The Starting Line Band • Page 115

Justice for Bedroom Talk

 

Some of the lyrics are cringey, but it's so catchy I can easily overlook them.

 

Counterpoint: It would not.

 

Considering they did not play Bedroom Talk at either night of the holiday shows, I think the band would also agree with you

 

It's been many years since I watched their Somebody's Gonna Miss Us documentary but I remember on that Tom saying they were considering Neal Avron for BOATS, maybe it had even progressed further than that, but Kenny overruled it? Tom then refers to FOBs subsequent success so definitely was harbouring a feeling that it could have been TSL who broke through.

Of course all hypothetical but interesting nonetheless.

 

Matt Watts of The Starting Line

We wrote Based on a True Story, we demo-ed it all in Kenny’s basement and we sat in the office and played them the songs, and they sat us down right before Catalyst was coming out. They took our CD out of the CD player and put New Found Glory in and said, “These demos aren’t this CD, you guys should sound like this.” And that’s not us. That was also one of the big problems with the label. They wanted to force us in a direction that we didn’t want to go in. They wanted Neal Avron to produce the new record—who I think is an excellent producer—but he was producing the New Found Glory record and the new Fall Out Boy record and we kind of wanted our own thing.

 

It should’ve been the starting line instead

 

Shoulda released a better single!

 

How have I not heard this before?

 

The b-sides/demos I know about:

Direction:
Pictures
Time to Run

 

The chorus melody for this song pops into my head regularly even though I probably haven't heard it in over a decade. What a catchy song.

 

All of the interview segments of that DVD come across pretty jaded by all of the band members and even their management, but that particular moment you’re talking about definitely leans more into bitterness. You can just see it on Tom’s face when he says something like “we turned Avron down, then Fall Out Boy used him and made the biggest record ever, could’ve been us”

I don’t believe he pins any of it on Kenny though

 

I remember reading about that meeting with the Catalyst incident ages ago and immediately gaining a new respect for Inspired By The $. TSL gave them them the edgier, riffier version of themselves just like they wanted and made the song about how much the label sucks. Kinda like the Sara Bareilles story

 

Photograph is on the BOATS Geffen demos, right?

 

If there was one song I would love for them to resurrect and put on a new album with whatever changes/direction they are going in it would without a doubt be nights & weekends. one of the best in their catalog.

 

it's track 3

 

They definitely had the talent/look to blow up like FOB did in 05. Just not sure they had *that* song on this album.

 

People were mad Kenny grew out his hair.

That era of the scene was so weird.

 

IIRC “Island” music video got a good amount of play on Fuse/MTV2, at least I remember seeing it a bunch. Thought it was going to be *that* song for them and…poof

 

Crazy that "Best of Me" has almost double "Island's" views.

They had so much momentum, just one of those wrong single, wrong album, for that period kinda things. They went more toward the Gatsbys/Say Anything angular, little experimental, sound right as that next wave of pop-punk ala FOB and FBR exploded.

 

Any rip of those going around? Asking for a friend!

 

The demos at least i know are on YouTube:

 

Another of the Geffen demos.

 

It's track 3, just not in the screenshot cause Apple Music is weird for some reason and didn't add it to my playlist lol

 

I can upload these later and send them your way if nobody gets to it before then