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Beware of Plato's cavemen

by Bram Cools

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1.
Welcome outside the cave Welcome in the daylight Take time to adjust your senses And remember not to pigeonhole Reality again Just let it be Just let Reality be Don’t take the blue pill Don’t take the red pill The anti-system sucks as much As the system, it sucks your soul! Take my hand let’s run away To a place in between the worlds Where we can rest and detox around a bonfire There must be something much more real Than all this empty nonsense I see it in the tiniest plant I see it in the galaxies This empty shell is splintering At least it is for me and you But like they say it’s through those cracks That light will enter and light will shine!
2.
building you universe out of separate worlds they're all made of another set of lies in each of your worlds you're another person another style, another life another conscience playing the game of keeping silent always watching every world you say the right words to the right people are keeping your universe together living your life moving in your theater with a constantly changing set of rules but some bad day someone may stumble in travelling bethween the different worlds and breaking down the information walls that keep your universe together what's leftover now do you still know for sure who you really are after the images have crumbled reaching out from the ashes of a selfmade world you're a king now of a selfmade hell and your savior is still there where you left him far on the outside faraway but knocking
3.
muggles gonna muggle and push their boring universe onto the rest of us lest something magical happens the new inquisition is scientifically approved please follow it lest something magical happens Man controls this universe even though free will is unscientific So their will be done Your magic’s too unpredictable (miracles) not orderly enough so get rid of it or we'll cure you we'll cure you good muggles gonna muggle and transform this old universe into their likeness and image lest something magical happens the new enlightenment will only allow for electric lights so lightproof all doors and windows lest something magical happens We’ve got pills now against seeing angels And we’ve got medicine To cure prophets We know the truth now Dreams are deceit Nothing will happen That’s unapproved by science Oh yes they’ll gaslight you Until every memory Of every single miracle Has been erased By all means available They’ll disenchant the world And tell you it’s natural And tell you it’s safe Muggles gonna muggle
4.
This virtual world and the physical dimension Seem to be falling apart splintering even Sometimes I get lost in between the different worlds other times I seem to realise That I've been lost all along The more everything is connected, the more it seems to falls apart. The more people are plugged in The more they fall drift away. The more our society follows progress The more it becomes a multiverse. The more new realities we build The more we get trapped in illusions We're all aliens in the end. No cohesion or coherence, but we can all define ourselves now make up our own identity on the fly. deconstruct the social construct bring in the personal construct even the niches will splinter every time and turn against themselves every person is a single island In this chaotic mess of irrelevance unconnected and lost for translation in a multiverse that's drifting apart in between the splintering dimensions I’m floating in my raft flying whales floating overhead Fragments of planets collapsing Please sit here with me for a while To watch this weird spectacle while the worlds collide And even the gods seem to be lost Please tell me that I’m exaggerating Tell me it’s not so bad Tell me it’s all going somewhere please don’t tell me lies Please tell me that the world is still one That God is one, that humans are one Tell me that we’re not aliens And that there’s still hope
5.
mi wile e ni 03:23
mi wile e ni: jan ali li jan pona. mi wile e ni: jan ali li olin e jan ali. mi wile e ni: sina olin e mi. mi wile olin e sina, ni li pona mute. jan ali li jan sama li jan lili pi jan sewi. jan ali li jan sama li jan lili pi jan sewi. mi wile ala e utala. mi wile ala e pakala. utala li ike. pakala li ike. mi wile olin. mi wile olin. o weka e utala ali tan ma ali o weka e pakala ali tan ma ali ni li pona tawa mi, li pona tawa sina, li pona tawa jan ali.
6.
none at all
7.
In het niks 03:15
Alles wordt kouder Alles vervaagt En ik weet niet eens meer Hoe ik mezelf bijeenhoud Als de mist steeds dichter wordt En ikzelf compleet oplos In ‘t niks in 't nergens Pak mijn hand vast Ik grijp door de uwe Alsof ik ne geest ben Ik zak door de grond En vlieg weg tegelijk In alle richtingen In ‘t niks in 't nergens Alsof er nooit iets bestaan heeft Alsof er nooit iets zal bestaan (X2) kan Nee ik wil ni verdwijne Nee ik mag ni verdwijne Kan ik nog vechten Nu alles uiteenvalt En ik helemaal vervaag Samen met de wereld Die misschien nooit echt was En ook compleet oplost In het niks As dit ni stopt Is’t hier rap gedaan Asof er nooit iets was niemand om derover na te denken Maar ik ben der wel Minstens geweest (denk ik) In het niks Alsof er nooit iets bestaan heeft Alsof er nooit iets zal bestaan (X2) Nee ik wil ni verdwijne Nee ik mag ni verdwijne Deze vijand is anders
8.
This precious virtual hideout Is not really an escape from the cave It’s only a new layer of shadows And more shadows of shadows With no actual connection left Between all of our human constructs And any real deeper Reality A badly copied picture with no original Can I say that I’m tired of this game I’m sort of losing my substance In the quicksand of this thoughtfield Where our creations clash and burn Meanwhile serious stuff is happening In the actual world, material and beyond But I’m stuck in an illusion And in illusions of illusions Beyond our self-fulfilling prophecies And law of attraction manipulations The things that fill our vision Claim our allegiance and suck our energy Can I say that I’m tired of this game I’m sort of losing my coherence In the quicksand of this thoughtfield Where our creations clash and burn And yet I have a longing A longing for a longing Of the Reality beyond these shadows And shadows of shadows
9.
10.
Hold on 03:54
Hold on the light that’s been given to you Hold on the light that’s been given to you Let it be your beacon here under the moon Hold on the light that’s been given to you Hold on to the Love that’s been put in your heart Hold on to the Love that’s been put in your heart let it shine through you in dark and cold places Hold on to the Love that’s been put in your heart Hold on to the Beauty that shines all around us Hold on to the Beauty that shines all around Don’t let it be corrupted by advertisments and TV Hold on to the Beauty that shines all around Hold on to the Truth wherever you find it Hold on to the Truth wherever you find it Even in the most unexpected of places Hold on to the Truth wherever you find it Everything good comes from the Father of Lights Life and Being are from the Father of Lights Hold on to the faith that puts life in your heart Hold on to the faith that puts life in your heart Keep it till the end when the curtain falls Hold on to the faith that puts life in your heart Hold on to the hope that goes way beyond death Don’t let anyone steal it out of your heart Hold on to the hope that goes way beyond death Hold on to the hope that goes way beyond death
11.
none at all
12.
Enemies 02:53
It’s always the same old motivational lie And still they fall for it We are the good guys The chosen ones The exceptional few They are the enemy They’re not like us they must be destroyed So K*ll them all And then it will be okay And the world will be better The same old lie Always the same old lie And still they fall for it They are the enemy… From the KKK to the Islamic state Different names, same evil nonsense doing the devils work In the name of God One day you’ll wake up open your eyes and see the hell they've built
13.
being trapped inside of a gigantic and more than life-sized straw man argument this is a rather strange sensation to suddenly find yourself experiencing and it certainly makes one reminisce about how the circumstances conspired to have you finally end up here in this dark hour of fire taken in by promises of prosperity and talk about economy and progress and coolness and more you followed the masses and the adverts on TV You installed the apps and emptied your brains connected to and sucked into their web of lies connected to and sucked into their world of shadows who's in control here? And where are we going If anywhere at all you didn't keep your eye on the material world now you suddenly found yourself locked up inside of a giant wooden wicker man With the city people swarming around you in a mob Because someone has to be sacrificed like a scapegoat or the child of Omelas but these aren't even Pagan deities they revere they're brand names and political party slogans Capitalism brought neoliberal freedom But still someone’s needed to pay the bills often the devil can be found in the inquisition rather than in the poor burning witch a crowned monkey is spitting nut shells while the background falls the fire comes closer time for a last prayer you close your eyes and the world is on fire An undividable endless moment you keep your eyes closed eternity seems to pass And your senses melt away Burn with a fire that goes beyond making carbon dioxide burn with a fire that cleanses the soul Even beyond this world Til the background is gone you open your eyes Unharmed the world outside is scorched but you find a world inside That’s more real It’s like coming out of the cave green fields are waiting for you further up and further in all that you left behind was worth less than an atom of this country Lai lai
14.
Mixed bags 02:55
never trust the left, never trust the right never trust anyone who wants you to join their side who'll exclude all but his own in a 2 party system such package deals are toxic, without any exception there is truth on each side there is lies on each side but the packages as they are are always poisoned apples- affirm the truth on the left, affirm the truth on the right but endorse no-one who'll exclude a whole other side truth and justice will never recognise party lines and party lines can never keep truth and justice out or in they'll always be present in different forms on different sides even the worst dictator has some things right even the best idealist has some things wrong a human being or his creation is always a mixed bag a human being or his creation is always a mixed bag some things we should conserve and some other things need progress we need both, not one or the other, and usually we’ll need them both together let's conserve it if’s good and go beyond it if it's wrong Let’s transcend all this nonsense before we fossilise again fleah and blood are never ever the actual enemy a human being can be wrong and be bound by lies and systems but she or he is still a sister or brother to ourselves with the lies and systems and things between us as the real enemy a human being or his creation as always a mixed bag a human being or his creation as always a mixed bag
15.
hoelang blijven we spelen met adders en geweren in het mijnenveld hoelang blijven we spelen op ons drumstel in't midden van de nacht terwijl de draak slaapt Hoelang blijven we gokken me onszelf als inzet ons eigen lichaam, onze eigen ziel zonder dat we weten wie er wint als wij het zijn die verliezen zonder dat we ooit zullen weten wat we hebben verloren
16.
Salva mea 04:12
Oh God save me from the systems of this world Oh God save me from myself Oh God save me from the monsters in the dark Oh God save me from the beast inside me Oh God save me from the evil done to me Oh God save me from my sins Domine salva mea Domine salva mea Salva mea God same me God save me Salva mea God same me God save me From evil and violence Oppression and hate Greed and selfishness And worship of selfmade idols From lies and deception Lust and lovelessness Destruction and pollution
17.
none
18.
I know I can’t explain to you the thoughts and feelings that I have You would never understand my words Even if I could describe things perfectly And there’s no real connection Because There’s no intersection There’ll be no actual understanding Cause We live in different worlds So I’ll hurt your feelings And you’ you’ll hurt mine And It’ll happen, it’ll happen again Time after time Without knowing what went wrong We’ll both blame the other again and again Without seeing those solid differences standing between us as a wall mi sona ala e ni: sina pilin e seme? sina sona ala e ni: mi pilin e seme? mi sona ala e ni: seme li lon insa sina? sina sona ala e ni: seme li lon insa mi? (solo) The things you do that hurt me Wouldn’t hurt you if done to you But to me they’re rather destructive and you’re unable to even see it The things I do to you that hurt you They wouldn’t hurt me if done to me But to you they’re is rather destructive and I’m unable to even see it So I’ll hurt mi sona ala e ni: sina pilin e seme? sina sona ala e ni: mi pilin e seme? mi wile sona e ni: sina pilin e seme? sina wile sona e ni: mi pilin e seme? mi sona ala e ni: seme li lon insa sina? sina sona ala e ni: seme li lon insa mi? mi wile sona e ni: seme li lon insa sina? sina wile sona e ni: seme li lon insa mi?
19.
hello stranger from over the ocean coming in wireless in ones and zeros... what is friendship in this digital world? do you want to know more people completely different from you and the narrow culture around you that you try to escape or just people who'll affirm things you already know I'm not here to take sides in foreign conflicts or affirm alien shibolets but to make friends and learn I can try to be a virtual friend to you but I can’t mould myself into the mindset Of an alien culture7... I wanna be a friend to everyone regardless of Culture, gender, sex, race or even musical taste I believe it’s from our difference That we learn the most So I'm not taking sides between two poles of whatever trivial culture wars You seem to think thinks universal And you really should get rid of Both sides of that nonsense I learned your language but you never knew mine as a monolingual and even in English we use the same words and say completely different things there's hidden connotations and double meanings to words assumptions and really weird connections that we don't get that don't get cleared up and listening to the other in case of misunderstanding instead of assuming the worst is important from every side not just mine but I see that you've already hit the unfriend button
20.

about

'Beware of Plato's cavemen' is the third album in the 'cyberluddism' series. It is rather loosely a concept album but the unifying theme might have something to do with false realities versus Reality, and the futility of all of our human constructs, and in between there's everything from depression to world peace, and from problems with human relationships to questions about God.
The number of languages has gone up, with 2 songs in Flemish or Dutch, one and a half in toki pona, and some lines in liturgical Latin, while the musical genres are less extreme now, and often more folky/poppy than ever...

credits

released October 31, 2016

Bram Cools: compositions, recording, instruments, beats, samples and sequencing, mastering, and so on...

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Bram Cools Lier, Belgium

Bram Cools is an eclectic singer-songwriter from Belgium with lo-fi roots, with an own musical universe that moves somewhere in between weird folk, electro-acoustic noise and christian antifolk. He'll never be rich and famous, but that's not really the point. ... more

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