And in the darkness

 

And in the darkness we dance 

and paint portraits of empty frames

When the silence falls

there is no fear

only joy in the vast night

Yours in short poetry,

Count Robot

Open

 Open

He breaks his skin open

more akin to a carapace

than skin

Drink to my sin

where do I begin

to melt away

Milky Way not 

here this day

I'm shattered

into the sea of shadows

Drinking in the empire of shadows

I've only seen this before

His skin is broken open

Follow me to the ending

Yours in something else,

Count Robot

Fell

 Fell

A star fell out of his back pants pocket last night as he flowed his way home through the neon swept rainfall which offers no warmth to the sleeping ground and every sound is a laugh track to the sodden image of the rundown to your residence in the sundown estates where all the stars fall out of your pocket but they light the way 

Night does not have to slay the day.

Yours in words,

Count Robot

A Rural Road

 

A Rural Road

The lizard of circumstance

demands you to prance

in a non-geopolitical stance

Moose flossing

with candy crossing

is the fly way to

your inner most buy way

A festival of garlic art

inside or being part 

and particle of a

mulch mart

An insubstantial semi-solid bear

is barely there

If this poem is a joke

it just broke

Yours in dumb poetry,

Count Robot

The Gypsy Moths new album, Here We Are

Here We Are is the new amazing Gypsy Moths album

It's a double album jammed with tunes!

This album isn't just a tribute to your cool aunt and uncle's record collection, this is a tribute to what the future of music should be all about. Rock and roll that is 

sinewy and has just the right amount of teeth and is looking at the present as well as the past. This is the album the Rolling Stones wish they could write today.

Yes, some of these songs appeared on the Gypsy Moths recent EP, but I don't care. They slot in well with the rest of these songs. 

1. And You Know I Do - Sunshine pop at the finest level. Jumping and bobbing along. 

2. Still I Recall - A breezy joy recalling the beautiful soul songs of the late 60's/ early70s'. Wonderful guitar work.

3. Leave You With This - Singer Steve O'Brien is a vocal chameleon. I didn't even recognise him at points during this song and I think that's great when a musician can surprise you with their skill.

4. Heart To Break - If I had a heart to break... Another fine example of guitarist Chris Conway's skills. 

5. Rubber Dubber -A song about bootleg records!? Yes!!! This is a glorious ode to the maniacs and pirates who would record shows for fun and occasionally for profit.

How amazing to describe the whole thing in a song! A pirate's record shop sets sail!!!! This track is worth the whole album.

6. Fall of Sam Tully (C and Third) - We go from a story of record pirates to a suspected pirate hanging in 1812 in South Boston. Gorgeous keys on this track. 

7. Train Tickets - What is it about trains that make such great songs and stories? If you want the answer to that question listen to this track.

8. Fold Up The Air - A classic example of psych pop. The guitar is killer. Close up the sky. The keys on this one too... just sublime.

9. Last Night at the Pickwick - A song about the collapse of the Pickwick theatre in MA. The Moths excel at giving us charming history songs about tragedies. I don't know if I can ever explain how they do it and do it so well, but here it is regardless. Conway turns in another excellent karate chop of a guitar solo and by that I mean, its quick and hits you just the right way.

10. She Doesn't Love You -Some gorgeous slide guitar work on this one! A... non love song, here to pick us up after the last tune.

11. Better Beware - Nice breathy FX on this track. It's not the end of the world but you can see it from here.... genius! 

12. Like We Used To Do - Jazzy, loungey, this one has got it. Reminds me of Frank Sinatra after having just the right amount of cocktails. A gem! Meant for a nice slow dance.

13. Tell Me She's Alright - Tell me she's in love, so I can go... The last line.... wow. This is such a potent song! Gets me every time. The change at the end too... grand!

14. Cover For Me - Fun! This song is a real good turn around after the heavy vibe of the last one. Ridiculously fun line in this one, "I go home alone with my xylophone!".

15. Go On Forever - Good riff on this track! Nice rock and waltzing feel. Great thick keyboard sound.

16. Invisible Stickball Paint - Love that intro beat. Drink an ocean dry... You can feel this song whenever you stare at your record collection.

17. Maybe You're Dreaming - Nice use of vocal FX track. Good backing vocals too. Reminds me of what the Beach Boys could do so well. There's some tasty jangling guitar here too.

18. All That I Can - A dark juke joint song. The kind that makes the jukebox shake with fear and joy when you play it.

19. He Really Must - Another rocking tune. The keys on this one really shine. Nice keyboard outro. 

20. Washashore - A ballad! Feels like a dream of a song playing late night on a white sand beach even though its the Winter.

21. Ship To Shore - "Clocks run faster than I can" Great lyrics! 

22. Rock-Ola 444 - A song about music and its got a solid dance groove. A nice fun song before the heavy one coming up.

23. Shots And Prayers -A song that shouldn't have to be written but needed to be created. Why the hell are we here? The innocent go underground. This song is the truth. I am so tired of living in the world capital of mass shootings. Thank you Moths for writing this much needed song. Chris Conway's guitar solo is perfectly deft. Get down. Listen!

24. Before The Lights Went Out - A nice refresher after the heaviness of the last tune, but wait it isn't. It's a beautiful song about lost friends. This is the beauty of the Gypsy Moths they make you feel. So much music doesn't have depth or feeling but the Moths push all the emotions to the foreground. This is truly beautiful song.

25. Looking For You - The album closer and a long song! A nice end to this double album. This song stretches out well and doesn't overstay its welcome conclusion.

The production on the whole album is lush and emphasises just what the listener wants to hear at the right moment.

If Massachusetts was an album, this would be it.

Yours in great rock and roll,

Count Robot

Deathstalker (2025)

Earlier this month I caught the remake of Deathstalker.

For those not in the know, the original Deathstalker movie was an 80's Conan knockoff (there are a lot of those). The original was trashy and low budget but fun.

I saw it at the Alamo Drafthouse in Boston. Before the movie they show really weird music videos and clips from movies. Here's a pic of one bizarre music video they showed.

As to the remake itself... better than the original! At least I think so. Lots of fun and unexpected bits.

I dig it. 

The low budget practical fx are just what I wanted.

Yours in flicks,

Count Robot
 

Never After

 Never After

The after party 

for the after party 

for the after life party

is where I want to go

But I can never go

I don't deserve to go

I failed my family and friends alike

I'm way past the third strike

They won't let me go

They won't let me in

I am a sin

I am the din

from which nothing can begin

Yours in moribund words,

Count Robot