Sophistic Music is our label. This is our stuff on their site. There is music, lyrics, album covers, etc. here if you follow the links. When the redirect works, you can just type unnormals.com …It would be great to say it always works, but that would be a little lie.
It is a slightly political album. Not all of our stuff is even remotely socially aware, but this album… is probably about as political as we are gonna get.
More Songs from other albums by the Unnormals. Contact the Unnormals somehow.
Other Links to us that we also control.
Stole this music player from our friend Sam Proof.
All songs copyright Sophistic Music 2006, 2007, 2008. All Rights Reserved. Our name, the Unnormals, has been protected at bandnameprotection.org, and belongs to us.
I am Nic Microscopic, of the Unnormals. I write the lyrics, play the guitar, and it is my voice on the recordings. I have been made aware that I should post a more verbal explanation of my politics if there is to be less confusion for some listeners. I do present a political message with songs and videos that may be supported with a longer verbal explanation of my thoughts than songs or videos allow, and so here we are.
As I am an American, let me start with a quote from Thomas Jefferson. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.”
As I am from Philadelphia, let us also hear the words of Benjamin Franklin. “Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.”
I am an optimist politically. I believe that liberty, justice, truth, knowledge, understanding, logic, and strength are all vitally important to our society. I believe that action is important, but that it should never precede those others except in their defense. I believe that cynicism, apathy, and ignorance are the enemies of a free society. I respect the hopeful. I admire the visionary. I hope for changes that will be positive and logical. I have no respect whatsoever for those who say that all is lost, and that it was always this way. It was not always this way. All is not lost. There are things to do to fix it. There is thought. There is discussion. There is action. This is your life that you are living, so do something with it. Think. Educate. Learn. Hope. Vote. If you are just going to say nothing can be done, please stop talking as your apathy will spread like a virus. If you are not willing to stand up for your beliefs, or you will not bother to even believe in them anymore, then you are no good to any political discussion. If you have your heart set on being cynical, then just at least be quiet about it. Seriously.
I do not believe that I can change the world. I am microscopic in more than just name to the scale of the discussion at hand. That does not mean that I have nothing to say. I may have a few conversations in this life that change a mind or two here or there, but I am not a leader. I do not wish to lead anything. I am not selling anything. I am just speaking, because I can, and because I must. I believe that our country can be much greater than this, and that part of the path towards that greatness involves admitting and correcting previous mistakes. It is not too late.
I personally do not believe that it was appropriate to restrict any of our liberties for security, nor do I believe that we should continue with limiting our rights in this manner. Some countries in the modern world have tried that tactic for decades, and it has not aided their cause of security in the least. This is because it cannot, due to the basic goal of terrorism. Terrorism attacks a sense of security for the purpose of being taken seriously as a political power. Every act of terrorism is publicity for their cause, and so is every public attempt to adapt to it made by their adversary. Terrorists have defeated you when you stop viewing them as criminals, start viewing them as adversaries, and go to war with them openly, inadvertently killing innocents, destroying cultures, creating new allies for them with your mistakes, and giving away all of your virtues to attempt to defeat them. Fear is their weapon. Panic is their hope. Over reaction is their goal. The terrorist wants to push a society to react with terror. A reasonable solution to the problem of terrorism must not involve inadvertently killing civilians, torturing people, imprisoning the innocent, destroying cultures, fueling political tensions, overthrowing nations, or removing ourselves from international laws. A reasonable solution to terrorism would involve keeping all of our virtue, and retaining all of our liberties, and most of all not being terrified, while we work to build a greater international police force to deal with international criminals. War and nationalism are not possible solutions to terrorism. Liberty and justice will be our salvation if we are serious about defeating it. Strength of resolve for our beliefs is our true defense against the madness of fear.
A military cannot defeat terrorists with military action. No military can. It is not possible, as terrorists are civilians, and very difficult to separate from civilian populations. They are criminals and can be dealt with only through international police work. There is no way to be entirely safe from terrorism. To try to be entirely safe one will give over the entirety of life in the bargain. A foreign military waging a military action against a civilian popultion of criminals hiding inside a civilian population of innocents will gradually manage to turn innocents into adversaries, and opponents to their mere presence into terrorists. In Iraq at this time and as always the casualties are mostly Iraqis. Our military is fantastic, but they cannot defeat terrorism through occupation of foreign nations, or military actions involving civilian populations. It is just not possible.
Iraq was not involved in 911, so the situation is all the more ludicrous. They did not have weapons of mass destruction as we claimed, and that simply means we were completely wrong. In Afghanistan we have international support because we were right to send soldiers there as the government had collapsed and it was a breeding ground for our actual enemies.
We simply had need of better international police agencies in 2001, and as the United States this is where we should have focused all of our attention, and soldiers, and treasure. Instead we chose open war with Iraqis for no sound reasons, nationalistic changes to our rights for no sound reasons, and fear instead of liberty.
We have lost our way so significantly in this regard that I am ashamed of all of our leaders, for they have become so weak in their defense of our country that they have forfeited important elements of our way of life out of fear. We have leaned towards ignorance and nationalism and at great cost. If this is not corrected at this important juncture, then I am loathe to predict what happens when those laws are then bent against unpopular voices and minorities to greater degrees and with no failsafe. Absolute power will corrupt absolutely.
We are Americans. We should not torture people, or even discuss the notion as though it has merit. We should not remove ourselves from the Geneva Conventions. We should not attack sovereign nations on our own without the backing of the international community, no matter how evil they might be. We should not keep our National Reservists locked indefinitely in conflict, without either a withdrawal plan, or a draft proposal. We should not allow wire tapping. We should not allow secret searches of American citizens. We should not allow secret prisons. We should not be committing war crimes, and we should uphold the merit of the international courts to prove how strongly we feel on the subject. We should not be debating habeas corpus. We should rail against the Patriot Act in the name of patriotism. We should hold Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney responsible for their unacceptable failures of judgement in exercising their power to test political science theories at the expense of reason, our soldiers lives and our international credibility. They should all three apologize to the families of every soldier in Iraq for their personal hubris and its results. Whoever said that there were definitely weapons of mass destruction should be fired and not promoted in favor of more competent leaders. If they said it to the nation, or to the United Nations, they should apologize at the very least for a falure to be competent. We should impeach the President of the United States for a complete failure of leadership, and a seeming inability to understand the reality of foreign or domestic affairs. We should be debating issues in these primaries of greater significance than race, gender, and age of the candidates. We should be Americans.
Americans should not fear truth or reason. Americans should not abandon themselves to ruin. Americans should defend their liberty and their freedom, from themselves if need be.
We should not give up our freedoms and liberties lightly, and it was lightly. We gave some of them up to criminals. We gave some of them up to poor leadership. There is this ongoing debate about not letting the terrorists win, but this is madness. They won. We changed so many things out of fear that they did get what they wanted. That was more than they could have ever hoped for. We are debating many relatively unimportant issues in our country compared with liberty and freedom, and that should change.
I express sincere outrage, because my opinion is not being represented by any prominent politicians in these last eight years. I want to express very clearly, as loudly as possible, and as politely as necessary to be heard if at all possible, that I disagree with the notion that to move forward we must not look at our mistakes. I feel that there are tremendous mistakes of logic being made by leaders who fail to represent even basic principles of their country. This leadership has been so weak, dishonest, and corrupt that it will be our destruction if we do not turn away from madness and return to the defense of liberty.
There are those who say that the world is different now, and that we cannot go back to replace our freedoms and our liberties. They say that we must adapt to this modern threat in new ways. They are wrong. We are Americans. We can be just as strong now, as ever before. If we did need new ways to deal with modern threats, nationalism and fear mongering are not new. Nationalism is the enemy of individual freedom, and fear mongering is the enemy of personal liberty. Both of these are also very poor solutions to the problems at hand. I suggest that we need strong solutions to deal with modern threats. As our regard for liberty and freedom have gotten us to the 21st century quite well, I think we will do well to keep them, and in some ways restrengthen them. It is through our virtues that we shall prevail. Let the voices of fear mongering be afraid, for we shall be free when we embrace our liberties and fear no more.
I am an American, and quite proud of it. I believe in the United States of America, and I believe that it has principles of freedom and liberty that are worth defending, which are in need of defense against a blight of ignorance, apathy, and cynicism at this juncture in our history within my own country. I am expressing my opinions, because I do believe them, and I will defend those opinions as well.
I would hope that others, with more influence than myself, would speak up more loudly and more often on the subjects that they deem important, for there are important things happening that are worth speaking up about. Whether I agree with you or not, I sincerely hope that all of you will be informed, that you will be engaged, that you will ask questions, that you will speak your mind, and that you will vote.
Hmmm… some of these are more involved than others. All lyrics were written by Nic Microscopic unless otherwise noted.
Belong… You don’t belong. You’re just wrong.
Tear It Down… Just tear it Down. Build it back up. If a man breaks into pieces, and no one even sees it, does he exist? Just look Around. It is happening now. So tear it down.
Betrayed… When the news only lies to you, and the politicians only tell you what you wanted to hear, what are we supposed to believe?
Whatever… Whatever happened to you?
Electric Sell Out… That gorgeous girl her hair was green, she touches up all her grey with brown, she has settled down
Revenge… I will not forget. I will not forgive.
Over Again… Seemingly strange a definitive change my Lady complains I sleep through the days and this world has all gone Dark… Starting over amidst a lifeless world that dreams when I am awake as if I even exist I clench a fist and stop the beating of my heart so that it can not miss any warmth I used to feel inside my veins there is just Dust still my brain cannot refrain from finding memories to list from a life I used to call my own but now I have outgrown why do we Pretend that our lives will never End?… Since I cannot bend instead I break Undead I wake to find there is an End for love but none for hate And so I wait… Starting over anew a life of only Night cause that would be just right a perfect fit a candle lit to keep me company a bit as it Burns out I shout into the Shadows I scream about the things that mattered to me once dreams I wanted badly to Believe… Starting over again this time in Black cause Black is Best no more need to pretend that is how a Dead Man should be dressed Answer me this should a Dead Man be depressed? I think not… My boots hit the ground that lovely sound that Echoes out into the Darkness that surrounds and by Moonlight I am found again and there is No End… I am starting Over Again.
Proof… We want proof.
Citizens… Citizens, it is time to listen to reason.
Polite… I will shout from the rooftops. I will shout til I am sore. I’ve been lied to so many times, and I won’t be lied to anymore. I will shout when I’m on the subway, and I will shout out on the street. I will make myself a nuisance, and I will be quite indiscreet. I will shout to the few who might even listen, and I will shout as loud as I can cause our leaders they have lied. I shout to the angry, and I shout to the dissatisfied. I will shout to the faithful that your leaders they have lied, cause I have run out of reasons to be polite.
Dissatisfied… This somewhat cynical apathy, becomes a liability, when a majority no longer believes.
Leftist… Anarchy, just ain’t what it used to be, since the cold war ending, killed my democracy. It’s not what it used to be. That ain’t what it used to mean. No not to me. No not to me. Since the red under the bed is not really dead. We just out sourced the little guy instead. So when labor recieves their bread, and the workers all get fed, we will go hungry. We will go hungry. When the planet itself cannot be cleaned, by a well oiled war machine, we are surprised that all our green, turned out to only be dirty money. If our votes don’t count and our voices don’t get heard, then the word democracy just doesn’t mean anything. We traded liberty for security. We took the gold out of our currency. We gave up on diplomacy. We sold our freedom in a heartbeat for a song. What is left, when we are wrong? What is left when we are wrong? Cause anarchy just ain’t what it used to be. Anarchy doesn’t really mean anything, if the cold war ending, killed our democracy. It ain’t what it used to mean. No not to me.
Rights… I will sound an alarm. I will sound an alarm. I will rail against ignorance, cause it is the least that I can do. What I am saying here is true. I will sound an alarm. I will break glass in case of emergency. I want my rights returned to me. I need all of my civil liberties. Give me back my freedom. Please replace my privacy. I want my rights returned to me. My correspondence belongs to me. My voice may not be recorded secretly. My thoughts may be unpopular, so I want my rights returned. The stuff I buy is my business. The hours I keep are none of yours. Stop reading my mail. Stop spying on me. Stop spying on me. Stop spying on me. Stop spying on me. I will sound an alarm. I will sound an alarm. I want my rights returned to me.
Not Dead Yet… Massive breakdown. Complete stand still. From a dead stop there is only one direction that is left and that is up. That is up. Cause I am loaded on a spring. I can change everything if I must. I don’t aim too low. I set goals too high. Don’t shed tears. No do not cry, if I fall down one day and die. Cause if I can, yes, if I can I will hop right up again. I will bounce back. I will bounce back. One thing I never did was compromise, and when I failed to fulfill a dream, when my victories were outnumbered by defeats, I crashed into walls, crashed into walls, crashed into walls, and I bounced right back again. Crash into walls. Crash into walls. Crash into walls. I will bounce back.
So yeah.. we hope that you enjoy listening. Download the songs, if you like them. MP3s are all free to listen to. Some media players will do fun things when you download our songs, like change the name of our band to a more popular one with the same song title, claim amusingly different composers, suggest strange new album titles, etc. This makes us laugh. You should be able to easily change those fields back to something that makes sense to you. They should all read with the Unnormals as the artist, and Nic Microscopic as composer. Composer? Well, for lack of a better word… Technology can be pathetic when the machines make arbitrarily helpful decisions for us. Nonetheless it is cool to be able to share so easily.
All songs written and performed by the Unnormals. All lyrics written by Nic Microscopic. All songs copyright Sophistic Music 2007, 2008. All Rights Reserved.
The Unnormals are a post punk outfit from Philadelphia. We are the Unnormals, and this is our very simple, very manageable site. We have posted several MP3s right here on this page. Yeah, right below this paragraph in fact. Really. Weird, huh? The songs are free to listen to and download.
MP3s are all free to listen to. Some media players will do fun things when you download our songs, like change the name of our band to a more popular one with the same song title, claim amusingly different composers, suggest strange new album titles, etc. This makes us laugh. You should be able to easily change those fields back to something that makes sense to you. MP3 ID tags should all claim the Unnormals as the artist, and Nic Microscopic as composer. Composer? Well, for lack of a better word… Technology can be pathetic when the machines make arbitrarily helpful decisions for us. Nonetheless it is cool to be able to share so easily, so we are not too upset about this little wrinkle.
Our songs are all free to listen to. We are not selling anything. We want for you to listen for free. However, sampling parts of the songs, altering them in any way, profiting off of our music somehow, or passing our music off as your own will make us very angry. If you violate these terms, we will find you, and we will get you. We will defend our copyrights. Very possibly, if you screw us over, we may do something entirely unnormal to you. So listen, but don’t rip us off. Simple.
We are the Unnormals. Nic Microscopic - guitars and vocals, Andre Antagonist - drums, Pierre Protagonist - bass
And a you tube account we barely understand how to use…
Email us at unnormals@gmail.com if you want to say hello, critique our music, or simply just enjoy emailing obscure bands. Let us know that you were here.
The Unnormals would like to thank their families and friends for all of their support. Very special thanks going to Sam, Alexandra, and Joe for keeping us from looking too foolish at times, which is not always easy to do. Also thanks to the three of them for generally being the best of friends that a band can have. Unnormally heartfelt thanks go out especially to Anastasia for being a constant force of positive energy, keeping us out of trouble, driving us around on our silly quests, worrying about our health, making us laugh, putting up with our moods, and just for her being so awesome all of the time. You guys are all so helpful that any success that we have, you have helped us achieve it. We sincerely appreciate all that you have done, as we know that nothing would have been possible without you.
Thanks to all listeners for listening to our music.
Unnormal Player
This is another possibly embeddable / possibly pop up player with our music on it. It can run without advertisements. If you like things that run without advertisements, then it is fantastic. It is currently purple. If you are truly fond of purple, then it is even more fantastic. It can most likely embed itself like some kind of weird purple parasite in many other places, and in that capacity, if enabled by trying the buttons on the right and clicking “share”, could actually spread the music somehow. If such things appeal to you then feel free to embed it wherever you would like. It will open in its own little window if you let it, and if you enjoy things that open in their own little window, for whatever reason, then by all means click the “pop out” button. If however, all of this talk of embedding and popping out is a little too forward for you, then maybe just select a song and press play.
All songs written and performed by the Unnormals. All lyrics written by Nic Microscopic. All songs copyright Sophistic Music 2007, 2008. All rights reserved. Our band name, the Unnormals, has been protected at bandnameprotection.org, and belongs to us.
