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Bored TeenagersThe Adverts1 March 2006 |
The Adverts
I'm not sure you'll ever find a more poetic and succinct declaration of teenage angst than this song. In less than two minutes, TV Smith and his band, The Adverts seem to capture what it means and feels like to be a teenager—and they do so in a romping good punk rock anthem that is, in my opinion, easily on par with songs recorded by their contemporaries The Sex Pistols (“Pretty Vacant”) and The Clash (“I'm So Bored With the USA”). I'd argue that the tune is better than average, but what has always impressed me about this song was the sheer poetry of the lyrics — which is why I've included the lyrics for the first time since I've started publishing the song of the day. There is a poignancy to the song's observations that's hard to find in most of punk's sneering, energetic catalog. Adolescent apathy is the song's prevailing outlook, but in between the refrain of ennui I hear a willingness for self-examination, and a yearning for change. I think boredom and anger and sadness are inevitable and intrinsic (but not the only) characteristics of being a teenager. But I also think—like punk rock in general and this song in particular—that those feelings can be creatively redirected to produce something powerful and energetic and life-affirming and good. Art perhaps. Today's Happy Medium Song of the Day is “Bored Teenagers” by The Adverts. (Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
Bored Teenagers We're talking into corners
Finding ways to fill the vacuum
And though our mouths are dry
We talk in hope to hit on something new
Tied to the railway tracks
It's one way to revive but no way to relax
We're just bored teenagers
Looking for love
Or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Seeing ourselves as strangers
We talk about the whys and wherefore
Do we really care at all?
Talk about the frailty of words
Is rarely meaningful
When we're sitting watching the planes
Burn up through the night like meteorites
We're just bored teenagers
Looking for love
Or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Finding ways to fill the vacuum
And though our mouths are dry
We talk in hope to hit on something new
Tied to the railway tracks
It's one way to revive but no way to relax
We're just bored teenagers
Looking for love
Or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
Seeing ourselves as strangers
We talk about the whys and wherefore
Do we really care at all?
Talk about the frailty of words
Is rarely meaningful
When we're sitting watching the planes
Burn up through the night like meteorites
We're just bored teenagers
Looking for love
Or should I say emotional rages
Bored teenagers
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