Guitarist Mike Connell formed the band in 1984, along with his brother David Connell on bass, Doug MacMillan on vocals, and future filmmaker John Schultz on drums. This initial four-person line-up was quickly supplemented by the addition of George Huntley on second guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Around the same time, former Johnny Quest drummer Peele Wimberley replaced Schultz, finalizing the "classic" line-up of the band.
From the beginning of the group, Mike Connell wrote both the music and the lyrics of the majority of the band’s songs, although he was not the band's primary lead singer. Connell’s influences included the 1960's guitar pop of his childhood, including The Byrds and The Beatles; in an early interview, he stated that the first song he wrote as a teenager was titled “Psychedelic Butterfly."
Like Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Connell and Huntley played Rickenbacker guitars for the first several years of the band’s career, creating a jangly, folk-rock sound reminiscent of The Byrds and other Southern U.S. and North Carolina bands of the era, such as the dB's and Let's Active.
A re-recorded version of “Darker Days” provided the title track to the band’s debut album, which was produced by fellow North Carolinian Don Dixon and released in 1985 on Elvis Costello's Demon Records in the UK and the band’s own Black Park Records label in the U.S.
After touring heavily behind Darker Days, the Connells re-entered the studio in 1986 with Dixon and R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter to record their second album, Boylan Heights. The decision to work with Easter continued to perpetuate the comparisons to R.E.M.
Although the band shopped Boylan Heights to various labels, the major record companies, including Columbia Records, which expressed some mild interest, passed on it; the record was ultimately released in 1987 on mid-major TVT Records, which had made its name releasing a series of "Tee Vee Toons" television theme song compilation CDs. TVT would prove to be no commercial match for R.E.M.'s own mid-major label, I.R.S. Records, and over the next decade, The Connells would engage in a series of disputes with the label, on at least one occasion suing, unsuccessfully, to break their recording contract.
Despite the problems with TVT, Boylan Heights was a substantial college radio hit, and The Connells continued to tour relentlessly. During this period, both Connell and Huntley began to move away from their twelve-string Rickenbackers towards six-string Fender and Gibson guitars, leading to a heavier, less folky sound on Fun and Games, the 1989 follow-up album.
Fun and Games was quickly followed in 1990 by One Simple Word, which was recorded in Wales with U.K. producer Hugh Jones.
After a three-year recording hiatus, which included more legal jousting with TVT Records, a rejuvenated Connells released Ring in 1993. While European music fans made Ring a platinum record outside the United States, such high level success in America remained elusive. 1996's Weird Food and Devastation failed to build on the momentum established by its predecessor.
In 1998, the band released Still Life, which marked their final album for TVT. The band released Old School Dropouts on the revived Black Park Records label in 2000. The band recorded the record themselves and promoted it sparingly in the American South.
Peele Wimberley and George Huntley have since left the band. Wimberley briefly played with another band called Parklife, and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue interests in Hollywood and in electronic music. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles band, The Lamps.
Huntley is now selling real estate and working part time at the University of North Carolina music department.
Peele Wimberley was replaced on drums by Steve Ritter; after several years Ritter was soon replaced by Chris Stevenson on drums, and Mike Ayers took George's place on lead guitar. The new lineup recorded the album Old School Dropouts.
In 1993, they released "''74-'75" which remains their most popular song. It is based on experiences of the Class of 1975 in a high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. The video juxtaposed original yearbook pictures with the class members as they appeared at the time. And then in 2015, the producers tracked down the original members once again, and produced a remixed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6l3Lh2cb_g
The last official release of the band was in 2001. They still occasionally perform together, including a reunion concert in 2020.
Home Today
The Connells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A season spent away,
It is hard for me to see,
Hard for me to say.
I like your face,
But I can't anymore.
It was quite a time
Feeling very clear for me,
Very clear for you.
I like your face,
But I can't anymore.
Let's do it again.
I will recall
There are things
I could have done.
I will recall
There are things
I should have shown.
Did you find the time
To keep us both in mind?
Did you wander far from me,
Wander far from you?
I like your face,
But I can't anymore.
Let's do it again.
I will recall
There are things
I could have done.
I will recall
There are things
I should have shown.
To dream is not to say
I'll take it anyway,
A year is song enough for me,
Yet here we are today.
I like your face,
But I can't anymore.
The Connells’s song “Home Today” is a reflection of someone returning home from a prolonged period away and realizing that things have changed. The opening line, “Coming home today, a season spent away” sets the stage for the idea of a person coming home after a long trip. However, upon returning home, it becomes difficult to fully comprehend and express their feelings. The lyrics “It is hard for me to see, hard for me to say” show a sense of confusion and uncertainty, making it challenging to express emotions simply.
The song’s chorus contains repeated lyrics of “I like your face, but I can’t anymore”. The use of this line is symbolic of the individual coming to terms with changed surroundings, resulting in the inability to see things in the same way as before. The songwriters have used a simple yet effective technique to establish a break between past and present, which contrasts the idyllic memories of the past with the often-unsettling present.
In the latter half of the song, the singer is regretful, feeling as though there were missed opportunities by stating “There are things I could have done, I should have shown”. The lyrics allude to the idea that the person was not fully present in the past, leading to missed chances and regret.
Line by Line Meaning
Coming home today,
Returning home after being away for a while.
A season spent away,
Referring to a period of time spent away from home.
It is hard for me to see,
Difficult for the singer to comprehend the change that has occurred while they were away.
Hard for me to say.
The artist finds it difficult to express their feelings or thoughts about the situation.
I like your face,
The artist has positive feelings toward the person they are addressing.
But I can't anymore.
However, something has changed that prevents the singer from continuing to like that person.
It was quite a time
The singer is reflecting on the past experience.
And I'm sure that I'm
The artist is certain about their current feelings.
Feeling very clear for me,
Their emotions are straightforward and easy to understand.
Very clear for you.
The intended recipient of the message should also understand the artist's emotions clearly.
Let's do it again.
The singer wants to start over or try again.
I will recall
The artist will remember something specific from the past.
There are things
The memory will be related to specific actions, events, or items.
I could have done.
The singer wishes they had taken a different course of action in the past.
I should have shown.
The singer wishes they had expressed something to the intended recipient of the message more clearly in the past.
Did you find the time
The artist is asking if the other person thought about them during the time they were away.
To keep us both in mind?
The artist suggests that the other person was also a part of the situation and should have also thought about their relationship.
Did you wander far from me,
The singer asks if the other person developed other interests or relationships while they were away.
Wander far from you?
The singer also asks if the other person feels that the singer has drifted away from them.
To dream is not to say
The artist suggests that having a hope or desire is not the same as making it a reality.
I'll take it anyway,
The artist expresses a willingness to accept whatever may come their way.
A year is song enough for me,
The artist suggests that a year has been long enough to realize what they want and need.
Yet here we are today.
Despite the time that has passed, the singer and intended recipient of the message are still interacting with each other.
I like your face,
The artist continues to hold positive feelings about the other person.
But I can't anymore.
However, there is still something that is preventing the singer from continuing their previous relationship with the other person.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GEORGE HUNTLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
B Bloem
on In my Head
I always thought this was being sung to an aborted baby.