The most striking and consistent aspect of Oneida's music is their use of and fascination with repetition. Their 2002 LP, Each One Teach One, for instance, begins with two especially long tracks, Sheets of Easter and Antibiotics, the former over fourteen minutes long, the latter more than sixteen. Both of these songs are composed of one repeated riff (with a few short interludes on Antibiotics). In addition to the use of repetition Oneida's music can be distinguished by the bandmember's extensive use of and enthusiasm for antique keyboards and analog electric pianos.
Originally recording on Turnbuckle Records (their first two albums in 1997 and 1999), the band now runs Brah Records, an imprint of Jagjaguwar (Jagjaguwar group at Last.fm). In September 2007 the group celebrated 10 years of existence with a concert at the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in NYC.
The current lineup is:
* Kid Millions - drums, vocals participated as drummer 53 in the Boredoms 77 Boadrum performance which occurred on July 7th, 2007 at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York
* Bobby Matador - organ, guitar, vocals
* Hanoi Jane - guitar, bass
* Double Rainbow (aka Phil Manley of Trans Am and The Fucking Champs) - guitar
* Shahin Motia (of Ex Models) - guitar
Papa Crazy (aka PCRZ) of Oakley Hall is a former member of Oneida, and has revived connections with Oneida by recording OH's most recent album Gypsum Strings on Oneida's Brah Records label.
http://www.enemyhogs.com/site/
http://www.myspace.com/oneidarocks
Reckoning
Oneida Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My thoughts return to wandering.
Fields of grass
Soften savage muttering.
Backyard dreams
Of meadows find me promising
Lushness that I sold her
Studded, stumped and bouldered
Summer scenes are beckoning.
Calm again
Ghosts and angers flickering.
Laps and leaves
Cast shadows on the glimmering.
Checkerboards
Twist and buckle, shuddering.
Flattened gaping grins
Stitched together hymns
Bring dismissals, sighs, denials
At last a reckoning.
The opening lines of "Reckoning" by Oneida suggest a certain restlessness in the singer's mind. Despite being surrounded by the mundanity of everyday life, the singer's thoughts keep returning to a seemingly idyllic landscape of "fields of grass," "backyard dreams," and "lushness." This landscape is described in terms of softening "savage muttering," promising the singer some kind of respite or escape from the noise of the world. However, there are also hints of something darker present, as the landscape is described as being "studded, stumped and bouldered." This combination of beauty and violence hints at the idea that there is no escape from the more brutal aspects of existence.
In the second verse, the tone shifts to one of calm, but the imagery remains ambiguous. Ghosts and angers are flickering, and checkerboards are twisting and buckling. These images are unsettling, but it's hard to tell whether they are objectively threatening or merely the products of the singer's anxious mind. Likewise, the flattened gaping grins and stitched together hymns suggest a certain level of artifice or falseness, but it's not clear whether this is something that the singer is actively rejecting or something that they are resigned to. This ambiguity continues through to the final lines of the song, which suggest that there can be no reckoning without some kind of denial or dismissal.
Line by Line Meaning
Still again
Once more, yet again
My thoughts return to wandering.
My mind is drifting away.
Fields of grass
Open lands covered in greenery.
Soften savage muttering.
Lessen the sound of harsh, uncivilized talking.
Backyard dreams
Imaginings of a peaceful haven behind the house.
Of meadows find me promising
I envision fields of promising growth.
Lushness that I sold her
I previously gave away a flourishing landscape.
Studded, stumped and bouldered
Pierced, felled, and large rock-filled terrain.
Still the swaying, idle playing
Continuing to gently move and pass time.
Summer scenes are beckoning.
The warm-season sights are calling out to me.
Calm again
Peaceful once more.
Ghosts and angers flickering.
Memories of past regret and previous rage briefly appearing.
Laps and leaves
Circles and foliage.
Cast shadows on the glimmering.
Blocking light from shining on the faintly glowing things.
Checkerboards
Checker patterns.
Twist and buckle, shuddering.
Turn and bend, with a trembling motion.
Flattened gaping grins
The smiles, although continuous, are unsettling.
Stitched together hymns
Sewn spiritual songs.
Bring dismissals, sighs, denials
Offering rejections, exhalations, and disapprovals.
At last a reckoning.
A final settlement, after much contemplation.
Contributed by Lily M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.