The title track of this release, Human Zoo is a slower paced, poignant look at the urban dichotomy of homelessness amidst gentrified Los Angeles. Experienced first hand, it gets a bit surreal in downtown L.A., with its subsets of tony upscale developments, skyscrapers, hipster lofts and high end venues, while below, there is a whole different level of existence. The subsistence level struggles in the tent cities are often in the same block as the gleaming towers of affluence.
Featuring lush harmonies to highlight an apocalyptic reality, the supposition is that given one big event, the separation between the two realities goes away, and at that point, who will be best equipped to survive?
lyrics
Human Zoo
Stroll through the center of the apocalypse
The city of lights is an urban mess
The smell of urine in the jungle streets
A special where the creatures meet
The Zoo/The Human Zoo
Human Stew
From the penthouse suites of the high dollar suites
Designer she-she dogs for the hipster crew
Two blocks down is where there is no rent
The desperation has a special stench
The Zoo/The Human Zoo
Human Stew
When the buildings fall away/the animals are loose to play
When the lights go out to stay/You’ll meet those that you threw away
The L.A. river cuts the city in two
Every freeway stream is a human stew
Outside the systems of prosperity
Picking through the refuse is this humanity
The Zoo/The Human Zoo
Human Stew
When the buildings fall away/the animals are loose to play
When the lights go out to stay/You’ll find those that you threw away
When the oceans start to rise/No answers for the coming tides
When the lights go out to stay/We’ll find those that you threw away
From the compound of privileged entitlement
Artificial structures has its monied friends
The rarefied air of establishment/
No escape from the collapse of these tenements
When the buildings fall away/the animals are loose to play
When the lights go out to stay/You’ll find those that you threw away
When the oceans start to rise/No answers for the coming tides
When the lights go out to stay/We’ll find those that you threw away
The Zoo/The Human Zoo
Human Stew
When the buildings fall away/the animals are loose to play
When the lights go out to stay/You’ll find those that you threw away
When the oceans start to rise/No answers for the coming tides
When the lights go out to stay/We’ll find those that you threw away
Music by Dave Costa and Unit F Lyrics Mel Schantz/Unit F 2019
credits
from Human Zoo,
released March 30, 2020
Mel Schantz-Vocals, lyrics
Dave Costa-Guitars, backup vocals
Guillermo Santacruz-bass, backing vocals
Phil Moore-Drums
Recorded at The Racket Room, Santa Ana by Jim Monroe
Produced by Unit F and Jim Monroe
Mixed and Mastered by Jim Monroe and Mel Schantz
Artwork by Mel Schantz
Copyright all rights reserved, Unit F music 2020
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