a fine man too
And three men when they organize
Become three thousand then free men rise
‘Cause battle is the language of history
A free man fights to keep all people free
Battle is the language of history
A free man fights to keep all people free

A free man is a warrior

© 2005 Tribe of Angels

Money

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman
© 2005 Tribe of Angels

This one is unfinished, just like I promised. It’s an old song for me that I’ve never gotten properly recorded. I wrote it when I was working at Paisley Park, probably around 1991 or so. This recording is far from perfect but let me know what you think.

Up To You

Words and music by Michael Koppelman

Michael Koppelman: Guitar, vocals, strange noises
Kurt Koppelman: Bass, strange noises
Andrew Deckard: Drums, percussion, strange noises

Recorded by Dave Kent at Synergy Studios, Minneapolis MN

Up To You

How do you go from high to low?
Why can you see what I mean?
How can it be such a mystery
These desperate things you have seen?

But if it was up to me, you’d be young and I’d be free . . .

That’s all you’ve known, “Leave me alone”
Is all you know how to do
But I can see through the misery
That something else tries to get through

But if it was up to you, would you change the things you do . . . ?

Do you think you’ll do the deed someday?
Make up your mind and blow yourself away?
It’s not the thing I’d like to be
But it’s not up to me

How do you go from high to low?
Why can you see what I mean?
How can you be such a mystery
And never go in between?

But if it was up to you, you’d be young and I’d be free . . .

It’s not the thing I’d like to be
Make up your mind but it’s not up to me
If death’s a thing you want to do
I guess it’s up to you

© 2005 Tribe of Angels (ASCAP)

Treasure Map

Words and music by Michael Koppelman, Kurt Koppelman, and Stephe Mayone

Treasure Map

Open the book to page thirteen
Treasure map, follow it, try to find me
Open the book and you’ll see what I mean
Figure it out and you’ve figured out me

Feel the paper that leaves no trace
See the lines on the page are the lines on my face
Do you want me to crawl, do you want me to rise?
The end of the story is yours to write

Follow the cat to the triple-eye
Mumble a prayer to the open sky
Take a drink from the bottle of the gypsy queen
Wash it all off in the Buddha’s dream

Feel the paper that leaves no trace
See the lines on the page are the lines on my face
Do you want me to crawl, do you want me to rise?
The end of the story is yours to write

But you give it all up on a wild ride
You give it all up for a good time
Yeah, you give it away on a wild ride
You give it all up for a good high
You give it away on a wild ride
You give it all up for good time

Feel the paper that leaves no trace
See the lines on the page are the lines on my face
Do you want me to crawl, do you want me to rise?
The end of the story is yours to write

© 2005 Tribe of Angels

Same As Yesterday

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman.

Same As Yesterday

Knowing
A morning grey and fey and lightly snowing
I do believe I really should be going
The time is high and so am I
Up where the seagulls fly away
It’s the same as yesterday

Caring
I must admit it doesn’t feel like sharing
Bleeding out your life and seldom daring
Now the time is through and so are you
Don’t know what you should do or say
It’s the same as yesterday

© 2005 Tribe of Angles

Muddy Water

Words and music by Michael Koppelman, Steve Mayone & Sara Brami.

Muddy Water

Muddy water the Devil’s daughter
Inviting you to view the slaughter
Sacrifice of men by mice
And chicken’s blood at twice the price

Witches rule the day today
Voodoo, magic, bones and clay
Pins and needles
Herbs and power
The Devil’s daughter muddy water

Kalideascope on southern schemes
Mississippi cajun dreams
With a lover’s thirst he sought her
The Devil’s daughter muddy water

Muddy water the Devil’s daughter
Inviting you to view the slaughter
Sacrifice of men by mice
The Devil’s daughter muddy water

© 2005 Tribe of Angles

Black Irish

Words and Music by Michael Koppelman

Black Irish

My name is blood, salt and sea
I am the wood of the gnarled Oak tree
I am the light that you never see
Written in the story of history

My name is dirt, wind and fire
I am stone and bone and wire
I am the light the you never see
Hidden in the forest of mystery

I am the wood of the gnarled Oak tree

And you are ash and earthen too
You are smoke and meat and glue
You are the light that is never lit
In the greed of the City of Sweat and Spit

I am the wood of the gnarled Oak tree

My name is blood, salt and sea
I am the wood of the gnarled Oak tree
I am the light that you never see
Written in the story of history

© 2005 Tribe of Angels

Please listen to the raintribe README podcast. Then subscribe to our podcast or just download music.

We’ll be posting more songs over time. The categories on the right includes our first album, Ancient Spacemen, our (new) second album, chantmoansingwhisperscream and unreleased and perhaps even unfinished songs in the Unreleased category.

If you like our music please let us know! I’ve added a donate button in hopes that you’ll give us a buck per song you like. But first just check out some tunes!