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Higher Lows (Second Edition)

by Higher Lows

/
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $40 USD

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Higher Lows is the latest album from San Francisco songwriter, playwright and audio-visual artist Jon Bernson. Inspired by Leonard Cohen’s classic Casio album, Various Positions, Higher Lows taps the auto-generated rhythms and genres that lie buried in the memory banks of thrift store keyboards. Using these obsolete instruments started out as a quarantine escape, but turned into an unlikely platform for Bernson’s subtle epiphanies and witty reflections on music, touring, love and homelessness. Joined by longtime collaborator Jason Kick, the duo contrasts its uptempo arrangements with lyrics that are introspective, poetic and autobiographical. The resulting album is an optimistic one that strives to look beyond the pandemic and pick up the lost pieces of life.

    Bernson’s music has reached far and wide over the last two decades, not only with Exray’s, Window Twins, Black Fiction and Ray’s Vast Basement, but through his scoring for film, theater and art installations. His songs and music videos have been praised and premiered by Pitchfork, Bandcamp, Rolling Stone, Spin, Brooklyn Vegan, Aquarium Drunkard, Paste, Juxtapoz, Tiny Mix Tapes and others. Higher Lows is Howells Transmitter’s 25th release and was produced in collaboration with The Space Program in San Francisco, where Bernson was an artist-in-residence in 2020-21. The residency offered Higher Lows a rare opportunity to track in TSP’s state-of-the-art recording studio and then return one year later to screen print the covers of their limited edition, 180 gram vinyl debut. After selling out of the first edition, Bernson designed a second edition cover which was screen printed by Von Bargen in the winter of 2021. Just weeks before the release date, a fire razed Bernson's home, destroying 75 of the 150 second edition copies.

    Bernson’s music and sound design for film have been featured at Sundance, SXSW, The New Yorker and in David Fincher’s Academy-award winning film, The Social Network. His audio-visual installations have been exhibited at the de Young Museum, Sonos Studio, Minnesota Street Project, the Nevada Museum of Art, Catharine Clark Gallery, Miami Project and beyond. Bernson is the author of seven plays, including When Lighting The Voids, his 2019 audio drama which premiered on 600 NPR stations nationwide in partnership with StoryWorks Theater and Reveal. Jason Kick is a prolific Oakland songwriter and music producer, a founding member of Bay Area band Maus Haus and the solo artist J. Chrysanthemum.

    RIYL: Leonard Cohen, William Onyeabor, David Berman, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Mort Garson, Hailu Mergia, Arthur Russell, Giorgio Moroder, Todd Terje

    Credits

    First Edition: Released June 25, 2021
    Second Edition: Released July 22, 2022

    All songs written by Jon Bernson

    Recorded, performed & mixed by Jon Bernson & Jason Kick at Tunnel Vision, Oakland, CA & The Space Program, San Francisco, CA

    Filter magic on Drastic Measures, Gods of Survival & Thanks a Million by Michael Zapruder

    Mastered by Matthew Tammariello

    Copyright 2020 / Publishing: Subterranean 78's (BMI)

    Album art by Jon Bernson / Screen printed at The Space Program with Brian Von Bargen & Jud Bergeron

    Special thanks to Jacob Pritzker and Emily Lakin

    Howells Transmitter 025 / howellstransmitter.bandcamp.com /
    license

    All Rights Reserved

    Includes unlimited streaming of Higher Lows (Second Edition) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 14 days
    edition of 75 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $40 USD

     

1.
Make Believe 03:49
Make Believe I need you, you need me To make the songs you hear for free Like the earth, when it was new Land of milk & honey too I was born to live between Turntable and the mp3 Generation X to you Who can tell what a dream can do? Don’t believe Don't believe Don’t believe, make believe Make my day, make it, make it Casio and a VISA debt A 4-track and a Memorex Failed every music class I took Couldn’t play by the music books Bought a mic with my wedding cash Learned to mix, learned to track Wrote the words I had to sing Learned some chords, did my own thing Don’t believe Don't believe Don’t believe, make believe Make my day, make it, make it Smooth cats with their shiny feeds Passin round the new disease Give it up for stolen hooks Pickpockets on pocketbooks On the road, livin’ the dream In my discount limousine Playing clubs, playing bars Record stores and house parties Don’t believe Don't believe Don’t believe, make believe Make my day, make it, make it
2.
People of the Sun Some of them sleep in houses Some sleep with someone else Some crash on others couches This is where they do their feeding Some obsess about their eating This is how they stay alive Some think only of breeding This is how they multiply People take a stand People turn and run People of the people of the Sun Some of them are through Some have just begun People of the people of the Sun Hate is in the hands of haters Fate is in the hands of fate Saving’s not just for saviors It’s for deals and dollar stores Money is the main religion One god, with many names It’s a cult of strong opinions This is how they make it rain People take a stand People turn and run People of the people of the Sun Some of them are through Some have just begun People of the people of the Sun Some of them are kind of shady Some of them will take the fifth Some of them will keep a secret Some don’t know where to keep it Some are dated, Some are dating Some are on the bedroom floor Getting laid, or simply waiting For the one, or two or more People take a stand People turn and run People of the people of the Sun Some of them are through Some have just begun People of the people of the Sun
3.
4.
Fahrenheit 450 They took the stars Took the stripes Took the torch Killed the lights And every night They sold the parts Piece by piece They auctioned off A statue built for liberty: Fahrenheit 450 They took the press And they took the court Took the house And the whole report Took our bodies Took our friends Took our kids And took them again All I hear. All I read: Fahrenheit 450 They took to greed And called it great Turned back the clock To ‘88 Cut their deals Bribed the rats New hotels And baseball hats Locked the gates To the land of the free: Fahrenheit 450 Stolen stock And foreign debt They paid us back With daily threats Took our time and took our tax Took the oil And they hit the gas Mined the land and raised the sea: Fahrenheit 450 credits
5.
Space Tango 01:30
6.
Valentine 03:35
Valentine The grass is greener The sun is brighter The sea is wider The skies are violet now The fruit is sweeter The smoke is clearer The stakes are higher The truth is bluer now Valentine Valentine Every night and every morning Valentine Valentine Into love I keep on falling On this lonely planet We are dependent Our lives are rented No one owns this home The roots are deeper In this ancient theater We could spend our lives here There is no other stage Valentine Every night and every morning Valentine Valentine Valentine Into love I keep on falling credits
7.
8.
Gods of Survival I talk in my sleep to the gods of survival Some walk among us, some fly when they travel They work 9 to 5 Watch games at night They eat and they dream repeat in the morning I play it safe And I play it sweet In the downtown heat I could be your sister Your mother or father They check their accounts How much they amount to Gods of survival Please take me with you To the mountains of cash To the walls and the rooves To decks and to showers Warm beds and good news I play it safe And I play it sweet In the downtown heat I could be your sister Your mother or father I used to get angry But now I sing Play my guitar In cars that I borrow In cars I return To gods of survival I don’t leave a trace Parked in the shadows I play it safe And I play it sweet In the downtown heat I could be your sister Your mother or father
9.
10.
The Same Mistake The van was packed We were on the road Forgot some gear, so we doubled back Traffic jam all the way to Reno Found the casino We loaded in Played for seniors and regulars Played for poker and slot machines Played for jacks, kings & queens Cold barstools & a round of drinks I won’t make the same mistake Don’t think twice I won’t make the same mistake Don’t think twice Took two days to reach the Midwest Played 3 sets at a college party The Magic Mushroom Surfin Safari I forgot the chords, Forgot the songs Remembered words, but not the rite ones Took a whole week to find our drummer Down the block, in a stolen hammock Singing like an eagle from another planet I won’t make the same mistake Don’t think twice I won’t make the same mistake Don’t think twice Found New York in a thunderstorm A basement club, a flooded floor Stay with me, there’s even more The doorman flaked. Our drummer quit Pictures I paint are accurate Names were changed and some were cut That’s how it all went up in flames I’ve got no one but myself to blame I won’t make the same mistake Don’t think twice I won’t make the same mistake Don’t think twice credits
11.
End of the Lie I was out walking the sky started dropping into A line of horizon where fire escaped from the sun Stars came to life like cold satellites on the run For years they’ve been saying they’re just constellating End of the lie Forests may fall. On knees we will crawl into The very first cave where original raves went down To rebuild an ark out of Golden Gate Park and the zoo To save the divine from the ending of time End of the lie It’s time for a hero, it’s time for a champion A master detective, One who uncovers the clues Who won’t let us down. Unlike myself or you To solve the great crime of linear time End of the lie
12.
Last Resort 02:08
13.
Thanks a Million I’ve got my legs I’ve got my spine Got my heart And I’ve got mine They’ve all been broken But now they’re fixed Even more than I could have hoped for I have a wife And I have a son They share a number And that number is one I’ve got some friends Who lift me up When I’m down On my good luck I’ve got a job It brings in cash I try to make it L a s t I’ve got some songs In my studio I’ve made some plays and some videos I’ve met people Who believe in me When I get lost In my own daydreams I’ve got my parents and a brother Jeff My mother passed But her life was blessed I thank the world For occasional signs I give thanks For my life & times I try to give I attempt to love The earth below and the sun above me

about

Higher Lows is a new beginning for San Francisco songwriter, playwright and audio-visual artist Jon Bernson. Inspired by Leonard Cohen’s classic Casio album, Various Positions, Higher Lows taps the auto-generated rhythms and genres that lie buried in the memory banks of thrift store keyboards. Using these obsolete instruments started out as a quarantine escape, but turned into an unlikely platform for Bernson’s subtle epiphanies and witty reflections on music, touring, love and homelessness. Joined by longtime collaborator Jason Kick, the duo contrasts its uptempo arrangements with lyrics that are introspective, poetic and autobiographical. The resulting album is an optimistic one that strives to look beyond the pandemic and pick up the lost pieces of life.

Bernson’s music has reached far and wide over the last two decades, not only with Exray’s, Window Twins, Black Fiction and Ray’s Vast Basement, but through his scoring for film, theater and art installations. His songs and music videos have been praised and premiered by Pitchfork, Bandcamp, Rolling Stone, Spin, Brooklyn Vegan, Aquarium Drunkard, Paste, Juxtapoz, Tiny Mix Tapes and others. Higher Lows is Howells Transmitter’s 25th release and was produced in collaboration with The Space Program in San Francisco, where Bernson was an artist-in-residence in 2020. The residency offered Higher Lows a rare opportunity to track in TSP’s state-of-the-art recording studio and then return one year later to screen print the covers of their limited edition, 180 gram vinyl debut.

Bernson’s music and sound design for film have been featured at Sundance, SXSW, The New Yorker and in David Fincher’s Academy-award winning film, The Social Network. His audio-visual installations have been exhibited at the de Young Museum, Sonos Studio, Minnesota Street Project, the Nevada Museum of Art, Catharine Clark Gallery, Miami Project and beyond. Bernson is the author of seven plays, including When Lighting The Voids, his 2019 audio drama which premiered on 600 NPR stations nationwide in partnership with StoryWorks Theater and Reveal. Jason Kick is a prolific Oakland songwriter and music producer, a founding member of Bay Area band Maus Haus and the solo artist J. Chrysanthemum.

RIYL: Leonard Cohen, William Onyeabor, David Berman, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Mort Garson, Hailu Mergia, Arthur Russell, Giorgio Moroder, Todd Terje
credits

First Edition - Released June 25, 2021
Second Edition - Released July 22, 2022

credits

released July 22, 2022

All songs written by Jon Bernson

Recorded, performed & mixed by Jon Bernson & Jason Kick at Tunnel Vision, Oakland, CA & The Space Program, San Francisco, CA

Filter magic on Drastic Measures, Gods of Survival & Thanks a Million by Michael Zapruder

Mastered by Matthew Tammariello

Copyright 2020 / Publishing: Subterranean 78's (BMI)

Album art by Jon Bernson / Screen printed at The Space Program with Brian Von Bargen & Jud Bergeron

Special thanks to Jacob Pritzker and Emily Lakin

Howells Transmitter 025-2 / howellstransmitter.bandcamp.com /
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Higher Lows San Francisco, California

Long live the Casio!

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