LAM has gained a large and loyal following all over the world, from the USA to Europe to Latin America (where the live band has toured extensively), and beyond. LAM has headlined and co-headlined concerts and major festivals with bands like The Cure, Green Day, HIM (HIM has cited LAM a favorite artist), Rammstein, Soft Cell and many more. LAM has performed to crowds of over 30,000 people as headliner and co-headliner on major music festivals around the world. However, London After Midnight maintains a strong underground and independent "personality" despite being a top seller (charting in the top 10 and top 20 German DAC, and other European independent charts, with each of 4 CDs released) and a major draw at music festivals year after year.
Songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and founder Sean Brennan is known for his strong stances in favor of animal rights, pro-environmental and human rights issues, anti-corporate control of media, and support for progressive and liberal political and social causes. Whatever the approach or subject matter, the music of London After Midnight is deeply touching, powerful, socially aware, romantic, emotional, disturbing, haunting, moving, and often exhibits a morbid wit with its sardonic humor (listen to the tongue-in-cheek "Your Best Nightmare" and try not to think of an Edward Gorey story).
LAM is all this, while at the same time appealing to a wide variety of people. There really is no classification that fits London After Midnight (despite LAM's "dark" image) because the music is so varied and the lyrical content (and even LAM's personality and causes) are unique and uncommon in today's music scene (often breaking boundaries- much to the outrage of people who live and die by genre labels). Sean Brennan shuns all labels (as any artist worth their salt will do) and the music he creates can really only be classified as "London After Midnight".
From 2015-2019 LAM headlined major festivals around the world, including Wave Gotik Treffen multiple times, and many other events. In 2019 Sean Brennan started his own record label, Darkride Records, and released "Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119", the original 1991 album remixed from the original master tapes (it is NOT A REMASTER- it's completely remixed from the multi-track master tapes). This new mix restored missing audio tracks and includes a never before released song from the 1991 sessions. Darkride Records released the "Oddities Too", similar in theme to the 1998 album "Oddities" with unreleased music, new music and much more. The all new un-named LAM album and a complete remix of "Psycho Magnet", remixed from the original master tapes, is also underway.
Main discography:
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World, 1995 CD (originally released as a cassette in 1991)
-Psycho Magnet, 1995 cassette, 1996 CD
-Oddities, 1998 cassette, 1998 CD
-Violent Acts of Beauty, 2007 CD
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119, 2019 CD (remixed from original multi-track master tapes)
- Live From Isolation, 2021 CD.
- Oddities Too, 2022 CD
Permanent line-up:
Sean Brennan: music, lyrics, vocals, most of the instruments.
Current live line-up:
Jeremy Kohnmann: guitar
Michael Areklett: bass
Pete Pace: drums.
The Pain Looks Good On You
London After Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What will it prove?
When your indifference,
comes back to you?
What can I say,
to make you understand?
All of your misery,
comes from your own hands.
Why ban the bomb?
Why turn the other cheek?
Why care at all?
when the pain looks good on you.
Can't you see past,
your own vanity.
Or does self worship,
rule your land of apathy.
Why ban the bomb?
Why turn the other cheek?
Why care at all?
when the pain looks good on you.
You push me, I push you back.
No reason to think.
You push me, I push you back.
you lose if you blink.
You push me, I push you back.
No reason to think.
You push me, I push you back.
you lose if you blink.
Why ban the bomb?
Why turn the other cheek?
Why care at all?
when the pain looks good on you.
You must want to suffer.
You must love to hate yourself.
So why seek solutions,
when the pain looks good on you?
The lyrics to London After Midnight's song The Pain Looks Good On You convey a sense of frustration and disbelief at people's tendency to self-destruct. The singer is trying to reason with someone who is both indifferent to their own suffering and possibly even revels in it, as if they enjoy the pain. The repetition of the line "Why ban the bomb? Why turn the other cheek? Why care at all?" emphasizes that the singer is grappling with a lack of empathy from this person. It's unclear who the person is, but it could be interpreted as a larger commentary on society's tendency to ignore or even glorify suffering.
The chorus includes the damning line, "when the pain looks good on you," suggesting that the singer believes the person in question is actively seeking out pain for their own gratification. The final lines of the song take on a more accusatory tone, suggesting that the person in question doesn't want to solve their problems because they actually enjoy the pain. This echoes the opening lines of the song, "What will you do? What will it prove? When your indifference, comes back to you?" The singer seems to be warning that this person will eventually regret their self-destructive behavior.
Overall, The Pain Looks Good On You is a poignant and somewhat bleak commentary on the human tendency toward self-destruction. It highlights the singer's frustration at being unable to reason with someone who seems to take pleasure in their own pain and suggests that society as a whole may be struggling with similar issues.
Line by Line Meaning
What will you do?
What actions do you plan to take?
What will it prove?
What good will come from your actions?
When your indifference, comes back to you?
When your lack of care and concern affects you?
What can I say, to make you understand?
What words can I use to make you comprehend?
All of your misery, comes from your own hands.
The pain you feel is created by your actions.
Why ban the bomb?
What is the point of eliminating nuclear weapons?
Why turn the other cheek?
Why respond to violence or wrongdoing without retaliation?
Why care at all?
What is the purpose of showing concern or compassion?
when the pain looks good on you.
When you take pleasure in your own misery.
Can't you see past, your own vanity.
Can you look beyond your own self-importance?
Or does self worship, rule your land of apathy.
Is your selfishness preventing you from acting with empathy and care?
You push me, I push you back.
You provoke me, and I respond in kind.
No reason to think.
There is no rationale behind the actions taken.
you lose if you blink.
You will fail if you hesitate.
You must want to suffer.
You seem to enjoy your own pain.
You must love to hate yourself.
You appear to have a self-destructive nature.
So why seek solutions, when the pain looks good on you?
Why bother looking for a way to ease your own suffering when you take pleasure in it?
Contributed by Charlie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.