When I read a blog on MySpaz by Art Alexakis of Everclear last night saying that they were releasing a brand new song for free today I got quite excied. Then I saw the title of the song, 'Jesus Was A Democrat' and my excitement started to wane. Art talks in the blog about the song saying,
"I have been wanting to write this song for a long time, if this song offends you....then dont listen to it. If you do not believe that everclear is the proper forum for political opinons, then you havent been paying attention, I have been writing political songs from the very beginning. But if you do believe that i,like you have the right to speak my mind and respect what I think regardless if you agree or not(which incidentally IS what being an AMERICAN IS ALL ABOUT!!!)....then I urge you to read the lyrics and listen to the song with an open mind."
I agree that the band have been writing political songs from the beginning, but they were written in a subtle way. The lyrics for 'Jesus Was A Democrat' leave no room for interpretation, they're there to get the point across. Musically though, the band are on top form, with the sound more like their gritty earlier work from the 'Sparkle & Fade' and 'So Much For The Afterglow' albums, both of which will always have a place in my record collection and heart.
Maybe the lyrics don't mean too much to me because I'm not caught up in the political situaion in America at the moment, as I live in the UK and am watching it all from a distance. Maybe I'm a bit biased towards the band since Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund left the band in 2003. The orignal three piece had a spark, a creativity and a sound that grew and grew. I'm hoping that Art can continue to grow with the 'new' Everclear and not go stale.
You can download 'Jesus Was A Democrat' for free from here, where you can also view the lyrics in full.
"I have been wanting to write this song for a long time, if this song offends you....then dont listen to it. If you do not believe that everclear is the proper forum for political opinons, then you havent been paying attention, I have been writing political songs from the very beginning. But if you do believe that i,like you have the right to speak my mind and respect what I think regardless if you agree or not(which incidentally IS what being an AMERICAN IS ALL ABOUT!!!)....then I urge you to read the lyrics and listen to the song with an open mind."
I agree that the band have been writing political songs from the beginning, but they were written in a subtle way. The lyrics for 'Jesus Was A Democrat' leave no room for interpretation, they're there to get the point across. Musically though, the band are on top form, with the sound more like their gritty earlier work from the 'Sparkle & Fade' and 'So Much For The Afterglow' albums, both of which will always have a place in my record collection and heart.
Maybe the lyrics don't mean too much to me because I'm not caught up in the political situaion in America at the moment, as I live in the UK and am watching it all from a distance. Maybe I'm a bit biased towards the band since Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund left the band in 2003. The orignal three piece had a spark, a creativity and a sound that grew and grew. I'm hoping that Art can continue to grow with the 'new' Everclear and not go stale.
You can download 'Jesus Was A Democrat' for free from here, where you can also view the lyrics in full.
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