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I'm Telling Tim Lyrics
You better watch out you better not cry
You better put out records D.I.Y.
Cause it's not what you've done it's what you've been
If you fuck up I'm telling Tim
Take you out of book your own life part six
You won't play again at abc
You're gonna get ostracized like Lawrence
When I tell Tim, I'm telling Tim
I'm telling Tim, I'm telling Tim
The Tim he is refering to is the late Tim Yohanan, founder of Maximumrocknroll, which has a strict policy of not allowing ads/reviews from corporate groups [ie. DIY only]. "You're gonna get ostracized like Lawrence" Lawrence Livermore, head guy at Lookout Records, used to be a columnist for MRR, but there was a falling out with the zine over an incident where he screwed George Tabb and his band Furious George over in a contract dispute. "You won't play again at abc" ABC = DIY punk venue in NYC.
I have certain facts that may lend credence to a new theory about the meaning of "Telling Tim".
I have a friend who was in an unsigned DIY punk band named "Johnny Crackeye" out of Chicago. They had a listing for an upcoming show in Volume 6 of the magazine. The listing described them as:
"in the vein of NOFX, with much bigger balls."
If listened to closely, the second verse may have the following lyrics vaguely audible shouted in the background after the "Take you out of book your own life vol. 6" lyric:
"I'm not Crackeye"
A couple reasons why they would've bashed JohnyCrackeye in a song: --the magazine said they had bigger balls than NOFX --they some letters to NOFX bad-mouthing the band after not receiving a response about their press kit.
According to my source, he met Fat Mike years later who "circumvented" the question.
This song is NOT about Tim Armstrong kids...
Nexus7 has it all right, it is about the late Tim Yo.
I dont know if there is another version of this song but I believe these lyrics are wrong..hes definitely saying "you wont play again at Gilman Street"..i think this song is about Green Day
Yes, again, Nexus7 has hit the nail on the head. This song is not about Rancid, or Green day. It's referring to Tim from MRR, and the venue ABC. Read some old Maximum Rock & Roll and George Tabb columns, they're amazng. ;)
The Original version of this song, had a line referring to Jello Biafra. "Your gonna get 86'd like Jello". Though I think this was before his band mates sued him, so not to sure why he was added in the song. On a side note, if you watch GG Allin's dvd Live and Pissed, towards the end of the show you can see Jello and Mike hanging out in the crowd, then again talking to GG.
yeah, and in the original version, it's not "abc", it's "gilman street". green day have a song called "86" where they sing about being kicked out of gilman street because they went to a major label. i think the original version refers to green day.
yeah, and in the original version, it's not "abc", it's "gilman street". green day have a song called "86" where they sing about being kicked out of gilman street because they went to a major label. i think the original version refers to green day.
I think this song is actually a little tongue-in-cheek. Tim Yohannan had a somewhat arbitrary way of controlling access to the magazine. He didn't allow advertising if he decided it didn't fit, even if it was completely diy, for instance from an underground press. Long live positive memories of Tim, but there hundreds of dudes out there that carry memories that are a bit on the bittersweet side. I think Fat Mike is singing about this.
I think Nexus7 nailed it. well done.
Wow nobody noticed that TIM Allen was the most famous Santa EVER. I think THAT Tim is going along nicely with the first line but also the rest of the song.
one of the songs that started it all, d.i.y records suck, suck like butter and cake