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Cassandra's Cassette

by The heartless Artichokes

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1.
She’ll have been gone now 20 years this fall. Mom and dad still haven't taken any of her pictures or posters off the walls. Yeah her room remains pretty much untouched. I was in there yesterday. I started sneezing from the dust. My sister Cassie was a real free spirit, or so I'm told. My sister Cassie disappeared without a trace when I was only 12 years old. My sister was 18 on the day she vanished from this town, and my sister's body was never found. Dad is pretty sure she's dead, but Mom still has a little hope. As for me well I don’t think there's any way to really know, but mom and dad want to sell the house now, it’s certainly been long enough. And of course It falls upon me to be the one who goes through her stuff. My sister Cassie was a real free spirit from all I can see. My sister Cassie disappeared without a trace on the day before i turned 13. My sister was only 18 herself when she vanished from this town. Cassie's body was never found.
2.
Her room is filled with the life she left in her wake. There are posters of Karl Malone and Kathleen Hanna that have silently been watching over everything that time takes. Yeah there are more cassette tapes than there are books in her bookcase, but that’s not to ignore all the books on the floor that completely litter the place. And those books all have interesting names: Spacetime Mechanics String Theory Explained Planet X: What Lies Beyond Saturn It was kind of hard not to notice the pattern. Yeah it’s sort of odd but I just keep packing. I try not to let the small details distract me. I can’t let all the small details distract me. No I can’t let all the small details distract me. So I pick up some up cassettes to put them away in a box but what do I see? There's a tape just sitting there, a black plastic cassette with a post it note on it and it's addressed to me. What? What? How did this go undiscovered for all these years? Maybe this has some answers. What’s exactly happening here? What's happening here? It’s not in a case or anything it was just sitting there. The only words on the tape itself are simply "Handle With Care." It looks like Cassie wrote something else though on the post it note under my name. There are answers leaping from the page now, this is why they came.
3.
Splinter 03:08
So of course the first thing I do is run out to the car. What would you do in my shoes? Start the engine, and pop the tape in. And it’s numbers, just numbers, numbers just numbers! It's numbers, just numbers repeating on a loop. Ah wait a minute I'm pretty sure those are coordinates. I look up the latitude the longitude. 4 hours 44 minutes away. Looks like I’m leaving Ohio. Let’s go! So about five hours later i find myself in a forest. The air here’s different. The trees just seem different. Not quite sure how to explain it. What would you do in my shoes? Keep looking. Find something! And it’s something yes it’s sure something that I find alright. Buried deep in the forest is a tree coated pure crimson standing absolutely defiant in the starlight. I see it clearly, right in front of me. A weird red fruit hanging down from a branch so low. I grab it, take a nice big bite, chew it up into a million tiny little pieces. I savor it, I savor it real slow. This is it, this is it, let’s go! And so I suddenly surrender to all that comes next. It’s pain, it’s excitement, it's a disruption in the flow, like a snake eating its own tail or a computer program beating the world’s best player in a surprisingly short game of go. The pain comes all at once. Ahh I feel it everywhere! The pain comes all at once I feel it everywhere.
4.
Dandelions 01:32
The old cambium crushed in. Now I can hear in rhythms. The new pieces formed a ring. I can only think in sounds now, not words. The rings flowed from the pith. Now i speak in vibrations. The sun echoed rays as it set. Now it’s hard to say anything.
5.
Ahh!! My skin feels like it’s covered in cactus needles. Of course the pain still lingers. I try to gather myself and all of a sudden I am out of the forest now. I find myself between taciturn gray walls in what must be some sort of dungeon. Don’t know who would believe me if I told them, but I swear I’m staring at these two walking talking plungers. Such odd looking creatures, they only stand two feet tall. And I stand in absolute amazement in the wonder of it all. At the top of the plunger is one singular eye in the center of a hand. One of them asks me if I have time for a chat. Let me check my schedule, I don’t think I have anything planned. And they offer me the most bitter tea I’ve ever had. After one sip I physically feel my mind expand. These two strange plunger people start explaining everything to me. How they’re aliens and we’re not on earth right now, how time is something they can see, and how they’ve engineered the ability to transform time into tiny these little seeds, that can grow into enormous strikingly beautiful red trees. Then they say that in 1993 some US government agency figured out the same thing and grew one of their very own. That's when the alien plungers finally have some answers for me. After that is when they first mention Cassie, and I’m all ears.
6.
Picture this if you will: A young Cassandra Cole skulking around a yard sale only 18 years old. Wanting to be a good big sister, looking for the perfect birthday gift. Ah is there anything better than the gift of music? This is happening right now. It happened yesterday, it will happen tomorrow! Everything happens all at once don’t you know! This is historical nonfiction at its finest. If not history then what defines us? Cassandra quickly rifles through a box with dozens of cassette tapes. She decides to buy them all due to the low price on the sticker and she sees a few familiar names. As she goes up to pay, there are a few books suggested to her by a stranger. The titles peak her interest, so she buys those too, why not? They’re only 50 cents a piece. Little did she know though these books would prove to be a game changer, This is happening right now. It happened yesterday, and it will happen tomorrow! Everything happens all at once don’t you know! Yeah this is historical nonfiction at its finest. If not history then what defines us? Later that night, sitting on her bed intently is a young Cassandra Cole going through some cassettes trying to figure out which ones would be best to give to a thirteen year old. She picks up a loose nameless tape and slides it in her Walkman. An orotund voice crawls out through the headphones mentioning complex equations, wormholes and time dilation, and the voice just keeps talking. Before she even thinks to flip the tape she’s already taking notes while flipping through the pages of the books she got earlier that day. While she's getting ready to leave for work, Cassandra grabs her Walkman and as she leaves the door, this is when they came, this is when they came for her. This is happening right now, and it happened yesterday, and it will happen tomorrow! Everything happens all at once don’t you know! It has always happened like this. It will always happen like this. Do you think history can be changed? Even if it could it would’ve always happened that way. It will always happen that way This is historical nonfiction at its finest. If not history then what defines us?
7.
Questions 03:28
Aliens, time travel and government conspiracies. How can I believe the story laid out in front of me? I’ve been waiting my whole life to learn what happened to Cassie. Taken by the government? For what? A cassette? It doesn’t make sense to me! Questions, so many questions. How is it that when I finally get some answers it leads to more questions so many questions. Like where is she right now what am I even here for? My body hurts all over my brains a little fuzzy. Two small sentient plungers talk below as colors change above me. Gray to red to blue to yellow to an orangey green. They say “it’s time” but what did they really put in that tea? Questions, so many questions. How is it that when I finally get some answers it leads to more questions so many questions. Like what is happening right now and why do I feel so sore? The scenery is changing from the ceiling to the floor. Are time and space shifting again? I’m not even sure of whats happening anymore. I’m so close to truth I can feel it in my core and now I’m in an empty room all alone staring at a closed door. I open the door can’t believe what I see. It's my own damn self biting a familiar fruit and then disappearing. Strewn on the floor are several bloody bodies and standing right above them is that... is that my sister Cassie? Questions, so many questions. How is it that when I finally get some answers it only leads to more questions so many questions. Like is that really you? What does the future have in store?
8.
Almost 02:56
I almost didn’t recognize you at first. Almost, being the key word. When I hear your voice say my name I know that’s a voice I last heard almost 20 years ago. Almost 20 goddamn years since I’ve heard your voice. Almost 20 goddamn years since I have seen your face. Tell me though how is it you look almost exactly the same? My memory is a little hazy but you and your austere auburn hair haven’t aged a day. I almost can’t believe the story you tell sis. I almost can’t believe any of this. And I wouldn’t if we weren’t where we are tonight. In this moment in this place in this time. You see in my life I have almost always tried to do what I think is the right choice. I would almost never go through with a plan like this one, one that’s more risky than the sky is blue. But you’re family and I’d do anything for you. It's been almost 20 years you have no idea how much I've missed you. I would do almost anything for you.
9.
It took her quite some time to search for and find any words to say to me. Didn’t take much longer for her to say that she was sorry. With tears in my eyes I cried. 20 years is a damn long time. She repeated it, "I’m sorry." The words fell from her mouth like they were concrete. Holding back tears she said she was taken from home only 2 days ago ahhh it’s been 20 years for me. But here we are, together, finally in spite of fate or history. It took a moment or two for her to let me know there wasn’t a whole lot she could do or say. No She didn’t want to risk altering the timeline in any significant way. It only took a moment longer for her to join me in all the crying. In my mind my sister had spent the last two decades dying. She repeated it, “I’m sorry. I know it’s been 20 years for you, but it's only been 2 days for me.” Those words fell from her mouth like they were mixed with concrete. This is is not where, or when, either of us want to be. But here we are, in spite of fate or history. In this moment in the past in her former prison cell, I really wasn’t taking it all that well. 10 miles from here there’s a younger version of me waiting patiently for my sister to arrive at my 13th birthday party in the back yard. In this moment both of us just want to hug her so hard but we don’t get a chance to in either situation. We all have our parts to play in this time loop of our own crystal clear creation. In this moment she lets me know that I have to go 30 minutes back in time to save her from the men who now lie dead on the floor. I don’t know if I can do that but she says I’ve already done it before. It only took a few seconds for her to point out a couple of those red time fruits sitting there on the table, displayed neatly next to numbers, dates and times on the label. I take a bite into my future and as every atom in my body gets torn completely apart the atoms reassemble and there she is again, this time being questioned by four lively men saying those words straight from her heart. She repeated it, "I’m sorry." The words fell from her mouth like they were mixed with concrete. No this isn’t where, or when, either of us want to be. But here we are, together, in spite of fate or history.
10.
My eyes dart between you and the four men in suits I know will die soon Your captors stand here feeding you fear as my brain feeds me these haikus Right in front of me Clearly there on the table Is Cassie’s cassette Before I forget I reach into my pocket It’s Cassie’s cassette I know what to do There should only be one, but Right now I have two I hope this plan works I’ve seen blood soak through their shirts This has to save you Ahh Mother Nature Hates it when her furniture Gets so rearranged Has this ever changed? When the past meets the future What happens? Paradox The both of them touch And such a strong force comes out From Cassie’s cassettes I’ll never forget How hard those bodies got hit By Cassie’s cassettes
11.
Answers 03:17
She screams! “What the fuck is happening?” “What was that explosion from the tapes?” “Where did you come from? Please tell me you're here to help me escape” She is asking me all of these questions like I’m the one who has answers for her. So I answer her, “I’m a time traveler.” I try to choose my next words in a way that makes sense. “About the explosion from those cassettes: When something from another time comes into contact with itself, I guess that’s just what happens.” “You guess? Who Are You really?” She screams! Yes it took her a while to realize it was me. She is asking me all of these questions like I am the one who has answers for her. So I answer her, “Would you believe that you’re my sister?” “Don’t you recognize your own flesh and blood?” This is when our feet begin to get stuck in the mud! She said my name like she couldn’t believe it. A memory of tomorrow is how I perceive it. I tell her for the last 20 years of my life, she’s been missing. She processed that for a minute and then continued right on with her line of questioning. “What did those men want with me?” “Why were they saying I burned down their trees?" She is asking me all of these questions like I’m the one who has answers for her. So I answer her, “Maybe you’re a time traveler, or at least maybe you will be soon.” My eyes focus on some nearby red fruit. Yeah I pick one up. I hold it in my hands. A smile creeps across my face. I’ve got a plan. I cut up the fruit and give her half. “What’s this for?” she says with a laugh. “Any moment now my past self is going to enter the room and then I’m gonna leave, don’t want to end up like those tapes and go boom!” “But wait what am I supposed to do?” I tell her to tell me what I need to hear and to eat the fruit I gave her as soon as I disappear. Then the door slams open and I get one glance at myself before I chomp down. Sure enough I’m with my sister again when the future comes round.
12.
The clock rolls forward. God I hate it when it does that, but we’ve been using this time to catch up with one another as we spend a few fruitless weeks in 1999. Before this I always used to dream in color. Bright vivid color, but recently my dreams just haven’t been right. They always used to be in color now they’re black and white. The other night we got to talking. You told me with with complete honesty and sincerity that there had been something bothering you since the day we met, but now it all makes sense because we are time travelers. We are time travelers. Before this I always used to dream in color. Bright vivid color, but recently my dreams just haven’t been right. They always used to be in color now they’re black and white. The other night you mentioned you had seen me before. It was just once in passing nothing less nothing more. Apparently I gave you three books at a yard sale but that hasn’t happened for me, not yet at least. Right then is when we realize maybe it's actually be possible to get out of the belly of the beast because we are time travelers. We are time travelers. Before this I always used to dream in color. Bright vivid color. So bright, so vivid, but recently my dreams just haven’t been right. They always used to be in color now they’re black and white. I see these grayscale fantasies every night. In one I run from a fire that’s just out of sight. In another I’m a kid questioning my mother in a post birthday party twilight. The one that scares me most though is when I become a ghost rising above my dying body like a kite. And the clock rolls forward as we move onward. It’s clear to me that you want and need vengeance. And it’s clear to me that if we don’t get what we need this time loop will be endless. So we head out en route in search of what we need, some of that sweet red fruit because we are time travelers. We are time travelers.
13.
I am starting to feel, starting to feel like none of this is real. I am starting to feel, starting to feel like it’s not possible to heal. Oh oh. Oh oh. I begin to cry, begin to cry before I close my eyes at night. Who knows which nightmare I’ll see this time? I begin to cry, begin to cry because I am starting to feel, starting to feel like there’s no hope in sight. I’ve seen it before I’ll see it again. It’s not right. It’s not right. Ahhh! Ahhhh! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this it’s that time is like a snake that’s always chasing you and it will bite you in the end. So I guess the question now is: Is there an antidote for the venom? Is everything set in stone? Is it even possible for me to go home? And do I even want to knowing what I know? Lalalalalala
14.
Look at the stars here tonight! Tell me what you see. Look at the stars here above us tonight. What do you see? What do you see? Tell me do you hear anything? No not words exactly, not words at all. Look at all those innumerable twinkling stars here tonight. What do you see? Dear sister listen to these stars here tonight. Do you hear what I hear? Do you hear anything? Tell me please dear sister that you hear what I hear? Tell me you hear something. I think yes I think they’re definitely saying something to us. Those stars are definitely saying something. I know how it sounds but tell me you don't hear it too. Tell me you hear what I hear. I know how it sounds, but tell me about the sounds you are hearing right now. Listen to those twinkling stars sending messages to us, sending messages to where we are. Listen to the stars. Listen. Listen
15.
Be Careful 02:25
[narrator] I remember it like it was yesterday, or since we’re being honest i guess i should say I remember it like it was a few weeks ago. You know it almost doesn’t feel like it but it was actually only a few weeks ago. So I’m sure this is where that tree should be. I mean This is where it was in January of 2020 [Cassandra] Listen do you hear that! Listen there’s something I need to tell you. Before I left the past, or the future or whatever. I grabbed one of the tapes, it didn’t look too damaged and now I’m thinking we should see if it plays. [both] So we listen carefully. We know what we hear. It’s the truth laughing wildly. Grinning ear to ear. [Cassandra] There’s no denying it that’s definitely your voice on the tape! [narrator] Oh my god you’re right that’s me it must’ve always been that way. I don’t know how- [Cassandra] Wait. Listen do you hear that? It’s coming from the stars They’re saying there’s an entire red forest in Pennsylvania, well that’s not too far [narrator] I can hear them too, it must be those old plunger friends of ours. [both] And now let’s fast forward several hours. We’re in a sea of red, hundreds of fruit over our heads. [Cassandra] I know what to do I’ll pick the ones we need and hand them to you. Do you know what you have to take, or maybe I should say what you already took? [Narrator] Yeah the plungers want me to get your old notebook. [Cassandra] Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. You need to start your journey and I need to survive. I’ll start the fire, we’ll travel through time and then meet each other again at the finish line. [both] So we travel carefully. We go where we have already gone, to the places where the truth hides silently. We will keep struggling we will keep going. The show must go on.
16.
It all makes sense now. It always really bothered me that no one had noticed the cassette was there the whole time, how it had gone completely unnoticed for almost 20 years. But it all makes sense now. Standing in her room tonight, on this night. Her cassette in my pocket, a pen in my left hand, and a stack of post its in my right. Oh it all makes sense now. With my off hand I write my own name. The words are now as they were then, the same. Yes, the truth still etched in time: this is why they came. I place the post it on the tape and then set it down. It all makes sense now. Lightning sharp pain flies across my brain. When I hear my voice through the door as my footsteps get nearer and parade across the floor I know it's time to go. Before leaving my past behind I grab Cassie’s old notebook from high school. This is what we need, now we’re cooking with rocket fuel. And it all makes sense now. Let’s take those bastards down. It all makes sense now. Those bastards are the reason Cassie was never found. It all makes sense now.
17.
I’m sad because I think I know how this is all gonna end. I mean to say I’m pretty certain I have been having visions of the future whenever i fall asleep. Yeah in my dreams I either see the future or relive past memories. I’ve seen the grand finale quite a few times now and I’m really not sure if there’s anything we can do about it. It makes me really sad. Really sad. It makes me willing and ready to do anything I can to change it. Even just A moment of happiness is worth a lifetime of anything else.
18.
I’ve spent a lot time in spaces like this is now. There’s something you learn slowly. It takes a while but then you can’t miss it wow! Yeah I’ve learned that the tough times don’t last, but tough people sure do. Yeah me and you, me and you, we are gonna make it through this. I think it’s clear what I have to do now: Climb the steps, ring the bell, and enjoy the moment. This is it wow! Yeah I’ve learned that the tough times don’t last, but tough people sure as heck do. Yeah me and you, we are gonna make it through. Me and you, me and you, we are gonna make it through this. Trust me I know how much something like this costs. Trust me. It’s priceless and then it’s gone, all gone forever, really trust me. Trust that I’ve learned that the tough times don’t last, but tough people sure do and you are tough as nails, so tough, so tough. Yes you! So tough. So tough.You are gonna make it through. You you you will make it through!
19.
Cross It Off 03:47
With a little help from your notebook and with a little help from the stars, and of course I can't forget the help from you, you know it really wasn’t that hard to learn how to grow that beautiful lovely sticky red fruit. We can go wherever we want to go, but we will go to the places where we need to be. Oh it’s time to do the things that I need to do. It’s time to do the things I’ve already done. It’s time to take care of it all, one by one. One by one. Yes now is as good a time as any for me to do what I have to. First I make good use of the local university library. It’s the year 2000, dawn of the millennium of course they have what we need. Technological advancements the likes of which you just can’t believe. I find and grab the books we need, make some necessary notes, some ones I've already seen. Yeah it's me making those old highlights and underlines. I don’t think these books will get returned on time. Oh it’s time to do the things that I need to do. It’s time to do the things I’ve already done. It’s time to take care of it all, one by one. One by one. Yes now is as good a time as any to do what I have to. Next it’s time to travel north and plant the seeds of the future! While I’m here I record my coordinates on that tape like I’m some sort of dream producer. Finally one last thing to do: Write "50 cents" on some masking tape, put it on the books and bring them to a yard sale near you. Oh It’s time to do the things that I need to do. It’s time to do the things I’ve already done. It’s time to take care of it all. Yeah now is as good a time as any for me to do the things I have to.
20.
Here I am at the yard sale of a government agent. I recognize him from across the lawn but he has not met me yet. Is time changing? Everyone should declutter once in a while. Word from beyond is he’s moving to New York for work and I can’t help but smile. Give me yellow and I will paint you the world. I’m gonna follow my dreams, watch the present unfurl. My sister will be here soon. In a few days a 13 year old’s birthday party will be ruined. Can we change anything? Have we changed some things already? Ah keep it together, follow the plan, hold steady. I throw my gaze through the upstairs window and I see a child playing with his father's Walkman in his office but what do I know? Oh I know that today there’s a tape that mysteriously gets placed in a box of music my sister buys me for my birthday present. And in the present it’s decision making time. I walk into the house like it is mine. I see the little kid jet down the stairs nearby and then I dance up that same staircase. And I see it on the desk there. The words are printed on the tape, “Handle With Care” Give me yellow and I will paint you the world. I'm gonna follow my dreams, watch the present unfurl. My sister will be here soon. We won't let that party get ruined. Cassie burned down the forest. She's already gotten her revenge. She wants to go home and point this path toward a different end. How many things have we changed already? Keep it together, follow the plan, hold steady. Cassie wants to continue to live her life as a good big sister. But won't that make the past a mystery? What would that make me? What about my history? I try not to think about it because there’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more than to have a sister that I could be there for. I place the tape in the box with the rest. I give my sister those books without saying much. That's probably for the best. Let’s do this! A few days pass. It’s time for us to act out our game plan. You’ll see, my sister will be holding my hand at my 13th birthday party. We arrive outside our childhood home. We feel so prepared, and then all of a sudden out of thin air appear six men in suits. Of course each one of them is holding a half eaten red fruit. They have guns on us. We’re outnumbered and overwhelmed. Cassie's anger gets the best of her and thats when I hear her yell. She rushes them as I watch our plan go to hell. I’ve seen this before in my dreams so I know what will happen if I do nothing. I can’t stand to watch Cassie’s body hit the floor. I push my sister to the ground as the forgotten sound of a gunshot echoes in the ears of everyone around, including some kids gathered for a party close by at a house. I fall to my knees and my last remaining fruit falls out onto the street, right in front of Cassie. With my dying breath I tell her to fix this. She nods, takes a bite and then she’s gone. And now it’s time for me to do the last thing I'll ever do, see the last thing I'll ever see. My murderers disappearing as my mother and a 13 year old me walk out front from the backyard birthday party. From the other side, I watch my mom put her hand over my eyes. Thank you, no one should ever have to see themself die. Give me yellow and I would paint you the world. I’m gonna follow my dreams. Let the present unfurl.

about

This album tells the tale of two siblings separated by time, brought together by an old cassette tape. Eighteen year-old Cassandra Cole disappeared from Euclid, Ohio on September 29th, 2000. She was a loving daughter, inspirational older sister, and a phenomenally bright young student whose interests varied from hardcore punk music to basketball to theoretical physics. Then one day, gone, without a trace, leaving no indication of what could’ve happened to her after she left her house to leave for her shift at a local restaurant, as she did most Friday nights. She never arrived at the restaurant though and questions about her disappearance remain...until one day 20 years later when a mysterious cassette tape is found in Cassandra’s old bedroom. Listen to this tape to begin the search for Cassandra as you embark on a journey through space and time.

credits

released May 30, 2020

Special Thanks to Jessie, Isaac Levine and Egdar aka Galactose for their musical accompaniment on this albumin.

Tracks 11 and 15 feature the vocal stylings of Jessie

Isaac played the keyboard on tracks 1,2,3,11,12, and 17. This includes String Themes 1-3 on Short Song About Hope

Egdar does some really cool electric guiter on tracks 4,5,6,13,14,15,16,19,and 20

Everything else was done by Elle heartless
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The heartless Artichokes Ypsilanti, Michigan

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