We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Purpose Of "Wow" (fdm070)

by Chris Anderson

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Hand made and assembled by CA

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Purpose Of "Wow" (fdm070) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    3 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    98
    releases

    Get all 98 Chris Anderson releases available on Bandcamp and save 70%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Goodbye Eden (fdm152), The Trials Of Henry (fdm154), Ghost Town (fdm153), Standing Sideways On The Sun (fdm151), The Catalyst (fdm150), Storm Free EP (fdm149), A Thousand Heels Abound EP (fdm148), Dented (fdm147), and 90 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $57.60 USD or more (70% OFF)

     

1.
The Purpose Of "Wow" 01:32
lyrics
buy track
THE PURPOSE OF WOW somebody once asked me "what's the purpose of wow?" i said "you gotta find out for yourself" nobody's gonna give you what you're dying to find don't you know you know you're gonna go blind if you keep on singing that old song there's nothing like an arrow right between your bleeding heart there's nothing that'll carry you, carry you there's nothing but the river and the cavern of your soul you could never be whole if you keep on singin' that old song -8/31/10
2.
Hurricane Jane And Ida 03:46
lyrics
buy track
HURRICANE JANE AND IDA hurricane jane and ida go walking in the rain sad songs are the only reminders of the pain they felt when their shadows collided with my train of thought, we'd rather not walk out hurricane jane and ida revolve around the circus scene where the shadow dissolves into the light, so bright, like a cannon exploding we feel it right now hurricane jane said to ida, "i don't know when the time will be right, just to let it all go to see the light, it could be a trick or a trap we gotta dish it out and take it like that, yeah hurricane jane and ida, said "i do" in the storm while the ravens circled around their bag of thorns that they saved for the warning bell we knew it all so well and ida makes a dash for the meadow sea now she can see, now she can see and ida like a spider spins a web for all to see but lets it be and hurricane jane says "you've made a mess of me" hurricane jane and ida just sat there in the storm on the porch while the fire was raging far below and they smiled at the children on the sidewalk who stopped and said hello, who are you, yo hurricane jane and ida go drifting like a good idea through the weight of the dream, the topic shifts from the good to an impossible scene oh how we heard them cry out and ida makes a dash for the meadow sea now she can see, now she can see and ida like a spider spins a web for all to see but lets it be and hurricane jane says "you've made a mess of me" hurricane jane and ida go walking in the rain sad songs are the only reminders.... -5/13/10
3.
Traffic Jam 03:28
lyrics
buy track
TRAFFIC JAM on the right side there is an evil lurking looks like mom when she's giving you your medicine but in her eyes she twists and turns the mantle shifts as we all tumble down the liar's hill we all fall down when the ravens circle round the eagle soars for a while then settles on the muddy ground we all fall down on the muddy ground on the left side there is a ray of hope somewhere, i dare you to stop and try to find it now from what i heard she's like a wounded bird sometimes just time is everything you need to reinvent the circus of this traffic jam, this river she's a queen sometimes she's monster she's a beauty what a scene she made at the head of the charade before the eagle came . and took it all away sometimes we can't wait and sometimes we hesitate up ahead, there is a pillow full of dust and wind and it's calling you away again and right behind you the feet of millions there to grind you down between the noise and air and everyone the winds keep blowing one by one they knock you down to where the eagle lays, talons, wings in disarray even the raven see no use in those surroundings on the muddy muddy ground... -9/29/10
4.
Wow 09:07
lyrics
buy track
WOW good morning, senorita i think you know the time i say, you're looking fine c'mon, let's drink a little wine and we'll go back in time to when everybody sang, "hurrah" pack up your suitcase and set it on fire and go outside, thumb it to the outskirts of town we'll make it home and we'll never be so alone i still remember the carousel's embers we'd spin and spin, and do it over again and i still remember the day that we said "we gotta go" you can leave that on the dark side of the road good evening, senorita have you seen the news today oh boy, was it rough - oh boy, was it tough we're welcoming the ones now that their damaged souls are gone under the sky, it's a pale kind of gray as the mountains erase, it's a new kind of day we blight and burst and remember what we said way back when we didn't know the time you might remember if i sang you a line from the torrents of rain to the sores on your shame til you let it go you can leave it on the dark side of the road and wait for the coming storm and wait for the calming storm and wait for the common storm that washes like oil and rum good morning, senorita it's so good to see ya oh well, how do you do say, what now did ya do when all of it came true do ya wanna talk about it now? dancing all around me all those moments, they surround me they dig me to the dirt until i fell the pain, the hurt still i see the joy parade for everything we made hallelujah! toes in the dirt it's the purpose of WOW it's not my intention it's just, right now we gotta remember to symbol the lines as they grow and then leave them on the dark side of the road -12/9/09 & 4/12/10
5.
Landslide 04:29
lyrics
buy track
LANDSLIDE mesmerize me - take a picture of my soul terrify me and send that rabbit down the hole don't spill no comfort, leave at the mention of the rain magnified, it's just like we did that same old dance again tear down the screens and doors that surround you like a vacuum blow it open wide it's a lovely kind of day for a landslide paradise or a paradox? it's yours to figure out what's the use when the ones you want are the ones who are walking out mesmerize me and burn a candle for my soul magnify me and send that rabbit screaming down the hole beyond the mask a fool is not a fool but none the wiser leave them all aside it's a lovely kind of day for a landslide thou poison, i've seen you duck and dive, such a thrill to be alive mesmerize me and clear the floor before the other ones arrive how many landslides does it take before we know who's in control magnify me and send that rabbit screaming from his hole this elevation is here just for the taking what's it like outside? it's a lovely kind of day for a landslide -6/13/10
6.
Further On Down 05:19
lyrics
buy track
FURTHER ON DOWN someday you'll wake up and the river won't rise again what do you think of that, now? one way or another you'll go back on your word again so can't you picture that now, uh? further on down the road further on down the road you can carry that load if we go further on down the road you think you've seen it all? the stars are gonna fall again 6but, now, is anything for certain? now here's the moment when we rise and fall and rise again and go between the curtain's gold gold further on down the road further on down the road we can carry that load if we go further on down the road of all those many scenes, so many scenes how many wash away? is there a better way to say so? too many lines, another dash we made the most of this parade when we were standing in the rain, yeah further on down the road further on down the road we can carry that load if we go further on down the road and if the crowd erupts, please interrupt me if you've got the time to sit and wait for this attraction while all the poets earn their wings and all the choir angels sing amazing grace, oh i can see, yeah! further on down the road further on down the road we can carry that load if we go further on down the road beyond the thunder wall, the lightning rail we're bound to take it there -2/5/11
7.
Shadowboxing 04:51
lyrics
buy track
SHADOWBOXING when the rivers run you down, you're crazy when you're ticking like a time bomb, baby you scatter round and break it down so they can see the sunlight in your eyes when you feel you can't go any further when you feel it's getting that much better you shut it down and think about the time you thought you had them in your sights step into the light she's glowing so bright she's gonna reignite we're the only ones shadowboxing the sun any other day it could go any other way but who am i to say we're the only ones shadowboxing the sun when the walls are closing in on you just sit back and think of what the sandman brought us we got the gold, it's hidden deeper than this island in your eyes when the moment takes you spinning out, babe you never thought you'd miss the party now, hey we thought it right to try and sieze the wood for the trees are not so high step into the light she's glowing so bright she's gonna reignite we're the only ones shadowboxing the sun any other day it could go any other way but who am i to say we're the only ones shadowboxing the sun when the mirror turns its back on you when all the wonders of the world come crashin' in between the rivers and the lighthouse the future's in those lights when you can't believe it anymore, no it's like a broken record, back to zero we sing along without the song revealing we're all high as kites step into the light she's glowing so bright she's gonna reignite we're the only ones shadowboxing the sun any other day it could go any other way but who am i to say we're the only ones shadowboxing the sun -8/12/11
8.
Mega 05:51
lyrics
buy track
MEGA she points at the ceiling awry but okay all her lanterns were covered by the scene of the spray and we laid there in wait with our eyes on the gate the mountains, to the cavalry: you're better off late! on the steps of the cathedral where we all laid our hate sweet mary, in the cupboard don't you dare hesitate she laughs like an outlaw so evil, so wry as slick, or even more than a dead dog's eye and it's not like we tried to keep on building inside the ladder, to the wall: don't you see me at all? like the words of all the poets spring a vague waterfall sweet mary, don't you stand there it's all gonna fall.... -10/18/10
9.
Bleach 04:34
lyrics
buy track
BLEACH we bleached the sky just to see the reflections as they rose to the color of the dress she wore on the morning when the hammer came down she laughed and said she'd seen it before, the last go around half a mile from the wayward station read a book, pass the hours as the day goes by somewhere behind her velvet face she made them all smile as they fell and they died out we get a little bit closer to the mirror buried deep inside we get a little bit closer to the end of the line, yeah my, oh, my oh how the days go by we wrote a letter in the future tense and thought about the way that it could make sense when there is nothing left standing but the dust and the wind and the last of the footptints on the floor, behind the closet door it's lying there, but no one knows what it's there for even at the end of the day we put our hands in our pockets and we stroll away, still we get a little bit closer to the river running deep inside we get a little bit closer to the end of the line, yeah my, oh, my oh how the days go by we shot the moon just to see their reactions as its cover splintered all over the eastern sky somebody said that it was all an act even though we all were there, none of us could deny it still we get a little bit closer... still we get a little bit closer to the end of the line my, oh, my oh how the days go by -3/8/10
10.
Timber 05:31
lyrics
buy track
TIMBER mirror, mirror on the floor tell me, what'cha down there for? a subtle crack, a silver mine it takes me back to better times, better times what's good as gold ain't worth much now anymore and a preacher's word's as golden as the summer floor we're the last of many, doin' time, doin' time, doin' time it never hits you the way you remember you never fell but you still said "timber" hold out, hold on and think about the way that it feels, yeah yeah two rolling dice, two passers-by too late to ever wonder why it all fades away a noble shift to meadows green beyond the cliff, it's what i mean, what i mean to see beyond the hue, the screen's in front of you to walk in circles in the summer, to sing the blues we miss the beat, we're on the run, on the run, on the run it never hits you the way you remember you never fell but you still said "timber" hold out, hold on and think about the way that it feels, yeah yeah -9/29/10
11.
Those Crooked Lights 07:00
lyrics
buy track
THOSE CROOKED LIGHTS goodbye, my old friend it's been such a lonely ride to the other side of the bend but when those lights go down maybe i'll still be around goodbye, oh my love i'll see you again sometime when dragons turn back into doves but when those lights go down maybe i'll still be around oh, those lights those crooked lights they flood my memory and all that's surrounding me oh, those lights those crooked lights they'll shine down again sometime if we put up with the fight so goodbye, my old friend it's so sad these good times had to come to such bitter ends but when those lights go down maybe i'll still be around... -12/9/09 & 4/12/10

about

Chris Anderson's 38th full-length album.

Sometime in late 2009, while I was still working on mixing and sequencing Hello Central, the creative bug bit me once again and I found myself improvising a number of song ideas to a recording (which is, sadly, trapped on a crashed hard drive). I sat with these for a few months before starting to turn them into actual songs. They came pretty slowly, despite 2010 being the year that I was pretty much laid up for most of it and had all the time in the world. Still, the songs came, but slowly.

Eventually some of the better ones were demoed, in a fully-arranged (but still acoustic-based) format, and I sat with those for a while. I wasn't gigging at the time, nor was there any sort of digital outlet for my music established at the time, so I worked slowly and somewhat deliberately.

Finally, in 2011, sessions for this album began in earnest. But they were still slow-moving. I had the album title, and I think I even had the cover at this point, and I knew that I was sitting on an album full of solid songs. This meant that the album had to be good, every note where it should be, every song from the top of the heap. As such, there was a lot of time spent scrutinizing these recordings and making sure that the album only focused on the best songs from the bunch (there were a number of outtakes, but not many).

In July 2012, I made a return to the live stage, for the first of 25 Big Shows at Fireflies. These songs factored quite heavily into those initial setlists and it was just a matter of time before this album had to be completed and released.

And so it came to be that, on 12/1/12, The Purpose Of "Wow" was released to the public, at my 4th Fireflies show. Along with a ton of other songs, this show featured a complete performance of this album and CDs were sold from the merch table.

I got the idea to name the album The Purpose Of "Wow" as sort of a play on that book, The Power Of Now, and I think there was a little instrumental demoed with that title (among those lost recordings) though it was never a contender. I already had a song called "Wow" but then one day, totally as a joke, I picked up a guitar and sang "Somebody once asked me "what's the purpose of wow?" I said you've got to find out for yourself". And, thus, the opening title track was born.

This led perfectly into the original album-opener, "Hurricane Jane And Ida", which is sort of about two conjoined twins in the sunset of their years, and features several sly references to things from that particular time (which only make sense to me). Musically, this was actually the result of listening to a lot of early Taylor Swift (under duress, though I have nothing but mad respect for her now), though there is nothing really about this song that would suggest it. This song, more than any other on this album, has gone on to become an all-time FDM classic and is one of my favorite songs of all time.

This kicks right into the fiery "Traffic Jam", which is about our consistently-deadlocked government (14 years later and nothing's really changed). The opening line - "On the right side, there is an evil lurking / looks like mom when she's giving you your medicine" - is a particular fave.

This soon gives way to the epic, "Wow". Originally titled "Good Morning Senorita", and ad-libbed almost precisely as this lyric ended up, this song is giant. The chorus references my old song, "Dark Side Of The Road", as does the ending of this song which is based around a bombastic rendering of the former song's main riff, and is basically a song about existing.

"Landslide" is a super funky jam that features a call-and-response bit that always blows me away. This one took a little while to get together and was originally very different (how different? we'll never know until the demos are recovered). Unfortunately it's impossible to sing both parts live so this one only gets performed when the entire album does.

"Further On Down" was the newest song on this set, originally coming into being during writing sessions for Panic And The Slim Divide, and is one of the better songs from this era. For some reason, the backup for this track disappeared before a final mix could be done and, because of that, this song was almost left off the album. Fortunately it was not.

"Shadowboxing" was the last song on this album to be completed, yet was one of the first to be conceived. This was one whose lyric eluded me for a long time, made even worse as the months continued to pass and my brain got more and more used to the wordless vocals of the demo. Shocking, then, that the lyric that did eventually come out was actually quite solid. This is one of my mom's favorite FDM songs.

"Mega" is one of those tracks that just kind of came out of nowhere and was super fun to record. The full length version of this is over twelve minutes long and features a very long (and very repetitive) jam that ultimately fades out (an edit of the jam appears on a rarities collection called Nothing But The Weather). Very dark and twisted, very different than anything else on this album. But you gotta have the dark moments.

"Bleach" is the only song that I wrote in the two months that was laid up at home, post-ankle surgery, and is one of my favorites. I really dig the lyric and the refrain is about as spot-on as it gets. This one was often neglected but is really near the top of the FDM pile.

"Timber" is the most pop-oriented song on this album, and is a bit cheesy (itself the result of listening to office radio for a year straight), but is one that I really dig a lot. The last song on the album, "Those Crooked Lights", was initially written in the car and I have very distinct memories of coming up with those words and then getting home and making it work as a song. It's a fun one to play and a fitting closing song.

While there are so goddamn many FDM albums, this one will probably always be near the top of the pile, if not the pinnacle itself, which is why this was the first album chosen for 2024's Album Series of live performances. It's just a fun collection of songs and I hope you dig it too.

-CA, 4/3/24

credits

released December 1, 2012

"produced" by chris anderson
recorded in the sidebar, summer 2011
mixed in the sidebar, summer 2012

all songs written by chris anderson
(c) chris anderson / flying dachshund music (bmi)

CA: acoustic and electric guitars, bass, acoustic and electric mandolin, banjo, keyboards, percussion, drum programming, vocals, other shit.

special thanks to krissy, my family, my friends, and YOU.

(p)2011 (c) 2012 ca / flying dachshund music. all rights reserved. unauthorized reproduction has its place and all that sort of thing but thieves and ripoff artists will be shown the purpose of ka-pow.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Chris Anderson image

Chris Anderson Alexandria, Virginia

Chris is a wildly prolific songwriter who has hovered among the outskirts of the music world for over 30 years. On his own label, Flying Dachshund Music, Chris has released 154 CDs, 96 of them being full-length albums. That's just the tip of the iceberg and there are no signs of stopping. Ever.

chrisanderson-earlyfdm.bandcamp.com/music

chrisanderson-bg.bandcamp.com ... more

contact / help

Contact Chris Anderson

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this album or account

If you like Chris Anderson, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now