If indie rock ever makes it in Romania, it’ll be because of The Amsterdams and their relentless pursuit. And because bands like The Dandy Warhols dig them and regard them as the best band in the land. As they make it pretty clear on the MySpace page, they’re here to do more than just rock out; they’re here to “take the cars out of every garage band”. Whatever that means, it sounds good enough to get behind.
Their second studio album, "Electromagnetica", was released on 31 March 2011 and on 1 April as a digital download. The album was partly recorded in Next Dog Studio, and was mastered by Harris Newman, who is also known for his work with Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire. Electromagnetica is produced and mixed by Electric Brother and features Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs), who plays guitar on "This Burial Ground's For Two".
“Sneakers and striped T-Shirts: there¹s some hard strumming going on in the garages of Bucharest. These kids from Romania are highly strung. Thick guitar riffs, each song bringing a darker atmosphere. The Amsterdams are worthy symbols of a spirited, tortured rock scene.”
EuropaVox 2008
DISCOGRAPHY
"Automatic" (EP; 2008)
"Adolessons" (2009)
"Electromagnetica" (2011)
"Winds Apart" (2014)
"Eternity for Dummies" (2016)
Coalmine
The Amsterdams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey dad, why are they holding those clubs in their hands?
Oh no, why are they beating up students and geeks?
Oh no, they look like monsters coming out of the dark
Leave my glasses on my face
To see you better
Try and find some other place
Take the folks and beat it
Let us go back to my house
These streets are made for walking
Let us go back to my house
Holy cow, how can a poet lead an army of fools?
Oh my God, ten thousand people with a plastic cap head
Oh no, they fucked darkness with the light on their forehead
Only now they came out mining for the coal in our brains
Leave my glasses on my face
To see you better
Try and find some other place
That you could scatter
Take the folks and beat it
Let us go back to my house
These streets are made for walking
Let us go back to my house
All I wanna say is
I'm not a coalmine
All I wanna say is
Please don't hold me down
The Amsterdams’ song Coalmine is a thought-provoking piece that delves into themes of oppression, control, and the pursuit of individual identity. The song opens with a series of questions that embody the confusion and frustration felt by people at the mercy of a dominating and often violent authority. We get glimpses of a god-like figure, leading an army of followers with plastic caps on their head, who extract “coal” from people's brains - a metaphorical reference to the suppression of free thought and the restriction of individuality.
Through the lyrics, we see the singer struggling to hold on to his identity amid the chaos, with lines like “leave my glasses on my face, to see you better” and “all I wanna say is, I'm not a coalmine, please don't hold me down.” These lines demonstrate how the singer is resisting being consumed by the system that seeks to mould him into something he’s not, yet unable to escape the chaos it has created. Overall, Coalmine serves as a critique of oppressive and unjust societal structures, and a call to resist conformity in pursuit of individual freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey now, why are these people all gathered downtown?
The singer is questioning the reason behind a gathering of people in downtown.
Hey dad, why are they holding those clubs in their hands?
The singer is asking their father as to why the people gathered have weapons like clubs in their hands.
Oh no, why are they beating up students and geeks?
The singer is expressing concern as to why the crowd is attacking innocent students and geeks.
Oh no, they look like monsters coming out of the dark
The artist is scared and intimidated by the violent mob that resembles monsters emerging from the dark.
Leave my glasses on my face
To see you better
The artist wants to keep their glasses on their face to see things clearly, especially the person they are with.
Try and find some other place
That you could scatter
The singer suggests finding another place to go to avoid being a part of the violent crowd and getting hurt.
Take the folks and beat it
Let us go back to my house
The singer wants to escape from the violence and suggests leaving with the people they are with and going back to their house.
These streets are made for walking
Let us go back to my house
The artist acknowledges that the street is only meant for walking, and they want to leave and go back to their house with the people they are with.
Holy cow, how can a poet lead an army of fools?
The artist is surprised that a poet can have such a large following of emotionally driven, irrational people.
Oh my God, ten thousand people with a plastic cap head
The artist is horrified by the massive group of people wearing plastic caps on their heads, possibly indicating their solidarity with a certain cause.
Oh no, they fucked darkness with the light on their forehead
The singer is expressing disappointment that the group, who were supposed to bring light to the darkness, have instead worsened the situation.
Only now they came out mining for the coal in our brains
The artist feels like the group has come out to exploit the people's thoughts and beliefs for their own selfish gain.
All I wanna say is
I'm not a coalmine
The singer wants to make it clear that they don't want to be exploited by anyone's agenda.
All I wanna say is
Please don't hold me down
The singer is asking to be free and not to be oppressed or restricted in any way.
Contributed by Connor Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
n03mix
Holy cow! This is fantastic!!!!
LaFilleCendrier
these lyrics are simply haunting.
Emily Morphine
good job,guys
Emily Morphine
proud to be romanian
elaine benes
cool
DARi0
cocaine