A Salty Salute
It took a long time for me to come around on "A Salty Salute," which probably explains why for a long time I considered Alien Lanes to be a good but not great album. It's far from a typical lead-off track, starting with a plodding bass line that even I could play, drums that have a casual acquaintance with the beat and a hook that is more about intent than actual effect.
By now, of course, I understand the appeal and have hoisted a cold one in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in the Club as Uncle Bob announces his decree: "The club is open."
Regardless of the way the song starts -- I'll always hear "Disarm the sexless" while the Guided by Voices Database and nearly everyone else believes the lyrics printed with the album that aver it is the settlers who are being disarmed" -- it's a clever little tale rooted in some Dayton lore:
Disarm the settlers
The new drunk drivers
Have hoisted the flag
We are with you in your anger
Proud brothers
Do not fret
The bus will get you there yet
To carry us to the lake
The club is open
In Jim Greer's GBV book Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll, Pollard explains the song, saying it stems from incidents involving friends of his on an ill-fated fishing trip to Lake Erie, coupled with complaints that people were being picked up for drunk driving as they left the American Legion. "I thought it was pretty fucked up that our country can be like, 'Okay, you did your time serving your country,' and they give you this place called the Legion where you can go and drown your sorrows, and on top of that they're gonna bust your ass coming out of there drunk."
Hence, the shared anger of the proud brothers riding the bus to the club (and an explanation for the previously incongruous mention being carried to the lake).
The song took on much more meaning as it became a staple in Guided by Voices live sets. Pollard acquired a neon sign declaring that "THE CLUB IS OPEN," and the near-fanatical chants of the crowd singing in unison became something like a rallying cry for GBV nation. Surprisingly, to me at least, the song didn't open the final Guided by Voices show, but instead led off the second encore (that's song 57 of 63 for those scoring at home). By then the band was a sloppy mess, and it had been clear for several hours at that point that the club was open and probably running low on beer.
By now, of course, I understand the appeal and have hoisted a cold one in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in the Club as Uncle Bob announces his decree: "The club is open."
Regardless of the way the song starts -- I'll always hear "Disarm the sexless" while the Guided by Voices Database and nearly everyone else believes the lyrics printed with the album that aver it is the settlers who are being disarmed" -- it's a clever little tale rooted in some Dayton lore:
Disarm the settlers
The new drunk drivers
Have hoisted the flag
We are with you in your anger
Proud brothers
Do not fret
The bus will get you there yet
To carry us to the lake
The club is open
In Jim Greer's GBV book Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll, Pollard explains the song, saying it stems from incidents involving friends of his on an ill-fated fishing trip to Lake Erie, coupled with complaints that people were being picked up for drunk driving as they left the American Legion. "I thought it was pretty fucked up that our country can be like, 'Okay, you did your time serving your country,' and they give you this place called the Legion where you can go and drown your sorrows, and on top of that they're gonna bust your ass coming out of there drunk."
Hence, the shared anger of the proud brothers riding the bus to the club (and an explanation for the previously incongruous mention being carried to the lake).
The song took on much more meaning as it became a staple in Guided by Voices live sets. Pollard acquired a neon sign declaring that "THE CLUB IS OPEN," and the near-fanatical chants of the crowd singing in unison became something like a rallying cry for GBV nation. Surprisingly, to me at least, the song didn't open the final Guided by Voices show, but instead led off the second encore (that's song 57 of 63 for those scoring at home). By then the band was a sloppy mess, and it had been clear for several hours at that point that the club was open and probably running low on beer.
Labels: Alien Lanes
posted by John at 12:03 PM
3 Comments:
It's true. This song only feels right when you hear it/scream it live.
I always thought it was "dis on the sexless"
which is really unfair.. why dis on those already in a shitty situation?
"Sexless". I hear that all the time too and sometimes have to remember not to sing that word.
Now, I have to say that I love this song. I like Bee Thousand better than A.L., but I always qualify that (while sadly having an often-repeated internal discussion with myself) by saying that A.L. has a better -- to me, absolutely killer -- start and end.
When I hear that buzzing amp and slow (plodding is indeed the best word for it) bass line in "A Salty Salute" , I can just feel some kind of interal surge that makes me want to quickly find and pop open a tall boy.
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