For some people, the main goals are a pimped out ride and a pimped out life. Ask Self Against City lead singer Jonathan Temkin about his goals and he tells a very different story. “People are searching for something to make themselves complete,” he says. “If we can inspire people with our music, I can die a happy person.” Temkin may be on to something, especially in light of Self Against City's revelatory new Drive-Thru/Rushmore CD Telling Secrets to Strangers.
Produced by Steven Haigler (Pixies, Fuel), the songs on the album were written by Temkin and guitarist Jack Matranga. The two sketched out every progression and guitar riff in advance. The prep time paid off, as a seamless cohesion ties the album together. "Every song is a chapter," says Temkin, "a summation of everything we went through in the last year."
He's referring to rock ‘n' roll grad school, i.e., touring a big country in a small van. Every triumph and misbegotten adventure has been converted into song, starting with “Becoming a Monster,” a punch-drunk rocker Temkin calls “our mission statement.” The track exemplifies the band's signature sound: buzzsaw guitars, choppy rhythms and Temkin's trip-wire vocals. “We want to be energetic and melodic at the same time,” says Matranga. “But we didn't want just one song repeated ten times on the record.”
Their pattern holds true on songs like “Stroke of Luck”, “Ready and Willing” and “Even the Strong Won’t Survive.” Says Temkin of the latter, “It's a testament to growing up and having to put mental restraints on myself. It's about different forms of addiction and the inner struggles people have.” The tuneful guitar-centered “Disappearing Act” is about an eccentric former band member, while the acoustic-flavored “Tequila Moonlight” is one of the CD's more introspective tracks. “It's about an alcohol-driven memory of a few key events that happen over a night” says Temkin. “It was written mostly by Jack, and is so pure and honest.”
“Yours Isn't The First” is, says Temkin, an ode “to everyone who ever had their heartbroken because they got dumped,” while the sly “Smooth Silver” is one of the CD's most adventurous songs. “It's about frustration, desire and confusion wrapped into one,” he notes. The CD ends with “Back to Our Innocence,” a full-circle rocker that serves as the perfect grace note. “It's our way of saying when you're a child that's when everything feels so pure. When you get older things get desensitized. You lose the vivid colors. We're on a quest to feel like childlike adults.”
That quest wasn't born yesterday. Though the band made a big impression with their 2005 Rushmore debut EP “Take It How You Want It,” the origins of Self Against City stretch back further. The son of a single mother, the Texas-born Temkin grew up in Hawaii, Germany and northern California, raised mostly by a loving aunt and uncle. He
was given access to all kinds of musical instruments and became proficient on several. But it was a Matchbox 20 concert in Frankfurt that proved the tipping point. “Something changed in me,” he remembers, “and I said, ‘That's what I'm gonna do.’ From then on I begged for a guitar and at 15 I finally got one."
Temkin moved back to California's Central Valley and started playing guitar in various bands, one of which anointed him lead singer, even though he'd never sung in his life. Turned out, he was good at it. He also started writing songs, but the big break came in 2003 when he met Matranga and LaTour. “I spent every waking second figuring out what we needed to do to get the band together,” he says. “I was with musicians who wanted exactly the same thing as me.”
Jack Matranga had a very different upbringing from Temkin: living in the same home his whole life, parents happily married. But the two clicked right away as songwriting partners and performers. “He's nuts,” says Matranga of his friend. “I feed off of him. When we first started writing, we'd hop in the band room, turn on the amp and mold a song. Our confidence has grown since then.”
Bassist Patrick O'Connor and drummer Chris Trombley rounded out the line-up of Self Against City (the name came from Temkin mishearing a DJ announce the Bowie classic “Suffragette City”). The band cut a few demos, posting two on PureVolume. Those tracks caught the ear of Drive-Thru co-founders Richard Reines and Stefanie Reines, who kept tabs on the band's progress. Only five months after officially forming, the band had their Rushmore deal, and soon enough a debut EP. Buoyed by rave reviews, Self Against City toured the U.S. as well as performed at the CMJ convention. All the while, they were thinking ahead to the new CD. “We're a high energy rock band,” says Matranga, “but we wanted to write something a little bit deeper.”
O'Connor and Trombley played on the new CD but have since left the band. All five remain friends, and the others were sorry to see them go. But with the release of Telling Secrets to Strangers, Temkin, Matranga and LaTour are looking only forward. “The day we finished the album,” says Temkin, “I thought we did everything we set out to do: make a record we were proud of, write songs we believed in and let people know who we are.”
Speechless
Self Against City Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And 'til the telephone rings, plead your case with broken wings,
Give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you,
There will come a day, when everything will come right back down on you,
Comeback, I know you feel the same,
Speechless, I don't know what to say to you to pull us through
Your gone again, I'm gonna spend my whole life wondering,
Why you give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you,
There will come a day, when everything will come right back down on you,
Comeback, I know you feel the same,
Speechless, I don't know what to say to you to pull us through,
And you're right, I know that I was wrong,
I'm lost, I've been here for so long but please don't let it slip a...
I've got to lie to explain(I just wanted to say that I miss you)
There's so much we left unsaid(Disaster comes with this distance)
There's no one left to blame(From moment to truth, and us closer)
But ourselves for feeling this way
Give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you,
Today will be the day, when everything will come right back down on you,
Comeback, I know you feel the same,
Speechless, I don't know what to say to you to pull us through,
And you're right, I know that I was wrong,
But I'm lost, I've been here for so long but please don't let it slip, AWAY, AWAY,
AWAY, AWAY,
AWAY, AWAY(Comeback, I know you feel the same, Speechless, I don't know what to say...)
AWAY, AWAY(...to you, I let it slip)
The lyrics of "Speechless" by Self Against City seem to be a reflection on a relationship that has gone wrong. The singer seems to be speaking to someone who has given themselves away to everyone, leaving nothing left of them. The lines "give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you" suggests this person has been spreading themselves too thin, with nothing left to give. The chorus speaks of the need for a comeback or a reconciliation, but the singer seems to be "speechless" or at a loss for words to make things right.
The second verse speaks to the singer's frustration with the situation. They feel like everything is alright, but then the other person is gone again, leaving them wondering. They are pleading with the other person to not let the relationship slip away, but the frustration is palpable in the final lines, where the singer seems to be saying they need to lie just to express their emotions properly.
Overall, the song seems to be a cry for help and an acknowledgment that things have gone awry. The singer is seeking a way to make things right and find a path forward, but is struggling to express themselves properly.
Line by Line Meaning
All alone, and do it better on my own,
I'm better off alone instead of playing pretend to fit into your life.
And 'til the telephone rings, plead your case with broken wings,
I'll wait for your call to hear your excuses, even if you're not sincere.
Give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you,
You give yourself to others without leaving anything for yourself.
There will come a day, when everything will come right back down on you,
One day, you'll reap what you sow.
Comeback, I know you feel the same,
I know you want to reconnect.
Speechless, I don't know what to say to you to pull us through
I'm at a loss for words to fix our broken relationship.
Just when I, assume that everything's alright,
As soon as I think things are okay, you disappear again.
Your gone again, I'm gonna spend my whole life wondering,
You leave me wondering and waiting forever.
And you're right, I know that I was wrong,
I know I messed up.
I'm lost, I've been here for so long but please don't let it slip a...
I'm confused and stuck, please don't let us fully drift apart.
I've got to lie to explain(I just wanted to say that I miss you)
I make up excuses to avoid admitting that I actually miss you.
There's so much we left unsaid(Disaster come with this distance)
Our lack of communication is causing our relationship to fall apart.
There's no one left to blame(From moment to truth, and us closer)
We need to take responsibility for the state of our relationship.
Give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you,
You keep putting others first and neglecting your own needs.
Today will be the day, when everything will come right back down on you,
Today is the day you'll face the consequences of your actions.
But I'm lost, I've been here for so long but please don't let it slip, AWAY, AWAY,
I'm still lost but begging you not to let our connection slip away.
AWAY, AWAY,
AWAY, AWAY(Comeback, I know you feel the same, Speechless, I don't know what to say...)
AWAY, AWAY(...to you, I let it slip)
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER LEE-JOE, PHILIPPE-MARC ANQUETIL, HITEN BHARADIA, IAIN JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind