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."
The Right Thing
American Music Club Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Handed down from generation to generation
Like cancer through the ages
Well you seem to be waiting
For the thunder or the lightning
To blow away all your bad luck baby
For a big landslide to take you away
But i don't think that a million bucks
Is really gonna change your luck
I'm here to tell you that's too high a price to pay
'cause it don't take much of the right thing
And if i stay by you
Don't worry about it
It don't take much for me to stay by you
And if i love you too much
Don't worry about it
It don't take much for me to love you
And they say that the world's gonna end with a whimper
Well that's just the sound it makes anyway
And i'm sure a bottle of some more million bucks
Would make it feel better
But believe it or not i think that's too high a price to pay
'cause it don't take much of the right thing
The Right Thing by American Music Club is a melancholic song that describes how people inherit deep-rooted problems that can’t be easily eradicated from one generation to another. The song starts with a dedication to the “chain of lies,” indicating the painful cycle of inherited problems. The singer compares these problems to cancer, which not only affects the person who carries it but also future generations. The song then shifts to a conversation between two people: one who is waiting for a miracle to change their luck, and the other who remains by their side, clarifying that it doesn’t take much of the right thing to stay or love somebody.
The song highlights the inescapable nature of human problems, emphasizing how they can transcend time and eventually become a family legacy. It also shows how sometimes, when people are going through tough times, they wait for a hero or a miracle to rescue them from their troubles. The singer, however, realizes that a million bucks, a landslide, or any change that comes at too high a price, won’t fix their problems. Instead, it takes a different kind of effort - the right thing - to overcome inherited and personal difficulties. The song's message is thus one of resilience, love, and acceptance towards our faults and those of the people we love.
Line by Line Meaning
This song is dedicated to the chain of lies
This song is directed toward the cycle of deception that continues to persist from one generation to the next, like a malignant disease.
Handed down from generation to generation
Deception is passed down from one generation to the next.
Like cancer through the ages
The cycle of lies is like a tumor that spreads over time.
Well you seem to be waiting
It seems like you're waiting for something to change your current situation.
For the thunder or the lightning
You're waiting for a dramatic or miraculous event to occur.
To blow away all your bad luck baby
You hope that this event will take away all of your misfortunes.
For a big landslide to take you away
You hope that a major event will come and ultimately take you away from where you are now.
But i don't think that a million bucks
However, I don't believe that money is the solution to your problems.
Is really gonna change your luck
Acquiring wealth won't bring any significant change to your fortunes.
I'm here to tell you that's too high a price to pay
I am here to tell you that money shouldn't be the price you pay for happiness.
'cause it don't take much of the right thing
The things that make us happy and bring contentment don't require a great deal of time, effort, or resources.
And if i stay by you
If I remain with you, don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it
You don't need to be concerned.
And if i love you too much
If my love for you becomes too much.
It don't take much for me to love you
It doesn't take a significant effort to continue loving you.
And they say that the world's gonna end with a whimper
People say that the world will end quietly and uneventfully.
Well that's just the sound it makes anyway
The sound of the world ending is irrelevant because it's happening anyway.
And i'm sure a bottle of some more million bucks
I'm confident that receiving an obscene amount of money won't make a difference.
Would make it feel better
It wouldn't alleviate any pain or make things better.
But believe it or not i think that's too high a price to pay
However, I don't think money is a reasonable price to pay for peace.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN MARK EITZEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind