American Music

he sounds like he was on several drugs during the recording

heh, this is "my song."

Also, I am playing this over and over tonight, because of the lines about prom and drugs. Tonight is my school's prom and I couldn't find anyone to ask, so instead I am chillilng at home getting high. heh, wonderful.

Fun and amusing. hehe. :)

Hah, actually um I think this song's making fun of American music

And it's great

this song is about german industry

What is this about german industry? Please explain. The violent femmes are an intelligent group. I am guessing this song is about their struggle to find like-minded people in this system. The lyrics sound a little lost, as if this is a hopeless task. Music is organized sound. American music would be an organized presentation of American thought. America is supposedly founded upon freedom but freedom cannot be organized since it is subjective, so American music takes on dual meaning in this song. It means freedom and the façade of freedom the establishment is putting on. The 6th line is about wanting love, which is also lacking, and I believe this is related to the lack of freedom. Drugs alter consciousness, either as meds given in mental institutions (as which society is often represented) or as ways people alter their own ways of thinking to stand existing in the system. ‘I was born too soon’ refers to their wanting to see the societal changes they and others like them are making, which will not happen in their lifetime. Moons are often used to represent women because they are round and go through a monthly cycle, so perhaps she reminds him of his mother? Of female stereotypes? I am not sure I get this line. Prom is one of the most political affairs of high school that isn’t an organization. He asks, then almost takes it back as if it is ridiculous to ask someone to get involved politically with him. The violent femmes would probably crash prom. ‘they never heard American music’ they have never known freedom! ‘They’ are the establishment. Freedom is a concept that’s part of him and so he does not look to the system to tell him what it is. That is not free. She was born too soon, has been in system too long? He was born too late, too late to prevent the sins of America the fraud? We like all kinds of organized sound, perhaps organized by our mind this time, but we like freedom most. He says ‘best’, which literally means we are best at liking freedom. I wonder if he meant that. Lake is pooled up water, which is involved in everything living on earth, it ebbs and flows, small ocean… the sea is used in the bible to refer to all unrepentant sinners, and all people are sinners. Society reminds him of himself, because he is still a part of it, regardless of what he thinks of the system. ‘do you like American music/ it reminds me of myself’ he makes freedom a large part of himself but is not truly free. I love this band.

the other interpretations of the song are probably accurate. but i thought i'd share my own personal interpretation of the ugly moon and ugly lake lines, since they don't really make a lot of sense at first glance lol

the moon pulls tides... in the lake? perhaps representative of a relationship between two people..that they attract eachother, even though they are ugly to everyone else? or maybe the lyricist poking fun with the word 'ugly'... pah i dunno.

just thought i'd share :)

This song is about being strung out on Heroin, and being an outsider. They didnt like american music. they aint never hear american music. music of my soul. i was born too late (Gano was a velvet underground fan, they were a huge influence on the Femmes) he missed out on the ERA when his favorite bamds were around and playing, born too late has a similar nostalgia to it. some of the words are just fun lyrics that are just used to be clever or cute in a way.

His date and himself are obviously not good looknig people and they don't fit into the generation the were born into. ugly lake and ugly moon, maybe just words to rhyme or get close to a rhyme with soon (moon) and Late (lake)

and enjoy this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLXYYIaoYi0&list=PLpbY1An4d4w_e9-xWARJCszEsjYFuKM_z

First of all, I just saw the Violent Femmes last Saturday and I was so happy to hear them play this for their encore song, as it’s my favorite Femmes song (it’s in a close tie with “Kiss Off,” but overall I just LOVE the vibe, the video, and the overall composition of this song! I feel like this is a lighthearted social commentary on America, from an insiders perspective that is sensitive to how an outsider (someone that’s not American born and bred,) may feel about America, as it’s symbolized by it’s music.

I feel like by the songwriter describing the moon and the lake as “ugly,” they are subverting the typical belief of what a moon and lake are usually perceived as. Most of the time, I’ll look at a moon and a lake because they’re beautiful and they make me feel calm. I feel that by describing them as “ugly,” and saying that they remind me of you, and then me; they are trying to flip the concept of what America can be viewed as, especially if we can imagine the listener is not an American, but an observer looking in; and getting a glimpse of what we’re all about. (If you watch the video, you’ll get the Easter eggs and really see the context.)

So many want to come to America because they’re drawn in by its beauty, diversity of landscapes and people, and it being the land of visionaries and unlimited opportunities. So I feel like the subversion in this song is very intentional, because even things that are often viewed as beautiful can also seem ugly by an individual observer. After all, beauty is subjective. What’s beautiful to me, may not seem beautiful to YOU.

I also feel they’re trying to impart that while they appreciate America and all that it has to offer (the offering here being music,) they are also aware of all the problems within America and it’s institutions, thus the self reflectiveness of saying “it reminds me of me” juxtaposed against the shuffle of “do YOU like American music” to it’s climactic ending. Subversion is a beautiful thing, really. 😍

This song is about Joe Biden's second presidential campaign leading up to the time he dropped out of the race when everyone realized the media was gas lighting us about his mental acuity.