One thing that took me by surprised is how good Tom's songs are on this album. Definitely wins most improved Award.
I got my shipping notification for my preorder and it won't be in until next week... The whole reason I preorder an album is to get it on/before release day!
Midwestern States and Your Wild Years are really hitting me. Love the rest of the album, especially all the singles and the opener, but those two are sticking out as the best to me right now. Anyone else seeing them at the Metro in March? Cannot wait to sing that line about Chicago in Midwestern States surrounded by a punch of drunk Chicago punks.
Just wanted to say, really enjoying this album and a lot of songs I can really relate to. Absolutely fantastic to here this along of with their cover they done of 24frames. Anyone know the track-list for the cover EP being released at the end of the month for the tour?
Blasphemy about Gates! Agreed about Casey and Mexican Guitars though. I'd love to see Sculptors And Vandals and Coal City Blues live tbh.
Decided that for my re-listen of OTIP - in preparation for ATP to drop on Friday - to play the album front to back on guitar.
The lyric booklet leaked last month. If no one minds I'll copy and paste it... 1- Tellin’ Lies Oh yeah, everything is terrible when buying marijuana makes you feel like a criminal When your new friends take a joke to literal, making you feel like the bad guy Oh, where are we gonna go now that our twenties are over? Oh yeah, all hope abandoned not young enough to be your companion Not old enough to be your guide, what a cliche time to try Oh, where are we gonna go now that our twenties are over? Where are we gonna go now that our twenties are over? Everyones asking me over and over. The decade taken hostage by my own guilty conscience When you gonna quit this nonsense, everyones asking me over and over But I don’t mind tellin’ lies. So oh yeah, lets go to Vegas, put it all on black and get married by Elvis If we wake up broke we’ll be fine, we’ll get rich in another lifetime. Like tension you can cut with a knife, like a wedding ring that never fit right Like a car alarm that won’t stop howling, a decade lost in the motions To romance and cheap whiskey, the subtle sound of a fleeting feeling Like four chords that don’t love you no more, in a motel room In a sleeping bag on the floor, is it wrong to say that things can change? 2 - Thick as Thieves I held up a liquor store Demanded top-shelf metaphors With a sinner’s smile and open arms Drop a line to charm the silent alarm Heard neutral angels call the cops They’ll be choosing sides when the fighting stops Polizie in the cabaret While we six kings made our getaway Thick as thieves On our knees With an ocean in between Laughter in the darkness I heard whispers in the shadows I was there when the wall fell down I'll be there when the ocean rises Building castles with cans and bottles Drinking like they do in novels I know they’ll get me by and by But tonight you are my alibi The same old sun that we all come from Faded stars in the air that we breath, in the earth, in the sea Thick as thieves On our knees With an ocean in between 3 - Lookers Lost in a picture frame, the way our bodies used to behave The way they smiled in the moment before they permanently froze But that was the old me and you, when we were both lookers. Lost in a picture frame, the way my body used to behave The way it smiled in the moment before it permanently froze But that was the old me, I was such a looker in the old days. You little Kerouac, always running like Dean and Sal Always waiting on a freight train, always looking for a story to tell But that was the old you, you were such a looker in the old days. Yeah we were both lookers. Sha, la, la, la Jersey girls are always total heartbreakers Julie from the Wonder Bar I still wonder where you are Cause I know the old you, and you know the old me. I was certain that I’d find her, in the back of the diner In a cloud full of nicotine, in a teenage memory That I hold till eternity cause the future aint coming for it. In a 5x8” black and white, on the nightstand of my mind from a time I hardly recognize. 4 - Midwestern States I hope this isn’t a burden, thanks for having us over We could sleep on the couch, we could sleep on the floor We will leave before you even notice we were here or even notice us at all. Been having problems with our landlord, he said he’s taking us both to court She got her hours slashed and my unemployments drying up fast We both got worthless diplomas from worthless universities Two bachelors in worthless studies but at least it made our parents happy And cost a whole lot of money. You said L.A. is only two days if we drive straight, Denver if we get tired Said you didn’t mind stopping just as long as we got out of the Midwest States. The Midwestern States. But I know somewhere in Chicago where we can stay for a little I hope this isn’t a burden, thanks for having us over. Most nights we always fall asleep with something dumb on Netflix Some nights trash reality, kids cartoons, or shitty documentaries Not perfect but we’re good together, me you and our bad tattoos All our stick and pokes, all our inside jokes, we’ll regret 'em when we’re dead and sober But we’re still breathing and the party ain’t over. 5 - Charlie's Army I guess I should tell her I’m sorry, why I never showed up to the party I got into a misunderstanding with her old boyfriend named Charlie. Yeah, I love my Juliet, but her ex-boyfriend wants me dead But tell your men I ain’t afraid to die. When I first met her i fell in love and she smiled because she knew We were day drinking in Brooklyn, it was death in the afternoon. Charlie’s Army is coming for me. Tell your men I aint afraid to die, if loving Julie is a capital crime. I ain’t gonna tell him I’m sorry, cause its me and her after the party No need for a misunderstanding cause nothings gonna change my mind. 6 - House on Fire Waiting for your life to start then you die Was your heart beating in the first place? Waiting for your life to start then you die Was your heart beating in the first place? Lost myself in the kitchen There's an old friend falling down the stairs They say there's cops in the alley way It's too late for saving us Let it burn down Waiting for your life to start then you die Was your heart beating in the first place? Waiting for your life to start then you die Was your heart beating in the first place? Found myself in the basement There's smoke, there's ash over everything This girl I know yeah she's tryin' to get high Telling me, she's telling me, "Let it burn out" Yeah, does it make you nervous? Have you fulfilled your purpose? Yeah, does it make you nervous? The house is on fire Yeah, does it make you nervous? Have you fulfilled your purpose? Yeah, does it make you nervous? The house is on fire, but there's beer left I think I'll stay Waiting for your life to start then you die Was your heart beating in the first place? Waiting for your life to start then you die Was your heart beating in the first place? We set the house on fire and we ain't going nowhere 7 - Black Mass I was staring through the stained glass, into the procession of a Black Mass Oh how the subject at the altar wants their life back The view from here to there is a lot like wilting flowers Bored beyond repair and unfit for an altar Strange relating with the Lamb to the Slaughter. But hey, do you really wanna throw it away? I’d do anything to make you stay. We used to only take the back roads, but now we found a distance shorter You used to call me darlin, now you prefer more formal We used to get high and stare at the moon And wonder how long it would take to walk to But now thats like the distance between me and you. But hey, do you really wanna throw it away? I’d do anything to make you stay, for just a little bit longer. 8 – Boy Blue Took our father's name And our mother’s heart We felt our sisters' pain Then it fell apart They said one thing Then showed us another Is it finally true? We’re not getting any younger? Boy blue and the silver spoon They found him dying in the living room Say goodbye to the bride and groom Send em off on a honeymoon A Dreadful sound Echoed through the trees Dirty headlights Put us all on our knees Route 502 We were waiting for you But you couldn’t see It was new years eve Boy blue and the silver spoon They found him dying in the living room Say goodbye to the bride and groom Send em off on a honeymoon I’ve been told There’s no going home No room left for you and me No empty seats in eternity Ive been told Theres no going home No songs left to sing No second act to mortality Boy blue and the silver spoon They found him dying in the living room Say goodbye to the bride and groom Send em off on a honeymoon 9- Bad Catholics We should have never thought that we could get stoned and drive around with just a half a pack of smokes A bottle of clear eyes, an appetite, we were pillaging the Turkey Hill on Main Ave in West Side Wouldn’t you guess the only thing we had to fear would be flashing their lights in our rear view mirror This time they got us its all over now, you were praying Hail Marys for an escape route. But thank God for your fathers last name and all the connections that he’s made To everyone you’re such a sweet church girl, but I know your secret. Bad Catholics weren’t we darling? Always dipping out before communion started. Another summer and another church picnic, I watch a mother run around in a panic Chasing her kid with his orange soda mustache, while his fathers by the gambling wheel There I saw you in the beer tent hanging with your new husband and your baby on the way Oh its kinda strange how it made me miss something, long lost in the both of us now. You thanked God that I found my way and introduced me to oh whats his name To everyone you’re such a sweet church girl, but I know your secret. 10 - Your Wild Years Long for the words with hearts and wings Something familiar when you miss everything You rest your head against the window pane Feet on the dash through a steady rain. I drove you home while you slept in the front seat After a show at the stone pony Watched you wake so God damn sweetly Over the Walt Whitman bridge back to Philly I toss and turn at 4 in the morning Petrified of where our future is going Cause you’re the kinda girl that deserves the world And I’m just the kinda guy that promises the world So I fix a drink nice and strong in the kitchen Something quick that’ll cure my conscience Creep back to bed and I kiss your forehead Maybe everything is fine and its all in my head. A little Irish in your blood, a little polish in your name A little Boston in your attitude, just the way you were raised. We drove up to Massachusetts together Your old house was just like you remembered We stayed in your adolescent room And rummaged through the boxes labeled former you The souvenirs of happiness in a moment Your wild years that you often mention The sands of time in an hourglass That you’re always begging for back. I got drunk in the afternoon, with your father in the living room As the television broke the silence, you smiled knowing I was trying The best that I can do. 11 - Bars Sunken eyes in strangers faces I’ll fall asleep in the strangest places What the hell am I doing? Where have my friends gone? I know I’ve been here before But ya can not leave when you can’t find the door Smashed my phone Lost my wallet Who’s this new friend of mine? Why do some people make you nervous? Others drive you to drink When the bars are closing... A nightstand memorial of past libation A sudden fear of phone vibrations Too hungover to sleep Too tired to be alive Bezos, bile and bills, There is so much missing time to kill I shake like an airplane on it’s way down Why do some people make you nervous? Others drive you to drink When the bars are closing... When the bars are closing... No good’ll come from stumbling home with the sun No good’ll come from stumbling home with the sun I used to care Now I just stare into the.. Sunken eyes in strangers faces I’ll fall asleep in the strangest places What the hell am I doing? Where have my friends gone? Why do some people make you nervous? Others drive you to drink When the bars are closing... When the bars are closing... 12 - After the Party Its the little things my mind commits to etch behind my eyelids Like getting stoned when we wake up, coffee grounds in coffee cups Your silhouette in hightop sneakers, hardcore from laptop speakers The classics to the more obscure, Minor Threat to your old roommates band. Like a kaleidoscope in vibrant hues I navigate round your tattoos Said you got that one on a whim when you were breaking up with him And that Matryoshka Russian doll that lines your shelf from big to small What a way to start new to shed your skin and find the old you. Everybody wants to get famous, but you just want to dance in a basement You don’t care if anyone is watching, just as long as you stay in motion We put miles on these old jean jackets, got caught up in the drunk conversations But after the party its me and you. With a new outlook on everything we see, from high up on this rooftop over South Philly To the nights we loose all self control, from the sex, from the drugs, from the rock and roll. 13 - Livin’ Aint Easy In vibrant hues in subtle brush strokes of memory The life I’ve painted I have sold for a quick twenty Its on display now for the privileged and the wealthy God I despise their reassuring lying eyes Our home stands tall behind that foreclosure sign Everything in boxes for another lifetime Continental breakfast in the lobby But they’re always out of coffee. Only a fool would think living could be easy. In this little motel room, I-80 west of nowhere Why count the stars, you’ll never know where you are Somewhere lightyears from the world you used to know Like a lock that doesn’t turn, like a plant that doesn’t grow Long for the words with hearts and wings From five states over, I am running from everything Continental breakfast in the lobby But they’re always out of coffee. Oh you know what breaks my heart? Watching your whole life fall apart While bastards dance off with the night, as we try to break free with all our might.
If I was a wealthy man I'd pay the $3 to change my username to "Mexican Guitars Plz" or something millennial like that
Historically Menzingers closers aren't as good as the rest of the record. I mean I still like most of them but they've never ever been in my top 5 tracks.
The closer isn't my favorite track by any means, but I think it's a pretty fitting way to tie up the themes of the record.