The band started in 1991 at Rhode Is… Read Full Bio ↴Former name of the band KILGORE
The band started in 1991 at Rhode Island Catholic high school La Salle Academy, Providence. Once or twice a semester, the bands would gather for concerts attended by most of the student body. This allowed many of the musicians their first concert opportunities. Outside of the school, the band began to work on original music influenced by Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Faith No More. The band was composed of songwriter Brian McKenzie (guitar), Bill Southerland (drums), Jason Smith (bass), Mike Pelletier (guitar) and Jay Berndt (vocals). The band was first known as "Regicide" during high school and played its first shows at band concerts at La Salle Academy, Providence.
After high school they changed their name to Smudge, and started to develop and fine tune their sound. The music became more aggressive containing a groove element with hints of their early influences as well as elements of the New York hardcore scene. Jay Berndt’s lyrics were influenced by the Beat Generation authors, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka and Charles Bukowski.[3] His vocal style was sometimes compared to Glen Danzig of the Misfits[4] or Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. The fast almost hardcore-like songs, along with Jay Berndt's lyrics and vocal melodies, allowed the band to really stand out.
They released their first demo cassette called Spill (1993) and began playing shows at numerous Providence clubs and opening for established acts as The Cro-Mags, Sick of It All, Sheer Terror and Life of Agony.[citation needed] After discovering an Australian pop-punk band by the same name, they changed their name to Stain. As Stain, they released another cassette demo, Die Cast, in 1994. It was the release of Die Cast that brought the band to the attention of Unsound Records (subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records), with whom they signed a recording contract. Around this time Berndt suggested the band name "Kilgore Smudge" as a nod to the protagonist from the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel Breakfast of Champions.
Never Again
Kilgore Smudge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The bile from all those token words
Whose meaning lost long ago
Through shadows of promise
Time will tell if they
Were genuine or just foolish dreams
Still deserving of scrutiny
They may harbor the answers
To guide you to the truth
Wasted toil extracting
Origins of thought
Can't possess own theories
Or individual opinions
Deny those so-called scholars
Speculations on artistry
Prove for self-discovery
It may harbor your answers
Try and see through
To guide you to the truth
Songs we sang to, long ago
With lies no one can comprehend
Yet splinters of truth
Lie in perversion
Won't be told to think
No I'll never again
Won't be told what to feel
No I'll never again
Won't be told to think again
Won't believe those lies again, so
Try and see
To question what this means
Try and see through
To guide you to the truth
Songs we sang to, long ago
With lies no one can comprehend
Yet splinters of truth
Lie in perversion
Songs we sang to, long ago
And I'll never think that way again
Yet splinters of truth
Lie in perversion
Can't comprehend
What I've said
Never again
The lyrics of Kilgore Smudge's song "Never Again" are a powerful commentary on the dangers of blindly accepting the words of others without questioning their meaning or validity. The first verse refers to the empty words that people often use, which have lost their true meaning over time. The singer urges the listener to scrutinize these words, to see if they are genuine, and to seek out their own truth. The second verse speaks to the importance of individual thought and self-discovery, rejecting the idea that scholars or experts should dictate what one should believe or think. The chorus repeats the phrase "never again" three times, as a declaration of the singer's refusal to be told what to think or feel.
The final verse echoes the sentiment of the first two, highlighting how previously accepted beliefs can be revealed to be lies when one really examines them. While there may be elements of truth in these beliefs, they have become distorted or perverted by those who claim to understand or interpret them. The singer ends the song with the emphatic statement that they will never fall into this trap again, urging the listener to question everything and seek out their own truth.
Line by Line Meaning
Wrench and choke
Struggle and suffer
The bile from all those token words
The disgust from overused, meaningless phrases
Whose meaning lost long ago
That are devoid of any true significance
Through shadows of promise
Obscured by the potential they once represented
Time will tell if they
Only revealed as genuine or foolish with hindsight
Were genuine or just foolish dreams
Whether they were sincere or just unrealistic visions
Still deserving of scrutiny
Regardless, warranting careful examination
They may harbor the answers
Possessing insight into the truth
Try and see through
Attempt to perceive past the surface
To guide you to the truth
In order to be directed towards reality
Wasted toil extracting
Pointless effort put into discovering
Origins of thought
The sources of ideas
Can't possess own theories
One cannot truly claim ownership of their own concepts
Or individual opinions
Narrow-minded views that lack insight
Deny those so-called scholars
Reject experts who claim to have all the answers
Speculations on artistry
Theories regarding creativity
Prove for self-discovery
Provides a means for personal enlightenment
It may harbor your answers
Possessing the potential to provide insight into the truth
Songs we sang to, long ago
The music we once listened to
With lies no one can comprehend
Containing falsehoods that nobody truly understands
Yet splinters of truth
Still containing scattered elements of reality
Lie in perversion
Hidden within distortion and corruption
Won't be told to think
Will not allow others to control thoughts
No I'll never again
Will not permit it again
Won't be told what to feel
Will not allow others to dictate emotions
Won't believe those lies again, so
Will not be fooled by deceit twice
Try and see
Attempt to comprehend the situation
To question what this means
To doubt the validity of reality
And I'll never think that way again
I will never perceive the situation the same as before
Can't comprehend
Unable to completely understand
What I've said
My words are difficult to fully grasp
Never again
This will not happen again
Contributed by Daniel D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.