Cut-Ups, by Leah Callahan (2024)

1.

I know I’ll get there somehowI know I’ll get there sometimeI have toI have toI know I’ll get there somehow.I know I’ll get there sometimeI have toI have toI’ll know what to do.This time tomorrow.Look at that skyLook at that skyWaiting so longFor that magic momentTime really fliesTime really fliesYou have to believe in somethingYou have to believe in someoneYou have to believe in somethingYou have to believe in someoneI drink all the timeBut I want to be good.Don’t you wonder sometimes?Don’t you wonder sometimes?I’ll know what to do.This time tomorrow.Look at that skyLook at that sky

2.

I’m the only one who gets the jokeI’m the only one face it you’re folkI’m the only one who gets to talkI’m the only one you didn’t stalkI’m the only oneI’m the only oneI’m the only one who sees right throughI’m the only one puts up with youI’m the only one who crossed the lineI’m the only one who’s feelin fineI’m the only oneI’m the only oneDo you have a questionCan i answer now?Do you have a problemSolving it is howHow how howHow how howit’s Another dayIt’s Another dayIt’s Another dayIt’s another dayAnother dayAnother dayAnother dayAnother day

3.

You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay hereWas what The bartender said when your ordered that beerwe’re having so much fun, we’ve lost track of time and our mindsIs there somewhere else open? And would they let us in?I don’t care if its last call I just want to see people and i want to see life.Let’s go danceLet’s go singLet’s go do anythingLet’s go drinkLet’s go yellLet’s go raiseHoly hellwhat was it that I said, just the other day?We we should go out less, we should scrimp and save, take it to our grave.Let’s go danceLet’s go singLet’s go do anythingLet’s go drinkLet’s go yellLet’s go raiseHoly hellnight is youngwe’re so old.Let’s not do what we’re told.Let’s go danceLet’s go singLet’s go do anything

4.

I saw the devil I saw the ghostThey both said: “BabyYou are the most”Devil said ladyCome take my handGhost said don’t botherShe’s got a manI saw the angelShe didn’t clapShe stood and stared nowShe stood and laughed***I saw the futureIt didn’t lastToo many secretsToo much has passed***I saw the futureIt didn’t goToo much at stake hereDa da da noI saw the devil I saw the ghostThey both said: “BabyYou are the most”Devil said ladyCome take my handGhost said don’t botherShe’s got a manI saw the creepshowI saw the gangThey talked in circlesThey spoke in slangI’ve hit the bottomI’ve seen the starsI’ve got your futureTrapped in a jar.

5.

You’re just an enfant terrible, You tried to not even see herGiving up the ghost, Hostess with the mostPoetess Undressed, All set.You’re just an enfant terrible, You tried but you couldn’t see her.Giving up the ghost shhhhhh, Ho Ho Holy hostDevil with the blue dress, What a messNow i’ve missed my train, Summer in the rainAll my troubles, down the drainYou’re just an enfant terrible, You tried but you couldn’t be her

6.

7.

The city lights were so far awaydelirious nights determined daysThe future seemed so far awayFearless nightsimpulsive daysWe thought we were Sartre and De BouvoirBut that didn’t get us farLeonor Fini and Dora MaarUnderground superstarThe city called us By our namesTook us into private gamesElusive were the lover’s waysCold and stony was her faceWe thought we were Sartre and De Bouvoir But that didn’t get us farFred Frith and Brian EnoWhat did we know?The darkness she showed was her spaceBrought you to some other placeNo tears came from her disgraceWhile she tortured you to hateWe thought we were Sartre and De BouvoirBut that didn’t get us farLeonor Fini and Dora MaarUnderground superstarThe city lights were so far away

8.

Corporate artCharity balls for starving childrenWartorn office spacesAnd carbon creditsHobnobbing with the hoi polloiYou said the right thingTo the right personNothing - can go wrong15 million dollar mansionMarried - into moneyMoving in all the right circlesYour ted talk went viralWriting a bookAbout hard choicesComplex decisionsReviews will be glowingI see your faceYou’re looking downAnd You’re really sadYou really wish that things were harderYou wish that things were more difficultYou wish it cost moreYou want it to be exclusive.Only for you and your kind.

9.

I was surprised by her suicideShe said her life Was a perfect graveyardOf buried hopes.Famous chefsAnd fashion designersWhy do they do itWhen they have it all?Success I guessIsn’t everythingand for some peopleIt’s nothing at allOnce upon a timeI wished to be calledCordelia. Once upon a timeI wished to be calledCordelia. It's such a perfectlyelegant name.So now I’ve decidedI proclaimI’ve also decidedthat successisn’t for meI rather prefer anonymity

10.

In the end, Everythingcan be summed upTo edges and linesYou thought youknew somethingBut it was alljust wasting timeIn, the end, everythingwill be fineIn the end everything’sedges and lines.Put it onRepeatingType the letters thatMake up the words.And you’ll seeIt’s cheatingYou’re only replayingwhat you’ve heardIn, the end, everything, will be fine, In the end everything’s edges and lines.

"Gorgeous stuff from musical powerhouse Leah Callahan."
Simon Edwards, Loose Cannon

"Leah Callahan is a true chameleon, from one recording to the next, you see different facets to her writing and performance."
Carrol Barrett, CIUT, CFRU, Radiocrown

"A stunning musician"
Audrey Gold

"There is a density to the production of Cut Ups which gives it an occasional slightly off-kilter, other-worldly feel, yet it’s warm and inviting. It engulfs the listener, allowing the individual to lose themselves in Callahan’s rich and sultry vocals. The album consists of 10 tracks, or perhaps rather vignettes is a better word, each lasting around 3 minutes, with tales of people and places through her eyes."

"Although this isn’t the most ‘instant’ of the trilogy of albums that has been released over the last 18 months, I would say after repeated listens it is the most rewarding. Leah is a natural storyteller and is gaining confidence with each album."
Iain Key, LouderThanWar
louderthanwar.com/leah-callahan-cut-ups-album-review/

"Boston indie singer Leah Callahan navigates between pop and art-rock on her new album Cut-Ups… (It’s filled) with lush '80s arrangements, as she takes a scalpel to her love life, making small incisions with deceptively straightforward lyrics."

"As a veteran of the scene - she was a member of Turkish Delight, Betwixt, and The Glass Set - she knows what it takes to make a mark, basking in the spotlight. She can be a self-deprecating Enfant Terrible or go all out with the ode to night life City Lights, when the possibilities seem endless and the hassles of everyday life take a back seat to living in the moment. On the album's sole cover, David Bowie's Look Back in Anger, Callahan sings both lead and backing vocals, just like her hero did... (it’s) a tribute to a man who has been ingrained into her musical DNA as a major touchstone for decades."
Hans Werkman, Here Comes the Flood
www.herecomestheflood.com/2022/11/leah-callahan-cut-ups.html

Leah Callahan made DIY waves in the Boston music scene in the 90s and 00s with never-very-easy-to-categorize music, garnering nominations for 2 Boston Music Awards and a Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll along the way. Multiple acclaimed releases earned her top 5 local albums of the year (Boston Phoenix, Boston Herald) as well as a top 10 jazz & world album nod from the Boston Herald.

Her first recording after a 13 year break from music, “Simple Folk” was released in March 2021 and described by US culture magazine Vanyaland as “a collection of slinky, narrative driven guitar-pop songs built around hooks…(which) feels like an album’s album in an age where albums are not very much in style”. vanyaland.com/2021/03/22/leah-callahan-discovers-her-teenage-dream-on-new-album-simple-folk/

While Louder Than War called it: "a really strong set of well-crafted songs that definitely rewards repeated listening." louderthanwar.com/leah-callahan-simple-folk-album-review-interview/

Callahan quickly followed up with “Short Stories” that October, for which UK blog “For the Rabbits” said: “These Short Stories are musical tales you don’t want to miss”.
fortherabbits.net/2021/10/21/get-to-know-leah-callahan/

That same month, Callahan was on the receiving end of not one but two (Turkish Delight and Betwixt) inclusions in Bandcamp’s much buzzed about feature “90s Boston indie rock list” alongside the venerable Galaxie 500 and Swirlies.
daily.bandcamp.com/scene-report/nineties-indie-rock-boston-list

Both “Simple Folk” and “Short Stories” have received airplay from some of the most respected alternative radio stations in the world including WXRV, WZBC, WMBR, WTSQ, WVUD, CIUT (Canada), UK’s Louderthanwar radio and Radio Lantau in Hong Kong. Leah's most recent album, "Cut-Ups" charted in the top NACC200 US charts, hitting the top 30 on stations KMHD2 in Gresham, OR (#29), KURA in Ouray, CO (#2), KVCU in Boulder, CO (#9), and core stations KSYM in San Antonio, TX (#24), WTCC in Springfield, MA (#16), and WUNH in Durham, NW (#28).

How did this album "Cut-Ups" come about?

"Right after “Short Stories” was done, in late 2021 I knew I wanted to create more music, but nothing happened, I had massive writer’s block. A chance viewing of "David Bowie: The Last Five Years" got me revisiting his late 1970s catalog. I’ve always been a huge fan, but this was very focused on a goal. With my imagination sparked by everything from the art-funk of “Stay” and “Golden Years”, to the dark ambient sounds of “Warszawa”, I poured out these songs. There is no overt stylistic mimicry (other than the obvious, the cover song), but for me it’s clear I couldn’t have written these songs without my recent preoccupation with his work. I borrow everything from Bowie’s plastic soul rhythms (for the BPMs), to his obsession with the esoteric realm (“Diabolique”), and cut-up songwriting method (“Cut-Ups”); to round it all up I did an adulatory, albeit risky take on Bowie’s “Look Back in Anger”.

As a kid my uncle, who was by no means into alternative music, gave me his entire Bowie collection, including the album “Aladdin Sane” which has scribbling on the cover. The albums stood out (it was before "Let’s Dance") among what I considered more mainstream artists of the time such as the Beatles and bands like AC/DC that my uncle also listened to. I thought it interesting that there was this vague period of time where an artist as controversially queer and avant-garde as Ziggy Stardust ruled the airwaves and was a fixture in fairly mainstream people’s homes.

Listening many years later, I have seen so many videos and internet articles that shape how I look at that artist, and listen to the music. Great videos about how Bowie recruited Carlos Alomar, how Alomar taught Earl Slick James Brown chords. Bowie’s attempt to be funk before he created his own brand of what you could call cold art funk as the Thin White Duke. I saw Bowie, (around the same time my uncle gave me his records) a glimpse of him on TV with people I didn’t recognize but found out about later, Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias. I bought his (biggest ever) album in 1983 but still gravitated to his older stuff, the albums “Low”, “Lodger”, “Fame”. I loved his song “Cat People” and my schoolgirl crush had me going to sleep many a night with “Cat People” playing on repeat, it was my favorite song on the “Let’s Dance” cassette, and I didn’t know who Giorgio Moroder was then, but the spooky cinematic music felt at home with the other darkly mysterious bands I was listening to at the time, “Tones on Tail”, “Echo and the Bunnymen”. “Siouxsie and the Banshees” and “The Cure” (Which of course he had so much influence on).

After “Let’s Dance”, once again Bowie was in the mainstream but not really, selling albums and selling out shows, but still out on the fringe somehow. I remember I worked at a nursing home in college, and the girls were all drooling about Steven Tyler who was on an awards show on TV, while I was paying attention to Bowie, they all rolled their eyes at me, saying “Ugh, he’s so pale”. Admiring Bowie in the late 20th century could make you a bit of an outsider, at least in some places in the world.

Like old Hollywood movie stars, there will never be anyone that comes close to his iconicism. When you’re influenced by Bowie, you’re not just influenced by the notes of the songs, or the creativity of his backing bands, you’re influenced by everything he was as a person, his iconic beauty and the way he treated people, at first mocking them and later as an old sage, with advice and an obvious concern for everyone around him."