The Get Up Kids were viewed throughout their existence as a prototypical emo band, having been major players in the Midwest emo movement of the mid-1990s.[4] However, like many early emo bands, The Get Up Kids sought to dissociate themselves with the term, as it was considered dismissive to be seen as an "emo band."Years later, guitarist Jim Suptic even apologized for having the influence they did on many of the modern third-wave emo bands, commenting that "the punk scene we came out of and the punk scene now are completely different. It’s like glam rock now . . . If this is the world we helped create, then I apologize.”
Influential Kansas City five piece, The Get Up Kids, return in January 2011 with a new studio album,There Are Rules – the band’s fifth full-length collection, and the first on their own Quality Hill Records imprint.
Seven years after what looked to be their final album Guilt Show, with the group disbanding a year later in 2005 after 10 years of constant touring, The Get Up Kids returned to the studio in 2009, sparked by a spur-of-the-moment decision to start writing songs together again, made while they were rehearsing to promote the tenth anniversary edition of their breakout album ‘Something to Write Home About’.
The first fruits of these new recordings was ‘Simple Science’, released in April 2010 - an EP that burst, unannounced, into the Billboard Top 200. But that was just a taste – a precursor to the full-length album, which Alternative Press magazine, upon hearing a whisper of its existence, placed on their “most anticipated…” list.
The band re-convened at their Black Lodge studio in Eudora, KS at various times in 2010 to complete the recordings, and so ‘There Are Rules’ came to be - twelve new songs that will prove to be both surprising, and familiar. The result is a collection of songs that are fresh and inspired, created by a band that has been given new life and isn’t looking back. In some fashion, the new tracks mark a return to the early days of The Get Up Kids, when they formed fifteen years ago above a drum store in downtown Kansas City. The recording involved lots of analog 2” tape – live takes and a feel for the unexpected. Long time producer Ed Rose was once again seated behind the mixing desk, and the band even turned to Chicago luminary Bob Weston, who recorded their debut, Four Minute Mile, to master the album. “This record came together really organically. We'd throw out an idea and if it didn't work after 30 minutes we'd scrap it and move on to another one. We all wrote together really spontaneously and then fleshed it out with Ed in the studio," says Matt Pryor.
At the same time, ‘There Are Rules’ marks a new chapter for The Get Up Kids, as they return to their independent roots, forming their own label – Quality Hill Records – and reigniting the DIY spirit that originally launched the band onto the worldwide stage. Says Pryor, “"We had a really great relationship with Vagrant but we felt that with the proverbial rebirth of the band we wanted to start our own label. Do everything ourselves like we did in the beginning." And as to naming the imprint? "Quality Hill is a historic neighborhood in Kansas City. It's not far from where we first formed the band. It seems like an appropriate name for the label." And of course, echoing their formative years, there is a 7” single involved. That 45 would be ‘Automatic’ – a limited edition release due in January 2011.
And so, after touring across four continents to sold out crowds too many times to count, after becoming a crucial part of what has been called the “second wave of emo” in the 90’s along with bands like Braid and The Promise Ring and influencing a list of bands as long as your arm, after 15 years, 4 acclaimed studio albums, a collection of rarities, a live record, numerous 7"s and EPs the Kansas City five piece – Matthew Pryor on vocals and guitar, Rob Pope on bass, Jim Suptic on guitars and vocals, James Dewees on keyboards and Ryan Pope on drums - are excited to unveil ‘There Are Rules’ in 2011, proving that the final chapter for The Get Up Kids has yet to be written.
Conversation
The Get Up Kids Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's room in my life for you, girl
Though we had a lot of words to say
Didn't think we'd need to have another damn conversation about it
Question the words for years now
I'm finding my sense and my know how
Though I'm learning that I was wrong
Question the words for years now
I'm finding my sense and my know how
Though I'm learning that I was wrong
Didn't think we'd need to have another damn conversation about it
Question the words for years now
I'm finding my sense and my know how
Though I'm learning that I was wrong
Didn't think we'd need to have another damn conversation about it
The Get Up Kids's song Conversation is a musing on a relationship in which communication is difficult but necessary. The singer reveals that although he and his partner have had many conversations, they always seem to end up needing to have another one. Despite this frustration, he acknowledges that there is always room for her in his life. The repetitiveness of the song emphasizes the cyclical nature of the situation and the feelings of hopelessness that can arise from it.
The lyrics suggest that the singer has been questioning the words said between him and his partner for years and is only just now coming to a sense of clarity. The phrase "finding my sense and my know how" implies a newfound sense of awareness and understanding. However, despite this newfound understanding, the need to have another conversation suggests that there is still a long way to go in terms of fully resolving the issues between them.
One possible interpretation is that the constant need for conversation comes from a lack of trust or understanding between the two people. The repetition of the phrase "question the words for years now" suggests that communication has been a struggle for a long time. Yet, despite this struggle, the singer still wants to make the relationship work. Overall, Conversation presents a portrait of two people trying to bridge the gap between them and find a way to truly connect.
Line by Line Meaning
Of all of the space in this small world
Despite the vastness of the world, there's still a place in my life for you.
There's room in my life for you, girl
I have enough space in my life for you to fit in.
Though we had a lot of words to say
Even though we've talked a lot before.
Didn't think we'd need to have another damn conversation about it
I didn't expect that we would have to talk about it again.
Question the words for years now
I've been questioning and analyzing our conversations for years.
I'm finding my sense and my know how
I'm gaining clarity and understanding.
Though I'm learning that I was wrong
I realize now that I was mistaken about something.
Didn't think we'd need to have another damn conversation about it
I wasn't anticipating that we would have to talk it over once again.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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