GENA MASON

Illustrated Lyrics
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GENA MASON
Illustrated Lyrics

2013 Gena Mason. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents
Preface 5 10 14 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 37 39 43 44 45 46 48 49 50

Testament
Note I'll Be Your Mirror Abandoned City Savage Garden Jihad Give a Little Queen Darkest Hour City of Night II Testament Glory No Man's Land Warcry

The Killing Season

Note Algeria The Killing Season Bleed So Easy None Left Standing Can't Be Alone Anymore Coalmine Mockingbird Palms at Night Lady Lazarus

Exile
Notes Book 49 He's So Real My Demon Lover If I Could Forgive You He Who Is to Come

55 58 63 66 70 71 73 82 84 94

The Queen EP
Notes Dirt Angel

Preface

In Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon.

How can I describe ten years? I can say that they were full of more bizarre, exhilarating, stressful, depressing, horrifying, fascinating, and fulfilling experiences than most people will ever have in a lifetime. But more importantly, throughout all of it I kept working. Originally I had intended to write a long preface full of anecdotes and deep thoughts. But fuck that. I think the work should (and does) speak for itself. Anyone who wants to know more about me personally can read my bio. By way of introduction, however, I will say that this book contains the lyrics to songs from my first four commercially-released albums. In that sense the volume is not comprehensive, because it doesn't include my unreleased material. Maybe that will find its way into the next book. Gena Mason, Ecuador, 2013

From a live show at Canter's in Hollywood, California. Photo by Chris Doody.

In Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon.

TEST AMENT

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In Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon.

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Performing at Brillobox, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Testament (2007)
I'll Be Your Mirror Abandoned City Jihad City of Night Give a Little Queen Darkest Hour Testament Savage Garden Glory No Man's Land Warcry Smokestack Lightning Vocals, guitar, bass, keys, drums, percussion: Gena Mason. Recorded and produced by Gena Mason. Design by Gena Mason.

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Excerpt from the press release:

TESTAMENT
Mason tracked Testament, her first full-length record and second commercial release, after training for 6 months with famed vocal coach Don Lawrence (Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Rolling Stones, Bono). She taught herself to play drums for the recording, on which she also sang and played guitar, bass, keyboards, drum machine, and other percussion; she wrote, performed, and produced almost every note on the album, which she recorded and mixed herself. Thematically, the record explores Mason's obsessions with love, death, and metaphysics; it features her first use of "found" sounds and noise elements on a recording. Mason completed production on Testament in 2007, during her first semester of law school at Columbia University, where she had enrolled. That same year, Mason also debuted her cable access TV show, "Alien Nation." Researched, written, shot, and edited by Mason, the first episode in the series included a segment examining the Bush family's ties with Nazi Germany. The following year, Mason assisted the gifted visionary painter Alex Grey at Grey's Chelsea gallery, Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM). Grey and Mason, who share the same birthday, remain friends. Meanwhile, Mason played more gigs in the city, expanding beyond rock clubs to perform cabaret and other shows that allowed her to explore her four-octave range and develop her vocal virtuosity. She spent the summer of 2009 singing every Sunday in a gospel choir at services for All Nations Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. In her lyrics, Mason often inhabits characters depicted in other works of literature, and writes from their points of view. Her tune "I'll Be Your Mirror" is based on Homer's classic The Odyssey and Mason's own brief experience as an exotic dancer. Mason wrote the lyrics as her own version of the verses sung by Homer's deadly ocean sirens; "I'll Be Your Mirror" is a love song sung from a siren's perspective. Similarly, "City of Night" was inspired by John Rechy's novel by that title (about a young hustler-writer) and Mason's affair with poet Bernadette Mayer's teenaged son.

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GENA MASON

TESTAMENT

Testament album cover.

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In Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon.

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Still image from the music video for I'll Be Your Mirror, shot at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, New York.

I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR

Rest here and take joy. Stop your fleeing. Not in a lifetime will you escape my seeing. Your counter chemicals, purchased Elysium, ease a restless heart broken by tedium there on that other shore, your isle of madness. I'll be your mirror, show you your gladness. As on a silver screen your course of collision. Not this, nor any, scene escapes my vision. Your soul's been quarantined by practiced derision. What does the ending mean? What 's your decision, there on that other shore, your isle of madness? I'll be your mirror, show you your gladness. Oh, lie with me. Give me your confession. Say now, lay round. I'll be your reflection, there on that other shore, your isle of madness. I'll be your mirror, soul in the balance. Oh baby, cry no more of your ransom sadness. I'll be your mirror, show you your gladness.

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ABANDONED CITY
Just how I can't recall, but one month into Fall, thirst got the best of me and served my enemy. I fell to the spell of a liar, beset by water and fire, and fled then underground, by oath and hunger bound to kingdoms of regret, shackles and minarets, but still my mind remembered the love of May and December. Who are you, who would be King, and caused my walls to fall in the Spring? Who are you to take from me my abandoned city? Crowned by sun, feet on the sea, one found the buried key, freed me from fraud and lies, and slowly opened my eyes. Master, I am yours for taking. Summer in the world we are waking. Who are you, who would be King, and caused my walls to fall in the Spring? Who are you to take from me my abandoned city?

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SAVAGE GARDEN
Hey, happiness, see you around, I guess. My heart's battered, not that it mattered. On the news today, more dead every day, a country shattered -- not that it mattered. You know the rose in bloom fades its day in the sun -- as if anyone can win in this savage garden. Can't buy, you can't buy pardon. Hey, emptiness, see you around, I guess. Doom has had its day. Love will have its say. Tide has turned again, a cold reign fallen. Just as they say, this, too, shall pass away. Even the rose in bloom fades its day in the sun - as if anyone can win in this savage garden. Can't buy, you can't buy pardon.

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Still images from the music video for I'll Be Your Mirror, shot at KTD Buddhist monastery in Woodstock.

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JIHAD
Begin. Don't give in. With love we''ll win. Their end our bond to rend. Love, don't let them. Heaven help me storm our city! To spare her crown, we'll tear it down. Red screen, gangrene, sarin, chlorine. Nameless in mounds our kin lie round. Heaven help me storm our city! To spare her crown, we'll tear it down. Chorus: The sky rained fire from above. The desert witnessed our wild love jihad, jihad. Despair and submission will doom one. To guard the bloom of our union, jihad, jihad. Copters wheeling, our fear peeling. Infestation, determination. Heaven help me storm our city! To spare her crown, we'll tear it down. (Chorus)

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GIVE A LITTLE
Hey, my lantern of the morning: you belie the others' warnings, ease my nightly affliction. Like an infant or addiction, you give a little and take a little more than before, forever and evermore. Well, your one side is silence, and the other side violence; and your one tongue is a liar, while the other takes me higher. You give a little and take a little more than before, forever and evermore. Honey, come again in two: once for me and once for you. What's yours you claim is his. Tell me, baby, how it is you give a little and take a little more than before, forever and evermore.

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QUEEN Silent as the night, no one seen me in flight. Back barely standing, shaky from the last landing. A dream, it won't end; I wake up, I'm here again outsider, easy rider, stranger, I'm a danger. Last seen speaking French, frantic across the Atlantic. Disappeared, vanished from the face of the planet. Come back black, pliant, defiant. Fucked for survival my next arrival, sold by America. They made us bare it all. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared at all. It's tantamount to Babylon sold corner heroin, bound by stars and stripes, and brainwashed by born-agains. We fled to the desert to escape the hysteria, tripped then through Tangier and disturbed the librarians, strolled through Nigeria, swooned from the delirium, its origin mysterious. This love we have is dangerous. The Queen's in your area. Fakes, take your Geritol. Brave men are scared of her, scared she'll inherit all. Had to fight a man, blood on my hands. Got this desire, had to light a fire, made the old one burn. Don't regret my reckless action. Walked out of the ashes; another night passes. I defy the death squad to follow me to my next job. Dark Aphrodite, martyr, I come again harder. Couldn't kill me if you injected or shocked me. Don't you know it'd take an army to stop me? The Queen's in your area. Fakes, take your Geritol. Brave men are scared of her, scared she'll inherit all.

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DARKEST HOUR
Why do you taunt me, my wayward ghost? You circle, haunting the western coast, and still hail from your watery jail. Hope never fails. Chorus: Light of the night, I'll find you. One so bright always shines through in your darkest hour. Love will flower in your darkest hour. Hostaged by the sea, my drowned angel-did it, now, baby, hurt when you fell? Derailed, yet you prevail. Hope never fails. (Chorus) Honey and hum, how time moved slow, first fascination. How could you go? Thin, pale, through the cities you sail. Hope never fails. (Chorus)

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CITY OF NIGHT II
One day you appeared guess you'd call it weird and offered as you neared secret knowledge, an apple polished, and a promise to give me pleasure beyond measure, beyond the reason of seasons. So I followed thee to midnight ecstasy, summer City, then awoke and found gray bars all around, autumn town. What a bummer the poisoned summer, the morning after the rapture! To prisoner from warden in your concrete Garden, I begged of thee: Don't tread on me. Heart made of stone, I sit upon a throne made of bone. Call me Daughter. A world I've slaughtered, laid the Father. They all wanna know why I crawled so low: The better to see your glory. Show me the light in your City of Night.

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TESTAMENT
This I give to thee: flesh to soothe your greed, wealth of empathy, soil to raise your seed. My testament is signed, my whole life left behind. I give this body for thee. Eat, drink, in remembrance of me. Put a sword in your guardian-for-hire. I've done this before, surrendered to fire. My testament is signed, my whole life left behind. I give this body for thee. Eat, drink, in remembrance of me. To go great lengths, these eyes I deed you. To give you strength, this heart I feed you. Throw a party for me. I take to the skies. Fools give sympathy; from ashes I rise. My testament is signed, my whole life left behind. I give this body for thee. Eat, drink, in remembrance of me.

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GLORY
Where do you go, I want to know, after the picture show? Hit man holograms shield the leading man entourage, fuselage, human camouflage. I don't want to hear the same story. All the others just bore me. All I want is a little of your glory. Never as you seem from the breathing screen. Lead me by the hand into a burning land tanks invade, blanks cascade, lovers masquerade. I don't want to hear the same story. All the others just bore me. All I want is a little of your glory. Fever giver, slither hither. Come in rivers. Wax and wither. Leader televised, reaper disguised, how long can you last, can you wear the mask wily liar, fiery Maya, government Messiah? I don't want to hear the same story. All the others just bore me. All I want is a little of your glory. Bright are the lights of Astoria while I lie with my Morpheus. Just surrender a little of your glory.

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Still images from the music video for I'll Be Your Mirror, shot on location in Times Square, New York City.

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NO MAN'S LAND
No OF NIGHT CITYone's grieving. The crowd's leaving. Our first goodbye showed in your eyes. I'm unknown, alone, outcast, my last stand in no man's land. The show's over. Give a hand. Start your running. Morning's coming. Heart on my shirt where it hurt without a trial, Boise exiled. Give me the key: love me, my one demand in no man's land. The show's over. Give a hand. Stop your stalling. Road is calling. Wrapping, packing, the sky's cracking. Last kisses wet, last cigarette. Pray hard, graveyard nearby. Here I stand in no man's land. The show's over. Give a hand. Stop your stalling. Road is calling. My one demand in no man's land: the show's over; give a hand. Bells are tolling. Get to rolling. Stop your stalling. Road is calling. Start your running. Morning's coming.

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WARCRY
I know you're a girl killer, a libertine, a free-will-er. Don't worry, I know you're only a little scared and a lot lonely. Who will understand? Who will take your hand? Who's the one who'll face you, who'll soon erase you? I am, oh yeah. Who's your brand-new bride when you close your eyes? You know I am, oh yeah. You spiked my wine and stole my beads, sang treacherous melodies. Sleight-of-hand held my attention, and then you drove your tanks in. The subtleties of your colonies! Pennyroyal, yarrow, I feel so low, oh yeah, oh yeah. He asked me was I always so high. I said I am, oh yeah. When you've stood your final trial, and they've led you down the aisle, and come and undressed you, who'll come and confess you? Who will understand? Who will take your hand? Who's the one who'll face you, who'll soon erase you? I am, oh yeah. Who's your brand-new bride when you close your eyes? You know I am, oh yeah.

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TESTAMENT
Vocals, guitar, bass, keys, drums, percussion: Gena Mason. Recorded, produced, and engineered by Gena Mason. Design by Gena Mason. Space images public domain, courtesy of NASA. 2007 Gena Mason

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In Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon.

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In New York City. Photo by Pranav Sharma.

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Still image from the music video for I'll Be Your Mirror. Times Square, New York City.

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Still image from the music video for I'll Be Your Mirror. Times Square, New York City.

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THE KILLING SEASON

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Excerpt from the press release, 9-17-12:

PREVIEW ART & LYRICS FROM GENA MASONS NEW RECORD, THE KILLING SEASON
Gena Mason has released a preview of the booklet from her forthcoming, full-length, fourth album, The Killing Season. Of the lyrical concept for the new batch of tracks, Mason explains: Its about the human condition. To the extent that every life requires the deaths of many other creatures in order to survive, life itself is a killing season. Both lyrics and art were partly inspired by the The Plague, the classic novel by Albert Camus. The Killing Seasons album art includes microscope-enhanced images of blood and deadly microbes like smallpox and tuberculosis as well as other pathogens that the U.S. Government has used in biological warfare, from its colonial-era extermination of the Native Americans through today. The Killing Season reveals Mason as the progressive metalhead we always knew she was, despite her strong pop sensibility. A partial list of the albumss musical influences reads like a survey of prog-metal since the 60s: from love-era acts like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, to 80s thrash pop acts Megadeth and Metallica, to 90s and '00s groups like The Mars Volta and Tool. Ever the extremist, Mason uses her latest record to deal with a dark phase in her life, the lyrics exploring both recent and childhood experiences. Algeria is ambivalent longing for peace but resigned to conflict; while None Left Standing (a nod to Metallicas classic prog-metal track One) abandons such ambivalence and embraces violence. Bleed So Easy and Coalmine touch on the undercurrent of violence that often exists in romantic and sexual relationships. Bleed So Easy, whose lyrics were inspired by the carpe-diem theme of the epic poem The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, was written for a former object of Masons affection. Gena Mason, who first gained prominence in New York City as a performance poet, graduated from New Yorks Columbia Law School in May of this year. She spent most of this spring and summer camping on her land in California. Since August she has lived in Quito, Ecuador, after a six-week trek through Central America that included one month sleeping on beaches in Mexico.

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Arapahoe activist Scabby Bull.

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In Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon.

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ALGERIA
Well, last night I went hungry. How to eat, when you're beaten by vagabonds from Mob country who rob our dreams while we're sleeping? So much for an empire. Hold me now, and keep our fires burning in the clashing. We're learning how to balance love and lashing, while cashing in on luck at dawn's first light.

Well, last night I went hunting for a land that I'd longed for, full of love and trust. Instead I reached for my RPG, to force a new empire. Hold me now, and keep our fires burning in the clashing. We're learning how to balance love and lashing, while cashing in on luck at dawn's first light. Oh, Algeria!

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THE KILLING SEASON

Don't need no promises of some perfect world. All I really want is just to be your girl; but there's her, and her, and them, then me. Why are you so hard to see? How long, how long now? I don't know how long I can be strong now. Give me a reason to hold on through this killing season. Don't need permanent war, or your atomic eye, your murder surgery, or your genocide.

Through the years we stumble, blind. Why is peace so hard to find? How long, how long now? I don't know how long I can be strong now. Give me a reason to hold on through this killing season. Sly as Hyde, you deal in lies, changing faces like some spy. Is it amusing thinking I'm the one who'll wind up losing? Your secret treason always leaves me the bereaved one. How long, how long now? I don't know how long I can be strong now. Give me a reason to hold on through this killing season.

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BLEED SO EASY
Only Pharaoh could survive the road I took, and yet no matter what I do, you're always looking for some mannequin fantasy, or drunkard, silicone-shill TV whore. I can make moonshine spill and thrill you, make senators sleep in stone.

Wise ones vie to please me, but you presume to tease me. Baby, why you play so sleazy? Is it 'cause you bleed so easy, maybe? Say you will, oh say you will, come on. You know I'm for real, babe. Wherever you are, I'll be walking. With these two hands I can give you what you're needing, if you'll let me show you there's no shame in bleeding like red roses undo their blooms for just one season inside the sun's door. Water and wind unwind behind you, a stair to who-knows-where. Wise ones, mind, are easy. But you presume to tease me. Baby, why you play so sleazy? Is it 'cause you bleed so easy, maybe? Say you will, oh say you will, come on. You know I'm for real, babe. Wherever you are, I'll be walking.

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NONE LEFT STANDING

See, see, my playmate, come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree, slide down my rain barrel into your cellar door, and we'll be jolly friends forevermore. Hep one, two, three, see see you'd best think thrice before you fuck with me. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine pole star strung on a line is what remains of my mind. I've left it for dead, said farewell to reason. Let the sedate berate me! Now I welcome the white hair, and follow the night wherever it takes me. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five you're going to have to run to stay alive,

'cause four, three, two, and one 'cause orphaned Annie's got her goddamn gun. Once I used to be good and preach brotherhood, pledged not to let hate negate me. Now I welcome the white hair, and follow the night wherever it takes me.

You'd better run. You'd better run. None left standing. None left standing. Once I used to be good and preach brotherhood, pledged not to let hate negate me. Now I welcome the white hair, and follow the night wherever it takes me. And the devil may take me, but you'll never take me down.

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The Mighty One Mahakala

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CAN'T BE ALONE ANYMORE

They thought she had it all, But she'd died long ago. She saw a young girl smile and had her shot down. Oh, like day to night we turn from kind to predator, prey on one another because we can't be alone anymore. He sat high on his throne in secret agaony, so he inflicted scars that no one else could see. Like day to night we turn from kind to predator, prey on one another 'cause we can't be alone anymore.

Every day I walk by, to kindle your desire. You watch with eagle eye. I watch the flames grow higher. Like day to night we turn from kind to predator, prey on one another 'cause we can't be alone anymore. The fire in our hearts will burn for now and evermore. We prey on one another, 'cause we can't be alone anymore, can't go into the night alone.

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COALMINE
Your love is like a coalmine. Like California 49 cut me down in my prime, but there's nothing like the tune that I sing in your room. I'd say meeting you there is kind of like running out of air. Some might say a nightmare; but, love, I dream just to see you over the hills of Malibu. I'm into your coalmine, gas chamber valentine. Take me further than before. I want a little mort. It's a big decision. You need me on your mission. I'm losing my vision, but while falling I'll fly faster, just to serve my master. I'm into your coalmine, gas chamber valentine. Take me further than before. I want a little mort. Your canary in a coalmine has said goodbye to the sunshine. I might be running out of time; but though I die I'll never lose, for I'll haunt your every move. I'm into your coalmine, gas chamber valentine. Take me further than before. I want a little mort. I'm into your coalmine, gas chamber valentine. Though I die, I'll never lose, for I'll haunt your every move.

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MOCKINGBIRD
They said she should be erased, and her killer take her place next to me. Oh, set me free! I am just a monarch-to-be born from lechery, into treachery crawling. Led my mama to water, led her to dusky slaughter. How many more butterflies have died? A monarch-to-be, I just want to hide safe in my cocoon, safe from lark and lunacy! Please please don't leave me with the mockingbird! Please please don't leave me with the mockingbird! So the silken tie severed, spun off into forever. Samael, Israel, tethered me to an earthly hell. Born of knavery into slavery! Save me! Please please don't leave me with the mockingbird! Please please don't leave me with the mockingbird! Please please don't leave me with the mockingbird!

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All songs written by Gena Mason. Design by Gena Mason.

2013 Gena Mason. genamason.com

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EXILE

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Still images from the music video for Book 49, shot at KTD Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, New York.

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Excerpt from the press release, 10-3-10:

GENA MASON'S THIRD RECORD, EXILE, NOW STREAMING ONLINE

Its like a dance party thrown to celebrate the end of a war. So Gena Mason describes her new EP, Exile, released today on Dorado Records and now streaming online. Featuring dark, yet danceable alt/prog rock tracks with infectious melodies, the five-song EP is Masons third commercial release. Biologically descended from a line of preachers, Gena is the artistic descendant of visionary poets like William Blake and Arthur Rimbaud, who indulged in extremes to explore the heart of darkness. Exile is about braving the dangers of chaos and solitude that accompany such epic treks through the darker side of life and love and coming back, excited to be alive! Written and recorded while Gena was singing in gospel choirs in Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA, Exile features Genas trademark vocal style, somewhere between the rock/gospel belt of singer Merry Clayton and the scorched-earth vocals of Doors frontman Jim Morrison. As on her previous records, The Queen EP and Testament, Gena sings and plays rhythm and lead guitar, bass, keys, drums, and percussion. But this time around, she is joined by drummer Alejandra Arellano (a Musicians Institute grad who also studied tabla in India) and lead guitarist Tim Weber (who survived both a flood and a fire in his home during the making of this EP). Sitting in on the track He Who Is to Come is violinist Brittany Cotto, who also has played with Bobby McFerrin, Lee Ann Rimes, and Marco Antonio Solis (and, like Gena, attended Indiana Universitys renowned School of Music). Recorded this summer, Exile was tracked, mixed, and mastered by Gavin Ross at Steady Studios in Burbank, CA, and at Dorado Studios. genamason.com THE SONGS Book 49 The first track, Book 49, incorporates ideas of sonic experimentation borrowed from acts like Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, and Sonic Youth. Described by Gena as the soundtrack to a revolution, Book 49 was largely inspired by the rocket scientist and black magician Jack Parsons. A colleague of Aleister Crowley, Parsons conducted a series of rituals that invoked a mysterious force identified as the goddess Babalon. Mason (who has practiced Christianity, Buddhism, Witchcraft, and other occult sciences) elaborates that the lyrical inspiration also comes from her own intimate encounter with an entity not of this world. Hes So Real Written just a few weeks before the studio sessions, Hes So Real is a laid-back, funky dance track, with Genas rhythm guitar evoking the work of axe idol and Rolling Stones sideman Keith Richards. My Demon Lover This songs title and lyrics were inspired by Kubla Khan, the masterwork of 19th-century poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Legend has it that Coleridge received the inspiration for his classic poem during an opium dream. After waking, Coleridge wrote down what he could remember of his induced hallucination, including lines about an Abyssinian woman wailing for her demon lover. In My Demon Lover, Mason steps into the role of that lustful female, and takes it from there.

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If I Could Forgive You A longtime staple at Masons live shows, the track is finally in recorded form, its anthemic melodies tempered by the swampy slide guitar work of sideman Tim Weber. He Who Is to Come He Who Is to Come is an epic track that one music industry insider has described as a cross between The Birthday Party and Led Zeppelin. Gena wrote the song after the first time she met visionary artist Alex Grey during a ceremony at Greys New York City art gallery, Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM). Mason later worked briefly for Grey as one of his assistants; the two, who share the same birthday (November 29, Scorpio/Ophiuchus), remain friends. He Who Is to Come was also inspired by the work of Janes Addiction, Tool, and most of all Igor Stravinskys revolutionary classical work The Rite of Spring. One of Masons all-time favorite pieces of music, the Rite sparked a riot during its 1913 Paris premiere. Gena proudly notes that, though her shows havent yet caused any riots, her bands first Los Angeles gig this year was shut down by the LAPD supposedly for being too loud. Who says rock is dead?

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An excerpt from

LIBER 49 - THE BOOK OF BABALON

January 4 - March 4, 1946 E.V. INTRODUCTION This book contains the record of a magical experiment relating to the invocation of an elemental, the thereafter of the Goddess or Force called BABALON, and the results thereof. A note on the underlying philosophy. The present age is under the influence of the force called, in magical terminology, Horus. This force relates to fire, Mars, and the sun, that is, to power, violence, and energy. It also relates to a child, being innocent (i.e. undifferentiated). Its manifestations may be noted in the destruction of old institutions and ideas, the discovery and liberation of new energies, and the trend towards power governments, war, homosexuality, infantilism, and schizophrenia. This force is completely blind, depending upon the men and women in whom it manifests and who guide it. Obviously, its guidance now tends towards catastrophy. The catastrophic trend is due to our lack of understanding of our own natures. The hidden lusts, fears, and hatreds resulting from the warping of the love urge, which underly the natures of all Western peoples, have taken a homicidal and suicidal direction. This impasse is broken by the incarnation of another sort of force, called BABALON. The nature of this force relates to love, understanding, and dionysian freedom, and is the necessary counterbalance or correspondence to the manifestation of Horus. It is indicated that this force is actually incarnate in some living woman, as the result of the described magical operation. A more basic matter, however, is the indication that this force is incarnate in all men and women, and needs only to be invoked to free the spirit from the debris of the old aeon, and to direct the blind force of Horus into constructive channels of understanding and love. The methods of this invocation are described in the text. The background of this material may be found in the Book of the Law, the Comment thereon, and other writings of Aleister Crowley; also in various magical, anthropological, psychological, and philosophical texts. These are all necessary to an understanding and use of the material. One further point. It should be remembered that all human activities, after the vital functions are fulfilled, arise from the need to love or to be loved. It is therefore quite literally true that in understanding (i.e. that which embraces all categories of love) is all power given. A grasp of the principle of bipolarity should make this clear. With this crude and rudimentary philosophical discourse, then, I present the Book of Babalon Jack Parsons

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Exile album cover.

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BOOK 49
For Jack Parsons, in memoriam I a fool, Virgin at Yule. You shone in the room before me. Bared and new, I gave my all to the Beast in me. The aged queen is history. Raise your glass high and drink now to Me! To Me! Soul of night, child of twilight, I straddle the sky, dark-lidded. Heart of fire, I have inspired all love songs. Sing them to me! A bed of stars is laid for Thee, Thy Bride appointed. Come now to me! To Me! Sacred whore, I am the key to the secret pleasure center. Venture through my gate, and enter the house of ecstasy! The aged queen is history. Raise your glass high and drink now to Me! To Me!

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Still image from the music video for Book 49, shot on Christmas Day in an abandoned chapel near KTD Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, New York.

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HE'S SO REAL
What don't slay you pays you in power. Kept him waiting, day and hour aching, breaking his idols. And now everyone loves my baby. Princes yield, 'cause he's so real. Yeah, since I showed my baby how to kneel, he's so real. Just like sunlight harnesses gloom, so he rode me, night and noon gawking, stalking, bordello to room. I say I need my freedom. He says: Heel! Oh, he's so real. He says he loves me for my sex appeal. He's so real. aching, breaking our idols. And now everyone loves my baby. Princes yield, 'cause he's so real. Yeah, since I showed my baby how to kneel, he's so real.

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From a live show at Canter's in Hollywood, California. Photo by Chris Doody.

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MY DEMON LOVER
(after "Kubla Khan," by Samuel Taylor Coleridge) Where will we meet when we close our eyes? Poppies in the land where summer dies. Lead me to eternal paradise sunny skies above your caves of ice! Dream again with me, my demon lover! Hover unlike any other, an oasis remedy mistaken ... I'm into deeper desert taken. Heaven beckons from the bed you lend, from your river subterranean. Tell me, what kind of thirst is this like I've fallen in some abyss? Dream again with me, my demon lover! Hover unlike any other, an oasis remedy mistaken ... I'm into deeper desert taken. Sun is waking over some high rise. My heart's breaking as we say goodbye. Pull the curtains, and away we'll climb into ecstasy another time. Dream again with me, my demon lover! Hover unlike any other, an oasis remedy mistaken ... I'm into deeper desert taken.

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IF I COULD FORGIVE YOU

Heaven help me. How'd I end up down below on a creeping ship where other dark ones go, to a master who shames me in daylight, then turns around and keeps me up all night? You make me wakeful, made me want to live, too. I would be grateful, if I could forgive you. Lending your name, but not your hand, instead you offer an owner's brand. King magus, need I remind you that in this century, that's a crime? Slavery's hateful, but you made me want to live, too. I would be grateful, if I could forgive you.

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In fetters I'd follow where you go, but then you bolt for New Mexico! Forever, every lover that has lived knows that to gain, you've got to give. You make me wakeful, made me want to live, too. I would be grateful, if I could forgive you. Slavery's hateful, but you made me want to live, too. I would be grateful, if I could forgive you. We can't keep running around by pride and power bound. Just lay your body down; my love is your crown.

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HE WHO IS TO COME

With thanks and love to Alex Grey Lord of all, he had fallen in a long, blood-red hall then made to crawl, reviled, in sullen exile. Now I've heard he's returning, heeding his lady's yearning. Roll out a flowered, mossy carpet and wait a bit for Him Who Is to Come. The Earth is his estate. He's built a house in an unspeakable space. Pale-haired holocaust, month of fallen leaves look into his eyes, and all blight recedes. He Who Is to Come is my flame-woven fate. Now I must run; The Master and I have a date. My nuclear faun crowned in an arctic breeze! My cherry bomb stripping virgin trees! He Who Is has come. I kneel at his feet. Someday you, too, will Our Master meet. He tells me to hold on; help is on the way. Night blanches, wan. I look up and say: "I am the Earth at your feet. Do unto me as you would have done unto Thee: Shake me, wake me, break, remake me." My Love is coming. In the hall, a vessel filling, skyline red now, fresh from killing. At the altar I'm all willing such rebellion pure and thrilling. Beast and beauty's endless twinning, neither losing, neither winning. On the threshold, pleasure waiting, if we learn an end to hating. Exile found, long night abating, in the east a star pulsating. Footfalls softly on the floor. All is strangely as before: a lamp, a skull, a key, a door; My Love is waiting.

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Performing live at Canter's in Hollywood, California. Photo by Chris Doody.

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Performing live at Canter's in Hollywood, California. Photo by Chris Doody.

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At The Brewery, in Hollywood, California. Photo by Chris Doody.

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THE QUEEN EP

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THE QUEEN EP
I'll Be Your Mirror Queen Dirt Angel Darkest Hour Savage Garden Vocals, guitars, bass, drum machine, keyboards, percussion: Gena Mason. All songs written and produced by Gena Mason. "I'll Be Your Mirror" and "Dirt Angel" were tracked and mixed at Winslow Ct. Studios in Hollywood, California. Engineered by Craig Adams. Mixed by Craig Adams and Gena Mason. "Queen" was tracked and mixed at Excello Studios in Brooklyn, New York, and features Dylan Williams on viola and Joel Saladino on drums. Engineered by Chad Swahnberg. Mixed by Chad Swahnberg and Gena Mason. "Darkest Hour" and Savage Garden" were recorded at home in Portland, Oregon. Engineered and mixed by Gena Mason. Mastered by Erik Ames at SuperDigital in Portland, Oregon. Art and design by Gena Mason. 2004 Gena Mason.

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INTERVIEW
ArtistFirst Radio Network, January 2003 AF: This is the ArtistFirst Network...A frigid night outside the ArtistFirst studios, temperatures in the single digits, but we're warm in the studio because we've got hot artists and hot music, and it's another featured artist special on the premier station worldwide for the best new music you've never heard...of course, that's us here at ArtistFirst...and tonight we've got two back-to-back, and the first comes to us from California. We've got a young lady that's going to be joining us here in just a moment, and she's quite an interesting gal. I think you're gonna enjoy her life story so far...Joining us shortly is a lady who is described as possibly "a mad genius, a dangerous influence, or a ruthless rumor mill manipulator." Let's listen to Gena Mason. [plays "I'll Be Your Mirror"] AF: Well, folks, does that sound like the doings of a "mad genius, a dangerous influence, or a ruthless rumor mill manipulator"? On that note, let's welcome to the ArtistFirst studios Gena Mason, all the way from California. Hey, Gena. GM: Hey, Scott, and everybody out there, thanks for having me on the show. AF: We're speaking to you in L.A., and I wish I was in L.A. tonight, Gena. GM: I wish you were, too, Scott! It's cool, I mean, it's not cool, it's warm actually, I can't complain, it's been in the mid-70s all week, and having grown up in Indianapolis and lived in New York, I hear where you're coming from. AF: Folks, Gena is an interesting, interesting gal. First of all, Gena, give out the website, because our listeners log on and surf. Where can they go? GM: The address is www.genamason.com. I did it all myself, and I'm always working on it. AF: Gena, I just gotta say, you're a hot-looking babe. GM: (laughs) Just call me "Hot Gena." AF: I got the photo page going on. OK, Gena, many of our listeners will have never heard of you before, some very well may have. Let's go back to the beginning. You were born in Chicago, grew up in Indianapolis, and -- I was reading the line out of your bio, I like this: "psychedelic college experiences..." GM: Enough said, right? AF: Wait a minute...as if that's not enough, it says: "...included a year in Paris on scholarship." GM: Yeah, I did have a scholarship to school, so fortunately I don't have to pay for that on top of my credit card debts...but yeah, it was good to get to Paris and get that experience when I was so young, too. AF: Well, we started off the show with a cut from your Goldmine CD, and by the way, she has a couple, we're going to play some cuts from both. And we ran the tune "I'll Be Your Mirror." So,

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since you didn't get a chance to set that up because we played it before we introduced you, is there something you'd like to tell our audience about that cut? GM: Well, how it all came about...I worked on it for a little while, and then it all just came together in one rush...it was inspired by a few different things. I had recently reread The Odyssey, by Homer, and I'm a poet, that's my background, that's how I first became known in New York, and...anyway, I actually read The Odyssey for fun, which may be kind of scary to some people out there, but, hey, kids, school is good for you, so do this at home...you could get some hit songs out of it, hopefully! Anyway, I was rereading The Odyssey, and just happened around the same time to see O Brother, Where Art Thou? again, which is based on The Odyssey...so I started getting a song together, but then I started thinking about my own life experiences, too, and bringing that into the song. Most of my songs are love songs, when it comes down to it; I think that's what motivates the world, in general, and this particular song is written from the perspective of a siren. When I was going to art school, I had to get some money together, so I worked as an exotic dancer for a few months. I got a different perspective on things. AF: I bet you did! GM: Yeah, a lot of people are scared of that world, and I just kind of jumped right in. I was curious. So all these influences just started gelling, and I was really fascinated by the part in The Odyssey where the sirens are tempting Odysseus and his crew, and they have to plug their ears just to keep themselves from jumping into the water after these beautiful women. So it all kind of came together, like I said, in one rush, and I got this song out of it. It's from the perspective of a siren, and it's called "I'll be Your Mirror," which is also the title of a Velvet Underground song. They were an influence on me, when I was younger especially; like in high school I listened to them a lot, and in college. AF: As you can tell already, we have a live one here, we have an intellectual...look at the depth you go to write lyrics for a song. I mean, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" now... GM: Woof, woof-woof-woof: I can do that, too! AF: I mean that kind of music irritates me, because it takes away from artistic people like you. GM: Well, I think the difference is that they see, or at least somebody involved with the camps of those kinds of commercial acts, sees their songs as product. And, OK, it is product, and I completely realize that, and I know how to play the game. But on the other hand, I don't do this because I'm paying the bills making music. I do it because I have to and I love it, and even if I have to work fulltime for the rest of my life, I'm still going to do it. So it's a growing experience for myself, as well as for everybody else, and I try and reach a special place with each song that I write. AF: By the way, folks, Gena writes all the music, plays all of the instruments most of the time...so you're a one-woman band. GM: Yeah, well, they say necessity is the mother of invention. I don't have a band, and I find that when I write songs I hear them in my head already...and I just feel that until I find the right people to play with, as long as I know what I want, and I can play all the instruments, then I may as well just do it, it's the fastest way to go at this point. 86

AF: Well, we're going to get into some interesting things you've done and people that you've seen. But let's give the audience another taste. We're going to run "Queen" next. What's the setup on that? GM: Well, "Queen" was written during a year when I was listening to a lot of hiphop music, and you're talking about "Who Let the Dogs Out?" Well, there is a formula to that kind of music, to hiphop and rap, and during that year I was also really involved with the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church, that's where I kind of got my start as a performer. I was performing with rock poets like Patti Smith and Jim Carroll, and so on. So it was kind of a combination of these influences, 2 sides of a fence but all focused on the word. So what I wanted to do was give a slightly different, skewed take on the hiphop formula. The hiphop song is basically a braggadocio kind of thing about: "I'm this, I'm that," and it's usually about money and guns and women, but I figured I'm about something else...so, without further ado, let's just play the song. [plays "Queen"] AF: Hey, who played the violin? GM: This talented young musician named Dylan Williams played viola. You know how I found him, actually he studied at Juilliard, but I guess he didn't finish, and he ended up playing the subways in Manhattan and in Brooklyn. AF: That's kind of going from feast to famine, isn't it? GM: Yeah, and he's probably starving as we speak, but he's very talented, he has a great ear. We only had 2 rehearsals before we did this session, and he just improvised the whole damn thing. AF: Now, which of the CDs came first? GM: 911 came first. That's just a demo CD, I haven't really released it, but the recording quality is pretty decent. And Goldmine I'm releasing right now, as we speak. AF: Right this very minute, they're putting it in the trucks, it'll be in your stores later this month! GM: Uh, sure. The stores of your memory, at least. (laughs) AF: If you're just joining us, this might be a memorable featured artist special. We're talking with Gena Mason, artist extraordinaire: poet, lyricist, composer, very interesting bio, she's got some great stories to tell us...There are so many questions that I want to ask you, but let's start with the writing thing. We've already touched on the fact that your background was in poetry, and obviously you've demonstrated a depth of knowledge, you're putting something into your lyrics. But let's talk about influences. Who were the big pillars of your foundation? GM: I never can answer that influences question, because I think that each of us is influenced by everything that we experience every day. I can tell you a few groups that I've listened to obsessively, there have been different artists every year that I've maybe become obsessed with or influenced by. But on the other hand, people never tell me that I sound like the artists that I've been really into. They tell me I sound like other things, and I think those were also influences, the other ones that I really wouldn't have thought of...And I've always listened to every different type of music. I'm not one of those people who says I'll listen to anything. I don't listen to just anything, but I listen to every type of music. I always have. I had different phases as I was growing up. I was 87

brought up on pop and rock radio, of course, like almost everybody else, but I was also in conservatory for a year, and studied music theory, all the classical composers. I channel-chase like crazy every day on my way to work. I have an hour commute, so I go through 3 stations each way because I lose the reception. I go from the indie/college rock station to the jazz & blues station to KROQ. There are a few artists, I guess...I'm sorry, I'm terrible at this question! AF: Yeah, if the human mind works the way I think it does, I think every piece of music and every line of poetry you ever hear becomes... GM: ...yeah, your influence. AF: There is certainly wonderful music within every conceivable category. GM: Absolutely. What I can do is tell you with specific songs certain artists that I was listening to or influenced by at that time. Like I said with the first track, "I'll Be Your Mirror," I listened to the Velvet Underground, especially when I was younger. And they were also part of that artsy scene that I was in when I lived in New York. I mean, I'm going to go back to New York, because I'm still a New Yorker. I love New York. AF: You're insane! GM: And "Queen" was written, like I said, when I was listening to a lot of hiphop, and on this Missy Elliott CD I bought there were a couple of great tracks with Eminem, Eve, Nas, and other rappers. And "Queen" grew out of those. The next song on the EP is called "Heir," and that was influenced most by Nirvana, actually. I bought a Nirvana songbook, because I'm in awe of Cobain as a songwriter. I don't really listen to Nirvana a lot. I mean, when they're on the radio I turn it up to 11. I don't listen obsessively to their music, but I do think that Cobain was a very talented songwriter. So I learned all of the progressions in the songbook and started playing around with a few that I liked. And the song "Heir" came out of that. AF: Why don't we run it? [plays "Heir"] AF: That's "Heir," from the artist Gena Mason. She's in L.A., where it's warm, unlike here. Check out her website. Gena is a remarkable lady. The more you listen, the more you find out what an interesting character you are. GM: (laughs) That I am. AF: You can read her bio online. GM: Yeah, it's under the "rap sheet" link, haha. AF: So on your commercials for this spot, you say, "Tune in to hear what the rumors are about." Okay, so it's time to tell us. Is...the government involved? GM: Yeah, it does involve the government. That's probably the main rumor that people have been talking about these days, though I've always inspired rumor. It's just a personal trait. AF: Is this a revelation? Do we need to stop the tape?

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GM: No, keep rolling! No, I don't want to go into much detail. I don't think it's wise. But I can make a few general statements, if you don't mind my getting on my soapbox for a minute. AF: Sure. GM: I think what it comes down to is that, basically, we need better leaders in this country. (interviewer applauds) It seems like for the last couple of decades we've had administrations that have espoused a bully mentality. And what that comes down to is that I've seen a lot of predation upon, and exploitation of, the most vulnerable members of society. And human nature being what it is, it's had this trickle-down effect where everyone follows the leader, and I think our whole society is moving in that direction. I've seen that tendency lately where people have been trumpeting that attitude of preying upon those who are more vulnerable. I think we need to get a handle on it. As far as my situation goes, from what I understand, it started with an individual that I met a number of times when I was in New York City, and as with everything in my life it just escalated and snowballed from there. So now I'm being bullied by some people who are too cowardly to pick on someone their own size. AF: Don't you just hate that? GM: Yeah, I don't like bullies. Like I said, it's about people following the leader. If we had better leaders...it sounds simplistic, but I think it would make a major change in society. AF: I agree. Gena, do you want a job at ArtistFirst? We could use someone who thinks like you do. GM: If you wanna move out here to sunny California, then I'm in your office every day! AF: We share similar thoughts on the way this country's being led into oblivion. Nothing against Bush, I think he'd be a fine guy to have a beer with, but the man is clueless. GM: Yeah. AF: I could go on for hours. But, folks, you're listening to a thoughtful and intellectual artist tonight, and she's already probably led more of a life than many of us ever will. GM: I've packed a lot in my years! AF: For instance, your first rock gig was at Hollywood's Roxy Theater. How cool is that? GM: It was pretty cool. It was my first rock show ever. I had just left New York because I got run out of town, because of this whole business. I was staying with my mom in Indy, and had recorded my first demo before I split. I sent it out, and got a response from the Roxy, and flew right out there. Out here. It was my first trip to Hollywood, my first trip to California, and I was completely unprepared. I had no car, no job, I didn't know anyone. I figured I would spend the summer, and that's what happened, I did meet my goal, but in the most surreal and roundabout way that anyone could possibly comprehend. AF: You're a driven individual. GM: Like I said, it's a matter of priorities. It's what I love doing, and I couldn't imagine I mean, I can imagine, you see it around you every day, people who are miserable with their humdrum lives because they're too afraid. Fear and laziness hold people back so much. I think fear more than 89

laziness. People are just so afraid to do anything that they really want to do. I can understand that, because the system makes it difficult for you, too...but anyway, that's what drives me: my passion. I could never imagine living in a way where I couldn't express that. So anyway, I came out to L.A. and played my show at the Roxy, and ended up on the street because I had no money. (laughs) I literally was on the street. I walked for about 3 days, for fourteen hours a day, because I ran out of money to stay anywhere. I started out in decent hotel rooms, then went to hostels, then ended up just walking down the street at one a.m. and freezing, and walking in through the open doors of strange guys and asking if I could crash for the night. Eventually I stayed in a couple of homeless shelters. One was overnight, that was very surreal, it was on Skid Row downtown. And then I stayed for 4 weeks at kind of an "upscale" homeless shelter, hahaha. AF: Is that where you were with the Chinese nuns? GM: Yeah, it was run by Chinese nuns. AF: I didn't know there were Chinese nuns! GM: Yeah, they were all pretty much Chinese, and let me tell you, the stories they tell you about nuns are not untrue. They are not generally very nice people. I think sexual repression really can damage you! AF: Not a real big sense of humor in the Chinese nun category. GM: No... AF: And you're doing this because you're driven to be an artist. GM: Because I'm driven to be an artist. Right now I'm working on a full-length album. Goldmine is an introduction for everybody so they know where I'm coming from when I do release the fulllength. Around summertime, I said to myself, if this was the last year of my life, what would I really want to do? How would I want to spend it? And, yeah, there's going to Hawaii and everything, but this is one attainable goal. I can make a great record. So that's what I'm working on. AF: That's a great question. From now on, I'm going to ask every band I interview that question: if you knew you had exactly a year left to live, what would you start doing that you're not doing now? GM: I think people should live their lives more like that. Like I said, I'm driven by my passions, and it makes life very difficult at times. But in the end, we're all gonna die. (laughs) AF: I think a lot of musicians, myself included...I have an album half-finished. When you said that, I thought: I'm going to finish that album! GM: All right! It makes me happy to know that you were inspired to do that, because I think one of the major roles of the artist is to inspire people to take action. AF: Let's run another track, "Dirt Angel." What's this about? GM: Being depressed! (laughs) Actually, not really depressed...like I said, all my songs are pretty much love songs, in one way or another. This song is written from the perspective of feeling...you know how, when the object of your affection doesn't care about you, it makes you feel like you're nothing? Like you're completely worthless. I was thinking of the things that we hold as most 90

worthless, like dirt, saliva, feces, all these things that we see as terrible or without value...but like the air we breathe...there's no price on that, but it's invaluable. AF: We need it badly. GM: We need it badly, we need the dirt badly, we need saliva badly, we need these things that we ignore and step on every day. So that's where I was coming from with this song: just saying to this guy, hey, you may think I'm nothing, but I mean everything to you. [plays "Dirt Angel"] AF: That's the music of Gena Mason. Add a dot-com to that, and you've got the website. We've got it up here on the studio PC. As you can see, Gena is...she's a babe. (GM laughs) Doesn't hurt to be a good-looking babe in the music business, does it? GM: No, it definitely helps you get your foot in the door, haha. AF: There's a good question: do you believe that being an attractive young female has helped you, or has it been a hindrance in the music business? GM: It's not that it's been a hindrance, but it's kind of a double-edged sword sometimes. Yeah, it helps with meeting people, because guys wanna meet an attractive woman, but on the other hand, then they just look at you as a sex toy, and don't want to take you seriously as an artist. A lot of guys have just tried to treat me like a groupie or whatever, and nothing against groupies, but I'm not one, I'm an artist, and I'm a person to be taken seriously. And there's a lot of hostility from guys sometimes when you're like that. But I think they respect you more, in the end. It just makes it a longer, harder road. AF: The endless string of maggots and rip-off artists...it's the stereotypical male world that takes advantage of females, in all situations. But you seem tenacious enough and smart enough to know what you're doing. And your life experiences have put a lot of arrows in your quiver. You've done a lot of stuff. GM: Hahaha yeah, I've got a lot of ammo. AF: Let's talk about the recording process. Since you play everything, how does that whole process work for you? GM: It's different every time, but there is a general process that I go through. Actually, I get a lot of input while I'm sleeping. I'll wake up in the middle of the night with a song in my head, or with a melody fragment. If I just play with that for a while, I get progressions, then eventually the lyrics. The lyrics usually take me a little longer. Maybe because I'm a little more particular about that, having the background as a poet. I mean, I've always been a musician, too, but for some reason I'm just pickier with the lyrics, it takes me longer. With the progressions, it's instinctual, it comes very easily to me, I just get them down. Then usually I do some recordings at home, listen back to them as long as it takes, then I might do a little pre-production with my 4-track. Next, I take it into the studio. What helps is performing live, at least a few times, on every track, before recording it. Nothing can replace that energy from the audience. You learn so much more about the songs and maybe how you could better perform them. Just the energy level that comes from the audience, that 91

goes into you and into the songs. So I like to get out, even for just an open mic, and road-test a song before going into the studio. AF: We're going to switch to the demo CD. Let's hear "Drive-by Baby." What's the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear "drive-by?" GM: Violence. It's a love song (laughs)...of course. Hahaha. I guess it's another one about an unattainable object of your affection...it's hard to describe this one. I guess there's the element of love and death, and blah blah blah, but, hey, just play it. [plays "Drive-by Baby"] AF: The next cut is "City of Night." Tell us about that. GM: I should write country songs. This is another broken-hearted love song. It was inspired by an affair that I had with this teenage boy. I was assisting his mother, who is a poet in New York City, and I was staying at their place, and the parents were away, and he and I were alone...and, well, nature took its course! Hahaha. But it was very brief. He dumped me for--well, I found out later he had a girlfriend already, and she was wealthy, so...natural choice. At that time, I was also reading a book called City of Night, by John Rechy. Again, a lot of my songs are inspired by literature. So my song title is taken from the book title. It's a book about a hustler, a male bisexual hustler, and I really related to this character in some ways. I had done a little bit of hustling while I was working as an exotic dancer, and I got a taste of the life. I also related to the perspective of this character, who was a writer, too...again, my influences come from everywhere. So it's the result of all that. This song was my first demo track, actually the first track I ever recorded in the studio. [plays "City of Night"] AF : Well, folks, time has run out. We look forward to having you back, Gena. The last track we're gonna run is called "Smokestack Lightning." Set that one up for us. GM: That one's a cover of a Willie Dixon/Howlin' Wolf tune. [plays "Smokestack Lightning"] AF: It's been a pleasure having you. I wish I could have just read the bio. You made all that up! No one could have a life like that! GM: No, it's all true! AF: I'm joking. You've had a wonderful experience, and life has been an adventure for you. Wait until you get old, it gets boring. GM: No, my life will never be boring, I promise. You'll always have good stuff to read on my bio pages.

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The Queen EP album cover.

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DIRT ANGEL
Gravel grovels underfoot. I'm beneath you all, but throughout your wasted hours I break your constant fall. Chorus: I'm your dirt angel. Just for you I fell by the wayside, by your sun despised. I'm so close, I'm hard to find: furtive mercury, daughter of the two entwined, electricity. Spoken in each kiss you give my alphabet of need. Into every girl you bed goes my own secret greed. (Chorus) The one that you lie with most nights too late, babe, you'll find her soul is all iron pyrite. Her coins made you blind. Tonight when you lay you down, give me everything. Lover, will you fill the hole that they all made in me, your dirt angel? Just for you I fell by the wayside, by your sun despised.

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Self-portrait in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Gena Mason: Illustrated Lyrics

Rock musician and writer Gena Mason first became known as a performance poet in New York City. Gena Mason: Illustrated Lyrics contains the song lyrics from Mason's first four commercial albums The Killing Season, Exile, Testament, and The Queen EP released from 2003-2013. During that time, Mason lived in many places, including New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Woodstock, New York; Pasadena, California; Palm Desert, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; Quito, Ecuador; and Puerto Lopez, Ecuador. She also performed and toured throughout the United States, both solo and with a band. An editor and main contributor at WikiLeaks Central, Mason also writes for other blogs and news sources. Her acclaimed 2005 political 'zine, The CIA Makes Science Fiction Unexciting. Vol. 3, spent two seasons on exhibition at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2012 Gena Mason graduated from the Columbia University School of Law. She is now based in Southern California.

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