www.posterchildren.com
Poster Children have also released electronic music albums under the name Salaryman.
Rick Valentin and Rose Marshack met in the mid-eighties at the University of Illinois, forming several start-up bands despite Marshack's lack of experience. In 1987 the two met Shannon Drew and the Poster Children were born. They began selling their demo tape on cassette and playing clubs all over the Midwest. The following year, the band recorded 15 songs that would end up on Flower Plower at the Chicago Recording Company. In 1989, the band met with recording engineer Steve Albini to record five more songs. A vinyl version of Flower Plower was released that year on the Limited Potential label. It was also at this time that Poster Children picked up a second guitarist in to complete the four-piece configuration that they are today.
A major label record deal was inked with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Reprise Records. (Over the next few albums, Poster Children would be shuffled from imprint to imprint within the Warner organization.) Tracks for Daisychain Reaction were recorded by Steve Albini at the Chicago Recording Company in 1990, but due to financial difficulties at the label, was not released until the following year. (The album included Hum bassist Jeff Dimpsey on guitar.) Marshack and Valentin finally quit their "day jobs" to go on a six-week nation wide tour.
In 1991 Rick's brother, Jim, replaced the guitarist of the time and remains to this day. Tool of the Man was recorded in 1992 at Dreamland Studio in New York with John Herndon (celebrated Tortoise percussionist) on drums. Tool of the Man was also released in the UK on the Creation Records label. The track Clock Street was picked as their only UK single to date. Just Like You (EP) and Junior Citizen followed, with modest but consistent sales. Matt Friscia auditioned for the band in 1993 as a high school student willing to drop out to go on tour, but the band didn't want to contribute to his delinquency, and hired Howie Kantoff instead. Amazingly, Matt was available again in 2001 when the band was searching for its seventh (and current) drummer.
The band was on the second stage for Lollapalooza in 1995. Rick Valentin and Rose Marshack are currently married and hosts of one of the world's longest running podcasts, Radio Zero.
Poster Children usually write their music collectively, leaving Rick to create lyrics after the fact. During the bands formative years, they wrote and recorded with a different drummer for each album. This resulted in a fluctuating style that touched on punk pop, post hardcore, what the band refers to as "post wave", and new wave revival. Their music is made up of angular, overdriven guitar parts, strong basslines, and powerful yet intricate drums. The typical Poster Children song is high-energy and hard, yet melodic, and they often use unusual time signatures. Rick Valentin's lyrics are by turns witty and introspective, often obliquely related to political issues.
Poster Children have not had much commercial success or industry recognition, but critics consistently describe the band as catchy, impressive, and underrated.
One of Us
Poster Children Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Expose the skin in a flash
The skin reflects a silent trust
In between two who are touched
The perfect are marked for life
The slow decay they try to hide
We are told not to watch
Surrounded by these photographs
Each one has a negative
In the spring two more jumped
On this day she'll become one of us
The lyrics of the song One of Us by Poster Children begin with the lines "Underneath the broken mask, Expose the skin in a flash." These lines are a metaphor for the hidden selves we have that we try to hide, but ultimately are exposed in vulnerable moments. The next two lines, "The skin reflects a silent trust, In between two who are touched" reveal that this vulnerability can create a bond between two people.
The chorus of the song begins with "The perfect are marked for life, The slow decay they try to hide." Here, the song's message is that those who try to maintain a perfect exterior are ultimately marked by the imperfections they try to hide. The lines "We are told not to watch, An image says so much" suggest that society tells us not to pay attention to others' imperfections, but the song is urging us to do so.
The final verse is the most haunting. "Surrounded by these photographs, Each one has a negative, In the spring two more jumped, On this day she'll become one of us." The photographs here are a reminder of the past and the negatives that come with it. The lines "In the spring two more jumped, On this day she'll become one of us" refer to a suicide that happened in the past, and how that person is now just one of the many who have experienced similar struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
Underneath the broken mask
Beneath the surface that one shows (the mask they wear)
Expose the skin in a flash
Reveal the true self in an instant
The skin reflects a silent trust
Body language conveys a quiet confidence
In between two who are touched
Occurring between two people who share a connection
The perfect are marked for life
Those who strive for perfection are forever impacted by the journey
The slow decay they try to hide
The gradual decline they attempt to conceal
We are told not to watch
Advised not to observe or pay attention
An image says so much
A still picture can speak volumes
Surrounded by these photographs
Enclosed or encompassed by these pictures
Each one has a negative
Each snapshot has a downside or counterbalance
In the spring two more jumped
During the spring season, two additional individuals joined the group
On this day she'll become one of us
Today she will also share the same qualities/circumstances as the rest of us
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: HOWARD KANTOFF, JAMES VALENTIN, RICHARD VALENTIN, ROSEANNE MARSHACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind