"brand new -- or me..."

[enthusiastick]

I've been wrestling with the new Brand New album (Deja Entendu) for about six weeks now. To quote the Amazon.com review: "If Deja Entendu sounds like the work of musicians discovering their talents, it's also about learning that desperate heartache isn't just about girls who don’t call back." At first I really rejected it. The sound is really different. And a lot of the songs espouse a sort of hopelessness I can't, have never been able to, identify with.

But it stuck in my head, and I keep listening to it. It is a more mature, fuller sound - and the lyrics can be really gripping. I started to be annoyed at myself for enjoying it so much...

I've come to conclusion that I like it a lot. In fact, some of it is as addicting as their first album, Your Favorite Weapon. I'll probably always like that album better, but...

Anyway. Some lyrics follow:


Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades

keep the noise low
she doesn't want to blow it
she stripped from head to toe
and then left him with his shoulder out
quickens your heart beat
it beats me straight into the ground
you don't recover from a night like this
our victim still lying in bed completely motionless
a hand moves in the dark to her zipper
and a boy dressed in tourniquet sheets barely whispers
'this is so messed up'

upon arrival the guests had all stared
dripping wet and clearly depressed
he'd headed straight for the stairs
unprepared for a life filled with lies and failing relationships
(up the stairs
the station where
the act becomes
the art of growing up)
he keeps his hands low
he doesn't want to blow it
he's wet from head to toe
and his eyes give her the up and the down
his stomach turns and he thinks of throwing up
get the body on the bed like its flowered
and he starts going down

(chorus)
the people, the focus
the reasons that I had to believe
you weren't too hard to settle
die young and save yourself!
they take all the taste out
it used to be the reason I breathe
and now its choking me up
die young and save yourself!

she hits the lights
this doesn't seem quite fair
despite everything he learned from his friends
he doesn't feel so prepared
she's breathing quiet and smooth
he is gasping for air
'this is the first and last time' he says
she fakes a smile and presses her hips into his
he keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
he's holding back from telling her
exactly what it really feels... like
he is the lamb
she is the slaughter
she's moving way too fast
and all he wanted was to hold her
nothing that he tells her 'sreally having an effect
he whispers that he loves her
but she's probably only looking for sss-
so much more than he could ever give
a life full of lies and failing relationships
he keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
he waits for it to end and for the aching in his gut to subside

(repeat chorus)
up the stairs
the station where
the act becomes
the art of growing up
(repeat chorus)



Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't

I am heaven sent
don't you dare forget
I am all you've ever wanted
what all the other boys all promised
sorry I told
I just needed you to know
I think in decimals and dollars
I am the cause to all your problems
shelter from cold
we are never alone
coordinate brain and mouth
then ask me what its like to have myself so figured out
I wish I knew

I hope this song starts a craze
the kind of song that ignites the airwaves
the kind of song that makes people glad to be where they are
with whoever they're there with
this is war
every line is about
who I don't wanna write about anymore
hope you come down with something they can't diagnose
don't have the cure for
holding on to your grudge
oh its so hard to have someone to love
and keeping quiet is hard
'cos you can't keep a secret
if it never was a secret to start
at least pretend you didn't want to get caught

(chorus)
we're concentrating on falling apart
we were contenders, now throwing the fight
I just wanna believe, I just wanna believe, I just wanna believe
in us

oh, we're so c- c- c- c-
controversial
we are entirely smooth
we admit to the truth
we are the best at what we do
and these are the words you wish you wrote down
this is the way you wish your voice sounds
handsome and smart
oh my tongues the only muscle on my body
that works harder than my heart
and its all from watching tv
and from speeding up my breathing
wouldn't stop if I could
oh it hurts to be this good
you're holding on to your grudge
oh it hurts to always have to be
honest with the one that you love
oh, so let it go

(repeat chorus)

this is the craze only we can bestow
this is the price you pay for loss of control
this is the break in the battle
this is the closest of calls
this is the reason you're alone
this is the reason you fall

(repeat chorus)



The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

we saw the western coast
I saw the hospital
nurse the shoreline like a wound
we paint a lover's tryst
we're neither clear nor descript
we kept it safe and slow
the quiet things that no one ever knows

(chorus)
so keep the blood in your head
and keep your feet on the ground
today's the day it gets tired
today's the day we drop down
give up my body in bed
all for an empty hotel
wasting words on lower cases and capitals

I contemplate the day we wed
your friends are boring me to death
your veil is ruined in the rain
by then you I can do without
there's nothing new to talk about
and though the kids are blessed
the parents let them shoulder all the blame

(repeat chorus)

I
lie for
only you
and I
lie well
halleluj
(repeat and repeat chorus to end)



Me Vs. Madonna Vs. Elvis

with one or two I get used to the room
we go slow when we first make our move
by five or six bring you out to the car
number nine with my head on the bar
and its sad, but true
out of cash
and I... owe...

I got
(... you)
desperate desires and unadmirable plans
my tongue'll taste of gin and malicious intent
bring you back to the bar
get you out of the cold
my sober straight face gets you out of your clothes
and they're scared that we know
all the crimes they'll commit
who they'll kiss before they get home

(chorus)
I will lie awake
lie for fun
and fake the way I hold you
let you fall for every empty word I say

barely conscious in the door where you stand
your eyes are fighting sleep while your mouth makes your demands
you laugh at every word, trying hard to be cute
I almost feel sorry for what I'm gonna do
and your hair smells of smoke
who will cast the first stone?
you can sin, or spend the night all alone

brass buttons on your coat hold the cold
in the shape of a heart that they cut out of stone
you're using all your looks that you've thrown from the start
if you let me have my way I swear I'll tear you apart
'cos its all you can be
you're a drunk, and you're scared
its lady's night
all the girls drink for free

(repeat chorus)


There's more, but that's way more than enough already.