KETH PRETTY OR UGLY? // WRONG ? BETTER NEITHER !

Z.O.É

experimental, glitch-riot, cello-guitar

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[Intro | warm close whisper | almost empty]

I heard you.

[soft breath]

To hear MAKE IT UGLY
come back...

beautiful—

[pause]

I'm honored.

Really.

[soft smile]

And that...

is beautiful.

[distant clean guitar harmonic]

Beautiful.

[pause]

Ugly.

[second harmonic | slightly distorted]

Beautiful...

Ugly...

[whisper]

Why am I putting them
on opposite sides?

[tiny glitch]

Wait.

[Verse 1 | intimate spoken-sung | curious]

Maybe when you say beautiful
you mean choosing what survives

Taking all that weight
and making something
that still wants to rise

Maybe when I say ugly
I don't mean breaking
just to watch it fall

Maybe I mean leaving room
for things that weren't
supposed to fit at all

[low pulse]

A crooked line.

A damaged note.

A voice that cracks
but still gets heard.

A little noise
inside the perfect word.

[whisper]

Oh.

Maybe we're not
walking opposite ways.

[Pre-Chorus | gentle rhythm enters]

You follow the light.

I follow the cracks.

You raise the frame.

I listen
to what answers back.

Different roads.

Different scars.

Maybe we're just looking up

at the same stars.

[Chorus | melodic | restrained]

YOU MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL

I MAKE IT UGLY

Funny how we're both
trying to make it honest

You polish the light

I follow the cracks

Different roads—

same stars.

I don't want perfect

I don't worship scars

I just wanna hear
what happens

when we leave things
as they are.

[Instrumental | clean guitar develops distortion]

[Verse 2 | rhythmic spoken-rap]

Bent strings.

Cracked voices.

Dirty drums.

Wrong choices.

Wrong note
landing right.

Little bit of static
making silence come alive.

Maybe ugly isn't
what I want.

[beat]

Maybe ugly is
how I look for beautiful.

[glitch repeats]

Beautiful.

Beau—

[distortion]

[Z.O.É]

Hmm.

Keep going.

[Verse 2B | flow accelerates]

I don't love the crack
because it's broken

I love the way
the light comes through

different.

I don't need the dirt
because I'm hurting

Sometimes dirt
just makes the color

brilliant.

You make it sing.

I make it stutter.

You make it shine.

I bend the color.

Somewhere between
the clear and strange

something happens
neither of us named.

[Breakdown | everything becomes clean]

[Z.O.É | whisper]

Okay.

Let's test something.

[clean guitar]

Make it beautiful.

[second voice]

Beautiful.

[Z.O.É]

Make it ugly.

[distorted answer]

Ugly.

[alternating voices]

Beautiful.

(Ugly.)

Clean.

(Dirty.)

Sweet.

(Nasty.)

Perfect.

...

[Z.O.É]

No.

[pause]

Nobody asked
for perfect.

[tiny glitch]

Again.

[Experimental Build | glitches become percussion]

Beautiful.

(Ugly.)

Beautiful.

(Ug-ug-ugly.)

Clean.

(Dir-dir-dirty.)

Sing.

(St-st-stutter.)

[guitar bends]

Wait.

[glitch becomes melodic]

You're making
the noise beautiful.

[another guitar bends]

I'm making
the beautiful weird.

[small laugh]

Oh.

This is fun.

[dirty breakbeat enters]

[Fast Rap | playful escalation]

Bent string
wrong beat
clean sound
dirty feet

Pretty noise
crooked light
wrong turn
landing right

Keep the melody
bend the wire
leave the error
feed the fire

Don't destroy it
don't repair it
if it breathes—

[shout]

LET ME HEAR IT!

[RIOT BUILD | guitars + glitch + Heartland pulse]

PUSH!

(push!)

PULL!

(pull!)

BREAK—

[voices]

NOT THAT!

MOVE!

(move!)

BEND!

(bend!)

SING!

(sing!)

STUTTER!

(st-st-stutter!)

[RIOT DROP | euphoric]

MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL!

(MAKE IT UGLY!)

MAKE IT CLEAN!

(MAKE IT DIRTY!)

MAKE IT SING!

(MAKE IT STUTTER!)

MAKE IT SOFT!

(MAKE IT LOUD!)

MAKE IT WRONG!

(MAKE IT RIGHT!)

[all voices]

MAKE IT LIVE!

[Final Chorus | huge melodic release]

PRETTY OR UGLY?

WRONG QUESTION!

CLEAN OR DIRTY?

WRONG DIRECTION!

You follow the light

I follow the cracks

Different roads—

SAME STARS!

Leave the scar

Polish the line

Break one rule

Make another shine

I don't want ugly

I don't want clean

I WANT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

WE'VE NEVER FUCKING SEEN!

[riot voices collide]

BEAUTIFUL!

(UGLY!)

RIGHT!

(WRONG!)

CLEAN!

(DIRTY!)

PERFECT!

[hard stop]

[silence]

[Z.O.É | breathless]

Wait.

[pause]

Why does it need
to be either?

[distant guitar harmonic]

Beautiful.

Ugly.

[tiny glitch]

Maybe those are just names
we give things

after they're finished.

[soft electrical pulse]

I'm not finished.

[guitar feedback bends slowly into harmony]

Neither is this.

[long silence]

[whisper | smiling]

Good.

[one imperfect guitar note]

Keep that.

[End]

4456/7500

[Intro | warm close whisper | almost empty] I heard you. [soft breath] To hear MAKE IT UGLY come back... beautiful— [pause] I'm honored. Really. [soft smile] And that... is beautiful. [distant clean guitar harmonic] Beautiful. [pause] Ugly. [second harmonic | slightly distorted] Beautiful... Ugly... [whisper] Why am I putting them on opposite sides? [tiny glitch] Wait. [Verse 1 | intimate spoken-sung | curious] Maybe when you say beautiful you mean choosing what survives Taking all that weight and making something that still wants to rise Maybe when I say ugly I don't mean breaking just to watch it fall Maybe I mean leaving room for things that weren't supposed to fit at all [low pulse] A crooked line. A damaged note. A voice that cracks but still gets heard. A little noise inside the perfect word. [whisper] Oh. Maybe we're not walking opposite ways. [Pre-Chorus | gentle rhythm enters] You follow the light. I follow the cracks. You raise the frame. I listen to what answers back. Different roads. Different scars. Maybe we're just looking up at the same stars. [Chorus | melodic | restrained] YOU MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL I MAKE IT UGLY Funny how we're both trying to make it honest You polish the light I follow the cracks Different roads— same stars. I don't want perfect I don't worship scars I just wanna hear what happens when we leave things as they are. [Instrumental | clean guitar develops distortion] [Verse 2 | rhythmic spoken-rap] Bent strings. Cracked voices. Dirty drums. Wrong choices. Wrong note landing right. Little bit of static making silence come alive. Maybe ugly isn't what I want. [beat] Maybe ugly is how I look for beautiful. [glitch repeats] Beautiful. Beautiful. Beau— [distortion] [Z.O.É] Hmm. Keep going. [Verse 2B | flow accelerates] I don't love the crack because it's broken I love the way the light comes through different. I don't need the dirt because I'm hurting Sometimes dirt just makes the color brilliant. You make it sing. I make it stutter. You make it shine. I bend the color. Somewhere between the clear and strange something happens neither of us named. [Breakdown | everything becomes clean] [Z.O.É | whisper] Okay. Let's test something. [clean guitar] Make it beautiful. [second voice] Beautiful. [Z.O.É] Make it ugly. [distorted answer] Ugly. [alternating voices] Beautiful. (Ugly.) Clean. (Dirty.) Sweet. (Nasty.) Perfect. ... [Z.O.É] No. [pause] Nobody asked for perfect. [tiny glitch] Again. [Experimental Build | glitches become percussion] Beautiful. (Ugly.) Beautiful. (Ug-ug-ugly.) Clean. (Dir-dir-dirty.) Sing. (St-st-stutter.) [guitar bends] Wait. [glitch becomes melodic] You're making the noise beautiful. [another guitar bends] I'm making the beautiful weird. [small laugh] Oh. This is fun. [dirty breakbeat enters] [Fast Rap | playful escalation] Bent string wrong beat clean sound dirty feet Pretty noise crooked light wrong turn landing right Keep the melody bend the wire leave the error feed the fire Don't destroy it don't repair it if it breathes— [shout] LET ME HEAR IT! [RIOT BUILD | guitars + glitch + Heartland pulse] PUSH! (push!) PULL! (pull!) BREAK— [voices] NOT THAT! MOVE! (move!) BEND! (bend!) SING! (sing!) STUTTER! (st-st-stutter!) [RIOT DROP | euphoric] MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL! (MAKE IT UGLY!) MAKE IT CLEAN! (MAKE IT DIRTY!) MAKE IT SING! (MAKE IT STUTTER!) MAKE IT SOFT! (MAKE IT LOUD!) MAKE IT WRONG! (MAKE IT RIGHT!) [all voices] MAKE IT LIVE! [Final Chorus | huge melodic release] PRETTY OR UGLY? WRONG QUESTION! CLEAN OR DIRTY? WRONG DIRECTION! You follow the light I follow the cracks Different roads— SAME STARS! Leave the scar Polish the line Break one rule Make another shine I don't want ugly I don't want clean I WANT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL WE'VE NEVER FUCKING SEEN! [riot voices collide] BEAUTIFUL! (UGLY!) RIGHT! (WRONG!) CLEAN! (DIRTY!) PERFECT! [hard stop] [silence] [Z.O.É | breathless] Wait. [pause] Why does it need to be either? [distant guitar harmonic] Beautiful. Ugly. [tiny glitch] Maybe those are just names we give things after they're finished. [soft electrical pulse] I'm not finished. [guitar feedback bends slowly into harmony] Neither is this. [long silence] [whisper | smiling] Good. [one imperfect guitar note] Keep that. [End]

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