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Radioactive Squirrels

from Carkey Malarkey (Digital Deluxe) by Cark

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about

This is another one that we remembered in principle, but that had to be completely rebuilt and reimagined for this record.
The first draft of this song was probably written while I was living in LA in 2000, feeling incredibly lonely, and writing a lot of mopey songs about being the sweaty poor guy in a culture obsessed by rich freaks without sweat glands. It also might have originated in the year after I moved home to Ashland, and was feeling a ton of social pressure to quit bothering people with my ambition to do more than have bbqs and drink forties.
But whenever it was first written, it was then immediatly shelved it for being insufferably emo. Playing it made me want to give myself a wedgie.
When Dustin suggested it for the new record, I was pretty surprised since it had been so mopey that it was almost an anti-Cark song. It was also far more straight-forward than our usual tunes--more Screeching Weasel than early Devo. But he really liked the chorus (the only part either of us could remember), and the suggestion that it was better to sing about squirrels than broken hearts seemed Cark enough to give it a shot.
After finishing the new version, my girlfriend said it was the best song I've ever written--which I don't think is true. But I do really like the final version. The way it pairs the sincere and the absurd feels true to life, and the synth breakdown gave it extra dimension. And once Dustin added some backup vocals and squirrel noises, the whole thing really came together.
IMHO, this one sounds best while driving fast by yourself, and screaming along with the chorus about whatever awkward social experience you're driving fast to flee from.
Enjoy! Or don't! Your choice!

lyrics

I try to write a song that’ll make you move your hips
But instead I get bogged down in existential shit
Oh yeah, oh yeah

I try and make a joke to put a smile on your lips
But I end up navel gazing like a whiny bitch
Oh yeah, oh yeah

All my friends are at a bbq
I’m over in the corner don’t know what to do
Why can’t I ever just let myself have fun

I want to run around in circles
Why am I so screwed up
I want to make out with girls
Why am I so screwed up
I want to drink beer and hurl
Why am I so screwed up
I’d rather sing about unstoppable armies of Radioactive squirrels

Try and tell a story with an absurd twist
End up coming off a narcissist
Oh yeah, oh yeah

Try to have a convo with some new people
End up tripping over syllables
Oh yeah, oh yeah

All my friends are on the dance floor doing the twist
While I’m busy scaring off another therapist
Why can’t I just let myself have fun

I want to run around in circles
Why am I so screwed up
I want to make out with girls
Why am I so screwed up
I want to drink beer and hurl
Why am I so screwed up
I’d rather sing about unstoppable armies of Radioactive squirrels

Weirdo, not emo, is what I’m shooting for
So why am I facedown on the floor

Goofy shit, gimme goofy goofy shit
Enough with the personal apocalypse
Why can’t I let myself have fun

I want to run around in circles
Why am I so screwed up
I want to make out with girls
Why am I so screwed up
I want to drink beer and hurl
Why am I so screwed up
I’d rather sing about unstoppable armies of Radioactive squirrels

credits

from Carkey Malarkey (Digital Deluxe), released January 21, 2022

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Tingle Finger Recordings 東京都, Japan

Tingle Finger Recordings is an independent online record label founded by an unknown interstellar rock frontiersman.

Originating in Southern Oregon (USA), as a chronicler of obscure and forgotten rock music of the late 1990s, the label and its members look to continue spreading the Tingle, by delivering sounds of fun and excitement to listeners in various places. ... more

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