The Slip formed when bassist Marc Friedman and brothers Andrew Barr and Brad Barr (Drums and Guitar/Vox, respectively) moved to Boston together after graduating from high school, where they had met and first began playing music as a group.
In 1996 the trio of recent Berklee dropouts put out their first studio album and began establishing a dedicated fan-base through relentless touring in and around the northeast. A late-nineties blend of extended roots pop compositions and experimental rhythmic approaches, the band developed and found their sound through an extremely supportive local scene of artists, musicians, and actors, coupled with a rigorous, and – soon – national, tour schedule. An eclectic new brand of exploratory roots psych-rock emerged; Van Morrison meets Keith Jarrett meets Talking Heads.
By 2001, the band’s tour schedule had brought them to sold-out headlining shows at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, successful tours in Japan, and a record deal with Rykodisc.
While the band’s line-up remained consistent throughout the next few years on the road, their sound developed considerably and the instrumentation expanded radically. The Slip grew from young, earthy avant-gardes to strong, mature contemporary-rock composers, creating a new sonic landscape that drew equally from CAN, U2, and new interests like Built to Spill and Postal Service.
By 2003, the trio’s non-stop touring produced Alivelectric and Aliveacoustic, a companion live set that also represented the inaugural release of their own independent record label, 216 records.
Aliveacoustic presented a rustic and intimate, voyeuristic snapshot of the band unplugged, on a rainy night at the intimate Club Helsinki in the Berkshire Mountains. Equal parts Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and 12 Golden Country Hits – era Ween, the album contains a tender honesty that carries through from tent-revival stomps to humble and dusty lyrical psalms.
Alivelectric, on the other hand, is almost exclusively instrumental, with a deep resonance and a wide breadth of analog and digital effects. Culled from an equally wide array of performances throughout the U.S. during the fall of 2002 and the summer and spring of 2003, Alivelectric gave 216 a chance to showcase the band at its grander, more expansive and ethereal live moments. The album presents an articulated side of The Slip much closer to Do Make Say Think, Tortoise, electric Bill Frisell and Squarepusher albums than the dusty americana present on it’s companion release.
These two records represent the most coherent articulation of the bands’ distinct sides to date, and have sold a combined 14,000 copies so far. The band has sold a total of over 50,000 albums independently.
In the five years following their last studio release, the band has also spent more and more of their time off the road in their home studios, gradually honing a new and innovative approach to recording and distilling an overall songwriting vision. So pervasive a transformation has occurred that The Slip have even recently been accused - perhaps appropriately - of ‘changing everything short of their name’.
Coming out of this, their heaviest state of growth and development in years, the band entered Q-Division Studios in March 2005 and began six months of utterly focused work with co-producer Mathew Ellard. The result is their 4th studio album, Eisenhower which stands as the most cohesive and evocative work the band has put together thus far.
Showcasing the raw analog passion of Broken Social Scene, the accessible melodic songcraft of Mojave 3, and the lush soundscapes and wash-like textures of Mogwai, the album’s dynamics also range from Iron and Wine–style intimate vocal immediacy to the thunderous big-beat anthem-sincerity of the Flaming Lips, with enough room in between for haunting vocal melodies evocative of Antonio Carlos Jobim or Sigur Ros laid over with sparce, raw, Notwist-style live percussion. It is the band’s finest work to date
Already proving itself be a very good indication of a brilliant upcoming album, the first single that has been released - “Even Rats” – that has been released (on most digital services) has already been featured in the extremely successful Playstation2 game Guitar Hero and was also chosen to be one of only ten songs preloaded on the new SanDisk mp3 player - 4.5 million of which are set to ship in mid-march 2006.
The album also contains a revamped version of “Children of December,” the demo version of which was awarded the 2004 Heineken USA/ASCAP Foundation Grant for Best Pop/Rock Song in Boston.
The spring of 2005 also saw the band spin through the northeast, accompanied by Nathan Moore on vocals and guitar, as collective avant-folk band Surprise Me Mr. Davis; a modern alt-country super-group combining the raw and intimate vocals of a Tom Waits or a Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen with the bluesy grit of the Black Keys, The Band or Two Gallants, all layered with the lush 3-and-4-part harmonies and dirty instrumentation of TV on the Radio. Selections from a late summer Montreal recording session formed a well-received EP entitled Only in Montreal.
2005 of course also saw The Slip playing a considerable amount of shows as themselves - throughout the U.S., Japan, Canada, and Mexico - and closed out with a memorable northeast New Year’s run supported by friends Apollo Sunshine.
Starting in late 2007, the trio took an unannounced hiatus from regular touring and have since only played occasional gigs as The Slip. They have not released any albums since 2006.
The future of The Slip seems to be on hold as the founding members, Andrew Barr and Brad Barr, have been focusing their work into The Barr Brothers.
Children of December
The Slip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have a clutch
Cause their birthdays are the hardest to remember
When youre born on Christmas
Or the day before New Years
They can sing out your birthday
But but but nobody hears
1975, it was as hot as an oven
Families that were loving eachother in November
By April were planning all the new family members
But save one for the empirical boy with his empirical toys
The hots wheels the autobots and the deceptigons
Everyones waiting to see what he's worth
But he is invincible like a breeze on the earth
I was holding something
In my hands so tightly
I was afraid to let it go
I was afraid to even know
I was holding something
In my heart so tightly
I was afraid to let it go
Children Of December
Oh when youre born in December
Its hard to remember
Well the 90s have ended
So what do you call this decade?
I hold every person I meet like a treasure
I defend the ones I love to whatever the end is
And thats why I take it to you through the music
Cause when the music's connected its like everyone's protected
January is for Rosie
God bless Rosie
And February is for Tim
We all know about him
March is for my mama still wining and dining
And April is for my my my my pop
May give to Jonas some
June is for the bass
Mines July July July July July
All the parents of the children of December
Have a clutch
When you're born in christmas
Or the day after new year's
They can sing out your birthday but but but but but but but
Make a little noise
Make a little sound
Oh when youre born in December
And no one remembers
Well the 90s have ended
So what do you call this decade?
The Slip's song "Children of December" is a contemplative reflection on the experience of individuals born in December or around the holiday season. The lyrics draw attention to the unique struggles faced by people with December birthdays and the implications that such a birthday may have on their sense of identity and belonging. The opening lines of the song set the tone for this reflection, highlighting the challenge that arises for parents who struggle to remember their children's birthdays due to the holiday season's busyness.
The sentiment is reinforced in the following lines, suggesting that those born in December often experience a sense of invisibility or neglect, even when their birthdays are acknowledged. The song's narrator contrasts their own summer birthday, an event in which families are often loving each other, with the winter births of those born in December. The singer suggests that while the parents' attention on these new family members may be divided and distracted, there is still a sense of expectation and pressure surrounding these December-born children, which may go unnoticed by those around them.
The song continues with a list of names and months, suggesting that each month is significant and that each person has value to the singer. The song concludes with a question about how to define the current decade, leaving the listener with a sense of uncertainty and longing for something more.
Line by Line Meaning
All of the parents of the children of December
Parents of December-born children
Have a clutch
Find it hard to choose the best birthday gift
Cause their birthdays are the hardest to remember
Usually get overshadowed by Christmas and New Year's celebrations
When youre born on Christmas
Refers to children born on December 25th
Or the day before New Years
Refers to children born on December 31st
They can sing out your birthday
Parents can say the child's actual birth date
But but but nobody hears
The child's birthday may be ignored or forgotten
I was lucky I was born in the summer
The singer is fortunate to have been born in a different season
1975, it was as hot as an oven
The year the singer was born
Families that were loving eachother in November
People are loving and getting along in the month of November
By April were planning all the new family members
People are planning for new members to be added to their families in April
But save one for the empirical boy with his empirical toys
There's a special boy with special toys
The hots wheels the autobots and the deceptigons
Refers to popular toys of the time
Everyones waiting to see what he's worth
Everyone is anticipating the boy's value or potential
But he is invincible like a breeze on the earth
The boy is unstoppable and freely moves around
I was holding something
Refers to the singer holding onto something important
In my hands so tightly
Holding it very tightly
I was afraid to let it go
The thing being held is important and the singer fears losing it
I was afraid to even know
The singer doesn't even know what it is they're holding so tightly
I was holding something
Still referring to the same thing being held tightly
In my heart so tightly
The thing being held is a deep emotional connection
I was afraid to let it go
Fear of losing that emotional connection
Children Of December
Refers to people born in December
Oh when youre born in December
Talking about those born in December again
Its hard to remember
Difficult for others to remember their birthdays
Well the 90s have ended
The 90s decade has come to an end
So what do you call this decade?
Asking what to call the current decade
I hold every person I meet like a treasure
The singer values every person they meet
I defend the ones I love to whatever the end is
The singer will defend loved ones no matter what
And thats why I take it to you through the music
The music is a means of expressing love and devotion
Cause when the music's connected its like everyone's protected
When music brings people together everyone feels safe and protected
January is for Rosie
January is for this particular loved one named Rosie
God bless Rosie
Wishing blessings for Rosie
And February is for Tim
February is for another loved one named Tim
We all know about him
Everyone knows about Tim
March is for my mama still wining and dining
March is for the artist's mother who is enjoying life
And April is for my my my my pop
April is for the artist's father
May give to Jonas some
May is for someone named Jonas to receive love and attention
June is for the bass
June is dedicated to the bass musical instrument
Mines July July July July July
July is the personal month of the artist
When youre born in christmas
Referring to December-born children again
Make a little noise
Encouraging them to celebrate their birthdays loudly
Make a little sound
Wanting them to be recognized and their birthdays celebrated
And no one remembers
People often forget December-born birthdays
So what do you call this decade?
Asking what the current decade should be named
Contributed by Bailey N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
L3GiT Kaydee
It's my birthday today.
Been listening to this song on this day for years. Helps me feel less forgotten.
アンダーソン
same here!! glad to know I’m not alone, been one of my favourite songs since I was 12
Augustus Salvador
This album is diverse. Super love it.
Lo Rorabaugh
Love this!
michael kelly
One of the greatest xmas songs ever
TheFaraway8
works for Xmas Eve babies like me
The HoBoKaGe
To bad November ain’t got a song like this.. So y’all special special 😂. Happy Birthday T3 😎