Hey folks,
over my travels with port o'brien this week, this song, "dizz knee land" by dada, keeps coming up.
check out the video, sorry it won't let me embed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpfvZ0o2zhY
first at Tyson's practice space, there is a dude, some kind of guard we think, who sits in the parking lot in his forest green metal flake blazer listening to "tunes". this was one he was listening to recently. no one knew who it was, so i went and asked.
"It's dada, man."
of course it is.
turns out, Cambria has it on her iPod cuz of the 90's compilation that Van got from their manager (I believe).
so, we've jammed it a bunch since in the van.
and i may even include it on a mix i'm making for playing between bands at our shows, that and montell jordan, and lil wayne, of course.
we were sort of debating whether we liked it ironically or not, and i have to say, for me, in this day and age, it doesn't matter.
if you like the song, who cares? does it make you laugh? or happy? or comfort you when you are sad? then it doesn't matter whether the song is technically "good" or not.
because, technically, as a radio pop song, this one is good. strong guitar hook, memorable chorus, simple lyrics, "funky" breaks after the chorus.
that is some serious ride cymbal in that break ("tanging the hump" in drummer parlance), this is probably the lamest musical part of the song, but it somehow works.
i haven't even gotten to the lyrics yet.
as POB bassist, Ryan, mentioned, "it's got that ironic, cynical, dark sense of humor that most 90's alt bands had after nirvana came along." that may be paraphrased.
this is further illustrated by the misspelling of Disneyland to avoid lawsuits. yeah! stick it to the man dada, you 90's post grunge band, you.
now for a lyrical analysis:
I just ran away from home
Now I'm going to dizz knee land
"ok, good start. though if i ran away, it's not the first place i would think to go, they don't have hostels or soup kitchens there."
I just crashed my car again
Now I'm going to dizz knee land
"oh yeah? how are you getting to disneyland then? the bus? no wonder you ran away from home, you just crashed your car for the second time. my parents would be pissed."
I just robbed a grocery store
Now I'm going to dizz knee land
"so you're a criminal now? i guess you're going to need some money to get in. admission there is not cheap, neither is car repair..."
I just flipped off President George
I'm going to dizz knee land
"in person or just on the TV? either way, who calls him president George? hmmh... this may be the most memorable line in the song though. i guess that's political content.
it's not like it even rhymes. which is another important aspect of this song to note, it doesn't have to rhyme, and these are still the lyrics they came up with."
I just tossed a fifth of gin
Now I'm going to dizz knee land
"I'm pretty sure they don't let drunk people into disneyland."
I just got cuffed again
"What did i just say? so far you've run away from home, crashed your car, robbed a grocery store, and gotten wasted while trying to get into the most family oriented amusement park there is. did you think you weren't going to get arrested?" also of note, when he says he tossed a fifth of gin, you can hear a bottle clanking in the background. genius. a master stroke of overstatement. think that was the producer's idea?
Shot my gun into the night
I'm going to dizz knee land
"ok, this is just getting worse. was it new years at least?"
I just saw a good man die
"well duh. those bullets have to land somewhere"
Hey
"hey what? uh oh, the bridge is coming."
Kicked my ass out of school
Rolled me out into the street
Hitched a ride on a monkey's back
Headed west into the black
"this must literally be the dada part of the song. you rode a monkey?"
I'm going to dizz knee land
(guitar solo fade out)
So, there you go. at the end of the day, i like listening to this song. what does that say about me? let me know.
in other news,
it looks like the second golden gram record, entitled "master of none", will be out in the US in mid-august, right before i head to europe with port o'brien.
if you're in california, come see us play this week:
Jun 24 2009 8:00P
Crepe Place Santa Cruz, CA
Jun 25 2009 8:00P
The Independent w/ Papercuts San Francisco, CA
Jun 26 2009 8:00P
The Echo w/ Papercuts Los Angeles, CA
Jun 27 2009 8:00P
Downtown Brew w/ Papercuts San Luis Obispo, CA
thanks yous!
love,
golden
