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
Dancer
Common Rotation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could tell that you set it there just to see how much I could hold
To see if I dropped the ball, get thrown in the cold
Just to see if I'd never call and shut up and grow old
But even then I'd have to listen to all of these preachers in my path
I will be sifting through their sermons just to conquer the mass
Until I reach the top of the hill and look out on disbelieving eyes
Just to say I'd had my fill of all of the heavy breaths and sighs
Was it just for the sake of sin that you became my friend
And left me dangling there to blow in the wind
Well I'll be damned if this ever happens again
Chorus:
One day I'll be a dancer
One day I'll get in line
There was a man hummin' a tune shifting subway stares
And he conjured swear word gloom as the market traded shares
Your train pulled into its stop but you left without a care
Well for all you know he continued to curse everything you saw as fair
So then you wandered downtown to where you worked on time
But you can't kill him with your heart because he's etched in your mind
And it's a gamble now to go back and attempt to be kind
As if you didn't step on a crack everything would be alright
But that is the cross-hatch of a misconstrued mismatch
This is the misconception we so discreetly attach
I am the ball and you are the catch
And I caught you in all of your gall
But it was to late because you hatched
Chorus:
One day I'll be a dancer
One day I'll get in line
There was blood on the tax report and it dripped from your noes
I was careful not to let it get all over my clothes
You see it permanently stains, yep that's how it goes
But then what would be the portrait without the pose
You see it's all in those sad eyes that glare down upon my wrists
The blood flows over my hands to my fingertips
And we all pick so hard at those pimples 'round our lips
That we tend to forget that these models really do exist
So then what can be the answer to question of this breeding cancer
Well I'll tell you mine, I resolve to be a dancer
I'll strip down naked every Saturday night
And you'll pay me not to step on a crack and every thing will be alright
Chorus:
One day I'll be a dancer
One day I'll get in line
One day I'll bear this empty spotlight
The lyrics of Common Rotation's song "Dancer" are complex and multi-dimensional. They explore the themes of betrayal, self-discovery, and acceptance. The song begins with a reference to a tax report with blood on it and a fire in the hole. The singer suspects that someone close to them put it there to test their limits and see how much they can endure. The song then delves into the topic of preachers, how they influence people, and the need to rise above their dogma.
The chorus, "One day I'll be a dancer, One day I'll get in line" encapsulates the desire to find oneself and rise above the circumstances that hold them back. The second stanza is about a chance encounter with a man humming a tune who curses the world as he watches the stock exchange trade shares. The singer's indifference towards him is juxtaposed with his despair. This brings up the idea of random encounters and how they can affect one's life forever.
The final lines of the song tie everything together, with a mention of blood dripping from the nose and permanently staining clothes. The singer resolves to be a dancer, to strip down naked every Saturday night, and for people to pay them not to step on a crack. This is a metaphor for accepting who they are and being unapologetic about it.
Line by Line Meaning
There was blood on the tax report, fire in the hole
The situation is out of control and dangerous.
I could tell that you set it there just to see how much I could hold
You purposely pushed me to my limit to test my strength.
To see if I dropped the ball, get thrown in the cold
To see if I would fail and be left to fend for myself.
Just to see if I'd never call and shut up and grow old
To see if I would give up and lose my spirit.
But even then I'd have to listen to all of these preachers in my path
Even if I succeed, I'll still have to deal with people trying to tell me what to do.
I will be sifting through their sermons just to conquer the mass
I'll have to sort through their advice to find what's best for me and not just conform to what everyone else is doing.
Until I reach the top of the hill and look out on disbelieving eyes
I will achieve success and prove the doubters wrong.
Just to say I'd had my fill of all of the heavy breaths and sighs
To say I've had enough of the negativity and doubt around me.
But who am I to begin when there's never an end
I feel insignificant when it comes to the grand scheme of things.
Was it just for the sake of sin that you became my friend
Did you only become my friend for selfish reasons?
And left me dangling there to blow in the wind
Did you abandon me when I needed you?
Well I'll be damned if this ever happens again
I won't let myself be put in this situation again.
One day I'll be a dancer
I will find my place in the world and feel at ease.
One day I'll get in line
One day I'll find my way and not feel lost.
There was a man hummin' a tune shifting subway stares
There was a man on the subway who wasn't conforming to the norm and people were staring at him.
And he conjured swear word gloom as the market traded shares
He was cursing the market for its greed and corruption.
Your train pulled into its stop but you left without a care
You were too focused on your own life to care about what was going on around you.
Well for all you know he continued to curse everything you saw as fair
The man continued to curse the world you believed in.
So then you wandered downtown to where you worked on time
You continued on with your day despite the chaos around you.
But you can't kill him with your heart because he's etched in your mind
You can't forget the man on the subway and the impact he had on you.
And it's a gamble now to go back and attempt to be kind
It's risky to try and make amends with the man you ignored earlier.
As if you didn't step on a crack everything would be alright
As if avoiding small problems will make everything perfect.
But that is the cross-hatch of a misconstrued mismatch
This is just a small part of the larger issue at hand.
This is the misconception we so discreetly attach
We like to believe that small actions won't have major consequences.
I am the ball and you are the catch
I'm always chasing after you and trying to please you.
And I caught you in all of your gall
I'm able to see your flaws and still care for you.
But it was to late because you hatched
It was too late to fix the damage that was done.
There was blood on the tax report and it dripped from your noes
Things are messy and falling apart.
I was careful not to let it get all over my clothes
I'm trying to protect myself from the chaos around me.
You see it permanently stains, yep that's how it goes
The damage is done and it won't go away.
But then what would be the portrait without the pose
This is just a part of the bigger picture.
You see it's all in those sad eyes that glare down upon my wrists
I'm being judged and evaluated based on my appearance.
The blood flows over my hands to my fingertips
I'm being stained and changed by the world around me.
And we all pick so hard at those pimples 'round our lips
We focus too much on small, insignificant things.
That we tend to forget that these models really do exist
We forget that there are people who we should look up to.
So then what can be the answer to question of this breeding cancer
What's the solution to fix the bigger problem?
Well I'll tell you mine, I resolve to be a dancer
My solution is to find my own way and be confident in myself.
I'll strip down naked every Saturday night
I'll be vulnerable and open about who I am and what I believe in.
And you'll pay me not to step on a crack and every thing will be alright
I'll find my own way to succeed and be happy.
One day I'll bear this empty spotlight
One day I'll be comfortable in my own skin and confident in who I am.
Contributed by Tyler E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@christinapearson3805
I do a lot of turn and rotation at work I'm stood still and straight at the computer tap in the information, labels come of and I stick the labels on the tablets and then I turn and rotate and pass this to Emma my pharmacist.. So I do this nearly every day.. These vlogs really are very interesting, finding out things I never knew.. Look forward for Mondays vlog.. Take care my beautiful friends 💯💖
@jtballroom
haha Christina that's a very funny application of the concepts of turn and rotation! Nevertheless it does sound like you know a fair bit about it 😀So glad you're still watching all our videos and learning something from them 💗We're not sure yet what Monday's video will be but we'll make sure there's something new and exciting for you to watch!
@christinapearson3805
@jtballroom I find them very interesting and I'm learning words for the moves.. So far we have had the drive step and turn and rotation and other words which put together you get a dance.. Can see why you are pro's.. You explain it in simple terms, which my brain takes in.. Stay safe.. Look forward to the next vlog. 😊❤️
@lyndallgrant9557
Good post thanks
@michelleknapp8865
Thanks guys very clear instructions and very useful information👌😊
@jtballroom
Thanks Michelle 🙏🏼 Your turning was much better in your lesson yesterday 😉😊