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Faraday Cage

by Jean Koning

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1.
G*dd*mn (Jezebel Style) 05:07
lyrics
Goddamn, it’s summer in the city And it simmers every time My good lads: this woman looking pretty And the Jack’s been clouding up my sordid mind May God rest, since when I wake up Think of heels through the alleys back And when the blinds do their very best To hold such a morning back, can I hear a Goddamn (Well, she’s a Harlot) Goddamn (She should be on her knees) Goddamn (She’s a Jezebel) Goddamn, I’m down on my knees Goddamn, keep asking my committee To outpass this gritty mind My good lads: this woman being tentative Thinks attention is love and so I suffer right May God rest, I brush teeth And think of thighs on seats on passenger sides And when I caress teeth on neck and Hearts on sleeves, they do it Jezebel Style Goddamn (She’s a Harlot) Goddamn (She should be on her knees) Goddamn (She’s a Jezebel) Goddamn, I love you on my knees She’s a Harlot She’s a Jezebel Goddamn, no-one really knows her And the breeze is filled with fear My good lads: I’m blown to the edge And edge cuts skin as I slip along here May God rest, sheets whisper softly Wine spills since she does me Jezebel Style
2.
Driving I-22 04:52
lyrics
Starts in Tupelo, take on a steady flow She makes a left right Disappears into the night Into the West she glides Seen the last sunlight Twenty bucks to spend Left with the Heroine Pretend He will follow her home Waits till she’s all alone Calls her on the phone And she gets it: creates moods with ease Lives on top of life Like something by Matise She has to pretend she is a potted plant Mozart on FM in this Japanese rented van He will follow her home Waits till she’s all alone Calls her on the phone And his habits got her driving His habits got her driving His habit, a habit, it’s his habits It’s a nod to saliva and sweat Stroud for secrets, habits and those miracles And his habits got her driving His habits got her driving It’s way up or it’s way down Fashioned remarkably Careless old town Outside her window another pity Endless parade Native to the city He will follow her home Waits till she’s all alone Calls her on the phone On I-22 lips damped with glue It never works out She never trusted you Now releasing from the Big Gulp A foreign love letter written on pulp He will follow her home Waits till she’s all alone Calls her on the phone And his habits got her driving His habits got her driving His habit, a habit, it’s his habits It’s a nod to saliva and sweat Stroud for secrets, habits and those miracles And his habits got her driving His habits got her driving And his habits got her driving His habits got her driving His habit, a habit, it’s his habits It’s a nod to saliva and sweat Stroud for secrets, habits and those miracles And his habits got her driving His habits got her driving (I-22)
3.
Where To Now? 05:13
lyrics
This nightmare: she now depends She had to change all of her plans Or just get rid of herself She asks: where to now? Where to now? She wants to know where to now? Where to now? Did he want her this broken? This bruised and scarred woman? Lose her mind to come to senses, She asks: where to now? Where to now? She wants to know where to now? Where to, now she cannot be who she wants to be All the time Can she pass on like a woman? Even look like a human? Live in struggle among laurels, She asks: where to now? Where to now? She wants to know where to now? Where to, now she cannot be who she wants to be Thanks to him
4.
Dusty Lamp Light In A Cheap Motel, Highway 61 02:10
lyrics
In a cheap motel filled with cigarette smoke The clock radio tuned to an AM station Where they still play slow trombone solos (Naked emotions restrained by professionalism) A bottle of Jim Beam on the table Trying to drain (or at least dilute) all the poison collected on my mind When I wasn’t paying attention When I wasn’t careful And having someone who didn’t mind disappearing Dissolving in lamp light
5.
Wild Dreaming Tonight 03:35
lyrics
He shuffles naked through his house Begging for night He turns his TV off, lights his bed on fire Never uptight He stares emotionally at the wreckage he caused Ever so bright He cares enough to make it last and get the invite To the wild dreaming tonight To the wild dreaming tonight Let there be wild dreaming tonight In his wildest dreams tonight She said: “it’s time for me to go” Ever so polite He got this nasty taste hanging on the wire and despite He stares emotionally at the wreckage he caused When it excites he cannot stumble through the woods when it’s upright In the wild dreaming tonight In the wild dreaming tonight Let there be wild dreaming tonight In his wildest dreams tonight where he gets her back for good He gets her back for good In the wild dreaming tonight In the wild dreaming tonight Let there be wild dreaming tonight In his wildest dreams tonight He shuffles naked through his house It’s what he ignites He’ll get emotional from the wreckage he caused But not tonight Not tonight
6.
Hammond And Rhodes: Duelling 03:58
lyrics
Yeah, you bet I heard you But I intend to sleep through it, passing time It’s a way to solve it From my Faraday Cage I watch your decline Unfamiliar skin on familiar skin Pleasures like bread on butter Memories of the inside of a thigh I long to be within It’s like salt on a heartache A shot of brandy when you know no one is watching I return to senders I return to senders, baby If you are a sender, I return to senders, baby, from now on Cannot take the pressure Adultery has taken forms I cannot handle Sweet shallow Ancient ocean Darkness flowing tangled Being unused and slaughtered Be a number to your love And just to hear it: your voice whispering sweetness round my midnights Blue waters in black coffee Round 6 AM I pull out into the intersection The fat is getting fatter There’s a difference between "deciding to leave" and "knowing exactly where to go" I return to senders I return to senders, baby If you are a sender, I return to senders, baby, from now on From now on And from my Faraday Cage I watch your decline Yeah, you bet I heard you But I intend to sleep through it, passing time It’s a way to solve it And from my Care-A-Day Cage I see that you’re still mine From my Faraday Cage I watch your decline I return to senders I return to senders, baby If you are a sender, I return to senders, baby, from now on From now on
7.
Andy Warhol Hasn't Answered Yet 03:15
lyrics
Well, you’re lucky: I was already down Got some new stash from a friend in town You say it mattered You’re goddamn right “A contact for when I’m not feeling tired,” that I hear you say I found your panties on my back seat It’s nice to know you’re out there on the streets Now we’re shoving whiskey and having a laugh That little black dress was on your behalf Do I need to hear I’ve been spreading it too thin Keeping it all in Already leaving? Brags down a peg Unbranded tattoos, never ending legs But you took my money And my cigarettes You say: “Andy Warhol hasn’t answered yet, but he’ll tell you, boy, You’ve been keeping it too thin Spreading it all in” Oh, yes
8.
Oh God, Why Are You Sending Me Away? 05:03
lyrics
Before you push me out the door You want to question me once more And what you’ve given is untrue You’re so despicable But for what it’s worth: you shot me down I carry the pain you always talk about Oh God, why are you sending me away? Why are you sending me away? Another year of passing blame Another year of just the same You only think about yourself You’re so intolerable But for what it’s worth: you shot me down I carry the pain you always talk about Oh God, why are you sending me away? Why are you sending me away? And now you blame me for your past You're handing out another test For every breath you take is sour You’re self-destructible But for what it’s worth: you shot me down I carry the pain you always talk about Oh God, why are you sending me away? Why are you sending me away? Away

about

“Can I hear an Amen?”

Set in both rural places (far off the map), and on lonely highways. Sometimes in cheap motels. And most definitely in sweaty weather. During endless Summers in which there’s no escape from the frying, boiling, searing rays of the sun.
“Faraday Cage”–as a metaphorical, narrative album of bluesy, jazzy, and folkish music–takes us to places where there’s a lot of (easy going) sex–whether in real life or in fantasy–Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, wine, cigarettes and sometimes a little grass to smoke as well. And–most definitely–a lot of guilt…
And since Tina Turner preached it in Nutbush City Limits: ”go to church on Sundays”...
Add to that formation, lyrics written as if Charles Bukowsky himself wrote them, combined with the ghosts of Elvis Presly and (the undead) Bob Dylan breathing life into the songs… And, yes, unfortunately some #metoo affairs which put the whole thing in motion…

Somewhere, deep within the Corona Crisis, Jean Koning was approached by a number of (in his opinion) “dear” friends who in a way all got involved in a nasty #metoo-affair–both male and female.
And Koning became the “right” person–as if being some kind of Patron Saint for the matter–to talk to, about all these negative affairs–as if he would have a solution to deal with all those mixed, destructive feelings which are inevitably attached to situations, such as these.
With that in his conscious mind, he took all these (in a sick way: lovingly) shared true stories in order to create an amalgam of experiences in a very metaphorical world, with “the woman as a goddess” ideas spread throughout the stories of power over sexuality.

When we perceive the “woman as a goddess” does that mean there is only the Madonna/Whore question to ask? And when it comes to men–basically the main source of power and abuse in 99.99% of all the stories–are they merely perceived as predators? Or are they fed–like “unknowing” victims–with the thought that a woman (or, man; let’s not leave the male victims out of the conversation here) can be “used” in any which way they present themselves? Used to convenience? (“Please, lend me your pussy. I’ll bring it back in ten minutes… Or less…” is something Koning used to say when a woman was treated “unfriendly” or “disrespected” in the audience during his concerts–long before some “president” of a certain country said: “Grab them by the pussy…”. And hereby we can state that Koning’s comment was a sarcastic utterance to a situation occurring, and Trump very much incapable for the presidency.)
Is “No Means No!” really actually listened to, and thus, by all parties, being respected? And what about the Jezebel-effect?
According to Geoffrey Bromiley, the depiction of Jezebel as "the incarnation of Canaanite cultic and political practices, detested by Israelite prophets and loyalists, has given her a literary life far beyond the existence of a ninth-century Tyrian princess."
Through the centuries, the name Jezebel came to be associated with false prophets. By the early 20th century, it was also associated with fallen or abandoned women.
In Christian lore, a comparison to Jezebel suggested that a person was a pagan or an apostate masquerading as a servant of God. By manipulation and seduction, she misled the saints of God into sins of idolatry and sexual immorality.
In particular, Christians associated Jezebel with promiscuity. The cosmetics which Jezebel applied before her death also led some Christians to associate makeup with vice. In the Middle Ages, the chronicler Matthew Paris criticised Isabella of Angoulême, the queen consort of John, King of England, by writing that she was "more Jezebel than Isabel".
In modern usage, the name of Jezebel is sometimes used as a synonym for sexually promiscuous or controlling women.
The Jezebel stereotype is an oppressive image and was used as a justification for sexual assault and sexual servitude during the eras of colonization and slavery in the United States.
Exploring the Jezebel in the victims of any #metoo-affair led to new insights in the world of women.

Koning–on the album FARADAY CAGE–projects the Jezebel-effect on both the male and female characters. Portraying the metaphorical stories onto two male characters–perpetrator and voice of reason–and two female characters–victimised and heroine. Allowing the four characters to visit each other in the songs–sometimes as bystanders, sometimes as supporting actors. In any which way, they’re all on their knees to (the Christian interpretation of) the Jezebel-figure, who inhabits them all in one way or another. And whether they like it or not…

Returning to Elvis Presly–whose main character returned to sender, since she was not acceptive to the “love” provided–Koning took a road trip starting in Tupelo in the South-East in the U.S of A.; leading him further through “God’s Country”–as being perceived as “this is the country God had in mind when creating this earth” by the locals–into the South-West of the U.S of A.; providing him with insights of how women are being treated–being a father to a teenage girl and a partner to a woman–in positions in which the balance of “power” is somewhat unbalanced… To put it kindly…

The result of this journey is “FARADAY CAGE”–a road-movie-like musical album, comparable to “Mineo”, “From The Hermit’s Bedroom”, and “Industrial City In The Clouds”.

And in Koning’s own words, “Can I hear an Amen?” can be–considering the source of inspiration–easily replaced by “Can I hear a Goddamn?”

Yes, Sir Koning, you can…

credits

released April 25, 2024

Written and Produced by Jean Koning


a Brug-&-Bos dedication....


#metoo-inspired

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Jean Koning Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jean Koning has been a compelling force in the underground music scene since his unlikely folk&jazz debut transferring the band The Children of a Lesser God into the avant-punk extravaganza !JP in 1988. His star-studded career includes albums such as Notes from Purgatory, Man Enough to be a Woman and Wake Up In L.A.
Throughout his career, Mr. Koning has been honored with numerous awards. ... more

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