Starting with 2001's brilliant day darkener, Here's Luck, the band charted a course of, as Paste magazine said, capturing "the Zeitgeist of this anxious era." The follow-up, 10,000 Years, was hailed as the bands' masterpiece—a concept album based on Levy's experiences in social work telling the story of a poor urban test tube kids’s rise and fall during a genocidal apocalypse in the not-so-distant future. In 2006 the band released Amygdala, a record thematically exploring fear in its varied forms—abandonment, losing children, war & death, aging, social decay.
In 2009 the band emerges with an offering considerably more hopeful in these desperate times. The tracks on Sunshine Committee reflect a complex, often nuanced intersection of art and humanity while marking a return to a more live, rocking sound.
Once featured guests, Matt Darling on trombone and Steven Kung on trumpet have now become integral core members of the band, adding a vintage Stax/Volt-Muscle Shoals unctuousness to the record. Bass player Trent Norton’s writhingly hooky parts almost singularly define the new improved sound. Levy and Brian Halverson have further perfected their guitar matrimony, playing off each other and swapping leads and obbligatos. Peter Sands, given extra real estate space, layers clavinets, harpsichords, pianos, Hammond organs, Chamberlains, and various odd keyboards from his museum of myriad electronic instruments. Drummer Peter Anderson directs traffic like an empathic inner city principal, alternately slamming and playing with great economy, sensitivity and restraint.
As always, the band refers to the traditional soul and rock touchstones while creating something interesting, unpredictable, insightful, and moving: shades of the Stones' Exile on Main Street, Fresh-era Sly Stone, twilight Hendrix and Revolver-esque Beatles, all with Levy's surreal, evocative and enigmatic lyrics winding sinuously through the savory mix.
Sunshine Committee is the band’s first truly self-produced effort, with the entire band involved in the conception, engineering and editing of the record. Granted permission to record this and his children’s record (Bunny Clogs) at the Institute of Production and Recording where Levy is a teacher, the EP's production provided top students with a “laboratory” environment in which to experiment with various mics and recording techniques, comment on arrangement and performance, and assist in the editing process.
Capping off the roster of contributing talent, friend and mainstay John Fields, freshly finished with recording the Jonas Brothers, offered up his mixing expertise to the band.
On the eve of this, the Honeydog's 10th release, with solo projects and new records percolating, the band emerges confident in their ability to reinvent their sound while keeping alive the best musical and thematic features that have been their trademarks for nearly 15 years.
Sour Grapes
The Honeydogs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The three alarm at five o'clock
Sirens getting louder
Saw you in your K car
Walkin' off with out a scratch
It's easy to break
It's the waiting that kills you
It's hard to say
I think we're going down soon
Sour grapes, yeah, we've got 'em
Don't need rain, just a glass of water
Yeah, it's lonely at the bottom
It takes everything I've got
From sinking like a stone
Grease is covering up the lens
It's hard to see, sitting in the nose bleeds
Found your bag of fishing lures
Never found the one that got away
Are you missing what you never had?
It's easy to break
It's the waiting that kills you
It's hard to say
I think we're going down soon
Sour grapes, yeah, we've got 'em
Don't need rain, just a glass of water
Yeah, it's lonely at the bottom
It takes everything I've got
From sinking like a stone
Did you have a good time there?
Did you settle the lines there?
Did you finally find what you need?
Never knew there were two
Ten o'clocks in the same day
Lying on your back
You're tired of staring at the ceiling
When are we leaving?
It's easy to break
It's the waiting that kills you
It's hard to say
I think we're going down soon
Sour grapes, yeah, we've got 'em
Don't need rain, just a glass of water
Yeah, it's lonely at the bottom
It takes everything I've got
From sinking like a stone
Sour grapes, yeah, we've got 'em
Don't need rain, just a glass of water
Yeah, it's lonely at the bottom
It takes everything I've got
From sinking like a stone
The song Sour Grapes by The Honeydogs is a reflective and contemplative look at life's struggles and disappointments. The opening lines describe a car accident and the relief of walking away unscathed. The lines "It's easy to break, it's the waiting that kills you" speaks to the idea that it's easier to deal with a crisis than the long wait for something to happen. The chorus repeats "sour grapes" and "lonely at the bottom," suggesting a feeling of bitterness and isolation. The lines about missing what you never had and not finding the one that got away hint at a sense of longing and regret.
The mention of fishing lures and settling the lines suggests a sense of searching and trying to find something that may not exist. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the feeling of being stuck and struggling to stay afloat. The line "From sinking like a stone" implies the finality of giving up and letting go.
Overall, the song evokes a sense of melancholy and a search for meaning in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Twenty-eight, twenty-six
Referring to the numbers on a license plate belonging to someone the singer knows.
The three alarm at five o'clock
The fire department responded to an incident at 5am.
Sirens getting louder
The approaching emergency vehicles make increasingly more noise.
Saw you in your K car
A reference to a particular make and model of car.
T-boned by the road star
The K car was hit by a car whose driver was speeding.
Walkin' off with out a scratch
Miraculously, the singer was not injured in the accident.
It's easy to break
It's simple to fall apart.
It's the waiting that kills you
Uncertainty and anticipation can be unbearable.
It's hard to say
Admitting something unpleasant is difficult.
I think we're going down soon
The artist senses something bad is imminent.
Sour grapes, yeah, we've got 'em
Feeling bitter and resentful because of unfavorable circumstances.
Don't need rain, just a glass of water
Small things can compound bigger problems.
Yeah, it's lonely at the bottom
Being on the losing side can be a lonely experience.
It takes everything I've got
It's exhausting to keep going despite setbacks.
From sinking like a stone
Descending rapidly toward failure or doom.
Grease is covering up the lens
Something is obscuring a clear view of the situation.
It's hard to see, sitting in the nose bleeds
Being far removed from the action can make it difficult to understand what's happening.
Found your bag of fishing lures
The singer found something belonging to someone else while searching for something else.
Never found the one that got away
Something they wanted to find or accomplish eluded them.
Are you missing what you never had?
A rhetorical question about focusing on what could have been instead of what is.
Did you have a good time there?
Asking someone how they felt about something after it's over.
Did you settle the lines there?
Did you make an agreement in a dispute?
Did you finally find what you need?
Did you find what you were looking for?
Never knew there were two ten o'clocks in the same day
A strange or disorienting experience.
Lying on your back
In a vulnerable position.
You're tired of staring at the ceiling
Being stuck in a place or situation can be tiresome.
When are we leaving?
Impatience to move on to something else or to escape.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAM L. LEVY, NOAH LEVY, TRENT NORTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@praketingrichraft6181
Where is the alternate universe where this song was a massive hit? Because that's where I want to live.
@smithjohn4625
Great song. Just when you think it can't get better here comes the bridge, not to mention the guitar soloing at the fade out. Heard them on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and bought a few of their CDs. It's all quality stuff. Should have more views. Nice video concept.
@mikesgrig
Thank God for mixed cds. Otherwise I wouldn't have ever heard these guys. Bought the cd based on Wilson Blvd. What a ditty!
@terry63lee
the lyrics and harmonies are very clever
@dougedart
Love the Honeydogs!!! Why aren't these guys huge??? Oh yeah.
@martifingers
Yes, a mystery indeed. 10000 years is probably the finest rock album since Sgt. Pepper and almost no-one has heard of it and its hard to get hold of here in the UK. Go figure...
@courtneyjackson6143
👍
@anarcho2narco
Dude, i met adam levy, he came to our school for our creative writing class... =] lol
@ullukipatti
I just noticed the random high five.... hyper...
@whiteboyedmund
what album is that on