Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided By Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi, a style of indie-rock characterized by low-fidelity recording techniques, often on four-track machines. The band's early output, such as Weed Forestin (1990) and III (1992), was typical of this style, and wavered between Barlow's wry, introspective folk and Gaffney's psychedelic noise-rock experiments.
Following 1993's Bubble and Scrape, Gaffney left the band. His replacement, Bob Fay, appeared on the band's most acclaimed and consistent effort, 1994's Bakesale, which saw the emergence of the songwriting talents of multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein, and the follow-up Harmacy in 1996.
Fay left the band before the sessions for The Sebadoh (1999), to be replaced by Russ Pollard. Following the tour to promote this album (2000), the band went on hiatus, with Barlow concentrating on his other project, the Folk Implosion, and Loewenstein working on material for his debut solo album At Sixes and Sevens, released in 2002. The two reunited to play concerts in late 2003 and the spring of 2004.
In 2006, III was reissued with a bonus disc and expanded liner notes. In 2007, the band (reunited with Eric Gaffney) was touring.
In 2013, Defend Yourself was released followed by Act Surprised in 2019.
Discography:
* The Freed Man (1989)
* Weed Forestin' (1990)
* The Freed Weed (1990)
* III (1992)
* Rocking The Forest (1992)
* Sebadoh vs. Helmet (1990)
* Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock (1992)
* Bubble and Scrape (1993)
* 4 Song CD (1994)
* Bakesale (1994)
* Harmacy (1996)
* The Sebadoh (1999)
* Defend Yourself (2013)
* Act Surprised (2019)
Beauty of the Ride
Sebadoh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's just the way it's always been
I've made mistakes before, I'll make the same again
And all this tension we ignore surely works its ugly way inside
I have known that nothing's fair, surely what did I expect?
When magic slips into the air and every day's another test
And all this tension we ignore, it surely works its ugly way outside
So let it build, let it explode
Or bite your tongue ‘til you've forgotten what to say
And take another step back, until you find you've walked away
Silence like disease, but I dare not say it hurts
‘Cuz if I honestly react, nothing's ever gonna work
All this tension back and forth
It's just the beauty of the ride
It's just the beauty of the ride
So let it build, let it explode
Leaving blood and shattered bone
Or bite your tongue ‘til you've forgotten what to say
And take another step back, until you find you've walked away
"Beauty of the Ride" by Sebadoh seems to be a reflection on the struggles that come with relationships, whether romantic or platonic. The lyrics suggest that the singer has experienced tension before and expects to continue experiencing it in the future. They’ve made mistakes in the past and acknowledge that they'll probably make the same ones again, but they also seem to recognize that this is just part of the journey of life. The tension they ignore doesn't disappear, but builds up over time until it eventually reaches a breaking point. The singer suggests that the tension is both inside and outside of them, meaning it's something they feel internally and something that affects their relationships with others.
The second verse seems to capture the feeling of being trapped in a cycle of tension and conflict. The singer acknowledges that they know life isn’t fair, and that they shouldn't expect it to be, but at the same time laments that it seems like every day is just another test to see how much they can take. The tension continues to build, but the singer is torn between two options - let it explode and cause even more damage or hold back and say nothing, hoping the tension will eventually dissipate. They recognize that the silence can be harmful, like a disease, but also fear that if they do react, nothing will change and they'll be stuck in this cycle forever.
Overall, "Beauty of the Ride" seems to be a somber reflection on the difficulties of relationships and life in general. The tension that is present in every aspect of our lives can either break us down or build us up, and ultimately it's up to us to decide how we react to it.
Line by Line Meaning
Never did and never will
I have never done it before and I will never do it in the future
It's just the way it's always been
Things have always been like this and will continue to be like this
I've made mistakes before, I'll make the same again
I have made mistakes in the past and will probably repeat them again in the future
And all this tension we ignore surely works its ugly way inside
All the tension that we choose to ignore slowly builds up inside us
I have known that nothing's fair, surely what did I expect?
I already know that life is not fair, so what was I expecting?
When magic slips into the air and every day's another test
When something unexpected happens and every day feels like a new challenge
And all this tension we ignore, it surely works its ugly way outside
The tension that we ignore inside of us eventually starts to show in our behavior
So let it build, let it explode, Leaving blood and shattered bone
It's better to let the tension build and release it all at once, even if it hurts us
Or bite your tongue ‘til you've forgotten what to say
Alternatively, we can choose to remain quiet until we no longer have anything to say about the situation
And take another step back, until you find you've walked away
Sometimes, it's better to just walk away from the situation entirely
Silence like disease, but I dare not say it hurts
Keeping quiet can feel like a sickness, but I don't want to admit that it's actually hurting me
‘Cuz if I honestly react, nothing's ever gonna work
If I speak up and express my true emotions, things may never get resolved
All this tension back and forth
The tension is going back and forth between us
It's just the beauty of the ride
This tension and conflict is just a part of life's journey
It's just the beauty of the ride
This tension and conflict is just a part of life's journey
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LOUIS KNOX BARLOW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lejoe48
Masterwork.
Dither Nessy
Saw Lou twice. In London Sebadoh finished with this.
europoets
Much better than i remember
John Smith
I have this mate Julian who loves this band. I'm trying really hard to like them. Please tell me the best things about Sebadoh to help me like them more
brett N bolton
always interesting, multiple writers/vocalists, they can rock out and make you cry with melody in 10 mins.
Kylie's Arched Eyebrow
Why did Bob Fay get sacked?
joeyautomd
F*** yeah