Adam Busch – vocals
Eric Kufs – vocals, guitar
Jo… Read Full Bio ↴Common Rotation
Adam Busch – vocals
Eric Kufs – vocals, guitar
Jordan Katz - vocals, trumpet, banjo
“The atmosphere at our concerts," says Common Rotation vocalist Adam Busch, “is one of an intelligent and ironic frat house celebration of the morbid view of mortality.”
Life is short but this won’t dissuade us from its pleasures. It’s at once kinda dorky (like folk music) but also profoundly sage, the only religion worth a subscription. It’s the axis of Common Rotation’s existence, and the thesis of their new album, The Big Fear. “Our shows are a party every time, intentionally and incidentally, conjured by the mix of a teen boredom, alcohol, a visually dramatic performance of catchy upbeat folk tunes with very cynical messages.”
Busch and his good friend Eric Kufs formed the morbid party called Common Rotation in their high school days. Busch had experienced a musical awakening at hearing Elvis Costello; thinking he was the only one (as Costello fans seem to do), Busch was surprised to hear Kufs was also a fan. That and a shared love of folk music forged a bond between the two and a relentlessly prolific collaboration that continues to this day. Their tunes were funny and sad in equal doses—consummately existential, smart but not pretentiously literate.
They began playing coffeehouses, “hitting every open mic night in the Tri-State area” originally, cultivating a following among the venues’ folk-friendly denizens. These morphed into regular gigs at the same places, weekends at larger clubs in New York City, and eventual opening dates with friends and benefactors They Might Be Giants. During that time, they released a quickie album (titled Common Rotation, but credited to “28 Orange Street”). It did well for them, but Busch says it was when he and Kufs moved to California—and donned the Common Rotation as a moniker (partly due to their revolving-door rhythm section) that they began work on the album they’d both envisioned: The Big Fear.
They rented a big house and set about writing and recording three albums’ worth of material, from which ten tracks were chosen (Note: the rest weren’t to languish; the band has a full-disclosure policy, making new rehearsals, demos and live takes available on CommonRotation.com every two days and sprinkling them throughout their constantly changing set list). The environment, Busch says, was especially conducive to creativity, and resulted in the album they’ve both envisioned since their salad days, a marriage of pop sensibilities and the communal, inclusive aura of folk.
“There is a major difference in the maturity of the production,” says Busch. “The first album was recorded in one ten-hour day. The songs on The Big Fear are much more polished in the band’s performance of them and were closely examined in terms of their arrangements.” “Indie Rockin’,” an unrighteous raspberry at elitist hipsters, commences the record thusly, melding an infectious chorus to a troubadour-ish admonition to not take oneself so serious—music is supposed to be fun—and protest (the hipster protagonist admits his “indie rockin’” ethos is a “feeling that I stole”). Henceforth, Common Rotation (Kufs and Busch are joined by drummer Prof. Ken Beck and bassist Mike Uhler, two of several musicians that comprise Common Rotation’s sundry live incarnations) have fun throughout an album that ponders weighty questions and situations (the airy, jazzy “Savior,” acoustic pop gems “Post Modern,” “All My Time”) and inhales life (the jubilant “Sit Down,” a quirk-lite interpretation of They Might Be Giants’ “Don’t Let’s Start,” the summer vibe-y “Prime Time”). The effect is such that one is at once liberated and somewhat blissfully burdened with new questions. Kufs: “The point of writing songs, for us, has always been to release feelings we have at different moments in our lives so we can understand them better. Whether the subject of a song is a relationship with another person or a relationship with society, human nature, a God, etcetera, we feel the need to express our feelings about it without preaching to a listener.”
At the same time, Common Rotation seeks to exist, if only in brief bursts, on the same plane as the listener. Their name intimates as much; we’re all on the same planet, spinning on the same axis. Everybody, everywhere is trying to get through the same crappy day en route to the inevitable dirtnap denouement; we don’t have to dance to the same song, but sometimes doing exactly that is enough to get you through the day.
“We don't know any more than our audience does,” Busch says, “and if we can give them something catchy to sing along with that doesn't invoke any thought by any means other than sincerity, then we have succeeded.”
Taken from www.commonrotation.com
Answering Machine
Common Rotation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This is not a nerve ending
We've touched on before
Like a delicate dancefloor
When what was once exciting
Has now gone out the window
Kicking and biting
Like a decrepit dog of war
Too determined to implore
Too deluded to ask for
That hand that let him out the front door
This side of the phone line
It's a reflex to rewind
When the context is a confine
No matter what you say
You're an answering machine
This side of the phone line
It's a reflex to rewind
When the context is a confine
No matter what you say
You're an answering machine
Well now you're in trouble
You believe you're seeing double
Those nightstand eyes and pillow fury
I hate to burst your bubble
But this humiliation it's cracked your (?skin name?)
Timing frustration with a face-full of strain
While squinting at the poetry
And all the words in the night
Keeping the light off
The mirror where the pages lie
This side of the phone line
It's a reflex to rewind
When the context is a confine
No matter what you say
You're an answering machine
This side of the phone line
It's a reflex to rewind
When the context is a confine
No matter what you say
You're an answering machine
Let's stop flashing this madness
To accompany the thunder
Hey the hissing sound of sadness
But remember I have your number
This side of the phone line
It's a reflex to rewind
When the context is a confine
No matter what you say
You're an answering machine
This side of the phone line
It's a reflex to rewind
When the context is a confine
No matter what you say
You're an answering machine
x3
Yeah yeah
La la la la, lalalalalalala
Yeah yeah
La la la la, lalalalalalala
The lyrics of Common Rotation's song, Answering Machine, delve into the complex dynamics of a relationship that has lost its excitement and energy. The first verse starts by acknowledging that the couple has reached a point where they can no longer pretend that everything is okay. The metaphor of a "delicate dancefloor" suggests that they have to tread carefully on their interactions to avoid stepping on each other's toes. The line "kicking and biting, like a decrepit dog of war" is a curious one, as it describes their attempts to salvage the relationship but it's too late. The line "that has wits about him, too determined to implore, too deluded to ask for that hand that let him out the front door" implies that there might still be hope even though it has become impossible for them to communicate effectively.
The second verse shows that the couple is having difficulty communicating, which is evident in the use of the metaphor of the answering machine. The line "no matter what you say, you're an answering machine" suggests that the communication is one-sided and that the couple is unable to connect emotionally. The use of the reflex to rewind represents the desire to fix things by rewinding to an earlier time when things were better. The line "you believe you're seeing double, those nightstand eyes and pillow fury" could indicate that they are both frustrated and angry with one another and that they are unwilling to see each other's perspective. Finally, the chorus emphasizes that the couple is unable to navigate their relationship struggles and that they are stuck in a confined space that has made it impossible for them to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Well let's stop pretending
It's time to end the charade
This is not a nerve ending
The situation is not as intense as we make it out to be
We've touched on before
We've been in this situation previously
Like a delicate dancefloor
Navigating this is like walking on a slippery surface
When what was once exciting
The thrills we had earlier have disappeared
Has now gone out the window
They have vanished
Kicking and biting
There's friction and fighting
Like a decrepit dog of war
We're struggling with the same old battles
That has wits about him
We're trying to find a way out
Too determined to implore
But we're too proud to ask for help
Too deluded to ask for
Our perception is clouded and we don't know how to ask for help
That hand that let him out the front door
The exit we need out of this situation
This side of the phone line
The perspective of the person answering the phone
It's a reflex to rewind
We replay the same patterns/behaviors
When the context is a confine
When the situation is restrictive
No matter what you say
Nothing we say can change the outcome
You're an answering machine
We're only a placeholder, doing the same things and not breaking free
Well now you're in trouble
We're in danger
You believe you're seeing double
The situation is more complex than it appears
Those nightstand eyes and pillow fury
The anger and hurt we feel
I hate to burst your bubble
I regret having to say this
But this humiliation it's cracked your (?skin name?)
Our pride has been damaged
Timing frustration with a face-full of strain
We're juggling multiple difficulties
While squinting at the poetry
Trying to make sense of it all
And all the words in the night
The things left unsaid
Keeping the light off
We're avoiding the truth
The mirror where the pages lie
The reflection of what's really happening
Let's stop flashing this madness
It's time to put an end to this insanity
To accompany the thunder
To match the chaos
Hey the hissing sound of sadness
The constant background noise
But remember I have your number
I know how to reach you
x3 Yeah yeah La la la la, lalalalalalala
Yeah yeah La la la la, lalalalalalala
Repeating the chorus three times to reinforce the message
Contributed by Asher O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.