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Parador (Bonus Track Edition)

by Willie Wisely

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  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    Delicate fabric, with those cool inside-out seems. Parador's graceful poppy design poised on the chest. Fashionistas love these! They run small.

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  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    Very high quality and hipster-cut shirts with Paradors noble poppy gracing the chest.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Parador (Bonus Track Edition) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    edition of 17 

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    With sharp words and sweet hooks PARADOR straddles the divide between classic songcraft and idiosyncratic visions… chiming guitars are skewered with troubled electronics, ballads are raw as they are tender, and every irrepressible chorus reveals a keen, dark heart.” –Joan Anderman, BOSTON GLOBE

    Includes unlimited streaming of Parador (Bonus Track Edition) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 23 Willie Wisely releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Of Candles, We're Keepers (Remote Video Version), Of Candles, We're Keepers, No Surprise EP, Face The Sun, Laurel Canyon Sun Sessions, Parador - 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, Cassettarcana, The Man Who Invented The Moon - The Man Who Invented The Moon - Original Film Score, and 15 more. , and , .

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1.
Waiting for my entrance Blowing past the street signs Missing every other turn Still getting there on time Staring into loop holes Faking every short cut Knowing that my very best Is on the other line This is everything Everyone you ever knew Everywhere you ever went Looking back at you Tripped up on a green light Waiting there for nobody The future that I left behind Standing in the way What about the third time Hanging in a long line For a shimmer on a shoulder blade Won’t you give me a sign This is everything Everyone you ever knew Everywhere you ever went Lookin back at you This is everything Everyone you ever knew Everywhere you ever went Looking back at you… Staring back at you
2.
That dirty old t-shirt never looked better Than hung on the frame of my beautiful Heather She’s young, and I’m stung Through all of the pain and all my denial The arguments lasted for miles and miles (The arguments sent sent you running up the aisle) We went deep, deep into love It’s so wrong. Maybe Heather We weren’t made to fly We got lost We were too quick to love The bedroom was burning, sweat on your face From the golden retrievers that slept ‘cross our legs I insisted, you resisted It’s so wrong. Maybe Heather We weren’t made to fly We got lost We were too quick to love So don’t try and make things better Though you’re sweet to try We got lost We were too quick to love… If I’m in the kitchen, don’t call down the hall Stay in the bedroom cause the back doors ajar I’ll be missing. I need distance It’s so wrong. Maybe Heather We weren’t made to fly We got lost We were too quick to love So don’t try and make things better Though you’re sweet to try We got lost We were too quick to love… If you were the steam train I was the brakes If you were Manhattan I’m a cabin up state Long distance Long distance Directory assistance
3.
I fought for signs of life behind the crowds Where flowers die beneath man-made clouds I swore another year would not go by And I feel like staying home again You are just the right medicine Like long nights staring into white moon I’ll stay long as you want me to The whole town sings a song that understands While freeways cut to ribbons all my plans I’ve broken down but now I think I’ll stay Are you for real, let’s get real? And I feel like staying home again You are just the right medicine Like long nights staring into white moon I’ll stay long as you want me to And nowhere’s a town I’m getting used to… Are you for real, let’s get real? And I feel like staying home again You are just the right medicine Like long nights staring into white moon I’ll stay long as you want me to… And nowhere’s a town I’m getting used to
4.
Erase Me 03:55
Don’t drop by. I’ll be wasted And I’ll get mean. You don’t want to see that again You carved a number in the arm of my imagination So I was too quick to rip out a page of history But it’s a little sick, the way you tore me to confetti There’s nothing I can do now, going to burn all we created But you, you can’t erase me Songs of love fall on deaf ears wasted You might think you found my replacement But you, you can’t erase me These four thin walls keep me deep in isolation They watch me bleed, while you’re out walking some new best friend I’ll go begging in the hall outside his coronation But you, you can’t erase me Songs of love fall on deaf ears wasted You might think you found my replacement But you, you can’t erase me…
5.
Altitudes 03:23
Some call her quiet, others call her just plain weird We hooked up in England days before she disappeared Love has a way of crushing those I’ve known I thought I was strong, wanted you to take control In my altitudes These stones can’t wake me, hear them tick my window pane Her lights burn bright, can't she recognize my name You’re not the first to show me your scars of war Go ahead shatter the glass, imagine what I'll use it for In my altitudes Miles beyond you Altitudes I visit her father silent in his wheel chair Told him I knew what he'd done to her sophomore year "Someday sir, the dreamers will cage the ghost" Pressing my face into the hollow of her throat Everybody knows by now You’re never going to pin her down In my altitudes Miles beyond you Never amount to Altitudes Miles beyond you My circles confound you know Altitudes Altitudes I’m in my altitudes
6.
Joke 03:27
How can you stand there after all we’ve been through And act as if good fortune’s nothing new? You had me half believing that if your dream came true I’d be receiving something too But that’s a joke And I was laughing too But if it’s a joke I’m a fool The rat race ran your circles and I had to grab the wheel The doctor said your ulcer would never heal That’s a joke You trying play cool If it’s a joke I’m a fool So now we speak of money which we held in such disdain How once the world was ours, shit would change That’s a joke Guess I’m laughing proof But if it’s a joke What’s it to me What’s that make me Why am I asking you? Was that a joke Cause if it’s a joke I know what that means I see what I’ve been I’ve been fooled
7.
Early in the morning when the sun comes through any window Break the promise that each day is a new early morning, through any window Blue is the memory of her bedroom eyes Green as the envy I can’t hide Red is the color she lays so bare In early morning, through any window Sunlight kiss me on my head of gloom in early morning Glide across the bed then fade at noon through any window, in early morning Blue is the memory of her bedroom eyes Green as the envy I can’t hide Red is the color she lays so bare In early morning, through any window School bus take them far from home Take the children far from home Take the children far from home Soon to see how sad their lives become, through any window Blue is the memory of her bedroom eyes Green as the envy I can’t hide Red is the color that she lays so bare In early morning, through any window In early morning, through any window
8.
Drink Up 03:16
These are the days These are the good ones After this it’s all down hill I got a raise But something smells rotten All good Till you can’t pay the bill Ah Don’t know what this has to do with drinking Hooking up, that’s all I want to do But that old song’s got me thinking Drink up ah-ah, all your sorrow Drink up ah-ah, it’s almost tomorrow Drink up ah-ah, time is borrowed Drink up tomorrow we’re through I’ve heard it said Seen it written You can’t stand still on a moving train The seats are soft Cabin’s air conditioned You can’t feel The wind or the rain Ah You ride along laughing and drinking Hooking up with whoever you do But the train you’re on is a ship that’s sinking Drink up ah-ah, all your sorrow Drink up ah-ah, it’s almost tomorrow Drink up ah-ah, time is borrowed Drink up tomorrow we’re through These are the days Of ones and zeros After this there’s nothing new Of all the ways We could’ve been heroes Tonight’s the best we’ll do Ah I’ll figure out what this has to do with drinking And hooking up when those days are through As the harsh truth starts to sink in Drink up ah-ah, all your sorrow Drink up ah-ah, it’s almost tomorrow Drink up ah-ah, time is borrowed Drink up tomorrow we’re through Drink up, all your sorrow Drink up, it’s almost tomorrow Drink up, time is borrowed Drink up tomorrow we’re through
9.
I feel like ripping every vein out of my arm ‘Cause if I do I might feel better I know you mean it when you say you’re “fucking through” But give me time yeah, give me time And let me run wild Let me run wild Not trying to mess with you Something I got to do Let me run wild Then like the child I’ll come home To you Turn off the TV, look me in the mirror Watching the weather of my madness Calling me coward, you know I won’t get near The suicide yeah, give me time yeah And let me run wild Let me run wild Not trying to mess with you Something I got to do Let me run wild Then like the child I’ll come home To you… When I find the child I’ll come home To you
10.
Who blew out the sun Shinned up a ladder and snuffed out the life giving one Can’t you comprehend the magnitude When you blew out the sun Who pulls down the clouds Drags them down hissing and kicking to die on the ground Why oh why do I confide in you When you blew out the sun How am I so blind as to abide you Beauty belies you hide every wound Towards the night we glide me tied behind you Drawn towards the light of lost afternoons Who punched out the moon Picked up a stone and plucked the old bird in the eye How will I survive your vicissitudes When you blew out the sun…
11.
Parador 04:34
I’m your puddle of water, you jump over me Your rusty old screen door, come and go as you please Everything comes to you so easily There’s so much more to you than me Oh-no So I look up find you flying over Parador Wishing I had wings to fly too, wishing I was self-absorbed Got to find another hobby, keep me busy and take up time I’ll forget that you don’t call me and slip inside this dream of mine Over Parador Pulling down my scratchy records, collect some extra time Drop the needle on another reason, to keep your heart from reaching mine I’m your Mario Lanza’s “Last Concert In Spain” MCMLXV I got played and played Feels so lazy, come on and play me Oh-no So I look up find you flying over Parador Wishing I had wings to fly too, wishing I was self -absorbed Got to find another hobby, keep me busy and take up time I’ll forget that you don’t call me and slip inside this dream of mine Over Parador… Oh-no
12.
I’m a thief Deep in the tube Snaggin' mad air And crushin' 'em all down at Newps I've got my board Bored with the dudes Followed you around And nearly got my neck in a noose Well, I’m living in my shoes There’s nothing here to win or lose Everything I do, I do with a call of the wyld That don't make me a freak When I give you love I’m gonna give you more than smile That don't make me a liar Freestyle Kickin’ it free Man I’m hot Thermometers fused How’re you gonna catch me Behind all the TV crews? I've got the goods Damaged and loose A double grab 360 off a Twelve foot Samoan should do Well, I’m living in my shoes There’s nothing here to win or lose Everything I do, I do with a call of the wyld That don't make me a freak When I give you love I’m gonna give you more than smile That don't make me a liar Freestyle Kickin’ it free I’m the bomb the surfer boy With lots of love to borrow Dinner in the parking lot Makes my word ring hollow Sorry this sorry that Momma never told me that Sometimes You gotta clean the zoo Freestyle Everything I do, I do with a call of the wyld That don't make me a freak Freestyle When I give you love, I’m going to give you more than a smile Kickin’ it free Everything I do, I do with a call of the wyld That don't make me a freak You and me Freestyle Everything I do, I do with a call of the wyld That don't make me a freak Freestyle When I give you love, I’m going to give you more than a smile Kickin’ it free That don’t make me a liar

about

Wisely took 9 years between studio albums, returning to the scene fully reinvented, with a new gravity. Heartache never sounded so perfect.

“With sharp words and sweet hooks PARADOR straddles the divide between classic songcraft and idiosyncratic visions… chiming guitars are skewered with troubled electronics, ballads are raw as they are tender, and every irrepressible chorus reveals a keen, dark heart.” –Joan Anderman, BOSTON GLOBE

False Starts & A New Vision

The sessions for PARADOR started out with producer Linus of Hollywood and I cutting in a 9′ by 9′ closet, at a recording facility in Hollywood. The room was so small that it was more comfortable for me to sit in a chair out in the hallway than to cram behind him at the console. Neither was the room air-conditioned. So we quickly frustrated of it. All that remains from that chapter is a chill, almost funky version of “Through Any Window,” the song that we’d later cut as a solo acoustic track with a popular video starring actress Jenna Fischer. Someday I’ll throw the chill version out there as a bonus track.

So our “plan b”, was to bring in the principle musicians from my 1996 and 1997 albums to see if we couldn’t record that band live. Amazing players all: Dorian Crozier on drums, Mike Ruekberg on acoustic guitar and producer John Fields on bass. Unfortunately, the sessions wound up being a jumble of odd energy. For one, my old friends didn’t seem interested in my new music. Which I accept. But there were also logistical problems. I desired to record the band live, but that wasn’t really possible because the studio didn’t have enough isolation rooms. A rare moment of hilarity came when we set up Mike with his acoustic guitar in a little ‘fort’ we made out of acoustic foam. Ostensibly, this would prevent the drums from bleeding into the acoustic guitar microphone––wishful thinking. Mike’s head was sticking out the top, like one of those 1950′s styled weight-loss sweatboxes. He couldn’t see the guitar or his hands or the microphone. Nor could he move without having the thing topple all around him. But seriously, our biggest problem was the presence of five guys, all producers in their own right, and not one of them feeling permitted to take control––most regrettably me.

Five songs were completely abandoned from those sessions. Emotionally, that set me back a chunk, without a firm vision. So, Linus and I took our time before plotting “plan c”––regrouping only many months later at Asylum Studios with a different cast of characters––not without a little doubt as too whether we’d ever get this project off the ground.

Eventually, sessions with drummer Rob Kurzwreiter would coalesce into the final album. Turns out it was easier for me to work with new collaborators for PARADOR. Not that I don’t dream of making another record with my Minneapolitan droogs. I do. But, it was clear that I needed the freedom that new relationships afford. Plus, after not having had an album release of new material since 1997, I was desperate to show a new vision. So facing backwards wasn’t a choice. Meanwhile the clock kept ticking as Linus and I toiled on, as six, seven and ultimately eight years would pass between Wisely albums.

Co-writers include: Andy Dick, Andras Jones, Tracy McMillan, Rebecca Lord, Linus of Hollywood and Benno Nelson.

credits

released January 30, 2006

Produced by: Linus of Hollywood & Willie Wisely
except 05 by Petur Smith & Wisely and 10 by Wisely
Mixed by Chuck Zwicky
Engineers: Linus of Hollywood, Bruce Witkin, Gabriel Mann
Recorded at: Asylum Studios (Culver City), Studio 9 (Hollywood), Franklin Castle (Hollywood), French Hill (West Hollywood), Bruce’s Place (West Hollywood), Weepah Way (Laurel Canyon), Digital Jungle (Hollywood)
Additional recording by James S. Levine, Peter Anderson & Dorian Crozier
Mastered by: Dave Collins (Los Angeles)
String Arrangements: Linus of Hollywood & Willie Wisely
Watercolors: Susan Freedman
Photography: Shari Simonsen (interior), Dean Groover
Design: Pete Rosenzweig for worknonwork

Endless love to my wife Kay. Dedicated to our daughter Ella B. Gilbert Wisely born July 16th 2005.

Additional thanks to everyone who, in ways more sublime than obvious, helped shape this project and bring it to light:

Mark Bacino, Joe Berardi, James Buckley, Kate Clarke, Ryan Daple-Perez, Paul Davis, Andy Dick, Heather Dotson, John Fields, Leslie Frank, Steven Greenberg, Linda Good, James Gunn, Christian Gustafson, Collin, Sarah Hersack, Steve Hurley, Marc Joseph, Jasyon Larson, Magnets For Bad Energy, Dave Maricich, Christopher McGuire, Jimmy “Coup” Mecherle, Robert Pavlicsek, Emily Polsby, Joe Poindexter, Braxton Pope, Quruli & all at Noise McCartney Records, Ed Raeker, Robbie Rist, Brent Roske, Galit Rueben, Nao Sekine, Amanda Stark, Brian Tighe, Patrick Whalen, Jake & Shannon Kim Wisely

All songs by William J Wisely Jr (©2005.Wisely Publishers ASCAP) except add cowriters: Tracy McMillan (©2005.Wisely Publishers ASCAP/Super Joe Music ASCAP)1, Rebecca Elizabeth Lord (©2005.Wisely Publishers ASCAP/Becky Buckskin ASCAP)2,11, James Benno Nelson (©2005.Wisely Publishers ASCAP/National Dynamite Music ASCAP)3, Andras Jones (©2005.Wisely Publishers ASCAP/Previous Music ASCAP)6,8, Linus of Hollywood (©2005.Wisely Publishers ASCAP/ I Can’t Believe It’s Not Music / Figs. D Music, Inc. BMI c/o The Bicycle Music Company)9

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Willie Wisely Saint Paul, Minnesota

Equal parts Minnesotan music scene veteran and Laurel Canyon resident/devotee, Willie Wisely remains that rare bird mixing profound power pop with arena-sized showmanship, a troubadour on an all night rave up, a cold kombucha on a hot California day, a McCartney-ite taking a break from his Japanese import of “Ram” for a quick Canyon run listening to João Gilberto. ... more

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