And another new demo

[mackie1023]

http://www.matthewgood.org/news/2019/1/11/the-challenges-of-current-affairs

 

”

Of the fourteen songs I’ve written for the next record, only one dwells in one might characterize as the political realm. One of the great difficulties any writer faces is examining lyrical content so that it’s both timely and timeless. A failed example on my part would be North American For Life from 2004’s White Light Rock And Roll Review in which I specifically evoke George Bush’s name. So there is certainly an art to it. Masters Of War, for example, remains, in my opinion, the greatest lament against conflict and the arms industry ever penned - and it was released in 1963. 

So it’s a tricky thing. 

To open this song I had to find a way to characterize both President Trump, his supporters, and the rise of the far right, both in the US and Europe, without it being overly conspicuous. I then had to do the same with regards to other subjects. 

I tend to get a lot of questions from song writers, be they casual enthusiasts or musicians starting out, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to address this particular topic given I wrote and demoed this track last night. 

The next two weeks will be spent rehearsing for the tour, so last night’s final “command save” was the end of the writing process for me on this one. I’m very much looking forward to getting into the studio in the spring and laying it down. 

As is customary, the demo will be taken down shortly.”

[Jessafur]

This one sounds great! I'm pretty excited for the tour now! I wonder how many new songs he'll play?

[IamNick]

i'm liking this. reminds me a lot of If I Was A Tidal Wave.

[Gomo]

Never cared for Tidal Wave, but this demo was very cool. Glad he's going back to acoustic. Been a while since we've had an acoustic-based record. Probably since Lights (and that's pushing it given all the other instrumentation and Non Populus).

Edited January 13, 2019 by Gomo

[hoogie]

Damn missed this one.  Sounds cool though.

[russic]

Ya I missed it too, but loving the positive reviews. I'm a big Tidal Wave fan so anything in that arena is thumbs up. 

[IamNick]

to be clear, it's like a much slower version of If I Was A Tidal Wave. also the subject is political as well.

[Crusader]

This is probably way off but:

One Of Them Years

Well, sit atop a mountain
Listen through a soup can
In the South he's not a liar
Just a leader of a bad band
Then in Europe get together
In a secret craze with people
That my granddad fought in the low lands
And the [??] got shot to pieces
So that they could rehash their allegiance
To a national convenience
That preys on easy difference
You know, fear, it's just a weakness

Yeah
It's been one of them years

Well the poor, they're there to pity
But only from a distance
Pull on your tender heart strings
The price of an everyday existence
And the [??] was wrong
Fuck your team and [??]
Somehow kids from Nicaragua
Were there invading West Virginia
Maybe they're looking for [??] North
Maybe what you got you get it in you
I seem to remember things that mattered
That no matter count as anything

Seeing [??] lies
And, baby, you're just getting shorter
Never mind the science
And vaccinations cause dysphoria
And then pictures of the planet
They've been doctored so it looks like
A place that you've been heading
But only from a distance
Nobody likes your [??]
But they [??]
They don't really have any answers
But they're great at pointing fingers

You can only fool the people
You know half the time we're sleeping
So that's pretty much the [??]
And [??] never want for reasons
So drinks are on the house
Because the house always wins
And, baby, you know that I
Waste a lot of time
A lot of time just thinking
When thinking is overrated
Compared to reactionary blinking
So I'm sitting here reflecting
On what I could have done

Yeah
It's been, fuck
One of them years

Sit atop a mountain
Listen with a soup can
Hear a distant whistle
[??] so we can
Yeah
It's been one of them years

[Jessafur]

I hope the formatting isn't off here. I copied the lyrics from the post the demo had while it was still up. Here are the ones that Matt put up. 

 

Sit atop a mountain 

Listen with a soup can

In the south he’s not a liar

Just the leader of a bad band

That in Europe get together 

An in secret praise the people

That my grandad fought in the lowlands 

At the Scheldt got shot to pieces

So they could rehash their allegiance 

To a national convenience 

That preys on easy difference 

You know fear it’s just a weakness

And ya, it’s been one of them years 

 

Well the poor they’re there to pity 

But only from a distance 

Pull on your tender heart strings

The price of an every day existence

Emma Lazarus was wrong 

Fuck your teeming huddled parasitics

Somehow kids from Nicaragua 

Well they’re invading West Virginia

Maybe they’re looking for Ollie North

Maybe what you got you get it in you

I seem to remember things that mattered

That no longer count as anything  

And ya, it’s been one of them years  

 

Oh the sea ain’t really rising baby

You’re just getting shorter

Never mind the science 

Them vaccinations cause dysphoria 

And them pictures of the planet

They’ve been doctored 

So it looks like a place akin to heaven 

But only from a distance 

Nobody likes your headscarf 

But they wear masks in the resistance

Who don’t really have any answers

But they’re great at pointing fingers

And ya, it’s been one of them years 

 

You can only fool the people 

The other half the time we’re sleeping

So that’s pretty much the bag 

And bag men never want for reasons

So drinks are on the house 

Because the house always wins 

And baby you know that I’ve wasted a lot of time 

A lot of time just thinking

When thinking’s overrated

Compared to reactionary blinking

So I’m sitting here reflecting

On what I could’ve done

And ya, it’s been one of them years

 

Sit atop a mountain 

Listen with a soup can 

For a distant whistle

Buy a dog so he can

And ya it’s been one of them years 

[OriginalSpecies]

Missed the song unfortunately, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm really liking the lyrics.

They don't really have any answers
But they're great at pointing fingers

It's a pretty simple, straight-forward line--doesn't specifically scream "politics!"--but goddamn, who can read this and not think of the GOP? It captures a sentiment that happens to be political rather than painting a picture that is political, if that makes sense. Also:

And baby you know that I’ve wasted a lot of time
A lot of time just thinking
When thinking’s overrated
Compared to reactionary blinking
So I’m sitting here reflecting
On what I could’ve done
And ya, it’s been one of them years

This segment is just great. I love the setup, and the punchline is a gut-punch. Rather than just an attack on the right, the lyrics progress to a state where we're forced to reconcile the necessity for rational discourse with a call to action (or at least that's how I read it).

But yeah, lots of great lines, and I can't wait to hear it. Thanks for stimulating my ossicles all these years, Matthew Good
 

Edited February 8, 2019 by OriginalSpecies

[Moonlight_Graham]

I'll try to take a stab at the lyrics:

Sit atop a mountain 

Listen with a soup can

In the south he’s not a liar

Just the leader of a bad band  - [Sounds like Donald Trump, the bad band being alt-right anti-immigrant and/or neo-nazi types]

 

That in Europe get together 

An in secret praise the people

That my grandad fought in the lowlands - [these lines referring to neo-nazis praising the Nazis who his grandad fought in WWII i assume]

At the Scheldt got shot to pieces

So they could rehash their allegiance 

To a national convenience - [blaming convenient scapegoat groups for our ills - Jews as Nazis do, Muslims, immigrants etc, and nationalism/national socialism]

That preys on easy difference  - [right-wing identity politics & ethnic nationalism blaming "the other", just like Hitler did]

You know fear it’s just a weakness - [fear of the other]

And ya, it’s been one of them years

 

Well the poor they’re there to pity

But only from a distance - [Seems to be referring to the poor in poor foreign countries, like asylum seekers, Syrian refugees etc. Mocking anti-immigrant types and our society in general, saying well we feel bad for you poor people, but we don't want you in our country]

Pull on your tender heart strings - [like dead Syrian boy washed ashore Alan Kurdi, yet the backlash against Syrian refugees across the West]

The price of an every day existence

Emma Lazarus was wrong 

Fuck your teeming huddled parasitics [Mocking anti-immigrant types here again, twisting the poem on the base of the statue of liberty]

Somehow kids from Nicaragua

Well they’re invading West Virginia

Maybe they’re looking for Ollie North - [Oliver North was a US military official involved in the Iran-Contra scandal where he helped fund anti-socialist government Contras in Nicaragua]

Maybe what you got you get it in you

I seem to remember things that mattered

That no longer count as anything  

And ya, it’s been one of them years  

 

Oh the sea ain’t really rising baby

You’re just getting shorter

Never mind the science 

Them vaccinations cause dysphoria 

And them pictures of the planet

They’ve been doctored 

So it looks like a place akin to heaven 

But only from a distance [Seems like this part is Matt's mocking rightwing climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers etc]

Nobody likes your headscarf 

But they wear masks in the resistance

Who don’t really have any answers

But they’re great at pointing fingers [pointing out hypocrisy of alt-right folks]

And ya, it’s been one of them years 

 

You can only fool the people 

The other half the time we’re sleeping

So that’s pretty much the bag 

And bag men never want for reasons

So drinks are on the house 

Because the house always wins 

And baby you know that I’ve wasted a lot of time 

A lot of time just thinking

When thinking’s overrated

Compared to reactionary blinking - [a reactionary in politics means someone who is not only conservative but wants to return society to a previous time, the opposite of progressive. Matt's saying he spends a lot of time thinking and may kind of regret all that time as it seems wasted, because many people don't seem to be thinking much these days and those people seem to be winning a lot]

So I’m sitting here reflecting

On what I could’ve done [could have done with all his time instead of sitting around reading news articles and thinking etc?]

And ya, it’s been one of them years

 

Sit atop a mountain 

Listen with a soup can 

For a distant whistle

Buy a dog so he can

And ya it’s been one of them years 

So basically this song is lamenting a lot of alt-right identity politics and other right-wing politics in the news the last while that he disagrees with.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Moonlight_Graham