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The Long Plastic Hallway Lyrics

Cigarettes and carrot juice
Marijuana and lots of booze
I threw the flower of youth into that stew
The serpent tongues were red and pointy
But they were wearing very cool shoes
Who wouldn't wanna sell their soul?

We waited in line for hours
With VIP passes and bouquets of flowers
To see the brand new siren sing her song
The virgins were then thrown into volcanos
A beating heart was held up in the air (aloft)
And no expense (account) was spared.

Quetzecotal and Busby Berkely
Hanging out over Pasadena with
Rodney on the ROQ and David Byrne
Playing on a flying saucer
Box O'Laffs was supporting Talking Heads
Everyone was high or having a real good time.
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Cover art for The Long Plastic Hallway lyrics by Camper Van Beethoven

Cigarettes And Carrot Juice was the name of the box set of their first 3 albums, and the liner notes say this was kind of the typical young Santa Cruz resident\'s diet. So I think the first verse is basically a really brief summary of their pre-reunion career (the bit about the serpents is probably a sardonic nod to their \"selling out\" and going to a major label). The rest kind of loses me, but Quetzalcoatl was an Aztec god (which probably ties in to the part about human sacrifice), Box O\' Laffs was David Lowery\'s pre-CVB band, I think I\'ve heard of Rodney On The ROQ being a california DJ who got a lot of punk music on the air, and David Byrne is of course the singer for Talking Heads.

Cover art for The Long Plastic Hallway lyrics by Camper Van Beethoven

"Cigarette's and carrot juice" is also the first line line from the Cracker song Big Dipper (Track 3 on Golden Age). So, I take it those are two things David is a big fan of.

Cover art for The Long Plastic Hallway lyrics by Camper Van Beethoven

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -Hunter S. Thompson

Cover art for The Long Plastic Hallway lyrics by Camper Van Beethoven

David Lowrey tells a story live about Box O'Laffs (pre-CVB) being booked to open a show for the Talking Heads. However, as it got closer to the show date they hadn't heard anything else, so they tried to find the guy, and apparently he was something of a crack head and they were never actually booked for anything.

 
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