Thursday 21 April 2016

The Broadways - 15 Minutes

 

  An oldie from 1998 today from Chicago band The Broadways. They formed in 1996 following the demise of Slapstick and featured Brendan Kelly (vocals/bass), Dan Hanaway (guitar/vocals), Chris McCaughan (guitar/vocals) and Rob DePaola (drums).

  They were best known for the album Broken Star, which was released on Asian Man Records in 1998 and which was unapologetically raw and concerned itself lyrically with social and political issues. Later that year they split, Kelly and McCaughan formed The Lawrence Arms whilst Hanaway and DePaola formed The Honor System.

  A post break up compilation of both previously unreleased and old material entitled Broken Van came out on Asian Man in 2000 and there were a couple of reunion shows. Kelly also featured in The Falcon and Brendan Kelly And The Wandering Birds.

  Today's song is my favourite from The Broadways, it was the opening track on Broken Star and it's a frustrated but ultimately doomed plea to stop commercialising everything. This is 15 Minutes.....

all down the streets the signs read cheaper and better technology
this capitalist vision is my nightmare, put up a sign in my face
what the fuck happened to this place?
i think we made a wrong turn now look at the lovely concrete
i drove to my stupid job today, got stopped at an intersection
15 minutes of my life just rolled away
i looked at the guy next to me he didn't seem so happy
no ones happy but everyone's too busy to see
let's go shopping today
drive our fancy cars to the fancy malls and for lunch we'll have big macs
i wish i could turn the clock back to when i was ten
when i wasn't scared of everything
and everything wasn't so fucking crowded
and i wonder if my kids will ever see a horizon
untouched by billboards and shopping malls
and i wonder if this crazy world thinks i'm the one who's crazy
what if i'm the one who's crazy?
what if i'm the one who's crazy?
i'm not crazy just frustrated

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