1) An American indie roc… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) An American indie rock and hip hop band
2) A British folk-pop band
1) A trio of Cincinnati-born men who fiddle with skins, strings, bells and microphones and present their findings to the listening public. Singer Yoni Wolf grew up the second son to an art book editor and a rabbi. He got his start recording bad poems and sloppy beats on the family synagogue’s 4-track. In junior high he discovered hip-hop. At art school, he learned how to drop out. Yoni’s brother Josiah played drums at Rabbi Wolf’s worship service as a kid, became a band geek as a teen, and fell in love with Thelonious Monk on his way to study music at University of Cincinnati. Doug McDiarmid would eventually get expelled from that same school for carrying a stun gun, but first he was raised by two French teachers and taught piano while in kindergarten. He also went to high school with the Wolfs, where he played in Steve Miller cover bands.
In various permutations together and with other now-notables (i.e. Doseone, Odd Nosdam, Mr. Dibbs, Atmosphere’s Slug), these three created and/or contributed to several freewheeling rap and lo-fi rock-related projects including Greenthink, Miss Ohio’s Nameless, Reaching Quiet, and the seminal cLOUDDEAD outfit. Their wildest dreams were achieved when they relocated to Oakland to make pop-inflected psychedelic folk-hop.
For four years, two EPs and 2003’s cult classic LP, Oaklandazulasylum, WHY? comprised Yoni Wolf alone. He honed his trademark delivery – a sickly sweet, half-rapped, singsong style – shined up his wry, picturesque poetry, and developed a clip-and-collage aesthetic using keyboards, toys, guitars, samplers and anything worth banging on. When Doug and Josiah moved west to join Yoni, they brought with them a hoard of instruments and the ability to wail on every last one. By chops and imagination, WHY? grew into a thing of flesh, bones and fully fledged songs, resulting in 2005’s Elephant Eyelash album. Critics swooned; ladies lauded; WHY? neither resisted nor rested. They toured – with Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, and Islands. They collaborated – with Danielson Family, Department Of Eagles, and Subtle (Yoni also recorded with Fog’s Andrew Broder as “Hymie’s Basement”). They put out yet more music.
The brand new album Eskimo Snow is something of a companion piece to last year’s celebrated Alopecia LP. In February of 2007, the WHY? trio temporarily relocated to Minneapolis and officially inducted Fog players Andrew Broder and Mark Erickson. Recording live as a five-piece, WHY? created two distinct albums from those sessions: Alopecia, with its taut rhythms and biting wit, and Eskimo Snow, a shadowy and sprawling set that finds Yoni resigned to and ever-awed by those infinite erring bits of existence that make WHY? what it is.
2) Also an English folk-pop band active during the 90s. They released nine albums between '91 & '99, including the curiously-titled Pinnenstripeensuitenwearenfoddergeburnenclippenclopen.
Pick Fights
Why? Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is in the midwest
With your mouth fat
On your own words
In the parking lots
Of the worst clubs
With fresh laid asphault
And flourescent lights that flicker.
While the boys drink courage
And the girls show their navals and toes,
You don't need no curses,
No squinched up nose
Or turned up top lip,
No cut throat kicking
Kids' sandcastles,
Spit, and "fuck you" talk.
You need only to arrive
At your own show in
Glasses and open-toe sandals
And step out the van all
Weak with a tour-worn voice
When you try to speak.
With your mouth fat
On your own words
But you can't be heard
Over the noise of the opening act,
Some wack rapper coming off c.d.
Could've been me
Back before we
Practiced for the mush tour.
In "Pick Fights," Why? explores the idea of provocation and fighting for the sake of fighting. The lyrics suggest that the best opportunity to pick fights is in the midwest, in the parking lots of the worst clubs, where the boys drink courage and the girls show off their bodies. However, the singer argues that real strength lies in arriving at your own show, weak from exhaustion and tour-worn, and being unable to speak over the noise of the opening act. The song seems to critique those who seek out fights and aggression, suggesting that true strength lies in vulnerability and standing up for oneself without resorting to violence.
The song also seems to be a reflection on the nature of performance and the effects of fame on personal identity. The singer contrasts the aggressive posturing of those who pick fights with his own reluctant entrance onto the stage. He describes himself as weak and exhausted, but also as honest and genuine in his vulnerability. The contrast between the aggressive posturing of the characters in the song and the singer's measured vulnerability seems to suggest that there is something inherently false and performative about seeking out confrontation.
Overall, "Pick Fights" is a thoughtful meditation on the nature of aggression, power, and performance, and suggests that true strength and authenticity come not from picking fights, but from being true to oneself and standing up for oneself in a vulnerable, honest way.
Line by Line Meaning
The best chance to pick fights
The ideal time to provoke disagreements
Is in the midwest
Occurs within the central region of the United States
With your mouth fat
When you are feeling overly confident and self-assured
On your own words
Based on your own thoughts or opinions
In the parking lots
The outdoor areas where automobiles are kept
Of the worst clubs
At the shoddy and inferior establishments
With fresh laid asphault
The freshly poured pavement
And flourescent lights that flicker.
The flickering fluorescent lights illuminate the area
While the boys drink courage
The males consume beverages to gain confidence
And the girls show their navals and toes,
The females dress scantily or reveal their body parts
You don't need no curses,
Expletives or vulgar language is unnecessary
No squinched up nose
You don't need to contort your face with disdain
Or turned up top lip,
The upper lip need not be raised in defiance
No cut throat kicking
Violent or harmful actions need not be taken
Kids' sandcastles,
The sand structures created by children
Spit, and 'fuck you' talk.
Disrespectful and vulgar language and actions
You need only to arrive
It is sufficient to come to the designated location
At your own show in
At your scheduled performance venue
Glasses and open-toe sandals
Wear eyeglasses and footwear that exposes your toes
And step out the van all
Exiting the vehicle with an appearance of exhaustion
Weak with a tour-worn voice
Your voice is strained from consecutive performances on tour
When you try to speak.
You struggle or cannot speak fluently
But you can't be heard
Your voice is drowned out by surrounding noises
Over the noise of the opening act,
The opening musical performance is too loud
Some wack rapper coming off c.d.
The mediocre rapper appearing from the compact disc
Could've been me
It could have been me in that position
Back before we
In the past before we
Practiced for the mush tour.
Prepared for the tour with multiple rehearsals
Contributed by Landon O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bluemazingx24
Yeah agree, I also do this. What I found what works for me without creating anxiety for my partner, was to write like a "hey, do you have time for me this evening to discuss something?" and then with a nice smiley, to let them know it's not "The Talk" and just something I need to get of my mind. Also, the sooner the better. This also works because they at least know you want to talk about something, so even if you chicken out, they will most likely remember it. I rather not mention in the text what it is about, as it's often not a particular thing that can be named, and so if I would name a specific part of it it doesn't cover that what I actually want to express. They also might be more biased or defensive when going into this topic.
It really really really helps when you sit down with yourself for a moment before you will talk to your partner and try to find out why you feel the way you are feeling. It is often very hard to understand all the different kinds of emotions, and you know "there is something wrong" but not exactly what. It also helps if you can take responsibility for your own behaviour for how you maybe act to them in response to what might bother you.
Here is an example. I have a long distance relationship, so we mostly bond over videocalls. There was a month in which we actually had very little quality time over the phone and I felt disconnected. I didn't realize it exactly first, so what happened was that I acquired some negative behaviour such as emotionally distancing myself from him, or "waiting" till he would take more initiative because in my opinion I often did. This led to me being annoyed by him for the most little things. Fortunately, it was for a short time, and once I was aware I attained those negative behaviours it got me thinking why.
Writing it down, helped me to get the message across that I wanted to, which was not to blame him for anything but just to improve our connection, as it is very limited. I often start the conversation with "how do you think this relationship going and what do you need?" to give him space first for anything that might be bothering him. Now my boyfriend sees right through me, so he quickly goes through my questions to figure out what is bothering me haha :p .
It depends on each person what works obviously, but don't be scared to try out different methods. Sometimes you need to be wrong to be right. This is also how you will learn which approach your partner might appreciate the most. Goodluck!
Matthew Blough
As everyone does, love Anna. But special shout out to Melissa and Michelle. Love having them in these videos, they are always great.
Michael R Murphy
@Alexander W. SHEroes...
Michael R Murphy
@Anna Akana HA! You wish...!
E M
@Anna Akana 💀
Cri -
@Anna Akana fighting then you mean!? 😂😀
Alexander W.
@Anna Akana Unsubscribing immediately. Your supporting cast is the real heroes.
Broken guardian angel
I love how Anna evolved into our personal (not licensed) therapist.
Health & Wealth
So your therapist (Anna) is a person who cannot find a person who to stay with her long enough to marry her. Let me guess, you’re single.
Michael R Murphy
@Efflorescentey Of course! That get your former one on the phone bit is just weird.
That would be my LAST session with them. Maybe Anna's sponsor BetterHelp is the way to go, IDK...
Efflorescentey
Thank you all for listening to my woes ❤️