1. An indie rock/pun… Read Full Bio ↴There are two bands by the name of Sister City:
1. An indie rock/punk formation out of Philadelphia (see bio below)
2. A techno collaboration between EPROM, Dean Grenier and Hej Fund
Philadelphia's Sister City
We'll let the band speak. Sister City:
Whoa, hey! Welcome to the Small Talk-era Sister City band biography. Let’s get to the facts.
Sister City is a Philadelphia-based punk rock indie rock thing best described by one blogger as “Not the punk that you’re thinking of.” Sister City is Adam Linder and Daniel Abzug. Daniel plays drums and watches a remarkable amount of HBO Original Series. Adam writes and sings the songs, plays guitar, records, mixes, and has two cats that he loves very much.
Sister City was featured in the “AP&R” section of the November 2012 issue of Alternative Press. Small Talk is the band’s third full length.
You may notice that, for an album called Small Talk, there sure are a lot of words in these songs. Weird, right? You might even say Small Talk is anything but!!!
It’s true. There are a lot of words. Many of them are about coming to terms with things: death, fate, god, grocery store rewards cards. Some of them are just normal prepositions or conjunctions. There is something here for everyone. Literally dozens of Sister City fans can’t be wrong.
Ah, but perhaps you don’t care about lyrics. Please don’t tell Adam that. No matter, though, Sister City is as diverse as an after-school special—musically, that is! “Room 222” and “Horsey!” find the band channeling their pop-punk upbringing through a world-weary filter. If you’re more into catharsis over crashing cymbals, “Psalm 26” and “Extreme Fever” are right up your alley.
Small Talk is available as a pay-what-you-want digital download at http://sistercity.bandcamp.com.
Who Knows
Sister City Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not as angry as I should be
A stiff and stoic apology
From a crumbling bastion of closed-eyed empathy
I don't believe
In the curative properties
Of rivers or of centuries-old exercises for our egos or
I've already lost them
I couldn't care less
Suddenly
I am brought to my knees
By all the things I see
So unabashedly
In disrepair
Insight inciting fires in my stare
So goddamn self-aware
In conflict or in tandem with the "I don't cares"
As genuine as irony thrown unprepared
And ignorant and faultless
Like the men nailed up on crosses
The horizon duly dotted
On any given day
If I leave
Or is it when, I mean?
I will turn around
And take in everything
And I'd expect that I will see
There was always something there for me
The first verse of Sister City's "Who Knows" addresses the singer's emotional state. The singer notes that they feel less angry than they should be, as if they've resigned themselves to the world's shortcomings. They approach their need to apologize due to their empathy being "closed-eyed," which suggests that it is both passive and unseeing. They reject the idea that "rivers" or "centuries-old exercises for our egos" can cure the problems they see in the world. Additionally, they don't want to push their beliefs on others because they already feel like they've lost them.
In the second verse, the singer has a moment of realization where they can't help but be emotionally overcome by the world's suffering. They describe their awareness as "goddamn self-aware" and their emotions as "insight inciting fires in my stare." Their view of the world stands in stark contrast to "the 'I don't cares'," who they suggest are indifferent or ignorant. The singer acknowledges the lack of control they have over the world and compares their existence to the men on crosses. Finally, the singer acknowledges leaving one day and wanting to take in everything that exists.
Line by Line Meaning
Probably
There's uncertainty in my beliefs
I'm not as angry as I should be
I'm not as emotional as I'm expected to be
A stiff and stoic apology
A formal and unfeeling expression of regret
From a crumbling bastion of closed-eyed empathy
From an institution that lacks compassion and introspection
I don't believe
I don't have faith in
In the curative properties
In the healing powers
Of rivers or of centuries-old exercises for our egos or
Of natural elements or long-standing traditions that improve our self-esteem or
Of pushing my beliefs on anybody
Of imposing my convictions on others
I've already lost them
I don't have them anymore
I couldn't care less
I don't have any interest or concern
Suddenly
Unexpectedly
I am brought to my knees
I'm humbled
By all the things I see
By the harsh realities that confront me
So unabashedly
So brazenly
In disrepair
In bad condition
Insight inciting fires in my stare
I'm gaining clarity that fuels my passion
So goddamn self-aware
I'm painfully conscious of my shortcomings
In conflict or in tandem with the "I don't cares"
Contradicting or complementing those who lack concern
As genuine as irony thrown unprepared
As authentic as unexpected contradictions
And ignorant and faultless
Uninformed but innocent
Like the men nailed up on crosses
As helpless victims of society's injustices
The horizon duly dotted
The expected future marked with uncertainty
On any given day
At any moment
If I leave
When I depart
Or is it when, I mean?
Maybe it's already decided, but I don't know
I will turn around
I will look back
And take in everything
And remember all there was
And I'd expect that I will see
I predict that I'll realize
There was always something there for me
There were always opportunities or lessons I missed
Contributed by Samuel S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.