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Rating: Mic City Sons is the last album by Heatmiser released in '96 by Clementine Records.
For those who might not know, Heatmiser was the band of Elliott Smith and Neil Gust, before Smith embarked on his solo career (for those who love categories, the genre is between post-grunge and indie rock).
Truth be told, Elliott had already released Roman Candle, but he still decided to work on this final effort of the band.
If you've listened to the previous albums, you'll immediately realize that in this Mic City Sons, Smith's spirit becomes much more evident. There are 12 tracks in which he and Neil Gust alternate in the tracklist for composition and vocals.
The reason why the band broke up becomes obvious; the different attitudes of the two frontmen are evident, but at the same time, it is precisely this clash/meeting of souls that makes, in my opinion, Mic City Sons an interesting endeavor.
Some tracks showcase the diversity of sounds and songwriting, while others appear as pleasant compromises that give unity to the work, though it is certain that the sounds are generally less rugged compared to those of the previous Dead Air, Cop And Speeder, and Yellow No.5.
There are pieces that could also be found on a solo Elliott CD (the beautiful "Plainclothes Man", for instance, the intimate "You Gotta Move" and "The Fix Is In"), Gust's more aggressive ones ("Cruel Reminder"), other Smith ones where the roughness of the sound is more pronounced (the album opener "Get Lucky"), or distinctly indie rock ("See You Later" and "Pop In G").
A work that starts shouted and ends whispered this Mic City Sons (a bit like Elliott's musical life?), which I recommend to all those who have loved and love Smith with the acoustic guitar, here in a more rock version thanks to the electric guitar arrangements, but also to anyone who simply wants to spend a pleasant three-quarters of an hour.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Plainclothes Man (03:27)
you're everybody's second home
always trying to get me alone
an easy way to lose it all
always there when all else fails
over by the west side rails
but i don't really need that now
i never really did anyhow
i only really needed alcohol
something that'll treat me okay
and wouldn't say the things you'd say
please turn out the light
i get a sick confusion headache trying to figure out who's right
dreaming on the silver strand
waking up to plainclothes man
you little bastard, little boy in blue
someone's gonna get to you
and f*** up everything you do
he's so unhappy inside
he's serious with everyone
and he thinks he'll win you with his angry kiss
acting like he has no needs
wanting you to watch him bleed
made for each other bet you pay me any mind
just goes to show my continual decline
they say that i'll recover my love of her once in a while
but i don't know
i don't think so
there's something that i'll tell you now
now that no one else is around
the sort of lesson that i learned from you
not quite the way you planned
but i know you'll understand
someone takes a photograph
a picture while their sweetheart laughs
a perfect moment in a flash of light
counting back from 3 to 1
that's exactly what you've done
and i'm so unsurprised
i remember, i remember why i dream in black & white
goes to show my continual decline
they say that i'll recover my love of her once in a while
but i don't know
i don't think so
i don't think so
03 Low-Flying Jets (02:49)
don't wanna sit up straight
or look you in the face
i keep checking over your shoulder
cos i've been dreaming of low-flying jets
sweet town knocked my head over
over and over
you got your head in the clouds
you can't hear me at all
and i don't know what to say
cos i don't know what's wrong
it's just a headache i suppose
thrown back like a sinking boat
i keep thinking it's all over
cos i've been dreaming of undertows
and the places that you go
and my head slips off your shoulder
you got your head in the clouds
you can't hear me at all
and i don't know what to say
cos i don't know what's wrong
you can't hear me at all
been staying up too late
i keep dreaming of lost in space
and when i wake up
i start to break up
04 Rest My Head Against the Wall (03:29)
I don't know when I lost my nerve
and I started a routine
and I walked across this corner
pinned my eyes to a shirt
'cos I'm scared of being seen
locked myself in a stall
rest my head against the wall
still drunk I had a dream in the morning
pin myself to the chore
looking through the cracks I saw the shadows on the tile
so I knocked on all the unlocked doors
locked myself in a stall
rest my head against the wall
and I'm not sure
that I've ever had the nerve
cos I've always felt like an easy kill
but I'm pretty sure
that I'm never gonna know
if I'm his kind of pill
unlocked the stall and wandered off
left my number on the wall
05 The Fix Is In (04:36)
you want every day to be like that magic first
when she took shape in your eyes and you in hers
you're going down to see her, it's a big mistake
she got ice she don't want anyone to break
don't call on me to make disguises fade away
'cause honestly I'm more inclined to let them stay
on your faces and over mine
i know how to turn others inside out
i can't stand by here waiting while they dumb me down
i fit the perfect picture that you want for all
the fix is in i'm going where i don't belong
sweet nothing is a something in me
sweet nothing is a something in me
sweet nothing, pretty nothing
when you go talking trash i'm surprised at what you say
why you wanna keep these lies on parade
nothing's gonna make me shy...away
i know how to turn others inside out
i can't stand by here waiting while you dumb me down
i fit the perfect picture that you want for all
the fix is in i'm going where i don't belong
06 Eagle Eye (02:17)
back in the bar they push the tables back
lay you out like you walked into a speed trap
felt my stomach drop right outta thin air
they got their hands in my pockets even if there's nothing there
feel like a sick mind, feel like the only one
don't know who i'm looking for, or if it's anyone
and in the back room they had the word spread
come without a conscience to be leading back and into bed
what should i do
i wouldn't know what to say
between the door i'll probably turn them all away
they look so bored that it doesn't matter anyway
and i don't wanna be naked
get taken in and taken
come in like i'm lost, just got off the bus
don't know how to act, how to look anonymous
feel like i'm lined up behind the cue ball
between my pocket and the eye in the hole in the wall
(what do you see when you see me?)
what should i do
i wouldn't know what to say
between the dorr i'd probably turn them all away
they look so bored that it doesn't matter anyway
and i don't wanna look hopeless
look broken in and broken
07 Cruel Reminder (02:40)
dead stop on the curb
with eyes in back of my head
curbside inside around parking ??
got a sore throat keeping you down
a sick desire been creeping around
got a gallon of blood squeezing thru my chest
and the closer i am to you the thicker it gets
a knife in the back and stuck in one place
with a pat on the back and a slap on the face
keep trying to see from a better position
it's no good
and it never really makes any difference
if it could
sick of having to start all over again
here comes a big insider, turn myself in
thinking of ways to explain everything
this sick desire, don't you do a thing
keep trying to see from a better position
it's no good
and it never really makes any difference
if it could
sick of having my hear right all over my face
and the backseat drivers taking my place
got me staring at you eyes dropped like lead
it's a cruel reminder and it's all in my head
08 You Gotta Move (02:06)
you gotta move
you gotta move
you gotta move
i'll show you what you should do
you gotta move this way
and everything's gonna be okay
it's a chemical bliss and a stranger's kiss
you always lose your color and fall
you just move, that's all
you're just below dallas town
where the sky burns bright white
i watched the sun go down
and the moon lights you up like a spotlight
so stumble and trip down the broken strip
with your planet packed in your car
you just move, don't go far
starting to spin in your circle again
so pull the hammer back, that's a start
and just move, pull me apart
you gotta move
you gotta move
i'll show you what you should do
you gotta move this way
and everything's gonna be okay
it's a chemical bliss and a stranger's kiss
you always lose your color and fall
you just move, that's all
you're just below dallas town
where the sky burns bright white
i watched the sun go down
and the moon lights you up like a spotlight
so stumble and trip down the broken strip
with your planet packed in your car
you just move, don't go far
starting to spin in your circle again
so pull the hammer back, that's a start
and just move, pull me apart
09 Pop in G (03:16)
mic city sons seem to dumb everything down
i got wished a lot of luck
and i'll tell you what it's worth now
it's a cold-blooded style
never was worthwhile
you're as good as they come
but you're such a f***ing trial
you went and called me up
do you bother me on purpose
you make me feel like i'm half my age
and at least twice as nervous
you go ah-ha whistling
sweet caroline
and i'll be there to ??
cos i never speak my mind
it's a miracle how
no offence is taken
but i'm full of them then
anytime you feel up to face them
you go drink your problems still
a statue in the barroom
you've got feelings left to kill
and i won't forget it too soon
it's a cold blooded style
never was worthwhile
you're as good as they come
but you're such a f***ing trial
you go ah-ha whistling
sweet caroling
and i'll be there to ??
cos i never speak my mind
you don't want me to speak my mind
10 Blue Highway (02:47)
wide awake at 4 in the morning
killing time on the blue highway
dragged in the day like a body
buried the night under where I'd layed
on all the sides, the frost bites, a shadow creeping up on me
oh yeah, it's like the club in my hand
it's my favourite brand
and you've touched everyone
oh yeah, it's like the back of your hand
on the tip of my tongue
and it's starting to get fun
kids say I didn't see it coming
busy just plucking your burrs
I take long walkes 'cos they're numbing
only wanna speak in code
on all sides, the frost bites, a shadow creeping up on me
oh yeah, it's like the club in my hand
it's your favourite brand
and you've touched everyone
oh yeah, it's like the back of your hand
on the tip of my tongue
and it's starting to get fun
cut me up like a jigsaw, whole reflection cracked apart
like the lines on my hand or the map of a broken heart
cut me up like a jigsaw, whole reflection cracked apart
like the lines on my hand or the map of a broken heart
oh yeah, it's like the club in my hand
it's your favourite brand
and you've touched everyone
oh yeah, it's like the back of your hand
on the tip of my tongue
and it's starting to get fun
and it's starting to get fun
and it's starting to get fun
11 See You Later (03:42)
you got a choke chain
made out of nightrain
to keep your memory down
in quicksand from the main man
to gel everything out
always out on a joyride
lay it out from insides
always at a dead stall
from sticking pins into miniature men
who can't feel it at all
see you later
see you later
if i see you at all
see you later
see you later
see you later
if i see you at all
see you later
walk thru thick mud
looking for new blood
thinking i heard your name
cruel imagination is still giving me pain
just to find you with the
masterminder
of one of your little affairs
saying how he loves you now
let me show you how much i care
see you later
see you later
if i see you at all
see you later
see you later
if i see you at all
see you later
see you later
if i see you at all
see you later
12 Half Right (04:21)
well you shouldn't doctor yourself
well i pictured somebody else
someone who looks like
what i look like
would you say that the one of your dreams
got in you and ripped out the seams
that's what i'd say
that's what i'd say
he was a sucker for your double dose
motherf***er turned white as a ghose
don't you say hi
don't you say hi
with your broken sink for a face
in a head that just takes up space
he's not half right
he's not half right
it's already half past
and it won't last
i was sticking up for my friend
well there's nothing much to defend
it's a lost fight
it's a lost fight
cos when i talk to you on the phone
well, it's just like being alone
it's not half right
it's not half right
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