Several of Streetlight's members were already well known among the New Jersey ska community for their roles in past ska bands from that area, most notably Catch 22's Tomas Kalnoky, James Egan, Mike Soprano, and Josh Ansley, as well as One Cool Guy's Stuart Karmatz, Pete Sibilia, Dan Ross, and Chris Paszik.
The band's first album, Everything Goes Numb, was released on August 26, 2003, and was distributed by Victory Records. They headlined their first ever show at Rutgers University on December 9, 2003 in front of a sold out audience.
The line-up has gone through several changes since the band's conception and currently consists of Matt Stewart on trumpet, Mike Brown on alto and baritone saxophone, Jim Conti on alto and tenor saxophone, Tomas Kalnoky on guitar and lead vocals, Pete McCullaugh on bass guitar, Karl Lyden on trombone, and Chris Thatcher on drums.
Though the band has enjoyed little mainstream commercial success, they have received acclaim in alternative music circles, and their debut album is currently in Interpunk.com's top 100 items, over 2 years after its release. In addition, they regularly sell out their live shows, and their first few shows at Rutgers and The Stone Pony not only sold out, but had people coming from as far as Minnesota and Canada. Their second album, a reworking of Catch 22's Keasbey Nights was released on March 7, 2006.
Streetlight Manifesto's third album, entitled Somewhere in the Between came out on November 13, 2007. Rumors also have it that the band is currently working on a series of 8 albums entitled "The 99 Songs of Revolution" in co-operation with Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, a side-project of singer Tomas Kalnoky slated for release in early 2009.
On November 17, 2009, the band's website announced that "99 Songs of Revolution: Volume One" has been ready for release for quite some time but "some record labels are just plain horrendous." They are also in the process of arranging a tour for 2010 but will spend some time in the studio until they have "a few records to release."
The first album of 99 Songs of Revolution was released on March 16, 2010. On this CD, the band covered songs by artists such as The Postal Service, Radiohead, and NOFX.
Band Members:
Mike Brown - Baritone Sax
Karl Lyden - Trombone
Jim Conti - Tenor Sax
Matt Stewart - Trumpet
Chris Thatcher - Drums
Tomas Kalnoky - Guitar, Vocals
Pete McCullaugh - Bass
www.streetlightmanifesto.com
Oh Me Oh My
Streetlight Manifesto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I swear that we had it but everyone wouldn't agree
That we never had a thing
Our dying words will be exaggerations
Of what we said and what we did
The ticking of the clock
Eventually it stops
[Chorus]
Oh me oh my
Goodness gracious what a lie
Where everyone's running around like they don't have a clue
What they will do
Now that it's through
And the ending is in sight
Oh my goodness me oh my
It's late and it's time to say goodnight
Oh my goodness me oh my
Our disease
Though feasibly easily curable I will agree that it's not something we overfeed
The truth will be told
The lies will unfold
And anything anyone ever ignored will come back up to settle old scores
The writings on the wall
Says eventually we fall
And even Romans know
That everything (everything) everything (everything) goes
[Chorus: x2]
The lyrics of Streetlight Manifesto's "Oh Me Oh My" paint a picture of deep pessimism about the human condition. The song begins with the singer expressing his feeling of frustration that no one seemed to accept the love that he and his partner shared. Despite claiming that they "had it," the world around them refused to see it. As a result, their last words will likely be exaggerated versions of their own laments about how their love could have been.
However, the second verse changes focus to something more general - humanity's terminal "disease". It's described as "easily curable," which suggests that it's something intangible, like greed or cruelty. Regrettably, the song seems to claim that it's not something that can be conquered by feeding ourselves with positive attributes. Instead, the lie that the world we live in is lying in decay will unravel and the things we ignored or took for granted will come back to settle scores. This creates a sense of hopelessness that's reinforced by the chorus, which describes people running around aimlessly, seemingly lost as the end draws near.
The ticking of the clock is a recurring motif, a reminder that everything in this world is ephemeral and eventually runs out of time. The chorus also implies that despite humanity's apparent ignorance and selfishness, the end is in sight and the clock is ticking.
Line by Line Meaning
Woe is me
I'm feeling sorry for myself
I swear that we had it but everyone wouldn't agree
I thought we had something going on, but everyone else disagreed
That we never had a thing
Turns out we never actually had anything after all
Our dying words will be exaggerations
When we're on our deathbeds, we'll probably exaggerate everything we've ever said and done
Of what we said and what we did
We'll make it seem like we accomplished more than we actually did
The ticking of the clock
Time keeps moving forward
Eventually it stops
One day time will run out for all of us
"Oh me oh my"
An expression of surprise or shock
Goodness gracious what a lie
I can't believe the falsehood that we've been living
Where everyone's running around like they don't have a clue
Everyone seems lost and confused
What they will do
They don't know what actions to take
Now that it's through
After everything has ended
And the ending is in sight
We can see that the end is near
Our disease
Our personal flaws and weaknesses
Though feasibly easily curable I will agree that it's not something we overfeed
While it's easy to address our problems, we have a tendency to ignore them
The truth will be told
Eventually, the truth will come out
The lies will unfold
As the truth is revealed, the lies we've been telling will be exposed
And anything anyone ever ignored will come back up to settle old scores
The things people have forgotten or ignored will come back to haunt them
The writings on the wall
The signs are there for all to see
Says eventually we fall
Just like everything that rises will eventually fall
And even Romans know
Even the mighty Roman Empire couldn't last forever
That everything (everything) everything (everything) goes
Everything comes to an end eventually
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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