The Gin Blossoms are in the bargain bin with the Spin Doctors: early 1990s bands that did not survive the deluge of Seattle bands. There is a tragic twist to the Blossoms, however. Doug Hopkins, the lead guitarist and songwriter, killed himself in December of 1993.
The other members booted him from the band because of his alcohol addiction. The band fired Hopkins in 1992......about three months before his song "Hey Jealousy" landed at #1, which seems very cruel, even for the Popular Music Gods. Why is New Miserable Experience such a great album? It is loaded with great songs with great pop hooks. Hopkins wrote bad ass pop songs with a lot of pathos. Hold Me Down is a perfect example.
This song is the best-written exploration of addiction that I have ever heard. Great hook, but also smacks you in the face with this right off the bat:
So I guess I must have just been dreaming
When I thought I heard myself say no
Anyway it looks like no one heard me so here I go
Cause when you're in the company of strangers
Or those strangers you call friends
You know before you start just how its gonna end.
Anyone who has ever been addicted to anything has been right there. I have problems with alcohol, just like my dad did. And that first exhilarating taste of anything is wonderful. Beer number one is a great thing; nice and refreshing. In the back of the mind, however, you know damn well that you can't have one when four, five or more will do. I can stop that sometimes, but not all the time.
As Hopkins realized, you do know before it starts just how it is going to end. And it usually does not make any difference. This can be said for people as well as drugs or anything else that we must have. The first song on this album can be seen as a bookend to this, wth lyrics such as
I'll drink enough of anything
To make this world look new again
Or
She had nothing left to say so she said she loved me
And I stood there grateful for the lie
Think about that; knowing someone is lying, but being grateful because the other conversation is far more painful to contemplate much less take part in. People take to drugs, alcohol and other things many times because they find themselves in trouble if they do not face the world warped. That's why the strangers are friends; they can't see the balled up shitshow that you are hiding in the booze bottle. That's the real you; good forbid you put that half formed thing out in front of the world to be mocked and ridiculed. What saves? Drugs!
I can't remember why I like this feeling
When it always seems to let me down
So remember when those doors swing open
And the drinks are passed around
When half the party moves into the bathroom
Hold me down
Most don't like the feeling. If I learned anything from living with and dealing with an alcoholic father, the switch flipped at a certain point from "moderately funny" to "mean". Every drunk I know has that switch; it lets people down because it opens the gates to the worst place imaginable. No, not a Coldplay concert, but remorse. Imagine someone boozing to get away from themselves, then feeling shitty because they feel like they have to get away from themselves. This is not to escape responsibility for actions; they know full well what is going on. It's another log on the fire.
I wish that my dad (along with me sometimes) felt comfortable enough to open up. I'm learning; it has just taken me some 30 years to figure out how. Now the habits need to change. My dad never got the chance. By the time I was 12, my dad was 56 years old, and had probably been drinking at least five beers a day for 15 years, and a functioning alcoholic for another twenty before that. He'd smoked since he as 11, and did until he died. He was one of the unhappiest people I ever met.
I'll drink enough of anything
To make this world look new again
Or
She had nothing left to say so she said she loved me
And I stood there grateful for the lie
Think about that; knowing someone is lying, but being grateful because the other conversation is far more painful to contemplate much less take part in. People take to drugs, alcohol and other things many times because they find themselves in trouble if they do not face the world warped. That's why the strangers are friends; they can't see the balled up shitshow that you are hiding in the booze bottle. That's the real you; good forbid you put that half formed thing out in front of the world to be mocked and ridiculed. What saves? Drugs!
I can't remember why I like this feeling
When it always seems to let me down
So remember when those doors swing open
And the drinks are passed around
When half the party moves into the bathroom
Hold me down
Most don't like the feeling. If I learned anything from living with and dealing with an alcoholic father, the switch flipped at a certain point from "moderately funny" to "mean". Every drunk I know has that switch; it lets people down because it opens the gates to the worst place imaginable. No, not a Coldplay concert, but remorse. Imagine someone boozing to get away from themselves, then feeling shitty because they feel like they have to get away from themselves. This is not to escape responsibility for actions; they know full well what is going on. It's another log on the fire.
I wish that my dad (along with me sometimes) felt comfortable enough to open up. I'm learning; it has just taken me some 30 years to figure out how. Now the habits need to change. My dad never got the chance. By the time I was 12, my dad was 56 years old, and had probably been drinking at least five beers a day for 15 years, and a functioning alcoholic for another twenty before that. He'd smoked since he as 11, and did until he died. He was one of the unhappiest people I ever met.
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