instant karma: completely gone fishing

liner notes: mummydog/spaceecho

"Except for the real drums and vocals, which were added/replaced later, this song was recorded at home on the PC, using Cakewalk, Rebirth, SoundForge and the like. Pretty amazing what department store equipment can do these days. Whatever happened to Laika, by the way ... did she ever come down, the way Vince Hill did?"

A mummified dog is looking down upon me, and gravity sends him round. I wish it would do the same for me, the same for you. And I can do everything I want, yeah I can do everything. How much is that doggie in the orbit? (I'd like to throw a stick for you, I'd love to, wouldn't you too) the capsule might be alright, the radio and the lights. Forty years in the sky, a lonely dog on a million mile walk, on a million mile walk. How much is the doggie ... You're mine, mummydog.

--Martin

liner notes: sleeper

'Slightly surrealistic lyrics. I just compared my own feeble body to plants & trees, with wrinkles and scars just growing on me while I'm asleep. As I'm one of these people that need to iron their faces after they've woken up (I'm a real pain in the morning), the thought just came up slightly before any signs of age were really visible. My Dad was amazed that I would write such stuff this early in life ...'

Call me the sleeper, cause I'm hiding from the day. I creep out of the woodwork, just at night so I can fake. I'm the sleeper. Dreamwrinkles grow my face, each one a different taste. Who cares if sadness or even gladness? I'm the sleeper and I dream. I love what they do to me, they clean. Dreamwrinkles grow on me, each one's a different tree. My heart is ploughing the seeds my heart is sowing ...

--Gordon

liner notes: 2 o clockwise

"One of the IK Glamrock-Classics with lots of unexpected chords in it - pre-destined for the reaction: 'Sounds great, but we'd like to do a single-cut of that!' (also known as "castrating the artist's dignity"). This song is a good example of how I.K.-songs used to work at that time. It had that commercial chorus in it which made up for the anarchist-"we don't give a shit"- parts that the record-company especially hated."

Couldn't sleep at night, I've been crying all day. Couldn't eat a thing, had to throw up again. Couldn't be on my own, had to talk to a human trashcan. Couldn't walk in the crowd, it's not how many there are, but how long it takes to get through them. My fun begins on the fireplace of my last crisis, I dance and say here's to the times where you break up and feel intensively. I lay a tree trunk over the river, sit on it, let time go by, keep cool, keep cool water. Close my eyes in anger, open them in joy, don't you know that it's hip to be in a bad mood? Well I don't think so ... My fun begins on the fireplace ...

--Tom

liner notes: live on

'This was probably the first song that was more than our school band attitude was worth.. I had dreamt of breaking into the recording industry for a long time, but rehearsing this one really gave me the confidence that we actually belonged there. It was the first IK song ever I was fully satisfied with. Ok, ok, it still had that 5 minute rumba part in the middle which was scraped for the album. The original demo tape that found its way to EMI (Every Mistake Imaginable ...) included `Bird', `Firehead', `Small Mother', `Square Minded Jack'and as the opener, `Live On'. So in many respects, this track started it all.'

Woke up this morning, pale, still vain, when my body said `No, I won't bear it'. Blood has gone nowhere, nowhere to see. Not for days, not for miles there will be a repeat. Half past two the vegetation is over and Captain Breakfast could just as easily piss off. I don't mind his reputation or mine, life's lost, life's lost. The moment I grew up I could still stun the flesh but my mind is so clear, I feel no kick. The moment I grew up I could still stun the flesh but my mind is so clear, I makes me sick.

--Gordon