So Now We All Need to Learn the Words
Dunno if it got the most votes because it was the best song, or because it was the first nominated, or because there wasn’t a whole lot of agreement with any other song. Regardless, it appears that as of now the League’s Theme Song is:
See How We Are, by X – nominated by greginak
For those curious, here are the lyrics:
There are men lost in jail
Crowded fifty to a room
There’s too many rats in this cage of the world
And the women know their place
They sit home and write letters
And when they visit once a year
Well they both just sit there and stare
See how we are
Gotta keep bars in between us
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are
Now there are seven kinds of Coke
500 kinds of cigarettes
This freedom of choice in the USA drives everybody crazy
But in Acapulco
Well they don’t give a damn
About kids selling Chiclets with no shoes on their feet
See how we are
“Hey man, Whats in it for me?”
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are
Now that highway’s coming through
So you all gotta move
This bottom rung ain’t no fun at all
No fires and rockhouses and grape-flavored rat poison
They are the new trinity
For this so-called community
See how we are
Gotta keep bars on all of our windows
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are
Well this morning the alarm rang at noon
And I’m trying to write this letter to you
About how much I care and why I just can’t be there
To draw your bath and comb…and comb your hair
Last night in a nightspot
Where things aren’t so hot
My friend said, “I met a boy and I’m in love”
I said, “Oh really… What’s this one’s name?”
She said, “His first name is Homeboy”
I said “Could his last name be Trouble?”
See how we are
Ah Homeboy… Isn’t that a Mexican name?
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are
Yeah see how we are
Slight lyric quibbles:
Now fires and rockhouses and grape-flavored rat poison
and at least on the one I have, instead of :
Ah Homeboy… Isn’t that a Mexican name?
John Doe sings:
Hey girl, I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could throw youReport
My comment below was meant to respond to you.Report
There are a couple of different versions floating around of this song, I have a version somewhere with “Ah Homeboy… Isn’t that a south central gangster name?” This being a very LA reference…
But, yeah, it’s a great song.Report
There is a pretty big difference in the second example.
I wonder how much Billy Zoom kicked himself about leaving X right before they got big. Well big for them anyway.
I’ve been watching music videos of X for the past few days and it is interesting to see the changes. For White Girl and Hungry Wolf, Exene Cervenka seems to do this very hipster-bored poet/bohemian kind of performance. By Burning House of Love, she seems to have developed a slightly happier persona that involves smiling and dancing while performing.
Bill Zoom seems like a fairly happy dude. He always seems to smile while playing guitar and can’t put on a tough guy actReport
Isn’t X one of the obscure bands from the 1980s and not even late 1980s but early to mid-1980s? They were kind of like Sonic Youth but slightly older when they started or at least I thought as much. Are they still around?Report
Your recollection is correct. Not really still around as a unit, though they have done occasional reunion shows now and again, and members have done solo stuff. This song came out in ’87.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_%28American_band%29
@ND – it is a big difference, which is why I noticed it. My *guess* as to why it’s different, is that even though I don’t think the printed (original?) lyric is actually anti-Mexican (I think the song’s narrator is actually attempting to draw a distinction, in his 1987 way, between a truly “Mexican” name which he’d presumably have no problem with, and a “gangbanger” nickname like “Homeboy”) it could be taken as anti-Mexican, which is why I wanted to point out that lyric isn’t the one on the album version.Report
I think X are still around in the way that many of the early indie-rock/alternative rock acts are still around. They lacked success at the time because the form of music was too new but now they have a range of older fans (with more disposable income) and younger fans who were raised on this stuff thanks to Spin, 120 Minutes, and other sources.
I might be dating myself by saying that Spin and 120 Minutes were my sources for new music during my formative years. And the fact that I can remember when Spin was the rebellious upstart to Rolling Stone. Also CMJ.Report
Spin used to be pretty good.
120 Minutes: Kendall, or Pinfield?Report
Ugh, Pinfield in that raspy voice expounding on the influences of the Gin Blossoms. I’m going with Kendall.Report
I’m a Kendall fan too, that snooty Limey bastard (I used to do a pretty obnoxious impersonation when drunk). Pinfield annoyed me at first, but I came to grudgingly respect him – dude was actually pretty knowledgeable and very enthusiastic (though that last part could have been due to the rumored coke-fiending).
RE: Gin Blossoms – I do this every time, but this is a good read. They are a more interesting story than you think; had band founder and ace songwriter Doug Hopkins not been a hardcore alcoholic, their story might have turned out very differently:
http://www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12123Report
Heh… I saw that coming.
It is an interesting story, though that doesn’t make me want to hear that song ever again.Report
I don’t really remember the hosts. I remember a special 120 minutes weekend hosted by Henry Rollins.
I had a huge crush on Karen Duffy though. I’m afraid to Google her and to find out if she has any kooky views.Report
I remember a Henry Rollins episode, too. It must have been around ’96 or ’97.Report
That sounds about right. Maybe a bit earlier because I think I was a freshman or sophomore in HS. So 94-96 is more likely.Report
Duffy was very ill for a while, don’t remember the details.
Kooky views? Son, you live in SF. If you want a date, that comes with the territory.
Speaking of kooky views, I was in the minority – I found Kennedy (the VJ, not the president) entertaining as all hell, but I know she was pretty unpopular.Report
Perhaps.
I remember being annoyed by Kennedy for some reason.Report
They were an LA Punk band from the late 1970s to mid 80s but like Sonic Youth known for being intelligent and arty. They were critically well-respected but did not get much mainstream success and this frustrated them. I think they always wanted Mainstream success. You can find videos on youtube where they are performing on American Bandstand and really early David Letterman. They are possibly a bit younger than the people in Sonic Youth though.
This song comes from their 5th album I think and has a more proto-adult alternative/proto-alt.country. Their earlier albums were more punky loud. Compared and contrast:
Hungry Wolf or Burning House of Love with the song above or 4th of July. The later songs are much less sonic and probably more palpable to a mainstream audience but still very good.Report
X were hugely influential on the Alt scene but didn’t have much mainstream success. John Doe has released many solo albums and has had some success as a character actor.Report
They are another variant of the Velvet Underground story. Not many people bought their album but everyone who did formed a band….Report
It’s always a shock to me to read the lyrics of a song that I’ve loved half my lifetime (I’m more a music-person than a lyrics-person).
So, I guess I’m glad we have a theme song now, but I’m feeling kinda depressed…Report