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A Startling Realization Of The Obvious

by Elvis Eno

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1.
Getting To Know The Back Of My Hand 02:13
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Getting To Know The Back Of My Hand I'm getting to know the back of my hand I'm getting to know the back of my hand How some know theirs so well I never could understand I'm getting to know the back of my hand Most people will boast how will they know theirs Comparing it all the time to those in their affairs I'm getting to know the back of my hand I'm getting to know the back of my hand I'm getting to know the back of my hand Too bad that it's rarely held and never in high demand I'm getting to know the back of my hand My hands were too busy doing fun things Could be that they were ignored since I'm not one for rings I'm getting to know the back of my hands Could be it's been so clearly missed Because there's no watch on my wrist I'm getting to know the back of my hand
2.
The Last Time I Saw You/ See You 02:52
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The Last Time I Saw You/ See You Though there is the strongest will there's still no way It is hard to yearn for things and have no say Absence can do many things, like speed up time But it never forwards to a meet up time I keep worrying that the last time I saw you will be the last time I see you Don't let that be true When I ask you answer me dismissively And I don't think you ever said that you're missing me I keep worrying that the last time I saw you will be the last time I see you Don't let that be true I doubt you're fearing the same thing You won't be hearing the blame thing Hope I'm not nearing the flame thing You disappearing's the main thing I keep worrying that the last time I saw you will be the last time I see you Don't let that be true Don't let that be true
3.
Your End Of The Bargain 02:40
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Your End Of The Bargain I thought that we had a deal Did you get a better one? Here I thought it was for real All that talk and nothing done You are known for backing out Wish I knew that going in Those wears you know how to tout Do you stop all you begin? You didn't keep your end of the bargain You didn't keep your end of the bargain You didn't keep your end of the bargain You didn't keep your end of the bargain I learned too late that your words are worthless I should have known with a smile so mirthless Don't want to hear that bullshitting jargon You didn't keep your end of the bargain You didn't keep your end of the bargain You didn't keep your end of the bargain You didn't keep your end of the bargain
4.
We Survive, We Survive 03:08
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We Survive We Survive We get told that we are inspirations By those who are ahead It is hard to maintain relations When you're hanging by a thread All the pain we want to leave behind us Is now along for every ride No matter where we go it's sure to find us So we know better than to hide We survive, we survive And we wonder what is all this hurt for We survive, we survive Maybe just so we can hurt more We still try to keep the world from knowing As we stay behind our bars There are things we never will be showing We try to cover up our scars We survive, we survive And we wonder what is all this hurt for We survive, we survive Maybe just so we can hurt more People will appear and play many parts Hoping we'll be hoping again We've added extra locks to outside our hearts To make it near impossible to open again We survive, we survive And we wonder what is all this hurt for We survive, we survive Maybe just so we can hurt more We survive, we survive
5.
Believe The Liars 03:57
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Believe The Liars Why do people believe the liars? They are such well prepared and willing buyers Why do people believe the liars? Their gullibilty never tires Bullshit Picassos are everywhere They seem to share that moronic flare Sit down and they will remove that chair I bet we've all met more than our share They must want to believe or do they pretend? That they're cursed with too much faith to spend Why did people believe the liars? While they will plain ignore the wise deniers How are their pants not engulfed in flames? As they spew out such misleading claims Could it be the truth is harder to face? And facts are way more easy to erase? Why do people believe the liars? It seems so easy to cross their wires Why do people believe the liars?
6.
Your Startling Realization Of The Obvious 02:32
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Your Startling Realization Of The Obvious Will I be the first to tell you That you are the last to know? It's been so hard to sell you You come to things so slow You were fine with staying clueless Although the clues were there If you pretend you always knew this What took so long to share ( Congratulations on ) Your startling realization of the obvious Your startling realization of the obvious Did you discover it or did someone point it out to you? Do you know how many times I wanted to shout to you (Congratulations on ) Your startling realization of the obvious Your startling realization of the obvious
7.
The One Who Won 03:36
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The One Who Won You're the one who won The odds were in your favor so it was pretty much in the bag You proudly raised your arms as I raised the white flag So might say you cheated and that's not really hard to believe We all saw extra aces right up your sleeve I was the underdog I know so I am not surprised Your ranking wasn't compromised You're the one who won Someone who is better than you you're deeply afraid of You're the one who won To accept it gracefully is not what you're made of We have heard you boasting that you will win at any cost Some say you're a loser that just hasn't lost I was the underdog I know so I am not surprised Your ranking wasn't compromised You're the one who won You could never entertain the concept of losing You're the one who won Playing that old Queen song really isn't amusing The spoils go to you, you must feel so spoiled The spoils go to you even if the victory's soiled But you're the one who won
8.
We're Shaped By What Did Not Work Out 02:38
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We're Shaped By What Did Not Work Out We're shaped by what did not work out We're shaped by what did not work out The job you didn't get The way they made you sweat You thought it was the surest bet We're shaped by what did not work out We're shaped by what did not work out The one who disappeared You thought a bit too weird They might have been everything you feared All of your indecision Decides your future path Your perfect imprecision Contains a mighty wrath We're shaped by what did not work out We're shaped by what did not work out The place you didn't go The face you didn't know You're hoping that they didn't show All of your indecision Decides your future path Your perfect imprecision Contains a mighty wrath We're shaped by everything that was not to be But it's impossible at the time to see We're shaped by everything that was not to be Though it's impossible at the time to see We're shaped by everything.
9.
The Ballad Of Russ Ballard 03:25
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The Ballad Of Russ Ballard He was born on Halloween in 1945 He is still making music, he knew how to survive He is always wearing shades like Ian, Jeff and Roy His Swiss cheese guitar somehow isn't a toy Writing songs for others is his calling card So I will sing to you the ballad of Russ Ballard He's written many songs that other artists want He is almost a hard rock Allen Toussaint He was the frontman in a band that found a little fame But they were known by another band member's name All of his solo albums the public would disregard So I will sing to you the ballad of Russ Ballard Ace Frehley, Kiss and Three Dog Night And Rainbow would sing what he'd write The hard rock community should call him their Bard So I will sing to you the ballad of Russ Ballard The ballad of Russ Ballard
10.
More Than A Little While 01:57
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More Than A Little While I hoped that it would last For more than a little while, more than a little while Thought I'd stay in the cast For more than a little while, more than a little while I keep waiting for a return Guess there's so many things I must relearn I will be with his hurt For more than a little while, more than a little while I'll stay on high alert For more than a little while, more than a little while I am not handling this with style Those days and months and years make quite a pile More than a little while

about

Who is Elvis Eno? Is he the lesser known brother of Brian and Roger? The Gummo of the Eno clan? No. Elvis Eno is the stage name ( that’s if a stage name is permitted without performing on an actual stage ) of a native New York musician. Like the lion’s share of New York musicians, Elvis has lived exclusively in apartment buildings. A house? A private house? That’s a place where New York musicians go to visit, not reside.

When Elvis Eno was a young boy he would hear talk about these places called studio apartments, generally mentioned in a dismissive tone. It was a source of constant bafflement to him since he couldn’t think of a more ideal dream home. He would visualize an apartment with as much recording equipment and instruments as furniture; not unlike like the photo you find when you open Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything album. That childhood definition was quite prophetic for Elvis. Every apartment he’s lived in, no matter how many rooms, have become studio/apartments.

Musicians are never the favorite tenant in a building, and Elvis Eno has kept that tradition alive and well. If Mr. Rogers lived next door to a musician he would’ve had a completely different theme song. Elvis is well acquainted with the broom handle ceiling thwacking from downstairs, the aggressive footstomp from upstairs, the dirty passing looks in the hallway and the sighs of disfavor in the elevator.

Without warning, or notice, a lovely Colombian family moved into apartment 3D in Elvis’s current building. ( He lives in 3E ). He must’ve chased out the previous tenants at some point. He knew better than to be friendly to anyone in the building, especially anyone on his floor. As the weeks became months, Elvis thought he heard the family members of apartment 3D mutter something each time he passed by. "Elvis Eno “ is what it sounded like. Elvis Eno? He is certain they must’ve heard his music by then, but he wasn’t sure how they were able to pick up on two of his biggest influences through the walls and doors. Elvis Costello was always one of his songwriting heroes and Brian Eno one of his favorite producers. When he put some thought to it he realized that Phil Manzanera was Colombian, so they might be aware of Roxy Music. Elvis Costello put out a record of Latin Music artists singing over the original tracks of This Year’s Model. He made it make sense to himself, and he loved the comparisons. Perhaps they could be the first neighbors to become friends? Dare he even consider, fans?

One evening, after a long day of recording, he spotted a letter under his door. It was written in Spanish and was signed "Familia de 3D". Could this be his first ever fan letter? He needed to get this translated immediately. There was a sweet Colombian woman working at a bakery he frequented a few blocks away. She would often see him with a guitar case and question him about his music. Over the past year he was starting to develop a deep fondness for her. She was the most consistent person in his life. She was never without a smile when she saw him walk in, always asking, with convincing genuineness, how he was, and laughing at the wry comments he would make during their two minute transaction. She was either an absolute pro, or, he hoped, she shared some degree of affection towards him as well. Elvis hit upon a brainstorm; bring the letter to the bakery and ask her to let him know what it said. It could also serve as way of impressing her by reading someone praise his musical abilities.

He carried the letter with him for a few days since each time he walked by the bakery it was too crowded and she looked far too busy. One day he peeked in and saw her all alone, the bakery empty of customers. She asked him where his guitar was, playing a left handed air guitar while inquiring. He ordered his usual pastry and told her the tale about a letter in Spanish he needed interpreted. She seemed thrilled to be of help. He handed over the letter, and saw her pull out a pair of reading glasses from her apron. His weakness has always been women in glasses, his slow growing crush just graduated to a serious love interest. Her face showed some concern when she started reading. It was only two paragraphs, but she took a long time perusing it, looking at the back of the paper for further words. Rereading the paragraphs a few more times, she told him it was hard to put into English, and the phrase “lost in translation” was mentioned more than once. He got the impression she was buying time for customers to appear so she could get out of this suddenly awkward assignment. He asked her to summarize what was written the best she could so he could get the gist. Maybe there were musical terms she couldn’t understand that he would.

She presented the letter back to him and pointed to three particular words that were written several times in capital letters.
EL VECINO MALO. She informed him that it meant Bad Neighbor. She seemed sheepish while informing him. When she said El Vecino Malo aloud, he recognized the phrase. They’ve been saying "El Vecino"- THE NEIGHBOR, the whole time, not "Elvis Eno". His future fan club was in an instant disbanded and a budding romance nipped in the bud, but at least a fitting pseudonym was christened.

Here is Elvis Eno’s debut album- A Startling Realization Of The Obvious.

credits

released November 2, 2021

All songs written, performed and produced by Elvis Eno

Cover illustration- Hailey DaSilva
Special Thanks- Mima Cepeda
Graphics- Tracy Dunbar

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John Dunbar New York, New York

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