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How I Dreamt of You (2018 mix)

by The Pleasures Pale

/
1.
Wonderstruck was I Here lies an impulsive man It’s frightening Indeed how indulgence can Helpless and relaxed Listless and in fact Too weak to object to you (If I wanted to) Uncontested time Your eyes sublime Remain molested, pleased And brutally too kind In a room light by the moon Life’s trials consumed And I could not object to you (If I wanted to) Take that staircase into heaven Gently lie down Your body and beauty collide And in a room light by the moon Life’s trials consumed And I could not object to you And I could not object to you And I could not object to you (If I wanted to) Oh, how I wanted to And, oh, how I wanted to
2.
The bathtub steams On a cold, cold Dayton morning In a darkened dream I live for these enjoyments If you wish, you can ignore me You don't ask and I don't tell This is my own road to hell Save your opinions for the wishing well It could be heaven just as well I once held a hand Porcelain in a wedding gown But the earth will keep spinning 'Round and 'round Restless, I guess It might surprise you That I have had less And I've still so much to do I'd walk the streets in a house-trailer town A re-run episode of Lost and Found Save your opinions for pennies It could be heaven just as well Yes, it could be heaven just as well It could be be heaven just as well Because the earth will keep spinning 'Round and 'round and 'round You don't ask and I don't tell This is my own road to hell Save your opinions for the wishing well It could be heaven just as well It could be heaven just as well

about

In September of 1985, singer/lyricist Jeffrey Bright began meeting for songwriting sessions with bassist Luis Lerma and guitarist Mitchell Swann in Bright's rented house on Marcella Avenue in North Dayton. Lerma was already established as a prominent rockabilly figure in the Dayton underground, having played in The Lucky Strikes, among others, and Swann was loosely associated with the burgeoning Bob Pollard/Guided by Voices Northridge scene. Swann's friend and then occasional GBV drummer Timothy Payton Earick sat in on a series of 4-track recording sessions and soon the band had a name and a demo tape.

After the initial demo sessions, Earick left to follow other commitments and was replaced with Jeff Keating, formerly of Dayton new wave favorites Dates XXX. Keating would remain in the lineup until mid-1987 and contribute to The Pleasures Pale! LP, as well as a handful of additional demo recordings in early 1986. Among those demos was a hypnotic swing-time composition titled "Heavenly Dreams He Had." The short song was included in early live sets, but soon gave way to new, more fleshed out material. Here, more than 30 years later is a "revivified," edited and fully realized version retitled "How I Dreamt of You."

This swirling, neo-psychedelic rendition finds singer Bright transfixed in a soft-focus fantasy, at the mercy of passive desires. For all the song's lustiness, the astute listener might suspect the distance between dream and reality is well beyond grasp — begging the question: Is this a seduction song or lonely heart's desperate plea? Either way, Swann's signature arpeggiated style, Lerma's rolling bass line and Keating's steady cymbal tattoo provide the piece with an undeniable locomotion.

Inhabiting the B-side is one of the Pale's best known songs, "It Could Be Heaven," a portrait of a young bohemian's inner conflict and defiant contemplations. The version here is a 1985 demo dressed out in subtle finery, likely recorded after Earick's departure and prior to Keating's arrival.

Together, "How I Dreamt of You" and "It Could Be Heaven" live in a beguiling, rarified atmosphere — in an empty North Dayton house where the haunted and the haunting willfully engage in a parlor game fraught with psychological consequence. On the streets of a house trailer town. In a rerun episode of Lost & Found. In a room lit by the moon. Porcelain in a wedding gown.

Stay up late for more midnight teasers from The Pleasures Pale.

credits

released November 12, 2018

voice – jeffrey bright
guitars – mitchell swann
bass guitar – luis lerma
drums – jeff keating ​
additional sounds – jeffrey bright

initial recording:
produced and engineered by the pleasures pale
marcella house
dayton, ohio
1985-1986

additional recording:
san francisco, california
2017-2018

cover photo & design - jeffrey bright

c) 1985–1986 The Pleasures Pale
p) 2018 JABMA
Fugitive Music Publishing / BMI

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The Pleasures Pale Dayton, Ohio

The Pleasures Pale was an influential indie quartet based in Dayton Ohio active from 1985 to 1987. Oft-compared to anglo groups such as The Smiths, TPP's influences can now be read as more diverse — taking cues from postpunk, rockabilly, swing, Motown and Dayton funk. A band for misfits, their extensive, lyric-driven output sought to light a way through the rust belt's post-industrial bleakness. ... more

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