The Lowest Part is Free

I attended a concert last night on the other side of town which meant I had a late night drive home after 1am. Normal.

Whenever I’m making these long late night drives home I try to find something familiar to listen to which helps make the drive go by faster.

Last night I was in the mood for some Archers of Loaf and played this song twice:

This song is from their EP,  Vs the Greatest of all Time, which was released in 1994.

Lyrically I wonder how much the signing sprees of the 90’s major labels influenced this song. I can’t help but imagine that after they released Icky Mettle in 1993 featuring Web In Front that the labels began sniffing around in their quest to find the next Nirvana.

There they go, fucking up the ratio.
Biting on the skin that hangs off a hangnail.
Biting on the skin that hangs off a blister.
On the helping hand.

Strike up the band, nail down the random.
Calling out the A&R, A&R.
Strike up the band, turn off the random.
Calling up we’re A&R, A&R.

Got nothing to say, and you say it anyway.
In addition to your own weight.
Drive it into the ground, and you sing in a drone.
At the wrong time and at the wrong time.

Strike up the band, turn off the random.
Calling out the A&R, A&R.
So full of shit, let’s write some hits.
Here come the A&R, A&R.

The lowest part is free, but he can’t leave home.
Cause he can’t leave the signal alone.
The lowest part is free, but he can’t leave home.
He can’t leave the signal alone.

Lyrics that resonated while driving home in Nashville last night…

This EP was re-released by Merge as part of the Icky Mettle reissue last year.