The Official Story:

Dealership began a music project conceived by Ch… Read Full Bio ↴The Official Story:

Dealership began a music project conceived by Chris Wetherell and Chris Groves in 1995 while they were students and musicians studying at U.C. Berkeley. Chris W. blew his student loan check on band gear and they began to play.

Their music didn't go anywhere until the Chrises begged everyone they knew to be in the band with them, until finally, sucker that she was, Jane Pinckard agreed to learn to play the guitar.

In the fall of 1998 they released their first EP, Secret American Livingroom, which they recorded in Menlo Park with Guy Higbey and loaded with pop hooks and pretty vocals. Luckily it became a favorite of local college DJs and some very nice people. On the strength of this debut, they played Noisepop 1999 with Imperial Teen, and later that year, CMJ in New York.

Dealership released their second album, TV Highway to the Stars in 2001 after releasing a 7 inch in 2000. It was their first full length album. Chris W. explained that it led to "an expanded, collaborative songwriting process and therefore I think the songs sound more interesting. It's been fun to do a longer song than we've done previously---not just longer, but with more involved structures." It was described variously as "crunchy", "sweet", "catchy", "nifty", and "an album that's easy to love." Also "soundtracky."

Most recently they released Action/Adventure, an electronic-n-rock collection delving into video game arcana and spies in love. A couple of videos have been made for songs on this one, check out "All the Kids" or "Forest."

In late 2005, Dealership was happy to add Jesse Hudson to the band to complete their burning ring of fire. The new quartet is busy recording their fourth album and hopes to be finished it with it before 2006 ends.

Members of Dealership can be reached for comment, complaint, inquiry, or invitation to an ice cream social via email (dealership -at- gmail -dot- com). Thank you.

Hostage
Dealership Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You can't decide if you should stare or act demure
Whiling away
Tick-tock the countdown we'll see which of us will lose Whose calls are answered first by tv crews and signs and megaphones

It's not easy fooling you
Making you believe I'd put this lead through your skull Cut off the weapon at the fuse
Return the ransom note unused
'Cause it's all over now, I know

It's all over now, I know

Don't say a word and you won't force me to use this(Looking away)
Slowly revealing all the emptiness of threats
And now you call my bluff
You laugh at me and say you wanna go home

But of course I'd blow this too
How funny you would do the one thing I can't ignore Cut off the weapon at the fuse
Return the ransom note unused
'Cause it's all over now, I know
It's all over now, I know

You're surrounded
Nothing more to see, till you found it
No one here but me, and I'm surrounded

But of course I'd blow this too
How funny you would do the one thing I can't ignore Cut off the weapon at the fuse
Return the ransom note unused

'Cause it's all over now, I know
It's all over now, I know

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dealership's "Hostage" narrate the tense and intense situation of a kidnapping where the kidnapper is losing control, and the victim is becoming more assertive. The opening lines, "You can't decide if you should stare or act demure / Whiling away," indicate that the victim is being held against their will, and they are uncertain of how to react. The kidnapper is attempting to keep the victim under their control by threatening them with violence, as shown in lines, "Don't say a word, and you won't force me to use this(Looking away)/ Slowly revealing all the emptiness of threats."

As the song progresses, the victim becomes more self-assured and begins to challenge the kidnapper. The line, "But of course I'd blow this too / How funny you would do the one thing I can't ignore," shows that the kidnapper is aware that they have lost control of the situation. The victim is no longer intimidated and has taken the upper hand.

The chorus of the song repeats the lines, "Cut off the weapon at the fuse / Return the ransom note unused / 'Cause it's all over now, I know / It's all over now, I know." This repetition highlights the finality of the situation, and how it has led to a resolution, but not the one that the kidnapper imagined.

Line by Line Meaning

You can't decide if you should stare or act demure
You're unsure how to react in this situation, whether to be expressive or unresponsive

Whiling away
Passing time with a lack of purpose or direction

Tick-tock the countdown we'll see which of us will lose
The situation is escalating, and time is running out to see who will come out on top

Whose calls are answered first by tv crews and signs and megaphones
The media is involved in this situation, and whoever gets their message out first will have the upper hand

It's not easy fooling you
You're smart and hard to deceive

Making you believe I'd put this lead through your skull
Trying to convince you that I'm capable of using deadly force against you

Cut off the weapon at the fuse
Disabling the means of harm before it can be used

Return the ransom note unused
Giving up the idea of holding you captive and releasing you without payment

'Cause it's all over now, I know
Accepting the inevitable outcome of the situation

Don't say a word and you won't force me to use this(Looking away)
Keeping quiet will prevent me from having to resort to violence

Slowly revealing all the emptiness of threats
Showing that the threats made were without substance

And now you call my bluff
You're no longer intimidated and are challenging me

You laugh at me and say you wanna go home
Mocking me and demanding to be set free

You're surrounded
There's no escape for you

Nothing more to see, till you found it
There's nothing else of interest here until you uncover the truth

No one here but me, and I'm surrounded
It's just me and you, but I feel trapped in this situation