After returning from tour, American Steel went into the studio with engineer Kevin Army (Operation Ivy, Green Day, The Mr. T Experience, etc.) to record their eponymous first album, released on San Francisco's New Disorder Records, home of Half Empty, The Cost, The Enemies, and many others. In 1998, the band appeared on several compilations and toured the country twice, re-visiting some cities from previous tours and playing numerous new ones.
In the spring of 1999, American Steel signed to Lookout! and again went into the studio with Kevin Army to record Rogue's March, released in October 1999. The recording process was intermittent, due to guitarist Ryan's initial diagnosis and early battle with leukemia. Part of the urgent, soul-searching quality of the album came from the band's personal struggle with Ryan's illness, most poignantly captured in their song, "Hope Springs from Somewhere." 2000 saw the band tour relentlessly in both the U.S. and Canada, including appearances at South by Southwest and CMJ. Rogue's March became an underground favorite, topping many fanzine's lists of "Best Record of the Year." By the end of 2000, American Steel was firmly established as one of the most explosive bands in the Bay Area. In addition to their bigger and better than ever local shows, they also received a nomination for "Best Punk Album," along with Rancid, Green Day, No Doubt & Blink 182 in the California Music Awards 2001.
While clearly influenced by the early East Bay sound, American Steel's song structures often owe more to the much older sounds of traditional Motown, folk, and rock than to punk or hardcore. This combination of traditional music and punk rock, of the subtlety of the former with the power of the latter, defines and reconciles the diverse group of songs that make up Jagged Thoughts, American Steel's latest LP. Having fully absorbed their punk influences to make Rogue's March, a new definitive East Bay Punk album, American Steel set forth to start creating an entirely new genre of music. An exciting take on rock and roll equally tempered by punk's hardness, swagger and jangle and melodic pop's irresistible essence, Jagged Thoughts was a masterwork by a band of incredible promise.
In the spring of 2002 the band broke up, only to shortly reform under the name of Communique with the addition of a keyboardist.
The band reformed early in 2007, and have since released the album Destroy Their Future on Fat Wreck Chords.
American Steel toured Europe in October of 2009 supporting All American Rejects and played a one off headline show in Camden, London with Rooftops.
I Don't Mind
American Steel Lyrics
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So that I'm not on your mind
I stick my hands in my back pockets
And stare back what you don't feel
You don't feel alive, might as well be dead?
Well, I'm not impressed by threats
I'm walking away alone
You can slit your wrists, you can hold your breath, I don't mind
If you slit your beatless wrists
If you hold your bestilled breath
I don't mind, I don't mind how you're killing your time
I loved you alive, I'll love you dead, go ahead
I can't promise I'll cry, but I'll always try
Since I'm not around, how will you kill time?
There's no me, no subtlety, there's no tears left
I'm so over reflection
Biting my lip, biding my time
You can slit your wrists, you can hold your breath, I don't mind
If you slit your beatless wrists
If you hold your bestilled breath
I don't mind, I don't mind how you're killing your time
The song "I Don't Mind" by American Steel is about the singer's relationship with someone who is emotionally distant and ultimately self-destructive. The singer acknowledges their own powerlessness in the situation, recognizing that they cannot change the other person's behavior or feelings. Instead, they choose to detach themselves from the situation and let the other person to do what they need to do without judgement. The repeated phrase "You can slit your wrists, you can hold your breath, I don't mind" highlights this detachment and lack of emotional investment in the other person's actions.
The first verse sets the scene with the singer stating their intention to not let the other person's emotional state affect them. They put their hands in their pockets and stare back at the other person, not letting on their own emotions. The second verse is more confrontational, with the other person making a threat, possibly a suicidal one, and the singer coldly stating that they're walking away and not impressed by the other person's actions. In the chorus, the repeated phrase "I don't mind" shows the singer's detachment and refusal to get sucked into the other person's emotional turmoil. The third verse continues this theme with the singer wondering how the other person will fill their time without them and acknowledging that there is no more emotion left in the relationship.
Overall, "I Don't Mind" is a bleak song about a toxic relationship where one person cannot or will not engage emotionally with the other. The singer's detachment is both a coping mechanism and a sign of their own emotional exhaustion. The repeated phrase "I don't mind" encapsulates this detachment and allows the singer to verbally disengage from the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be sure to roll off your back
I'll try not to bother you, so that you won't have to think about me
So that I'm not on your mind
In order to not occupy your thoughts and emotions
I stick my hands in my back pockets
I put my hands in my rear pockets
And stare back what you don't feel
And look back at what I sense you're hiding or holding back
You don't feel alive, might as well be dead?
You seem to lack excitement and engagement with life, is it as if you're already dead?
Well, I'm not impressed by threats
I'm not intimidated or impressed by your words of self-harm or suicidal ideations
I'm walking away alone
I'm leaving by myself
Biting my lip, biding my time
I'm suppressing my emotions and waiting for the right moment to act
You can slit your wrists, you can hold your breath, I don't mind
If you choose to harm yourself or attempt suicide, I won't stop you or be affected by it
If you slit your beatless wrists
If you cut your wrists and cause your heart to stop beating
If you hold your bestilled breath
If you deprive yourself of oxygen and cease breathing
I don't mind, I don't mind how you're killing your time
I'm indifferent to how you spend your time, even if it involves harming yourself
I loved you alive, I'll love you dead, go ahead
I loved you when you were fully present in life, and I'll continue to love you even after you're gone, if that's what you choose
I can't promise I'll cry, but I'll always try
I can't guarantee that I'll shed tears, but I'll attempt to mourn your loss
Since I'm not around, how will you kill time?
Now that I'm not in the picture, how will you find ways to occupy yourself?
There's no me, no subtlety, there's no tears left
Without my presence or any sense of nuance or emotion, there's nothing left except emptiness
I'm so over reflection
I'm done with introspection or looking back on what could have been
You can slit your wrists, you can hold your breath, I don't mind
Reiteration that the singer won't intervene or care about the listener's self-harm or suicide attempts
If you slit your beatless wrists
Reiteration of the image of cutting one's wrists and dying
If you hold your bestilled breath
Reiteration of the image of suffocating oneself to death
I don't mind, I don't mind how you're killing your time
Final reiteration that the artist is indifferent to how the listener spends their time, even if it involves harm or death
Contributed by Scarlett F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.