I sort of wish the drums were sidechain compressed by the vocals much like several other Uyama Hiroto mixes and the pads further back, but I think this is a well produced track by Nujabes despite only being found on his cellphone after his death and the incomplete session files.
Update: Uyama Hiroto’s remix seems so completed and perfect bliss, that version should be heard by everyone!
RIP Nujabes, the Luv(sic) series has been one hell of a journey.
Lyrics
I met a metaphorical girl in a metaphysical world
now you got me day dreaming, sleeping in a curl
her name on my tongue, a fresh flavor, yup
whenever she popped up, put a swirl on my cone
i used to rap like i had some marbles in my mouth
but the stones turned precious when they all came out
on a string of deep thought that could never be bought
body rock don’t stop, be bop to hip hop
cold as ice so I stared as it thawed to the floor,
what was left a shoestring budget on call
then these new styles came along
some on to the next on some other hit, their own trip
colors faded on airbrushed centerfolds, dated
make you feel old and jaded
the point was to make it and we made it but
we didn’t know how to keep it
like nice kicks. that wouldn’t fit
only way was to box it up and duct tape it up
store it underneath the bed and open it up
once in a blue moon,
think about a cool ending
to a story that ended too soon
gotta bring back the feeling
I’ll do anything not to be stuck on fiending
a pen can be sharper than a scalpel to a patient
to an open heart, it’s a daily operation
after six come seven and eight
access code to the pearly gates
they say heaven can wait
and you speak of fate
a finale to a play for my mate
I see the angels draw the drapes
over the earthscape
where the wine is the spirit of grapes
gotta finish what we started, so I cut the tape
as our records will stay on rotate
you say a circle is a flawless shape
every part equi-distance from the center
on the arc without a start or a finish
a line on a loop carries weight
a freight train runs unabated
views vanish from my point vantage,
passages come in and out
the way I recall your antics (how I remember your antics)
still alive ’cause I said it
a life of its own unless we dead it
till they see our name in credits
a labor of love you mean slavery
surely, it’s been quite savory
crepe on the balcony, verbal alchemy
pure magic when she touches me
I read that love is kind but it’s also blind of any style
you profess, would you be my guest (you could be my guest)
happiness is a hot potato that you can’t possess for long
just pass it on like asong
and I might look calm and collected at a glance
but I taste the void when I’m not connected
to the world kinetic, as opposed to static
idle hands a workshop of a digital addict (a modern-day addict)
on a hot streak for inspiration is key to feed
the mind in need of stimulation
elevator music to the space station
penthouse of stars a-blazing
after six come seven and eight
access code to the pearly gates
they say heaven can wait
and you speak of fate
a finale to a play for my mate
I see the angels draw the drapes
over the earthscape
where the wine is the spirit of grapes
gotta finish what we started, so I cut this tape
as our records will stay on rotate