| Posted: January 16, 2018 | |||||||||
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Lyrics: It started when we were dancing She said, “I know I look tired
Now they want to know exactly which bathroom In bar light, she looked alright Subpoenaed in Texas I think she drove a new Mustang Oh what the hell, I’ll tell the story again In bar light, she looked alright Subpoenaed in Texas (Subpoenaed in Texas) I went there on business I went there on business I went there on business I went there on business Get It: Your copy of The Hold Steady’s Stay Positive is just waiting for you here: |
Here at the Dances with Bass underground bunker, we’re fans of solid lyrics, and we have become increasingly interested in The Hold Steady for its use of recurring characters and themes in its songs. In fact, The Hold Steady not only tells a story with each song, but characters and themes from those stories sometimes span across albums and often involve events occurring in Minneapolis (though today’s track features a sticky situation that went down in Memphis. The Hold Steady hail from Brooklyn and are led by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Craig Finn, who was born and raised in Minneapolis, which explains his lyrical connection to the Twin Cities. Sequestered in Memphis very obviously features a random guy on a business trip who hooks up—in the most base sense of the word—with a random girl in a bar bathroom only later to be questioned by the police because she’s a wanted woman. In interviews, Finn has said the songs on Stay Positive are checking back in with characters he’s written about before. I’ve tried to determine if Random Bathroom Hookup Guy or Wanted By the Police Girl have appeared in other songs, but I cannot say for sure. I can say, however, that Random Bathroom Hookup Guy is clearly getting a good sweating from the prosecution. Bar bathroom hookups can go bad like that.*  The Hold Steady formed in 2004, and have released six studio albums, six EPs, and one live record. Interestingly, The Hold Steady added former Lucero (a punk country—also known as cowpunk—band) guitarist Steve Selvidge in 2010. We’re big fans of Lucero here, so happy emoticon for The Hold Steady and sad emoticon for Lucero. Give Sequestered in a Memphis a listen or three. The happy piano, crunchy guitar rhythms, and Hammond organ background are a perfect fit for a cold Tuesday in the Midwest or wherever you might be. * We here at Dances with Bass Radio have never had a bathroom hookup, nor do we condone such behavior. Bar bathrooms are universally icky.** ** Our attorney made us say this after Mrs. Dances with Bass threatened to withhold his dinner. Video: The Hold Steady didn’t record an official video for Sequestered in Memphis, so I have provided a high-quality audio track followed by a live performance from a Brooklyn rooftop. Note that these dudes—particularly the vocalist/guitarist—are one of the least rock band–like groups of dudes I’ve ever seen. In short, they look like what would happen if my friends and I got on stage to jam…only they’re lots cooler than my friends and me.
Following is the aforementioned live performance:
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