American Music Club (often abbreviated AMC) is a San Francisco-based band l… Read Full Bio ↴American Music Club (often abbreviated AMC) is a San Francisco-based band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. They've been recording and playing in SF clubs since the mid 1980's, showing a remarkable longevity for a band that has been far more critically acclaimed than financially successful.

Although born in California, frontman Mark Eitzel spent his formative years in Great Britain and Ohio before returning to the Bay Area in 1980. After a brief stint with the punk band The Naked Skinnies he founded American Music Club in 1983 with guitarist Vudi, bassist Dan Pearson, keyboardist Brad Johnson, and drummer Matt Norelli. This lineup would change over the next several years but Eitzel always remained the core of the band in terms of its vocals, lyrics and thematic focus.

Their 1985 debut, The Restless Stranger, offers a rough outline of their increasingly eclectic sound and firmly established Eitzel's worldview, a harrowing vision of life as seen through the bottom of a shot glass. 1987's Engine honed the formula: the addition of producer Tom Mallon as a full-time member expanded the group's sonic palette.

American Music Club earned a solid cult following on the strength of 1988's California. Their next LP, 1989's United Kingdom, appeared only in the nation which lent the record its name and consisted of leftover material and live tracks.

In 1991 American Music Club emerged with the record that is widely considered their masterpiece, Everclear. Critical acclaim attracted the attention of several major labels. Eventually AMC -- now consisting of Eitzel, Vudi, Pearson, multi-instrumentalist Bruce Kaphan, and drummer Tim Mooney -- signed with Reprise in the U.S. and Virgin throughout the rest of the world.

1993's Mercury followed and, despite positive reviews, Mercury fared poorly on the charts and earned virtually no recognition from radio or MTV. In 1994, AMC issued San Francisco, an erratic collection which balanced confessional tunes like Fearless and The Thorn in My Side Is Gone alongside slick pop constructs. Like Mercury, the record found critical acclaim yet foundered commercially and American Music Club disbanded as result.

Eitzel eventually explored a solo career, and purchased a Pro-Tools set up to record solo material, some released through Reprise and other albums through Matador. Vudi joined Swans for their last album and farewell tour, documented on Swans are Dead (Black Disc)/Swans are Dead (White Disc).

In 2003, American Music Club reunited to record a new album, Love Songs For Patriots, which was described by reviewer Mark Deming as "a stronger and more coherent effort than the group's last set, 1994's San Francisco, and while it's too early to tell if this is a new start or a last hurrah for AMC, it at least shows that their formula still yields potent results. Here's hoping Eitzel and Vudi have more where this came from."

Somewhere
American Music Club Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She's all dressed up and waiting for a bus
in the hot sunshine
She just wants to kill some time
But it looks like time's gonna kill her first
So she goes to the cocktail lounge to lounge and says
"I'm gonna have a real good time."
As she sinks into the capitalist chair
I don't think that she really cares

If somewhere there's people living
She finally gets on the bus
and sinks next to a very nice lady
Who just got out of the hospital
She had a major operation
The doctor left a knife in her throat
And now it picks up radio waves
You can turn the dial 'til it comes up in your hand
Maybe you'll pick up a populated land

Somewhere there's people living
See'mon let's go out and really drunk tonight
You can be Miss Bottomless pit of 1983
And I can be Mr. Out Like a Light
See'mon we got a lot to lose
So maybe we can lose it all tonight
And then when they shoot us down
We won't be around

We'll be somewhere where there's people living

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of American Music Club's song "Somewhere" depict a woman waiting for a bus on a hot day, desperate for something to fill the boredom of her day. However, life takes a dark and twisted turn, as she finds herself sinking into a "capitalist chair" in a cocktail lounge. The lyrics reveal that the woman's life has become numb and meaningless, and while she may say she's "gonna have a real good time," her lack of real emotion or feeling shows that she may not even care. The second verse takes a strange turn, as she meets a woman on the bus who has had surgery, and the doctor left a knife in her throat. This knife now picks up radio waves and could potentially tune into populated areas. The chorus then repeats the phrase "Somewhere there's people living," emphasizing the bleakness of the woman's existence and how disconnected she is from the world around her.

Line by Line Meaning

She's all dressed up and waiting for a bus
She is waiting for a bus in the scorching sun, dressed in beautiful clothes.

in the hot sunshine
It's very hot outside, she's standing in direct sunlight.

She just wants to kill some time
She is waiting for the bus in order to pass some time.

But it looks like time's gonna kill her first
She has nothing to do, and the heat is causing her discomfort.

So she goes to the cocktail lounge to lounge and says
She goes to a nearby cocktail lounge to relax.

"I'm gonna have a real good time."
She decides to have fun because she has nothing else to do.

As she sinks into the capitalist chair
She makes herself comfortable in the luxurious chair.

I don't think that she really cares
She enjoys her time in the lounge and does not seem worried about anything.

If somewhere there's people living
There may be someone, somewhere with an interesting life.

She finally gets on the bus
She eventually boards the bus.

and sinks next to a very nice lady
She sits down beside a friendly woman.

Who just got out of the hospital
The woman she is sitting beside was recently discharged.

She had a major operation
The woman underwent significant surgery while in the hospital.

The doctor left a knife in her throat
The surgeon accidentally left a surgical instrument inside the woman's neck.

And now it picks up radio waves
Due to the metal instrument in her throat, the woman can hear radio signals.

You can turn the dial 'til it comes up in your hand
She can tune into radio signals using the metal instrument in her throat.

Maybe you'll pick up a populated land
She can possibly tune into a signal from a location that is highly populated.

Somewhere there's people living
There are populated areas somewhere in the world.

See'mon let's go out and really drunk tonight
They decide to go out and have a wild night of drinking.

You can be Miss Bottomless pit of 1983
One woman jokes that the other will drink endlessly like a bottomless pit.

And I can be Mr. Out Like a Light
The other responds with a humorous nickname, implying they will pass out quickly.

See'mon we got a lot to lose
They acknowledge the risks of their excessive drinking.

So maybe we can lose it all tonight
They suggest that they will potentially lose everything that night.

And then when they shoot us down
They make a humorous reference to their extreme drinking, saying they will be "shot down" instead of just getting drunk.

We won't be around
They will pass out or black out from drinking too much.

We'll be somewhere where there's people living
They will be unconscious while people continue to go about their lives.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN MARK EITZEL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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