After playing countless hometown shows, the Futureheads took the show on the road with a massive helping hand from Slampt Records' Milky Wimpshake. A tour of Squats and Youth Centres in Central Europe came in summer 2001, due to which the band switched out drummers. In place of Peter Brewis ambled a young pretender, Mr David Hyde (Drums, Vocals).
Several singles followed - the first, Nul Book Standard, can now be seen casually hanging out on eBay from time to time. A relationship with the lovely people at Fantastic Plastic briefly followed. 'The Futureheads' was released in summer 2004, on 679 Recordings, and then the band hit the road. Some highlights of 2005 include playing Glastonbury Festival on Baz's birthday, Hounds Of Love going Top Ten, meeting Dennis Hopper on Jimmy Kimmel's US TV Show, and getting that most infamous of Albatrosses, The Second Album under their belts.
‘News and Tributes’ was released in May 2006. It reached 11 in the album chart, and saw the band touring the world and continuing to win fans and supporters with their exhilarating live shows.
Fast forward to 2008, and The Futureheads are back, bolder and better than ever, exploding back onto the scene with their new album ‘This Is Not The World’. Embracing the punk-rock ethic like never before, Barry, Ross, Jaff and Dave are releasing their third album independently and taking control of their own destiny. It’s going to feel like the first time, all over again…
Annoyed and frustrated too many times by the bureaucratic nightmare that music had become, the band split with former label 679 in late 2006. A silently busy year followed which saw the band writing and recording, and launching their own label Nul Records, solely to release music by The Futureheads. Free of major label shackles, the band are taking back control and relishing being their own bosses.
‘This Is Not The World’ was recorded in 3 weeks in the summer with super-producer Youth at his studio ‘Space Mountain’ in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Andalusia. About as far away atmospherically as you can get from the bleak Scarborough farm in which they recorded ‘News And Tributes’, the band couldn’t help but be influenced by Youth’s enthusiasm, and describe the album as one of ‘defiance, optimism and joy.’
Keen to share the joy with fans, the band released 2 tracks as free downloads and played intimate shows in London and Sunderland at the end of 2007. They begin 2008 with a tour of uni venues and kick off the year with storming new single ‘The Beginning Of The Twist’, released March 10th.
Dart At the Map
The Futureheads Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We won't be here on Monday when it starts again
Go get 'em boys, go get 'em girls
The family will be waiting when you return
The people with the flags don't understand
What it's like to have a world in your hands
Every night I go to sleep with someone watching me,
Every night I go to sleep and have the same two dreams
Wonder what I see, the people don't look like me
The circuitry, I'm lying on my own in a field
There are people waiting at home for us
Holding flowers, they'll be standing at the gate for us
There are people waiting at home for us
Keeping a picture at the bedside just of us
I wake up every morning on the edge of fear
I'm writing out a postcard, I wish you were here
Every night I go to sleep with someone watching me
Every night I cannot sleep 'cause of the things I've seen
But try to treat me to coming home
Back to the place where I belong
Where the sound of shells is gone
And where I wouldn't have to sing this song
There are people waiting at home for us
Holding flowers, they'll be standing at the gate for us
There are people waiting at home for us
Keeping a picture by the bedside just of us
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
The Futureheads’ Dart at the Map is a song about leaving home and going on a journey. This journey could be interpreted as either physical, emotional or spiritual. The song starts by talking about a group of people who are leaving home on an aeroplane and won’t be back until after the weekend. They are encouraged by their family to go get whatever it is they want to get. The next line is ambiguous, it talks about people with flags not understanding what it’s like to have the world in their hands. The flags could be representative of a nation, a culture, or even a subculture. The line implies that the people with flags have limited understanding of the potential and possibilities available to others. The singer then goes on to talk about the dreams they have where they see unfamiliar people and experience unfamiliar things. There is a sense of disconnect from the world they left behind.
Line by Line Meaning
We're leaving home this weekend on an aeroplane,
We are departing from our current location by air transportation, this coming weekend.
We won't be here on Monday when it starts again
We will not be present on the first day of the week when it begins again.
Go get 'em boys, go get 'em girls
Go get them, both male and female individuals.
The family will be waiting when you return
Your family members will eagerly await your return.
The people with the flags don't understand
Those individuals waving flags do not comprehend the situation.
What it's like to have a world in your hands
They do not know the feeling of having the entire world within their grasp.
Every night I go to sleep with someone watching me,
I sleep while someone is keeping an eye on me, every single night.
Every night I go to sleep and have the same two dreams
Each night, I always have two identical dreams during my slumber.
Wonder what I see, the people don't look like me
I am curious about what I witness, those individuals do not resemble myself in any way.
The circuitry, I'm lying on my own in a field
The wiring, I lay alone among a pasture.
There are people waiting at home for us
Individuals are awaiting our return to our place of residence.
Holding flowers, they'll be standing at the gate for us
These same individuals will be holding flowers and positioned at the entrance for us.
Keeping a picture at the bedside just of us
They are maintaining a photo of only our collective image beside their bed.
I wake up every morning on the edge of fear
I rise with feelings of apprehension each and every morning.
I'm writing out a postcard, I wish you were here
In the process of composing a postcard message, I desire for you to be here with me.
Every night I cannot sleep 'cause of the things I've seen
My inability to slumber is due to the matter I have encountered.
But try to treat me to coming home
Please attempt to provide me with a positive experience upon my arrival home.
Back to the place where I belong
Returning to the location which I am meant to be within.
Where the sound of shells is gone
A location where the auditory occurrence of shells does not exist.
And where I wouldn't have to sing this song
Somewhere where I would not have to perform this specific song.
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
We played a game by throwing a dart at a map, followed by us beginning to laugh.
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
We played a game by throwing a dart at a map, followed by us beginning to laugh.
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
We played a game by throwing a dart at a map, followed by us beginning to laugh.
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
We played a game by throwing a dart at a map, followed by us beginning to laugh.
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
We played a game by throwing a dart at a map, followed by us beginning to laugh.
Threw a dart at the map, and we started to laugh
We played a game by throwing a dart at a map, followed by us beginning to laugh.
Contributed by Reagan T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.