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Rose Colored Glasses (Qreepz Remix)

from Cicada Exoskeletons by Tim Stiles

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe double vinyl version of Tim Stiles' solo album, Cicada Exoskeletons. Pressed on 180gm, merlot and teal vinyl with full color gatefold jacket, shrink-wrapped. Featuring custom art by Ryan Breault and Richard Lim. Limited to 300 copies.

    LIMITED EDITION VINYL BUNDLE 15% OFF + FREE SHIPPING: timstiles.bandcamp.com/merch/limited-edition-vinyl-bundle-cicada-exoskeletons-visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

    IMPORTANT: Do you want your copy signed? If you would like the cover signed by Tim Stiles, please use the send a message option at checkout in order to request a signature. Signed copies will have their shrink-wrap removed but will be placed inside a resealable poly bag. Unsigned copies come fully shrink-wrapped.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Cicada Exoskeletons via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 300 

      $45 USD or more 

     

  • Purchase both Limited Edition Vinyl LPs at 20% off (Normally $70).

    Includes:

    - Cicada Exoskeletons Limited Edition Double Vinyl (180 gm)
    Details: timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/cicada-exoskeletons

    - Visceral Candy Feat. Tim Stiles Limited Edition 12" Vinyl LP (180gm)
    Details: timstiles.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-candy-feat-tim-stiles

    - Digital Download codes of both albums (CE download included when checking out, VCxTS redemption code sent separately via email)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Cicada Exoskeletons via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 5  4 remaining

      $56 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

      $2 USD  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 17 Tim Stiles releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Wearing My Jordans, Who's The Boss?, Cicada Exoskeletons, I Dropped The Ball This Christmas (A Poem For Casie), L.M.C., A Fish Like This feat. Trinity Richter, Let It Be feat. Trinity Richter, Start With An 'E' feat. Paradame (Qreepz Remix), and 9 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $50.79 USD or more (10% OFF)

     

about

Is the glass half full or half empty? Is the grass always greener or are we simply looking at life through lenses of rose colored glasses?
The original version was produced by Mack Formway who did a fantastic job with the context. However, I believe in this song so much that I wanted to remake it in a more upbeat manner. Therefore, for this album version I elected to have Qreepz produce it in a different, jazzier light.

lyrics

The tall, dark, and handsome always gets the girl
Thinking out loud, smiling, looking pretty
His lack of substance quenches her thirst
As a down-poured smirk is all that’s necessary...

To converse with her with his immersive worst
She's putty in his hands though he's just a jerk with flirts
It’s not intelligence which captures her attention
More-so how far his fence spans once first observed

Forget intellectual challenge nor respectable talent
His face value balances to fit her curves

Too often we settle for the greenest of grass
No matter how its roots actually hit the curb
It’s so damn easy to lie to yourself
When you only take the time to mind meld with Millennials

Obstinance is the most selfish
Way to turn yourself from a human into a sentinel

Put a pug upon a pedestal and he’ll resemble
The greatest of Danes gaining the same medal
The middle class is separated by ages
Dog-tagged and rated by systematic ways we assemble...

All books by their covers
Judgement laid on one another until their bindings crumble
No matter how how you look at it, us underdogs are asunder
Too often trumped, despite our strength in numbers

A partner, pardoning apartheid
Outlined by pages clipped from a calendar of the Far Side
Don’t take my pessimism wrong, my friend
We’ve walked long enough to know where the sidewalk ends
And I’m horrified…

(CHORUS)
They say the grass is always greener
It’s not about their shades of blades
Nor height in centimeters

Their grass is *always* greener...
Take a peek over their fence
To find jealousy’s demeanor…

Their grass is *always* greener
And after gazing long enough
Our longing to graze makes us upset

We’re unable to stare halfway, unless
We peer through pairs
Of Rose Colored Glasses...

They say the glass is half full...
It’s not about the vacated space
Nor its volume in centiliters

Their glass is *always* half full...
We subtract the full half
And let the vacancy be the handful

It’s just the way we look at it...
Once the empty half is cracked
Would you even fully recognize the half of it?

Oh, how our perception is damaged...
We’d be better off smashing
These Rose Colored Glasses...

(Verse Two)
This freckled, smart kid never got the girl
A skinny piece of parchment with an average build
I might as well’ve been a carcass, covered in filth
Cuddling darkness due to the way that I felt

When I turned 21 I still looked like I was 12
This made it hard to date anyone within my age bracket
Approaching girls during college days failed
Their rejection only tightened the bindings of my straight jacket

I felt evicted, socially restricted
A woeful victim, sunken deep into his shell
Never being elected and rarely taken seriously
Always conflicted me, letting this constriction prevail

Nose all runny feeling ugly and filled
With an anger and angst all encompassing guilt
A no show, stumbling way to the hills with no wind for his sails

(Verse Three)
Let the designs of greed play into detractors of finding peace
Watch these builders of the fence pilfer the expense from
The fight that blind mice lead

Draw conclusions until these awful delusions
Have you shut your eyes to see how others’ lives might be
Better than yours, settling scores by
Calling the kettle black with a suicide type speech

Walk the coals when cold
Until the balls of our feet blister and scream from the cauterizing
Once the grass’ roots recede, the glass’ll crack in half
Spreading shards over lawns, authorizing...

Gloom to stand half as tall than we tried to believe
And our previous slander will find its retreat
Once comparing’s no longer a standard
I bet the bloom of roses planted will be one hell of a sight to see...

(CHORUS x 1)

credits

from Cicada Exoskeletons, released September 3, 2021
Written by Tim Stiles
Prod. by Qreepz
Vocals Recorded and Mixed by Kevin Bressler @ Whiney Cat Audio
Mixed, and Mastered by Jay Battle @ The Battlefield

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Tim Stiles Santa Cruz, California

Tim Stiles is an independent hip-hop artist historically known as the lead vocalist/rapper of the satirical hip hop band, Passion Party. Tim is no one trick pony. He’s a clever, crafty wordsmith in his own right with an ability to adapt to just about any concept or genre. ... more

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