The Sights combine the unobtrusive honesty of The Band with countless slivers of influence from their own personal record collections: Ike and Tina, Solomon Burke, The Everly Brothers, Bob Seger, Tim Hardin and all manner of raucous, infectious songwriting. Starting in the summer of 1998, famed typhoon of energy Eddie Baranek (guitar/vocals) fronted evolving line-ups through 2000’s Are You Green?, 2002’s Got What We Want and 2005’s self-titled The Sights – all recorded at Jim Diamond’s (White Stripes, Electric Six, Dirtbombs) Ghetto Recorders in Detroit.
2010’s Most of What Follows Is True was a critical success, placing in the top fifteen percent of The Village Voice’s 2010 Pazz and Jop listing and garnering press accolades from around the globe. With that record, The Sights achieved an unprecedented level of song and studio craftsmanship. In an era of soulless keyboards, drum machines and Autotune, Eddie & Co. responded with thrillingly catchy songs. No gimmicks, no studio trickery – just inspired rock ‘n’ roll from the heart.
The release their seventh effort, Left Over Right. topped 2012’s many achievements. On it, Baranek is joined by Jarrod Champion (keyboards/vocals), Dean Tartaglia (saxophone/vocals), Kyle Schanta (bass) and Skip Denomme (drums) where they deliver not only their most soulful album to date, but do it with all of the intensity that has fueled their previous recordings and live shows for well over a decade. The Sights also released a new single (“Eso No Está Bien Pequeña/Like Two Little Kids”), supplied the music for two Chevrolet ads and played in front of over 140,000 fans in support of Tenacious D’s North American and European tours.
The Sights’ precocious ability to blend frenetic garage rock with ’60s pop and create something equally classic and catchy has garnered consistently rave reviews from both sides of the Atlantic. NME wrote “[The Sights are] a revelation – a treasure trove of sparky and wildly immediate songwriting” and Rolling Stone commented “at last – a new Detroit-garage band that comes in colors.”
Discography
· 2012 – Left Over Right (LP – HRM)
· 2012 – Eso No Está Bien Pequeña. (7” – Get Hip)
· 2011 – Twelve in the Bar (LP -- Fountain Records)
· 2010 – Most of What Follows is True (LP – Alive!)
· 2010 – The Sights Live At Euclid Records (10” – Euclid)
· 2009 – Silver & Gold (12” – self-released maxi-single)
· 2005 – The Sights (LP – Scratchie/New Line)
· 2005 – Circus (7” - Sweet Nothing)
· 2003 – Be Like Normal (7” - Sweet Nothing)
· 2002 – Got What We Want (LP – Fall of Rome)
· 2001 – If That’s What You Want (double 7” – Fall of Rome)
· 2000 – Are You Green? (LP – Fall of Rome)
Placements
· Chevrolet Volt
· Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers
· Expansion Team - Sci-Fi Channel
· Under The Radar - PBS
· Reaper - CW
· The Shield - FX
· America's Funniest Home Videos - ABC
· Fast, Inc - MTV
· Wedding Crashers - New Line Cinema
· Adam and Eve - National Lampoon
· Just Friends - New Line Cinema
· The Myth Of The American Sleepover – Roman Spring Pictures
· The Last Chancers - BBC
Backseat
The Sights Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the answers left behind from your lies
What do you do when you're in a rut?
And all your [????????????????] rusted
Well, you hung me out to dry, but nevermind
For if we never meet again, I'll be fine
You're one of the people enjoying the dream
You know me, and I wouldn't lie
I'd like to go out with a little more style
'Cause after a while, you'll burn out like the rest
See me in the streets
Give me no time of day
Your time was too precious
For you to be conversing
Well, I got news for you
I don't care anymore
I got my own life now
I got my own friends
I got a new place to stay
I'm walking around
What do you say?
Hey
Laughing through your teeth
Smiling with your hollow cheeks
Your time was too precious
For you to even look back
Well, I got news for you
I don't really care
'Cause I wasn't there
I don't care anymore
I got my own life now
I tried to be true
Hey
Hey
The Sights’s song Backseat seems to dwell on a past relationship that has left the singer feeling betrayed, but who has come out on top regardless. The lyrics suggest that the ex-partner left behind the answers that the singer needed. It appears that the person in question was not honest enough in their dealings; hence, questions like “What do you do when you’re in a rut? and all your [?] rusted” suggests that the singer has been left to deal with problems that have been ignored for some time. The singer is also not afraid to admit their own role in the breakup of the relationship, “you hung me out to dry but nevermind”. They will be fine whether they ever meet again or not.
The second part of the song has the singer feeling as though they have moved on and are better off for having done so. They boast about having their own life, friends, and place to stay. The person who was previously too “precious” to talk to them can now only laugh through their teeth and smile with their “hollow cheeks”. In other words, they have nothing to offer, whereas the singer is now thriving. The ‘hey’ at the end could be interpreted in different ways, but it seems to show that the singer is confident that they are better off without the other person.
Line by Line Meaning
In the backseat of your mind, you will find
Deep down in your subconscious, you already know
All the answers left behind from your lies
You hid the truth from yourself and now the answers are buried away
What do you do when you're in a rut?
When you're stuck in a difficult situation, what can you do?
And all your [????????????????] rusted
All of your options are now old, outdated, and unusable
Well, you hung me out to dry, but nevermind
You abandoned me, but I won't let it bother me
For if we never meet again, I'll be fine
If we never see each other again, I won't feel any loss
You're one of the people enjoying the dream
You're living a fantasy life that you read about
That you read about in a magazine, yeah
You're trying to emulate a lifestyle that was fabricated by other people
You know me, and I wouldn't lie
You know me well enough to realize that I'm truthful
I'd like to go out with a little more style
I want to leave gracefully
'Cause after a while, you'll burn out like the rest
Eventually, you'll lose your spark and become like everyone else
See me in the streets
Encounter me in public
Give me no time of day
You ignore me completely
Your time was too precious
You don't think I'm worth your time
For you to be conversing
So you won't bother talking to me
Well, I got news for you
I have something to tell you
I don't care anymore
I'm not invested in this anymore
I got my own life now
I have my own things going on
I got my own friends
I have people in my life who value me
I got a new place to stay
I have a new home and a new start
I'm walking around
I'm happily living my life
What do you say?
What's your response to that?
Laughing through your teeth
You're pretending to be happy, but you're really not
Smiling with your hollow cheeks
Your smile is fake and forced
Your time was too precious
You don't value my time
For you to even look back
So you won't even glance back at me
I don't really care
I'm indifferent to your actions
'Cause I wasn't there
I wasn't involved in your business
I tried to be true
I did my best to be honest and loyal
Contributed by Riley W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.