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Nothing New

from A Man Who Was Here by Greg Segal

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about

In the early '80's,the punk and new wave invasion had successfully taken over the music industry. Disco was dead; instead we had synthesized dance groups with the what to me seemed to be a similarly elitist attitude, and just as attached to fashion as their polyester-sporting predecessors had been. My experiences with punks told me they were no more exempt from these traits than their trendy new wave cousins. From an outsider's standpoint (my only one), it seemed as though the unreasonable and closed minded had replaced the unreasonable and closed minded. For all their protestations and posturing, the new regime was just the same old story.

One night, very, very late, I saw a commercial for a "K-Tel Superhits!" type package featuring "new wave" and "punk" bands. The industry had had the last laugh after all. Now these artists were just like the people their fans had put down, and in the end, they became product to be manipulated, just as every new thing that comes along and catches on is destined to become. I laughed out loud at this commercial and wrote the lyrics for "Nothing New" to celebrate the final inauguration of a new regime.

This was the first song recorded at this session. It is also the only song I recorded twice. The second take was used.

The instrumentation here is pretty standard: guitar, drums, two unison vocal tracks. There's some simple organ in the background. The one unusual thing is the use of guitar with octave divider and fuzz for the bass part.

lyrics

I heard the man on t.v. selling music for the brand new age
And thought about conformists who had built their fortunes out of rage
Their tongues of revolution stilled by treadmill time society
And fashion's creeping clutching hand threw shut the door and turned the key

You ain't saying anything new babe, somewhere you've said this before

You've got nothing to prove to me baby, just look around you some more...

I've heard the Disco Syndrums metamorphoseinto cracking whips
The dances change, the fashions change,exclusion stays, you're still too hip
A bunch of frightened people throwing water on a primal fire
Stifling by clinging in a crowd you mask your real desires

You ain't saying anything new babe, somewhere you've said this before.

You've got nothing to prove to me baby, I see exclusion galore.

And it's nothing new.

credits

from A Man Who Was Here, released March 19, 2014
Lyrics & music: '82. Instruments: vocals, guitars, drums, organ .

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Greg Segal Portland, Oregon

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