50 Foot Wave is an alternative rock band from the USA, formed in 2003. The … Read Full Bio ↴50 Foot Wave is an alternative rock band from the USA, formed in 2003. The band is fronted by Kristin Hersh, who writes the group's songs with collaborative efforts from the other group members in composing and arranging the music. The group's name is a reference to both an illustration and the term for the 50-foot sound wave of the lowest F tone audible to the human ear. The band sometimes abbreviates its name as L'~, using the Roman numeral for 50.

Kristin Hersh spent more than a decade previously playing with Throwing Muses, releasing several solo albums as well. Her solo tours in the late 1990s and early 2000s focused on acoustic guitar playing. In 2003, she launched the more electric guitar-oriented 50 Foot Wave.

The band was designed as a power trio, with a lineup including former Chalk FarM drummer Rob Ahlers and Throwing Muses bassist Bernard Georges. Hersh contributes guitar, lyrics, and vocals to this project. The band's first live performance was recorded in Burbank in October 2003 and released on a very limited basis as an official bootleg. Among other live appearances internationally in 2004, 50 Foot Wave performed a month-long residency of shows in January that year at the Silverlake Lounge, while the group was based in the Los Angeles area. The group's self-titled studio mini-album was co-released in March 2004 by the band's ThrowingMusic label and 4AD Records.

Hersh has described 50 Foot Wave's music as "having a lot of math in it," while also calling it less emotionally and musically "tangled" than some of her past Throwing Muses work. Others have described some of the new songs as having "confrontational" lyrics.

In March 2005, the group released its long-planned, full-length album, Golden Ocean, on ThrowingMusic, in partnership with 4AD.

The group toured Europe and the United States in 2005, while Hersh simultaneously continued her solo concerts in alternating parts of the year.

In December 2005, the band released a new EP called Free Music! available via free FLAC and mp3 downloads at their website and several download partner sites. The downloads reserved some rights though Creative Commons licenses.

In December 2008, the band released their new EP Power + Light as a stream. In early March 2009, the band released all their previous albums along with a selection of live tracks, an Instrumental EP and the upcoming Power+Light album for download at their website. As before the tracks were available in FLAC and mp3 format and the band reserved some rights though Creative Commons licenses.

Dog Days
50 Foot Wave Lyrics

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Rats scatter after waves on the dirty beach
You're seriously losing me
A shiny object caught my eye, of course
These dog days always leave me with a stomach ache
These dog days always leave me with a stomach ache

One dip in the well and I'm done-in
Coffee and vitamins

Breakfast of champions
Don't touch me I don't know where you've been
Don't touch me I don't know where you've been

Simultaneously attracted and repelled
If you don't know by now, I'll never tell
I wake up a ton of un-kissed guilt

Just keep telling me this is life and we didn't miss it
Just keep telling me this is life and we didn't miss it

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of 50 Foot Wave's "Dog Days" are open-ended, and can be interpreted in many ways. The song's name is a metaphor for the irritable, hot, and lethargic time of the year known as dog days. It's a season that appears to drag on, like a stomach ache that never fades. The opening lyric "rats scatter after waves on the dirty beach" illustrates a sense of disorder and confusion, as though it's a reflection of the singer's inner turmoil. The line "you're seriously losing me" could be interpreted in a romantic context or as an indictment of society's apathy toward problems that require immediate attention.

The singer takes a dip into the well, possibly as a cleansing ritual, but instead is left feeling exhausted ("one dip in the well and I'm done-in"). She follows it up with a meal of coffee and vitamins, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for trying to stay healthy in a world that's rapidly-declining ("breakfast of champions"). She avoids physical contact from people, possibly as a form of self-preservation ("don't touch me I don't know where you've been"). The singer is repelled by the same things that attract her, as the song's chorus implies ("simultaneously attracted and repelled"). She acknowledges guilt for her unfulfilled obligations, as she wakes up unable to shake it off ("I wake up a ton of un-kissed guilt"). However, the singer resolves to move forward and live her life, despite her reservations and doubts ("just keep telling me this is life and we didn't miss it").

Line by Line Meaning

Rats scatter after waves on the dirty beach
The rats ran away after the waves hit the dirty beach

You're seriously losing me
I'm losing interest in you and this relationship

A shiny object caught my eye, of course
I got distracted by something shiny, as expected

These dog days always leave me with a stomach ache
I always feel sick during these hot, lazy days

One dip in the well and I'm done-in
Just one mistake and I'm finished

Coffee and vitamins
Drinking coffee and taking vitamins

Breakfast of champions
This is the breakfast of champions

Don't touch me I don't know where you've been
Stay away from me, I don't trust you

Simultaneously attracted and repelled
I feel both drawn to and repelled by you

If you don't know by now, I'll never tell
If you haven't figured it out yet, I won't tell you

I wake up a ton of un-kissed guilt
I feel guilty about things I haven't done