The original band consisted of Jill Cunniff (vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, guitar), Kate Schellenbach (drums) and Vivian Trimble (keyboards, vocals). Schellenbach was a founding member of the Beastie Boys and left shortly after the Beasties switched from being a hardcore punk band into being a hip-hop group
Between 1993 and 2000 they released one EP, three full length LPs and ten singles on the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label. Their biggest hit —and only Billboard Top 40 entry— is "Naked Eye" (#36, March 22, 1997). Other notable singles include "Here", "CitySong (NY State Of The World)", "Under Your Skin" and "Ladyfingers".
Vivian Trimble left the group in 1998, and in 2000 (after releasing one album as a trio) the group officially announced the break up of Luscious Jackson.
February 2007 saw the release of Luscious Jackson's "greatest hits" compilation, and in the fall of 2006 the band announced that they had reunited and were to release a new children's album, a plan which never came to fruition and the band ceased activity in 2007.
In the January 2012 issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine, the band announced that they had reunited in late 2011. Subsequently, the band has released Magic Hour (2013) and Baby DJ (2013).
One Thing
Luscious Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
People with nothing getting thrown away
Too much blood spilled by diseased minds
Filled with fear, yeah they're all filled with fear
So many broken faces
Everywhere I look
Killing of spirits people hold the power
Lights in their eyes have been
Everybody, everybody's tryin' to make a dollar
Made Marvin scream
Made him want to holler
This ain't livin', it's just surviving
Don't you know, this ain't livin'
It's just surviving
[Chorus:Repeat x2]
[One thing I know for sure is
That
Something just ain't right]
That man with no home
Was once a baby
A little baby
That lady with no home
Can't remember
How she got there
[Chorus:Repeat x4]
So afraid of what you can't understand
Try harder to comprehend
Feelings of guilt keep pouring down
Deny deny it will eat you up inside
The lyrics of Luscious Jackson's One Thing talk about the wrongdoings and cruelties happening in the world, where people with nothing are being thrown away, and fear has taken over people's minds. The song also highlights the killing of spirits and how people in power are responsible for it. The lyrics evoke emotions of anger, frustration, sadness and encourage people to take action against the wrongs in the world.
The lyrics begin by pointing out that something is wrong today, and nobody is safe - people with nothing are being thrown away as if they are worthless. The next line talks about the bloodshed caused by diseased minds, filled with fear. These fearful minds are taking lives and ruining many others. The line "Killing of spirits people hold the power" is a warning against those in power and how they are responsible for killing the spirits of those beneath them. The chorus talks about the uncertainty of what's happening, and something not being right.
The song takes a different direction with the lines "Everybody's trying to make a dollar, made Marvin scream, made him want to holler". This is a reference to Marvin Gaye's hit song "Inner City Blues" from which the "holler" lyric originated. The line highlights how the world is driven by money and how it has even made Marvin Gaye scream in despair. The song ends with the lines, "So afraid of what you can't understand, try harder to comprehend, feelings of guilt keep pouring down, deny, deny, it will eat you up inside". These lines encourage people to try to understand those whom they fear before passing judgments, else it will lead to guilt and that will have dire consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
Something wrong's goin' on today
Something is not right or troubling is happening today.
People with nothing getting thrown away
People who have nothing are being discarded.
Too much blood spilled by diseased minds
There is a lot of violence perpetuated by corrupted minds.
Filled with fear, yeah they're all filled with fear
People are afraid, and their fear governs them.
So many broken faces
Many people are suffering and their emotional pain shows on their faces.
Everywhere I look
The problems are everywhere the singer looks.
Killing of spirits people hold the power
The powerful people hold the power to crush people's spirits.
Lights in their eyes have been turned off for so long
The people who are being crushed by the powerful have been living in the darkness for a long time.
Everybody, everybody's tryin' to make a dollar
Everybody is trying to make money.
Made Marvin scream
The situation is so bad that it made Marvin (possibly Marvin Gaye) scream.
Made him want to holler
The situation is so bad that it made Marvin want to scream.
This ain't livin', it's just surviving
The current situation is not living, but just surviving.
Don't you know, this ain't livin'
The current situation is not living.
It's just surviving
The current situation is just surviving.
[Chorus:Repeat x2]
The chorus repeats twice.
[One thing I know for sure is
That
Something just ain't right]
The artist knows for sure that something is wrong and troubling.
That man with no home
Was once a baby
A little baby
The homeless man was once a little innocent baby.
That lady with no home
Can't remember
How she got there
The homeless lady cannot recall how she ended up there.
[Chorus:Repeat x4]
The chorus repeats four times.
So afraid of what you can't understand
Try harder to comprehend
People are afraid of what they don't know, and should try harder to understand.
Feelings of guilt keep pouring down
Deny deny it will eat you up inside
People should not deny feelings of guilt, as ignoring them will only harm them more.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GABRIELLE GLASER, JILL CUNNIFF, KATHERINE A SCHELLENBACH, VIVIAN E TRIMBLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind