The Gaslight Anthem...

skippybrew

I know there's already a thread about these guys just a few rows down, but this isn't about their new album. I just picked up The '59 Sound and was digging it for a while, until they blatantly ripped off the Counting Crows... Observe:

The Gaslight Anthem - "High Lonesome":
"And Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand, I always kinda, sorta wished I looked like Elvis..."

The Counting Crows - "'Round here":
"Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand, she said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis..."

Now I know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and all that rot, but I've scoured the liner notes and see nothing to the effect of: "We'd like to thank Adam Duritz for doing some of our work for us." And while looking through the rest of the lyrics (granted, with a new eye for plagiarism) I can't help but see other cases where they seem to be taking from other bands. Springsteen is obvious, and they actually do that pretty well, but I just have a hard time taking it seriously when they're trying to sell someone else's lyrics as their own.

I know there are a lot of fans in this forum, and I'm not trying to pick any fights. I know The Boss himself is a fan of theirs, but I have a problem with bands that make obvious reference (i.e. steal lyrics) and then say nothing about the influence.

veddertown

You hear rip offs in everything now and if you're going to pick holes because it really bothers you then you're better off not listening to music at all. It's only one or two lines and since it's not word for word it's not a requirement to acknowledge Adam Duritz. I would have thought he may even be flattered by the reference? I personally don't mind if people criticize any band or musician on here because that is what debate is all about and I do understand your point about Springsteen. My opinion is you wouldn't expect GA to put a note on the cd liner saying "thanks to Counting Crows and Bruce Springsteen for making the blueprint for all our future albums" because the thanks are already in the music and that must be flattering for any musician. They'll develop their own sound as they evolve like many others do. You shouldn't let it put you off a decent band.

FenwayFaithful

I think Gaslight Anthem is just ok. They're a little too much fake teen angst for me.

veddertown

FenwayFaithful wrote:

I think Gaslight Anthem is just ok. They're a little too much fake teen angst for me.

I quite like them and I'm sure they'll be good supporting PJ in London but there is a bit too much fuss made about them for what they are I'd agree.

FenwayFaithful

veddertown wrote:

FenwayFaithful wrote:

I think Gaslight Anthem is just ok. They're a little too much fake teen angst for me.

I quite like them and I'm sure they'll be good supporting PJ in London but there is a bit too much fuss made about them for what they are I'd agree.

Didn't know they were opening for our boys in London. You're right, sooooo much fuss. Watch these guys become the next KOL.


Speaking of which veddertown, are Europeans still Kings Of Leon-crazy, or have they cooled off a little bit with those guys? A couple years ago Euros we're praising Kings Of Leon like they were the second coming of Led Zeppelin.

nothingman4

I saw Gaslight cover SOLAT at Sasquatch last year. They did a pretty decent job of it. They are obsessed with PJ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WUD87tErsI

veddertown

FenwayFaithful wrote:

veddertown wrote:

FenwayFaithful wrote:

I think Gaslight Anthem is just ok. They're a little too much fake teen angst for me.

I quite like them and I'm sure they'll be good supporting PJ in London but there is a bit too much fuss made about them for what they are I'd agree.

Didn't know they were opening for our boys in London. You're right, sooooo much fuss. Watch these guys become the next KOL.


Speaking of which veddertown, are Europeans still Kings Of Leon-crazy, or have they cooled off a little bit with those guys? A couple years ago Euros we're praising Kings Of Leon like they were the second coming of Led Zeppelin.

KOL can sell out any UK arena on just about any week night which I find really baffling? I liked Youth & Young Manhood and the next album was ok too but I can't seem to even listen to them now because of what they've become. Which is utter shite! It's like they used the Southern rock sound to be a hit at festivals and then somehow they started recording soundtrack music for Saturday's shopping at the mall. I don't understand what went wrong or why we are still buying it by the barrowload? :? Us Europeans are strange about music sometimes but then we didn't buy that many Bush albums to be fair to us!

skippybrew

veddertown wrote:

You hear rip offs in everything now and if you're going to pick holes because it really bothers you then you're better off not listening to music at all. It's only one or two lines and since it's not word for word it's not a requirement to acknowledge Adam Duritz. I would have thought he may even be flattered by the reference? I personally don't mind if people criticize any band or musician on here because that is what debate is all about and I do understand your point about Springsteen. My opinion is you wouldn't expect GA to put a note on the cd liner saying "thanks to Counting Crows and Bruce Springsteen for making the blueprint for all our future albums" because the thanks are already in the music and that must be flattering for any musician. They'll develop their own sound as they evolve like many others do. You shouldn't let it put you off a decent band.

You're right, it's unreasonable to think that every band would list out every other band that ever influenced them. And I'm sure he would be flattered by the reference, but I wonder how many GLA fans are out there thinking that Brian Fallon actually wrote those lyrics (or close enough - let's not split hairs here). I'm just sayin give credit where credit's due.

And to be honest, I think they're pretty good. They have a good sound and they seem like basically stand-up guys (what little I've seen of them), and I assume that he writes the lion's share of his own lyrics.

veddertown

skippybrew wrote:

veddertown wrote:

You hear rip offs in everything now and if you're going to pick holes because it really bothers you then you're better off not listening to music at all. It's only one or two lines and since it's not word for word it's not a requirement to acknowledge Adam Duritz. I would have thought he may even be flattered by the reference? I personally don't mind if people criticize any band or musician on here because that is what debate is all about and I do understand your point about Springsteen. My opinion is you wouldn't expect GA to put a note on the cd liner saying "thanks to Counting Crows and Bruce Springsteen for making the blueprint for all our future albums" because the thanks are already in the music and that must be flattering for any musician. They'll develop their own sound as they evolve like many others do. You shouldn't let it put you off a decent band.

You're right, it's unreasonable to think that every band would list out every other band that ever influenced them. And I'm sure he would be flattered by the reference, but I wonder how many GLA fans are out there thinking that Brian Fallon actually wrote those lyrics (or close enough - let's not split hairs here). I'm just sayin give credit where credit's due.

And to be honest, I think they're pretty good. They have a good sound and they seem like basically stand-up guys (what little I've seen of them), and I assume that he writes the lion's share of his own lyrics.

I think he seems to be the main songwriter so probably goes for the lyrics too but when he can't think of any he remembers Adam Duritz has some he prepared earlier! I do get your point though about the fans though as they appeal to a young generation who haven't possibly all heard Mr. Jones. Now there's probably some young hotheaded GA fan out there beating up a Crows fan over an argument about lyrics which would have been prevented if Brian Fallon had only been more honest. I'm at complete turnaround about your thread and I do apologise for writing my thoughts down when my brain was still loading. Brian Fallon you are a complete thieving bastard with little or no talent!

skippybrew

nothingman4 wrote:

I saw Gaslight cover SOLAT at Sasquatch last year. They did a pretty decent job of it. They are obsessed with PJ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WUD87tErsI

This is a pretty badass cover. I saw it a couple of weeks ago (on YouTube) and it's actually what inspired me to get the album.

veddertown wrote:

I think he seems to be the main songwriter so probably goes for the lyrics too but when he can't think of any he remembers Adam Duritz has some he prepared earlier! I do get your point though about the fans though as they appeal to a young generation who haven't possibly all heard Mr. Jones. Now there's probably some young hotheaded GA fan out there beating up a Crows fan over an argument about lyrics which would have been prevented if Brian Fallon had only been more honest. I'm at complete turnaround about your thread and I do apologise for writing my thoughts down when my brain was still loading. Brian Fallon you are a complete thieving bastard with little or no talent!

Yikes. Bi-polar much?

dustinpardue

maybe Brian Fallon's lyric is in response to the Counting Crowes lyric. Maria is looking for the dude that looks like Elvis in the CC song and the GA song says he wishes he looked like him.

could be a ripoff, but could be a play on the original lyric

skippybrew

dustinpardue wrote:

maybe Brian Fallon's lyric is in response to the Counting Crowes lyric. Maria is looking for the dude that looks like Elvis in the CC song and the GA song says he wishes he looked like him.

could be a ripoff, but could be a play on the original lyric

Well, yeah, I assume that's what it is. He's saying that he wishes he was the boy "Maria" came to find... And if he had mentioned anything in his Thank You section (even just included the name "Adam" in the list) I would have no problem with it.

I know I'm just arguing semantics here, but if this was a research paper, for example, and he had used that direct of a quote without adding quotes to it, it would be tantamount to plagiarism. What if I wrote a song that said, "I hope some day I have a beautiful life, I know I'll be the sun..." then packaged it up as my own personal artistic expression without any real reference to Pearl Jam? Wouldn't you feel, on some level, that I was lying to all the fans of my music who had no idea that Pearl Jam even existed?

ryanrunning

skippybrew wrote:

I know there's already a thread about these guys just a few rows down, but this isn't about their new album. I just picked up The '59 Sound and was digging it for a while, until they blatantly ripped off the Counting Crows... Observe:

The Gaslight Anthem - "High Lonesome":
"And Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand, I always kinda, sorta wished I looked like Elvis..."

The Counting Crows - "'Round here":
"Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand, she said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis..."

Now I know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and all that rot, but I've scoured the liner notes and see nothing to the effect of: "We'd like to thank Adam Duritz for doing some of our work for us." And while looking through the rest of the lyrics (granted, with a new eye for plagiarism) I can't help but see other cases where they seem to be taking from other bands. Springsteen is obvious, and they actually do that pretty well, but I just have a hard time taking it seriously when they're trying to sell someone else's lyrics as their own.

I know there are a lot of fans in this forum, and I'm not trying to pick any fights. I know The Boss himself is a fan of theirs, but I have a problem with bands that make obvious reference (i.e. steal lyrics) and then say nothing about the influence.

they did that more of a tribute to the band and things that influenced them, if you listen a ton of their songs will borrow a line from another one

surforia

skippybrew wrote:

dustinpardue wrote:

maybe Brian Fallon's lyric is in response to the Counting Crowes lyric. Maria is looking for the dude that looks like Elvis in the CC song and the GA song says he wishes he looked like him.

could be a ripoff, but could be a play on the original lyric

Well, yeah, I assume that's what it is. He's saying that he wishes he was the boy "Maria" came to find... And if he had mentioned anything in his Thank You section (even just included the name "Adam" in the list) I would have no problem with it.

I know I'm just arguing semantics here, but if this was a research paper, for example, and he had used that direct of a quote without adding quotes to it, it would be tantamount to plagiarism. What if I wrote a song that said, "I hope some day I have a beautiful life, I know I'll be the sun..." then packaged it up as my own personal artistic expression without any real reference to Pearl Jam? Wouldn't you feel, on some level, that I was lying to all the fans of my music who had no idea that Pearl Jam even existed?

I didn't recall Eddie putting a thank you in there for John Lennon on Love Boat Captain. Same kinda thing - playing off the original lyric.

skippybrew

surforia wrote:

I didn't recall Eddie putting a thank you in there for John Lennon on Love Boat Captain. Same kinda thing - playing off the original lyric.

To be fair, he does say right there in the lyrics: "I know it's already been sung, can't be said enough..." At least he's acknowledging that he didn't write that bit of it - and some form of acknowledgment is all I ask.

I do get what you're saying though. And I do realized that I'm basically just jerking off here... If it sounds good, who gives a shit? (Well, apparently I do, but I'm sort of OCD about certain things.) Art takes from art, and that's just how it goes.

adam42381

The '59 Sound, has tons of uncredited song references throughout. They aren't so much ripping off the original artists, but paying homage to great songwriting.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_'59_Sound)

The album's booklet features complete lyrics. The following list of references are uncredited in the liner notes.

* "Great Expectations" contains the lines "It's funny how the night moves / Humming a song from 1962" from "Night Moves" by Bob Seger.[8]

* "Old White Lincoln" contains the line "I lit a cigarette on a parking meter" from "Talkin' World War III Blues" by Bob Dylan.[9] Also contains the line "Baby darling, we will be, in the cold cold ground." from the Tom Waits's song "Cold, Cold Ground".

* "High Lonesome" contains the lines "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hands" and a variation of the following line about "a boy who looks like Elvis" from "Round Here" by Counting Crows[10]; the line "There were 'Southern Accents' on the radio" refers to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1985 song and album of the same name; the line "At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet" is taken from "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen.[11] The title of the song likely refers to a phrase coined by John Cohen.

* "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" contains a play on the line "But not me, baby" from "Yer So Bad" by Tom Petty. Petty is also named dropped in the lyrics. The title of the song is also a novel by Tom Robbins.

* "Meet Me by the River's Edge" contains the line "No surrender, my Bobby Jean" and a variation of Springsteen's line "No retreat" from the songs "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean," found on Bruce Springsteen's 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.[12][13]. In addition, it also includes the phrase "wash these sins," a reference to Springsteen's Racing in the Street from the 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town.[14]

* "The Patient Ferris Wheel" refers to "broken heroes," which also appears in Springsteen's 1975 hit, Born to Run, from the album of the same name.[15]

* "Miles and the Cool" has references in almost every verse. Second verse "put on your diamond soled shoes" alludes to the Paul Simon track "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" from the album Graceland. The following plea to "Climb down from your window" echoes Dylan's single "Can You Please Crawl out your window". The Third Verse brings a rock allusion in almost every word starting with "Poor Mr. Pitiful" which hints to Warren Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" but more likely drawn from the Otis Redding/Steve Cropper song "Mr Pitiful" from the album The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads GA next phrase "I can't Turn you Lose" is also the title of a Redding tune which has been covered by many. "Your Daddy's aim is true" from the third line references Elvis Costello's "Allison" off his first album My Aim is True and the next line "she never understood that it ain't no good" is taken verbatim from Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" off the album Highway 61 Revisited.

* "Casanova, Baby!" contains the line "Twistin' the night away" from the Sam Cooke song of the same name. Cooke's music is a known influence on the album, as stated by lead singer Brian Fallon. It also contains the line "It's past quarter to three, and it's past the midnight hour", references to the #1 hit by Gary U.S. Bonds (and frequently played in concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) and Wilson Pickett's 'In the Midnight Hour'. An allusion to Pickett's "Mustang Sally" can also be heard therein. It also contains the line "dead man's town" which appeared in Springsteen's song "Born in the U.S.A."[16] and "slip this skin" which appears in the Springsteen song "Streets of Philadelphia."[17]

* The title of "Here's Looking At You, Kid" refers to a quote from the 1942 film Casablanca.

* The album's lyrics also contain literary references. "Great Expectations" references the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The line "I sat by my bed side with papers and poetry about Estella" refers to the protagonist's love interest in Great Expectations. In addition to this the line "In a prison cell, where we spent those nights." is probably a reference to the Pip's nights spent with convict Magwitch during the novel. The line "I hope we don't hear Marley's Chains we forged in life" in "The '59 Sound" is a reference to the ghost of Jacob Marley from Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

nothingman4

Their also missing one that I didn't see. I can't remember which song but it has the lyric" Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine" from Subbteranean Homesick Blues

adam42381

nothingman4 wrote:

Their also missing one that I didn't see. I can't remember which song but it has the lyric" Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine" from Subbteranean Homesick Blues

That comes from Angry Jonny and the Radio from their debut album, Sink or Swim. That album also contains several musical references.

Indifference71

I think I read in an interview with Brian Fallon for the new album that there isnt any of the tribute/references of other songs on the new album. I really like GA, but I always found that a little weird that he did that so much.

Brain of mJ

adam42381 wrote:

The '59 Sound, has tons of uncredited song references throughout. They aren't so much ripping off the original artists, but paying homage to great songwriting.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_'59_Sound)

The album's booklet features complete lyrics. The following list of references are uncredited in the liner notes.

* "Great Expectations" contains the lines "It's funny how the night moves / Humming a song from 1962" from "Night Moves" by Bob Seger.[8]

* "Old White Lincoln" contains the line "I lit a cigarette on a parking meter" from "Talkin' World War III Blues" by Bob Dylan.[9] Also contains the line "Baby darling, we will be, in the cold cold ground." from the Tom Waits's song "Cold, Cold Ground".

* "High Lonesome" contains the lines "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hands" and a variation of the following line about "a boy who looks like Elvis" from "Round Here" by Counting Crows[10]; the line "There were 'Southern Accents' on the radio" refers to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1985 song and album of the same name; the line "At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet" is taken from "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen.[11] The title of the song likely refers to a phrase coined by John Cohen.

* "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" contains a play on the line "But not me, baby" from "Yer So Bad" by Tom Petty. Petty is also named dropped in the lyrics. The title of the song is also a novel by Tom Robbins.

* "Meet Me by the River's Edge" contains the line "No surrender, my Bobby Jean" and a variation of Springsteen's line "No retreat" from the songs "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean," found on Bruce Springsteen's 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.[12][13]. In addition, it also includes the phrase "wash these sins," a reference to Springsteen's Racing in the Street from the 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town.[14]

* "The Patient Ferris Wheel" refers to "broken heroes," which also appears in Springsteen's 1975 hit, Born to Run, from the album of the same name.[15]

* "Miles and the Cool" has references in almost every verse. Second verse "put on your diamond soled shoes" alludes to the Paul Simon track "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" from the album Graceland. The following plea to "Climb down from your window" echoes Dylan's single "Can You Please Crawl out your window". The Third Verse brings a rock allusion in almost every word starting with "Poor Mr. Pitiful" which hints to Warren Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" but more likely drawn from the Otis Redding/Steve Cropper song "Mr Pitiful" from the album The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads GA next phrase "I can't Turn you Lose" is also the title of a Redding tune which has been covered by many. "Your Daddy's aim is true" from the third line references Elvis Costello's "Allison" off his first album My Aim is True and the next line "she never understood that it ain't no good" is taken verbatim from Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" off the album Highway 61 Revisited.

* "Casanova, Baby!" contains the line "Twistin' the night away" from the Sam Cooke song of the same name. Cooke's music is a known influence on the album, as stated by lead singer Brian Fallon. It also contains the line "It's past quarter to three, and it's past the midnight hour", references to the #1 hit by Gary U.S. Bonds (and frequently played in concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) and Wilson Pickett's 'In the Midnight Hour'. An allusion to Pickett's "Mustang Sally" can also be heard therein. It also contains the line "dead man's town" which appeared in Springsteen's song "Born in the U.S.A."[16] and "slip this skin" which appears in the Springsteen song "Streets of Philadelphia."[17]

* The title of "Here's Looking At You, Kid" refers to a quote from the 1942 film Casablanca.

* The album's lyrics also contain literary references. "Great Expectations" references the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The line "I sat by my bed side with papers and poetry about Estella" refers to the protagonist's love interest in Great Expectations. In addition to this the line "In a prison cell, where we spent those nights." is probably a reference to the Pip's nights spent with convict Magwitch during the novel. The line "I hope we don't hear Marley's Chains we forged in life" in "The '59 Sound" is a reference to the ghost of Jacob Marley from Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Thank you Adam for breaking this out. I was thinking along the same lines knowing all the different references they drop in their songs, but was too lazy to find them/type them out.

skippybrew

Yeah, thank you... The Counting Crows thing tripped me up and then I saw a few others as I was looking at the lyrics (Wikipedia also missed "Down, down, down" by Tom Waits - and not crediting him is a mortal sin in my book...) but the entire album seems to be a mixed bag homage, which somehow makes it better. It's almost sweet, if a little misguided. :roll: It's like an Easter egg hunt.

Okay, enough of my bitching. Thanks, all.

joberschlake

Does anyone have MP3's of Brian Fallon on Sirius XM from last friday?

Brain of mJ

Got my preordered American Slang in the mail today, pretty nice figuring the album doesn't hit until the 15th. Any thoughts out there for those who've listened to it yet?

Still In Hiding

Brain of mJ wrote:

Got my preordered American Slang in the mail today, pretty nice figuring the album doesn't hit until the 15th. Any thoughts out there for those who've listened to it yet?

i think its their best effort yet, nothing completely amazing, but a solid record

MysteryTrain

Brain of mJ wrote:

Got my preordered American Slang in the mail today, pretty nice figuring the album doesn't hit until the 15th. Any thoughts out there for those who've listened to it yet?

It's pretty strong, though not as good as The '59 Sound. I like that they now cut it down to 10 songs.

Got a hard hard head

I had a listen to American Slang and it didn't do anything for me. There was an overwhelming sense of "heard it all before" with each track.

I was quite disappointed, because I was looking forward to hearing a new band. Oh well....

Wobbie

bump for official release date.....thoughts?

Indifference71

imalive wrote:

bump for official release date.....thoughts?

I've given it one listen so far. I'm liking what I have heard so far, but definitely need a 3-4 more spins until I can form my final opinion. I still am pumped to see them in Chicago next month though!

cajunkiwi

adam42381 wrote:

The '59 Sound, has tons of uncredited song references throughout. They aren't so much ripping off the original artists, but paying homage to great songwriting.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_'59_Sound)

The album's booklet features complete lyrics. The following list of references are uncredited in the liner notes.

* "Great Expectations" contains the lines "It's funny how the night moves / Humming a song from 1962" from "Night Moves" by Bob Seger.[8]

* "Old White Lincoln" contains the line "I lit a cigarette on a parking meter" from "Talkin' World War III Blues" by Bob Dylan.[9] Also contains the line "Baby darling, we will be, in the cold cold ground." from the Tom Waits's song "Cold, Cold Ground".

* "High Lonesome" contains the lines "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hands" and a variation of the following line about "a boy who looks like Elvis" from "Round Here" by Counting Crows[10]; the line "There were 'Southern Accents' on the radio" refers to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1985 song and album of the same name; the line "At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet" is taken from "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen.[11] The title of the song likely refers to a phrase coined by John Cohen.

* "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" contains a play on the line "But not me, baby" from "Yer So Bad" by Tom Petty. Petty is also named dropped in the lyrics. The title of the song is also a novel by Tom Robbins.

* "Meet Me by the River's Edge" contains the line "No surrender, my Bobby Jean" and a variation of Springsteen's line "No retreat" from the songs "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean," found on Bruce Springsteen's 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.[12][13]. In addition, it also includes the phrase "wash these sins," a reference to Springsteen's Racing in the Street from the 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town.[14]

* "The Patient Ferris Wheel" refers to "broken heroes," which also appears in Springsteen's 1975 hit, Born to Run, from the album of the same name.[15]

* "Miles and the Cool" has references in almost every verse. Second verse "put on your diamond soled shoes" alludes to the Paul Simon track "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" from the album Graceland. The following plea to "Climb down from your window" echoes Dylan's single "Can You Please Crawl out your window". The Third Verse brings a rock allusion in almost every word starting with "Poor Mr. Pitiful" which hints to Warren Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" but more likely drawn from the Otis Redding/Steve Cropper song "Mr Pitiful" from the album The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads GA next phrase "I can't Turn you Lose" is also the title of a Redding tune which has been covered by many. "Your Daddy's aim is true" from the third line references Elvis Costello's "Allison" off his first album My Aim is True and the next line "she never understood that it ain't no good" is taken verbatim from Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" off the album Highway 61 Revisited.

* "Casanova, Baby!" contains the line "Twistin' the night away" from the Sam Cooke song of the same name. Cooke's music is a known influence on the album, as stated by lead singer Brian Fallon. It also contains the line "It's past quarter to three, and it's past the midnight hour", references to the #1 hit by Gary U.S. Bonds (and frequently played in concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) and Wilson Pickett's 'In the Midnight Hour'. An allusion to Pickett's "Mustang Sally" can also be heard therein. It also contains the line "dead man's town" which appeared in Springsteen's song "Born in the U.S.A."[16] and "slip this skin" which appears in the Springsteen song "Streets of Philadelphia."[17]

* The title of "Here's Looking At You, Kid" refers to a quote from the 1942 film Casablanca.

* The album's lyrics also contain literary references. "Great Expectations" references the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The line "I sat by my bed side with papers and poetry about Estella" refers to the protagonist's love interest in Great Expectations. In addition to this the line "In a prison cell, where we spent those nights." is probably a reference to the Pip's nights spent with convict Magwitch during the novel. The line "I hope we don't hear Marley's Chains we forged in life" in "The '59 Sound" is a reference to the ghost of Jacob Marley from Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

The coda from "We're Getting a Divorce, You Keep the Diner" is "It's all right man, I'm only bleeding man" - a nod to Bob Dylan's "It's all right ma, I'm only bleeding."

Indifference71

I am loving 'American Slang' more and more after each listen! Can't wait to see these guys in a couple weeks.

Indifference71

Man did these guys rock the fuckin house at HOB in Chicago last night. Was anyone else there??