Dane Cobain's Blog, page 31

Take Control

Take control of the life you hold,

your mind is a chemical weapon.

You will be the light of a distant sunrise,

climbing high and falling down to earth again.

You will be the patience of the ancients

waiting graceful, grateful and faithful.

All your plans and schemes have their meanings,

and it’s not easy to build a new infinity.

How do you make your money?

Or does it come to you like a nightmare?

Sometimes I see sense and disconnect,

but the internet is a friend I can rely on.

Sometimes I feel like a robot

and spray my arms with WD40.

Sometimes my bones ache and creak

and I can’t help predicting a thunderstorm.

Sometimes I’m failed by words like a nervous burglar

and then I try to keep a low profile.

I’m backwards anyway;

I put my top on the wrong way round.

I took control of the life I hold,

and now I’m retired from the gathering cold.

Launch Day: Social Paranoia: How Consumers and Brands Can Stay Safe in a Connected World

Hi, folks! It’s an exciting day for me today, because it’s the launch day for my brand new non-fiction book – Social Paranoia: How Consumers and Brands Can Stay Safe in a Connected World.

The book is available in paperback and e-book formats from most major retailers, including Amazon, and you can check that out here. Alternatively, read on to check out the blurb and to find out more!

 

Dane Cobain – Social Paranoia

 

Social networking sites can be scary places. When the whole world is connected, anything can happen and it can happen at lightning speed.

Social paranoia is the feeling you get when you hesitate before posting an update. It’s the feeling you get on a Saturday morning after drunkenly texting your ex the night before. The feeling you get when your friends won’t stop posting about their perfect lives, making your own life look boring in comparison. 

Social Paranoia: How Consumers and Brands Can Stay Safe in a Connected World is the true story of how sometimes the updates that you post come back to haunt you. Filled with real case studies and practical advice, it’s a guidebook for everyone who has an online presence from consumers to massive corporations. 

Sometimes, people really are out to get you. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

Dane Cobain – Social Paranoia

 

Thanks, as always, for all of your support, and be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news. You can also sign up to my mailing list to hear about the latest new releases and special offers. I’ll see you soon!

New Album News: Discordia

Hi, folks! Today, I just wanted to share a quick post with an update about my music. If you’ve been following my exploits for a while then you might already know that I have two albums out, which you can check out on iTunes and Spotify: Nocturne (2010) and Sketches (2015).

Well, today, I wanted to let you know about Discordia, the working title I have for my third album. It’s already around 80% complete and I think it’ll be ready for release before the end of the year, and so I thought I’d give you a quick heads up!

Here’s the current, tentative track list:

Catch Me Out and Defeat Me
Low Down Blues
Sober
Lean Down On Me
On My Way
Who Will Lead the Sailors to the Shore?
Sevens
If I Die Before You
The Girl With the Rose Tattoo
Stand Right By Your Guns
It Doesn’t Matter Much
Got No Time for Jesus
Lifted
Bitter

Discordia is named after a location in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, which itself is inspired by the the name of the goddess of chaos. It’s not a reference to the fact that my guitars are never in tune.

As always, thanks a lot for stopping by, and be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for further updates. You can also sign up to my mailing list to hear about new releases, or check out Nocturne and Sketches on Spotify for more music. I’ll see you soon!

Find Your Roar

We’re going

on an adventure!

We’re not alone in this;

we are a celebration

in every town that wants one,

three songs to sing along with.

Unslump yourself!

Chase down Gandalf,

and listen to the birds

chirping wordless,

trying to tell us

every day is an adventure.

We set sail for Monkey Island,

met pirates called Guybrush

and this cake is just a lie

my friends,

this life

has no

second chances.

Explore and have fun;

find someone you love

and let ‘em love you,

or say hello

to someone new today.

Then someone banged a drum

like a Stone Roses song,

so we danced the grim fandango

and sat down again.

Being outside

is good for you,

it’s scientifically proven,

which is why we’re sitting inside

with the lights on,

and I’m fine with that;

I climbed up a hill to be here

and this adventure

isn’t over yet.

It’s time,

pack up your bags

and get away from here,

your adventure waits

so step up to the plate

and face it;

every day

is a game

you wake up in,

so save your place

and keep playing.

Give Me Zen

First of all,

I’m not schizophrenic.

Oh sure,

I hear voices,

but it’s all me, me, me,

screaming until my ears bleed

asking, “Why aren’t you listening?”

Sometimes I think

the whole world is a lie

and the stars are on fire

because of me,

I think I did something wrong

when I was cut from my mother’s stomach

which is why they had to put me

in an incubator.

I haven’t felt safe

since they took me out of it.

These days,

I can’t even sleep,

because the silent madness

grows on you,

until you’re lying in a ditch

with a tear in your eye,

and I won’t buy guns

or turn fertiliser into explosives

but I might just change the world

with the words I use.

Or maybe

I’m getting

ahead of myself.

Truth is,

I wish I could flick a switch

and quit thinking,

just so I could

get some sleep sometime;

sleep is for the weak

but I need it,

I can’t work as hard

as I’d like to.

Give me zen my friend

for one long night

of silence.

Cats and Dogs

Cats and dogs get stressed

my friend

you’re not the only one.

There are fireworks

on the Fourth of July

or men with strange scents,

smells like leather

as they slide your post

through the letterbox.

Sometimes they’re afraid

of the wind and rain,

and sometimes they bark

in the night-time.

Sometimes they break the peace

with a growl and a kiss,

purring, “Please, Mr. Food Man,

let meowt again.”

Sometimes they stretch

with their paws on their heads,

following yoga steps

like a downward-facing dog.

Sometimes they’re scared

when the light goes out;

it’s a primal thing

that we still feel

in the evening.

Cats and dogs get stressed

my friend

but not as much as goldfish;

they remember six seconds

and forget themselves,

then get themselves stressed

all over again;

it’s no surprise

you want to be

a lion.

Monday

Hello Monday,

my hungover friend,

how are you fixed

for the weekend?

Is your red

the same as my red

and can we get in bed

together?

I’m not going to lie,

I think you have it

in for me.

Monday,

my mundane day

is dazed

and maybe lazy,

but Monday

I think I fell

in love with you.

It’s your smile

and the way you cross

your legs Monday,

I tried to write

a song for you.

Anjd I think that fate

arrived too late today

and Monday,

you’re somehow

beautiful.

I think you probably

forgot to pay

your council tax.

Monday,

don’t let me down,

I’ve got ten pounds riding

on your shenanigans.

Maybe it rained

on your birthday,

or maybe you lied

about sleeping at night,

sometimes I just can’t

undersstand you.

Monday,

you have no life

to lose;

you sold your soul

to the gods of old,

which is where

you got

your name from.

I’d better stop

making out

with Tuesday.

Fortune Cookies

We’ve got people to see

and things to do

and a big ol’ checklist

to work through,

a clipboard with paper

made from older paper

and elephant dung,

a couple bottles of water

and all the time

in the universe.

It’s a social experiment,

whatever that means,

like when people stop in the street

and trip over their feet

or lay low for weeks

with some disease,

and I don’t do fancy dress

because I’m scared of looking

like a fool.

There’s a man

with a burnt hand,

and maybe it’s a metaphor

for fortune cookies;

I’d bake my own batch

but I’m out of eggs

and flour.

You will meet

a tall, dark stranger;

you will discover

rare new elements,

tame elephants

or become irrelevant,

irreverent.

Time is a pool

we drink by the bucketful,

and school

is a breeding ground

for conformity –

you won’t learn that

in classrooms or Chinese restaurants,

but you’ll have all you can eat

and then some.

Might as well break

your chopsticks

and go back to learning

the piano.

Ugly

Ugly things are beautiful,

you might not believe me

but it’s true.

Make yourself believe that

and you’ll never go hungry again,

you’ll be the zen

in the madness of men

because ugliness

is all around you,

and if you learn to love it –

shit buildings and rubbish tips –

you’ll see the world

for the first time.

Muted greys

can be colourful,

and rainy days

can compensate

for racial hatred,

maybe.

All I know is

ugly things are beautiful,

like I am;

when I’m an old man

with wrinkled hands

and DNA strands,

I will be the fairest

of them all.

Beautiful things

are sometimes ugly

and sometimes beautiful’

I’m scared of the sun

because its light’s so bright

it could fall from the sky,

so I tried to hide

in a diamond mine.

You’re beautiful,

no really

I think you’ve got it

in you.

Take the complement.

Treasure it.

Then pass it on

to someone else.

New Demo: Your Life

Hi, folks! Just a quick update today to let you know about a new song that I wrote called ‘Your Life’. It’s more autobiographical than most, and whilst it’s still in the early stages and I’m not sure whether I’m going to record a full version of it, I thought I’d share it!

You can check it out in the player below, or click here to head over to watch it on YouTube. While you’re there, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for all of the latest video updates, as and when they happen.

 

 

If you’d like to check out some more music, you can also check out my profile on Soundcloud or listen to my two albums – Nocturne and Sketches – on Spotify.

And if that’s not enough, you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter for further updates. I’ll see you soon!