DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

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RevMatt
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by RevMatt »

Zip City wrote:
RevMatt wrote:Funny pic, but DBT fans probably shouldn't do that. Cooley's relatives probably still go there and the graffiti is probably embarrasing to them.


that's pretty clearly done in MSPaint

Well, considering it took me over a month to figure out how to use the YouTube button, I don't think you could expect me to know anything about MSPaint.
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Smitty
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Smitty »

dime in the gutter wrote:i thought it was about heroin.


No, Cooley's ode to smack is 72 (Mean Ole Highway, indeed)

and quite possibly Bob...
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.

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Smitty
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Smitty »

Zip City wrote:
Smitty wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:i thought it was about heroin.


No, Cooley's ode to smack is 72 (Mean Ole Highway, indeed)


I thought it was about a road


Yeah, and "Fire & Rain" is about a plane crash.

Sheesh...
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.

PeterG
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by PeterG »

All time favorite Cooley song,
He opened with it on the 'Rock n Roll Means Well' tour at the Filmore.
Chilling way to start a RAWK show.
In '07 he intro'd it at the TDU SF w/ "the most embarrassing thing ever, was running into the girl i wrote this song about. Fortunately, she liked it...

"Maybe your just a destination, a place for me to go..."
take a deep breath and throw yourself into it with everything you got...it's great to be alive!

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Given to Fly
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Given to Fly »

Here are some random stats according to oneofthesedays.org

As of May 15, 2010:

Zip City has been played 417x

First time played (10th song in the set):
Date: 2000-5-27
Venue: The Nick
City: Birmingham
State/Country: AL

Random song comparison:
Let There Be Rock 488x
Sinkhole 450x
Lookout Mt 418x
Women Without Whiskey 312x
Carl Perkins Caddy 205x
72 (Highway's Mean) 132x
Love Like This 77x

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by beantownbubba »

Smitty wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:i thought it was about heroin.


No, Cooley's ode to smack is 72 (Mean Ole Highway, indeed)

and quite possibly Bob...


Bob?! 'splain it, please.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard

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littlemamma
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by littlemamma »

you know what cooley would say right? about all this fuss? lol!!!
NSFW

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bovine knievel
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by bovine knievel »

littlemamma wrote:you know what cooley would say right? about all this fuss? lol!!!

He'd say, it don't mean shit!
“Excited people get on daddy’s nerves.” - M. Cooley

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Steve French »

RevMatt wrote:Funny pic, but DBT fans probably shouldn't do that. Cooley's relatives probably still go there and the graffiti is probably embarrasing to them.


Cooley's relatives live 26 miles or so away. Rev Cunningham probably gets sick of getting asked how his daughters are. and how his son is also....
I've never taken a pissbreak during a DBT show but if I had it would have been during Dancing Ricky.

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Steve French »

Smitty wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:i thought it was about heroin.


No, Cooley's ode to smack is 72 (Mean Ole Highway, indeed)

and quite possibly Bob...


wait, whut?!??!?!???
I've never taken a pissbreak during a DBT show but if I had it would have been during Dancing Ricky.

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Smitty
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Smitty »

beantownbubba wrote:
Smitty wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:i thought it was about heroin.


No, Cooley's ode to smack is 72 (Mean Ole Highway, indeed)

and quite possibly Bob...


Bob?! 'splain it, please.


why do you think he never had a wife and has more dogs than friends?
Cuz he's a junkie and likes to nod off all day! Come on now!
and "antenna on a pole"? That's slang for having works - and I won't even get into why he kneels but doesn't bend over....



I'm just kiddin guys, I really doubt Cooley has any "odes" to smack - but after thinking about, 72 does make sense lol (it's about a road though) - there is a line in Self Destructive Zones that maybe alludes to heroin, but I dunno...
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by beantownbubba »

bovine knievel wrote:
littlemamma wrote:you know what cooley would say right? about all this fuss? lol!!!

He'd say, it don't mean shit!


He wouldn't say anything, he'd be too busy laughing.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Fool No Where »

RevMatt wrote:Funny pic, but DBT fans probably shouldn't do that. Cooley's relatives probably still go there and the graffiti is probably embarrasing to them.


The plan was to steal a ladder from the ZC fire dept and change the marquee to read "Welcome DBT fans."
Having a broken heart wears you out.

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Steve French »

Fool No Where wrote:
RevMatt wrote:Funny pic, but DBT fans probably shouldn't do that. Cooley's relatives probably still go there and the graffiti is probably embarrasing to them.


The plan was to steal a ladder from the ZC fire dept and change the marquee to read "Welcome DBT fans."


If they had any clues AT ALL they would have a stand selling T shirts, beverages, snow globes, letter openers and other such souvenir items.
I've never taken a pissbreak during a DBT show but if I had it would have been during Dancing Ricky.

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

beantownbubba wrote:
bovine knievel wrote:
littlemamma wrote:you know what cooley would say right? about all this fuss? lol!!!

He'd say, it don't mean shit!


He wouldn't say anything, he'd be too busy laughing.


he'd tell all the people analyzing his songs to get a fuckin' life. That's what cooley would do :lol:
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by whatwouldcooleydo? »

heroin: little red light on the highway, big green light on the speedway
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by 'Scratch »

Lot of great insights. Love the thread concept Clams. I''l just say this, Zip City is one of my all time favorite songs, and few others can convey the fevered mind of a teenage boy. It's also the first song that I learned on guitar and the one I always play when I want to find my happy place.
Not forever, just for now.

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RevMatt
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by RevMatt »

Steve French wrote:
Fool No Where wrote:
RevMatt wrote:Funny pic, but DBT fans probably shouldn't do that. Cooley's relatives probably still go there and the graffiti is probably embarrasing to them.


The plan was to steal a ladder from the ZC fire dept and change the marquee to read "Welcome DBT fans."


If they had any clues AT ALL they would have a stand selling T shirts, beverages, snow globes, letter openers and other such souvenir items.


I might be wrong, but I believe The Church of Christ is the branch of The Disciples of Christ where the congregations do not use musical instruments. They sing a capella.
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cortez the killer
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by cortez the killer »

Heroin? I thought "Zip City" was about the struggle to find a proper size bridge.
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by TruckerClown »

littlemamma wrote:you know what cooley would say right? about all this fuss? lol!!!


I don't speak spanish?

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Steve French »

cortez the killer wrote:Heroin? I thought "Zip City" was about the struggle to find a proper size bridge.


I'm literal minded, I thought it was the struggle with some girls pants, and the staying on thereof. and the ensuing teen angst and masturbatory frenzy*



* that might just be me.

Who wouldnt want a snow globe with "Salem Church o' Christ" in it?
I've never taken a pissbreak during a DBT show but if I had it would have been during Dancing Ricky.

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by TruckerClown »

RevMatt wrote:Keep your drawers on girl, it ain't worth the fight
By the time you drop them I'll be gone
and you'll be right where they fall for the rest of your life.[/i]

Here is the first moment of self-awareness. He answers the question, "Why is he putting up with this shit in the first place." Well, there is the drive itself. He doesn't want to deal with his mind all alone, so it isn't just the potential for some nookie. He actually likes talking to the girl. She's nice enough, probably understands him a bit. Then he decides he isn't going to take her virginity. Why? It ain't worth the fight, which is having to make promises to her and her family that he has no intention of keeping. In that culture, premarital sex isn't encouraged, but it is tolerated to a point provided the guy honors the family by intending to marry the girl. And spending the rest of his life in Zip City is too high a price.


I agree, and would add another possibility: the "be right where they fall the rest of your life" could also allude to the likelihood of a possible pregnancy (17 year old boys don't always use condoms) and that she'd be stuck there with a baby while he moved on to the next thing...

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by hpz4 »

My favorite DBT song. Maybe my favorite song by anybody.

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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Flea »

Steve French wrote:
Smitty wrote:
dime in the gutter wrote:i thought it was about heroin.


No, Cooley's ode to smack is 72 (Mean Ole Highway, indeed)

and quite possibly Bob...


wait, whut?!??!?!???



Yer! Bob's a gay redneck in a small town, his drug habits have nothing to do with the song.

And, at it's core, ZC is nothing more than the greatest "Fuck you, bitch!" song ever written. It's got good company with Under My Thumb, Backstreets, and Used To Love Her - but Cooley took it further when he added details about the backstory and the family.
Now it's dark.

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cortez the killer
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by cortez the killer »

Steve French wrote:
cortez the killer wrote:Heroin? I thought "Zip City" was about the struggle to find a proper size bridge.


I'm literal minded, I thought it was the struggle with some girls pants, and the staying on thereof. and the ensuing teen angst and masturbatory frenzy*



* that might just be me.

Who wouldnt want a snow globe with "Salem Church o' Christ" in it?

Steve French wrote:Some might think Neil Young was overrated, just another burnt out, fucked up, 70's hippie folky who, if he had anything to say, had said it by 1980. Just to yank your chain a little. Some might not, of course, and I'm not telling which camp I'm in.

My point is, peoples opinions are peoples opinions. The fact they are different from your or mine is a cause of celebration, not opprobrium. Unless they're REALLY retarded, of course, in which case, have at it.

Image
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Steve French
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Steve French »

cortez the killer wrote:
Steve French wrote:
cortez the killer wrote:Heroin? I thought "Zip City" was about the struggle to find a proper size bridge.


I'm literal minded, I thought it was the struggle with some girls pants, and the staying on thereof. and the ensuing teen angst and masturbatory frenzy*



* that might just be me.

Who wouldnt want a snow globe with "Salem Church o' Christ" in it?

Steve French wrote:Some might think Neil Young was overrated, just another burnt out, fucked up, 70's hippie folky who, if he had anything to say, had said it by 1980. Just to yank your chain a little. Some might not, of course, and I'm not telling which camp I'm in.

My point is, peoples opinions are peoples opinions. The fact they are different from your or mine is a cause of celebration, not opprobrium. Unless they're REALLY retarded, of course, in which case, have at it.

Image
Thank you.



You're a patient man. :)
I've never taken a pissbreak during a DBT show but if I had it would have been during Dancing Ricky.

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cortez the killer
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by cortez the killer »

Steve French wrote:You're a patient man. :)

Thank you again. There's deeper irony in there too. But I'll let the vultures "in the know" have at it. My work here is done.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Lurleen McQueen »

Here's my Zip City funny - I ran my first marathon this past January in 17 degree weather. As I was shuffling across a frozen bridge and thinking I might not make it, Zip City came on my ipod. All of a sudden it dawned on me - a marathon is 26.2 miles - I'm running from Zip City to Colbert Heights! Well, that gave me a little boost and helped propel me forward. When I ran into Cooley the following week in Athens, I shared that story with him and thanked him for giving me the push I needed to finish. Classic Cooley quote, "Hell, girl, I ain't shore, but I think that trip (Zip City to Colbert Heights) ain't exactly 26 miles. The way I figure it, you ran damn near to Russellville!"
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by RevMatt »

Flea wrote:
And, at it's core, ZC is nothing more than the greatest "Fuck you, bitch!" song ever written. It's got good company with Under My Thumb, Backstreets, and Used To Love Her - but Cooley took it further when he added details about the backstory and the family.

I think it is more than that. It is a kiss off to the cultural norms and conventions. He realizes that he's not going to do what his Daddy did and most of the other kids in his high school are going to do: settle down with a nice girl within a few years after high school, get a job someplace like Reynolds, buy a house and raise babies. That is sort of the theme of the entire first act of the SRO. There is the struggle: they are products of their culture and artistically it is a great thing. They've come to terms with the troubled recent history, the end of Jim Crow, George Wallace, etc... But they are artists. They don't quite fit in with the culture that birthed them because there are expectations they don't want to meet. The decent people of Zip City and the like don't really tolerate someone who doesn't fit. "You want to take our daughter's innocence? The cost is putting a ring on her finger and walking down the blood red carpet in the Salem Church of Christ. Do that and I'll even get you a job at the Reynolds plant. Just forget that nonsense about your guitar and your band. This ain't Nashville, boy. And in our church you ain't even supposed to be playing stringed instruments in the first place." In the end of Act I, the problem with the South is not racial or political. It is conformity to the rules and expectations. That is why they've got to move.

With this song, Cooley sums up the entire first act of Southern Rock Opera. I don't even think they needed to put "Moved" on the album, even though it is the conclusion. I think by the end of "Zip City" we know the guys are leaving.

That situation doesn't only apply to the South. Getting out of New Jersey is the major theme of Born to Run.
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Re: DBT Tracks - Week #1 - Zip City

Post by Jenn »

Just wanted to point out that it's "Colbert Heights", not "Colburn" or "Culver". Steven Colbert did a skit on Colbert County Alabama once. I don't remember if it made it on the show but he visited Colbert Heights I hear.
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