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Trailing Speed Lines

by James Riotto

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1.
I'm camouflaged like cotton balls in a cupboard full of surgical gauze Gazing through the open maw to watch the whitewash fall apart I'm a passive actor, I'm filled with anger, sensitive to horror, hung-up on cliffhangers I read the news Lord knows I don't make it And every now and then I get a little down down Yes every now and then I get a little bit down down down So I put my shoes on and tie them up tight Then I run around the block just to clear my mind When I come back you're cooking dinner on the stove And our daughter is dancing on the living room floor I could do this all night Yes I think I could do this for my whole life So let's take a record out and wipe it down I drop the needle Black Uhuru sounds There's nothing in the world like the rush of love when she says "Daddy will you dance with me?" But every now and then I might get a little down down Yes every now and then I might get a little down down down But I could do this all night Yes I think I could do this for my whole life Yes I could do this all night Yes I think I could do this for my whole life Yes every now and then I get a little down down Yes every now and then I might get a little down down down Yes every now and then I get a little down down Yes every now and then I might get a little down down down
2.
Pretty Eyes 03:35
It’s 10pm on a Tuesday so you’re talking about the end of it all, I brush the wine from my teeth as I lean with my back on the wall. You say, “One of these days will be the last one. One of these nights we’re gonna cross the line.” “I wonder which one of these smokes will kill me. I wonder if we’ll feel it when we’re on the wrong side.” I still remember the time at the Asian Fusion spot when we developed a plan to kidnap Cheney and tie him up. You had such pretty eyes and a lust behind that look. I wrote a note for you on the inside cover of my favorite book. We spent a month in bed cocooned against the winter chill, and time seemed to warp and stretch as we listened for the snow to melt on the roof. I still remember the time when I drove to your house in a storm. The stupidness of it all was swept away when you opened the door. It’s ten years later, and the kids are sleeping down the hall. You drain the wine from your glass as I clean up some bouncy balls. It smells like smoke again, I really hope there’s not another fire. You give me a kiss on the neck, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so tired.
3.
When I look in the mirror I see time But all my memories share the same voice in my mind Sometimes the nights seem like they'll never end But then great chunks of weeks and months collapse like calving glaciers in the arctic You're just a baby now but I'm afraid it won't be long Till you're stealing my car and smoking weed on the back lawn And what's it gonna feel like then? I mean I know my bones and muscles won't be able to contend with fifteen years A couple thousand more beers As slow as this evening feels we're still hurtling through time Like cartoon planes trailing speed lines I've often wondered why we can't seem to recall Those first few months of life when we could sit staring in awe At golden leaves against a cobalt sky Just dancing in the wind and blowing our minds Dancing in the wind and blowing our minds
4.
Best Parts 02:20
I’ve seen more suns rise this year than in the last 10 at least I used to think those were special times, now I just wish I got more sleep. But to warm my home with a fire while the pale stars fade away, to hold your little body close is a fine way to start the day. The best time for a walk in the woods is the morning after it rains Full-up creeks and drip pattering leaves, eucalyptus on the breeze The best parts of you are the ones you’re headed to and the best parts of me are so long gone you’ll be coming on them soon. The loneliest times are the nights when everything sleeps except my trampoline mind When I finally nod off, you walk through my dreams as wind through leaves
5.
2008 Redux 02:53
6.
Nine x 2600 02:07
7.
I really want to learn to take a photograph To take a camera and document the lips you have And in the morning when we wake up The wrinkles around your eyes without your makeup I like to watch you take your clothes off I like the smell of your skin when we make love And in the morning when we wake up I'll open up the blinds and light your face up
8.
9.
Once I sat in a perfect place beneath a giant oak High above the sound of surf exploding on the rocks below A sliver of moon in a tangerine sky And, honest to God, whales breaching like they were trying to blow my mind Don’t let it go Cause you’ll wanna go back yeah you’ll want it all back I’d give everything to go back Once I got high in the mountains with some friends of mine We pitched our tents in the dark on a hill above a crystal alpine lake I stepped away from the fire and saw the Milky Way A perfect mirror image reflected in the water I sat down on the bank and I cried I cried I cried Don’t let it go Cause you’ll wanna go back yeah you’ll want it all back I’d give everything to go back Once I walked an old road through a young redwood forest My son was in a pack on my back and my daughter rode her scooter ahead We got to a field of tiny white wildflowers And we spread a blanket and ate sliced apples in the sun
10.
Pro-Jam 02:45
11.
12.
It all started when he couldn’t go to school anymore. The thought of waking up was too much to endure. People started asking, “What’s he taking, anyway? We know you kids have gone astray, so don’t deny it, boy.” All I could do was shake my head. It wasn’t drugs that took my friend. Oh Rudy can’t you hold out for a while? The winter is almost over and depression’s out of style. Rudy, can’t you keep it under wraps? You’re too young for these panic attacks. Cops picked him up, it was pushing five below, 2AM in the ice and the snow. Walking down the street in nothing but his under clothes, he was frantic and alone, a delusional boy. All they could do was shake their heads, pump him full of pills in a hospital bed. Oh Rudy can’t you hold out for a while? The winter is almost over and depression’s out of style. Rudy, can’t you keep it under wraps? You’re too young for these panic attacks. Rudy you were such a different guy before this paranoia put a distance in your eyes. Rudy I just need a little time, but call me if you’ve got an afternoon with your own mind.

about

James Riotto’s lengthy musical resume includes tours with Mohsen Namjoo (aka the “Iranian Bob Dylan”) and production, engineering, and session work for an enormous roster of artists, such as John Vanderslice, Shannon and The Clams, Meernaa, Astronauts etc., and Strand of Oaks.

On his new full-length record, Trailing Speed Lines, Riotto started with songs written and recorded in his home studio during the early days of Covid lockdown. He fleshed them out at Tiny Telephone in Oakland, where he spent more than a decade as a staff producer/engineer. The record was completed and mixed at his own studio, Altamira Sound, which opened its doors in early 2022.

Trailing Speed Lines is both lyrically and musically vulnerable, tackling fatherhood, the tragic mental illness of a close friend, and the evolution of his marriage with a directness that rings true long after its closing notes fade.

The album’s opening track, ’Song For Joni” (named for his daughter), draws us in with bouncing syncopated synths, languid, drooping bass lines, and a repeated confession: “Every now and then I get a little down. Every now and then I get a little bit down, down, down.”

Later in that same song, Riotto describes an almost heartbreakingly-beautiful domestic scene — dinner simmers on the kitchen stove as his daughter dances, spins, and twirls in the living room. “I could do this all night,” he sings, sounding almost in awe of the realization. “Yes,” he continues, “I think I could do this for my whole life.”

It’s a fitting sentiment on a record so devoted to exploring the ways in which time warps our feelings about the state of the world, about ourselves, and about what matters most to us. On the title track, Riotto sings the line that probably best encapsulates this sense of time slipping away when he laments, “You’re just a baby now, but I’m afraid it won’t be long till you’re stealing my car and smoking weed on the back lawn.”

Riotto recognizes and articulates something vital about the thorns and blessings of change across these songs. Because as time batters us around, it’s hard at work turning us into the people we will inevitably become. It rattles and thrashes us and sucks the spring from our step and then it turns around and slaps us across the face with moments so mesmerizing we wish that we could hold onto them forever. In these songs, Riotto manages to lasso a few of those moments, polishing them with music that will make them last for as long as we’re all on this ride.

credits

released December 16, 2022

Written, produced, recorded and mixed by James Riotto, with:

Rob Shelton: engineering, keyboards
Andrew Maguire: drums and percussion
Carly Bond: guitar
Doug Stuart: bass and synthesizers
Justin Rock: guitar
Mike Quigg: drums
Spencer Hartling and Sami Perez: guest production and engineering on Your Old Mind

Recorded at Tiny Telephone Oakland and Altamira Sound
Mixed at Altamira Sound
Mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Services

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about

James Riotto Pasadena, California

James Riotto is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer in Pasadena, CA. After over a decade on staff at Tiny Telephone Studios, James relocated to Southern California in order to build Altamira Sound, an ambitious multi-room recording studio, with friends and partners Andrew Maguire, Rob Shelton, and Carly Bond. ... more

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