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The Runners Four

by Deerhoof

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    First time on vinyl in eighteen years! Initially released in 2005 by Kill Rock Stars/5 Rue Christine (CD/digital) and the band's Children of Hoof imprint (vinyl), The Runners Four is back in print on pink and blue vinyl via Joyful Noise Recordings.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Runners Four via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $32 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

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

      $9 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Released by Kill Rock Stars and 5 Rue Christine in 2005.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Runners Four via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

1.
Chatterboxes 02:32
In pencil lines of ages past, Idea maps were being drawn Over the world. Storytime in your wildest mind. What a wonderful Magic animal. Mother to child, Singing a long song. Set sail, seaworthy vessel. Fill your holds with the sound Of daughters and sons Wagging their tongues. Written down in ink so clear, Voices of a yesteryear. Dreams are whispered in an ear.
2.
Twin Killers 02:16
Tale of the traitors; Pretty pretty twin sisters. Be kind, be shy were all lies. Witty wicked destroyers. Tale of killers. They're killers. Showed my back and so long. Never be traitors. Pretty pretty twin sisters. So fine, so shine what we had. Tricky two heads deceivers.
3.
They were called The Runners Four. Always slipping through the back door When they come ashore, Sneaking through their precious load, Cheating customs in a speedboat. When they come in from far away, Oh, they never can stay. They fly away to other skies With the sun in their eyes. Make their entrance two by two Bringing us a thought that's so new, Whistling secret tunes And smuggling through their precious smile, Breaking customs for a short while.
4.
Baby baby hi five. Baby baby say hi. Little little ones. Mon ami nna. Take my hands now. Walk to where you like. Streets are flowers. Kites are flying by. Winter turns summer. Sense will be hi-fi. Love, love, love, la, la, la... Baby, you promise me You will magic me. Magic me. Promise me. Magic me. Hearts are closer. Sing a song we like. Laugh together. I'll paint your cheek colorfully. Will you like it to be blue, red or green?
5.
When you're overly confident, Then it's over before beginning the good part. Everybody fades away. Waves.. waves carrying them away. Wait.. wait, O'Malley, O'Malley, O'Malley.. O'Malley, O'Malley, O'Malley, Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me Or I won't even sing. Hooray, hooray, O'Malley, run. Hooray, hooray, O'Malley, fun. Used to be the underdog, Hooray, O'Malley, run. But you're overly confident. So it's over before beginning the good part. Everybody fades away; We got carried away.
6.
Odyssey 02:55
Pirates on an odyssey. We ask our captain "What will be?" When winter is gone, We might be wrong. My companions focus me On the bright real sun. You're my reason to go. Careless whither I be led. Careless whither I be led. How long will we last Out on the sea? Talking people happily; When they're right feel wrong. You're my real home Out on the sea.
7.
Here's a message she would say: "Don't forget me yesterday 'Cause today's no place to stay. Will you spirit me away? You spirit me away. When you hunger number one. It's no wonder under fun. Don't be mean to see the green. You get caught in the machine. You're caught in the machine. Bend the machine See the pendulum swing and go in between. Skip the waves, syncopate Forwards backwards Olulululu"
8.
Bless spirit ditties of no tone. Inspirations. Unsensations. Modulate more silence. You and I may forsee. We can be history, Painted on wall that's near Ought to. Montage fragments. Ditties of no tone. Montage fragments. Ditties of no tone. Bless spirit ditties of no tone. Inspirations. Unsensations. Modulate more silence. Bless spirit ditties of no tone. Inspirations. Unsensations. Modulate more silence.
9.
Scream Team 02:40
Guiding you, a voice is coming from behind the stage. Finding you, a voice is found on a missing page. Winding through, a plot controller from another age. Pulling the cord of mystery. Cheating a clock. Meeting a team from history. A stranger's face is seen, But was he on our team? The lights go out and everybody screamed, "team." A friend who was a foe. The quarter whistle is about to blow. Then I go. Tunnel underground- Enter sideways, reaching all around. In the darkness I will not be found. Invisible people doing the wave. Invisible people doing the wave. Invisible people doing the wave.
10.
You Can See 03:20
Your legs don't work and you're caught in the light. You can see through the walls so nothing is right. There's a man in the cellar next door And he's scratching the floor fifty miles away. You didn't know him till today. You're walking home and your heart has been drained, But you're eyes have been newly trained And the roof is invisible now. It's incredible how you were ever blind. Now you will always find: Rooms are connected, Eyes are perfected, Hey, now, now, Hey, now, now, You can see. Something you shouldn't be. Something suddenly free. What will happen now if: The eyes are too strong? The horizon's too long? I can see, I can see. But Mama says it's wrong. In the night I'll lose it. It's not right but I'll use it. I can see, I can see. As my lungs fill with air And the world is laid bare, What will happen to me? The warning says, "you can see." You will forever riddle.
11.
I ride the bike at night. Not lie. I heard the footstepping sounds come after me. Turning the corner, I see no one. Silence. The turner. The runner. The turner. The runner. The turner.
12.
Hello lover, I can't do you harm. Middle lover, I did do you harm whenever I want to. Oh no, the ladder collapsing. Oh no, the ladder collapsing. Oh no, the ladder collapsing. The matter relaxing. The girl (the boy) can't sing. Lover running backwards now. Lover it is now. Then tomorrow crashes down At a hundred miles an hour and it's sour. The goodbye, the goodbye; The lover sighs. Tomorrow crashes down, One-hundred miles an hour. Goodbye. Goodbye.
13.
Siriustar 04:37
Boom, light that fire. Howl, howl, howl. Deergod's eyes. Wild music of the hoof playing in big fire. Boom, light that fire. Howl, howl, howl. Lunatic night rises. Sonic of the moon flips them inside out. Glowing slowly. Sonic of the moon lifts us to higher. You got to rouse now. How, how, how? Be a Siriustar. Nobody's no more fools you to think how. No gabs about them. No, no, no. Open your eyes wide. Breathe sets you free. Count the stars. Be blind to see. Whisper I will seek out A luminous tonight. Sights are fading. Revive your fire. Now, now, now. We have wolf minds. Knock your door of the minds hard to wake them up. Bark to the moon loud. Shout, shout, shout. Make a wish come true. Glare eternity.
14.
Farmer wins a trophy and hands it to you. The little lemon hides its rind. Sour person's double mind, Who won't let go of you. A troubled team, a little lemon who Still lives inside of you. The tree won't bend and make the shade. Twenty persons' lemonade, Who want too much from you. A troubled team of little lemons who Still live inside of you. A little sibling makes the choice for two. Which one was you? Lemon and little lemon.. Lemon and little lemon, Growing too low.
15.
Stuck to the roof, Skinny man smiles to the skies and Waits for a new day. Dots and a dash, Warning flash, Energy surging; Costly vitality. Lightning rod, run. Lightning rod, Still tied down to the ground. Lightning rod, run. Lightning rod, He sees cracks in the clouds. Run, run, run. Run, run, run. Run, run, run. Run, run, run...
16.
Bone-Dry 02:15
Are you a dry kind of one? Do tell me. Show me your tongue And I'll make you healthy. Peppercorn, peppercorn. Peppercorn, peppercorn. I'm very cold, and I'm wet. My tummy. But peppercorn, true to form, Can't help me. Wading salty waters of this river. I noticed that a heart was getting bigger- It grew twice its size. Peppercorn, peppercorn. Peppercorn, peppercorn.
17.
18.
Spy On You 02:12
Spy on you, spy on you. Follow you, follow you. Spy on you, spy on you. After you, after you. Under investigation. I have your information. Hiding, finding- Everywhere. Hiding, finding- Always there. Spy on you, spy on you. After you, after you. Uh oh, shadow, Someone is following you. Oh no, shadow, Someone is following following me. Under investigation. I've got all the information.
19.
Hidden gamble. Double meeting. We are the remaining. Cast afloat on icy water. Can I really leave? Apparitions are reminders Of what will never come back. We imagine new horizon. Life infinity. Rain fall. White out, empty, damaging. Ark sailing. Believe all fools or die.
20.
Rrrrrrright 03:57
Melody. Griffins sing a song of liberty. Ga-ga, ga-ga. Eclectic. Melody's popping out. Oh, hairy lips. Oompah, oompah. Rrrrrrright. Yeah, yeah rrrrright. Magnifique. Viva whee. Let me sing for liberty. Fantastic. C'est la vie. Ring a bell for joy. Enjoy. Magnifique. Viva whee. Let me sing for liberty. Fantastic. C'est la vie. Ring a bell for joy. Enjoy. Magnifique. Viva whee. Singing for the ending.

about

*The Runners Four* is Deerhoof’s double-LP concept album about friends banding together, deciding what to save in an apocalypse, passing secret messages of warning and hope from a remade future back to a soon-to-be-destroyed present. Abundant with lyrical allusions to the flood, it was written and self-produced by Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich, Chris Cohen and Greg Saunier while they holed up in a rented Oakland rehearsal room for the winter months 2004-5.

“a heavy football, a no-half-stepping opus, a defining statement…*The Runners Four*should occasion a moment to notice how a little band has gotten its scale and balance right: producing strong and inexpensive-sounding records in its own studio, making converts through frequent touring, changing its sound every six months or so. It’s not easy, especially without becoming part of any movement…” - The New York Times

“Deerhoof…has succeeded at something that’s very hard to do: It has made records and built a devoted international following on the sheer power of its imagination. And it’s a mad, wild imagination...” - The Boston Globe

“Deerhoof has forged yet another delightfully odd pop gem, multifaceted and sparkling with creativity.” - Rolling Stone

“Deerhoof makes the difficult wonderful.” - The New Yorker

“Songs stop as soon as a hook seems to form; rhythms shift and cut like they’re running for their lives…but when the mystery lifts and the melodies finally stick—and they do—the album has the undeniable power of complete originality.” - TIME

*The Runners Four* was nominated for New Pantheon Award by Ric Ocasek and John McCrea.

credits

released October 11, 2005

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Deerhoof San Francisco, California

Keepin it boxy and harsh since 1994.

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