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We Could Be Friends

by Alessandro Takeshi

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1.
With the way you treat your lovers And your hobbies, and your friends I hope you're writing your whole life off As another business expense I know you pride yourself for your freedom No there ain't nothing tying you down Nothing to hold you to the tightrope But the distance from the ground But don't you get tired of waiting Don't you get tired of saying In another world we could be friends And don't you think we oughta find where that one starts Or at least where this one ends And then you're giving up friends over circumstances Sacrificing love for shame You lose some good people over conversations That you didn't want to entertain Wouldn't want to bother anybody Shouldn't bother getting out of bed Managing your risk exposure You know that life's a common cause of death But don't you get tired of waiting Don't you get tired of saying In another world we could be friends And don't you think we oughta find where that one starts Or at least where this one ends But don't you know the king lives on credit And all the supermen are levered to the hilt Well you and I don't have to rule the world Not today But a little bit of faith could get us over the hill But with the way you treat your lovers And your hobbies and your friends I hope you're writing your whole life off As another business expense Now you could risk it all today Or you could lose it bit by bit There never was a guarantee Just some time and then that's it
2.
Game Theory 03:04
I woke up in the morning with a sinkhole in my chest From a dream where we forgave each other And I'm ashamed to say it's not the first and not the second either Time I took most of the morning to recover But I swear to God my life is only getting better And all these memories are just a guilty pleasure And people like us are the reason That people have to study game theory It's just a little bit of pride but it comes at the cost Of everything that we used to hold dearly So so what I miss you Yeah, it's a sorry state I'm in But that's not the issue No, what I want to know is who's gonna win Cause I never waver, much And if I did go and show me the proof And while you're at it It'd be nice to hear from you Well I caught up with a friend of ours who only meant the best But he mentioned that you'd had some troubles And I'm ashamed to say although I truly Wish you peace and gladness I'm relieved to hear it's been a struggle I swear whatever your intentions mine were better Or this made cowards of us both in equal measure And people like us are the reason That people have to study game theory It's just a little bit of pride but it comes at the cost Of everything we used to hold dearly So so what I miss you It's a sorry state I'm in But that's not the issue What I want to know is who's gonna win Cause I've never waver, much And if I do go and show me the proof And while you're at it It'd be nice to hear from you Yeah so what I miss you Yeah, it's a sorry state I'm in But that's not the issue No, what I want to know is who's gonna win Cause I've never waver, much And if I did, go on show me the proof And while you're at it It'd be nice to hear from you It'd be nice to hear from you
3.
Coffee 02:54
When I drink coffee I feel amazing My mind is a luxury car I'll win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony Garnish with a Michelin Star I'd do it all A supernova I'd read Jean-Paul And speed run the MoMA I would be history on horseback Right from the sofa All I'd have to do is talk But all I do is talk So let me talk about the world Let me talk about the biz I would say what we should do But no I don't know who we is Now the words are coming out But it's all pulp theory again You hear about that movie Well I haven't seen it But I've heard a lot of talk about it And all the talking and talking And talking and talking Tells me how to talk about it Cause I've seen it all Unless I haven't And even then I've already reacted I should be history on horseback but I'm so distracted All I ever do, all I ever do Is talk about the world Talk about the biz Say what we should do Don't know who we is Now the words are coming out But it's all pulp theory again When I drink coffee I get so tired My mind is drying up like tar I'll watch the Emmys, the Grammys, the Oscars, the Tonys People who were born to be stars If I did it all A supernova I'd read Jean-Paul And speed run the MoMA I would be history on horseback Right from the sofa And all I'd have to do is talk
4.
The man who loves you isn't dead He still drives my car Still sleeps in my bed The man who misses you I see him all the time We meet up on the back of spoons And windows late at night The man I wish I wasn't anymore Well he's not going anywhere I've tried to show him the door On lonely nights I've tried to lose him in the dark I've worn disguises Traveled wide and far Played a lot of characters and tried to go method But did the man who loves you ever flicker for a second Sometimes I wonder why I try The man who loves you could use some rest His eyes are glazing over No he ain't looking his best The man who misses you Is losing track of time, The days blur into hours And the hours blur into the wine The man who oughta take it easy now Well he says he'll go anywhere Let's spend the night on the town On lonely nights I tried to lose him in the dark I've worn disguises Traveled wide and far Played a lot of characters and tried to go method But did the man who loves you ever flicker for a second Sometimes I wonder why I try Why it feels like such a crime To love more than you're given To hold secrets in your mind But I'll try, try to be good Not to spill on passersby Not to beg you for your heart Or burden you with mine But the man who loves you isn't dead He's just a bit hungover Would you please turn off the lights The man who misses you Is hoping for things to change The night was young a while ago But now it can't remember its age The man I wish I wasn't anymore Well he's not going anywhere Not until I brush my teeth and get dressed
5.
Rat Race 04:48
When the land splits in half beneath your feet And I wonder, are you still gonna stick with me I know it's not your heart Not your heart that chooses When you're jumping to the side that you can reach Well I've seen enough to know it isn't long Between changing stripes And watching right turn wrong I'd never want to leave your side But everybody's gotta survive And fight their fight wherever the lines are drawn One time I got in on the ground floor I was saying things that people never said before I was on top of the world and so I couldn't feel it changing 'Til nobody was listening anymore Just another rat race veteran I ain't proud of who I had to be Sometimes I knew that I was playing a part Sometimes it got the better of me Sometimes, sometimes I took it all personally Sometimes, sometimes I was in the middle, exchanging cruelties Between all the other rat race veterans like me like me Well I'm sure I look like a liar or a fool To say forever all the times that I do Well maybe I'll never learn If I mean it every time When God only knows the things that we'll go through As the flames rise higher In an algorithmic fire Watching angels turn to liars Playing angles as they turn The hundredth time it's hard to stay concerned It's water under bridges long since burned As the light shines brighter In an algorithmic fire And our fugitive desires Have nowhere left to turn Well I've lost track of what everyone deserves It's water under bridges long since burned Just another rat race veteran I ain't proud of who I had to be Sometimes I knew that I was playing a part Sometimes it got the better of me Sometimes, sometimes I took it all personally Sometimes, sometimes I was in the middle exchanging cruelties Between all the other rat race veterans Between all the other rat race veterans like me
6.
It's been about a decade since I've seen you very much We can't pretend that things haven't changed But if you've been begging the world for forgiveness You know I've never blamed on you what you became I've cursed the time for taking you out of my reach Cried the nights till they gave into the day And all the times I held my tongue When you were right in front of me To think I'd spare us the impropriety Well now I'd be far too ashamed to try and reach you And make a lie of all these years So to all you noble soldiers with a brave face on your shield Will you carry it to your grave or will you yield
7.
I was singing Hungry Heart at a bar in Vermont Last song before the bar was closing There ain't no future out the way that we're goin Borrowed another generations emotions Road rage and shopping cart collisions Righteousness and right of way You could be anyone but hey listen up Cause boy have I got something to say Can you believe what's going on these days Man is everybody crazy 'cept for me Once upon a time we were a forest Now we're just a number of trees People white knuckle what they still hold dear It's a reactionary year There's tooth decay in the mouth of the world And none of my friends are here So maybe we should have given up more Used all our loving for what loving's for Took off our jackets and forgot to keep score For a moment took our eyes off the door I was singing hungry heart at a bar in Shibuya Some things don't really need that much translation Nothing to run from, nowhere to go Ain't nothing new about Japanification Road rage and shopping cart collisions Righteousness and right of way You could be anyone but hey, listen up Cause boy have I got something to say Would you believe what's going on these days Man is everybody crazy 'cept for me Once upon a time we were a forest Now we're just a number of trees People white-knuckle what they still hold dear It's a reactionary year There's tooth decay in the mouth of the world None of my friends are here So maybe we oughta give it up more Use all our loving on what loving is for Take off our jackets and forget to keep score For a moment let our eyes off the door
8.
Today 04:01
Maybe there aint no world for our love I know there ain't been time or place But I still love you my darling and I miss you my friends And sometimes baby I just don't care what it takes Maybe there ain't no difference that we can make A world of trouble's a world of shame Maybe heaven's forever all those light years away And nothing I could do would make you stay No there ain't no justice In anything about love If it hurts not to touch you Then the world's not enough I know that nothing lasts forever I'm only asking you for today If that's alright with you If that's okay Well maybe there ain't no future where we remain And our end's within us lying in wait Tell me what would you want from me What would you change If everything would always end the same No there ain't no justice In anything about love If it hurts not to touch you Then the world's not enough I know that nothing lasts forever I'm only I'm asking you for today If that's alright with you If that's okay Did everybody else get hurt the same in these last odd years Seems like everybody's shadowboxing old friends in a hall of mirrors I can hear it in the words we say Still feels like it was yesterday Such beautiful promises that never took us away But with the way you treat your lovers And your hobbies and your friends I know I've done the same I can't always be that brave And when the ghost of all I've ruined Stares unblinking in my face With all I've tried to hold that's surely slipped away Oh you must be love Born of a stray Still I'll follow you Take me wherever you may And still I'll try to follow you Today

about

There’s this timeless wistful headspace that feels strangely connected every time I visit. Sitting out on my balcony and passing through memories like walking through a garden, I feel the presence of an obscured future self reminiscing on the present, among kindred past moments of reflection, even from childhood, resting against a car window and watching the world go by.

Of course, there’s something funny about those prematurely wistful moments — the hell did that kid know about Remembering, about The Weight? And what little do I know yet today? But isn’t there also a faint utopian promise in it too, that even our most foolish selves behold our still-short lives and contemplate the missed opportunities, frayed threads once bound tight, once-neighboring stars since blown light-years apart? To ponder the necessary and the contingent and find them intertwined in life’s unfolding, and see ourselves trapped at the expanding edge in the eternal process of our own redemption?

Well, I’d better stop before I get carried away. After all this is a partially, possibly mostly comedic singer-songwriter album, written in and for the piano bars of Tokyo. It’s called We Could Be Friends, and I hope you enjoy it.

—Alessandro Takeshi

credits

released April 28, 2023

All music performed, recorded, and produced by Alessandro Takeshi
With drums by Eli Cohen
Cover photo by Yūki Uchida and design by Alessandro Takeshi
Recorded in Nerima and Toshima wards, Tokyo, Japan.

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Alessandro Takeshi Tokyo, Japan

Alessandro Takeshi is an experimental singer-songwriter and music producer, as well as keyboard player and vocalist in the band The Stations, based in Tokyo. His avant-garde debut, To and Fro, and pop-oriented followup, Songs About Cars, cemented Takeshi as a versatile artist, deeply expressive whether penning pop tunes or turning them inside-out. He has performed across the US and Japan ... more

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