(electronics hum) (percussive rock music) ♪ I was a teenage porcupine ♪ ♪ A bed of nails running down my spine ♪ ♪ A trail of tears up a hill of beans ♪ ♪ A last long laugh at the edge of dreams ♪ ♪ Nobody told you about the curves ♪ ♪ The battered brains and the busted nerves ♪ ♪ But you can't let the bastards bring you down ♪ ♪ A last long laugh at the edge of sound ♪ ♪ Last long laugh at the edge of sound ♪ ♪ How many times around the sun ♪ ♪ 'Til you drop your leaves and say you're done ♪ ♪ To be such a houseplant is no crime ♪ ♪ A last long laugh at the edge of time ♪ ♪ Last long laugh at the edge of time ♪ (instrumental break in music) ♪ Need I remind you about the end ♪ ♪ That gaping void just around the bend ♪ ♪ But why would I waste one single breath ♪ ♪ A last long laugh at the edge of death ♪ ♪ Last long laugh at the edge death ♪ (upbeat rock music) ♪ Shoo, hoo hoo ♪ ♪ Tell it ♪ ♪ Shoo, hoo hoo ♪ ♪ Tell it ♪ ♪ Rest in power or rest in peace ♪ ♪ Who needs power when you got release ♪ ♪ Sweet release into infinite peace ♪ ♪ Nowheresville ♪ ♪ Shoo, hoo hoo ♪ ♪ Tell it ♪ ♪ Shoo, hoo hoo ♪ ♪ Tell it ♪ ♪ Here they come now, thoughts and prayers ♪ ♪ Thoughts and prayers won't get you there ♪ ♪ But I guess they do make a pretty pair ♪ ♪ Nowheresville ♪ - Yeah.

♪ Maybe cry a single tear ♪ ♪ No more ♪ ♪ Cry, cry ♪ ♪ A single tear ♪ ♪ No more ♪ (audience cheers) (electronic pitches hum) ♪ I trying to get along, Jack ♪ ♪ When you went off on the wrong track ♪ ♪ And we're a million miles apart now ♪ ♪ With a dead horse before the cart, now ♪ ♪ And when there's nothing left to say, dear ♪ ♪ You gotta zip it up and play, dear ♪ ♪ I got nothing on your brains, kid ♪ ♪ But I guess you dropped the reins, kid ♪ ♪ And if you're gonna waste my time, child ♪ ♪ You better do it on your dime, child ♪ ♪ And when there's nothing left to say, dear ♪ ♪ You gotta zip it up and play, dear ♪ ♪ Good god ♪ ♪ You wanna break it off, I wanna break it down ♪ ♪ You gotta be a fool to be fooling around ♪ ♪ #*#*#*#* the whole human race, man ♪ ♪ Now you wanna be a space man ♪ ♪ But you'll never have a place there ♪ ♪ 'Cause you can't afford the space fare ♪ ♪ And that ain't no way to be, dear ♪ ♪ You better get back in your tree, dear ♪ ♪ Oh my ♪ - 2015 was a big year.

I was doing the like Sleater-Kinney, "No Cities to Love."

That was like a world tour album release.

That took up a lot of time.

Sam plays in the HITmakers, and made a couple records and was doing tour, touring with Jon Spencer.

So we were actually pretty busy, and then I got in a bad car accident, and that took a bunch of time for me to be able to play drums again.

And then the pandemic, which kind of slowed most things down, actually opened a door for us to have like nothing else happening except we were in Portland.

Everything was shut down.

I was recovering physically from my injuries.

And so it gave us a time to like practice a lot.

And out of this practicing came the new material, and the record basically.

(heavy music) ♪ To everyone sleeping in their cars ♪ ♪ And all the teenage TikTok stars ♪ ♪ And everybody baking bread ♪ ♪ Doomscrolling, going outta their head ♪ ♪ Blackberry pie a la mode ♪ ♪ Black coffee, no future ♪ ♪ No one to be ♪ ♪ Nothing to see ♪ ♪ Clouds hide the stars ♪ ♪ And the helicopters ♪ ♪ All the kids in their virtual classes ♪ ♪ Stuck at home sitting on their asses ♪ ♪ And all the houses lost to fires ♪ ♪ The anti-vaxxers and the climate deniers ♪ ♪ Blackberry pie a la mode ♪ ♪ Black coffee, no tomorrow ♪ ♪ Nowhere to be, nothing to see ♪ ♪ Clouds hide the stars ♪ ♪ And the helicopters ♪ ♪ All the puffed-up patriot pigs ♪ ♪ Punisher skulls on the backs of their rigs ♪ ♪ And everyone else just tryna get by ♪ ♪ To stay alive or at least not die ♪ ♪ Blackberry pie, a la mode ♪ ♪ Black coffee, no future ♪ ♪ No fairy tale ending ♪ ♪ Clouds hide the stars ♪ ♪ And the helicopters ♪ Yeah, I mean it wasn't like a conscious effort to just take 10 years to put out another record.

- It wasn't like 10 years?

It's been about 10 years- - Okay, let's go!

Let's go, time to get back.

It was, you know, it was more like, oh, you know, once we had the record in the can, it was like, "Whoa, 10 years have gone by."

You know?

'Cause you don't pay attention to the little dates on the records that- I don't even remember when we make 'em, unless I consult.

It just happened that way.

- I do think that as you get older, and you've been a band longer, you don't rush that like year treadmill, "We're gonna do a record and do a tour every year."

I don't even think the current kind of atmosphere for music can sustain that for most bands.

Maybe some, but not for most.

You have to spread things out a little bit more, and give people a chance to kind of miss you a little bit, which for us, I think definitely happened and like worked to our advantage that people sort of thought we were gone, and then we weren't.

(Janet chuckles) - And that's true.

The music dictates it.

It's if the music suddenly is like, "Hey, I need, I'm real.

"I need to get out there," then you respect that.

But otherwise, like there's no reason to force it for, you know, there's no, for us, a band like us, there isn't really financial incentive there.

It's really just about if the music is ripe, and wants to be heard.

(moderate rock music) ♪ Niagara Falls straight up to the moon ♪ ♪ Or you can fly there in a lead balloon ♪ ♪ Gravity don't care at all ♪ ♪ You can walk on water, if you so choose ♪ ♪ In your made in U.S.A. concrete shoes ♪ ♪ Gravity don't care at all ♪ ♪ You might believe the pigs can fly ♪ ♪ That's the kind of lie you just might buy ♪ ♪ Gravity don't care at all ♪ ♪ You don't have to be Isaac Newton ♪ ♪ Sitting under some apple tree ♪ ♪ Gravity don't care at all ♪ ♪ Gravity, gravity ♪ ♪ Gravity, gravity ♪ (tempo speeds up) ♪ Folly and fever ♪ ♪ Conspire to bring you here ♪ ♪ This country of such flux and fog ♪ ♪ A headache, so small ♪ ♪ Containing all there is ♪ ♪ Confirms you've been barking ♪ ♪ Up the wrong tree again ♪ ♪ Ascending Olympus ♪ ♪ To mingle with the gods ♪ ♪ Your mind reassured ♪ ♪ By such boredom ♪ ♪ Their dirty bathrooms ♪ ♪ And casual disarray ♪ ♪ Recall to your mind ♪ ♪ The comforts of home ♪ ♪ But I, I float above it all ♪ ♪ Wizard of idleness ♪ ♪ Mistress of killing time ♪ ♪ The immortal Queen of Ears ♪ ♪ Meanwhile, you discover ♪ ♪ Your legs betray your head ♪ ♪ And lead you to the deserts of reason ♪ ♪ Where cardboard cowboys ♪ ♪ And vampires of every stripe ♪ ♪ Converge on empty schoolyards ♪ ♪ Rehearsing your demise ♪ ♪ But I, I float above it all ♪ ♪ Wizard of Idleness ♪ ♪ Mistress of killing time ♪ ♪ The immortal Queen of Ears ♪ - It was a very tense time there for a while, and I really, I had visions of, you know, of cops or troops even like cruising through the streets and in transports, like enforcing curfews on Portland, because it was like they were actually threatening stuff like that.

And helicopters flying overhead all day long.

And these are very novel experiences for somebody who's lived in, you know, a relatively sleepy town like Portland.

And yeah, I don't know if that, I think, again, that's just another one of those things.

It just, it starts opening up doors that wouldn't normally be there under normal work a day, you know, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes sorts of days.

(upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music continues) ♪ Riots and jokes ♪ ♪ I'll take the middle way ♪ ♪ Baby ♪ (upbeat rock music continues) ♪ Uncle Sam, sick old man ♪ ♪ What's the plan, baby ♪ ♪ Obliteration ♪ (upbeat rock music continues) ♪ The world is yours, ladies ♪ ♪ Take it now ♪ ♪ What are you waiting for ♪ ♪ Take it now ♪ ♪ What are you waiting for ♪ (slower rock music)