It took only seconds of strumming and dreamy, dulcet singing for Dreimanis to realize he’d met his muse. He sat listening, dumfounded, dreaming up ideas for what could come to be between the two of them. Clear-headed the next day, he started his search for the stranger from the bar with whom he seemingly shared a soul. He found her; they founded July Talk.
The basic structural facts of rock band July Talk are this: two front people, Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, surrounded by whiplashing guitarists Ian Docherty and [[bandmember from=2012]Josh Warburton, and double drummers Danny Miles and Dani Nash. For this compulsively DIY, rigorously self-realizing group, the essence of July Talk has always been the tension between precision and chaos.
Audiences need not ask what July Talk’s two writhing frontpeople’s relationship is to each other, but rather what their relationship is to their audience, and to the world. These bodies welcome our gaze, they revel and recoil in it while they furiously push back, asking of us what they ask of each other: please see me for who I am. If we see July Talk as a woman and a man, in opposition to one another, what we are seeing is our own projections upon these bodies.
What goes on between these bodies, all of them, that kinetic, staticky, sticky space, is where the truth of July Talk takes shape. On stage, July Talk unfurls and explodes. July Talk is known by their success at radio and their unmatched live show. Both of these things are true, but neither tells the complete story.
As video directors, their meticulous and masterful visual work has created an entirely unique aesthetic, and propelled them into collaborations with other artists, including Tanya Tagaq, Born Ruffians and Jasmyn. Their pandemic drive-in show presented an emphatic vision of creative direction, with balletic live projections opening new possibilities for coming performances. July Talk’s quieter triumphs, growing in their roles as advocates for industry change and defining their own parameters for safer, decolonized spaces at rock shows with their Love Lives Here posters, now translated into twelve languages, are as important to the band’s identity and humanity.
We can hear July Talk as the contrast of two voices that interject, operate and overlap around one another. We’re not wrong, but it’s not the full story. July Talk is a decade-long dialogue between two people; it is also a continuous conversation with older generations, previous selves, collaborators.
Even in the stark orderliness of black and white, July Talk has always been a work in progress. More accurately, it’s a work of progress, a communal pursuit of limitlessness as a mode of being. For a decade, July Talk has continued in its relentless project to know itself, through its whiskey-soaked blues rock roots on its self-titles debut EP, the 2016 dance-rock infused Touch and its contemplation of connection, or the quietly reflective eyes of their 2020 release Pray For It.
With their forthcoming 2023 album Remember Never Before, the most potently yet inventively “July Talk” album yet, the band returns – changed – to where they began.
Johnny + Mary
July Talk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He's in the corner with his hands on his ears
His little death wish was the talk of the city
He knew about it before everyone here
He was ahead of his time
He had a beautiful mind
Johnny's underground with the rest of them talking
So cheer up
What's wrong now?
Cheer up
(We all know)
We all know we're going down
So cheer up
Cheer up
Cheer up
Hey look, Mary is here
She rolls her eyes at all the girls in the mirror
They pose for cameras that aren't really there
Why can't they figure out there's better than this?
She dances catharsis
Cries out like a child
Well, you'd be screaming too if all that's happened to her
Had ever happened to you
So cheer up
What's wrong now?
Cheer up
We all know we're going down
So cheer up
Chin up
Cheer up
What's wrong now?
Cheer up
We all know we're going down
So cheer up
Chin up
Cheer up
Cheer up
Little junkie
Cheer up
Little fugitive
Cheer up
Put your camera down
Cheer up
Little vixen
Cheer up
Little amateur
Cheer up
Put your camera down
The song Johnny + Mary by July Talk tells the story of two individuals, Johnny and Mary, who are both struggling with their own personal demons in a city that seems to be collapsing around them. The song is a commentary on the idea that everyone is going through their own struggle, and no one is spared from the challenges that life presents. Johnny is depicted as someone who has a death wish and is seemingly ahead of his time. He is underground with the rest of the social outcasts, discussing their experiences and doing his time. Mary, on the other hand, is shown as someone who is constantly self-analyzing and comparing herself to others, leading to dissatisfaction with her own life. She finds solace in dancing and crying out, as a way of releasing her emotions.
The lyrics "we all know we're going down, so cheer up" suggest that despite their struggles, they should remain hopeful and try to look on the bright side. The song emphasizes the power of music and dance as a way of catharsis and release, allowing people to express their emotions in a healthy manner. The final verse brings a sense of closure, encouraging anyone listening to put aside their cameras and focus on living in the moment without the constant need to document it.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey look, Johnny is here
Johnny has arrived at the scene
He's in the corner with his hands on his ears
Johnny is hiding in the corner and trying to avoid something he does not want to hear
His little death wish was the talk of the city
Johnny's secret desire to die was being talked about by everyone in the city
He knew about it before everyone here
Johnny was aware of his wish to die before anyone else found out
He was ahead of his time
Johnny had a unique perspective ahead of his peers
He had a beautiful mind
Johnny had a remarkable intellect
Johnny's underground with the rest of them talking
Johnny is underground and talking with people who share his views
Doing his time
Johnny is biding his time, waiting for something to happen
So cheer up
Encouragement to be happy
What's wrong now?
Asking what is causing the current negative feeling
(We all know)
Implying that everyone is aware that things are not going well
We all know we're going down
Things will not end well and there will be negative consequences
Chin up
Encouragement to remain optimistic
Hey look, Mary is here
Mary has also arrived at the scene
She rolls her eyes at all the girls in the mirror
Mary does not like the vain actions of certain girls
They pose for cameras that aren't really there
The girls are assuming an artificial character that is not really who they are
Why can't they figure out there's better than this?
Mary is questioning why the girls do not aim for more fulfilling lives
She dances catharsis
Mary dances to release emotions
Cries out like a child
Mary is crying like a child due to the pain she has suffered
Well, you'd be screaming too if all that's happened to her
The listener would also be screaming if they encountered what Mary has gone through
Had ever happened to you
If the listener had suffered the same things as Mary
Cheer up
Encouragement to be happy
Little junkie
Addressing someone who is addicted to drugs
Little fugitive
Addressing someone who is running away from something
Put your camera down
Encouragement to stop pretending and be one's true self
Little vixen
Addressing someone who uses their sexuality to manipulate others
Little amateur
Addressing someone who is not skilled in a particular activity
Contributed by Sarah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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