microscope

by cynthia lin

microscope Cover Art
  00:00 / 00:00

  • Digital Album

    immediate digital download of the 9-track album.

    your purchase allows me to continue creating music - please spread the word, and THANK YOU!

    Buy Now  $5 USD  or more

    FAN PACKAGE: AUTOGRAPHED CD + KAZOO + BUTTONS

    be a fan! $22 or more for:

    *AUTOGRAPHED HAND LETTERPRESSED CD
    100% recycled cardboard packaging, handprinted by cynthia on an antique letterpress.

    *AUTOGRAPHED KAZOO
    metal kazoo just like the one cynthia uses on stage

    *COLORFUL MICROSCOPE BUTTONS

    *IMMEDIATE DIGITAL ALBUM DOWNLOAD

    your purchase allows me to continue creating music - please pay what you can, and THANK YOU for your generous support.

    Buy Now  $22 USD or more
    ships within 2 days

    HAND LETTERPRESSED CD - LIMITED EDITION

    $10 or more for:

    *LIMITED EDITION HAND LETTERPRESSED CD
    100% recycled cardboard packaging, handprinted in 2 colors by cynthia on an antique letterpress - as a result, each case is one of a kind.

    *IMMEDIATE 9-TRACK DIGITAL ALBUM DOWNLOAD

    your purchase allows me to continue creating music - please pay what you can, and THANK YOU for your generous support.

    Buy Now  $10 USD or more
    ships within 2 days
    edition of 500

  • Share / Embed
1.
05:03
lyrics
download
2.
03:14
lyrics
3.
04:24
lyrics
4.
05:01
info
download
5.
03:36
lyrics
download
6.
04:41
lyrics
download
7.
04:29
info
download
8.
04:07
lyrics
download
9.
03:49
info
download

about

dear friends and fans,

i'm proud to announce the release of my new record, MICROSCOPE.
this is my third album, a nine-track collection of original songs and covers that i recorded, arranged, engineered, mixed, and produced (with the invaluable help and support of musicians and producer friends from NYC to Boston to Chicago).

these songs revolve around the lyric "What do you see?" from the song Microscope, and explore themes of escapism, longing, hope, love, mortality, and ultimately self-discovery. please enjoy these songs, and share them far and wide.

xo
cynthia.

credits

released 20 October 2010
all songs by cynthia lin except
'forever young' by marian gold, frank martens, bernhard lloyd
'another day' by jonathan d. larson
'there is a light that never goes out' by johnny marr, morrissey
'the girl from ipanema' by a. c. jobim, v. de moraes, n. gimbel

featuring
vox: taiyo na (3), bonnibel & bhurin (4), brenda lin (4), meena cho (4)
bass: chucky kim (1,2,3), jae ko (7)
percussion: boo recitas (2,7)
cello: meena cho (4,6,8)
french horn: louis schwadron (8)

words and music by cynthia lin c p 2010
recorded, arranged, mixed, and produced by cynthia lin
at 6west studio, nyc and the loft, sf.
mastered by mike wells, sf.

cover art by monica chow.

SPECIAL THANKS
thank you ethan stoller, derek kan, and elton lin for advice and guidance that allowed me to do this myself.
thank you taiyo na and chucky kim for friendship, feedback, inspiration, and passion.
a meowy thank you to mayur and tani for love and support.
and thanks most of all to you for reading these words and receiving this creation.

tags

tags: acoustic folk bay area california harmonies jazz san francisco singer songwriter vocals San Francisco

license

feeds

Feeds for this album, this artist

about

follow your passion

contact / help

For help with downloads, click here.

For all other inquiries, including help with merch, click here.

shipping and returns

Track Name: chemicals
CHEMICALS

i woke up numb
just three years ago
thought my time had come
my doctor said it wasn't so

so he gave me pills
to change the chemicals in my brain
they made me feel alive
they made me feel sane

i'm gonna change
(the chemicals in my brain)
i'm gonna change
so tired of feeling strange
i'm gonna change

i would try to eat
so i could feel complete
so i could feel anything
but that's no easy feat

i would try to kiss
so i could feel bliss
and everybody had a good time
but my abyss is bottomless

chorus

i'm gonna change
i wanna feel something real
i'm gonna stick a needle in my vein
i'm gonna feel the pain
slip away
Track Name: holiday
HOLIDAY

i wanna take you away
we need a vacay
need a holiday
that's what they say
on the other side of the ocean
let's go to the other side of the ocean

let's get on a plane
we'll go to spain
but not to the plain
where it mainly rains
on the other side of the ocean
let's go to the other side of the ocean

and we can drink champagne
in champagne
and we can eat bologna
in bologna

we can go to london
we'll go to france
and we can buy some knickers
which are underpants
and if we're feeling fancy
we'll buy lingerie
we can do whatever we want
we're on holiday

[kazoo solo]

i'm starting to miss my bed
miss my home sweet home
and i'm sorry to say
but the pizza is way
better in new york
than it is in rome

we need a holiday from this vacation
need some rest and relaxation
from the other side of the ocean
let's go back to our side of the ocean

where we can look at pictures and reminisce
about eating figs at the acropolis
and it was hot as hell there
but the ouzo made it okay
and we'll sit at home till it gets boring
then we'll plan a trip to do more touring
and next summer
we'll have another
holiday
Track Name: microscope
MICROSCOPE

you squint your eye
i'm under your microscope
i'm on a slide
i'm outside your velvet rope

i'm waiting to be let in
i'm waiting to be let in
i'm waiting to be let in

i'm trying to be myself
let you study the real me
but i can't help self-censoring
i'm a living apology

i'm trying to be myself
i just wanna be myself
why is it so hard to be myself with you?

with you
and your objective eye
sizing me up and down
constantly analyzed
i'm trying to be myself
i just wanna be myself
i don't wanna hide
i don't wanna hide

what do you see?
wish i could see what you see

what i hide
i'm on a slide
a living mystery
a self apology
Track Name: new day
NEW DAY

lay your head down
i know you're weary
we're almost broken
it's been so dark for so long

but times are changing
the world has spoken
we can be better
we can be strong

there's a new day
on the horizon
i can see it
clear as the rising sun

there's a new wind
blowing our way
can you feel it?
it's the dawn of a brand new day

so call your sister
talk to your brother
convince your mother
we still got reason to believe

embrace the dreamers
stand up for the fighters and teachers and dare to
be the change we seek

chorus

i know it's hard to hold on to hope
when we've fallen so far down the hole
i know it feels strange to be moved by
the power of a million voices calling for
change

make a change
it is a new day
feeling a new way
we can be better and better and better and better
it is a new day
and i just can't wait
i know it's not too late
i know it's not too late

can you feel it?
hope is leading the way
it's the dawn of a brand new day
Track Name: all at once
ALL AT ONCE

lying with you in the grass
staring up at the sky
i've never felt so high

playing rorschach with the clouds
can't believe my eyes
it's funny how time flies
and fades away into another world

when you're lying
with the one who knows you best
laughing at the sky above

and all at once
all you feel is joy
all you know is truth
and all you see is love

love is something that i never
believed could be forever
and maybe i still don't

but this moment
each moment with you is getting better
and better

just lying
with the one who knows me best
laughing at the sky above

and all at once
all you feel is joy
all you know is truth
and all you see is love

and all i see
is the light that lifts us
high above

oh love
Track Name: eclipse
ECLIPSE

wave upon wave upon wave
of deepest desire
my heart is on fire

light air water
surrounding me

on the darkest night i can see the sun
on the darkest night i can see the sun