27 Meanings
Add Yours
Share
Back To The Motor League Lyrics
I like to party fucking hard
I like my rock and roll the same
Don't give a fuck if I burn out
Don't give a fuck if I fade away
So back to the Motor-League with me
Before I'm forced to face the wrath of a well-heeled buying public
Who live vicariously through
Tortured-artist college-rock and floor-punching macho pabulum
Back to the Motor League I go
Once thought I drew a lucky hand
Turned out to be a live grenade
Oh my god!
Holy shit!
Play-acting "anarchists" and Mommy's-little-skinheads,
Death-threats and sycophants and wieners drunk on straight-edge.
Fuck off
Who cares?
I'd rather highlight Trip-Tiks than listen to your bullshit.
Fuck off
Who cares- about your stupid scenes, your shitty zines, the straw-men you build up to burn?
It never ceases to amaze
And as I'm suffering your perfection it reminds me of my own race
To redress my own sad history of:
Mouthed feet
Eaten hats
Teated bulls
Amish phone-books
Drunken brawls
But what have we here?
15 years later it still reeks of swill and Chickenshit Conformists
With their fists in the air
Like-father, like-son "rebels" bloated on Korn, Eminems and Bizkits.
Lord, hear our prayer:
Take back your Amy Grant mosh-crews and fair-weather politics.
Blow-dry my hair and stick me on a ten-speed.
Back to the Motor League(x3)
I guess life is just a popularity contest
Success, the ability to perform within a framework of obedience
Just ask the candy-coated Joy-Cam rock-bands
Selling shoes for venture-capitalists,
Silencing competing messages,
Rounding off the jagged edges.
I would like to clarify some things in the debate about the meaning of this song and add in some of my own views.
"I like to party fucking hard. I like my rock and roll the same. Don't give a fuck if I burn out. Don't give a fuck if I fade away." -- I am not sure what to make of this line. Chris may be speaking sarcastically...
"So back to the Motor-League with me before I'm forced to face the wrath of a well-heeled buying public who live vicariously through tortured-artist college-rock and floor-punching macho pabulum." -- According to some of the posts below, Chris used to work at a travel agency called the Motor League in his hometown. He would apparently prefer to work there than feel pressure from record executives to sell "music" to a decadent population with too much extra spending money and nothing to do (which is what many "sensitive artists", "indie" bands, and what are according to Chris intellectually devoid New England hardcore bands).
"Back to the Motor League I go. Once thought I drew a lucky hand. Turned out to be a live grenade of play-acting "anarchists" and Mommy's-little-skinheads, death-threats and sycophants and wieners drunk on straight-edge." -- Chris thought he got lucky when he discovered the punk scene, but it turned out that many people involved participated without substance. Not just little kids but people of all ages get into stupid movements because they are bored or feel the need to belong; oftentimes, this is accompanied by totalizing systems of thought that eliminate the individual's ability to think critically and independently.
"Fuck off. Who cares? I'd rather hi-lite Trip-Tiks than listen to your bullshit. Fuck off. Who cares about your stupid scenes, your shitty zines, the straw-men you build up to burn." -- According to the below posts, Trip-Tiks are the maps travel agencies give you so you know where you are driving (in the days before Google maps and smartphones). Also, the straw men burning line is a reference to the Burning Man Festival. It began as an unsanctioned gathering of artists in the desert but has since become a part of the system in two ways: its growing popularity means many people attend because it is trendy, and because it is officially regulated by local and state laws which allow the authorities to control the event.
"It never ceases to amaze me and as I'm suffering your perfection it reminds me of my own race to redress my own sad history of mouthed feet. Eaten hats. Teated bulls. Amish phone-books. Drunken brawls." -- Don't forget, Chris (he says to himself), you too have plenty of regretted statements and things you said were impossible but happened anyway. His life is full of contradictions and shortcomings he is constantly dealing with.
"But what have we here? 15 years later it still reeks of ‘Swill and Chickenshit Conformists with their fists in the air; like-father, like-son "rebels” bloated on korn, eminems and bizkits." -- Best line of the song! 15 years after what? Two things. First, Propagandhi formed in 1986, fifteen years before this album was released. Second, Dead Kennedys released Bedtime for Democracy in 1986, which featured songs like “Triumph of the Swill”, “Chickenshit Conformists”, and “Anarchy for Sale”, all of which expressed lament for the corporate direction punk was moving (i.e. punk was being co-opted into the capitalist system by major labels and moderate politics). Chris obviously believes that nu metal and other mainstream rock music is just the latest incarnation of "government music".
"Lord, hear our prayer: take back your Amy Grant mosh-crews and your fair-weather politics." -- This line criticizes christian hardcore bands with a reference to the "The Queen of Christian Pop".
"Blow-dry my hair and stick me on a ten-speed. Back to the Motor League. I guess life is just a popularity contest. Success, the ability to perform within a framework of obedience. Just ask the candy-coated Joy-Cam rock-bands selling shoes for venture-capitalists, silencing competing messages, rounding off the jagged edges." -- A Joy-Cam is an easy to use Polaroid camera that prints instant photos; the metaphor here is that government music bands just crank out "hits", which are essentially carbon copies of each other, unoriginal and vacuous. Silencing competing messages means marginalizing critical voices so people primarily hear messages approved by the system; rounding off the edges is a metaphor that means making something smooth, reducing friction, and making something "pleasant" or non-confrontational.
"Today is good day to die." -- Just see the Wikipedia entry on this quote.
This song is so awesome.
I think you're pretty much right on with everything except the straw man line being about burning man. I think it is much more general than that. A straw-man is a common fallacy, and a rhetorical device used in argumentation. You basically create a flimsy stance for your opponent that they don't actually hold and can be easily argued against, then you argue against the stance you created for your opponent instead of having to address their actual arguments. So "the straw-man you build up to burn" in my opinion is referring to the 'enemies within the establishment of...
I think you're pretty much right on with everything except the straw man line being about burning man. I think it is much more general than that. A straw-man is a common fallacy, and a rhetorical device used in argumentation. You basically create a flimsy stance for your opponent that they don't actually hold and can be easily argued against, then you argue against the stance you created for your opponent instead of having to address their actual arguments. So "the straw-man you build up to burn" in my opinion is referring to the 'enemies within the establishment of power' in punk songs who we should all be fighting to destroy, when really the bands and fans themselves are the ones upholding and participating as members of the establishment.
@anderspa Better explained than Chris would bother to, lol. Good job.
@anderspa Better explained than Chris would bother to, lol. Good job.
@anderspa Better explained than Chris would bother to, lol. Good job. Although Chris loves Slapshot, and that's the band fronted by Choke, from Negative FX even before the first Slapshot EP (which was in 1985). I don't think he dislikes Boston hardcore, he enjoys some Converge, Punch and also Slapshot obviously, those are the ones I know for sure....notice how they're not the typical overly straight edge bands, Slapshot since 1993 has only had Choke himself straight edge...and that guy is "more fucked up than you'll ever be." Look at the video for I Told You So, haha, one of...
@anderspa Better explained than Chris would bother to, lol. Good job. Although Chris loves Slapshot, and that's the band fronted by Choke, from Negative FX even before the first Slapshot EP (which was in 1985). I don't think he dislikes Boston hardcore, he enjoys some Converge, Punch and also Slapshot obviously, those are the ones I know for sure....notice how they're not the typical overly straight edge bands, Slapshot since 1993 has only had Choke himself straight edge...and that guy is "more fucked up than you'll ever be." Look at the video for I Told You So, haha, one of a kind.
@anderspa thanks so much for the explanation. I always admired the music in this song but only years later am I reading the (interpretable) lyrics. It describes true heroism, the kind that never gets celebrated. True he's bragging... but he's bragging about being the person who never gets to brag about his job to parents and socialites, because he was too proud to keep his mouth shut. I take him at his word that he had opportunities to "clean up his act" and get paid well to make sanitized music for angry kids. I have a corporate job in finance...
@anderspa thanks so much for the explanation. I always admired the music in this song but only years later am I reading the (interpretable) lyrics. It describes true heroism, the kind that never gets celebrated. True he's bragging... but he's bragging about being the person who never gets to brag about his job to parents and socialites, because he was too proud to keep his mouth shut. I take him at his word that he had opportunities to "clean up his act" and get paid well to make sanitized music for angry kids. I have a corporate job in finance and sometimes I think it's too much for me but somehow I manage to keep being a good German.
I think this song is about how most scenes are filled with kids who represent false ideals or just don't live up to what they speak, and how much negative implusles are lived out when their are better things to do than just burn out. in the beginning of the song jord is talking in first person point of view as a rock and roll kid feeding off impluse, just impluse. like, "I like to party fucking hard. I like my rock and roll the same. Don't give a fuck if I burn out. Don't give a fuck if I fade away." I think it's showing how stupid that shit is, to just... not care about anything and burn yourself out on stupid shit. they also go into how a lot of kids say they are this and they are that, but not only never live up to it but that it wasn't them in the first place. "play-acting 'anarchists' and Mommy's-little-skinheads, death-threats and sycophants and wieners drunk on straight-edge. Fuck off. Who cares? I'd rather hi-lite Trip-Tiks than listen to your bullshit. Fuck off."
i think the main message is to be yourself and don't be a slave to anything, espically stupid ego bullshit.
"But what have we here? 15 years later it still reeks of ‘Swill and Chickenshit Conformists with their fists in the air"
"i'd rather hilite trip-tiks than listen to your bullshit"
the motor league is a place where the singer, chris, used to work, where he would hilite trip-tiks and shit.
@jerrylives Yep.
@jerrylives Yep.
I love the jabs at Straight Edge used as a religion/cult like thing especially then in the late 90's/early 2000's, and also the jabs at what the mainstream perceived as "heavy music". After Nirvana died, The Offspring and Bad Religion are almost the only bands that were allowed to have political lyrics, and then the first major label release by the offspring "Ixnay" is pretty good, but since its first single was All I Want...they later decided to make 3/4 of a real Offspring album and have those obvious deviations as singles in all their following releases from...
I love the jabs at Straight Edge used as a religion/cult like thing especially then in the late 90's/early 2000's, and also the jabs at what the mainstream perceived as "heavy music". After Nirvana died, The Offspring and Bad Religion are almost the only bands that were allowed to have political lyrics, and then the first major label release by the offspring "Ixnay" is pretty good, but since its first single was All I Want...they later decided to make 3/4 of a real Offspring album and have those obvious deviations as singles in all their following releases from 98 and on. Although Hammerhead was the opposite, the album it's on is totally tame other than for that single and a couple other songs, sounds nothing like the anger and nihilism displayed on Smash.
So yeah, fed on Korn, Eminems and Bizkits. The bands and rappers themselves were Weird Al Yankovic parodies, although Eminem was kinda legit in his thing in the first few things he did, what wins unfortunately is what Chris sing-lists at the end....
Thanks for the info about Tip-tiks! I thought it had something to do with the Motor Leagues, but how the fuck was I supposed to know what Chris was talking about?
My take on "Today is a good day to die:" Chris often ends lyrics (in the liner notes) or interview questions with funny or depressing non-sequitors like this. I think it comes out of writing words that make you more and more depressed about the world or yourself and suddenly you just think: kill me. It's kind of black humor, not necessarily serious. I think this is an instance of that. Read some of their written response interviews or the liner notes to their old records on Recess Records (I still have mine somewhere) to see other examples.
A trajectory?: Anti manifesto -> Less Talk, More Rock -> Motor Leagues -> Rock for Sustainable Capitalism
@m.k. The liner notes to Where Quality Is Job #1 are hilarious, although it seems I have only one of the 2 folded cardboard inserts...was like that when I bought it, way back in 1999 I read the other as it was scanned and on a geocities fan site.
@m.k. The liner notes to Where Quality Is Job #1 are hilarious, although it seems I have only one of the 2 folded cardboard inserts...was like that when I bought it, way back in 1999 I read the other as it was scanned and on a geocities fan site.
Man geocities fan site. Those were the best. I had one for the band F.Y.P, with a fitting, to me at least, chalkboard layout and had lyrics to all songs, tabs, and yes, the Incomplete Crap Vol.1 songs in the correct order. Although even by '99, it was too late to win...
Man geocities fan site. Those were the best. I had one for the band F.Y.P, with a fitting, to me at least, chalkboard layout and had lyrics to all songs, tabs, and yes, the Incomplete Crap Vol.1 songs in the correct order. Although even by '99, it was too late to win the little contest inside of the cd booklet lol. I'm not even sure if F.Y.P were serious about any prize at all.
The inserts of HTCE and the How to Clean A Couple Things 7" are pretty hilarious on their own right. I was massively surprised by the one in Less Talk, More Rock that's for certain lol, but I appreciated it just as much.
This is about the music industry for the most part. But it also address the fact that a lot of people just like certain music to conform.
i love this song. but i wonder why the lyrics... even the lyrics in the cd-cover say 'today in a good day to die' when he doesnt say it. unless im deaf.
I must be deaf too.
I must be deaf too.
jord isnt the singer dude he's the drummer.chris sings.anyway this song is kind of along the same lines as anti-manifesto except this song isnt about people who like them because its cool, without actually listening to what they're talking about.it's about kids who listen to "korn, eminems and bizkits" and think they're "rebels" when in all actuality theres nothing rebllious about said bands, they're "conforming to anti-conformity" in a way (see:Just ask the candy-coated Joy-Cam rock-bands selling shoes for venture-capitalists, silencing competing messages, rounding off the jagged edges).anyway this is a fucking great song and absolutely love the "But what have we here? 15 years later it still reeks of ‘Swill and Chickenshit Conformists with their fists in the air; like-father, like-son "rebels” bloated on korn, eminems and bizkits. Lord, hear our prayer: take back your Amy Grant mosh-crews and your fair-weather politics. Blow-dry my hair and stick me on a ten-speed. Back to the Motor League." part.
@skunkbythebrook Selling shoes for venture capitalists....Fat Mike with his takeover of the Vans tour and how shittier it has gotten since it was just about good melodic hardcore punk and punk rock bands and pro skaters. The skaters are long gone, the venture capitalist is George Soros who gave Fat Mike loads of money to make the Rock Against Bush comps..which led to Rock For Sustainable Capitalism after another silent lyric was added to their contribution to Vol.1, "Bullshit Politicians" saying "Not brought to you by George Soros" which Fat Mike had to take out the comp, although not happily,...
@skunkbythebrook Selling shoes for venture capitalists....Fat Mike with his takeover of the Vans tour and how shittier it has gotten since it was just about good melodic hardcore punk and punk rock bands and pro skaters. The skaters are long gone, the venture capitalist is George Soros who gave Fat Mike loads of money to make the Rock Against Bush comps..which led to Rock For Sustainable Capitalism after another silent lyric was added to their contribution to Vol.1, "Bullshit Politicians" saying "Not brought to you by George Soros" which Fat Mike had to take out the comp, although not happily, he had to bend over and work with the system he supposedly wants to smash. NOFX themselves are great and it's great how they helped Propagandhi and a few other of the original Fat bands, Lagwagon, No Use For A Name (although after Making Friends, they got boring, way too much change in the rosters, which started after original bassist (and probably the guy that made the band awesome the most) Steve Papoutsis went to work for Sega and then Electronic Arts after Leche Con Carne's final tour. After that it was rotating musicians around Tony Sly who should maybe even have changed the name of the band after Making Friends...not that he was selling out, just not being NUFAN anymore...Lagwagon stayed true, because Joey does his solo guitar artist thing as a separate project. Strung Out got much better with time apparently, which I'd be interested in hearing, I got all their albums, but the one I possess "for real" was a waste except for Bring Out Your Dead, that song's amazing. Just all to say, Fat like Epitaph were started as small anti-MTV labels and pretty much stayed that way, although Epitaph let bands more control over how they could make videos and such. But if one looks at the list of Epitaph releases, much more impressive than Fat...since it exists since '82. I rather dislike most Fat Wreck bands of the 90's other than these 4 bands I mentioned, the first 4 bands they released, I think.
here here skunk.. Once thought I drew a lucky hand. Turned out to be a live grenade of play-acting "anarchists" and Mommy's-little-skinheads, death-threats and sycophants and wieners drunk on straight-edge.
yay we have a band - yay we can make a change oh wait whats happening now all these people are little pussys who talk big - are part of the scene - do fuck all with their lifes - and are now grown up and part of the system ...
that kinda thing :)
and btw - "today is a good day to die" prop often have lil comments in their lyrics to explain them a bit more that are not always sung.... they also leave out bits that dont fit into the music sometimes
feel free to msg me anyone :)